Smart thinking

Dear reader.

Every once in a while it is possible that we get what we can call true moments of genius. I am still hoping for one sometime soon.

With all this heavy rain fall, the smart thing to do would be to get a water butt, affix it to the downpipe at side of the house so we can be actively re-cycling / harnessing water as it gushes off our roof so when the dry patch comes we can tend our presently sunken garden… Maybe invest in a small jet ski boat and trailer. It could make trips to Tescos more interesting

The smart thing to do whilst we are in recession would be to continue to live out a life of thrift-iness, (?) shop around for the best deals, buy second hand (or not at all!), try negotiate charity shop prices down, lend stuff or borrow, or if possible try our green hands at growing our own and eat a diet of strawberrys, lettuce and potatoes. Maybe onions or beans too! Temporarily of course.

Another smart thing to do would be to get another job or a better job with prospects, a proper job description and an improved pay check on the 20th of each month. Easily said though.

The smart thing to do would be to reserve to do my daily book and Bible reading in the dry. Bath time is surely not the time or the place. It’s the time to get clean, contemplate, plan ahead. It is not the place to nod of and dunk the spine of the book in bubbles. A Kindle is out of question.

Most of the above are on my agenda… I even saw some water butts today, measured them and found a good location for them. Instead of taking the next natural step in parting with cash we walked away and bought some seeds and now have a garden deck area littered with brightly coloured pots. Soon to be full of floating seeds. Now we patiently await the dry season…. Regarding that four letter word, Work, my job hunt continues… steadily and surely.

My mobile phone, an essential tool in my job hunt is on the wane,the screen is knackered and dropping it on concrete yesterday didn’t help either. The smart thing to do would be to get it fixed or replaced. Thankfully those nice people at Virgin Mobile (who one can talk to after 9 minutes listening to a choice of pop or classical musak) are able to help and my monthly bills are set to reduce… Ker-ching! As my eldest son will say!

A new handset is on the cards. A Smart one of course.

I’ll get my coat…

Am I getting anywhere?

Yes. But er… sometimes I do wonder…

I say this because this job search lark is taking far too long by my estimation! Twenty two monts and counting. What I AM doing however is trying to get somewhere. So far my focal point has been in the graphic design industry, but now the scope has widened to working in the Charitable sector in a non-design role, where my organisational skills, people skills and creative thinking and problem solving can be put to good use. Or maybe in teaching…

When it comes down to it, I would be more than happy to be employed somewhere or to be correct, anywhere I can use my wide spectrum of transferable skills (!) Until then I will press on looking, applying, and of course praying to Him ‘upstairs’ for a resolution.

In all seriousness I do feel I AM getting somewhere, partly because I know I’m making efforts, that’s half the battle, no way am I going to collapse into the soft cushions on the sofa in a miserable mess and give up. As for my my next job destination – all will be revealed in due course.

How will I know when I’m there if I don’t have a specific final destination in mind? Ah, good question. The best answer I can give is Peace of Mind, Yes, Peace of Mind.

It’s all gone quiet over there…

Bang. The ball hits the back of the net and Lampard and team are celebrating. Around the ground Chelsea fans bellow out ‘it’s all gone quiet over there’ while pointing to the now quiet opposing fans. Sure, a momentary lapse, maybe a mistake by the Arsenal defence has led to another goal. Nevertheless the fans are quiet. Chelsea are set to win this one.

It’s all gone quiet over here too. Deathly quiet, and I can’t even hear the tills ring. Instead, I can hear staff talking and price guns bleeping. Styling the nation? Not today.

If we were hoping for customers, we should have got on our knees to pray this morning. Instead we stand, we walk the department, we check the stock, adjust the price tags, adjust ourselves, sweep the floor and replenish stock. The professional touch!

When I eventually did have a potential customer within sight, all went pear shaped. My gentle offer to help was rebuffed with the words ‘rather than help myself you mean?”. God bless even stroppy customers. To add to my excitement today, my future working hours have been cut. working 4 or 5 days a week looks (again) like a thing of the past, as staff are returning to work after having babies. Working 2 days a week appears to be my lot at the moment, so, what I need is a miracle, and now would be good.

Its’ not just quiet over here in Bagland, other departments are quiet. Even at home, and according to my incoming emails, it would appear recruitment agents (er consultants) are either asleep, walking the streets or twidling their thumbs till another frustrated candidate phones in chasing them. The jobs are few and far between and there are only a few that even get my attention. Does working in Abu Dhabi or Spain appeal. Mmm, Abu Dhabi? No, even though the money is appealing. Spain? Well let’s think about it… No.

Right… How about becoming a minor celebrity, a bus driver,  a talkshow host, so I can get to appear on Matthew Wright show… or maybe become an MP or something equally worthy… At least i’ll get my expenses paid!

The store was almost deserted, and couldn’t even see any suspicious looking customers to report to security. If they’ve got any sense security staff would have switched channels on their store monitors and tuned into something more interesting like Bargain Hunt.

Time for a tea break I think – a long one.

50 Things to do on a Bank Holiday

1 Wash the car
2 Wash the kids
3 Go to work. Double time after all!
4 Look for work – (A legitimate way to meet the bills)
5 Take a walk, on the wild side
6 Take a short walk to the corner shop or the off licence
7 Shop
8 Go shopping again. You forgot something after all.
9 Go to the bank. Er, maybe not
10 Pass Go. Don’t pick up £200/
11 Wash the car
12 Wash someone elses car. They might pay you for it.
13 Mmm A Bar BQ. Yes, just the thing for a Bank Holiday
14 First cut the lawn
15 Check the weather forecast
16 Look out the window
17 Get better soon. You’ve caught the lurgy
18 Call NHS Direct. they confirm it’s not serious.
19 Not even a hint of Pork Flu
20 Fix that bookshelf that fell down in 2005
21 Get someone else to fix the shelf
22 Cut the front hedge
23 Write an email
24 Who’s available on Facebook?
25 Lets go to the Park
26 Or LegoLand if your feeling flush
27 Er the toilet beckons, briefly.
28 Visit a National Trust property
29 Watch a film on television. Even though you’ve seen it before.
30 Go badger watching
31 How about a picnic?
32 Or a trip to Maccy Dees
33 Ah, the washing!
34 The ironing!
35 A gig?
36 Is there a Sale on somewhere?
37 Play with the kids
38 Trip to the seaside?
39 A spot of decorating maybe
40 Or go for a drive. Nowhere in particular. Dream of owning a Camper Van.
41 Visit a friends or relatives. In your own car.
42 or both
43 Eat crisps. Lots of them. At least 3 packets should do it.
44 Drink Cola Coka, or something similar.
45 Chocolate
46 Time to visit the gym
47 Maybe go inside
48 Threaten to seek a ban on neighbours from lighting bonfires on ‘Washing’ days
49 Stay indoors and wonder how to spend the day
50 Write something on your Blog, hope someone reads it.

Sort of good news

Quite unexpectedly, I received a letter in the post from the NHS the other week. In it they casually announced that both and and my lovely Mrs are eligible for free prescriptions, dental care and eye tests. At first I was relieved, then I looked at the date. Though the letter was dated February 2009, by my calculation we’d been eligible for this benefit since April 2008, ten months (without knowing it!) and with an expiry date of July 2009. Wonderful.

I phoned in order to establish the facts, maybe in a moment of haste someone had make a clerical/ error, surely no letter of such importance would have been flitting around the postal service for ten months. Sure enough the letter was spot on. At this moment the conversation began to falter, I could of course try to claim money back if I had my receipts over the previous year, but there again I might not get anything. Pat, then cheerfully explained this wasn’t anything to do with her, nor was it her departments responsibility, so the message was pretty much ‘Boo Sucks Buster’. (Well not quite those words).

Pat, vigorously maintained, that she was only responsible for sending the forms out, so any concern I might have would have to be taken up with an individual working Far Far Away in Tax CreditLand. Bizzarely, the same day the benefits office said I no longer was eligible for (JSA) Jobs Seekers Allowance on account of me working over 16 hours for a couple of weeks recently. I could of course re-apply if my working hours slipped, so let’s hope I never have the need to reappear in the Job Centre again. Now that would be good news.

World Domination and WorkHope

WorkHope/ Working Through Unemployment is getting hit. That is, hit on a daily basis, online by bloggy blog readers, thrill seekers, casual enquirers, by those who either stumble upon the Blog my mistake or have been prompted to do so by some wonderful friends, or some pretty nifty guerrilla advertising.

WorkHope employs some accepted forms of publicity in order to get the message of Hope across to those out of Work, (geddit? WorkHope) or those struggling after being Crunched by the Credit crisis.

Don’t be suprised if you or your associates come across a handsome chap, bearing down on you with either his business card, or a wad of small white flyers encouraging you to share the love of WorkHope with others. This service is free of course and borne out of a desire to entertain yet encourage those out of work to keep pressing on in what are, frankly, hard times..

Leaflets might appear in a coffee shop near you, on the bar of your local pub, shoved through your letter box, be seen on the side of a bus or on a banner trailing across the sky on the back of a Flora sponsored bi-plane, (well, maybe not!).

WorkHope is everywhere – nearly everywhere. And a very reliable contact in the pub two weeks ago assured me that this very blog is read and enjoyed as far away as a place beginning with ‘B’. Can’t remember, sadly the exact details, suffice to say it’s the other side of the world, somewhere. just left (or is it right?) of Borneo.

In all seriousness, given the times we live in with Unemployment and Redundancy an ever present, or clear and present danger, I trust this blog will achieve its original objectives which were to:

1. Encourage the job seeker to keep seeking, with his/her head and chin up
2. Share real life situations and observations from my (ongoing) time out of work
3. Point out possible hurdles and pitfalls
4. Expand on the reasons why I have Hope
5. Cause a smile
6. Get me a publishing deal which will set me on a new career path, leading to fame and financial security.

Do get in touch, maybe tell me where you are (county, state, country, continent, hemisphere  etc). If you have any comments or questions…

WorkHope (Mr)

http://www.workhope.wordpress.com

Greed Busters

Since the demise of Woolies and Adams (God bless all who worked with them etc etc) I understand that the likes of Debenhams and Wilkos’ have availed themselves of their market and customers.

Pocket busters, price busters, purse and belly busters, and a myriad of other cheap/ discount shops are hopefully deliriously happy at their increased sales and profits at this present time.

There is also a new shopper on the high street. (Assuming you still have a high street!) The ordinary shopper has transformed into the canny, frugal shopper, and regardless of work status, everyone’s out for a bargain, and thankfully there are plenty around to chose from in the ‘Sales’. There’s the famous ‘Blue Cross Sale’, and ‘The Harrods Sale’ but hopefully somewhere near you are those with more compelling names such as  ‘The Red Slash Sale’, ‘The Green’ or ‘Yellow Polka Dot Sale’, to complete alongside the ‘Stock Liquidation Sale’, ‘Never to be Repeated Ever Again Really Truly Sale’, ‘Catch Me If You Can Sale’ and the ever popular ‘Closing Down Sale’. Advertised discounts seem to range from 10% to an amazing 90% (in the case of Superdrug) although at the most popular offer appears to be 70%.

This is not rocket science, but my own suspicions are that the online shopping phenomenon will continue to thrive and conversely jobs in retail will further nosedive. We’ll see a rise in street markets, increased popularity and attendance at car boot sales, (Check out my stall) and more independent traders will be trotting out of Peckham and alike.

The media are understandably enjoying getting on the backs of those (allegedly) responsible for the UKs economic meltdown – that is after all, what they do best, get on peoples backs. Maybe, in due course we’ll get to hear reports of the (odd) irresponsible city trader and investment Banker called to account (excuse the pun!), truly repentant, rumbled and humbled, and queuing, like the rest of us, either at the Job Centre, or at the checkout of Dirty Daves Discount Emporium for their weekly shop.

That, indeed would be a real ‘Bonus’ wouldn’t it!?

The V&A and LLB

My visit to the V&A was long overdue, in fact I can’t remember the last time I graced it with my presence. Given that entrance to this great Museum was free, and my beloved Oyster card was in credit, it made good sense. I’ve always been interested in history and the arts, and as you might imagine, as a designer and visual genius, it was good to have my visual senses stimulated. Map in hand,  I took in the four available floors at snails pace, noting exhibits of interest as I wandered.

Early on a group of school children (or was it a whole school?) trooped by as I got to the cloakroom. For a moment I wondered if my visit was such a good idea after all, but as they moved out of sight, I relaxed.

The stained glass, sculptures, drawings, and in particular a sketch for the original Crystal Palace on blotting paper by Sir Joseph Paxton, The  Glass sculpture, A captive audience? by David Reekie, The Fireplace by Charles Renni Mackintosh and Red Fuji woodblock print by Katsushika Hokusai were highlights on my tour.

Later on, I spotted a rather concerned and disconcerted looking Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen (The tv personality and interior designer?), in the cafe area. I don’t think he recognised me… Further excitement followed when I stopped off at Fulham Broadway Tube Station and paid a quick visit to the Chelsea FC Megastore, then with time on my side, retreated to the shopping centre and  treated myself to a Cornish pasty and a filter coffee.

Life is for living after all. If you’re reading this Laurence, got any jobs?

Car Trouble

With Christmas coming and money tight, the last thing we needed was car trouble. In mid December with our cars MOT and annual service due, I hesitated, then booked it in for the 17th with our local (1.5 miles or twenty five minutes walk away) friendly garage. By 3pm it was all sorted and there were no horrible surprises.  Amazingly, the bill for this was picked up by one of our chief benefactors. A perfect Christmas present.

After Christmas I was alerted by a glowing orange warning light on the dashboard, and after consulting the handbook realised that a fault had been identified within the Electronic Management System.

What I did know was that in the hands of an unscrupulous garage this was a licence to print money, I booked the car in again, and, on the morning of New Years Eve 2008, they set to diagnosing.

I feared the worst of course, they would need to remove the engine, strip out the electrics, remove the upholstery, my Chelsea air freshener and send in tracker ferrets to locate the fault. Delighted and relieved, the technician found the suspect part, and the heat sensor sprocket (well, it sounded like that!) was promptly replaced. The oil service indicator light was reset at the same time.

Within the week, I sensed more problems with the heat sensor sprocket. nothing was now making sense, and biting my lip contacted the garage who, thankfully replaced the faulty new part with one in good working condition. Free of charge of course. While the garage had the car I asked that they might reset the annual service indicator light. They did.

Next up was the windscreen washer. After a routine refilling of the windscreen washer bottle, a gallon or so of blueish windscreen wash mysteriously disappeared overnight. I suspected it was either a cracked bottle or hose due to the freezing weather. The garage took a look and sorted it. Well they sorted the front squirty thingy, but failed to notice that the back squirty thingy was out of order. They apologised and fixed it.

I’m pleased to report that the car is fine now. Well, sort of. There has been the small matter of replacing a headlight bulb and two side lights which blew at the end of January – which I naturally did myself.

All I need now is for the radio to be fixed, the drivers window switch to work properly and the door-press-o-matic key fob to be looked at. Thankfully I’m in no rush.

No regrets

I don’t have any regrets about leaving my last full-time job. Life is hard now, but thankfully I have faith, had it for years, not only in my own Creative abilities, but in God. This was a good time to show my faith in action. What I’d needed in a sense sometime before had been a kick up my pants to make a change – get another job, and this was it. Stepping out this way was a touch uncomfortable yet tinged with genuine excitement. Those close to us were supportive and prayerful. Mrs W my long suffering wife agreed, it was time for me to move on, to new opportunities offering new challenges.

Meanwhile while I continue to trust that God will provide, for us as a family. This however is not a time to sit passively and simply wait, I need to do my bit, look for work and apply for jobs.

Our two young sons at the time (aged 3 and 5) didn’t express opinions. One day, however, our youngest proudly announced to those in his nursery class that his daddy washed cars for a living! (He must have seen me wash ours once – this obviously made a real impression!). Our eldest, aged  5, after I explained to him that I needed another job, stunned me by saying that I already had one –  DIY.

I best get on with it then.