Something different

Walking out of my Business Analyst role at UoD was made all that much easier by walking straight into a casual driving job right there, ferrying lecturers, students and important people about between the various campus locations, other universities and doing airport runs (so far just collections from Heathrow and Birmingham).

And I am enjoying it. There is no routine, jobs are offered by email for me to accept or decline. There is no stress, all I have to do is turn up at the pre-booked time, check over and sign out the vehicle and drive. I love the longer runs because I get to just hang around waiting for the return run which is frequently when the match/game has been played or the plane has landed, and then drive back. Simples. I am free to fill my time in between outbound and return runs as I please, and I get days without work, so more "me time". OK, so I'm not earning at anywhere near the same level but importantly, I am happier and have time to work out what I want to do longer term.

That didn't last long

Got so fed up with the hostile working environment that I quit on 30th October, so...

Started.: 30th September
Finished: 30th October

Yes, I just quit, with immediate effect and walked out. Never done it before and no desire to do it again but it had to be done.

C'est la vie!

Re-employed - 3 weeks in...

Well that was a hectic few weeks. My stats this time around:
Jobs applied for . . . : 54
1st round interviews: 12
2nd round interviews: 02

One job offer: Senior Business Analyst quickly revised to Principal Business Analyst

Made redundant 11th August
Commenced employment 30th September

So that's 7 weeks unemployed drawing job seekers allowance of £73.10 per week. Now my commute is just under 6 miles each way and flexible hours on a 37hr week. But big expectations and short timescales to deliver in, and a need to bring about a real culture change.

No preasure there then!

Nearly there...

So the guys from Bestcrete have been and done their thing, poured, stamped, coloured and sealed the 3 phase creation of drive, patio and garden path is now complete and all that remains is the bit that I will term 'landscaping'. Basically a flower garden to the right of the path and building up the level of the soil on the left and then either seeding it with grass seed or the laying of turf. So this last weekend we got started on it and this is the current state of play...

Path poured, pattern imprinted, coloured and sealed...

The new path blends almost seamlessly into the patio just as we wished....

View from patio to back door and the start of the path...

Flowerbed on the right planted out with an initial selection of flora.

Environmental maste management system in place, away from the back door.


View from the side access.

Next stage in the process

The guys from Bestcrete were back again this morning to do the final preparations before the concrete pour, and this is how it looks now....

Shuttering in place for the final lay, colouring and pattern imprinting...

The hard stuff goes down on Saturday, weather permitting.

Shed - the final phase commences

The old shed base has gone along with all evidence it ever existed. The power supply to the new shed is now in place and laid, protected, in the hardcore to be peranently covered by the concrete top coat while in the shed it goes into a proper distribution box with RCD protection.

Anyway, here is a picture of the current view from our guests bedroom...

Hardcore down awaiting the final lay, colouring and pattern imprinting...

Unemployed - 3 weeks in...

Time for an update on my search for a new job, so what have I been up to in my first 3 weeks unemployed?

Well so far I have applied for 33 advertised job vacancies. This has resulted in 2 duplicate applications, 6 rejections after first interview, 2 jobs where I was advised there would be no interview as I didn't have the skills they were looking for (but were not in the job advert), 1 vacancy already filled, 1 no contact and 2 put on hold (no budget approved for post).

So I am now waiting to hear if I will be getting a 2nd interview on 2 roles where I have done a 1st interview, one of which is doubtful and the other is hopeful. The remaining 17 roles are WIP (work in progress) whichbasically means I have applied and I am waiting to hear. Why don't I chase them up? Simply because there are no contact details supplied during the application process so no way for me to follow-up.

Yesterday was my 3rd JSA sign-on. Last Thursday I had to additionally attend a National Careers Service "course" - really a group session aimed at advising job seekers how to write a CV and covering letter. Sothat was 2 hours of my time wasted attending and another hour in travel time but, if I don't jump through these loops they stop the JSA payments of £73.10 a week and they put you straight onto daily sign-on. No, the Gestapo didn't disband after the end of WW2.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, my ex-employer managed to screw up my final payment so I am over £2k down on what was agreed. I've been promised that the adjustment to correct this will be in my account before the weekend, but as they had 20 days to get it right the first time around I don't hold out much hope of them getting it right in 3 days.

Here we go again...

Tuesday 11th August was my last day at Capita, yes, I have been made redundant again. That's the 5th time in my career/job history. This time I saw it coming so I actually got my CV together and out there some weeks before the day. That pulled in a few interviews which at least gave me some interview practice (if nothing else). One did lead to a 2nd interview but that's now scheduled for 26th August so plenty of time to get some more lined up just in case that one doesn't deliver. In the meantime I also have to do a series of on-line tests for this job too. I'll do that tomorrow so wish me luck.

Yesterday was my first appointment with Job Seekers to get my JSA claim verified, then bugger me, today was my first "signing on" day. That's the way it happens sometimes.

Shed electrics

Nearly completed. Distribution /comsumer box with RCD breaker installed. Security light mounted and security system wired and dialled in. Twin power points/sockets above the bench and lighting in the form of two energy saving (low power draw) 11W (75W equivalent to regular bulbs) mounted in the high ceiling and a four foot 5H tube mouted in the eaves above the bench.

All the above is still running off a temporary power extension from the house but that will soon be addressed with a buried permanent power supply.

Another task that has progressed is the sorting and boxing into cartons of those little things like screws, nuts, bolts, washers, nails and other miscellenia. Last on the list will be the acquisition of a meaty vice and (possibly also) a bench drill.

Shed update - old & new

With a temporary power supply rigged up to the new shed and power sockets installed along with the initial security measures (more to follow) it was time to take down the old shed, yes, demolition time had arrived.

The weekend starts...

... and from another angle.

The easy bit was always going to be removing door and windows, the simple tongue and grove panels and the liner floor panels laid over the original (rotten) wood floor. The hard bit was going to be the roof with it’s multiple layers of roofing felt. Well that is what we thought so we removed the easy bits first....

Window glass removed....
Followed by the door.


Then as we tackled the structure the roof developed a distinct V shape so the plan changed to remove all the wood in the sides, weakening the structure and then just push it over...

Well that plan worked a treat.

So with a power saw to cut it all up, a broom to clear it up, and a skip to take it all away, here is the end result...

Then there was one.

This was the shed (and some of its contents).


The next stage of the overall plan is to install lighting in the one shed, complete the security measures and then get Bestcrete back in during the first week in September to replace the slabs with patterned, pressed concrete to match the patio done last year.

Shed - it's coming along 2

The decision taken was to build my own bech, greatly assisted by finding a suitable 'kitchen' worktop to use as the worktop for the bench, and for the princely sum of £5. So with the additional purchase of £10 worth of M10 bolts and some carefull design and planning I now have a work bench with back splash custom built to fill the available gap between some purpose built shelving that I made and the racking that I purchased for the back of the shed (I worked out that I couldn't build it for what it cost to buy).

So next step is to put in some lightling, power points and PIR based security system (the latter because lately there has been a spate of burglaries from garden sheds locally) and run the power up to the shed from the old one, before that is demolished and the path laid to the new one. That should keep me busy for a few days but as I have just been advised that I am to be made redundant I should have the time on my hands to do it.

Impressions of Canada

It has been a week since we returned from our vacation in Canada so time to reflect. Unlike China 2 years ago which was an adventure, Canada was much more of a holiday. Yes, we travelled 2,000kms but the plan worked and we got to see all the attractions we planned to see and more. Wildlife wasn't as abundant as we had been lead to believe, but we still saw an impressive list of creatures; ground squirrels (chip monks), marmots, brown/black dears and grizzly bears, bold headed eagles, sea otters, seal and sea lions, whales (including a mother and her youngster), and numerous birds I couldn’t identify.

The Rockies are spectacular and despite warnings that we would overdose on mountains and forests to the point of boredom we just kept on enjoying the ever changing views – that is the beauty of touring. Due to the high temperatures and low spring rainfall (the wet season ended 2 weeks early) there was a distinct lack of waterfalls and water levels in the rivers were low.

Main Street, Banff - just so pretty.

But it is the people and places we will always remember. Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Clearwater, Harrison Hot Springs, Tofino, Victoria and Vancouver were the main places on our tour. Banff deserved more time and Lake Louise is vastly over-rated and should have been omitted (it was an expensive diversion) as there are so many lakes more deserving of the tourists’ attention such as The Emerald Lake, Moraine Lake, Lake Medicine, Maligny Lake to name just a few.

How can you tire of vistas like this one of Moraine Lake?

Banff and Victoria were the two surprises of the trip. Happily we spent a couple of days in Victoria but Banff only got a few hours of exploration and deserves much more. Jasper would be a good base from which to explore if you had a week to spare although Jasper town is not up to the standards of Banff or Victoria, and Victoria… what can I say? Given the chance I’d move there tomorrow. The people in Canada are friendly and welcoming but Victoria winds it up to a whole new level.