One More Step Forward

One more step forward for gay rights. I heard about ACT wanting to enact this law awhile back, but it was confirmed...passed as of yesterday. I rang my partner and jokingly asked her if she wanted to get "hitched." I know it's not the same as "marriage" but it's a step closer. She's all "oh I didn't hear about it." And I retorted back "no, you wouldn't. You always have your head in the sand when it comes to gay issues."

Read on, thanks to planetout.com

SUMMARY: Gay men and lesbians celebrate the landmark law allowing same-sex couples the right to civil unions in Australia's Capital Territory.
Gay men and lesbians Friday celebrated the landmark law allowing same-sex couples the right to civil unions in the Australian Capital Territory.
The Canberra regional assembly approved the bill in a late-night vote Thursday. While many couples are already planning their "big day," some activists believe the law hasn't gone far enough.
Peter Furness of gay rights group Australian Marriage Equality called the move a way for couples to "celebrate their love and commitment" and "a very significant step forward in our push towards full legal equality under Australian law."
A spokesman for federal government Attorney General Phillip Ruddock, who along with Prime Minister John Howard had vowed to block the law, told the Associated Foreign Press that the government was "happy" with changes made, mainly that federal employees would not be required to officiate at civil-union ceremonies.
John Stanhope, chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory, said the law will still "deliver recognition, without conflicting with or changing the meaning of marriage."
The new law in the Australian Capital Territory, which encompasses the capital city of Canberra, is the first of its kind in Australia.

current mood-HAPPY, that this has passed.

Probation

My probation is over ::jumping up and down with joy:: OKAY, not THAT type of probation, probation at my place of work. I started February 6th, and on Friday, my training officer had a chat with me, to offer me my permanent job. I was so happy, and I think she knew how happy and relieved I was. I remember in the beginning of my probation, and just through out the past 3 months, I talked a lot about how I really wanted this, what this job meant to me, and how hard I'm trying to prove that I have the potential to do what it takes. I asked her if I could give her a hug, because I was so excited. She said 'of course.' I guess, asking someone to hug them, is something that's still stuck in my head, from my last job. I worked with a lot of youth who had been exploited, and hugging them w/out permission was just not the thing to do.

But I was excited, JB (formely JW) was excited, and I think they were pretty happy with the performance I've done in the past 3 months. I will be honest, the job isn't easy. Every person you talk to, the one commonality is the fact that it's major information overload. That's what everyone experiences during their initial training. I feel lucky, with the fact that I actually had a 3 month training period. About 18 months ago, there wasn't a training like I went through. People were given their desk and then said "here's your caseload..." and they had to try and find their way around. Even now, with how much training I've had, I'm still feeling a little swamped and overwhelmed. But there is a lot of support and a lot of people who know more than me, who are willing to help.

Now I can finally start planning my holiday back to the States. I have already stated that I wanted 2 weeks off, maybe 3 weeks. I'm going to push for 3 weeks, but don't know what the availability will be like. Lucky for us, we get 4 weeks paid vacation every day, not like 2 weeks in the States. I'm hoping I'll get the green light, so we can book our flight and start paying it off. it's going to cost an arm and a leg to pay off these plane tickets.

-current mood- TIRED, but I slept heaps. Must be the cold.