Self Employment

FRIDAY 23rd June 2006 - unemployed!!

I am not too certain about this self-employment malarchy. I joined the ranks of unemployment last Friday. My last pay packet has been provided and there is no more "safe" income due! Wow. Exciting huh.

Many people join the unemployment ranks for many reasons. Most simply because they are too old, to young to have the experience or disadvantaged in some way that employers don't want them. I am unemployed by choice. I have not been made redundant, nor been sacked, nor have another employer to go to in a weeks time. Sheldon and I now firmly believe that we ARE actually employed - we are employed now by ourselves. We are not going to expect anyone else to pay us except those that will be receiving a service from us.

Self employment I think will be way way harder than normal employment. I am for one looking forward to being self-employed. I want the challenge, I want the change.

Bring it all on I say . . . and shel does too I think!

Some Commitment pics . . .

Here are a few pics from our commitment party on 27 May. Most of the pics were taken by our good friends - Darren and Jackie.


These are our very good friends Andy and Terry.

2 weeks of stability . . .

I resigned from my job in IT a little over two weeks ago.

Am I totally MAAAD.

I have a good stable job in the IT Department of large investment bank. I have been in the same team doing the same role for over 5 years. I got promoted in the new year to Assistant Vice President. . . of what, I am not too certain, but it looks pretty good on business card or on the bottom of an email.

I am giving all this up and returning back to Australia jobless with no security. I must be totally bonkers!

After giving this much thought over the last 2 years - it has been two years since Sheldon and I first went to Tasmania - I have decided that I am mad and bonkers if I were to STAY in this role. I do not enjoy what I am doing although I am seemingly good at it. I fell into this type of career 8 years ago once I came to London - I call it my "accidental career".

I have 2 weeks to go and 4 weeks pay left. I think that we can survive without a little security. It is now up to Sheldon and I to create that security and then live with it.

I look forward to the challenge. . .

Commitment

Sheldon and I had a party in London a few weeks ago. We spent a long time, months in fact, deciding the purpose for this party. The party was meant to be a farewell party - we were due to leave the UK some time in early June. We decided that, whilst we had all of our UK "family" at this event, that we would take the opportunity to "commit" to each other as a couple.

Many friends asked why we did not get "married" in a UK Civil Union? The reason we decided against a UK civil union was because the Australian Government had introduced an amendment to the definition of marriage that ensured that no same sex partnerships registered in other countries would NOT be recognized in Australia.

"Marriage means the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life unions are not marriages. A union solemnest in a foreign country between: (a) a man and another man; or (b) a woman and another woman; must not be recognized as a marriage in Australia."


Therefore getting married in the UK seemed pointless seeing as we are weeks away from becoming moving to Australia and applying for Sheldon's residency as my "interdependent partner" - defined by the Australian Government as a same sex couple having "a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of any spouse relationships or any other interdependent relationships" I am not sure what the difference between marriage and an interdependent relationship is - but to me they pretty much look the same. Why are the Australian people afraid to say they are the same?

See this goup which I support in overturning the Liberal Governements ammendment:

http://www.australianmarriageequality.com/

I digress somewhat . . .

The commitment party ended up being a very successful, enjoyable and emotional evening. Nothing legal happened apart from standing up in front of our family and friends and promising to love and care for each other as we grow over our lives together. We gave each other a simple white gold band as a symbol of that promise.

The event will also serve as a great reminder of the friends that we have made in the UK and that we shall not forget them - nor it seems will they let us forget them as many have already stated that they will make the long journey across the world to see us . . .even though they may be staying in a tent.

I will post some pictures up of the event for you all to see and also post the speech I made at the time to explain to our friends the meaning of the event.

Cheers

Nick