I'm STILL coughing and I'm not overly impressed. It's now just over 3 weeks since I got this virus and if I wake up tomorrow with no symptoms at all it will not be a minute too soon.
I haven't heard anything from the full-time trainee international shipping clerk interview I went to. As far as my hazy recollection goes (all that excess catarrh production gummed up the memory banks) I was supposed to hear at the end of last week. My referees haven't been contacted so no news is bad news.
I did go for another interview last Friday as a part-time media lab assistant at Southampton's General Hospital. This would see me making batches of algar, ordering supplies and checking them off the files as they are delivered, etc. There is no chance of any promotion to something more technical. And don't get me started about parking! Oh alright then, I'll get started. There is NO parking on site for staff, only doctors and patients/visitors. Underlings have to find a parking space where they can in the surrounding area. Most of the streets have a maximum parking limit of 2 hours so that's not much use. From where I live I would need to catch 2 buses each way, adding a total of about 4 hours to my working day - not a chance! Fortunately I didn't get that job either.
On Tuesday I found an advert for a Trainee Legal Executive with the County Council, paying £18K - £21K. Now that is what I call a starting salary! You only need a minimum of 4 GCSEs and a willingness to take ILEX (Institute of Legal Executives) qualifications so you can lose the Trainee tag. So far so good.
On Wednesday I spent a good proportion of the day at a local Special School, the one that I put myself through the Great South Run for. The headmaster had organised a Vision Day where he, the staff and the therapists could discuss the school's needs and aims for the future. Friend A & I were invited to attend as we have been asked to fundraise the megabucks needed to bring some of this into fruition. Unfortunately friend A couldn't make it so I went alone, armed with a big notebook. The wishlist was divided into 'Short Term', 'Medium Term' and 'Blue Sky' (aka what you'd like if there was a blank cheque book involved). Let me tell you that there was a lot of consensus in all three categories and none of it was particularly cheap. Primarily the school needs more storage space. The size of the equipment that some of the pupils need is huge and there's just nowhere to put it. A good proportion of the attendees would like to knock the building down and start again. This building has been up since roughly the 70s, but wasn't designed with children with mobility issues in mind. Looks like we're going to be busy raising money, which is going to be interesting given the current financial climate.
Today I was having a good think about the Trainee Legal Exec. job. With it being 37 hours per week and studying on top there certainly wouldn't be enough time (or sanity) left to help the school. Husband A had already said that jumping straight back into full-time work after 17+ years as a housewife/mother might be a bit much, and he didn't want me to overdo it. He likes the starting salary for this position (and who wouldn't) but he agrees that I would be beyond exhausted by the end of the week, and that is not good for family harmony.
I suppose it sounds like I'm running from a challenge, and maybe I am. But A's original suggestion to me was to find a part-time job, so obviously a salary below £10K is acceptable to the family budget. This would then leave me time and energy to devote to raising funds for the school, as well as the usual housework/shopping/supervising K's education/etc.
This evening I found another job, part-time, wanting administrative support for the Children's Services team. These have a lot of dealings with children with special educational needs (SEN) and the knowledge I would gain there would certainly be helpful in my fundraising capacity.
Decisions, decisions.
Thursday 27 November 2008
Monday 17 November 2008
Been for an interview OR Don't judge a company by the building they work in
Gosh! Two posts in one day! Don't get excited, it won't last.
My bright idea about signing on now I am job hunting has bit the dust. Because I haven't paid any NI contributions (and my Home Responsibilities from claiming Child Benefit don't count) for the past 2 - 5 years (try over 17) I can't claim contribution-based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA). Because of A's salary there's no way in hell I'd get means-tested Allowance.
To claim either of the JSAs you need to apply for at least 2 jobs per week, use the Job Centre's database to find jobs twice a week, plus buy the local papers on Thursdays when the Jobs section is in. And you HAVE to take the evidence of this in when you go to sign on.
It was whilst I was waiting to find out if the Government were going to sponsor my job hunting that I applied for a full-time position as a Trainee International Shipping Clerk. Now, full-time is not really what I am after at the moment but, having previous transport experience (albeit out of date) that it intigued me. Imagine my joy when they offered me an interview.
I was concerned to discover that the office was upstairs above a shop in the main shopping street. Not the big haulage yard I was expecting. However, all my worries evaporated once the interview started. The job is varied and definitely enough to keep my brain out of mischief. I won't have time to die of boredom, that's for sure. I would start out on the export side of the business, preparing the necessary paperwork, keeping the customers informed of expected arrival dates (and grovelling when the smelly hits the whirly). There is so much to it that I didn't absorb all of it. Everyone is on first name terms with everyone else. Everyone does their share of tea-mashing and running to the post office. The directors in head office are quite happy to chat to whoever answers the phone (the company has offices/warehouses in various cities nationwide).
The salary's not bad either - £15,000. There are pay rises, bonuses, profit shares, performance related stuff, etc to go on that. Plus after a period of time there is private healthcare and a company pension scheme where the company pays in 5% of your salary and you aren't obligated to pay any more in, unless you want to.
I should find out by the end of the week if I've been lucky.
My bright idea about signing on now I am job hunting has bit the dust. Because I haven't paid any NI contributions (and my Home Responsibilities from claiming Child Benefit don't count) for the past 2 - 5 years (try over 17) I can't claim contribution-based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA). Because of A's salary there's no way in hell I'd get means-tested Allowance.
To claim either of the JSAs you need to apply for at least 2 jobs per week, use the Job Centre's database to find jobs twice a week, plus buy the local papers on Thursdays when the Jobs section is in. And you HAVE to take the evidence of this in when you go to sign on.
It was whilst I was waiting to find out if the Government were going to sponsor my job hunting that I applied for a full-time position as a Trainee International Shipping Clerk. Now, full-time is not really what I am after at the moment but, having previous transport experience (albeit out of date) that it intigued me. Imagine my joy when they offered me an interview.
I was concerned to discover that the office was upstairs above a shop in the main shopping street. Not the big haulage yard I was expecting. However, all my worries evaporated once the interview started. The job is varied and definitely enough to keep my brain out of mischief. I won't have time to die of boredom, that's for sure. I would start out on the export side of the business, preparing the necessary paperwork, keeping the customers informed of expected arrival dates (and grovelling when the smelly hits the whirly). There is so much to it that I didn't absorb all of it. Everyone is on first name terms with everyone else. Everyone does their share of tea-mashing and running to the post office. The directors in head office are quite happy to chat to whoever answers the phone (the company has offices/warehouses in various cities nationwide).
The salary's not bad either - £15,000. There are pay rises, bonuses, profit shares, performance related stuff, etc to go on that. Plus after a period of time there is private healthcare and a company pension scheme where the company pays in 5% of your salary and you aren't obligated to pay any more in, unless you want to.
I should find out by the end of the week if I've been lucky.
Germs everywhere
Three days after the South Run I started feeling a bit peaky. By the following Sunday evening my throat was dry, my nose was sniffly, but otherwise I felt reasonably ok. Monday was a repeat. Monday evening I looked in the mirror - and found that someone had decided to drizzle white stuff all over my tonsils!!!!! The rest of the week was spent on antibiotics, whilst the viral side of the cold got worse. I had to cancel a Girls Night Out because it was taking all my effort to stay awake and civilised.
Last week I started to improve. This week the coughing has almost stopped, which is more than I can say for D who has been full of germs for just as long. K has had similar symptoms to me but hers have been around for a few days longer and are taking a little longer to go away.
Even now one side of my throat feels bruised when I swallow - no yasty white stuff now. Tonight my nose has started filling up again. Round 2 or continuation of the last 3 weeks?
Last week I started to improve. This week the coughing has almost stopped, which is more than I can say for D who has been full of germs for just as long. K has had similar symptoms to me but hers have been around for a few days longer and are taking a little longer to go away.
Even now one side of my throat feels bruised when I swallow - no yasty white stuff now. Tonight my nose has started filling up again. Round 2 or continuation of the last 3 weeks?
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