PigginSkint's DFW Diary

PigginSkint

Hi All

I have had a nightmarish week last week and this is not starting out much better - I have put my back out and I am sat here with a hot wheat bag to try to ease the pain.

The 1st May figures aren't looking as great as I had hoped - mainly thanks to OH because he has had to pay his Equity subs and has had to put it on the Egg card. Grrrrr!:mad: I have taken this opportunity to remind him just how much he owes me - I am not talking about the old debt (the £6000 + that is on the Halifax card), I am talking the newer 'temporary' (ahem!) stuff which currently stands at over £500. This consists of Spotlight subs from last October (:eek:), the cost of his new laptop, travel costs, Christmas costs, Vodaphone mobile BB top up costs (because his debit card wouldn't work for this), various expenditure (and lots of it!)from his last few days in London after his debit card broke (literally!), including various travel and social (ahem!) costs. I think sometimes he 'forgets' just how much he owes me. He claims not to see the updates I send him!

Grrrrrr! Sorry for the rant!:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

dawnybabes

Hope you feel better soon, doesn't your body know you can't be ill on a bank holiday ???


Did anything come of the American tour ??

PigginSkint

Thanks Dawn

I had loads of things I wanted to get done this weekend - e.g. starting the work of decluttering the loft - but I have only been able to do the essentials. I can manage bursts of a few minutes at a time and then have to sit down again with my hot wheat bag!

OH didn't get to go to America - the show opened in San Francisco last week. As I understand it, the company were only able to get a certain number of visas for cast - we thing because they want a certain proportion of American cast members - so not everyone got offers.

OH has been working constantly since he has been home, so it is not all bad, but care work at minimum wage doesn't really provide a lot of income. He has also done one ad and had auditions for others, plus other acting work - his 'bread and butter' acting work as we call it, which he has been doing for years for the same theatre company (reminiscence work with oldies and kids, drama clubs, work with performing arts students at a local 16+ college, drama therapy work with alzeimers groups, special needs kids etc etc ). So much so that he very rarely has a day when he isn't working.

My main issue isn't so much with the lack of income (although that is part of it, of course), but with the lack of organisation, time management, planning and awareness of the real situation (real head in the sand behaviour going on here). So infuriating!:mad:

PigginSkint

Hi All

We are deep in exam hell at work at the moment - long hours, lots of work, struggling to actually get everything done plus some really tedious stuff (invigilating, splitting, photocopying). Hardly time to draw breath!

So imagine how annoyed I am that I got home today and discovered that OH has done precisely nothing, even though he is only working this evening! No milk, potatoes or bread bought, dishwasher not done (I had nearly finished loading it so all he had to do was finish loading it and set it going), his clean washing still not put away, litter tray still not emptied...nothing. This I could cope with if not for 3 things:

• I am still limited in what I can do because of my finger
• back is still bad so that limits still further what I can do
• the Very Important Job that he should have done by 31st January (hint hint!) is STILL NOT DONE! This is despite the fact that about 3 or 4 weeks ago I got really upset with him that he hadn't done it and he promised me faithfully that he would get it done within the next couple of days

As you can probably all imagine this is really getting me down and makes me wonder what on earth I can do to get him to do what he has promised to do. I keep jokingly saying that one of these days he will come home and find all his belongings in black bags outside the front door. But honestly, how can we have any sort of future, including marriage and babies, if he can't be relied on to sort out the most fundamental of jobs!:mad::mad::mad:

Sorry for the rant!

PigginSkint

Hi All

I can’t believe how tired I am today – it was not particularly late when I went to bed last night. I suppose all the late nights watching history in the making are taking their toll – the General Election, Hung Parliament and the formation of the Conservative Liberal Democrat Coalition Government. I have a real interest in Politics having studied it at University so I am finding it all really fascinating, gripping even! I am not going to nail my political colours to the mast – that is not my style and it is not what this diary is about. However I just wanted to note it in this diary so that when I read back in the months and years to come I can say to myself ‘that was what was happening in my life when all that was happening in the world’ – let’s face it, it’s something we are going to be talking to our grandchildren about!

Moneywise, I noticed on checking my internet banking a few days ago that the balance on my LTSB Loan has now fallen to below £3000 – woohoo! :jIt started out at over £12000 so I am really excited about this. If it was allowed to run its course, with no extra payments, it would have been due to be paid roughly about October or November 2011. Back in March I started making extra payments, including setting up a standing order to pay an extra £10 a week. If I only pay £10 a week extra then we would be looking about August 2011 for it to be paid off. I have recently increased the standing order to £15 a week and I am planning to increase that to £20 a week very shortly. Plus I have been making a few extra payments on top of that wherever possible. By snowballing I have worked out that if I can pay about £300 a month (minimum payment plus extras) then it could be cleared by January 2011. This is not beyond the realms of possibility given that my minimum payment is £182.23. Therefore I have set myself a challenge to clear it before the end of the year – that would be a big achievement and big morale booster if I could do it! Must update my snowballs to see if I am still on track!

OH still owes me lots of money (this is recent stuff not old stuff) so given that he seems to not receive the email updates I send him, I printed off the latest list (which actually needs updating now) of exactly what he owes me since October last year – this consists of all the things he has used the Egg card to pay for (including, rather worryingly, essential business expenses such as the Spotlight and Equity subs), plus money he owes me for Christmas (the cost of the turkey and presents for his nephews). I think I am living with an ostrich (head permanently in the sand) and it is getting very wearing. :mad:

In more positive news, he has gone to London for an audition for an advert today, so fingers crossed for that.

Anyway, I suppose I really ought to get on with some work.

Bye all!

PigginSkint

Hi All

Very very tired again!!

DS is currently on work experience at my place – working with the educational technology team. It was his first day yesterday and I think he enjoyed himself. The good thing is that they have tried to gear the tasks they are getting him to do to the things he is really interested in. He will only be doing 4 days unfortunately as he has an exam on Friday.

I had a letter yesterday from Her Majesty’s Court Services – I wondered what on earth it was! I was having kittens to start with as you can probably imagine! Anyway, joy of joys, it is Jury Service. I start on 12th July and luckily this time it is in Birmingham, so it is quite convenient to get to.

I have done it once before, 11 or 12 years ago, and that was in Stafford – no where near as convenient! DS was quite small at the time and it was the summer holidays so he wasn’t at nursery – this meant that my Dad got given the job of looking after him (he had retired by then but my SM hadn’t), which pleased him greatly……….not! My Dad doesn’t believe in mothers working and objected to all baby sitting duties! He even said, in his wisdom (ha!) that mothers shouldn’t be doing jury service because they should be looking after their children – I thought the whole point was that juries should consist of a cross section of the population! Can you tell this annoys me?!

Anyway, I don’t have to put up with that sort of the carp this time around!

Luckily timing is reasonably good work-wise, plus my supervisor has spoken to my manager and it appears that the arrangements for payments – salary, leave to attend for the jury service, payment by the courts for loss of earnings – is done is such a way that I won’t lose out. That’s a relief!

Bye all!

hypno06

I've never done jury service, but it is something that I would love to do, having studied law in my youth!

PigginSkint

I actually really enjoyed it last time - we had a really interesting arson case. Also I actually only did 2.5 days - 1/2 day for the induction on the first day and then the case lasted 2 days.

As it was the summer only 1 of the 4 courts at the court centre (Stafford) was running, which is why I didn't have to do very much.

This time it will be at Birmingham Crown Court, so could be really interesting!

PigginSkint

By the way, how are you doing chuck? I am really behind on reading your diary but I saw the news about what happened in your life at the beginning of the year. I have to admit my jaw hit the floor! Big dodgy hugs! :grouphug:

PigginSkint

Hi All

It is scorchio here like a lot of the country! This weekend we have the lovely job of clearing the loft and persuading OH to part with some of his junk, ahem, treasures, ready for the loft insulation that we are having done on Monday.

I am going to have to leave work early on Monday because OH has an audition so can't stay in for the workmen coming. I was a bit annoyed to start with because we deliberately chose a Monday because it would be the best day for him. Oh well, it is an audition for the BBC so he really must go. The loft men will be arriving any time between 12:30 and 4:00pm so OH's Mum is coming to house sit until I can get back. I shall have to work in the morning but can get back for about 1:30pm

DS and I went to the dentist this morning - the first time in quite a long time but I hadn't realised quite how long. It has been over 2 years and apparently we drop off this list after 2 years so we nearly missed out on having NHS treatment. Luckily the dentist decided to be nice to us - he said he would honour it this time but told me firmly not to do it again! Oops!

DS has enjoyed his week of work experience at my place of work and the feedback I got from the staff he has been working with has been all positive. One very proud mummy here!

OH has finally got his first driving lesson booked, although true to form I did all the organising! I phoned up my old driving instructor (weird talking to someone I haven't spoken to in over 20 years!) to see if she was still working because she must be past retirement age by now. Anyway the good news is that she is still working, albeit part time - she said that she thought about retiring but couldn't bear the thought of being at home all day (know what she means!). So OH's very first driving lesson will be at 11:15am on Wednesday morning. Needless to say (although perhaps not given OH's past history) OH will be paying for his lessons, even though I have organised it for him!

Anyway Dr Who is on now so I want to give it my full attention!

Ooh, just to go off on a tangent very briefly, did anyone else see the last episode of Ashes to Ashes last night? I think I have now worked out what it was all about!

Anyway, must go, Dr Who calls!!

Bye all!