Horace's Biting the Bullet Diary

Wordsmith

You might do better with the dresses in a buy & sell type paper - I think some take free small ads. I agree, there's no chance of selling the dress at a car boot.

Horace

Wise words Wordsmith.

The illness I have is thrush related:eek: - so I must be even more stressed that I realised because have not had that for yonks, I figure it was from eating the spicy food on Friday night.

I have applied for another job this afternoon at a University, only 18.5hrs a week and they want someone to start asap. It is not the University that made me redundant..there is no way I will set foot in that place ever again (other than to go to my dentist). Need to make a dental appointment because 6 months is up only I dare not - unless I ring and make the appointment for September.

Found a pre-cooked turkey steak in the freezer and had that in some burger buns (ones taken from the freezer earlier which were a bit soggy around the edges). I really need to sort out my diet.

Also watered my tomatoes - at least I can class them as free food.

Lugged a big bag of waste paper (junk mail and old magazines) down to the recycling bin and then discovered that the council had taken it away..some stupid twonk has obviously been putting ordinary rubbish in it. May call council tomorrow to see if they will bring it back..I need somewhere to dump all the old newspapers and brochures. I have decided to chuck out the brochures that I haven't read since the day I collected them so I don't see much point in keeping them. Flat is looking a little tidier but not as tidy as it could be. Kitchen looks a bit better too as all washing up has now been done - even the pans that I had shoved in the oven out of the way. Oven no longer works but the rings do so when I need to use a ring, I switch the thing on at the wall and then switch it off afterwards.

Still not sure what to do about the bank charges..why do banks insist on charging when they know you are on low income so they just shove you into more debt?:mad:

This week, I will chase all the jobs I applied for last week to see if I have interview offers. I have a few things against me a) disability b) age c)self employment. I have worked out that I could work Monday/Tuesday afternoons and all day Weds thru Friday for an employer although not this Wednesday as I am at the eye hospital which will be a chore and I will be very sleepy afterwards - it is field vision test day and I hate them.

Horace

News on the work front - I may be working this weekend doing some temp job answering phones, it pays £6 an hour, in other news I got turned down for a job that I applied for yesterday for some reason I am not too bothered - who wants to mess around with trucks anyway?

I should have 9 in for breakfast next week:j I spoke to a nice young man today on Skype (free) and got chatted up so offered my car cleaning services as I am a dab hand with a bucket of water and a sponge:rotfl:

In other news I have spoken to my accountant and she is being lenient with the money I owe her and understands my position and knows the efforts I am putting in to get money coming in.

I had another idea today, I could offer my services to Business Venture as an adviser because I know how to set up a business and can advise on such matters.

Someone else I know has suggested that I sell workshops for her which she will charge out initially at £40 per head and she said that I could add my cut on top so I am thinking 10% initially (she is as skint as me at the mo). She rang me today to ask about Project Management for the Arts Council but I am out of practice in handling such large budgets and as the Arts Council is supposed to be disappearing do I want to work for them anyway? God, I am so picky.

I have something to look forward to on 4 August too - I am off to the Hilton Metropole for an Olympic evening and will be having a bed for the night (all free) and I am having a meeting with the events manager in the afternoon at 3pm (the one I was supposed to see last week and forgot) so the hotel are giving me free parking for the night as well:cool: I love free stuff..tonight I am networking again another free event with cocktails and canapes - I bought a bus ticket this morning which lasts all day so I don't need to fret about money for the bus. (Got a lift back from networking this morning which was fab). What else can I blag for free?

Horace

Well, well, well....I am glad I went to the cocktails and canapes event at Jury's Inn Bham tonight - I hadnt booked:rotfl: I had a look around at some of their refurbished bedrooms and looked at their conference rooms. I met some fabby people and made some good contacts - on arrival I was asked to put my business card into a glass bowl and as I have two I put both in. I never win anything but tomorrow might well be the day to get a lottery ticket because tonight I won a night for 2 people at Jury's Inn Sheffield including breakfast:cool: Now then, who do I take with me?

As for the tender, I missed the deadline (it was a silly deadline anyway) and I am not that fussed by it because I don't want to organise an event in that evil green place (walls, floors and ceilings are bright in your face lime green:eek:).

I am out a fair bit tomorrow at meetings so it should be quite a good day, must remember to go to the bank to get some money out - I need to buy something so that I can get £3.60 for the bus forWednesday.

startagain_2

Hi Horace,

just catching up on your diary, thanks to my insomnia last night!

Talk about peaks and troughs - you spend the day living on morsels and then a night in a swanky hotel. Crikey! As long as the "free" things don't have added costs involved - Good Luck to you

I do hope you get some good news soon, you are certainly putting out enough feelers. I actually think that there is a bit more work about at the moment, it seems to have picked up a bit. In my area the wages being offered are also slightly more than minimum wage - a vast improvment...

Try and sort your diet out - I am a firm believer in eating as healthily as you can. Turkey burgers just dont cut it, I am afraid.

Have a good, interesting and fruitful day (I hope)

Hugs

SA

Wordsmith

Horace wrote: »

I spoke to a nice young man today on Skype (free) and got chatted up so offered my car cleaning services as I am a dab hand with a bucket of water and a sponge:rotfl:

Erm, Horace, I am a bit out of touch, but when I get chatted up by a nice young man (oh, all right, that should have been in past tense) I angle for a date, not offer to clean his car. Or am I misreading and it has something to do with soapsuds and wet T-shirts?

I'm glad you have some work on the horizon and lots of bits that might amount to work.

Could you sell the 2 nights at Jury's on ebay? Or take the nice young man along with the bucket and sponge?

Horace

Evening peeps,

Just catching up with my diary before I participate in a free webinar (I am a virgin when it comes to them:eek:).

I looked at the thing at Jury's Inn, it is one night for two people and I will have the added cost of getting there - I never thought about selling it on ebay, good thinking Wordsmith.

The agency didnt call me even though I called them on Monday, I did speak to a girl who sounded like the village idiot and certainly not professional (this was someone who worked for the agency too). I contacted another agency today and they are going to see what they can do for me.

Once again I am without money - I am overdrawn by £284 but I will be getting my HB cheque for £207.70 but I shall still be overdrawn and my rent is £525 (my overdraft is £500). Last night I was naughty and went to the chippy for a bag of chips any leftovers were nuked at lunchtime today. I promised to pay the graphic designer £100 too but I just can't and will have to send him something. Part of this skintyness has stemmed from the working tax credits being reduced to £24 a week but now they are back up, I may actually ring them tomorrow to see if I can get more out of them because I have no money for food.:o (Must get myself to Waitrose with my bundles of LVs and use them in exchange for food). Need to speak to Scottish Power about moving to a different electricity tariff now that they have been to read the meter (I cannot see the numbers on the meter to do my own readings).

Yesterday, I won something else - two tickets to a seminar in London on Thursday run by Kimberly Davis who was a contender on The Apprentice last year - tickets worth £99 plus VAT each. These were passed to one of my chums who lives in London (I cannot afford to go there and I have meetings tomorrow) - she is doing stuff for me in exchange:cool:

Today, was Eye Hospital day - forgot the kids were off so arrived at eye hospital at 7.30 and my appointment was at 8.45. Still I was in the warm and had a free paper to read. I had my field vision test and actually did quite well for once and I managed to read half of the line from the bottom on the eye chart which means that my sight is still ok for driving:T I saw the nice registrar in clinic and I told him that I felt my eyesight was getting worse in that I am losing my balance more and cannot see unnevenness in floors which means I trip up and go flying:( so I ended up having dilating drops put in - then they looked at my eyes, then Prof came to see me so I go back in 4 months and will have another type of field vision test (one where I have to look at blobs as opposed to lights). I spent the afternoon asleep on the sofa.

As I have had a lucky few days, I bought a lottery ticket in the hope that I win something, I would have bought a scratch card but they were too expensive.

Have just remembered I have a pound of mince in the freezer and a tin of Eazy Onions (I love Delia's cheats) so tomorrow I will cook up a bolognese and freeze it so I have other meals.

On 4 August, I am off to stay in a swanky hotel because they have asked me to attend a free event..it is only 30 miles away but it is free and I can combine it with business meetings over that side of town.

Where has this year gone?

Must try and get on to one of the debt charities because I hate being in this mess:o

The thing with the car valeter - was I was angling for a job washing cars and I was using my charm to try and charm him into a) giving me a job and b) coming to a breakfast meet.

Oh got nagged again last night about not being on various websites - I am getting wholly sick of it. He also said that the chap he sends to the Monday meetings is bored because there are not many people there - he never opens his gob anyway...grrr. To be honest I don't want him there.

Horace

I had a free breakfast this morning - I was invited to a show around a hotel and offered breakfast so it would have been rude to say no. I was also doing Business Club stuff and picked up 4 weekends to be auctioned off for charity, plus I was offered 15% commission should any one I recommend book meetings etc.:cool:

I looked at the invoices from the theatre that I use for breakfast meets and realised that I don't actually make any money - the room is basic to say the least and numbers have been dropping off, I may just cancel it for Monday because it isnt worth the time or effort to go:mad: I had my arm twisted to have a Bham meet too..I hate cancelling stuff. Anyway I have tried to find another suitable location - somewhere closer to me (still Bham) but somewhere that has free parking. I tried the local Brewers Fayre and once again I could not get through - I have waited and waited for call backs before now and I have even visited the place and there have never been any managers about, so sick of being given the runaround I contacted Whitbreads who are the overall owners and as a result my details are being given to the Area Manager. Cannot believe that people don't want paying customers - what is wrong with them? The local gym was far more amenable but they do sausage sandwiches, bacon sandwiches but no plated breakfasts.

I have a headache too - I feel as though my head is being squashed but then the sky is rather dark and it feels rather oppressive so I am wondering if there has been a change in atmospheric pressure.

In other news the webinar was great, I got free stuff and I learnt stuff.:cool:

I am trying not to think of the money that I owe:o

Horace

Horace has news....

My call to Whitbreads seems to have worked, I got a call last night at around 8.45pm from the manager of the venue that I want to use - she claimed never to have received messages that I had left for her, result - I have moved the breakfast group from the theatre to the new venue. The added bonus for me is that it is 2 miles from home and I can walk there (that will shift my podge):D

In other news - I had a long chat with someone today, now I had gone to see her about possible reciprocal work but she is a life coach and has worked with people with mental illness...we had a chat about me and I shared things that I may not have shared with others..and I feel tons better:cool:

This is not the only news of the day...I have an interview it will take place sometime between 6.30pm and 9pm on one of 3 dates I have been given (I can do all). I have to go to the Chairman's house but I have been told that the interview is informal - it won't stop me from dressing to the nines though. This is for the part time self employed job working 8hrs a week organising a music festival:j

Oh I did get bullied a bit too with pressure applied to open a third networking group but I need to get the two I have already off the ground properly and working properly before I consider another. I am not doing to do groups where I am told either because I feel as though I am being controlled. I know where the third group will be and it won't be where I have been instructed to hold it either. I am beginning to wonder whose business I am running here..mine or someone else's!:mad:

beanielou

Positive stuff there then.