B & Phew

I have a job!!

As you all know I left my well paid job* in October to pursue an ambition to get out of the nine to five drag of office life.

Myself and the missus, Adele decided this summer that life was to short and the time had come to make a few changes. Adele successfully, after a few stressful months got onto a PGCE at Bolton (hear me know) Uni and I wangled a place on a Carpentry course.

Sensibly we put a little money aside to survive on while I looked for an appropriate job that would compliment my course!

The weeks went on, I wrote letters to building firms, looked through papers, the internet, even made my way to the job centre but all to no avail. My problem was that I was looking for a job in a trade not keen on short cold wet days. I sadly realised that leaving the well paid job when I did may well have been an almighty mistake!

Again the weeks passed by and I swallowed my pride and began dropping my cv off at any and every high street retailer & demon bumming job agency. I picked up application forms for Sainsburys, Asda and even got part way to a job with Greater Manchester Police (prospects really were grim).

The money we'd wisely put to one side was eaten up by the bills and still no sign of employment.

It was at this stage that desperation creeped in and I decided (with a forceful arm twist from Adele) to approach the Job Centre about a little financial help. I was after all "an active Job Seeker".

One word about the b*stards at the job centre, they are all b*stards. Adele took a stab in the dark and suggested my job seeker interview would be conducted by a chocolate munching, pop drinking, pie eating sonofabitch. The 20 stone devil horned lady that interrogated me fitted Adele's description to a tee.

"Do you think it's realistic that you'll get a job that allows you to have Wednesday off?" "Hmm, yep!" "You'll have to leave your course if we get you a suitable job!!!"

Now I don't like to go on but I have been paying taxes and NI for longer than I attended secondary school and to receive this sort of short sighted "help" boiled my blood.

I did however stand firm and finally after a stand off with the Job Centre and the completion of a few bible sized forms got £31 pounds! Woo Hoo!

The job hunt continued...

One of the many applications I filled in was for B&Q. Related in a very broad sense to my future career I waded into the interview with high hopes. And it paid off! 20 hours a week at minimum wage is only a hairsbreadth from what the social had on offer but sodit I'm actually looking forward to it.

If there is any moral to the story it would be that myself and Adele decided to change our dreary lives and better ourselves, this has involved a hearty pay slash and uncertainty about our future but I can honestly say that neither of us have ever been happier. The stress is worth it. I never thought I'd say it but my day in college is the highlight of my week!

Bring on the future!!!!!!