I got a job!

It does mean getting up at 4.30 am (rarely home before 9 either) though, the commute is killing me. But for once I’m earning some money. Wonder if it will last long..

Long time no see?

Well, it seems I’ve been away a long time. Except I’ve not been away, just trying to concentrate on getting work, without much success. I had the chance of an interview last month, but was unable to get to the place. Firstly the car rental company re-allocated the car I’d already paid for (nice one Alamo, I still feel you’ve stolen from me). I tried to go by train to the interview and got to Euston station only to find that all trains were cancelled at that point (it was the Friday before the holidays when we were surprised by snow). The interview was re-arranged for Wednesday this week but guess what the snow came again and my chance of the interview went out the window.

Apart from that I’ve been working on my new website. It may be of use for Spanish speakers – enter in an English word eg “deep”, “useful”, or “bear” and various expressions will be displayed, next to their Spanish translation. Early days yet, so the database isn’t anywhere near comprehensive, but there are still quite a few words to look at.

http://www.lenguahelp.co.uk/

Anything else? Ah yes – Happy new Year!

News update

Looks like we narrowly avoided the end of the world on Saturday. No, not the military stuff going off in Georgia (although that’s bad enough). I’m talking about some geeks in Geneva:

http://www.virginmedia.com/digital/science/endoftheworld.php

Other news: I bought some shoes at the weekend. Life’s great when you’ve got a job! Have a good week everyone!

At last, good news!

I’m not quite sure how I managed it, but after a successful interview last week I received the contract for a new job this morning. Very happy! (I start Monday)

Is this the most productive time of year?

Ok, so it’s not particularly warm (maximum of 10C most days) yet the onset of longer days does make a difference I feel. It’s no coincidence that Spring cleaning takes place now (is that why it’s called Spring??). I did a bit of carpet cleaning last week and was pleasantly surprised at the difference it made. However I’ve not yet cleaned the oven  – there’s job I’m not looking forward to, but it has to be done. Apart from cleaning, I’ve been continuing my self-study in German – made a lot easier with the help of the internet. Plus, I’m getting closer to the fruition of my next web-site project. I hope to have some news within the next few days.

All in all then, the last couple of weeks have been fairly productive. With the exception of the job-finding thing. Ah well, you can’t have it all, can you?

Wet weekend..

Not a lot going on at the moment. No job means no money which means no trips planned. Still, got my computer (and the net) to play on (as per normal). It’s turned a bit milder here (ie no frosts at night) but as it’s wet and windy, it’s still not too pleasant. I shall have to clean up my walking boots however, as the time will soon come when I’ll be able to get out in the countryside. Yippee!

So what have I been up to?

a) Recovering from the job accomplished. You know the feeling; you get jaded if not exhausted, and need a few days to re-charge batteries…

b) Visting Glasgow. Great place, great people. If only I can get my next contract there…

c) Applying for jobs. Since most of these are via job boards, the actuall application doesn’t take too long (thank God; I hate filling out application forms). However the search bit is time-consuming, and needs to be done on a daily basis.

d) Studying the web-site CSS stuff (again). Amazing how much the brain can forgot when it’s not in use!

e) German grammar exercises. I didn’t manage to sort out my enrolment on a course (yet). But I’m determined to get to that “survival” ability in the language.

f) Perfecting my Shepherd’s Pie cooking skills!

Where does the time go?

Just as well I’m not currently working – I haven’t got time to do what I’m doing (it doesn’t help that I spend far too much time surfing the web). Booked a coach ticket for myself and better half today – we’re off to Glasgow for a few days next week. I’ve got to do my research/revision for a job interview next Friday. Plus, I need to go over to London tomorrow, to see if I can book myself onto a German course at the Goethe Institute. So, for the moment, my intentions to get back into web creation, have had to take a back-burner. Never mind catch up on my reading. Still, better to be like this, than bored out of my skin. I remember those teenage days – horrible times!

Making do…

A momentous event happens next week. I’m able to fill in my timesheets for the month and set the payment process into action. Now, when I actually get paid (my first full uk payment in over a year) is somewhat unclear. It may be 2 weeks later (fine), 1 month later (little disaster) or even later (apocalypse). Anyway, the money I’ll receive (this time, and in the coming months) won’t make any difference to my lifestyle – I owe so much in different quarters that it will all disappear immediately. But, no complaints here – I’m fairly healthy, have plenty of books to read, and regular access to the internet. At some stage I’ll need to buy some shoes and have my teeth looked at. At least I don’t have any expensive habits – running a car, going to the cinema, eating out etc are all verboten. It would be nice to attend a football match for the first time in 10 years or go to a concert or show however – this will be the target for the New Year.

It never rains, but it pours…

Well, at last some good news, resulting from an interview this morning. Barring major (or even middling) hiccups I have a contract job starting on  Thursday. This will take me up to the end of the year. It does mean however that a load of stuff I had planned to do on my computer will have to wait. I’m knee deep  in forms to fill in, declarations to make, software to gem up on. Not to mention I’ll have to get permission to extend my overdraft with the bank (it’ll probably be 2 months before I see any money).

Other than that, it certainly felt like Autumn here today. The leaves are starting to fall, it started raining mid-morning and hasn’t stopped (although it hasn’t been particularly heavy). Plus I turned the lights on at 2.30 as it was so dark. Ah well, only 6 or 7 months to Spring!