On an earlier blog post I was ranting on about my dissatisfaction with my current job, and that very much remains the case, but the good news is I only have 3 days left! Hoo hoo!
I have been offered, and accepted a traineeship with British Gas. I am in 3 weeks time going to be a Smart Energy Expert (Trainee)!! my new role will involve replacing gas and electric meters and replacing them with new Smart Meters.
This is the sort of job I have been after for a while because it involves intensive training and therefore will stimulate my mind and challenge me, and it gets me out and about meeting people and covering quite a big area, I get a van, laptop and mobile but basically I will be responsible for my own day and own time.
It was not that easy to get, so I am quite proud of myself. I spent about 6 hours over a couple of nights filling in the long, online application form back in November and I heard nothing at all for several weeks. I decided to email and was told the advertised jobs were coming up all through 2010 and I would hear in due course. Then it all moved pretty fast, I was given a telephone interview in February then a week later I had to go to the British Gas Academy no less and here I had a panel interview with 2 people, a role play exercise, and a wiring exam, as well as filling in various forms. The interview was pretty relaxed and you were able to make notes and were given a list of questions they might ask, prior to it starting.
Then finally, on March 4th they rung me and offered me a place! I was a bit shocked!
Looking back on it and my previous post, this job was meant to be, it was an intensive selection process and i didn't cock it up and it is the only job i have seen advertised that I have got!
I have been wanting to blog about it since I got offered the job but I only resigned last week from my current job due to the long period before starting, but now i have read the post , i think its incredibly boring and for that I apologise!
Saturday 29 May 2010
Wednesday 21 April 2010
Having a laugh!
So where was I?
The Soho Ho Comedy club was like I said a great little venue, it is in a basement and the building is officially called the Arts Theatre Club. It is located on Frith Street in the heart of Soho and is at street level, just a bright red front door, a bit like Notting Hill.
It is incredibly relaxed, although we had pre booked tickets, the seats were jsut a handful of kitchen stools of varying heights scattered about, almost neatly. The stage in the corner of the room was about 3 inches high and the comedians had to come from behind the bar, through the crowd (100 people in a small room is definately a crowd) and do their thing.
The first comedian and the nights compere was a bloke called Simon Happily, he was gay, he was angry, he abused audience members ineffectively and for no reason, and he was terrible. He was of course on stage in a London comedy club, whereas I am sat at home blogging about how i would like to be and so he deserves credit for that, but I thought he could have done so much better than obvious gay references and innuendos and I was surprised he was the compere.
Next was someone called Nick Doody, and at the time I thought he was really good, but now I dont remeber much about his act, he was middle aged and liked to rant, the sort of comnedy i like, a bit like Rhod Gilbert, but not as polished.
Next was a bizzare act, Henning When, a german stand up. His act was based around the differences in German and English cultures and then he sung a German folk song and explained the lyrics. I had seen him once previoulsy on TV on a "Edinburgh and Beyond" sort of programme, it was hosted by Al Murray, Henning's act was virtually the same on both occassions. He was quite funny but I would not have been surprised to find out he is not actually German and it was just an act. I also had the tune to his folk song in my head for about 4 days after, this annoyed me.
Finally was Will Smith, a posh white bloke, not a hollywood superstar, you can probably guess what his first joke was! He has played the Royal Variety Performance and he was clearly the most experienced, and most comfortable performer and was playing such a venue to try out new material and presumably to get paid! I would recommend checking out his website and if you get the chance check him out live!
Maybe one day someone will be blogging about my performance at Soho Ho, or maybe not!
The Soho Ho Comedy club was like I said a great little venue, it is in a basement and the building is officially called the Arts Theatre Club. It is located on Frith Street in the heart of Soho and is at street level, just a bright red front door, a bit like Notting Hill.
It is incredibly relaxed, although we had pre booked tickets, the seats were jsut a handful of kitchen stools of varying heights scattered about, almost neatly. The stage in the corner of the room was about 3 inches high and the comedians had to come from behind the bar, through the crowd (100 people in a small room is definately a crowd) and do their thing.
The first comedian and the nights compere was a bloke called Simon Happily, he was gay, he was angry, he abused audience members ineffectively and for no reason, and he was terrible. He was of course on stage in a London comedy club, whereas I am sat at home blogging about how i would like to be and so he deserves credit for that, but I thought he could have done so much better than obvious gay references and innuendos and I was surprised he was the compere.
Next was someone called Nick Doody, and at the time I thought he was really good, but now I dont remeber much about his act, he was middle aged and liked to rant, the sort of comnedy i like, a bit like Rhod Gilbert, but not as polished.
Next was a bizzare act, Henning When, a german stand up. His act was based around the differences in German and English cultures and then he sung a German folk song and explained the lyrics. I had seen him once previoulsy on TV on a "Edinburgh and Beyond" sort of programme, it was hosted by Al Murray, Henning's act was virtually the same on both occassions. He was quite funny but I would not have been surprised to find out he is not actually German and it was just an act. I also had the tune to his folk song in my head for about 4 days after, this annoyed me.
Finally was Will Smith, a posh white bloke, not a hollywood superstar, you can probably guess what his first joke was! He has played the Royal Variety Performance and he was clearly the most experienced, and most comfortable performer and was playing such a venue to try out new material and presumably to get paid! I would recommend checking out his website and if you get the chance check him out live!
Maybe one day someone will be blogging about my performance at Soho Ho, or maybe not!
Wednesday 14 April 2010
Soho ho
It bugs me how irregular my blog updates are!
I went to London on Saturday for a friends stag and i had a really good time. I dunno if i have mentioned this before but I have 2 very good groups of friends but they dont generally know each other. The first group are my oldest friends who i have known about 16-17 years and are the group i first got drunk with, used to chase girls with and have seen a fair bit of the world with, unforunately as a group we now all live in various parts of the country so dont see each other that often
The other group, i have known well for about 10-12 years and mainly I met them through a shared love of local pubs. Nothing against either group but I kind of like having the 2 seperate groups and whilst i am sure they would all get on great if they mixed, it is nice to have a choice of social options!
Anyway, thats that all cleared up, it was the first group who i went to London with on Saturday.
Having missed the 0955 train, my fault and something I had never done before, we got to London at about 12 and headed by cab to Soho. It was great going in a cab, normally I would get the tube for ease, but I felt like a proper tourist, we went past Buckingham Palace, Traffalger Square and some other places (??) and I really enjoyed seeing them.
After a quick lunch and a few beers (courtesy of the brilliant Samuel Smith) we headed to Urban Golf which is quite a cool place. It is a bit odd because it is in the basement of a very plain looking office building, but once downstairs you soon forget where you are. It is basically a row of large cubicles with a golf simulator in each, so you whack the ball at a projector screen. It has been a few years since I played any sort of golf and i had had a few beers before and during the game but it demonstrated how terrible at golf I am! Awful!
Although rubbish at it, I did enjoy the place but was happy that we only played 2 hours rather than the full 18 holes of St Andrews!
We moved on to a couple more quite "local" sort of pubs which was great considering how busy it was outside, then went for an Indian Tapas meal. I dont like Indian, not even the fact its hot, just dont like the taste, I did have 5 vegetarian dishes though, as i am a bit funny about meat in takeaways, and they were ok, but then I am no expert! If you do happen to be in Soho and like curry however my mates would recommend Imli.
Next stop was Soho Ho Comedy Club, which was really great, as you know i have a great love and admiration for stand up and this was a proper comedy club, tiny, dark and dingy!
There were 4 comedians but I think they deserve another blog post, which I will do, hopefully soon.
Reading this I imagine it is ever so boring if you were not there? Sorry about that!!
I went to London on Saturday for a friends stag and i had a really good time. I dunno if i have mentioned this before but I have 2 very good groups of friends but they dont generally know each other. The first group are my oldest friends who i have known about 16-17 years and are the group i first got drunk with, used to chase girls with and have seen a fair bit of the world with, unforunately as a group we now all live in various parts of the country so dont see each other that often
The other group, i have known well for about 10-12 years and mainly I met them through a shared love of local pubs. Nothing against either group but I kind of like having the 2 seperate groups and whilst i am sure they would all get on great if they mixed, it is nice to have a choice of social options!
Anyway, thats that all cleared up, it was the first group who i went to London with on Saturday.
Having missed the 0955 train, my fault and something I had never done before, we got to London at about 12 and headed by cab to Soho. It was great going in a cab, normally I would get the tube for ease, but I felt like a proper tourist, we went past Buckingham Palace, Traffalger Square and some other places (??) and I really enjoyed seeing them.
After a quick lunch and a few beers (courtesy of the brilliant Samuel Smith) we headed to Urban Golf which is quite a cool place. It is a bit odd because it is in the basement of a very plain looking office building, but once downstairs you soon forget where you are. It is basically a row of large cubicles with a golf simulator in each, so you whack the ball at a projector screen. It has been a few years since I played any sort of golf and i had had a few beers before and during the game but it demonstrated how terrible at golf I am! Awful!
Although rubbish at it, I did enjoy the place but was happy that we only played 2 hours rather than the full 18 holes of St Andrews!
We moved on to a couple more quite "local" sort of pubs which was great considering how busy it was outside, then went for an Indian Tapas meal. I dont like Indian, not even the fact its hot, just dont like the taste, I did have 5 vegetarian dishes though, as i am a bit funny about meat in takeaways, and they were ok, but then I am no expert! If you do happen to be in Soho and like curry however my mates would recommend Imli.
Next stop was Soho Ho Comedy Club, which was really great, as you know i have a great love and admiration for stand up and this was a proper comedy club, tiny, dark and dingy!
There were 4 comedians but I think they deserve another blog post, which I will do, hopefully soon.
Reading this I imagine it is ever so boring if you were not there? Sorry about that!!
Tuesday 16 March 2010
Its hunting season!
Well not hunting as such but it is definatley stag season! I have had 2 quite long email conversations today, one confirming plans for a stag weekend in April and the other bouncing ideas about for another stag weekend in August.
The whole stag thing intriques me really because it just seems odd that a load of grown men will find amusement in dressing up often with other men you may barely know or have never met and more often than not they decide that this has to be done hundreds of miles from home often in the tackiest towns you can imagine.
Very odd really as I am sure that i am not the only one of the "stags" who on the face of it thinks it would sound the weekend from hell but when it comes to it, will happily go along with it all and will, i dare to say thoroughly enjoy it!
My own stag was in france and therefore a long way from home but, whilst very cool and very different for a weekend away, it was still quite low key, as i had wanted but very enjoyable.
The April stag is in London, and only for one night, and i am really looking forward to it as it will be an excuse to meet up with some good friends that live a long way away, and i am also happy knowing there will be no fancy dress, no chain "super clubs" and no mammoth journeys to get there!
I am a cheery old soul at times!
The whole stag thing intriques me really because it just seems odd that a load of grown men will find amusement in dressing up often with other men you may barely know or have never met and more often than not they decide that this has to be done hundreds of miles from home often in the tackiest towns you can imagine.
Very odd really as I am sure that i am not the only one of the "stags" who on the face of it thinks it would sound the weekend from hell but when it comes to it, will happily go along with it all and will, i dare to say thoroughly enjoy it!
My own stag was in france and therefore a long way from home but, whilst very cool and very different for a weekend away, it was still quite low key, as i had wanted but very enjoyable.
The April stag is in London, and only for one night, and i am really looking forward to it as it will be an excuse to meet up with some good friends that live a long way away, and i am also happy knowing there will be no fancy dress, no chain "super clubs" and no mammoth journeys to get there!
I am a cheery old soul at times!
I'm a changing man
Having a baby is of course a life changing experience, not least for the mother but i have been thinking recently how it has changed me as a person.
I think it has definately made me more paitent, which previously was one of my biggest weaknesses. I no longer seem bothered that we occasionally run late and have no eagerness get anywhere until we are completly loaded up.
I am amazed at my ability to operate with very little sleep, obviously this goes with the territory, but since i was about 25 i have really enjoyed and appreciated my sleep and the 1st 3 or 4 weeks without were painful, both physically and emotionally! Nearly 9 months on and she still wakes at night, normally only once now about 4 ish, but sometimes more. I would not say i am used to the lack of sleep at all but i just get on with it and carry on as if i have had a good nights sleep.
I have always liked a good night out and there was a time when i would go out 4 or 5 nights a week. Now we rarely go out because obviously we have to stay in and look after the baby but on the occassional times we have been out since she came along it is just not the same. Whilst I apprecaite a change of scenery and enjoy the time i am out, i am keen to get back home earlier rather than later, i never thought i would say that.
Also, I am definatley less lazy! I love going for long walks with the pushchair and generally i will do things that need doing as soon as they need doing rather than putting them off.
Funny really
I think it has definately made me more paitent, which previously was one of my biggest weaknesses. I no longer seem bothered that we occasionally run late and have no eagerness get anywhere until we are completly loaded up.
I am amazed at my ability to operate with very little sleep, obviously this goes with the territory, but since i was about 25 i have really enjoyed and appreciated my sleep and the 1st 3 or 4 weeks without were painful, both physically and emotionally! Nearly 9 months on and she still wakes at night, normally only once now about 4 ish, but sometimes more. I would not say i am used to the lack of sleep at all but i just get on with it and carry on as if i have had a good nights sleep.
I have always liked a good night out and there was a time when i would go out 4 or 5 nights a week. Now we rarely go out because obviously we have to stay in and look after the baby but on the occassional times we have been out since she came along it is just not the same. Whilst I apprecaite a change of scenery and enjoy the time i am out, i am keen to get back home earlier rather than later, i never thought i would say that.
Also, I am definatley less lazy! I love going for long walks with the pushchair and generally i will do things that need doing as soon as they need doing rather than putting them off.
Funny really
How clean is your house?
I have had quite a productive day today and have been spring cleaning the house like a little trojan. I actually quite like cleaning once i can get the motivation to do it, after all i make the mess most of the time, but it always helps when the wife has left me a list of what she wants done before she gets home!
Although i quite like doing it i dont think i am very good at it, i think there is definatley something in the belief that it is womens work! I dont mean that in a sexist way at all but the wife just seems to get on with it, and have the whole house spotless in an hour or 2. When I do it, it seems to take proper ages, (i dont suppose the internet and twitter help my cause) and no matter how hard i try, i always think it could be better. My glass is always streaky, my stainless always looks stained and i seem to acquire piles of junk everywhere!
Today though, i am quite pleased with my efforts, the newly mopped floors look shiny, the surfaces nicely polished, the bathroom looks as good as new and everything smells nice. I even took the lounge curtains down and washed them, hung them out to dry on the line and put them back up, they appear to have shrunk though!
In about 2 days the wife will decide that it is getting a bit untidy again and like a flash, (or a cif) it will be sparkling again, but least I know i have done my bit!
Although i quite like doing it i dont think i am very good at it, i think there is definatley something in the belief that it is womens work! I dont mean that in a sexist way at all but the wife just seems to get on with it, and have the whole house spotless in an hour or 2. When I do it, it seems to take proper ages, (i dont suppose the internet and twitter help my cause) and no matter how hard i try, i always think it could be better. My glass is always streaky, my stainless always looks stained and i seem to acquire piles of junk everywhere!
Today though, i am quite pleased with my efforts, the newly mopped floors look shiny, the surfaces nicely polished, the bathroom looks as good as new and everything smells nice. I even took the lounge curtains down and washed them, hung them out to dry on the line and put them back up, they appear to have shrunk though!
In about 2 days the wife will decide that it is getting a bit untidy again and like a flash, (or a cif) it will be sparkling again, but least I know i have done my bit!
Friday 12 March 2010
Stand up and deliver
I have a great love of stand up comedy and have been to several live shows in various size venues, and it is, if i am honest the one thing i really, really would like to try. Some people say they would to love to try a bungee jump or sky dive but for me, to perform live stand up would truly be fulfilling a lifelong ambition. i love the idea of telling stories to get a reaction and to leave yourself completely vunerable and wide open to a room full of strangers!
I dont think i ever will fulfill the ambition because a) i just cannot see myself actually being able to do it, b) i am not anywhere near funny enough, and what i think is funny in my head certainly isnt on paper or when shared with others, c) living in thanet is not a great place to launch such a career as there is nowhere to ply your trade.
of my favourite live comedy shows, i think Rob Brydon at Margate Winter Gardens reigns supreme, he is a true comic genius and a proper showman. I have quite a few live dvd's too and i will always watch them once for the laughs and then watch them again to study the performer and the way they present thier art, all the time picking up ideas and tips, although just storing them in my mind.
I have a book too, essentially it is a text book and it covers the theory to writing and performing comedy, i have also looked into a course associated to the book, designed to teach you the industry, it is, unsurprisingly in London, and over weekends, and also its expensive, so due to finances and work it is not practial for me, but i suppose if i could get a mon-fri job and save some bonus pennies, i might give it a go!
I dont think i ever will fulfill the ambition because a) i just cannot see myself actually being able to do it, b) i am not anywhere near funny enough, and what i think is funny in my head certainly isnt on paper or when shared with others, c) living in thanet is not a great place to launch such a career as there is nowhere to ply your trade.
of my favourite live comedy shows, i think Rob Brydon at Margate Winter Gardens reigns supreme, he is a true comic genius and a proper showman. I have quite a few live dvd's too and i will always watch them once for the laughs and then watch them again to study the performer and the way they present thier art, all the time picking up ideas and tips, although just storing them in my mind.
I have a book too, essentially it is a text book and it covers the theory to writing and performing comedy, i have also looked into a course associated to the book, designed to teach you the industry, it is, unsurprisingly in London, and over weekends, and also its expensive, so due to finances and work it is not practial for me, but i suppose if i could get a mon-fri job and save some bonus pennies, i might give it a go!
Bonus, its a bonus
I am a partner of the John Lewis Partnership, which basically means i work for them. i have previosuly blogged about my disatisfaction in my job, and since that blog post that has certainly not changed, in fact possibly worsened. What is odd though i think is i am very much a minority in my lack of enthusiasm, and generally speaking, the majority of my co-partners are very satisfied in their jobs and i would go as far to say that many love thier work.
I can never see myself, in any job, truly loving it so much that i want to stay there for years and years but many people i work with have been doing basically the same job for 20 or more years and i just cannot get my head round this. One of the "benefits" of working for the Partnership is if you do work for them for 25 years you are entitled to Long Leave, this is 6 months off work on full pay, and it is amazing how many people i do work with have qualified for this. Although it would be nice to take 6 months off, i would hate to have slogged away for so long to qualify for it, especially knowing that when your 6 months are up you need to go back to the everyday grind. In fact my manager left only today to take his long leave and when he returns in October, he still has 10 years left doing the same job in the same place before he is due for retirement!
Another benefit of the Partnership and probably the most well known and publisized is the Partnership Bonus. This is a percentage of your annual pay and it is announced each March and depends on things like profit, cost control and productivity. This years bonus was announced yesterday and it was a healthy 15%, up from last years 13%. This is very welcome and nice that all partners get it regardless of grade or hours worked. It will be paid at the end of this month so i need to start scratching my head as to what to do with it!
I think this post has made people wonder why i would even consider a new career, they sound like great benefits!!
I can never see myself, in any job, truly loving it so much that i want to stay there for years and years but many people i work with have been doing basically the same job for 20 or more years and i just cannot get my head round this. One of the "benefits" of working for the Partnership is if you do work for them for 25 years you are entitled to Long Leave, this is 6 months off work on full pay, and it is amazing how many people i do work with have qualified for this. Although it would be nice to take 6 months off, i would hate to have slogged away for so long to qualify for it, especially knowing that when your 6 months are up you need to go back to the everyday grind. In fact my manager left only today to take his long leave and when he returns in October, he still has 10 years left doing the same job in the same place before he is due for retirement!
Another benefit of the Partnership and probably the most well known and publisized is the Partnership Bonus. This is a percentage of your annual pay and it is announced each March and depends on things like profit, cost control and productivity. This years bonus was announced yesterday and it was a healthy 15%, up from last years 13%. This is very welcome and nice that all partners get it regardless of grade or hours worked. It will be paid at the end of this month so i need to start scratching my head as to what to do with it!
I think this post has made people wonder why i would even consider a new career, they sound like great benefits!!
Wednesday 3 March 2010
I am The Music Man
Over recent years I feel I have really and regrettably let my love of music slip away somewhat. I used to take pride in my extensive collection which was very diverse and I was often listening to stuff that a lot of my friends had never heard of and telling them all about it.
I have always had quite diverse tastes, from Kanye to Morrissey and used to spend a lot of time and money in my pursuit of a new big tune. Obvioulsy priorities change and time becomes precious but i have decided to dust down the ipod and listen to some old stuff and invest in some new.
For my recent birthday i was bought Florence and The Machine - Lungs and Jay-Z The Blueprint 3, they are obvioulsy very different albums and of course my choices are hardly groundbreaking, but they are both particularly great and are getting loads of "air play".
My aim is to not follow the mp3 route but return to good old classic CD wherever possible, you can forget your Spoitfy's and your Last FM's, this boy is going retro!
I have always had quite diverse tastes, from Kanye to Morrissey and used to spend a lot of time and money in my pursuit of a new big tune. Obvioulsy priorities change and time becomes precious but i have decided to dust down the ipod and listen to some old stuff and invest in some new.
For my recent birthday i was bought Florence and The Machine - Lungs and Jay-Z The Blueprint 3, they are obvioulsy very different albums and of course my choices are hardly groundbreaking, but they are both particularly great and are getting loads of "air play".
My aim is to not follow the mp3 route but return to good old classic CD wherever possible, you can forget your Spoitfy's and your Last FM's, this boy is going retro!
Tuesday 2 March 2010
Update the Captains Blog
goodness me its been a while, and not a good return to bloggerland!
Well the electric meter is still whirring away and we seem to be using a bit less but not quite there yet, but hey the sun is out so it's having some effect!
Went back to work yesterday after a great week off, we didnt go anywhere in particular but it was good to spend time with the girls, and of course not be at work. We always try to make use of our time off and so we went to some places we would not normally go, although on our doorstep, Canterbury, Whitstable, and not qute so cosmopolitan, Ashford.
Its been quite a while since I had been to any of these places simply cos we never seem to find the time and i was surpirsed at how much had changed, new shops and resturants etc and old, apparently well established ones disappeared.
Being off had its unfortnate downside, which off course is having to go back to work, but I have a more positive outlook now, in part i am sure, thanks to the comments on my last post. I am very much still looking to change but I ma taking each day as it comes and what will be will be.
Well the electric meter is still whirring away and we seem to be using a bit less but not quite there yet, but hey the sun is out so it's having some effect!
Went back to work yesterday after a great week off, we didnt go anywhere in particular but it was good to spend time with the girls, and of course not be at work. We always try to make use of our time off and so we went to some places we would not normally go, although on our doorstep, Canterbury, Whitstable, and not qute so cosmopolitan, Ashford.
Its been quite a while since I had been to any of these places simply cos we never seem to find the time and i was surpirsed at how much had changed, new shops and resturants etc and old, apparently well established ones disappeared.
Being off had its unfortnate downside, which off course is having to go back to work, but I have a more positive outlook now, in part i am sure, thanks to the comments on my last post. I am very much still looking to change but I ma taking each day as it comes and what will be will be.
Wednesday 17 February 2010
Life is Great (...ish)
Generally speaking life is not too shabby, pretty good really. I am lucky to have a lovely wife who really cannot do enough for me and we have our brilliant little girl who has really enhanced our life and our relationship.
I have an issue though, it is almost a cloud hanging over me and if I let it, I thnk it might get me down but i wont let that happen. There is this niggling thought that wont go away that there is something missing from my life and i cannot pinpoint it, although I think it maybe lack of career.
I am really not that happy in my job, and i think if i changed it my life would hopefully feel a bit more complete. Now dont get me wrong, I really enjoy working with a lot of the people i work with and i think if i did leave a fair few of them would remain friends but there is a lot more cons than pros as far as i can see.
Now obviously most people at this point would be thinking well get another job then, and this is certainly something i would like to do but that is proving easier said than done!
My biggest weakness and I suppose biggest fear is job interviews, and I just cannot crack them. This frustrates me a lot because I feel i can turn my hand to most things and given the right training i could be pretty good at a lot of different things but no matter how much research i do and how hard i try, interviews seem to beat me everytime.
Of course I have had successful interviews in the past or i would never have worked but when i look back at them they were not difficult at all and certainly not what mordern day employers would consider to be a satisfactory part of the recruitment process!
A big part of the problem is I am 33 next week and I have no idea what I actaully want to be doing, i never have had really, at school i wanted to be a Dr but i was not academically up to that, and probably too lazy, then i wanted to be a police officer, that was a disastarous interview! Me being me, was not happy to apply for Kent Police, i thought the Met would be more exciting, i filled in the form and got an interview, but it was horrible, i couldnt even give a valid answer as to why i wanted to work in London when I lived in Kent which has a very good police force of its own and it went down hill from there!
If I could decide what i wanted to do it would make the whole process easier but i just cant. I trail through loads of jobs websites and look out for things i like the sound of but then there arises another issue, I have never successfully got a job that has been advertised, all my jobs have been speculative enquiries or word of mouthm so i wonder are the job sites a complete waste of time?
There is probably a lot more I could write on this subject but i dont want to go on too long but if anyone has any fail safe interview tips or indeed any cool jobs they want filling, give me a shout!!
I have an issue though, it is almost a cloud hanging over me and if I let it, I thnk it might get me down but i wont let that happen. There is this niggling thought that wont go away that there is something missing from my life and i cannot pinpoint it, although I think it maybe lack of career.
I am really not that happy in my job, and i think if i changed it my life would hopefully feel a bit more complete. Now dont get me wrong, I really enjoy working with a lot of the people i work with and i think if i did leave a fair few of them would remain friends but there is a lot more cons than pros as far as i can see.
Now obviously most people at this point would be thinking well get another job then, and this is certainly something i would like to do but that is proving easier said than done!
My biggest weakness and I suppose biggest fear is job interviews, and I just cannot crack them. This frustrates me a lot because I feel i can turn my hand to most things and given the right training i could be pretty good at a lot of different things but no matter how much research i do and how hard i try, interviews seem to beat me everytime.
Of course I have had successful interviews in the past or i would never have worked but when i look back at them they were not difficult at all and certainly not what mordern day employers would consider to be a satisfactory part of the recruitment process!
A big part of the problem is I am 33 next week and I have no idea what I actaully want to be doing, i never have had really, at school i wanted to be a Dr but i was not academically up to that, and probably too lazy, then i wanted to be a police officer, that was a disastarous interview! Me being me, was not happy to apply for Kent Police, i thought the Met would be more exciting, i filled in the form and got an interview, but it was horrible, i couldnt even give a valid answer as to why i wanted to work in London when I lived in Kent which has a very good police force of its own and it went down hill from there!
If I could decide what i wanted to do it would make the whole process easier but i just cant. I trail through loads of jobs websites and look out for things i like the sound of but then there arises another issue, I have never successfully got a job that has been advertised, all my jobs have been speculative enquiries or word of mouthm so i wonder are the job sites a complete waste of time?
There is probably a lot more I could write on this subject but i dont want to go on too long but if anyone has any fail safe interview tips or indeed any cool jobs they want filling, give me a shout!!
Monday 15 February 2010
Light Up Light Up!
Well, here is that all important 2nd post. I am sure Adem will be relieved to see this!
I don't really have any regular hobbies, especially now that we have an 8 month old daughter, and I hope this blog will go some way to fill this void, but I do sometimes get almost obsessed by things!
My latest obsession is an electric meter sent to me from British Gas. If I am honest I only ordered it because it was a cool looking new gadget but it is beginning to take over our daily routine!
I am forever going round the house switching off lights and unplugging chargers and making sure things are not on stand by to try and get the dial on the display to drop a few notches! I guess in a way this is a good thing as in the long run it is saving me money (although I expect pence rather than pounds) and we should of course all be doing our bit for the environment, but really it is just a bit of a game.
The other day I came in from work and the dial was reading 16.5 kwh (Kilowatt Hours, dunnno what that means!), this was well above the 10.5kwh target I had set ourselves and the dial was flashing vigorously in its on digital disapproving way!
My intention is to drop the target once we consistently stay below it to see how little electricity we actually can get away with using, in reality, I will probably unplug the meter (oh yeas it is mains powered ironically!) to plug in the slow cooker, pop the meter in the drawer and forget it ever existed!
I don't really have any regular hobbies, especially now that we have an 8 month old daughter, and I hope this blog will go some way to fill this void, but I do sometimes get almost obsessed by things!
My latest obsession is an electric meter sent to me from British Gas. If I am honest I only ordered it because it was a cool looking new gadget but it is beginning to take over our daily routine!
I am forever going round the house switching off lights and unplugging chargers and making sure things are not on stand by to try and get the dial on the display to drop a few notches! I guess in a way this is a good thing as in the long run it is saving me money (although I expect pence rather than pounds) and we should of course all be doing our bit for the environment, but really it is just a bit of a game.
The other day I came in from work and the dial was reading 16.5 kwh (Kilowatt Hours, dunnno what that means!), this was well above the 10.5kwh target I had set ourselves and the dial was flashing vigorously in its on digital disapproving way!
My intention is to drop the target once we consistently stay below it to see how little electricity we actually can get away with using, in reality, I will probably unplug the meter (oh yeas it is mains powered ironically!) to plug in the slow cooker, pop the meter in the drawer and forget it ever existed!
Monday 8 February 2010
New Blog Plost
Well, its 2010 (obviously) and I have been thinking about re-blogging for a while, having last blogged in 2006-7 in the run up to my wedding.
At this early stage I am not entirely sure what my hopes and aims are for this blog but I guess that will come over time.
It is really for me to learn more about blogging, and to try and work things out in print rather than in my head! There you go, two of my hopes have revealed themselves already!
I hope i can keep it interesting, maybe even amusing at time but i can make no promises about this!
At this early stage I am not entirely sure what my hopes and aims are for this blog but I guess that will come over time.
It is really for me to learn more about blogging, and to try and work things out in print rather than in my head! There you go, two of my hopes have revealed themselves already!
I hope i can keep it interesting, maybe even amusing at time but i can make no promises about this!
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