Catching up with old friends.

Up at the Golf Club I met Betty, my 'Brazilian married to a Spaniard' friend, who was so excited to see me again. We chatted over coffee as there was no-one else in the cafe and I was really pleased how much Spanish I remembered. We got told off by the manager for having returned to the UK and he's told Neil he has to go back and play more often.

Susan and I left the boys to their round of golf and we went off for a bit of sight seeing and shopping. Before going to pick the guys up we decided we would stop for a coffee in the village - but finding somewhere open wasn't easy. Even a walk out along the promenande only found chiringhita after chiringhita closed for winter. In the end, we decided to have coffee at the golf club.

We'd arranged to meet some friends in the evening and when we got to the bar, we met some others there too so we all had a few drinks and a really good night.

Wednesday was to be a much different day as one of our party was very unwell and was unable to leave the apartment as she needed to stay in close proximity to the loo. I needed to go to the local farmacia to practice more of my spanish to get something to help and whatever they gave us worked, but it meant Wednesday was a right off for her. They guys had another game of golf and I drove up to Heurcal Overa to meet one of our neighbours from where we lived in the mountains. It was good to catch up although some of the news wasn't so good.

We'd been down the new road from Pulpí to Terreros which is a great new road, although I used to like the slower, windy road through the mountain, so I thought I would come back from Heurcal Overa on the Pulpí road to see whether they had completed that stretch of the road, but they hadn't. So it was a slow journey back, along make shift roads full of drainage dips that were so abrupt you needed to slow to 20kph to avoid losing your front bumper.

Maybe next time we visit it will be open!

Thursday would see another of the group go down with the dreaded bug.

That 'New Girl in the Office' feeling.

OK. We are sitting as normal on a Sunday night, watching 'Top Gear' and once again, I have the 'new girl' butterflies as I start my new job tomorrow. There's the usual what will I be doing, what will the others be like and how will I find my way around the place, which seemed like a complete maze when I went for my interview.

The company supply a huge variety of stuff to garden centres from the bags of decorative pebbles to paving stones, from garden fountains to garden gnomes and is sited on a disused airfield. The disused hangers are an ideal place for the stuff to be housed and I'm sure it won't take too long to find my way around, but I don't have the best sense of direction so I may be in for some fun times in the early days.

It will be an interesting day tomorrow but I'm up for the challenge.

Wish me luck!

What a week!

I finally finished my 3 week assignment 5 months after I started, and I will miss the people there, as I have really got on well with them. There's only one question I ever used to ask when taking up a reference for anyone I was thinking of employing and the very same words were said to me by the FD - he would employ me again. He'll give me a good reference for my new employer and I'm happy I did a good job for them.

And so, I had a week off before starting my new job on Monday.

So, what have I been doing with my free time?

Well, I've been in Spain catching up with some of my old friends. We flew in the early hours of Monday morning with another couple, the idea being a week of winter sun to give us a break from the grey, cold english weather and an opportunity for Neil to play a few rounds of golf at his old course and for me to catch up with some of my friends back in Terreros.

We had been watching the weather forecasts since New Year and they had been having a good few weeks of warm sunny days - but that all changed as we flew into Alicante and the further we drove south, the heavier the clouds got.

By the time we reached Terreros we were certainly glad we'd got our winter jackets on. It was highly probable that it was warmer back in the UK.

As we drove through Terreros it looked as if more bars were closed than normal but La Venta was open and serving Menu del Día, so we parked up and grabbed a table. An hour or so later, we were ready to meet Ava for the keys to the apartment we had booked.

We had a couple of friends with us, Alex would be on the golf course with Neil, while Susan and I would shop, sight see and generally chill out. Monday saw us with great plans that, by Wednesay morning, would be completely changed.

But for now, we'll focus on Monday. The apartment was a bit chilly after being closed up for a while and so our first priorities were to get it warm, get some shopping, call and book a tee-time for the guys for Tuesday and have an early night after being up since 2am.

All went according to plan. I knew Neil was excited about playing his old golf course and this was re-affirmed when he was up and dressed by 6.30am when he wasn't due on the tee until 10am. He was like a little boy on Christmas morning who couldn't wait to open his presents. It was so sweet to see.

And so, golf clubs in the back of the car, we started our first day's holiday.

How Much?

It's a good job our dogs are precious to us. Over £200 spent at the vets in less than 2 weeks.

Last week there was a variety of injections, creams and medicines - this week it's annual boosters. We've decided to keep their Pet Passports up to date incase we decide to take them on holiday with us and so they have to have a rabies booster. And so, our bank account is £200 lighter and out dogs are feeling like pin cushions but at least they are safe from a variety of illnesses for another year.

I hope they appreciate it!

It's official - I am employed again!

I got the phone call today to confirm my start date. The details have been sorted, and I start in a weeks time.

I leave my current place tomorrow and I will miss it, even though it was always just a temporary assignment. After not working for 2½ years it has been really good to have such a good assignment to build my confidence again. Now I'm ready for a real challenge - and that's what my new role will be.

And so, I have a week off and then I'm back into the fray!

Your call is important to us!!!!!!! Yeah, right!

Recently I feel as if life is passing me by because I am hold waiting for the next available operator!

Last week I needed to call the bank for work. I rang one dept, who gave me a number for another dept, who gave me a number..... well, you get the idea.

5 numbers later Outward payments gave me a number for Periodic payments who, I was assured, were the only people who could answer my question.

I waited for 15 mins, then hung up and rang the main office who confirmed the number and re-iterated, I needed to speak to Periodic payments. I rang again - half an hour later, I'm still being assured that the next available operator will be with me soon. Again, I hung up - toilet break and coffee were becoming too urgent to ignore.

On my return I realised that the desk next to me was vacant for the day so I could dial the number on loudspeaker and leave it ringing while I continued with my other work. After the elevator music had been gradually infiltrating my brain for an hour, I decided my call was not that important to them, and hung up.

I rang the main office and expressed my immense frustration ( in a calm and controlled manner of course) and they said they would look into it for me.

The following day I had an email, from the Periodic payment section of the bank. Could I please ring them on a completely different number.

I did so, and they answered before the 2nd ring. A brief discussion highlighted the problem. Some months ago they had changed the numbers used. The one I had been given had not been used for several months, didn't have a phone plugged in to ring, and no-one had thought to change the message that people got on ringing it to one giving us some useful information - such as: this number has been changed to....... Equally - tell the other departments!!!!

And so, I worked out in total I had wasted almost 3 hours hanging on to a phone that was never going to be answered - at least the bank had the decency to apologise to me!

And so to today - a home matter this time - EDF, electricity. This time 15 minutes hanging on to speak to someone, then 20 minutes while they went to sort something out. Then later on, a further 15 minutes waiting to speak to someone and another 15 minutes while they went to find something out.

And no, there really wasn't any other way to sort the problem other than to speak to someone because it was their error in the first place that I was trying to sort out.

Oh, there has to be a better way.

Job Hunting

Those of you who read this regularly will know I have been job hunting, since August, but being on a temporary assignment that kept getting extended tended to make me a little lazy. So, although I have been trawling through the emails from Monster Jobs and Total Jobs everyday and sending off my CV, I only started some serious searching at Christmas, knowing that this assignment finished this Friday.

Since being back I have realised that job hunting has changed a lot over the last 10 years and is now very internet driven via agencies. Job listings in papers are very limited and so, the biggest barrier to getting back to work is getting past the agencies as few companies advertise direct.

Just sending in your CV gets you no where. They get thousands every day and unless yours stands out for all the right reasons, it gets lost in the masses. Most agencies even state that they will not acknowledge your application and if you don't hear from them you've not been successful. Getting feedback as to why you haven't been successful merely extracts a response of 'there were others who met the criteria more closely!' - really helpful!

Registering with them doesn't seem to help in a lot of cases either, they seem really pleased to have you on board - for a couple of weeks - and then when they can't find anything for you they seem to lose interest and move on to the new applicants.

And finally, unless you 'gel' with one of the recruiters and they 'get' you - it seems you are just wasting your time.

I am lucky, in that I have an agency where I have someone who seems to 'get' me. I spoke with them last week and they were on the look out for a placement for me but they had nothing yet. Then, late on Friday I got a call +to say there was a permanent vacancy they felt I was perfect for. After a brief chat I agreed they could send my details through to the company and within the hour I was scheduled for an interview at 9am this morning.

And so, I met with them this morning and had a good interview. For a variety of reasons it suits us both to work on a 3 month contract with a view to a permanent contract if it works for both of us.

And so, it looks like I'll be starting at the beginning of February if the finer details of the contract can be agreed.

Fingers crossed!



 

What a long week.

I can only put it down to the long break over Christmas and a 4 day week last week, but oh, has this week seemed a long week at work.

Whether next week will seem as long remains to be seen, but it may be, as it's my last week with the company - finally we have reached a date when my assignment is not being extended. I have completed my tasks and have no more work to do there.

And so, after a weeks break I will hopefully be starting a new assignment at the beginning of February. I have 4 or 5 possibles - mainly long term contracts covering maternity leave, but there is a permanent role in the mix. I am going to have a chat (I don't do interviews anymore) next week and see whether I like them and they like me. 

It's going to be a commute of 45 minutes which will be such a change from my daily drive at the moment where the car heater hasn't even started to push warm air into the car before I'm in the car park but at least, if I do have a longer drive I will be able to listen to my CD's more than a track per trip. It took me a week to listen to my new (10 track) Take That CD!

Big Improvement

Both dogs had a full night sleep, which means Neil and I had a full nights sleep - yippee!!!!

Today, neither have passed anything unpleasant from either end - I don't know what's in those syringes the vet uses - but to me, it's magic!!!

So, hopefully we have turned the corner. They have come to the end of their fasting and have just had some chicken and rice - and ate like they hadn't been fed for a week.

Bless!

!!!!!!! Doggy Update!!!!!

Today, life got more difficult for the dogs - yes, that is not an error - we are now into poorly dogs - plural!

This morning Brandy had stopped needing to rush into the garden so much but by now his bum was terribly red and sore from trying. A trip to the vets was definitely needed and, although the diet of chicken and rice seemed to be working - we felt he needed a boost to help him recover.

Then this afternoon, Brinkley decided he was going to join in the fun and started vomiting - big style. 10 times in an hour - then twice more in the car on the way to the vets!!! Fortunately, I had the forethought to cover the seats with old towels and they were thrown in the washer when we got home.

So, the vet checked them over and decided they did have a higher than normal temperature, so something isn't right. Brinkley has some tenderness to his ribs but not to his organs - probably from the strain of throwing up so many times and Brandy needed a boost as we thought.

And so, we are £66 worse off, Brandy had a high level antibiotic injection, and has some medicine to 'firm his stools' and Brinkly has had an injection to stop him vomiting and another with a high level antibiotic shot.

Both are nil by mouth until noon tomorrow, which they really don't understand - Brandy is allowed water, Brinkley is only allowed the merest smidgeon of water for 24 hours.

And so, both dogs are feeling out of sorts tonight, they have slept a lot BUT Brinkley hasn't thrown up since we left the vets and Brandy hasn't needed to rush out into the garden.

And on that basis, it's a £66 well spent!

Here's to a good nights sleep for us all.

A sickly puppy!

It's difficult to function with little sleep, and at the moment that is exactly what we're getting due to Brandy having a poorly tummy.

For the last couple of days he's really been off colour and is constantly asking to go out - including every 2 hours during the night. When I am working, Neil is good enough to be the one that gets up during the night - and when Brandy decides he needs to go out - it's a rapid dash downstairs.

So, the poorly pup is on white rice and chicken only, no biscuits, no treats, no doggy chocs. Brinkley is getting sneaky treats in a different room so he doesn't miss out and so far, he seems to have avoided getting whatever Brandy has.

We have to make sure Brandy drinks plenty of water to avoid getting dehydrated, but fortunately, he does seems to enjoy his water - however, this probably adds to the number of trips he has to make outside.

Poor pup. If he's no better tomorrow it looks like a trip to the vets and a needle in the bum.

Difficult Times

It's always difficult to see good friends going through bad times. Over the last few years there's been a variety of situations that have tested my friends to the extreme.

And now, I have another friend going through an extremely difficult time. She was taken to hospital on Christmas Day and is being kept there until they can stabalise her condition and she is well enough to manage on her own. A consequence of this problem is her long term relationship has ended and when she is ready to come out of hospital she is reliant on friends for somewhere to live.

It is immensely difficult for me to see any of my friends having such traumatic times and knowing there is little I can do but try and be a good friend.

Anyone know of a good 'Guide to being a good friend' book?

2011 - Another Year of Unknowns

Sitting last night chatting about what's happened in 2010, it seems very little of it would have been in the conversation last New Year's Eve about the coming year.

We were in our renovated house, high in the Spanish mountains living a life of solitude and retirement with the pups. Although I was unsettled, I never could have imagined that I would be seeing this New Year in, back in England, among my family and friends.

So, I am reluctant to speculate on what 2011 will hold for us. However, I think it is important to have dreams of what we would like to happen. Without these dreams, you do not have goals. Without goals, you do not make plans. And without plans - you do nothing but let life pass you by.

I do not want to be sitting here this time in 2012 and be looking back on a year without fulfilling some of the dreams and so, this year I am not making any New Year resolutions which will have been forgotten in 2 weeks. This year I am making a list of dreams. Some that we will be able to achieve this year, some that will take longer to achieve but at least will be past the dream stage and into the planning stage.

I want 2012 to be a year when some dreams were fulfilled rather than the year when resolutions were broken.

I hope you all have a wonderful 2012 with your family and friends, wherever you and they may be.