Thanks again :D will be doing that soon.

Yeah, it was funny actually. He called me a few hours later, the same day I texted him, and ran through it with me. But he said he only got the email from them like, and hour prior… checked his spam, nothing from the Thurs before when I gave them his deets. So they made out like they were waiting for him, when really they only sent it that same morning. Sigh.

I dont even care that this place is starting to give me the ick, I just need a job so I can stop the Clink payments. They give so little, and call us dolebludgers, when I often can’t make ends meet. I tell people that I like having lost weight and I feel better, but I actually feel so much worse because I’m skipping so many meals. Tell them I’m intermittently fasting, but I’m just poor. I skip meals on welfare… it doesn’t sound right. Struggling with my mental health, and they call me a bludger… if they knew even half of what I’ve been through they’d think it was a script for bad horror film. I’m trying to be a productive member of this capitalist hellscape, but I’m I’m getting the impression I’m not wanted. I’m tired of feeling less than human.

I’m sorry for dumping here, I’m just so done.

I think they’re going to try and get around it by the fact that any event held on campus (for staff, anyway) needs to be run by/done in coordination with the admin heads of the school. They’re going to have to be the ones to enforce it. But one of them was the first to tell me that she’d head about this through the grapevine weeks ago and she thought it was just as dumb as everyone else

I completely understand their ethical standpoint and wanting to be more sustainable. But you’re completely correct. Encourage more vegetarian options. Half the time I do choose the vegetarian option anyway because I just prefer vegetables to meat. But mandating it? Seems extreme. A lot of my Asian colleagues are just not comprehending ‘no meat.’

And from what I’ve heard (though it could be inflated because, like you said - outrage), it’s all catering done on campus. Even if the funding doesn’t come directly from the university. If it’s from our own funding that doesn’t come from the unis coffers. If it’s affiliated and on campus, it has to be vegetarian.

^{microwaved potato}

I would venture that the cost will come into the argument (though they won’t admit it). Vegan options are often more expensive.

I have nothing against vegetarian options. Especially because it’s just for catered events. I’m not sure how I feel about the forced compliance bit

You sound like my ex. Added to which she wasn’t keen on tomatoes and anything spicy.

Vege does very little about most allergies. Meat allergies aren’t at all the most common, excluding shellfish.

Anyone with ibs or fructose intolerance won’t be happy. Legumes and fibre isn’t always healthy

Their argument is that it’s better for the environment. I get it, I do. They’re really pushing the sustainability stuff. We haven’t been allowed to use any single-use plastics in the catering for a few years, and I’m all for stuff like that. But this just seems a bit like virtue signalling to me. Let the people have their meat. The only way you can entice people into giving up their time for conferences and seminars is with the promise of wine and food.

If that’s the case, they would have gone full Vegan I reckon. Go hard or go home lol

Their statement is that it is to be in line with the university’s sustainability goals, and research coming from our own institution is saying that it’s bad for the environment. So they’ve got to back themselves up, I guess

My secret little hack is to make up some Nongshim noodle soup, add an egg and some chopped up KFC hot and crispy chicken tenders.

I’ve been thinking about it a lot more lately too… at least a 9 day fortnight. I wanted to go back to study and with everything happening in my life right now it was just too much. Giving myself a day back every fortnight would help. The 10% pay cut would hurt, but I could manage.

That’s a decent arrangement - and yeah, hopefully getting at least one day WFH down the line will make it even better. Shouldn’t be too much to ask for in this post-Covid era, yet the hoops people have to jump through is ridiculous.

That’s the big life changing thing that Covid brought us - work from home, allowing people who are disabled/chronic health issues be able to work without dealing with the physical issues and fatigue from going to an office.

Granted it relies on people getting opportunities when they’re younger, but I wonder if it’s just going to force more people into “part-tirement” where they don’t fully retire until they pretty much can’t work anymore, but will work two or three days a week. Kind of depressing though to think that for your entire life you’re working. This is what I’ll never understand - how society has been happy enough for this long to just… live to work.

But yeah, to your point, I’m wondering whether or not I do something similar. Like you said, not the best for the hip pocket, but it also blows my mind that so many people in higher roles still think money is so vitally important when 99% of them will never accumulate enough wealth for them to ever be satisfied.

The process really is shit. Call me a masochist but writing KSC is so much easier because it mostly about regurgitating their language back to them, where as you said the 500 word ones it’s all about trying to say exactly what they want with no real framework to follow.

It also doesn’t help that a lot of Departments have moved from in person interviews to one-way video interviews. While for some that might work, for me (and probably many others) who’s a little different, the lack of physical and verbal feedback in the moment is a huge struggle for me.

VPS ones are basically using a bog standard template these days, changing only one or two KSCs per position, so at least once youve done a couple you can do a bit of tinkering, rathering than doing the whole thing over and over again