Category Archives: Repatriation

Step One And A Half

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I was disappointed yesterday and slightly down in a way because I had high expectations about this study and its arrangements and I feel that the responsible organisation hasn’t been clear about things at all. Yesterday some facts were revealed that -to me- made it all look less bright and wonderful and I ended up in deep thinkers mode. There are only four places available while they left the impression that there would be at least 10 to 15…

There were about 28 people in the room and about three decided not to go for it after we were given a presentation: do the maths… One fact was about wages which will be extremely low during the study which will be spread over three years. Once you’ve passed your exams your pay will be slightly higher. Another fact that surfaced was the level of education which is lower than I was told so I’d need to add three more years of study.

Ever since I came home yesterday I had been thinking about what I should do and I couldn’t make up my mind. I really needed to talk to someone close today and exchange thoughts, so I rang C. at the academy. I knew he would be able to answer some of my questions that were causing doubts. By the time we hung up -an hour plus later- I was feeling positive again because of his advice and enthusiasm and full of energy to start the process.

I’ll have to write a motivational letter and might have to retake the competence test. If I’ll go through to the second round I’ll have to have a chat with the employer and take a study assessment test. It all seems pretty strict so it’s gonna be interesting to see what will happen these next couple of weeks. I’m gonna be busy… Today I also received a request from a client to design an ad to send to wholesalers and to update the website for xMas.

While I was cleaning out one of my external hard discs I ran into a smaller version of the image below. I’d forgotten about it, about taking it but it put a smile on my face and because of that I’ve decided to post the bigger version. I miss my little friend…

I miss him…

Step One

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Finally… having patience is starting to pay off because I’ve received some wonderful news yesterday. I’ve been invited to meet up on Monday morning to be part of a group of people who will be given the opportunity to study and work at the same time. This in itself is nothing new because there are quite a few possibilities to accomplish the same.

In this case however, the government and a few other organisations expect a lack of psychiatric nursing staff in the next three years so they have invested money in a special project to train people. It means that the required study which would normally take four years will be taught in three years instead, starting with a three months crash course.

After the crash course you’ll be working four days a week and attend school on the fifth day for the next three years to get a bachelor degree. My goal is a master degree because I’d like to finish the psychology study that I started years ago. At the time -causing disagreements- I was forced to stop because of an unwilling/unsympathetic partner.

I’m really looking forward to start the study and try to get another degree. My personal situation and this recession have forced me to think about my future in a creative way. I’ve been lucky to have turned a hobby into a career at the time, but things have changed and I’ve come to the conclusion that I need a career that will provide for the next twenty years.

Don’t get me wrong, there will be side projects and I will never give up on the creative part of me. In fact I’m still working on the long-term business plan which involves design and that along with the webdesign business will be the creative outlet that I’ll be needing to keep things interesting in that area. I’ll need that outlet because it’s part of who I am.

Although I’m totally committed and enthusiastic to make this application work for the next three to seven years it will still be ‘a way to pay the bills‘ and live a comfortable life. I’ve to choose security over current instability, people are still getting laid off and no one knows what’s gonna happen next but it doesn’t mean I’ll be giving up on creativity, far from it!

There are more steps planned ahead but for now I’m taking one at a time because that one step will cause a chain reaction once I’ll be on a roll and I’m getting all excited thinking about what lies ahead. It seems I’m finally about to get that long deserved break *wink*