WARNING: Grumpy post (with some good stuff)

 

My article The Beauty of Terror, was published on the 23 June in Psychological Perspectives, Volume 64 Issue 4, by Taylor & Francis for the CG Jung Institute of Los Angeles.

Finally!! 6 months late.

The journal is usually published quarterly so it should have been available last year. Sadly one of the main copy-editors passed away in 2020 and the publisher had to find a replacement. Apparently COVID caused huge disruptions - they had problems sourcing paper and their decision to outsource some of their processes to India proved problematic.  I’ve never been a fan of the global economy.

But it’s done and I still haven’t downloaded a copy. I know I should be more engaged – more curious – but there’s been other stuff to contend with so it has slipped off the radar.

Chronic sinus issues with accompanying headaches continue to plague me. I’m fed up asking doctors to help when they don’t listen to my reasons for seeing them. When you reach a certain age, they start doing all sorts of tests – like on my heart which is always fine. Then they tell me yet again I have an underactive thyroid but that it’s within ‘normal’ range and that I should lose weight. I’ve sacked that doctor but I’m running out of options. Doctor shopping is tricky in a small town.

To add insult to injury I have to pay for the indignity. The health system in Australia is broken and the government rebate hasn’t kept up, so doctors charge extra and you pay the difference unless you have private health cover – and who can afford that? 

The other annoying thing is the medical profession are brilliant at finding lumps – mostly benign – that you would probably happily live with until you popped your clogs. Once found these lumps can never be unfound. You have stepped onto a medical ghost train from which you may never get off alive. I know the medical profession have a duty of care and that they do excellent work. But maybe one of the reasons the health system is broken is because it is clogged up with people who don’t need some of the ‘care’ they seem to be forcing on them. Anyway, next week I have to spend good money to see a doctor who will refer me for a follow-up scan which I will probably also have to pay for. Australia is fast becoming like the US – where a lot of people just afford health care. 

Apart from all of that – I’ve been busy doing my environmental work, mostly for free. Unfortunately I have been harshly reminded of the reason I never volunteer for committees. The politics in one organisation has become so toxic I have backed right off, and I’ve resigned from the other because they have the same convener and buddy system. One of my mates diagnosed ‘Founder’s Syndrome’* which in a nutshell is: ‘where one or more founders maintain disproportionate power and influence following the effective initial establishment of the organization’. I think she was spot on. She also said there was a movement called ‘Kill the Founder’** and I completely relate (metaphorically of course). The frustrating thing is that the conflict is underpinned by gender inequity – old white blokes running the joint, failing to acknowledge the skills, knowledge and contribution of others, being divisive and basking in the glory of other peoples’ efforts and ideas. Of course you can’t say this out loud because the issue is only just starting to be recognised in our social structures and you sound like a hysterical feminist if you try to hold people to account.

I said there was some good stuff and here it is – maybe. Having worked in education for 16 years, then done a hell of a lot of graphic design and what amounts to ‘content creation’ for the website and Facebook group I manage for one of the NGOs, I have stumbled across a potential job. When I first left high school I wanted to go into journalism but I’d never read a newspaper article so when I was asked to write an editorial piece about water in Western Australia, I wrote a well researched school project! I had no idea. I think there was a water shortage at the time so it must have been a hot topic. Of course I failed the first test and didn’t even get an interview. But I’ve always loved writing and research which is probably why I was able to write a 40,000 word thesis. Lately I have realised these are very useful interests if you want to be a content creator, which is basically what I have been doing for digital media for more than a year.

I tried to find an online Certificate IV in Communications TAFE course but it costs several thousand dollars and there is no government assistance. Ironically, if I am approved, I can sign up for a $38,000 degree subsidised by the government. At my age the prospect of undertaking another degree is daunting but the more I think about it, the more attractive it  is looking. Given the state of the world it seems like a ludicrous idea, but if you take that line of thinking – and the end of the world is imminent – does it really matter? You may as well be doing something you like. If I get through 3 years of study and the world is still functioning, I might even be able to earn an income again - this time as a content creator***. It is a field that doesn’t discriminate. When you work online you can be any age and anywhere in the world. Apparently there is fierce competition for freelance writers and the industry is growing at an unprecedented speed. Demand is high and forecast to increase – that’s if AI doesn’t make us all redundant first.

I'm being uncharacteristically cautious about enrolling though. When I face upheaval or change in my life my default position is to take on more study. I was initially going to enrol for the July intake, but have decided to think about it a bit longer.

In the meantime I feel rudderless. The environmental work has kept me very busy since resigning from my teaching job about this time last year. Now that the honeymoon is over I'm not sure what to do next. Several of my friends are feeling the same so maybe it is just a symptom of the times we live in. 

*’Founder's syndrome (also founderitis) is the difficulty faced by organizations, and in particular young companies such as start-ups, where one or more founders maintain disproportionate power and influence following the effective initial establishment of the organization, leading to a wide range of problems. [Wikipedia]

** I couldn’t find any references for this.

Photo credit: The Age, Exterior of the ghost train at Luna Park, St Kilda. 

‘The man doing a PhD on ghost trains’, https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-man-doing-a-phd-on-ghost-trains-20160829-gr3ulx.html

*** A content creator is someone who creates entertaining or educational material for media – mostly digital these days. I won’t be trying to make videos, but I like writing.