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.
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