Work shmerk

So. I am now into my fourth official week of unemployment. And it's all become a bit of a blur! My old job seems light years away and a distant memory. And am I sorry? Not one little bit! Although I am still in touch with my bestest ex-workmates via email and other methods. It's rather strange/funny sitting here on my PC at home, dropping them little messages whilst they're all hard at it, slaving over their desks in some hot and stuffy office...he he!! I am SUCH a meanie. Being a bit of a gossip-hound I've been hearing all about the goings on in my old workplace too, which has been fun. Last Friday one of my old line managers had her leaving party and I went back for that (yet another person opting to leave the dept and take voluntary redundancy - there have been so bloody many now). She'd worked for the organisation for over 20 years and is a lovely lady so I had to be there to see her off in style!! It was good to see everyone else again too and yet it felt really weird - like revisiting old mates I hadn't seen for some time. Even getting off the tube and walking through the City was freaky - people seemed to be rushing about at breakneck speed, pushing and hurrying to get to wherever they were headed - all very stressful. Seems that I've grown accustomed to the chilled home/non-working life remarkably quickly! And someone at the party commented how relaxed I looked and that I was smiling a lot!! Being out of work obviously works wonders!!

Of course I can't avoid employment forever. My redundancy money is already starting to dwindle a little, although I can still have a bit more time off, which is a relief! As soon as the money came through I was very sensible, opened up a savings account, and bunged most of it into that. Gustavo and I plan to buy a flat in the not too distant future (we are hoping for this year in fact) and so this will help very nicely toward a deposit. Especially given the extortionate London house prices which seem to be increasing with daily and frightening rapidity. I was actually round the house of a friend who lives in Acton last week and she said her neighbour's house was worth approx £600,000. Who the hell is going to be able to buy a place at that cost? And more precisely what kind of salary would someone need to be earning to afford that? Very scary. My hubbie and I are considering moving somewhere quite suburban like Croydon as this is about all we can afford. Funnily enough there seem to be a large proliferation of our gay friends who have moved there - maybe it's turning into THE habitat for homos!

And I haven't just been sitting on my rear the last few weeks - I have been a productive and constructive Cheeser. I'm now registered with several work agencies so I'm sure something will come up via them. In fact one of them put me forward for a job with a local organisation - another educational establishment a bit like the one I was working for before, but which seemed even better with lots of employee benefits! The role was good although I had to go through 3 interviews for the post...the result of which was I didn't get it. Grrr. Ah well. The positive side is that apparently there is another job within the organisation that they want to put me forward for, so that's good. I wasn't successful in my application for the other job either (the one I had the interview for just before going to Wales). But I felt kind of iffy about that one - it was just too similar to what I'd been doing in my last job and may not have been challenging or different enough - so I wasn't particularly dismayed at not getting it. And I do believe things happen for a reason - if it was meant for me I would have got it. But I've already got another interview lined up, for a job at a London university up in the next couple of days, so that's something else to look forward to eh?!

I not especially keen on interviews. I find them kind of daunting and nerve-wracking and sometimes I get tongue-tied or end up repeating myself. Or forget the examples I've tried to memorise as part of an answer, as we can sometimes do! (And then, hey presto! The answer suddenly comes to you when you're lying awake in bed at 3am). Why do we have to go through interviews? Okay, silly question. Employers want to determine your suitability for a job and work out if you've got the necessary skills, knowledge, experience etc. I just wish interviewers all possessed some kind of cosmic mind reading device that could work out your attributes instead, it would be so much easier all round! I think I'm one of those people who expresses themselves more eloquently in writing, I mean, don't get me wrong, I am a pretty confident talker and can definitely hold a conversation, plus I've worked as a teacher before, which involves standing in front of groups of people and delivering long speeches and instructions! But I think I find it easier to order my thoughts in writing sometimes...

Anyway enough waffle. I'm sure that the right thing will come along when it's meant to and if the job's for me I will get it. As I said things happen when they're meant to. I'm actually reading a rather good little book at the moment called "A Thousand Paths To Good Luck" which has full of lots of wise sayings and proverbs that are worth living by, like:

Try to think of failure as simply being a result that differs from the one you expected

and

Most people live and die with the music of their life never played, for they never dared to try

and

Nothing teaches us to rely on luck than a lesson in misfortune. No venture is completely wasted that can result in our becoming a little wiser.

Too true! The book was a leaving gift from one of my work colleagues and very appropriate I thought! I highly recommend it to all of you.

As well as the job-hunting I've been doing a spot of shopping too (without completely breaking the bank!) My most generous-to-myself-purchase has been....a new Laser Printer....woooohoooo!!! Er. Yeah. I'm getting excited about buying a....printer? Well if truth be told I used to do a lot of my own personal printing at work....ahem!! Not entire novels you understand, but obviously this was handy, and I don't have that option any more. As you might have guessed, I don't have a printer at home, so it will be very useful, for all my forthcoming letters and various other epistles...Plus with the redundancy money I have been able to pay for a trip to....Braaaaaaaaziiiilll! Brazil, that is. My beloved and I are going in September for three weeks, starting off with a few days in Rio de Janeiro, and then going on to stay with Gustavo's family. I am SO looking forward to seeing Rio, having never been before - I'm sure it's a totally amazing and beautiful city (although I will be avoiding the City of God...)

And finally of course, I have been devoting some of my free time to the wonderful world of blogging! Hence very long posts on films like this one. Without a doubt it's one of my favourite occupations. I was born to write! And I love reading all my fellow bloggers' stuff too.

So as you will have gathered, lots of good things are going on at present. And I intend on enjoying my last days of freedom whilst I can...oh yeah, forgot to mention, we're also going to Weston-super-Mare in a few days' time to visit some old friends which should be...interesting. I heard it was quite a tacky, cheesy town. Probably suit me down to the ground then. (He said with just a touch of irony...)