Simple living in the country - back to basics

greenbee

I've been made redundant three times, two of which were a surprise (the other was part of a large redundancy programme involving consultation and unions). I was lucky and found another job quickly after the first one - and with the other two actually managed to find another role before the redundancy was finalised so only had a few days not working which meant I could save my redundancy money. It did require keeping very, very quiet and being very quiet about the dates - but it's worth checking with someone what the rules are, as you are certainly allowed to look for jobs once you've agreed to take redundancy. 

Then again, as you don't hate your job and would need another one, probably best not to volunteer - leave that to the people who really want to go

Cheery_Daff

EssexHebridean said:

I think you've definitely got to go with what feels right for you where you are now career-wise. You mostly enjoy what you do, and you have a definite plan for things you'd like to achieve in the future - and ultimately £40k is a pretty small win in comparison to what is then at stake if you find that having stepped away for a while disrupts that plan, and leaves you in a worse place.  Also, I can imagine that there would be quite a bit of added stress involved in not having a job even if the payout DID give you enough to cover everything you need for a while...maybe not stress, but uncertainty, at least. 

Glad you have a plan for tooth-rescue. And yes, it really does sound like your previous dentist let you down. Might be worth mentioning in passing to the new one that you were extremely unhappy that all the previous cancelled appointments left your teeth in a worse state than they would have been had things been done in a timely fashion - at least that reduces the chance of you getting passed back to the problematic one again! 

Redundancy which isn't voluntary is horrible - even if it's done well, and IS a genuine process, it still leaves you feeling that you must somehow have done something wrong. 

Yes, I'm very grateful to have avoided a redundancy situation so far.

And yes, that's definitely my thinking on not taking it this time! There have been points in my life when I would have taken a speculative leap, but with a large mortgage that relies heavily on my income, a very definite career path, and a good job niche, it doesn't seem like an option right now. I'm always open to considering it if it arises again in the future though.

No chance of being passed back to other dentist, he's gone fully private now (albeit at the same practice). Made all my appointments today - referral should come through shortly, impressions being made 9th Jan, and then tooth repaired/denture fitted a few days before my interview 🙄 Might just do it with a gap if I don't get used to the denture over the weekend - better that than spitting it out at the interview panel 😂

Cheery_Daff

Greenbee, yes, leaving it to the people who are already closer to retirement sounds like a good plan! 

Not a spendy day today. I did have to pay for parking 😠 but managed to get a longer stay space, so paid £4.70 for the day, rather than having to do two lots of £3.60 (and move thr car at lunchtime, always annoying). Got a free permit for Monday, and will try to get another for Wednesday, then that's me done for Christmas! 

Delighted to report that the next bank switch has gone through! For me, at least - not checked Mr Cheery's account, but both switches happened on the same day. So that's another £350 between us 😁 Excellent. 

Need to instigate the next switch now - this will be to two solo accounts with a building society we already have a joint account with (their switch T&Cs are different to other ones) so hopefully that should be easier to set up. And should be another £400! 😊 again, won't count it til it arrives...

beanielou

Fantastic on the bank switches.

Cheery_Daff

Thanks Beanie! 

So, last day of the week at work today 😊 And I'm finishing a bit early - we are both going for covid & flu jabs. Not quite old enough, but with us spending quite a bit of time in Mr Cheery Snr's house, and his health being somewhat precarious, it was deemed prudent. 

After that, since we're in town anyway, I have also booked a haircut 😱 First in 2 years i think! And much needed - I attempted to lop round the front myself and got a bit heavy handed with the scissors, so it does rather need some tidying... 🙄 Hope she doesn't say 'you should never cut your hair yourself!' Or 'you should visit the hairdresser every 6 weeks!' Which are usually the things that put me off going back 🙄 I don't think I've been to the same hairdresser twice for many, many years (although I rarely go more than once a year anyway so they're not missing out 😂) 

Anyway, Christmas is fast approaching, and I am not as prepared as I would like to be, so need a plan for tonight and the weekend.

Festive season currently looking like this

Today - jabs & haircut
Fri - no plans (Christmas shopping)
Sat - Christmas concert, meeting friend beforehand and she's staying over
Sun - friend still here, will take her back to town, more shopping opportunity

Mon 18th - work (office)
Tues - work (Christmas do all day)
Wed - work (office, last day)
Thurs - currently no plans
Fri - solstice bonfire! Several people staying over
Sat - people still here
Sun 23rd - no plans

Mon - Christmas eve, no plans
Tues - Christmas day - Mr Cheery's family i think
Boxing day - no plans (and I intend to keep it that way)
Wed  - race 😱😱😱😂

OK, so main days for potentially finishing in-person shopping are tomorrow, and next Thursday. I'd like to get a decent amount more done online though - there are some things sat in baskets waiting for me to make decisions, so that can be tonight's job, and cards maybe tomorrow night.

Tree up tomorrow/Sat, and a succession of house sorting and washing of bedding for guests.

I may also end up taking over Mr Cheery's present shopping this year 😱 We usually shop individually for our own sides of the family, but his health is unpredictable right now, and if we're seeing them on Christmas day, I don't want to be turning up without presents! 😱 But we'll see - might decide that next week.

Cheery_Daff

Anyway, tonight

* workout
* finish the last of the online presents
* order some festive fabric for more present bags if I've not managed to get another festive tablecloth in town
* flylady tidy of house, including upstairs (didn't do any of it when it was on my list the other day!)
* get spare room bedding in wash ready for friend staying 
* more flute practice

That'll do (or, more accurately, SOME of that will get done, some won't 😂)

EssexHebridean

Just be warned that currently you have some dates wonky on the second week of your planning there - the 23rd is the Saturday, not the Sunday! It's ludicrously easily done at this time of year though - trying to keep track of the days when there is so much going on always feels like a right challenge!  That's some nice plans you have though - albeit quite a lot of them! 

I'm with you on haircuts too - I don't like being fiddled with for a start, and I can't be doing with small talk, particularly not when there is lots of background noise with dryers going etc so I can't even easily hear it, so I avoid them like the plague! 

Cheery_Daff

EssexHebridean said:

Just be warned that currently you have some dates wonky on the second week of your planning there - the 23rd is the Saturday, not the Sunday! It's ludicrously easily done at this time of year though - trying to keep track of the days when there is so much going on always feels like a right challenge!  That's some nice plans you have though - albeit quite a lot of them! 

I'm with you on haircuts too - I don't like being fiddled with for a start, and I can't be doing with small talk, particularly not when there is lots of background noise with dryers going etc so I can't even easily hear it, so I avoid them like the plague! 

😂😂 You may have also noticed that Boxing Day is an additional day, between Tuesday and Wednesday 😂😂

I'd love to find a hairdresser I was happy with, but it does seem like a bit of a mission!

beanielou

I am lucky. Had the same hairdresser for years & who now comes to the house. 

Cheery_Daff

That is lucky Beanie! 

Jabs all done for both if us, uneventful, thankfully. Mr Cheery has been to the docs and is on a 2 week referral for a specialist - different to all the other things that have been going on 🙄 Getting hard to keep track of! 

I had a phone call from the private dentist and wish I hadn't answered it because I was in the car (parked, but still cramped) and it was hard to make a decision. Ended up with an appointment the back end of Jan - same week as the appointment for my denture fitting 🙄 and the week before my interview 🙄

She also said consultation was £240 I think, and if I went ahead with treatment it would be £1200! Original dentist said £800 to include consultation, scan, and treatment, so quite a difference! 😱 Need to ring back and clarify if that £1200 would be the total including the initial consultation fee, or whether that's extra - if it's extra, that's almost double what the dentist told me 😠 Bit vexing, considering this still matly not work! 

Anyway, sat outside the hairdresser now. Wanted to have finished work for the week but with the earlier flurry of medical activity I'll have to go back when I go home 😠 But having said that, there's nothing immediately urgent, so I might just close everything down without looking and start again on Monday 🙄