On Thursday or Friday last week I made contact with Serenity regarding her podcast, because I’d just restarted my own podcast at GeekWitch. We got talking and she let me know about open positions at the Tradition she founded, called The Path of the Wise Ones. It’s a non-profit, non-dogmatic, innovative and progressive pagan tradition that seeks to unite people of all spiritual paths in a unique new collective. Serenity offered me a voluntary position as Director of PR - I was a little hesitant but figured “What do I have to lose?” and so I accepted. Eventually it could turn into a full-time, paid position, which is really awesome, but even if it doesn’t, I’m still certain that this is what I want to be doing, because I really do enjoy it.

So essentially it’s been PR for PotWO and full-time work at my actual job; I’ve also got schoolwork due which is a pain in the ass but I hope to get that all done this weekend so that I don’t have to worry about it.

On Monday night I also had the pleasure of attending a concert by Wendy Rule at the 45Downstairs in Melbourne with my sister. Wendy’s performance was awesome, and she was the most lovely person ever! She made time for everyone who waited after the show to meet her, and signed CDs, and even had a photo with me - see here.

If you’re in the Phoenix (AZ) or surrounding areas, you might want to check Wendy out at the Chez Nous Cocktail Lounge on the 21st May 2008 - it’s at 915 Grand Ave in Phoenix - for more deets, go here and view it at original size.

I want to say Happy Mothers’ Day to all the mums out there - I unfortunately won’t get to see my mum on Sunday, but I will see her at the end of the month when my little brother has his 18th birthday.

So that’s about it - nothing really much else to talk about. Anything you want me to comment on or that kind of thing, let me know.

My parents came up for the long weekend on the 25th, to spend some time with us and to go to a Caravan and Motorhome Expo at Caulfield. So they came up on Friday, and since Michael was at the Wrestling that night, it was just me, Mum and Dad. We ordered in Indian food for dinner, had a few drinks and then they went back to their hotel room for the night.

On Saturday, we joined Mum and Dad at the Expo they wanted to go to, which was (for me) kind of boring, but it was nice to spend the time with them, of course. It was 4 or so hours of just looking at caravans and motorhomes (yawn!). Anyway, we finished there at about 2-3pm, came home and then had Alisha (my sister) and Jernej (her boyfriend) come around so that we could go out for dinner. We went to the Irish Times, one of our favourite pubs here in the city, and had a great dinner and more than a few drinks. We came back home, mum and dad went back to the hotel at around 1am, and Alisha and Jernej hung around till about 2:45am, drinking and talking and stuff, which was fun.

On Sunday, we got up reasonably early - Mum and Dad came around for breakfast and to leave their stuff at our house since they had to check out of the hotel. Alisha joined us for lunch at Melbourne Central, and we did a bit of shopping and walking around the CBD before about 4:00pm where we had to go back home so Mum and Dad could get the bus to the airport at 5:30 and needed a bit of a sit-down before leaving.

So, Mum and Dad went home, then Michael, Alisha and I went to the supermarket for a few things we needed. Alisha and I decided to go out and get some dinner, so we went to this place called Grill’d where they have really yummy beef and chicken burgers. We came home around 7:30, Alisha hung out for a bit longer then headed home, and we got into bed.

Now, I have had a sore throat since Saturday, and yesterday morning I woke up with the sore throat, chest pain, coughing, runny nose and dry chapped lips, so I decided not to go to work and just stay home. I visited the Doc who said it could be a viral thing, so all I have to do is sit home and give myself some R&R. So good that I got a couple days off work, but not so good since I’m sick and it’s money I’m missing out on.

Anyway, tomorrow I’ll be heading back to work (:() and getting back to the normal, daily grind.

So, that’s the last few days in a nutshell. Nothing super exciting for anyone else, but was fun for me

A whole lot of stuff has happened this week - well, not a whole lot of stuff, but a couple of significant things. Number one is that Michael and I have been living in our apartment for a year now, which is awesome because it means neither of us has killed the other in that amount of time and we’ve managed to hold it down.

Number two is a significant event in my life, and some of you already know this so it might be old news now, since it happened on the 10th, but it’s still pretty huge to me and I’ll get to that in a second. In smaller news, we purchased two new goldfish, Urik and Anya, bringing the total number of fish to four (we lost Vladimir last week )

Lately, I’ve been working on http://geekwitch.org - I’ll warn you in case you have very Christian or other-religious parents; it does contain content of a Pagan/Wiccan nature, so don’t get caught peeking at that while the ‘rents are around, and respect their wishes if they’ve expressed to you that you’re not to look at that sort of content under their roof.

I’ve also joined a couple of new messageboards to do with Wicca and Paganism, and got into some really interesting discussions and debates, which is great in furthering my knowledge and horizons as to what I’m learning and experiencing.

So, I’ll get to the big news now - since there’s a lot to write, it’ll be after the break.

Recently, I have been experiencing some changes within. Something in me has just ticked over and said, “Stop taking bullshit, be yourself, be honest with people and stand up for yourself.”
Part of that was asking for my pay at work to be upped (which has happened, yay!).
But what this thread is about is the fact that after 9 years of following my Wiccan path, I’ve finally come out to my mother about being Wiccan.
I wrote her an extensive letter, since I tend to express myself better through writing and, well, read for yourself:

Hi Mum,

You know that when I write you notes or letters that it’s about something that I don’t think I would be able to say in person. Writing allows me to get what I want to say out without interruptions, and allows the reader to think about what I’ve said before reacting. So I wanted to put this forward so that the weight is off my shoulders and I don’t need to pretend or act differently with you.
You may remember when I was younger that I had a high interest in sort of paranormal, occult themes, and you probably thought it was a phase and I’d get over it. I still have an interest in those kind of things and what I wanted to tell you is that I have chosen a religious path that might, from the outside, appear to deal with those sort of things, and it sometimes can, but not with the way I practice - don’t freak out; it’s not scary, it’s not threatening, it’s not evil.
About five or six years ago [I say this so that she doesn't know it's actually been since I was 11, because I think that could have freaked her out, but the time aspect isn't particularly relevant because I could be following this for 6 months, 1 year, 2 years and it would still be as valid], I chose, for and by myself, to follow a religious path called Wicca. It is a Nature-based religion, that places responsibility within my own hands, and any choices I make are my own, good and bad. That is, the good things in my life are not chosen or ‘blessed’ upon me by Jesus or God, but by myself, and the bad things are not forced on me by Satan, but myself – it is a path that gives me ultimate responsibility. It worships a God and Goddess (and sometimes numerous gods and goddesses of different pantheons, as it’s a very personalised religion), and that God and Goddess are of the Earth, rather than above it in Heaven. As part of my beliefs, I believe that there is an element of God and Goddess within each one of us.
Wicca believes in equality not just between the sexes, but between everyone – it’s important for us to accept everyone for the choices they’ve made for their own lives, and their beliefs. We’re not about to go on and disrespect people for their life paths. We don’t believe in a male-dominated way of life – everyone is equal from my point of view, and while that isn’t quite reflected in society yet, it’s getting closer and closer to being the case.
I know you’ve read The Secret, and in fact some of what The Secret says is actually reflected in Wicca – the whole “what you put out, you get back” idea, the Law of Attraction. If you put good energy out, you will receive good energy back, and the same goes for bad energy. Part of Wiccan belief is “And it harm none, do what you will” – meaning as long as it isn’t hurting anyone, you can do what you want. This could be further interpreted as “Do what you want, as long as it doesn’t interfere with anyone else’s choices and freedom to do what they want.” Therefore, it is up to me, not some higher power, to ensure I do the right thing.
Wiccans do not proselytise – that is, there is no preaching, no attempts at conversion or anything like that, like there sometimes is with Christianity. If people wish to turn to the Wiccan path, they do so of their own freewill, and are free to leave the path at any time – it is not a cult religion, it isn’t forced on anyone. Additionally, it’s not a strict religion – again, I have the ultimate responsibility for myself and the choices I make, and I chose this for myself because of the freedom it presents, and because a lot of the beliefs most Wiccans hold are those that I held previous to coming across it, so it fit me, personally.
And the touchiest subject – Wiccans will often practice magic. Now this isn’t your average “eye of newt, toe of frog” stuff, not at all. It’s ultimately energy work – so sending out good energy to the universe (like The Secret) and hoping for good energy to return to you. For example, if I wanted to ensure I got home safely from work, I would (in my mind) send out positive thoughts, maybe send out something like “I would like to get home safely” and repeat that to myself. There’s no ‘black magic’ involved, and it’s definitely not Satanism. Satanism refers to an Anti-Christian mindset, in which there is God and the Devil. Wicca has no relation to Christianity at all – we have no concept of the Christian God or the Devil, for that matter. All good and bad energy comes from how people think and behave, not from a higher (or lower) power.
Wiccans may also do healing work – this also involves energy work, but might also include, for example, herbal remedies – chamomile tea is a good example. It’s important that I clarify this for you because so many books and websites out there try to paint Wicca as ‘black magic’ and relate us to terrible things, but in actuality Wicca is a very peaceful, loving religion.
That’s just the beginning of Wicca, so if you have any questions I will try to answer them. As I said, it’s not supposed to be scary (it’s nothing like what Alisha was involved in, where I was scared for her and her inability to choose what she wanted in that situation) and it’s really a very honest and open religion. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I will try to answer as best I can and if I can’t answer, I will make an effort to find the answer for you.
It might be that I’ll stick with this for the rest of my life; then again it might be that I only stick with it for the next few years. What is important is that it’s what I’m sticking with right now.
I’m not asking you to convert, I’m not asking for your acceptance of my path (though it would be great, but again it’s not what I’m asking for); what I am asking for is acceptance of my free will and my freedom to choose what I feel is right for me as an adult. It hasn’t changed me as a person other than bringing me more happiness and bringing me to a place I feel secure – I’m still the same Terri I always have been – I just have a different religious belief to you guys and I hope you can understand that.

I love you all so much,

Terri xxoo

So I sent it to her via email, as she was at work, and held my breath to prepare for the upcoming onslaught.

Here’s her reply:

Maybe I’m Wiccan too!

As long as one is happy and has their own free mind , knows right from wrong and lives to be the best person they can be, is there for others and send out positive messages then I don’t care what it is called . Every one needs something to believe in and as long as that belief does not hurt others then all is good.

Love you no matter what

Mummsie
xx

*SIGH OF RELIEF* I can’t believe she was so accepting. What the hell have I been waiting for with this?!

So, it’s a huge weight off my shoulders, it brought a couple of tears to my eyes, but I’m so happy now it’s out.

However, I thought it was about time for an update, and for something new for people to comment on, so I said “I’mma post a blog entry”, and here I am.

So the other day at work, we all received an email from our General Manager, letting us know that the company’s minimum wage was being upped to $34,000/year ($16.98/hr) including leave loading. Previous to this, I was earning $33,500 incl. leave loading, or $16.72/hr, so I was happy about this. Additionally, there was also mention of a payrise for those who’ve been employed for over 12 months or more, but that was still in discussion.

However, I thought about it for a bit longer, and became pretty disappointed with it. I have been employed in this company for almost two years now (21 months, to be precise), and it struck me as odd that I was still on minimum wage (despite my being there for over 12 months and being one of the top processors on the floor). I did realise that there might be an extra bonus since I was over the 12 months employment, but even without that, I shouldn’t still be on minimum wage! I mean, for God’s sake.

So, I took it to my Team Leader, who then took it to our Operations Manager. Our Ops Manager pulled me aside and said that she agreed with me, and that she’s been pushing for a payrise for me and four other (young) girls on the floor, but it’s fallen on deaf ears basically because one of the girls she was pushing for is, incidentally, her niece. She said I would need to take it to our General Manager myself, if I felt I had a strong enough case, as all her calls were, as I mentioned, not being heard.

So that I did. I wrote an email to our General Manager, as follows:

Hi T*******,

I’d like to put forward a complaint about my pay. I am sure that many other people in the office must have my same concerns, but unfortunately when it comes to pay I cannot speak on their behalf, as deserving as they are of the same treatment.
Additionally, I am putting this forward in writing as a) I then have record of sending this to you, and b) I tend to express myself better through writing than speech, and it also allows me to get my point across. I am happy to come to speak to you about it if you would like to discuss this further.

I read your email in regard to the decision you’ve made regarding [company]’s minimum wage. Whilst I don’t want to seem ungrateful for that, because I have a job I love and am surrounded by awesome people, it seems incomprehensible to me that I am still on the [company] minimum wage, when I’ve been here for over 18 months. Before your announcement, I was earning $16.72/hr (whether that was the minimum wage previously I am not sure), but I would think that with nearly two years service here (21 months), I should be at least above minimum wage now that the $16.98/hr has been put into place. I also don’t think it should come down to previous experience – at this point in time, any experience I had prior to this position should be irrelevant to how much I am being paid, considering I have the experience in this position, and I do my job well.

I understand that you have plans to introduce the second tier wage for employees who have been here for 12 months or more, but even without that I believe I should still be at least above the minimum wage at this point. I apologise for the upcoming language, but I work my butt off in this place, and without the recognition that I deserve, I’m soon not going to have a choice but to leave (and as I say, I don’t want to do that because I love my job) and, not to talk myself up, but [company]’s productivity would drop significantly without me here.

For your reference, here are my statistics for last week alone as provided by S**** (team leader), in terms of my productivity:

Mon 24th Mar: nil
Tue 25th Mar: 110.67%
Wed 26th Mar: 120%
Thu 27th Mar: 97.33%
Fri 28th Mar: 160%

As you can see (bar the 24th where it was a public holiday) I am consistently above our goal of 80% productivity per day, and at every appraisal I have been reaching and exceeding my KPIs. I can provide my statistics for the week before last (but unfortunately nothing previous to that as S**** only started sending these out two weeks ago – however, I’m sure you could get any of those details from reports).

I hope you can understand my standpoint on this. As I say, I am happy to discuss this further, and I would definitely appreciate your input.

Regards,

Terri Hyland

I received a reply about half an hour later:

Hi Terri,

Yes I do get your point and I will review your situation as you’ve asked me to.

I’m sure you are a valuable employee and I can appreciate that you would like to see that reflected in your pay. Decision about wages are based on equity and I will do whatever I can based on fairness across both [parent company] and [sister company] staff.

Thank you for raising this with me. I’ll get back to you with my decision as soon as possible, - hopefully by the end of this week.

Kind regards

T*******

So I let it sit there for the time being, since she said she’d get back to me by the end of the week, and I didn’t want to rock the boat or push my chances any further than I already had.

So today, as I stayed home sick, my colleague and one of my best friends messages me on MySpace with the following email from our General Manager (and I’ve underlined the points of interest, or relevance to me):

Hi Folks,

Earlier this week I sent an email outlining the new entry rate of pay for [company] staff. In that communication I also indicated that a rate for completing 12 months of service would be introduced, and other performance-based incentives.

I’m pleased to outline the following new structure:

Entry rate of pay /first 12 months of employment $34,000.

After 12 months of employment the rate increases to $35,500 on the anniversary date.

Two wage categories for staff who’ve complete 12 months of service; either ‘Good’ performance or ‘Very Good’ performance. Staff who’ve achieved the level of ‘Very Good’ performance during their performance review will have their base rate increased to $37,000.

All these rates are inclusive of leave loading.

I will be sending an email to each of you letting you know your new rate of pay if applicable. For the past performance review I rated all staff who achieved a total score of 9 or above as Very Good performance. In the email I send I will let you know your rating if applicable (not for staff less than 12 months).

The rating system will be changing for two reasons; firstly we have introduced our SMART productivity tracker so we can gather more accurate statistics; and secondly we are moving to a different and better performance development review system. Don’t worry too much about this right at the moment, as I will be running detailed workshops on how our new systems will operate.

In addition, I am also introducing an up to 5% performance-based bonus system – beginning from July and incorporating performance from 1 March – and I will provide the mechanics of this shortly. Sorry for the info being broken up, but the main point is that all staff have the opportunity to increase their income.

Please wait for your personal email to be sent to you prior to asking me any questions. This may take me a bit of time today so be patient.

I’m aiming for these pay adjustments to be reflected in your next pay – but, as it’s quite a bit of work, if this doesn’t happen you will be back-paid.

T******* J*******

So, since I wasn’t there today, I don’t know if I’ve got the payrise to the $37,000, but there is a good chance of it, since my stats are so high.

Basically, cross your fingers for me. I’ll let you know when I know

Additionally, I put together a new layout, so I hope you like it. No, it’s not Valid CSS or XHTML, simply for the fact that if I put in a doctype, it ruins the header tabs hover thing I have going on - if you have a solution for that at all, so that I might be able to validate my site, PLEASE let me know!

But finally to the actual reason for this post - due to my time being so busy, I haven’t had a chance to blog about the Ozzy Osbourne concert we went to last Saturday.

I’ve loved Ozzy for years - he’s one of my favourite musos, and the chance came up to go and see him, since he was coming to Melbourne. The last time he was in Australia was in 1998, too fucking long ago. So when we heard he was coming, I went to look at ticket prices. It was $99 a ticket in the nosebleeds. So at the time I said no, because we didn’t have the money. But things changed in about late December/early January, when I got my credit card. I worked it out - 10 years since Ozzy was here last, Ozzy turns 60 this year - if it’s another 10 years before he might even come here, he’ll be 70 and probably too old to perform. This might be the last time he tours, at least globally.

So I thought about it - $200 ain’t that bad to see a guy who you’ve loved for ages and probably won’t get a chance to see ever again. So, I whipped out the credit card and bought tickets in the nosebleeds.

We headed out there on Saturday the 15th, got there at about 6pm (the show was due to start at 8), and bought a t-shirt each (since it’s now my new hobby to collect band t-shirts!). We waited… and waited… and waited… and finally they opened the doors to the arena. We made our way inside, found our seats and sat taking in the surroundings and atmosphere - it was pretty electric. Then the supporting band, Sevendust, came out - they were pretty awesome, did a great job of riling (sp?) up the crowd, but the magic happened after Sevendust and an intermission; there were some funny clips played on the big screens of Ozzy in movies and TV shows, like The Office, The Queen, Pirates of the Caribbean, that kind of thing. And then the curtain in front of the stage fell… and there was Ozzy. Oh Em Gee. I SCREAMED until my voice gave way. This guy is incredible! For a near-60 year old guy to get up on stage like that, and perform like he was 20 years old, holy shit he was awesome! And Zakk Wylde, his guitarist who is a celebrity in his own right, was so totally crazy!

So I’m stupid for not remembering the set list, but he played “Mama I’m Coming Home”, my favourite song, and “Crazy Train” (of course). And then, right at the end of the show, Zakk throws his guitar INTO THE CROWD! There’s this HUGE scramble for it, and finally one guy gets it and has to be escorted out by security so he doesn’t get nabbed or beaten up (I’m sure they would have had to get a taxi or something for him to get home!).

All in all, it was FUCKING INCREDIBLE! I can’t wait for my next arena concert!

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Anyway, I’ve purchased my domain for my photoblog, and it has a name that, if I want to change it to something else it’ll still work. So make your way over to Cada Momento and take a peek.

However, I still need some help. As many of my regular visitors might know, I use the usernames ‘mztwizted’, ‘xomztwiztedox’ and ‘xo.mztwizted.ox’ all over the place. However, I think it’s time for a change. Number one, I am getting sick of spelling it out for my RL friends who want to add me to MSN or email me. Number two, I registered that username over 3 years ago, and I have matured a lot since then and would like something to reflect that. So, throw some ideas at me. If you need some idea of what I’m like, you can click ‘terri’ at the top of the page and it’ll take you to my ‘about me’ section, which might be able to help. I’m just totally stuck for a name. Most of my usernames come from other places anyway.

I’ll keep trying to think of one myself, but yeah throw those ideas my way!

I’m trying to come up with a domain name for a photoblog I’d like to start - I’m really starting to get into photography a lot lately, so I’d like a photoblog to show it off a bit more to the general public.   I have no idea on what I want included in the domain name, so if you want to throw some ideas my way, I’d really appreciate it.   It doesn’t have to include the words ‘photo’, ‘photography’ or anything like that - I mean, it can if you like - but it’s not necessary.

Umm anyway not a whole lot else going on.  I’m just keeping busy with other stuff right now.  So, until next time, peace out.

I think it’s a really nice colour, and a lot easier than redying my pink highlights every couple of weeks.  I’m thinking I should have it cut shorter too, so if you have any suggestions on haircuts, please let me know (I have recent pictures in my flickr, which the link to is on the sidebar).  If I have it shorter, I would definitely straighten it more often because it wouldn’t take me nearly as long.  Anyway, tell me what you think

So anyway, this morning I woke up and was feeling shitty again, so I organised a trip to the doctor.  Now, if you know me at all, you know it has to be pretty bad for me to go to the doctor.  I went in, and turns out I have a viral infection which might take a few days to clear up.  So basically, it’s rest, warm drinks and TLC for me for the next couple of days - no exercise, not too much fresh air, etc.  Basically, be a vegetable.  Which I’m happy with for the weekend.

As for photos, I have gone flickr-crazy lately.  I am participating in a couple of 365 projects, which I’m enjoying and it gives me something else to do creatively, rather than just work and schoolwork.  Speaking of school, it’s going well - I’ve just submitted both my units for week 2 on time, so that should get me good marks on that part.

Anywho, I think I’d better go - just a quick update to let ya’ll know I’m still alive