Tuesday 30 June 2009

Up, Down, Up, Down...

The Un-Working girl has been a bit quiet of late due to popping off for a nice relaxing Hen Weekend in the Cotswolds. Just what the doctor ordered.

One little funny story from the weekend... On my way home on Sunday I was waiting at Paddington Station and when the train arrived there was a surge of people trying to get through the security gates and onto the train. You know the ones, you put your ticket into the machine, the gates open as it spits your ticket back out and you walk through...

Well yes, obviously the gates closed on me in front of approximately 1 million spectators, who failed miserably at stifling their giggles at the sight of me, left hand successfully through the gate carrying hand luggage, right hand stuck out behind me wheeling along a suitcase, the gates all the while getting tighter and tighter around my middle.

At probably the most leisurely pace I've even seen in my life, the staff member nearest me slowly finished what he was doing and called at me to "stop struggling", as the crowd grew larger and larger. Barely able to breathe, I gasped at him that it was "hurting me...Quite a lot!" until he eventually made his way over and freed me, to the disappointment of the masses.

You have my permission to laugh.
These things do seem to happen to me far more than anyone else. I think I shall write a letter to somebody about this.

Have had a very mixed week with regards to the job hunt (oh yes, that. There was originally a purpose to this blog which has now turned into a series of embarrassing tales of my life).

I received a phone call from an agency on Thursday night saying they wanted to put me forward for a temping job in Exeter (I was a bit concerned about the 40 min commute until I learned that the London girls at the Hen Do travel 3 hours daily to get to and from work). The money was quite reasonable so I told them to go for it, plus I would be able meet my sister, Hazel, for lunch regularly as she lives and works in Exeter.
Naturally, I've heard nothing about it since.

Then I had a call to say that I've been selected for a telephone interview for a job with a mortgage company. I've been concerned about this job from the start because I just don't feel too comfortable about the whole thing. It basically involves phoning people who have defaulted on their mortgage repayments, to come up with a payment plan. The thing that bothers me is that I would probably end up ringing people in similar situations to my own, and I would feel terrible. I know I would be trying to help them, but it's still not a job I really want to do as it's a bit too close to home. Nonetheless, I had the telephone interview (which went terribly, for the record) and was surprised / dismayed to receive a call later saying I'd progressed to the next round. I am in no position to be turning down work, so I have to go for it.

Which leads me to my next issue:
Today, one of my friends, B, came round for a breakfast to celebrate her being offered a cool job (CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN B!!!), and whilst she was here another agency called her telling her about some work coming up. The job sounded really good and they needed lots of people so B asked if she could pass on my details. She was more than happy for this so I called her and she gave me some brief details of the job... It was temporary work with an immediate start, fairly straightforward. She was waiting for more information and was going to call me later today with the lowdown. She asked if I knew anyone else who was interested, so I promptly contacted the other redundant managers from my previous work and they got straight on the case too.

Phoned around for some car insurance quotes and had a little wrangle with the woman on the other end, who couldn't understand why I was horrified at being charged £400 (double last year's quote), and unfortunately for her, she had to listen to THIS: "I'velostmyjobandamlivingoff £64aweek,whichisn'tenoughtopaymycounciltaxandwaterrates.Idonothave£400sittingaroundina bankaccount.InfactIhave£1inmybankaccount.Whywillnobodyhelpmeeeeeeeee?".

She said she would send me a £20 voucher for Tesco if that would help. I mumbled like a spoilt child that it would, and handed over my credit card details.

Feeling simultaneously victorious and fleeced, I went into town and met Spider for a coffee. He is going to start his own blog, which will be way funnier than this one by the way, so keep your eyes peeled.

I got home feeling happy, and called O2 in my third attempt at getting an iPhone on a loyalty contract. Another T-U-W-G v CSR wrangle ensued and eventually I emerged victorious. My new toy arrives tomorrow. And yes, I can afford it as it's costing me the same amount as my existing phone, which I need for jobseeking purposes OBVIOUSLY.

Hung out some washing, which along with catching up on the murder mysteries, is my other pastime these days, and realised it was 5pm and I'd not heard from the agency lady about the job. Absolutely typical. I've also still had no responses to any of the applications I've sent out. How quickly you forget the excitement of a new iPhone when you've just shelled out £400 for car insurance and £200 for an overdue water bill and remember you don't have a job...

Just then, the phone rang. It was the lady from the agency with the long awaited info about the position.
Wages: Rubbish. Minimum wage.
Hours: Brilliant.
Starts: Thursday. Awesome.
Location: Inside my previous workplace.

I put the phone down and burst into tears.

2 comments:

  1. What????????? OMG!! Can they really do this to us? Are you going to do it Ems? Can't speak, type or make coherant thoughts I'm sat here in shock!!! xx

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  2. This post really packs a punch, i actually felt quite emotional after I read this, you really have a way with words to illustrate how frustrating this must be for you. Well done on the blog.

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