NST May Challenge Living on the planet of the teddy bears

Toni'sfriend

NSD No9
I have had such a good day. The lady we book from in the Lake District has contacted me to ask if we want to come in the winter as usual. Missed it last year because of Covid. I thought everything was fully booked but she'd blocked it off for us. Holiday at an incredibly good price. Boy will drive us and we will b with our friends in the first time in nearly two years. I am so excited.

ditty1234

Hi all I just got a massive wake up call - in a good way - I think, but I don't know what to do with it. Where I live locally there is a good FE college where I have had associate hours on and off for the last 15 years. Now the guy who got the full time job in the past - when I wasn't looking - is leaving to work in industry. Which means I have a chance to put in for HE hours/possible job. I currently work there as well. 
I don't know if this is a massive step back or an opportunity? I am sending them my CV today but will not get an actual job without an interview process, which I am not good at. @ldee2111 I hear you - working long hours for a medium pay - eventually you switch of, I feel this has happened to me and I think I need to work in a new place? 
I am still at work and I am now really stressed about what should do, even it has no immediate impact on me except I shall be sad to leave a lovely colleague leaving. 
Grateful for having jobs, just a few too many. 

lcc86

Thank you all for your advice! I'm going to go for it and see what happens. Financially I think I'd be fine, being a turtle has its advantages! My employer might secretly be happy as they would save money given they were recently given an extremely large government loan after going bankrupt! 

No NSD here, I donated to a colleague's birthday gift - only £5, not something I normally do but it's a special birthday and I have a lot of time for her, she's been through a lot. Cycled to the farm shop and bought some eggs, birthday card for my sister and a candle. Also went for a swim this morning. 

@f0xh0les I had no idea quorn did dinosaurs, what a throwback! 

@ditty1234 I say go for it, nothing ventured nothing gained, you know the place and I'm sure you'd smash the interview!

Grateful for helpful turtles 🐢, a nice swim, a cycle and getting lots done today!

Almost forgot - I paid the final payment on my back procedure today. Waste of money in the end but there we go! 

ditty1234

@lcc86 can you just work your actual hours, and not work over, instead of taking a pay cut? Just a suggestion. 

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for cake, for friends, for sunshine, for peace and quiet, for flowers.

mothernerd

Couldn't sleep so started on the filing again. One bag of paper (mostly notice of pension increases with repeated 4 pages of notes). Started to put things in the WM (set it off at lunchtime after adding a few more things). Kitchen bin bag out, bag from my room dragged round the yard to fill it until ti started raining again - so fed up with this weather, doesn't it know I have painting to do (and digging and trying to get large pieces of plastic clean and dry). Another bag of paperwork out this afternoon and part way through a third. Ancient joggers out.

Currently making meals from tins - mum has been thinking (oh dear) and has decided several things that I should or shouldn't do, so I'm not ordering food until she begs me too. So will make many things from the tin store. She said she's only eating soup, rice pudding, tinned fruit with custard and cheese and crackers (implying that I am ordering vast amounts of luxury food for my own consumption). I told her at the start of last week that there were 2 portions of pasta bake, 2 chicken in black bean sauce with rice, one chicken curry with rice and at least one veg soup/ broth. These are all things batch cooked by me, specifically for her (her pasta bake has a lot more cheese on than one I would do for myself). The freezer is full and there is no point my making any more dishes for her until she has eaten those. But I can see the story she's making up in her head about how i am cooking meals for me and she has to fend for herself. Never mind. I used to have an 'adopted' brother who said that as long as people were laughing at the daft things he did, they would have no time to call anyone else.

Grateful for finishing a fun book when I couldn't sleep, reducing the filing (some of it makes my heart falter) and making good meals from scraps and tins.

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

hi everyone
great news Toni'sfriend, my DDs took me to the Lakes for a night last autumn for my birthday, we love it there.  Ditty - sounds exciting re possible job.
i went to the food hub this morning so all meals have been FoC (gave a donation to the foodbank); was very excited that they had sourdough from Mr C, my fave   I got loads of salad leaves which was good as i accidently knocked the colander onto the floor and smashed a mug which went all over the salad so i had to bin it and start again. 
Had a short day at FT job as i had a z00m call with PT job colleague at 4 about my qualification.  Submitted a short unit for marking last night and got an email this morning to say it had been marked - it passed yay!  One unit left now .... I have opened a large bar of chocolate to get me through
Gratitudes - sunny evening so i had a walk before tea; leftover chocolate from the December event; i can see the end of my studying .......
Deni x

Thrifty_Taylor

Still on nsd#8. A good day at work.
Grateful for pupil giving me another flower, friend saving Pop Master to play together when I stopped to collect sewing, chocolate 

ldee2111

@lcc86 I work 4 days a week and have financially adapted. You’re right that being a turtle has it’s advantages. OH is working hard on his startup business but no income in our bank account yet. So we’re still managing on my 4 days. ‘Cutting our cloth accordingly’ as my mum says. But @ditty1234 asks a really important question. Can you avoid the pay cut and stick to your hours? OH’s mum, also a very hard worker and would do far more than needed, cut down her days from 5 to 3 and took a pay cut, but ended up working as much. It took her probably about a year to readjust to working her actual hours. 
x

lcc86

@ditty1234 @ldee2111 part of my thoughts behind potentially reducing my hours are to have that time for appointments or to just de-stress and relax, and strangely I think I'd find it easier to have that cut off. I find it hard to explain properly, I apologise. I definitely do need to be better at switching off when I should, or if I have a late meeting (post 5pm, which is often!) I need to say no to an early meeting on the same day as that's what tends to mean I work extra hours. I'll make the commitment now to only working my salaried hours while I ponder the situation a bit more!