Horace's Biting the Bullet Diary

beanielou

You could have a wee break from the voluntary role meantime.

Horace

Feeling a bit better this afternoon - I had a chill out at lunchtime and watched a repeat of Meerkat Manor..little things please little minds and all that:rotfl:

I have spent part of the afternoon drawing up a list of things that I need to do as well as looking at ways of getting to the interview tomorrow. Initially I had thought 144 bus which stops outside my flat but realised that the bus fare was around £20 return or something equally bonkers. Then I thought about driving there and parking on the campus at 50p per hour, then I had another brainwave - I could drive to the park & ride at Perdiswell and get the bus into the city centre - this would cost me £2.20 (and I would use up less petrol), I could then get a bus from the bus station to the University as it stops outside the Student Union which is the building next to the one I need to be in. This fare should cost me about £2.50 return.

Wordsmith

I doubt I'll get on here tomorrow, Horace, so in case I don't I'll wish you good luck for the interview tomorrow.

Horace

Jeepers what a hellish day, I did not get home from the interview until 4pm (admittedly, I did come home via Waitrose and spent some of my LVs in there on food). I decided that I would use the park & ride as it is £2.20 to park all day and ride on the bus, I then got another bus which was £2.30 return to the University campus...muggins arrived at 10.55 and didnt need to be there until 11.30 so went and had a coffee and a slice of genoa cake (it was the only food I had eaten and good job really). I bumped into someone I used to know from the old University but cannot for the life of me remember her name:o

I met the current encumbent in the job and she showed me the office that I would be working in and showed me the canteen - considering this show around was supposed to take half an hour it took 5 mins, I then had to wait so I waited and waited...good job I have the patience of a saint. They were about half an hour late with their tests - curses that I didnt finish the tests on time - I finished the more complicate one first and the easy peasy one wasnt complete due to there being insufficient time. The interview itself was hell and I felt that I did not perform well at all and i would be very surprised if they gave me the job (I wouldn't give me the job I felt I did that badly).

Walked partly back to town before I could find the bus stop and then jumped on a bus to the bus station and then picked up the park & ride bus. I had been told by a student at the Uni where I could get petrol from - he lied...eventually I found a petrol station (I had to get petrol as my light was flashing) and curse the wretched place I had to pay £1.37 per litre:mad: What was even more annoying - I went back to Droitwich (about 5 miles) and the Texaco there was £1.35 and the Esso virtually next door was £1.34:mad: I put £10 in my car - £10 does not go very far:mad:

In waitrose I got 2 loaves of bread (on special offer), a cornish pasty, some salad leaves, tomatoes, some much needed fruit, a tin of spam (a large tin will last me for ages) and a treat in the form of some reduced price apple & custard donuts and I got my parking fee back because I had spent over £10:cool:

I have drawn up a list of things to sell - I have that flipping Philips Wake Up Light that I had to test for them - well that can go, I only used it once. I have some wedding stuff, books, dvds and glassware. I may even sell my keyboard.

Wordsmith

Certainly sounds a frustrating day, Horace. How horrible having to do tests in the interview - it's years since I've done such a thing, and I just know that if I did one now I would be pants at it. If you don't get the job, you will know that it wasn't meant for you and there is something better around the corner - and they don't deserve you anyway. But you never know, you might have impressed them more than you impressed yourself. It's probably good that you finished the more difficult test first - that'll give you more Brownie points than the people who didn't have time to finish it even if they finished the easy one.

Have you got any further selling the wedding dresses?

Chill out tonight, and enjoy your doughnuts. Tomorrow is another day and will bring you good things. I'm sending positive thoughts your way.

Horace

Thanks Wordsmith - I have eaten the donuts. I haven't got any further with selling said dresses, I need to contact Preloved because I don't want to be classed as a business seller as I have a few bits to get rid of.

I remembered I had a digital photoframe that I have never used - it is still in its box so that can go too.

Today, I am £3.70 overdrawn so I am betting the bank won't pay my rent. I have printed out a bank statement which annoying shows working tax credits at £25.47 a week - it went up in June to £51.87. I have bank charges too of £45. When I have finished the mentoring session tomorrow I will ask Lloyds TSB if they will let me have a basic bank account.

My virgin media bill has reduced too which is fab - this is needed for broadband, tv (smallest package) and telephone (free weekend calls), I only have cable as at the time I couldnt afford to have Sky and pay for a BT line (back in the day..). I am going to ask if my BHSF payments can be reduced too - I use them for dental and optical (much needed as I get money back). My virgin mobile bills have been reduced too now I know what the monkeys were charging me for:mad:

Re the job - it is their loss if I don't get it. They asked me stinky questions plus I had the sun in my face so I couldn't see the whites of their eyes:eek: One thing that the girl supervising the tests said, which I thought was strange, was that no-one had completed the tests...if no-one had managed to complete them then they didn't allow enough time!

I keep getting strange phone calls too from an 0845 number - they never speak and always put the phone down..wierd, it has gotten to the point when I don't answer the phone and let the answer machine pick up.

bast

Horace I have come out lurking and have to say how much i admire you and your efforts if anyone deserves to succeed then it is you.. You work hard in your business. You have huge support from Wordsmith and Beanielou and their words of support should help you.... I am thinking of starting a diary as I find myself in a mire of pain, but I wanted to add my support to you ...

Horace

Thanks Bast

I popped into my diary today because I had to log on to use skype to call a landline number. I am reducing the health insurance that I pay to £9.95 a month instead of paying £17.50 - this gives me money back from my dental costs and more importantly my glasses. I have been with the insurers since 1995 so I am loathe to get rid altogether.

I now have 6 pillar candles of varying kinds to sell as these items were won on Twitter (I have just been to the post office to collect them). I have put my credit cards in a tub of water in the freezer that way I can't spend on them.

As the first job haven't come back to me, I may well phone them today to see if I have been successful - this is a job that I really really want to do because I know that I will be able to put the event on the map (at the moment it isnt well publicised).

I have used Twitter again to see if I can get a job that way...the agencies are rubbish and Reed just make me angry as they list jobs that simply don't exist as I discovered after applying and then ringing up:mad: I have decided to knock one of the breakfast meetings on the head because it is untenable - the other one is more established so I shall keep that going.

Well, I guess I had better head out - I am mentoring a start up business today, I shall make sure that they understand the pitfalls of self employment and to not make the same mistakes as me.

Catch you later.

Bast...start your diary and get some support, I will certainly visit it.

Horace

Horace can be slow on the uptake at times, I was wandering in the direction of the bus stop when I was approached by someone offering me £5 for a survey which I duly did, then a bit further up the street I was approached by someone else asking me to participate in a survey for £5 so I asked if it was the one I had just done about a particular dairy product. On discovering what the survey was about dumbo here said - oh I don't use them (it was sanitary products) thus no survey and no £5 *rolleyes*

I have emailed the committee and advised them of my situation and how I cannot participate in the voluntary role for a while. Today, I also sorted out a payment thing with Amex and they have reduced my interest considerably as well as my minimum payment. Actually I need to find out why Virgin CC are charging me interest when the balances transferred were offered at 0%.

In other news, I dared to contact the Festival people to ask if they had made a decision because I had been advised that I would have heard yesterday and by today at the latest. No decision made as yet because they were interviewing again last night..so I need to wait a few more days. I want that job, I know I could turn it into something fantastic...at the moment it is a bit of a pigs ear and could be so much more.

Sorry..I have more repeats than the BBC!

Horace

I have started to put things on preloved this afternoon - only because they have free listings unlike fleabay. I have also registered with an agency who are likely to get me a job.

Tomorrow I will write letters to creditors and email them - I cannot afford a stamp..sigh.

Hopefully, I will have a better night's sleep tonight - I was wide awake at 3am fretting about money and debt.

This afternoon I rang the chamber for whom I am doing some mentoring and advised them that the person they sent wasn't that interested and had an idea that wasn't viable and explained the reasons why (it involved what could be classed as vulnerable people). The idea bought back some memories of the time when I was conned and the individual today told me that vulnerable people were naive...that set alarm bells ringing. Anyway I have told them that I cannot work with this person and would rather they put me in contact with someone who was interested in working and not asking me for funding. My first mornings mentoring did not go so well.