Ooh! It's soo close to Christmas and still it isn't freezing cold here yet. I can't believe though how fast the year has gone, and how old it makes me feel to think that, let alone say it!!
The past few weeks I have been working with a recycling company, putting together spreadsheets etc. Not the most exciting of jobs, but better than nothing and the guys here are friendly enough. One of the cleaners even knitted me a scarf! How sweet is that??
Last night we went to see Borat at the cinema. Bloody funny! Such a good movie, I don't think I have laughed so much at the cinema ever. If you get the chance to go see it, do; it's well worth the effort.
Yesterday I had the day off work to train for my Christmas assignment as a postal sorter for Royal Mail and go to an interview for a full time job. The training was a piece of piss and the interview seemed to go ok, so fingers crossed that it works out. I'll try not to say anymore in the hope that I don't curse my chances! Getting a permanent position has proven to be a little harder than I thought it would be, but at least I'm still working.
The postal sorting is only for some extra Christmas cash - weekend work at nights for the three weeks leading up to Christmas. Should keep me out of trouble and go a little ways to buying some gifts and filling up the home coffers! Seems easy enough although Mark seems a little worried about me working nights in a warehouse with a load of blokes. I reckon I'll be ok though and if it gets too much I can always quit - it's not a huge commitment or anything.
One of my close friends - Em - is heading back to Aus permanently. Mark and I are off to London this weekend to catch up with them one last time in the UK and say good-bye. It'll be sad to see her go and although she and her fiance have been talking about going back for a while now I didn't think it would happen so soon! Still she's been over here for about 10 years now so I guess it's time for a change. It'll be nice to catch up one last time, and at the end of the day it's another friend to visit when I go home to Aus for hols! Every cloud has a silver lining eh?
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Halloween! I carved my first ever pumpkin the night before last - I did one side and Mark did the other. We put the candle inside and lit it so two ghoulish faces glowed from the window sill where we'd sat it in full view of the street. Having tested it and seeing that it worked (and taking a few photos of our handy work) we extinguished the flame and brought it up stairs and put it on the window sill in the lounge. Last night when night finally descended we re-lit the candle and the pumpkin glowed at the window while we ate dinner and watched telly. After a few hours the inside got too hot and the 'lid' began to shrink and burn while the flame guttered and went out. We took the top off, but forgot to re-light the candle and went back to our East Endders program, or whatever it was we were watching. After half an hour or so I looked up and there was the pumpkin, glowing again. The candle seemed to have come to life all by itself! Our very own weird Halloween experience. Other than that though we didn't see any ghosts of our ancestors or receive any messages from beyond the grave - maybe next year...
I have been temporarily out of work this week. My assignment with the joint company came to an end when they made me an offer of permanent work at a wage well below what I was willing to accept. After speaking to my temp agency I found that this was because they'd told the client that my lowest acceptable wage was £2,500 less than what it was... ARRGH! Pretty frustrating and I'm not too happy with the agency, but that's the way it goes. The people I was working with though were great and gave me a really nice send off with a box of chocolates and a thank you card wishing me all the best for the future etc.
I'm working again on Friday and all of next week though (and possibly the week after) through another agency and have put in for a full time position as a PR and Communications Assistant in Devizes, a town about 20 minutes away by car. It's more the kind of work I'd like to do so fingers crossed it works out for me! The job spec seems really interesting, a possibility to enhance and use the skills I already have and further develop others and the company's benefits are enticing too! On top of that I may begin working part time as a postal sorter in an effort to get enough money together for Christmas as it's quickly approaching. Generally things seem to be looking up despite the hiccoughh with my last position and the incompetency from the temp agency I was working through. Funnily enough I haven't heard much from them since then...
I have also been looking into other work I can do from home - and today am further checking out some freelance writing websites in an effort to get work doing something I'd really like to do, when I have the time to do it. This seems to be a perfect solution although I need to look into it further to make sure I'm not setting myself up for a major rip off or swindle. So far it's an interesting prospect that with any luck will turn out to be just what I'm looking for.
So all in all things aren't too shabby and although I have had an unexpected 4 days off, it's been the perfect time to follow up on other things I have been thinking about looking into for a while now.
I have been temporarily out of work this week. My assignment with the joint company came to an end when they made me an offer of permanent work at a wage well below what I was willing to accept. After speaking to my temp agency I found that this was because they'd told the client that my lowest acceptable wage was £2,500 less than what it was... ARRGH! Pretty frustrating and I'm not too happy with the agency, but that's the way it goes. The people I was working with though were great and gave me a really nice send off with a box of chocolates and a thank you card wishing me all the best for the future etc.
I'm working again on Friday and all of next week though (and possibly the week after) through another agency and have put in for a full time position as a PR and Communications Assistant in Devizes, a town about 20 minutes away by car. It's more the kind of work I'd like to do so fingers crossed it works out for me! The job spec seems really interesting, a possibility to enhance and use the skills I already have and further develop others and the company's benefits are enticing too! On top of that I may begin working part time as a postal sorter in an effort to get enough money together for Christmas as it's quickly approaching. Generally things seem to be looking up despite the hiccoughh with my last position and the incompetency from the temp agency I was working through. Funnily enough I haven't heard much from them since then...
I have also been looking into other work I can do from home - and today am further checking out some freelance writing websites in an effort to get work doing something I'd really like to do, when I have the time to do it. This seems to be a perfect solution although I need to look into it further to make sure I'm not setting myself up for a major rip off or swindle. So far it's an interesting prospect that with any luck will turn out to be just what I'm looking for.
So all in all things aren't too shabby and although I have had an unexpected 4 days off, it's been the perfect time to follow up on other things I have been thinking about looking into for a while now.
