It was Ben's school swimming carnival today. He wasn't keen to go, so he had a "mental health day" at home.
I was advised that the hard drive on my laptop is not functional and they cannot extract any information from it. I spoke with a colleague at work who put me onto a very good data recovery company. I've touched bases to see what is involved, including cost. It won't be cheap, but if they are successful then I don't care. The next step is to take possession of the drive (Apple won't replace it until they have the redundant one returned) and ship it to Sydney. I'll try and get to that tomorrow.
During the morning Ben stayed with his best mate (and Mum) as I had to go into work. I took the boys after finishing my work appointments. Ben and I had some boys' time before I collected Gabi from school.
The main purpose of my visit to work was to meet with one of the staff counsellors. However, last night I was still thinking and praying through the limited choices of placements at work I had been given so I emailed a colleague to see whether I could meet with him to discuss whether there was any capacity for me in his area. He was overseas, so he kindly forwarded my email to his Head (who I discovered was the officer responsible for nominating me for the award I received on Australia Day). He called this morning and said he'd like to see me before my meeting with the counsellor. I quickly SMS'd a small group of friends seeking prayer for "doors to be opened/closed".
Unfortunately this area of interest is overstaffed at present, but he wanted to express his interest in using my services in the future. That was very humbling. I was relaxed (not disappointed) about the outcome as I knew a prayer had been answered, i.e. "a door had been closed".
On the way to meet with the counsellor I was introduced to one of the new HR managers (I'm under his area of responsibility) for the first time as he had recently returned from overseas. He told me that an exciting position had just become available (due to someone being posted), which was to be advertised this afternoon. However, if I was interested then he would make contact with the relevant staff to see what their views were. "A new door opened?"
A couple of hours later I received a call from a colleague who happened to have been one of my overseas counterparts before he was promoted back to Canberra in the middle of last year. I also had the pleasure of travelling with him to Europe in 2004 for work. He is now in charge of the area in question. He offered me the position and discussed it at some length. They were keen for a response in the next 24hrs so they could advertise/ head-hunt should I decline. I have to admit that managing the unit in question sounds exciting. The work will be challenging, yet there is built in flexibility to suit my current situation.
Having been out of the workplace for a year (having focused on Maria and learning about her illness, mgt of it, etc.) has meant that I feel very anxious about my return –– it's like I'm entering into the workplace for the first time. I pray that where-ever I end up, I can settle in quickly and fulfil the role to expectations.
I will keep praying through the night and write again some time tomorrow to let you know of my decision.
