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Post by Banker on Mar 5, 2013 19:01:39 GMT 7
Now that all the Girls have been made to feel welcome which is a good thing IMO, but please girls keep the bad language out of the forum. Many on here don't know that I have led a very sheltered life, until I met Banjo that is.  |
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Post by Banjo on Mar 5, 2013 20:05:04 GMT 7
I've actually adjusted the permissions on the forum control panel to allow most verbal expressions of outrage except two which I have modified with a strategically placed asterix but the sentiment still comes through.
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Post by newtodsp on Mar 6, 2013 13:11:25 GMT 7
Aussieinusa your hot bodied cyclist has certainly caught my attention  I think your talking about me again. ;D Banker, wasn't that you on the mobility scooter the other day!! |
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Post by Banjo on Mar 6, 2013 14:44:54 GMT 7
I believe Banker cuts quite a picture in his budgie smugglers on Rayong Beach.
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Post by aussieinusa on Mar 8, 2013 19:43:31 GMT 7
Centrelink International obliged me to separate from my wife only 2 months after marriage overseas. It's been a horrible, senseless experience. Saw her subsequently for 3 months during the last 14 months. Couldn't afford more ! Hopefully ending soon when she arrives here. I can't imagine what it's like for those with children. latindancer, that is really a story that needs to be told publicly. What they're doing to families, in the name of the Aussie taxpayer, is just beastly. I completely agree with melnee that it's a HRC issue. There is someone on the board who's pursuing one (rowdy, I think?); I really hope he's successful... |
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Post by aussieinusa on Mar 8, 2013 20:45:42 GMT 7
newtodsp, that's good to hear about amendments to the Fair Work Act... but yes, it's a start, not an end. There's a lot of work to do, getting people to see that PWDs still have a lot to offer; to get employers to care about what we can do, not what we can't. If people know about my physical limitations, it's like my IQ lost 50 points (which still makes me smarter than half the people I've spoken to at CL, haha), and they tend to treat me like a kid, not a full adult. As long as so many people have prejudices like that against PWDs our situation is hard. I did a job in 3 days/week that the able-bodied rugby dude they replaced me with couldn't do in 5 days/week (so had to bring me back part time again!) but because he doesn't take time off for operations and need 'excessive' bathroom breaks, he's a better employee than I am. But I should probably stop ranting now; this stuff gets me all upset. And yes, the DDC is worth looking into, too. We really need someone with legal training who'll get involved to help us figure out the right arguments to get venues like that to listen to us; to make it harder for CL to screw with our lives arbitrarily. One more for the letter-writing list. I've written to WR and Civil Liberties Australia; next on my list are Australian Federation of Disability Organisations, the HRC, the National Disability & Carer Alliance, the ABC's RampUp disability blog and my local MP (in a now-marginal ALP seat)... I only get them out one at a time when I'm well enough, but I'll add the DDC to my list for later, too. Exactly. If the government recovered all the money those companies are ripping off, there'd be no need to go after DSPers to save money, would there?  Hey, there are advantages to being penniless And yeah, there's way more to life than money. There are days when I get down because I have neither money nor good health... but there are other riches in life, and being with someone you have a really strong connection with is definitely one of them... even when you're separated for a long time due to big heartless faceless bureaucracies.
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Post by aussieinusa on Mar 8, 2013 20:50:20 GMT 7
I think your talking about me again. ;D Yes Banker, it's all about you |
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Post by Banker on Mar 9, 2013 4:20:58 GMT 7
I think your talking about me again. ;D Yes Banker, it's all about you Thank god for that.....Im not to good on this rejection thing. ;D |
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Post by Banker on Mar 9, 2013 4:29:42 GMT 7
Hey, there are advantages to being penniless
And yeah, there's way more to life than money. There are days when I get down because I have neither money nor good health... but there are other riches in life, and being with someone you have a really strong connection with is definitely one of them... even when you're separated for a long time due to big heartless faceless bureaucracies.What I usually do if I am feeling down or depressed. Not far from where I live is an Orphanage the only children in there are HIV or have full blown AIDS. I go and visit the kids and try to cheer them up a little but its me that gets more benefit than they do. I leave there and realise my problems are not so bad. These are the innocent victims.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2013 5:03:22 GMT 7
thats so true banker,as they say the best things in life are free,money has never been a big thing for me,as long as i can live in reasonable comfort,but im not on the doll and i do think life is almost imposible whith that small amount, but you take a man like my brother he ownes his houst and sits in it all day drinking beer and smoking fags all day,and then mones about the doll payments ,what a dick.
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Post by newtodsp on Mar 9, 2013 13:26:18 GMT 7
Aussieinusa, That is terrible but unsurprising that your workplace overlooked your good work just because you needed a few special arrangements. A forward looking company would employ those who are most efficient and innovative, and I think partly because Australia is such a isolated highly uncompetitive economy workplaces face no cost in hiring inefficient workers. I can understand why you have more options in America. We are a mixture of backwater and innovation in this part of the world. So much energy is focused on looking like you're working hard rather than getting the job done, I faced this in my previous job where I was told to spend more energy being seen to be working hard rather than working hard, as I was doing. Yes, we definitely need someone with legal training to help us, it would be perfect if we had a DSPensioner with these skills somewhere among us... Re: your letter writing, which issues are you focusing on? I was wondering, and perhaps this is already done, if we could whip up some generic letters and stick them on the forum somewhere that we can all shoot them off to the relevant bodies? A kind of 'mobbing' I find mindfulness useful in regulating mood, I also get frustrated about how life doesn't turn out the way we plan in our youth, so full of high hopes and aspirations. But I subscribe to the buddhist view of life; that happiness is in the moment, in observing nature, the world around us and finding something to be thankful for. And yes, having someone who you can rely on emotionally, who is always patient, kind and reliable is a real gift not many have. Banker, that was really kind of you to go and visit the orphanage of sick children.
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Post by aussieinusa on Mar 11, 2013 13:45:25 GMT 7
Banker, I've found the same re doing volunteer work; I get so much out of it myself that it really isn't a charitable act on my part.
I think that's also one of the things that gets overlooked about DSPers: how many of us, when we realise that we're not going to be able to have a 'proper' paid job for some time (or possibly ever again) do volunteer work instead? I'd actually kinda like to run a poll within the group, to see how it matches up with my own anecdotal evidence.
For example, when I was volunteering at one of the big op shops, literally everyone working there was a current or former pensioner! (DSP or OAP) The only paid employee, the store manager, was a long-time DSPer, still receiving part-pension (I think) because charity wages aren't huge; the volunteers who helped run it were all DSP or OAP, literally every one of us. The other op shops where I've spent a lot of time seem to have similar staff profiles.
I think it's a huge myth that DSPers are 'bludgers'; IME, we all try to contribute where we can, in our families, communities etc. It's so nice to feel useful, needed and wanted -- and like you said, can cheer you up so much, putting it all back into perspective by being around others who have an even tougher lot in life.
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Post by aussieinusa on Mar 11, 2013 14:01:02 GMT 7
Aussieinusa, That is terrible but unsurprising that your workplace overlooked your good work just because you needed a few special arrangements. A forward looking company would employ those who are most efficient and innovative, and I think partly because Australia is such a isolated highly uncompetitive economy workplaces face no cost in hiring inefficient workers. Ah, but it wasn't a company; it was the federal government! It's a big part of why I'm so frustrated with the government's position on all this: they say they want DSPers to get back to work, but they themselves personally kicked a whole lot of us onto the scrapheap, because they have far fewer PWDs on their staff than they used to. The government shouldn't be able to have it both ways like that: either hire some of us yourself, or STFU about telling us to get jobs. The government used to be one of the few possible employers for PWDs, so when even they won't hire us, we really are screwed, and DSP is our one option. I can understand why you have more options in America. We are a mixture of backwater and innovation in this part of the world. So much energy is focused on looking like you're working hard rather than getting the job done, I faced this in my previous job where I was told to spend more energy being seen to be working hard rather than working hard, as I was doing. I've heard the same thing a bunch of times. "Don't work so hard, spend more time on office politics." I hate office politics, so I'm guessing that's maybe part of my 'problem'; if you get too much done, the people around you hate you for showing them up... especially when they've been hired full-time to do a job you used to do part-time, than had to bring you back because they couldn't keep up with it! Yes, we definitely need someone with legal training to help us, it would be perfect if we had a DSPensioner with these skills somewhere among us... There's gotta be at least one out there... anyone?? Re: your letter writing, which issues are you focusing on? I was wondering, and perhaps this is already done, if we could whip up some generic letters and stick them on the forum somewhere that we can all shoot them off to the relevant bodies? A kind of 'mobbing' To the disability and civil liberties groups, I've written letters just basically asking them why the issue isn't on their agenda at all. My local MP is in a now-marginal ALP seat, so I'll be writing to him to say that I'm appalled by enough ALP policies (CL 'reform', treatment of refugees, exemptions to ADA for religious organisations, gay marriage, etc.) that I'm a former ALP-voter now, and he won't get my vote this time unless the party makes some major changes before election day. And yes, it'd be great to get some form letters (or even 'talking points' lists) created... or even a master list of who to write for, to ask for change, to encourage all members to do what they can. I find mindfulness useful in regulating mood, I also get frustrated about how life doesn't turn out the way we plan in our youth, so full of high hopes and aspirations. But I subscribe to the buddhist view of life; that happiness is in the moment, in observing nature, the world around us and finding something to be thankful for. And yes, having someone who you can rely on emotionally, who is always patient, kind and reliable is a real gift not many have. My main technique for staying sane is to always have some goals I'm working towards. On bad days, maybe all I can do is read an article or two about whatever it is, or look up some info I'll need, or something like that... but as long as I do something every day, I don't ever get completely hopeless about it all. And I count my blessings regularly. And yes, focusing on the small happinesses is really powerful; so many people 'have it all' and still don't manage to be happy, because they just don't know how. There is always something to be happy about, if you look hard enough. |
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Post by fedup on Mar 22, 2013 1:59:20 GMT 7
I'm in
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