Horace's Biting the Bullet Diary

Horace

Dad was due to see a specialist today about the huge lump on his head, he wasn't expecting it to be removed but the specialist suggested that Dad wait for half an hour and then he would remove it. I rang Mum earlier to find out (Dad cannot use the phone very well because of his deafness). He has to attend his GP twice a week to have the dressing changed and he needs to go back on 9 March to see the specialist again and he will then look at the growth on Dad's nose.

Mum asked me what I thought of the house and whether or not I could live here because Dad was concerned that I might not like it. I said that I would be very happy there and already had plans for the garden, the brick built sheds and the rest of the house. They cannot view it yet as Mum needs to see their accountant and on Tuesday Dad is at the doctors. Due to his age and illness Dad tends not to get up until lunchtime so that is half the day gone already. Mum pointed me in the direction of a 3 bed house with offroad parking but having seen a house on the same street that looks the same then I already know what the layout is like and I felt that although the house has 3 bedrooms they are not that spacious. Mum is worried that they might not get the house so I said that if it was meant to be then it would happen if not then there will be other houses.

I have now seen another job advertised at R*ndstad for a Business Development Manager for some other conference rooms in Birmingham - salary is £25K - I think I will apply because I am a fantastic networker and can be quite persuasive.:D

This year I shall get a job that pays a decent wage, I will be able to save, I will be divorced (:j) and I will be able to spend time pottering about and getting my life back. I am already starting to feel a lot happier in myself because I can see an end to the purgatory that I have been living in for a while.

Plans for this weekend - visit more charity shops, do some washing, take the rubbish to the bin, tidy up, plan my meals - cook meals, get some milk. I need to rummage in the crates too because there is an antique lightshade that my aunt gave me that I have never used - I want to take it to a valuation day on Tuesday. If I can get some money for it that would be fab.

beanielou

Great to see you so positive
Have a great weekend.

LondonGirl252

Glad to hear your Dad is being treated well now...

So pleased things are on the up for you I have everything crossed it all works out!

Horace

Not checked in for a while - mainly due to not feeling well enough to look at a computer screen. I was due at the eye hospital on Monday for an eye test (I need new glasses both distance and reading) and my eyes had been feeling uncomfortable for a while and it was noted that my eyes were red raw. I decided that I would visit casualty and entered that department at 10.45am - I wasnt seen by a doctor until 3pm. I have a bout of uveitis and it seems that I have blephritis again which has made my eyelids sore. Result - a fridge full of eye drops boxes (no room for food) I have to take steroid drops 4x a day and cellulose drops 4x a day plus I have to bathe my eyes with extremely hot water mixed with 1tsp of baby shampoo.

Yesterday, I took some stuff to a valuation day run by an auction house and as a result some of the stuff that didnt cost me a bean is to be sold at their auction in March. I also fulfilled my prescription but need to go back for another 2 boxes so that will be 8 boxes in the fridge. I managed to get through to the Benefits Delivery line and they are sending me a proof of benefits letter so that I can submit my divorce papers and I can copy it and get some free glasses.

Also received a letter from the jobcentre saying that I am due a visit from their compliance officer so I rang to find out what it was about and was told that it was due to my tax rebate from 2007 and it was likely that my benefit would be suspended...oh great, what am I supposed to live on now?:mad::mad:

In other news, the agency has been in touch offering me some temporary work - it has to be better than sitting on the dole. At the dole office last week, I was told that I had to attend a 4 week course at a local college otherwise my benefits would be stopped - this is due to start on Monday. I think I will opt for the temporary work as it is likely to pay more in any case.

Millie2008_2

Also received a letter from the jobcentre saying that I am due a visit from their compliance officer so I rang to find out what it was about and was told that it was due to my tax rebate from 2007 and it was likely that my benefit would be suspended...oh great, what am I supposed to live on now?:mad::mad:

Eh?? So you are being re-paid the money that is your money from 2007 and now they want to stop your benefits in 2012 I am :mad: on your behalf. Grrrrr

Temp work sounds like a go-er for the time being. Is it local?

Millie2008_2

ps Hope your eyes get better v soon xx

LondonGirl252

Millie2008 wrote: »

Eh?? So you are being re-paid the money that is your money from 2007 and now they want to stop your benefits in 2012 I am :mad: on your behalf. Grrrrr

Temp work sounds like a go-er for the time being. Is it local?

Yeah that dont sounds right, can they really do that??
BAr stewards :mad:

Horace

The temp work would be in Birmingham City Centre. I am awaiting a call back from the agency.

I think the jobcentre peeps are narky because I claimed dole money in 2007-2009 after being made redundant and the HMRC have notified them that they have given me a rebate. It is really annoying because I am having to duplicate what they have seen already. They are just going after the vulnerable and not those with a million kids:mad:

Also annoyed that thieving chavs in Wisbech have pinched my mate's OH's rare motorcycle which was locked away in the garage - they ignored the 125 that belongs to my mate and instead nicked the rare Buell with custom paint job which is very distinctive.

Dad had the lump removed at the hospital when he saw the specialist and has to go back to the GP twice this week for a dressing change. He went yesterday and they didnt have any tape other than pink plasters so mum had to go on the hunt around the pharmacies for Mefix because he isnt allergic to the adhesive on that and she picked up some dressings. She ended up dressing dad's head and it is more than pathetic that the GP's surgery who claim to do dressings every day have no stock of anything:mad:

Fed up of feeling poor and seemingly unable to get out of this mess. I bet if I had a myriad of kids by different fathers I would be living in clover:mad:

Horace

I refuse to stress about the jobcentre - I have gone over things in my head and yes I did pay some tax in 2008 when I 'worked' for the con woman (thanks jobcentre for sending me to her and encouraging me to come off the dole). I got screwed by her and had to fight to get a back payment on my dole money. I have an appointment at the jobcentre on Friday anyway so I can discuss it then.

On Monday I am due to start my 4 week thing at the local college - I think this is where they teach me to read and write.

I have spent the morning writing up an application for a job at a local University College - I am in the middle of the writing the bit where I say why I want the job and I keep taking breaks whilst I formulate what to write - so far I am looking glowing:D There are two jobs - both of which I can do - one is Marketing Assistant and the other is Senior Student Recruitment Officer (no experience of recruitment required just the ability to stand and talk to groups of people and organise events).

I am now on Book 3 of my evidence for the jobcentre.

I am making plans for my website and will be updating it - not only the blog but the bit about membership fees as I have decided that offering free membership is not the way to go and serious businesses are willing to pay a membership fee plus a meeting fee. So what if one person keeps bleating that we are in a recession and businesses cannot afford to pay fees - his business might not but there are others out there that will and do. He should remember that I am not a charity and I am in business to make money!

When I get a paying job, I will still continue with my own business as I can arrange events at night and there is no conflict of interest because my target market is different.

Today, I must try and eat more - I hardly ate anything yesterday. I might have steak and chips tonight:D

Horace

Plans are afoot to change my business including charging an annual membership fee - I think pitching at around £199 is about right and is competitive as another similar business charges the same. Other groups charge around £500+ a year. I am looking at venues and how I can change my offering and attract more established businesses not tiddlers who have no money.

I have been busy with application forms and today I am preparing one for a fabby job at a museum in Bromsgrove although their salary offering is only £14K but I would be able to get WTC. This would be ideal for me because I have all the necessary experience even down to booking folks onto events, running teaching events for people (having set up workshops and undertaken my own teaching) as well as working with younger kids - I spent a whole weekend with a group of girl guides and brownies planting 3000 saplings. I know that it is a job that I would enjoy and I could get there by car and by bus as the 144 stop is 7 mins walk away.

Spoke to mum last night - she has been to look at Tollhouse Road where my great aunt used to live because she had seen a house up there that possibly would have been suitable for me. After taking one look at the estate she vowed that she would never buy a house up there because it was the absolute pits (it is). Still they haven't been to my favourite place because the timings are never great for dad as he doesnt get out of bed until after lunch and it seems that there are always hospital appointments to attend. I told mum to put an offer in because the house is tidy on the inside as it is on the outside and is very well cared for. She suggested that I see it for a third time - I said that if I saw it again then I would have to move in:rotfl:

Looks like snow on Saturday according to the forecast and they are scaremongering saying that we will get 10cm - I bet we get a slight dusting like we did on Tuesday.

In other news my proof of benefits letter arrived today so I have photocopied it so that the eye hospital optical dispensary can see proof so hopefully I won't have to pay for 2 pairs of spex. I shall be recycling an old set of frames too (these were brand new 2yrs ago but my prescription changed after 3 months so had to have more - I used the old worn out pair that I am wearing now). The letter also means that I can finish the divorce papers and send them to the court. Still no agreement on a lump sum - he will also have to pay for a removal van to remove my furniture because I don't see why I should pay it:rotfl:

After 2 days of not really eating because i haven't felt hungry, I had a huge blow out last night in the form of steak, onions and oven chips - cooked both steaks and one will either be served cold for lunch or nuked for a sandwich. I know the health trainer will go nuts because he thinks I should eat 6 meals a day and that I should eat regardless or not of whether I feel hungry.

Yesterday, I was miffed to say the least - I applied for a job at a local University College of catholic persuasion and their equal ops form was quite lengthy - no opportunity to say whether or not I was separated. What was more galling was I was asked for my sexual orientation - I declined to answer because I didn't think that such a question was legal. They also wanted to know my religion - I selected None - are they allowed to ask that especially when they say they accept people of all faiths?