13

My brother has run off to sea ........ again!

He works on ships and has a rota of approx. 4 months working then 3 months off. We scheduled the wedding around his rota as it would have been horrible not to have him there. Thankfully it wasn't too tricky.

He should be home in early December. In the meantime he is going to be experiencing extreme heat and possibly dangerous situations. It is difficult to communicate when he is away, but we are used to it after all these years. He can get email access every so often, and the mail does reach them but it can take a while. Although it can be fun buying him wee bits and pieces to send him and i have received postcards from all over the world.


Miss you Bro and hope you keep safe this trip.

12

My Dad and his wife came to visit us this week. They had been on holiday in France last week and decided to stop off on the way North to visit various family members.

We had a lovely day on Tuesday in the sunshine wandering round my town and the town where I work with lots of stops for coffees. They got to see our flat, although as it is so tiny they stayed at a nearby hotel. Then once DH got home from work we went out for dinner at an amazing pub nearby. It feels good, and very grown up, to treat your Dad to a nice dinner.

This is the first time since we moved to England that he has been to visit, and I am kind of glad he didn't see our old flat while we were living there as it was so horrible and he would have worried about me.

They only stayed for 1 day as they have another 2 stops on the way North, but it was definately worth seeing them and introducing them to our life here.

11

I heard yesterday that I am not being asked back for a second interview with the it/telecoms firm. Bit of a shame as it sounded like a nice role and the firm seemed pretty good.

But I also had a call on Tuesday from another agency with another vacancy which I might be interested in if it was permanent, instead of the current status of temporary with a small chance of going perm. So I am still of interest to people.

And on Monday my boss confirmed that I will be working 5 day weeks throughout August, with the possibility that it might continue into September.

And we have finally, only 5 1/2 weeks after moving out, received our deposit back from our old flat. This means we can finally sort out all the money we owe to the different bank accounts so we can get everything balanced out. In turn this means I can start planning how to reduce my debts and start building some savings.

Still going to have no money to spend of nice things for the forseeable future, but I really do need to get the money situation fixed asap.

10

This was meant to be posted last Wednesday, but didn't work.

Well I was offered the recruitment agency job, and I turned it down. I would have been doing the same as I am currently doing, but with some extra sales type duties, which i do NOT enjoy. And no improvement on my current salary.

I have also been for an interview at an it/telecomsfirm, which I think went okay. Not as well as the recruitment agency, but pretty well. They are offering more money, just, and it would be a lot more variety and a bit more like a PA role. I would also only need to take 1 train to get there, which helps cut my costs. They are a bigger firm, but still privately owned, with office on 3 continents and a few hundred staff. I just need to wait until next week to hear if they want to see me again.

So far I have had calls from around 8 firms / agencies asking if I am still looking for work. I have not applied for any of these roles and I am only registered with with 1 of the agencies, all I have done is reactivate my CV on the Monster website. Most of the roles are too far away, or do not appeal to me so I have not taken them any further. Of the 3 I have been interested in I have interviewed for 2 and been rejected for 1 as I was not prepared to buy a car. And have been offered 1 of the 2 I have interviewed for.

I may kick myself a few months down the line if I don't get any more interest or offers, but I have to think about what is best for the future and not just jump into the 1st available job just because it seems like it is more secure. Last timeI moved for no real reason I ended up selling advertising in a commercial fishing magazine! Not the best move I have ever made.

9

I bought some cross stitch kits this weekend. Currently about 1/3 of the way through the largest one, which looked the easiest after opening them all and reading the instructions. It actually looks quite good, is keeping my hands busy and is working my brain a bit as I try to keep track of all the little boxes.

My second interview went well, and lasted almost another 90 minutes. They haven't let me know yet as they have been super busy and not had a chance to reference me. It all seemed very positive, however i don't think I will take the job. I may kick myself in a few months when i don't have any other offers, or I get made redundant, but it just doesn't feel like the right move. They seem nice enough people, but I keep thinking that I don't want to be pigeon-holed as a recruitment administrator. They are not offering me anything I can't get at my current role, and it would mean that I couldn't move jobs again for at least 1 - 2 years. I am also not keen on the resourcing aspect, it makes me wonder what the consultants are meant to be doing all day.

I had another allergic reaction last night as i went to bed. Wheezy,rattling breathing and coughing, at some points I made this quite interesting whistling noise. Da Hubs was asking me at what point in these reactions he should call the ambulance service. I hope that they won't ever come on so fast and strong that i can't make that decision for myself ( i take after my Mother in not wanting to bother Dr's with stuff). Today i am still a bit wheezy and when i cough I get this strange metallic taste in my mouth.
It's the fact I have no idea what is causing the reaction that I find unsettling. I can see no common aspect other than the area we live in. DH even suggested Asbestos as the cause! He obviously does not know much about asbestos. Our flat is a reasonably new build, ie within the last 10 years i would think.

8

It is our 2 month Wedding Anniversary today!

Quite a lot has happened in 2 months:
-Brilliant honeymoon
-Flat hunting and move flat
-Threat of redundancy for both of us
-Visit from family
-Job hunting and interviews for me

I thought once we got into July and the move was over and done with we would be able to settle down a bit, but stuff just keeps happening to keep us on our toes. Until I find a new job and Da Hubs finds out what the deal is at his work we will be unsettled and not able to plan for the future.

Oh well, maybe by my birthday we will have a better idea of what is happening.

7

I had a job interview on Friday. It seemed to go well, and they have asked me back to meet another member of staff. They asked if I was interested in the role and I said yes, depending on the salary etc.

Now I am just not sure.

It is doing pretty much what I do now, with a little more variety/responsibility. It is closer to home - ie no trians or buses to catch. They know I would be expecting the same salary or more.
However it is a smaller firm, is that even possible? with no benefits. There would be no real opportunity to progress within the company. They sound like they will want me to do resourcing, which I do not like the sound of. The staff generally seem to be a bit older than me, and there will not be a social life attached.

I like my current role, I like the people I work with, I like the location. The salary isn't great, there is no room for progression and no benefits.

I am only looking for a new job because if the current climate. My hours have been cut to 4 days a week which, apart from the lack of money, I am really enjoying. This has been done, with other measures for other staff, to reduce the risk of redundancy.

However I need to earn the full time salary, my expenses are just too high not to earn that much. It isn't even that high a salary, definately a few grand below the national average.

So what should I do if I get offered this new role?

If they offer me the same salary as my current job should I take it? Or should I stick it out where I am and try for something better with more stability and benefits, and risk redundancy in the meantime?

6

My workmate brought me in some sweetpeas today!
I helped her with some horrible computer problems last week and this is her wee thank you. They are sitting on my desk and wafting their perfume at me whenever we get a wee breeze through the open window.
Little things like this make me so happy.
Thank you work buddy!