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The good morning, good night thread

Started by Ed, October 22, 2007, 03:49:05 AM

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Geoff_N

Sorry to hear of your job conundrum, Rev. Almost a Catch 22 situation. Sometimes, it seems measures put into place to assist one section of the community has unforeseen knock on effects elsewhere. I had a personal apology from a former Secretary of State for Education for the way his introduction of Threshold bonus payments for teachers had allowed prior Ofsted judgements to chase after teachers in later years and rob them of thousands of pounds. He had no idea that would be a consequence of what he thought was a totally good thing.  At least that problem has been sorted. Hopefully, Rev, the crazy situation you are in can be resolved soon.

Geoff

Ed

I'm suddenly snowed under with work. I've got three clients and five sites to keep happy, and I can't see it happening. It's always the same - everything happens at the same time.
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Rev. Austin

#1487
My boss wasn't in yesterday but I'm at work this afternoon so hopefully she'll be in then, so I can tell her what I was told, see if she has any suggestions...

The woman in the Job Centre said the job HAS to be offered to the 18 - 24 age group first, which is fair enough, but if after 4 weeks the position hasn't been filled, the employer is allowed to explore other avenues.  She didn't elaborate as to whether this means the job then goes 'public' - but if it does then I'll be okay; it'd just mean my boss has to keep the job open for a month, and I'm not sure I can really ask her to do that.  I don't know, it's all ridiculous.

In happier news, I've felt invigorate to write! write! write!  :cheesy:

edit: in even happier news, I've just received an email from Severed Press - I'm going to be in their Zombie Zoology anthology!  Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!
facebook.com/waynegoodchildishaunted
Stay in touch! I don't mean that in a pervy way.

Bec

Hope you get the job you want, Rev.

And well done on the Zombie Zoology success!

Pharosian

And this just in the from the Stupid Question Department: Rev, if you have a job and a boss, how is it that you are unemployed?  :scratch:

Rev. Austin

#1490
haha well...

My hours at work are completely random, so sometimes I work 4 hours a week, other times I can do over 20.  If you do 16 or more, you're not entitled to claim Jobseeker's Allowance, so I keep going off it, then back on it, and so on.

SO...in the eyes of the UK government, because I'm currently back on JA that must mean I'm unemployed.  DESPITE the fact I have to fill a sheet in every week with the hours I've worked.  It's retarded.  Pardon my language.  To be honest, in my case it's like they're trying to fit a square peg in a round hole...getting me to jump through all these flaming hoops when all along I have a fire extinguisher  :grin:

To make it even more fun, when I last went back on JA, it was supposed to be a New Claim (ie I'd be back to Stage 1) but they did this thing called a Rapid Re-Claim and put me on Stage 4, which basically means it's like I never stopped claiming JA.  The system is proper screwy.

Kind of went off on one there, I do apologise  :cheesy:  and thanks Bec  :grin:
facebook.com/waynegoodchildishaunted
Stay in touch! I don't mean that in a pervy way.

PaulH

The horrors of claiming benefits! You have my sympathies...

and my congrats for getting into Zombie Zoology - top work!

Ed

Ack - fell asleep earlier, watching a crap film. Wide awake now and it's one in the morning ::)

Still, my mind feels more at ease now. I've found a guy to give me a hand with my impossible workload. He starts Monday. I hadn't realised how much I was beginning to stress about it until the deal was done and I felt the weight lift off my shoulders. I've got another one starting the week after next, and the two that were helping me this week should keep going as well. Now I'd better start sending some bills out to cover the wages and materials.

I never learn. Years ago, like ten or fifteen, I had six guys working for me - I spent every waking moment running around after them, getting materials, pricing jobs, doing paperwork. Tons more work to do, yet I earned no more money than usual and exposed myself to far more risk. I doubt anything has changed in the meantime. Trouble is, with the work climate how it is, it's difficult to turn anything down, because you might not get asked again if you do.
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Geoff_N

To think, Ed, this time last year you were worrying about how the recession meant you'd have NO work after February.

I'm off sick relative visiting today. Mum-in-law (85) has tumours appearing here and there - too many now for more ops. She's stoical after a period of denial cos up to last month, in spite of snow, she'd walk the 2 miles to town. Brings echoes of my dad from last year who'd hiked up a hill the day before he went into hospital and died the next week.

Seems to be so many like that at the moment. Must be a feature of me getting older. But then I'm in denial too ;)

Geoff

Ed

Crazy isn't it? You never know what's around the corner. Makes planning anything a big guessing game.

As for age, and the end game, it fascinates me how the life goes out of things - people, animals, even plants. We're just biological machines when all's said and done, so what dictates the point at which we can't carry on any more, and why can't we fix it? I think in the case of animals and people it has to do with the amount of heart they have. I think you can get a fair amount of mileage out of stubbornly refusing to give in and die. My old dog was a stubborn, tenacious little sod. It seemed to keep him young right into old age, but when the game was up, it was up very suddenly. It was like somebody on high took the legs out from under him.
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Rev. Austin

My uncle's got severe Parkinson's (Parkinsons?) and he's literally a shadow of his former self.  Like my dad, he's boisterous (our used to be) and likes/liked been the centre of attention.  But now, he's reserved, shakes ALL the time and has no idea when and where he is half the time.  He's also very, very rich, but it's that old adage about money's nothing without your health - he's too ill to enjoy it.  Worked all his life for it... :(

Cor, how gloomy!  Quick, someone post some remarkably good news  :smiley:
facebook.com/waynegoodchildishaunted
Stay in touch! I don't mean that in a pervy way.

Rev. Austin

Actaully, what was nice is I was at work today to help out in a kid's workshop.  We had loads of little ones running about, and I was in charge of clay modelling :) had a four year old who took a shine to me, and he was very polite and sweet, and another little lad with special needs (quite a few of them had disabilities) who kept giving me a hug  :smiley:
facebook.com/waynegoodchildishaunted
Stay in touch! I don't mean that in a pervy way.

Caz

Oh joy. I flooded the kitchen this morning, or more to the point the washing machine did. Damn hose for draining the water away came out of the waste pipe and dumped all the dirty water on the floor. Took me over an hour to mop it all up. :pissed: :bangh: :bangh:
Some may say slaughtered is too strong a word...but I like the sound of it.

delph_ambi

Annoying when that happens...

My eldest daughter once emptied a full jar of runny honey over her head. Now THAT took a long time to clean up.

delboy

It's a bit on parky side here today. Just been out to buy a sandwich and now I can't get warm. Apparantly there's a bit of snow about, too. This global cooling malarky's no good, is it?

Derek



"If you want to write, write it. That's the first rule. And send it in, and send it in to someone who can publish it or get it published. Don't send it to me. Don't show it to your spouse, or your significant other, or your parents, or somebody. They're not going to publish it."

Robert B. Parker