Hello again all!
I know it's been a while since my last post, but I've been struggling to find the time recently. However, I'm back in business now! In the past few months my life has changed dramatically, and there are still (hopefully) more positive changes to come...
Firstly, 3 months ago I was made redundant from the job I had been doing for the past nine years. This has been both a curse and a blessing. On the plus side, I had been longing to do something different for a long time. Suddenly I had the opprtunity to find something new, along with (again, hopefully) enough redundancy money to last until then. Also, the money would enable me to pay off a few debts & finally get married after years of living with my fiance.
I soon discovered the downside though. Due to the "credit crunch", there were more people than ever in my situation, and less and less employers hiring staff. So far, there seems to be hardly any decent jobs out there, and far more applicants than ever before! In the past 3 months, I've only had 4 interviews, although with 2 more on the way.
Then there's the blogging. I thought I'd find more time for this being out of work, however I spend so much time job hunting that I rarely find the time these days. In fact, I feel guilty when I'm not searching for work, particularly as the redundancy money is getting low, and Christmas coming too!
The other big change is that I am now married. Our wedding day was Saturday 7th November, and we had a wonderful day. This was the last Saturday so far this year with perfect weather, and despite our worries about all that could go wrong - absolutely nothing did! Even our two families (who had never met before) got along like they were old friends!
As we'd aimed to get married as cheaply as possible (it was still more expensive than we'd planned in the end!), and only allowed ourselves a couple of months to arrange, my outfit was a bit of a mix and match affair. The bridal shop told me that the only way I could get a dress in time was to have a bridesmaid's dress and have it delivered as an express order. Apparently, people tend to order their dresses as far as a year in advance! As far as the accessories, they came much more cheaply from ebay, and I had to hope that they were going to match! I found the most amazing boots...
and bolero jacket...
In fact, I was told that the outfit looked like it had been hired or bought as a set, as everything went together so well!
The only thing I'm finding difficult is the change of name. This seems to take weeks for the bank, Job Centre etc, leaving me in a state of limbo while I wait for the change to take place. Imagine phoning a company, being asked your name, and finding the answer really difficult! It tends to be a case of "you know me as..., but I'm not anymore. My name on your system should now be... Did you know that?" It gets to a point (particularly as I'm now dealing with several agencies and employers) where I can't remember who I've told, and who I haven't! This can start to get confusing after a while! Mind you, everyone seems to get over excited when you tell them you've just got married! Hopefully this should start to get easier soon.
Now for the next hurdle to overcome. Christmas shopping on a budget!
