Will I lose my hair and my marbles now i’m out of work?

No, or  rather ‘Maybe’ would be a more honest reply. Should you find yourself in the unfortunate position of losing your job, for what ever reason, it could temporarily knock you confidence or affect your health in some small way. But do not be alarmed, if symptoms persist, you know who you should go see…

Please be assured, however, you won’t wake up the following morning missing (any) essential limbs or organs, but your head might hurt, your heart might be heavy, beating faster or slower, and you might not want to be too far from the bathroom, but by God’s grace, you will still be alive.

When it comes to your emotional state, you might feel a touch wobbly – do not be surprised at this. Your feelings will be raw, feel sick and you may be tempted to recoil into your shell or shout out. If you if you are hit with feelings of sadness, anger, and ‘now what’ syndrome. This is pretty normal stuff.

As time passes, you will be able to look at your situation more objectively, but maybe not now.

There are some dangers lurking, maybe in your front room, and not just reaching out for a beer or something stronger in desperation, One of your new unwanted friends could be daytime TV. On the face of it,this could be a great time to catch upon TV, but, be wary, most programmes transmitted daytime are relentless trash, or repeats of the same. Childrens tele is ok, but I would advise against watching it more than an hour at a time, or you’ll come away from the experience singing (or worse) humming the theme tunes in public. That could lead to another professional consultation.

When I left my last place of work, I was initially elated, but that gave way to different emotions. Being truthful I am still happy to have moved on, I know that new challenges await me, and I am pretty much ready, hopeful too..

It does not follow that because you lost your job you will necessarily lose your hair either. Stress will sometimes cause hair loss and stomach complaints, but hair should stay pretty much intact and in place, unless of course you or someone else gives it a hefty tug. To avoid this, the ‘Doctor’, suggests getting get your hair cut anyway. A bonus here is that you’ll also be better prepared for that interview when it comes along. I still have all my own hair.

You are very likely to come across some individuals who will not understand or care about your predicament. They may appear to be in their own world, or just plain selfish. Give them time, they may be misunderstanding you, and you them.

Conversely (good word) you will hopefully also come across some bright stars who will do all they can to help, going that extra mile for you, not just telling you what ‘you should have done’ or remind you of your financial turmoil, but help you to see your many talents, gifts and transferable skills, and maybe point out some opportunities to be grasped.

As for Marbles, I certainly had some when I was in junior and primary school. Not sure where they are now. So, maybe, they are lost after all.

One Year On…

The 21st September 2008, came and went without any fanfares or celebrations. Jose and Avram have both been and gone, and now Mr. Scolari is at the helm. Good grief, one year i’ve been doing this, that is sitting at my computer checking emails, sending emails to faceless online job boards, chasing recruitment agents, and when catching them asking what they’ve been doing on my behalf. Added to this my phone bill  must have taken a battering by now and the redundancy money has gone. Brilliant.

Acknowledging the above facts actually spurred me on in a number of ways, I need to get that Methodist Church job now, but I have 2 weeks till the application needs to be in. Mine has been received by the Personnel Department, I know, I’ve phoned and checked. There was little I could do other than contact some faithful friends to pray.
In addition I applied for Temporary Christmas work in a local garden centre, our local Debenhams, M&S (tell you about that another time!) and even Tescos – only to be told they’re not looking ot recruit till January 2009 – if at all! Things were getting desperate and gloom began to descend. ARRGH, I had run out of hot leads applications, and ideas.

In an effort to make some cash I enlisted the help of Mark to do a car boot sale with me, at 6.15 am on the appointed day I picked him up and we made our way to the large boot site. Thankfully the weather was to be dry and sunny, there were customers and we ended the day with a significant profit. In a couple of weeks maybe we’d do another. Thanks Mark, you’re a star.

After a few weeks popping Neurofen tablets, on the 25th september, I mustered the bravery to see my Doctor, as it turned out he was fine, my stomach gripes, however were becoming a concern. Thankfully, after a few prods (was that a punch?) around my body, he diagnosed nothing sinister, in fact he was totally mystified at the symptoms, but his best guess was that I might be suffering from something or other, but there again might not. Boots would be my next stopping point and I purchased the necessary medicines. Hopefully they would help. Quite possibly my body was stressing more than i felt, and stressing more than ‘I was’ in my head and heart, Maybe what we collectively as a family, were going through was taking its toll on me. Let’s see if the pills sort me out.

In the afternoon I contacted 6 recruitment agents for updates on new opportunities. Zippo.