Old Style Diary Archive - JUL 05

tootles_2

How I sympathise Kippers, I had my gallstones removed in 1992 and had to wait 6 months for the op, the Doctor who did it was the chap who pioneered the keyhole surgery and he had gone to the US to show them how to do it!!!!!! I had them for 15 years, it was only when I began to have constant attacks of bilary Colic that they decided to do something about it.

I was so bad I dare not go out in case the pain struck, the Doc gave me Pethedine tablets to take and put me on the sick until after the op........we were due to go to the US for Christmas, just made it by the skin of my teeth........ I was off work for 8 months all told and when I went back was put on report because I had been off sick long term, thats working for the govenment does for you!!!!

se999

Lillibet - We've been there a few times due to redundancies, , reductions in force (RIFS), restructures after mergers/takeovers etc etc.. The main thing is to get to work job hunting asap. We've had assurances that OH definately wasn't on lists, but half the time in these situations no one really knows what's happening, so if the internal job comes off OK, whether it does or it doesn't it's best to get moving on being ready to job hunt. Also, sometimes companies have more than one try at restructuring, so job stability can be uncertain for a while. OH survived 3 rounds of RIFS in the last five years, hopefully a bit more stable now, but still odd redundancies.

Sorry if I seem pessimistic, just trying to be realistic.

You've probably done these already, or are in the process of doing them but what we do is firstly update CV & get standard covering letter updated so OH can apply quickly.

Secondly, get on subscription for specialist trade job papers and local/national newspapers which have the right type of jobs advertised. Keep upto a months back copies in case you have to job hunt, normally they allow a few weeks to apply in especially with monthly adverts.

Get on the employment agency lists & get in touch with work contacts who might help jobhunt.

We also immediately go on mega-tight budget.

We also explained to the children what's been going on, so that they understood why we can't do things we normally do, and also why maybe we're a bit more stressed than normal.

July/August are a slow time for applying for jobs, just like Christmas/New year, I think it's due to job recruitment decisions needing more than one person, and someone's always on holiday. So it might take a while.

Hope this helps, we try to just go with the flow once we've done everything we can, but it depends on circumstances at the time.

All the best,

Sharon

Mrs_Thrift

*Hugs* Lillibet, and Good Luck Vicky.

My OS'ing today has mainly been in the form of getting my work colleague interested in the use of vinegar for cleaning, and in food shopping thriftily, and cooking from scratch.

I printed off some information about vinegar for her, and I'm about to look for some recipes for her, and I've promised to take her food shopping to teach her the ways of OS!

She's just about to move into her first flat with her baby girl, so needs all the tips she can get, and I'm glad to say she's keen to learn rather than use her credit card.

She's signed up to Martin's email, but hasn't ventured into the chat boards...... yet.

greenlogo

afternoon all...

I've got family coming to stay tonight (I live closer to the airport than they do so I'm a stopping off point) so I spent all morning cleaning like a mad thing (all o/s with my vinegar ) and now I'm stuck in the relative calm of work until 8.

Ah well, I'll be home in time for BB and then the rellies can have some of my banana peanut loaf before it's time for bed....

anactasta - I think your hair sounds fab have a great time finding bargains!

Hi se999 - welcome to the O/S Day - I was in rented accom for a while between houses for much the same reasons... when you do get a place you enjoy it that much more

VickyA - the game fair sounds brilliant! Can I sneak along too? good luck with the interview!

Hi Chipps, I could probably do with one of those catch up days too.. this morning saw me running round like a lunatic trying to make the place presentable...

kscour - lovely tesco vouchers hopefully that's the weekend started the way it means to continue?

nicki, you're exhausting me just reading about it all! wow. I think you deserve a big pat on the back today

Big fingers crossed for your o/h Pooky, do let us know how he gets on.

rnshon, sounds like an excellent reason not to vacuum to me to. Take good care of your poor back.

that's such a con Squeaky. I'm always so cynical about these free holidays and things - I wonder if anyone ever manages to go without them costing a fortune!

Aussielass that sounds like a lovely combination. yummm.

(((Lillibet))) what horrible timing for you. I've got my fingers and toes crossed for your OH.

wtg Rage! well done you!

ooh TM, that's not good news about the car... hope you enjoy the piccies.
Good excercise too henhog (although I'm not sure that it'd help that much with marathon training) - I suppose that it's logical that scrubbing would get the floor cleaner than just swiping it with a mop, but such hard work!

how lovely that your colleague is looking to you for advice Mrs Thrift, and how nice that she's going to be able to start her new life in her flat O/S and not make the expensive mistakes that so many people do.

se999

Had a relatively old style day.

Resisted the temptation to walk into the city to shop, so used up things needing using up.

Did washing, cleaned cooker, watered garden (it's rented so no herbs or fruit or veges).

Discovered slug trails in the cellar, but also discovered slug pellets in the garden shed, and in the cellar supposedly no other wildlife so safe to use!!

OH gets back for the weekend tonight, with a bottle of wine (from loyalty scheme vouchers) :j .

Got DS1 & 2 on a cooking rota for uni/hopefully pre-uni revision courses on cheap cooking, and using leftovers. Both sons are experts in spotting special offers, and looking at the small print for price/kg, after years of experience with a mother like me!!

Also been on the internet putting together my own manual of tricks & tips, and info for when we do get the new house.

Looking forward to a quiet weekend until OH leaves again, the 'calm before the storm'. DS1 & 2 have friends coming next week, one lot after the other for two weeks, so it will be musical bedrooms to fit everyone in, and full catering service!!

Greenlogo - Renting does get a bit wearing, been between houses too long now, starting to dream of my own garden & vegetable plot again. Having a room in a storage unit as a main base is a bit strange long term!!

greenlogo

se999 - oh yeah, I know all about the storage thing... for months my middle name seemed to be "it's in storage!" (as in: "I have that, but it's in storage"!) drives you a wee bit crazy eventually I think...

BWZN93

Evening all


Had a very un-old style day today, all I have done in the way of anything is clean the kitchen and hoover the upstairs. The bathroom needs a quick clean, and laundry is piled pretty much up to the ceiling :eek: .

I intend to crack on with it tomorrow. The landlords lackeys have been around today, in the way as they are painting etc, and whilst its about time, it means I dont get any peace and quiet to go and do what I need to do. The front door has been painted quite shoddily, in Navy Blue, which would be quite nice if they had done it properly, at the moment there are still some brush marks which are a little paler than the rest of the door, showing the white underneath. It truly looks like an awful student place.

Oh well, at least they wont be here tomorrow so I can do some cooking and cleaning without having some random person walking around the house, leaving thier empty donut wrappers and dirty mugs. (at least they brought their own - If they had used mine there would be hell to pay!)

Anyway, Big Bro is on again shortly, bye bye Science!!

I might do some knitting or quilting during it....

Jo xx

SnowyOwl_2

Hello everyone

Today, thanks to the encouragement from Old Style, I made about 30 people v.happy! This is because it is my birthday today, and last night I made a coconut & lime cake, a batch of Viennese whirls and a big batch of choc n ginger cookies, all to give away to my colleagues today (though I did quite a lot of quality checking before I got to work:o). Everything went down really well...got lots of gasps of amazement from people when they realised everything was home made. Some people came back for seconds, the chief exec's secretary asked for a few bits to give to some VIP visitors...and the big boss himself came round and wished me a happy birthday - that was so nice of him, usually they don't bother even if they know. They aren't big on birthdays (nobody ever gets a card...not that I was expecting one, but there are people who deserve to have their day made special) so as a new person I just hope that I can effect a bit of friendly change.

Our horribly snotty princess of a colleague I mentioned yesterday wasn't in today. The atmosphere at work was like a party in contrast to the usual stony silence she induces. Her mere presence kills conversation, banter and laughter - we do try but the frostiness coming from her pervades everything and everyone. She doesn't join in but sits with her back to us and is clearly irritated by every noise we make. Fingers crossed that something really is going to be done about her.

Otherwise, I went out to lunch with a colleague...it was lovely but cost me £7, so not money saving at all.

This evening I have to hunt down a negative of a particularly impressive photo I took - I used to belong to a camera club, and they have asked that this photo goes into an exhibition they are staging. I'm really pleased that they asked, but can I find the negative? NO!!! I keep my negs all together but I had prints from this negative made before and mustn't have replaced it. Oh nightmare...I could actually make a bit of dosh from it eg posters or greetings cards...it's a unique piccie and I don't think I could ever take that photo again...d'oh!!

I'm off to bed soon as I want to get to the Next sale nice and early...doors open at 5.00 am...am looking for a specific bathroom cabinet, towel rails etc, and specific light fittings. Also some baby clothes for friends' children. Wish me luck, I don't even know if the things I want will be in the sale...

Good night all!

squeaky

HEY GUESS WHAT?

My washing machine is back in operation as is my dishwasher! Yay!

Lots of work still to do yet but at last things are getting back towards normal.

Four weeks and counting... and they said two to three... yeah, right.



Which reminds me - load number one is ready to come out of the machine.

culpepper

Not much done today.
I found one of those transparent bread containers at the charity shop for 50p(the kind that comes in 2 bits and you push them together so the loaf doesnt take up so much room on a shelf).
We even found a biography of a chinese lady for my DD who is mad on China and biographies.
DD made lasagne for tea totally from scratch including the pasta (there was a LOT of washing up and it was my turn too).
My bird cherry jam has turned into a sort of syrupy sauce instead as it didnt have enough Pectin so wouldn't 'jam'.It tastes lovely though. It took hours to stone the cherries.

OH is doing his Special Constable duty tonight in London


Snowy owl ...you could get a dupe made(duplicate made from the print) or scan it at high resolution if you really cant find the neg.