We hear from Bek (our website & graphics guru), who was forced to leave her home due to the recent storms in VIC. Michelle made a call on her mental health and wellbeing. Michael speaks to Consolidated Power Projects at the magnificent Adelaide Oval and Woody talks about COVID (again) and shares a story about getting bogged.
I live in Kalorama, amongst Mountain Ash, the world's tallest flowering plant.
On the 9th June we got some crazy weather…
The wind gusts started picking up during the day and around 2.30pm we had a tree fall down from the neighbour's property, just clipping the side of my house. I thought "well if that’s the worst that’s great."
But the wind kept blowing and by 8pm we were getting some really strong wind gusts. My son (13 years old) and I decided to sit under the house/carport and listen to the wind. We watched trees in the distance being blown horizontally and the occasional boom of a tree falling.
At 9.30pm it
really kicked off, the power went out and the wind was relentless. A tree we were previously watching bend at crazy angles...was no longer there. Instead just a large gap in the sky. Every wind gust, by that stage, took something down...sometimes a far off ‘crack’ and then a ‘boom’, and then next one would be in the neighbour's property.
There was a very loud bang and my son and I just grabbed each other, boy that was close!
I’ve been talking to a few people about the pandemic over the last few weeks.
We have just had another lockdown in Victoria.
It’s interesting to observe that some people have really not been affected in any way by the pandemic, while others have had their lives totally changed.
I can only use my experience to say that it has been shit for us. I can’t travel and 80% of my work is interstate. Even the workplaces I visit in Victoria are hesitant to bring anyone into their sites for fear of introducing Covid to their workplace.
So my work has pretty much dried up.
Others are still going to work, able to socialise, go for day trips, stay in accommodation, have family get togethers. So not much has changed for them.
I’m not angry about this, I realise that it is just the way it is. We are unfortunate that we happen to live in the state that has copped the worst of it (I’m not going to start to blame anyone for why it seems to be just us).
But I can imagine that some people are starting to develop an 'Us against Them' mentality.
Let me just ask you to consider how others are coping, if you live interstate and have someone you know in Victoria be considerate of how these lockdowns have impacted some people. Try not to rub it in as to some of the things that you can do that we can’t.
As the ad says... 'We are all in this together'.
Footnote After writing this NSW, WA and the NT have all called a snap lockdown, this is terrible and I hope they all get on top of it as soon as possible. But in some ways it might show people in other states what we have had to deal with and just how serious this is. COVID Sucks!
Michael presents at CPP Safety Leadership Forum
Senior managers & leaders from Consolidated Power Projects (CPP) & contractors came together at Adelaide Oval for their Safety Leadership Forum where Michael Weston presented his ‘Head Above Water’ story.
An engaging audience listened to Michael’s mental health and lived experience message with many questions and ongoing conversations throughout the day!
The mental health conversation is one that needs to be a constant in any business and acknowledgment to CPP for giving it the exposure it deserves.
Huge thanks to Dave, Carl & Nerina from CPP for having Michael and for organising such a wonderful event!
Recently I decided that for my own health and wellbeing that I needed to resign from my full time job. I am so very fortunate to have the support of my family who could see that I was mentally exhausted.
Getting up at 5am and often still working at 8pm when I came home left no room for ‘life’.
Fortunately, I am very intuitive, and I could feel my world closing in around me and recognised those early warning signs.
I’m far happier having walked away from what could have resulted in a far worse outcome.
And my family has a much happier and healthier me!
Don’t be afraid to say enough is enough and to walk away
I spend a lot of time planning how I have to do things, I have some physical limitations because I use a wheelchair and I know that there are things that I can’t do and places I can’t get to in my wheelchair.
But sometimes I get caught out!
Recently I had to dump some timber and tree cuttings out to a mates place to burn them off. So I hooked up the trailer and set off down the road. I had Vanessa with me to unload the trailer and I left my wheelchair at home
assuming that it was going to be a quick trip. We have had a lot of rain in Victoria, so before I backed into the paddock I asked Ness to walk in to see how wet it was. She checked it out and said “If you stick close to the fence you should be right.”
Wrong!... I started to reverse in and just sunk into the soft ground very quickly becoming
bogged!
Now I’m not sure if I can explain this properly, but I’m sitting in a car, bogged up to the axles and I do not have my wheelchair with me! On top of this Vanessa is outside the car saying “Your wheels are just spinning.” I mean seriously!
Can you imagine how I would be feeling?
I’ve been bogged before, when I could walk I would go and get some sticks or rocks and put them under the tyres for traction, it was actually part of the challenge to get unstuck.
But this time I could not do anything!
We rang a neighbour who has a 4WD with a winch and they quickly came over, hooked up the winch and got me out. I was never worried about being stuck for long.
I wanted to share this with you to ask about how you would cope with something like this happening to you. Especially if you were in my situation.
Getting hurt stops you from doing things, but it also stops you from being able to do things that you should be able to do.
Don’t hurt yourself people
CNB Safe had to deal with a last minute change of speaker due to COVID restrictions, which they did without stress. In the end the change was seamless and Michael Weston delivered a great presentation on a very important message of mental health and wellbeing, that resonated extremely well with the audience of about 90 leaders with the business.
