Taking control of my life

redsquirrel80

Really glad to hear things are looking up - hope it continues that way

I sympathise on the phone calls, I will avoid phoning people wherever I can, it makes me really nervous but I have no idea why Hope it all goes well today.

Ames

I still can't get through to the second cleaning company. It keeps going to voicemail, but I'm going to be out all afternoon so I can't leave a message for a call back. I'll have to leave it till tomorrow I think.

I've decided to go into the furniture shop, there's a couple of bits I want when it's all sorted, and I'll get an idea of how much they charge for it, I'm thinking I'll put my 20p savings towards it.

Ames

Well, I went to the expert patient programme, and I wasn't registered and they didn't have room to add me in. I'd half expected it - my health trainer said she'd registered me but I hadn't heard anything from them. Anyway, I'm going to do the next course, in November. It's on the other side of the city but I should be ok to get there. From the posters they hadd on the wall it looks really good.

To be honest, I'm glad - I was worrying about starting both that and the headspace one in the same week, this way I ease in gradually.

So, now I can get on with finding a cleaner.

Ames

My sister's finally got a job. It's in Skegness so she has to move there on Sunday ready to start on monday. Guess who's driving her there....

I'm really pleased for her, but worried too. Her first priority when she heard about the job was to go to the bank for a loan. It's an interest free graduate one, but I still think it could be a slippery slope, especially if she uses it for the kind of things she's talking about - second hand BMW etc. Not that I can talk to her about it, after all, I didn't even know you can pay experien to take bad credit off your file (!). I just worry that a minimum wage job wont support the lifestyle she's talking about.

As for her leaving, I'm actually relieved. She's really shaken me up over the last year, it's been an emotional and financial rollercoaster. I just want to go back to living my life how I want to. Helping my community, wearing the clothes that I like, seeing the bands I want to see.

Hopefully this will also help her to grow up. She's acting like a spoilt kid over dad having a girlfriend. She thinks he's turning his back on us and doesn't care about us, which is bs. Yes, if we want something we have to work around him and what he wants, but that's how it should be. She was really bitter about him last night - she can't graduate because she owes her tuition fees for last year, and she blames him for not giving her the money. It's actually her fault - the Student Loans Company needed some info and it took her 3 months to send it to them. I'm 28, she's 24, we're not kids anymore to need him there at our beck and call. If we're old enough to lead our own lives, then so's he! I'm really happy for him, things are finally going well for him. It's about time he put himself as a person before himself as a dad.

GeorgeUK

Looks like lots of progress there.

You're quite right about your sister but unfortunately she needs to learn from her own mistakes. Even if these are sometimes a bit hard hitting.

I didn't even know you can pay experien to take bad credit off your file (!).

Umm, this was a joke - right?

Ames

Nope. She's convinced that if you have something bad on your credit file you can pay to have it removed. Not if it's something big, but if it's something minor. I told her you couldn't, but she's adamant you can!

She's been to the bank, but they can't deal with graduate loans, it has to be done through telephone banking. She might not get one but at the least they'll extend her overdraft by £400, which gives her money for the next week for leaving parties and things. I didn't even bother wasting my breat trying to explain that it's not money it's debt, as you say she has to learn for herself.

sunshinesheli

Glad things are on the up Ames I'll keep my fingers crossed for Friday for you!

Ames

Thanks!

I've just got totally ahead of myself and looked at holidays. With what my sister owes me I could do two of my dream holidays! A combination of her owing me a lot, and the holidays being a lot cheaper than I thought.

But I'm going to forget about it for now and wait and see if I actually get the money!

Ames

Well, been into town with sister who was a PITA, but I've only got to put up with it for 6 more days. I wanted a couple of cheap primark throws to protect my new sofa, but they didn't have any plain ones. The did have a really nice woolly one that's big enough to cover it on it's own, it was £5 more than the ones I wanted, but it is better. So if I still like it and think it's suitable in a day or two I'll get it then. I also decided to get my eyes tested - Boots had a really nice pair of glasses in the half price sale, they're £35 so free with my NHS voucher and I'm 18 months overdue for a test. So I've got that tomorrow afternoon.

Just heard from the second cleaning company, they don't cover my area either. So I'm going to have to go with one that just does cleaning, not the food prep. I think I'll be able to get one of my neighbours to do it for me, it's just chopping some veg every couple of weeks, if I give them a few quid to do it everyone's happy.

I've decided to enrol on an A level course. It seems a bit silly, especially since two of the five subjects I'm interested in I'm studying at degree level, but it's something free that'll get me out of the house. I also think it'll help me build a routine, and if I'm doing regular study for that it should help me do my OU stuff in a more organised way - I could even go do it in the college library. They start next week though so I need to get a move on with it. I've got to go to the psychologist this afternoon, so I'll call into the college on my way and enrol. Hopefully that'll help my Social Services assessment, it's something that means I have to leave the house so adds weight to me needing help, and it's bettering myself in the process. (I'll just keep quiet about the 4 a levels I already have!).

Ames

Well, all the A level courses were full so I've signed up for GCSE Italian. It'll get me out of the house for free once a week, which is the main thing. I'm also on the waiting list for A level Sociology, but the waiting list's long so I'm not holding my breath. I'll make sure I go in and register in January for next year though!

It's funny how much college policy changes. I couldn't do A levels when I finished school because I couldn't cope with full time, which was 3 A levels, and they wouldn't let me go part time. So I waited 3 years and went when I was 19, therefore a mature student, and was allowed part time. By then, 3 A levels was part time, and 5 was full time. Today I found out that 2 A levels is classed as full time! I'm surprised anyone could keep up with it!

I missed the psychologist. Once again I got the time wrong. In future if I see anyone I need to make it clear to them that I need the appointments to be at the same time each week, I just can't keep track of it if it changes every time. Especially when I was told when they phoned me to make the first appointment that it would be the same time every week. I know that sounds really lame of me, but I just can't handle it, I don't know why.

Otherwise things are going ok. I'm trying not to worry too much about Friday, but it is playing on my mind a bit.