A quick catch-up

Thursday was a good day on the job hunting front, with 8 on-line applications submitted. I’m not happy that as things stand I don’t have any interviews lined up but all I can do now is play the numbers game. Feedback on my CV has been very positive of late so my constant refinement appears to be delivering.

Friday had been set aside to fetch my sister Christine from Manchester Airport as she flew in for a few days back here in the UK with mum & dad. Andy drove me up to meet her, arriving 10 minutes before her plane was due in, only to find it had already been on the ground for 10 minutes, so 8 minutes later the 3 of us were back on the road and out of the airport.

Saturday saw Angie & John drive up to Derby from Colchester, staying overnight at the bungalow, so it was a full house there Saturday night. Midday Sunday the three of them came to ours for a Sunday/Christmas dinner, leaving mum and dad for a couple of hours in peace and quiet. Angie & John returned home mid-afternoon as John has a job to go to through the week while Angie is in the same boat as I am – not having much joy job hunting.

Over the weekend dad’s condition had gradually deteriorated with a wheezing and rattling of his chest getting worse as the weekend progressed, so much so that Sunday afternoon mother called the emergency doctor service for a house visit. Dad was checked out, early stages of pneumonia was the possible diagnosis and an ambulance ordered to take him to hospital for tests and treatment. Christine went in the ambulance while mum & I followed in my car. For Christine this was all new, for mum & I it was the 5th or 6th time this year but she now knows how good the newly re-built Derby City hospital is and can now relate to it when we speak to her about it in future. As usual I was just added muscle to assist the ambulance crew of 2 rather dainty young ladies who at first tried to do without my assistance until they realised that they really did need it (getting a stretcher in and out of the bungalow isn’t easy). Dad was kept in overnight to do blood and breathing tests and to do a chest x-ray.

Today, in between bouts of job hunting, I’ll be fetching and carrying mum and Christine as Chris has a small shopping list she wants complete, plus another visit to see dad, before heading back to America tomorrow morning.