Some of you have already heard my news. But I figured I'd do a penultimate blog regarding my time as an unemployed. It's been a condition that has been played out over the last 50 million blogs (Okay, okay, eight or nine).
I've hated being an unemployed. It cramped my ability to buy boots at will …… kind of, I know I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to shoes, and Kerry will confirm that my resolve crumbled more than once and on more than just boots. Thankfully my penchant for shopping didn't interfere too much with my actual savings. I was able to use my redundancy payment to fund my habit, and I think there may still be some of it left which is always good. But that is now a thing of the past, as I am now about to rejoin the world of the Employed, albeit on a temporary basis to start. No doubt by the time January rolls round I shall be complaining about not being able to afford shoes again, but as long as I have managed to fund my Bon Jovi tickets by the time the contract ends, I will be happy.
It's weird really. I was out with Kerry on Sunday night and told her how I had two interviews coming up on Monday. I mentioned how they were both temporary and as you all know I was looking for something permanent, but at this point, deep down I knew I couldn't be picky. So I duly went to the two interviews – the first one at 9am in Scunthorpe and the second one at 11am in Grimsby. I saw quite a lot of the M180/A180 yesterday. I now know it almost intimately, as I had to be back in Scunthorpe at 1pm for college.
Monday morning started off badly. I knew where I was going for the interview so figured I could leave at 8.30 and still get there with time to spare forgetting that it was in fact rush hour on a Monday morning. Consequently I hit (thought not literally) every lollipop lady, lorry and school bus from here to Scunthorpe, and arrived a few minutes late for my interview. I think I may have got away with it a little bit though as the receptionist was away from her station so as far as they now I could have been waiting there for ages. Although I possibly gave myself away by signing the visitors book as arriving at 9.05, but I apologised to the interviewer and he was OK with it by all accounts. So we go into a very nice looking conference type room for the interview. It was uneventful. I simply told them how it was with me. I was surprisingly calm actually. I think I need to listen to New Jersey a bit more often – it hypes me up. You know how Rocky went into the ring to 'Eye of the Tiger'?? The New Jersey album does that to me. I think it's something to do with the guitars. ;) I was calm and composed despite my tardiness and after 10-15 minutes in this interview I left. I considered for a moment actually going home between interviews but it hardly seemed worth it for 10 minutes and the dogs getting over-excited, so decided to head straight out and down the M180/A180 to Grimsby. It's a good thing too …...
I got into Grimsby at 10am and spent over an hour trying to find the company I was interviewing with. There was absolutely no signage to the business park where it lived so I drove down the same stretch of Victoria Street, Freeman Street and Peaks Parkway several times probably looking like a right twat. At 10.45 I still wasn't getting anywhere so gave in and phoned them up to say "Help!! I'm buggered. I can't find you!!" Okay, so I didn't use that ACTUAL terminology but it's what I felt like saying. The directions I was given were useless, specifying going past the library which as far as could see (or couldn't, as the case may be!!) wasn't signposted, and the one-way system that's in play in the heart of Grimsby is a bugger to be sure. I was literally directed into the premises over the phone a whole 20 minutes late. I was interviewed by a couple of young lads -- it's a bit disconcerting when you're being interviewed by high-ranking people who seem younger than you – and had a numeracy test sprung on me which didn't seem entirely fair. They left me alone for 20 minutes to do it and re-emerged complete with a Financial Director type with shades of Brian, the guy I worked for prior to Paul, who I NEVER liked. Smug, smarmy, and over complicating. This guy struck me as from the same stock and I took an instant dislike to him. I honestly tried not to let it show, but he seemed to be the type that forces you into a bit of a corner with questions by wanting to sound intelligent and instead confusing a person, especially a person who hasn't learnt how he expresses himself. It was all well and good him asking the two guys he worked with if he was expressing it clearly, but it made me look like a fucking prick which got my back up even more.
I got out there at 12.20. I had to be back in Scunthorpe for 1pm – that's a 45-50 minute journey on a good day and I got lost again trying to get out of Grimsby's one-way system. I'm expecting the speeding tickets through my door any day now. It was an entertaining journey back to Scunthorpe for all of 10 minutes as a coach went up the embankment on the slip road to the A15 and there were cranes and ambulances and shit trying to move it. As you'd expect a tailback ensued and I felt a need to hit 80mph a bit more briskly once we got past it. Word of advice though. Don't even contemplate trying to text a friend to say you've had a flash from the past when surrounded by lorries. Not that I hit or was I hit by owt, but lorries on 3 sides of you even when concentrating fully is still a scary prospect. The number of times I've seen them drift across lanes ……
Thankfully my inappropriate driving got me to Scunthorpe in one piece and only a few minutes late for college, and I settled down to some learning. All was good and then my phone started ringing. It was a private number and there was no voicemail left so not knowing who it was I ignored it …… and it rang again later. Again same situation – private number, no voicemail. And then it rang again. Same private number and this time there was a voicemail. It was from Bev, one of my contacts at Sewell Moorhouse congratulating me on my new job …… what job?? I didn't know anything about a job. I hadn't accepted any offers yet. What was she talking about?? So I rang her back to ask what she was waffling about. Turns out that she'd put her foot in it and that Sam (also from Sewell) had been trying to get hold of me to tell me that the company in Scunthorpe wanted to take me on. So of course I said yes. My other interviews hadn't been that successful so I grabbed this one with both hands. I start tomorrow. It's quite handy really. It's literally round the corner from where Mum works so I can get a ride in with her which means that most of my petrol can go towards jaunting. Sounds selfish but she drives a Diesel which is currently cheaper here. Lol!!
On the one hand I'm disappointed because, let's be honest, it's nice to not have to get up and go into work, but on the other hand £200 a month was not going to do it for me and I'm bored stupid. You can only spend so many hours watching chat shows and visiting the same five or six websites every day in case you've missed owt during the last 5 minutes. This job is a nice bit of experience for a few months, a cash injection and just in time for Christmas. Come January I may be complaining about unemployment again but we're jumping ahead a bit here. Who knows what will happen ……
So there it is. My final "Further Adventures" blog …… for the moment anyway. We'll see what happens next. Thank you to all who have sent out the positive vibes and told me that something WILL come up for me. Guess it did.
Massive *hugs* to you all ……
