I was up with the lark this morning, or possibly even before it since Louise woke me, so that I’d be ready for this training course that Reed had organised. I got up, made coffee, showered, dressed and made-up by about 8:00. I looked good too, I think, and was out of the door by 8:30 to catch the 253 northbound. As I reached the bus stop, I notices the “Stop not in use” sign, and turned to go to the next nearest stop, to see the bus drift slowly past me. At least it wasn’t raining. (more…)
Category: Looking for work
Thanks for the upgrade!
Tonight, while out at an Ingress event, I finally made Level 8! I wasn’t certain I’d do it, to be blunt. Recently, getting a GPS lock has been a real chore, with the scanner showing me moving while still and locked solidly in place while moving. Added to this were the fact that I have spent about a fortnight with no in-game weapons and the inability to get more was making it look tough. And then, a most kind-hearted smurf called zedalphus blew up one of our portals not 40 metres from where I stood shivering in a bus shelter, allowing me to re-capture it and get my new level. Since this is about my most public channel, I’d like to thank zedalphus publicly here for his sterling work on behalf of the Enlightened. He (or she) has a truly green heart and should be granted Honorary Enlightened status.
As an aside, Agent GeekyLou was also able to get a new level and is (I believe), our newest level 7 agent at this time.
A fun evening was had by all, including at the Pizza Express where the food was wonderful, though not as spicy as I was hoping for, and the service was entertaining to say the least. (more…)
Humpday hangover
I was sitting in Penderel’s Oak last night, waiting for food to arrive before heading off to a meetup, when I got a call from a recruitment agent. I honestly have no idea why they call at that time of day, but there you are. Anyway, he thinks he may have a position for me, so there is something to be hopeful about. (more…)
Update on the jobsearch problems
Since I’ve promised a few people an update, then I’ll start here. I’m going to ramble a bit, so please bear with me.
I managed to make both appointments yesterday, though not without cost to myself. Anyway, the JCP¹ adviser told me I could come in late if Reed² kept me too long, so I was confident that I’d make it somehow… (more…)
Life as a benefit scrounger…
So this weekend I got a letter in the post from Reed. It’s one of those “invitations” one sometimes gets when on the Work Programme – a laughable description, to make one more employable. In any case, I am invited to attend at 10:00 on Tuesday (tomorrow) for an induction, and by the way it’s mandatory and if I don’t attend then I can be sanctioned and lose benefits. Of course, what’s not said is that since I have to sign-on tomorrow morning at 11:40 which is also mandatory, then I cannot possibly attend both and can be sanctioned anyway. That said, I only get £67 a week to live on, so once I pay to get to their mandatory interviews, there’s not a lot left – I used to have savings from when I worked. (more…)