Simple living in the country - back to basics

beanielou

Well done to you 🤩

Cheery_Daff

Job prep is ticking along. Someone should be sending me a useful list of interview questions tailored to this role, and I've had another chat today with an old friend who had 2 (successful) interviews for very similar positions in the last couple of years. That was reassuring actually, he was quite matter of fact about the whole thing, whereas I've been going down emotional rabbit holes 😂 I also now have a copy of the document I'm meant to be responding to in my presentation, so that is very fortunate! 

So my task for the weekend is to get fully prepared, while retaining my composure 😂 Some practical things:

* try on my outfit - I bought a jacket on the off chance last weekend in a charity shop but I've not tried it on with the rest of the outfit.

* check the weather! Will influence where I park.

* decide what I'm going to do between presentation and interview. I've got over two hours, there's a cafe in the building, but I'm not sure I want to spend that time in there. Plenty of other options, but I don't want to be dithering on the day

* make sure the car has diesel

* what bag to take?? I'll need a memory stick, do I also want to take a laptop??

Priority of course is the actual prep. I need a presentation, answers to all the questions they'll likely ask, and to know both my own work and theirs inside out. Getting there on both those fronts, but need a plan. So.

FRIDAY MORNING

* try on outfit

* 20 min make up tutorial  😂 Booked and paid for before Christmas. It's at the hairdresser, and I suspect is an excuse to try and sell me stuff but will stay firm.

* if necessary, quick trawl of shops while in town for a jacket or similar. Not holding much considering where I'm going 🙄😂

* Read my own application 🙄

* Read the document I'm responding to

* Draft bullet point answers to the main likely interview questions

FRIDAY AFTERNOON

* next draft of presentation script and first draft of slides 

* redraft answers to likely questions

* watch at least one video by all panel members - I've started this but it got neglected in favour of reading a load of stuff

That'll do for now. Got a flurry of notes and paper and info, but need to start consolidating at this point so I've got time to practice...

Cheery_Daff

Well, I had my makeup tutorial - might as well as it was already paid for. The woman was very nice and I did learn some things 😊 She didn't do a hard sell either - using their products of course, but I was expecting a bit of a sales pitch. It wasn't though, genuinely just a tutorial. I took the brochure, and just added up that what she'd used this morning would have cost £130 😱😂 Not something I'll be buying in a job lot right now, but I'll wear it for the day and see if it's worth replacing anything as it runs out.

Now in a cafe with my job application and the doc they sent yesterday. Going to focus for an hour. 

The coffee shop had an offer for new app users - free drink and half price food. I've got a coffee and cake for £1.43 which is a nice bargain 😁

Baileys_Babe

Next time you visit the coffee shop Mr Cheery could get the app and you could benefit again 😉 

Cheery_Daff

Baileys_Babe said:

Next time you visit the coffee shop Mr Cheery could get the app and you could benefit again 😉 

Ha, that's an excellent idea 😂😂 It's not our regular one, nor likely to be, but we do go in occasionally so yes, we'll keep an eye out 😂

Cheery_Daff

Right, job application read and it turns out I didn't tell a single lie 😂 And in fact it reads pretty well and is rather comprehensive, which obviously helps considerably with what I'm trying to do now 😂

Washing is on - I got all enthusiastic afterseeing Greying talking about pegging hers out 😂 It is indeed nicely breezy but the sun has now gone in, so I may be faced with TWO lots of washing drying in the house, as the last lot isn't dry yet 🙄 I foresee an afternoon of shifting things around radiators...

Mr Cheery has gone to buy a second hand guitar - I hope he comes back cheerful.

I didn't get chance to try on outfit yesterday, so that'll be a job for this evening. Still chance to nip out tomorrow if necessary. I'm not going to fret too much - I don't need to be overly 'corporate' (which is a good job 🙄😂),just reasonably smart and not tugging at uncomfortable clothes. This has just made me realise how bobbly all my cardigans are, even this they were reasonably smart originally 😂😂 I think it's likely I'll end up replacing with a smart enough cardi, which will get way more use than a jacket 😂

Anyway - all a moot point if I don't have a presentation 🙄

Greying_Pilgrim

Cheery_Daff said

Washing is on - I got all enthusiastic afterseeing Greying talking about pegging hers out 😂I have broad shoulders, and therefore will take the blame........ 🤣

It is indeed nicely breezy but the sun has now gone in, so I may be faced with TWO lots of washing drying in the house, as the last lot isn't dry yet 🙄 I foresee an afternoon of shifting things around radiators......Angles de-humidifier in general direction of Cheery's 'ouse and presses button to ultra-sucky laundry drying mode......... 😉

Much love, bad-influencer Greying 🥹X

Cheery_Daff

😂😂😂 Greying you did make me laugh 😂😂😂 I am delighted to report that the sun is shining, the new washing (sheets and shirts) is on the line, some of the old washing is on the radiators (I confess it had a day soggy in the machine before being hung up, and was in danger of being stinky if it didn't dry quickly), and smaller things are in the study with the dehumidifier. So today it feels like a well oiled laundry machine, and you can take the praise for getting me out pegging sheets in the sunshine 😃 I even emptied the compost out too 😃

fannyadams

Cheery_Daff said:

Well, I have just timed myself, starting with putting coat and shoes on, getting the wheelbarrow, retrieving several bin bags of rubbish from round the back, combining them to make the maximum four bags, and then wheeled them to the top of the drive through the wind and rain, and came back, took my shoes and coat off - and do you know how long that took?!

11 mins 46 seconds 😂😂 

I remember i used to hate hanging the washing up in our old house (partly because I was annoyed we didn't have a garden and washing line). I timed it once, and it took less than 4 mins 😂😂I've never complained about it since and now do it quite cheerfully, even indoors. 

Highly recommend timing tedious household tasks 😂 12 mins for a bin trip isn't bad at all, and next week we will be back on top of the rubbish, so if we actually do it ever fortnight, there should be a max of 2 bags each time, if that, so it'll be easier and might not even require a wheelbarrow...

I realised over Christmas that there was somethng wrong with the door of the freezer as it kept getting iced up and I was chipping a bit off as it got too much.
I put off defrosting the freezer because as far as I was concerned it was an all morning or all afternoon job.
Decided to time it on my phone timer.
45 minutes!
from switching it off and getting all the drawers out and wrapped in duvets, defrosting all the ice with a hairdryer, rinsing it out with plain water, drying it out with a cloth/teatowel, to putting it all back in. AND it only went up to +10 degrees!
NO excuse for me not to do this. Although there's a crack in the actual body of the freezer, AND a split in the door seal, obviously *something* has done this, but I really have no idea when it happened or who has done it (suspect one of my, now adult, children). So depending on how bad it gets in the next couple of months will determine if I buy a new freezer.

Cheery_Daff

Ha, thank you for sharing that fannyadams - I'm glad it's not just me! 😂 Also my freezer also needs defrosting and I too have been putting it off -  but no longer! I will follow your good example 😁

I've now worn this makeup for a good 7 hours, and I confess I won't be spending £130 on it. I like what she did with my eyes, and I'll likely try to copy that. She's used a far darker shade of foundation than I usually would, and Mr Cheery and I both agree that it's very definitely orangey around the neckline and ears - not a look I was going for 😂😂 And it's not worn very well either- it was starting to go quite patchy and clumpy after a couple of hours. She did say she thought my skin was dry which was affecting how it went on, but I don't tend to have that issue with what I usually use (and that's not one particular brand I use either, I generally don't have one that I prefer and jump around things that are on offer!)

So it served its purpose of showing me some new techniques and getting me to think about different things. And also being in a salon having someone poking at my face, which is something I'd like to get a bit more used to 😂

But it probably didn't serve her purpose overall - I paid for the tutorial, but won't be buying anything else. Hey ho!

Mr Cheery and I are going to descend on our local Spoons for tea tonight I think. Not done that since before Christmas, and between illness of one or the other of us, and work, and me being so focused on job prep, we've not done much actual hanging out for a while. So that'll be about £15 in total, not too bad.

I've not talked much about uber frugal Jan this year and you'd be forgiven for thinking we're ignoring it! We're not - we've very definitely made a real effort to cut back on cafes and food spending at least. Will report back properly at the end of the month though, and hopefully by that point we'll have sorted out car and house insurance too.

And, I suppose, I may have a new job by that point! 😃 And therefore a new budget 😁 I think I might start a new MSE diary either way. I've done so much plotting and scheming for the next few years for the job, that even if I don't get it, it seems like a good time to start a new phase of planning. We will have been here for 6 years next month 😱 and in another 6 years Mr Cheery is eligible for the state pension 😱 Seems like a good time for a refresh and some consolidation (of thinking, not of debts, don't worry! 🤭😂)