On 23/06/2010 2:10 AM, Omelet wrote:
> In m.au>,
> > wrote:
>
>> On 22/06/2010 9:16 AM, Omelet wrote:
>>> In m.au>,
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>>> Why thwarted? :-)
>>>>> There is a reason that "Smith" is a very common last name.
>>>>> Take it up as a hobby.
>>>>
>>>> I did, after a fashion. Used to build hot rods from the ground up in the
>>>> fifties and sixties. I still have four of them that I built back in that
>>>> era.
>>>>
>>>> My parents and many members of my extended family were farmers. They
>>>> would do a lot of their own blacksmithing from necessity and, on visits
>>>> to relatives farms in my youth, became fascinated with the process. My
>>>> parents saw the writing on the wall for the future of farming in this
>>>> country and sold the farm before I was born. They refused to allow me to
>>>> take that path and, in hindsight, I see that they had great vision. The
>>>> farms of today aren't the same as they were when I was young. They are
>>>> now mostly mechanised and employ contractors to do various seasonal
>>>> tasks such as shearing, planting, harvesting and the like. Very few
>>>> people live and work on farms these days.
>>>>
>>>> I instead grew up in the city and undertook a career as a public
>>>> servant. Now, 57 years later, I still operate as a consultant.
>>>>
>>>> Krypsis
>>>
>>> What do you do?
>>
>> I now provide consultancy for the federal department where I was
>> employed for 55 years. That department is the Department of Immigration
>> and Ethnic Affairs (now Immigration and Citizenship).
>> http://www.immi.gov.au/
>>
>> Krypsis
>
> Nice. :-) Do you like it?
Used to meet a lot of interesting people, travelled to interesting
places and was well paid to boot. Yeah, I liked it a lot but the past 30
years have been mighty stressful too. I wanted to retire 12 years ago at
60 but, after burning out a couple of understudies, I was made offers
that I couldn't refuse to stay a while. That went on for 10 years until
they finally found someone who could stay the distance in the job. The
consultancy is the best though. One third of the hours and none of the
responsibilities. ;-)
Should have done it years ago!!!!
Krypsis