It was Friday afternoon when I suddenly realised that it was the Queen's Jubilee the following week! Well not quite that it was the Jubilee as this had been plastered all over the TV and retail outlets for weeks, more that the Jubille means two bank holidays. As its half term for me the bank holidays are just counted as normal holiday days so I didn't quite click that the HR department would not be working until Wednesday. Wednesday being my new extended deadline to request voluntary redundancy. And the reason for the extended deadline? Well I'm sure you will remember its because I am waiting for the outcome of my appeal meeting, they suggested the extension because of the 'exceptional' circumstances which seemed very nice of them at the time, but as they haven't delivered the outcome and clearly won't until Wednesday at the earliest (when I am in Leeds at the theatre) how am I to make a decicion and fill in the required form if I do decide on Voluntary redundancy? Yes I know there is email, but I cannot access the college email on my mobile it needs setting up by a friendly IT techy.
Obstacles, obstacles everywhere and do I believe they will provide an outcome on Wednesday? No. Even though they know and I know that the outcome will not be in my favour I would still like to see it in writing before I consider my next move. Most of the department have already put in their requests for voluntary redundancy although obviously this can and in some instances will be refused I feel like I'm being left behind. Others have decided against it because mortgage protection will not pay out for voluntary redundancy as it implies you chose to leave. The department is closing! None of us have any choice in the matter, we are just doing the best we can to protect ourselves!
By 8.30pm on Friday much to my surprise I received a hand delivered letter form work, detailing the appeal outcome, 3 pages worth!
Much better reading than the original grievance outcome, they admit they do not have evidence for several points which a few weeks ago they stated they had 'substantial' evidence! They also admitted and apologised for procedural mistakes, the upshot is that they found the appeal not to be in my favour. No I am not surprised or even disappointed, disappointment would suggest I believed it would be otherwise and my hopes never really developed that far.
So then the weekend was spent considering whether I bite the bullet and apply for voluntary redundancy or wait for them to make me compulsory redundant (if they don't redeploy me) and then take them to a tribunal for unfair dismissal on the grounds that I should have been made redundant last November.
I don't know if I'm being a quitter or just sensible, but I put my 'expression of interest' in for voluntary redundancy. Part of me wants to keep fighting, but the bigger part of me worries that I could end up with nothing so I decided it would be better to get 0.3 of my redundancy payout than have a long fight with stress and worry for the next few months or perhaps longer (the last tribunal they had took 5 years to conclude and guess who won!)
Now their policy states that any expression of interest in voluntary redundancy will be answered as soon as possible and if granted a meeting will be arranged to discuss terms. Not quite how its gone (no surprises there) my colleagues and myself have recieved fairly prompt letters inviting us to meetings to discuss our expressions of interest, but with no indication whether they are accepting us for voluntary redundancy. They seem to go against there very recently written policies at every opportunity and the only purpose I can see in the delay tactics is to continue the discomfort of their staff.
The meeting was today and as predicted gave no knew information and no indication as to whether I am to stay or leave, I will know by the 29th June apparently. The reason for further delay? Well I think its because they are worried that everyone wants to leave and for the few positions they have available (maths and english teaching only and then a whole range of support positions) there will be nobody left to fill them. It does not seem to matter that I do not have the necessary qualifications or experience for any of the positions, nor do the majority of my colleagues. Square pegs in round holes I think is the plan.
In the meantime HR seem to be digging quite hard into what my colleagues and myself have planned for the future. How is the job market looking? What are you going to do? Will you look outside the area for work? What about that bit of teaching you do at the school down the road? (3.5 hours a week does not equate to a job!) The reason for this sudden interest in our futures? If we find a job before we are made redundant they don't have to pay us anything. Cycnical? No. This is how the place works, they don't care about their staff, not even the ones that have worked there for 20 years or more, they have made that very clear over the past 18months when all this started.
Amidst all the angst from the work direction I am plodding along with several lots of exam marking, main purpose being to boost my now depleted income. It achieves that goal, but my god is it boring work!
I musn't complain though as the current running joke with hubby and I is that although I stay at home for most of the week and seem not to work (marking is completed in fits and starts while watching TV or listening to the radio) I have more disposable income than I have had in years. So much spare money infact that hubby and I enjoyed our theatre trip in Leeds with pre theatre dinner and cocktails. Yes the Tesco vouchers pretty much covered the food and hubby treated me to cocktails (Dark Chocolate and Strawberry Cocktails at Browns in Leeds are my new favourite thing) but I paid for the theatre tickets and the cheap hotel and still felt that I could afford a shoe orientated shopping spree the following day. It was not lack of money that saw us leave Leeds without the shoes I dreamed of, I just couldn't find them, I did find a fab summer handbag in Primark though!
The theatre was dancetastic by the way, all the corny lines of the film, but with some added humour amidst the amazing dancing. The stage and backdrop were ingenious and they even managed 'the lift' on a rather small stage which caused a huge round of applause. My fifties style dress and under skirt also made me look and feel like one of the cast and even though I stood out from the jeans clad crowd I felt like a lady :-)
I am also still having regular injections of cafe nero's milano hot chocolate and I visited the market again for flowers last week, those roses having lasted 3 whole weeks before I decided I really must relegate them to the bin, these are the things I wished for and there are moments when I feel like I am living the good life.
Hubby and I, accompanied by a friend, ran a 10k at Clumber Park on Saturday too, all my spare time has meant that I have kept up with the running although only twice a week, which needs increasing to three times and mixing up with something different on other days.
This is my third race and I think the most pleasant in terms of location (not as muddy as expected) and very well organised with excellent goody bag, a t-shirt and medal, definitely one to do again next year. The next one planned is the Nottingham half marathon although my friend did ask if I was doing the Hunber Bridge Half Marathon again this year, it is in 3 weeks so I'm thinking not, I haven't run 12 miles for months and the Hunber Bridge run is one of the hardest in the country with a delightful incline known as cardiac hill!
For now I'll increase the training and make sure I'm ready for Nottingham in September, I even plan to take my trainers on holiday so I don't miss a week of training. Holiday is not booked quite yet, I've applied for a 0% credit card to pay for it, so waiting to see if I can still get credit even on a part time wage. If not I'll use the back up fund, we're looking at a week in Sorrento, Italy so nothing too expensive, but a bit higher class than Spain or Greece.
This good life does come at a cost though.
The lodgers are more or less trouble free although the tea stains on the sink and worktop drive hubby mad and are starting to niggle at me as I am the one at home most of the week I currently do the bulk of the cleaning. Its a small thing I know, but cleaning up after other people just isn't fun especially when they are grown ups and surely should do it themsleves! I also find that I cannot cook tea when I want, as someone else is cooking theirs. I can't have a bath when I want because someone else is in the bathroom or talking very loudly on their mobile phone in the room next door (not the right environment for relaxing in the bubbles)
I also don't have the desire to make small talk when I am at home, it feels like work, I want to be able to make the journey from one room to the other without bumping into anyone except the hubby or the puppy, neither of who require chit chat. I would feel rude though if I didn't make an effort to speak to the lodgers. I know it doesn't sound like a hard life and I know it could be worse, but I crave having the place to myself, even the sound of them moving around is annoying me at the moment and why are they are home when I'm at home, they have jobs!
There is a silver lining to my little dark cloud, the hubby's new job starts in Spetember and includes accomodation, so we get to move in August. A whole three bed flat to ourselves! I do worry (hubby says I have to have something to worry about, I move from one thing to another) that when we return to the house, which I will still count as home and plan on spending time off in, I will spend the first few hours cleaning up after the lodgers, or do you think it will get to a point where they recognise that no one else is going to do it and do it themselves? I could employ a cleaner, this is something I have thought about, but its extra cost and shouldn't adults clean up after themselves?
Having just redecorated the other house, tenant having recently departed, it amazes me the unusual marks that appear on walls, door frames and skirting boards and that tenants don't see the need to clean up. This tenant was great in every respect except the state of the paintwork which had only been painted in December and now after a short tenancy needed doing again, I quick scrub not being sufficient to recreate the fresh clean look required. Now I am in search of a new tenant with the hope that it will not take long, on my meagre wage I cannot afford to cover two mortgages.
And so the situation so far:
Employment: Still part-time 0.33 of a fulltime
contract + exam marking which equates to a fulltime job for the last 2 weeks and the next 3
Lodgers: 2
Eating out: once or twice (retail eyes has dried up a bit and exam marking keeps me chained to the computer)
Hubby: 1 (nearly our one year anniversary!)
Dog: 1 (still in very good health although a little disobedient at the moment, spoilt by lodgers that are easily persuaded into playing fetch)
Stepson: 1 (visited over half term and plans to have him again soon for longer periods)
No Spend Days: A little better minus the trip to Leeds, again exam marking helps with this.
Showing posts with label Appeal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Appeal. Show all posts
Wednesday, 13 June 2012
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Where to start.......
The trials and tribulations with my employer continue, but with movement at last both on the grievance and the collective consultation.
Firstly a timeline was published for the collective consultation, expressions of interest for the available posts (none of which I am qualified/suitable for) and voluntary redundancy to be received by this Thursday despite this news only being delivered late last Friday afternoon. So they can take the majority of the 90 days to leave us hanging with no answers or decisions made, but when its time for us to make a decision we don't even get a week!
The union are now putting our case forward in the weekly meetings too, although we are a very small percentage of a much larger group that are in consultation so I still feel our views and concerns are marginalised.
In the meantime I had my appeal meeting on Monday evening and the member of senior management seemed very understanding to the point of being lovely (a deception I am sure) and she supplied yet more evidence that I was forced/bullied into taking a cut in hours (evidence collected during the grievance investigation so how on earth was the outcome not in my favour?)
The meeting concluded with the reassurance that I would receive a speedy outcome with the impending decision date for voluntary redundancy in mind. Not that speedy it would seem though as I was informed yesterday that they need more time, but they are consequently allowing me more time (until 6th June) to make my decision (how nice of them!) Although there is little to distinguish voluntary from compulsory other than if I request voluntary the college look better than if they made me compulsory redundant (why should I do them a favour!) and that with voluntary I don't have to work 4 months notice, but with compulsory I might have to work some notice. What I would be doing during this notice period I really can't imagine, as the department will be closed before the notice begins.
So movement there has definitely been, conclusions though? No.
The HR team are becoming very familiar with me though and are still able to maintain a friendly demeanour in my prescence. They have managed to instill a little hope in me that justice will be done and even my more cynical colleagues are hopeful that perhaps they were just trying their luck before, hoping I'd be put off by the farce that their grievance procedure appeared to be. Surely they would not want the case to go to tribunal with all the evidence I have and the additional evidence they have produced to support my case?
I am holding on to that little glimmer of hope while trying not to get my hopes up too high.
News outside of that is a little sparce I'm afraid. The exam marking period is in full swing and will be for the next four weeks so social life is on hold. I was working at lightening pace to start with, but now the boredom has set in its more like snails pace. The glorious weather we have had hasn't really helped. I'd much rather be sun worshipping than sat inside glued to the shiney new laptop (even if it is very efficient and a lovely shiney red) Its okay though its meant to rain this week (sorry, I know I'm the only one thinking of that as a positive)
I'm already considering my options of what to spend the extra money on........holiday is a definite although I still have money from the January marking to contrbute to that. I really want to go to London to the theatre (something I have never done)
Train to London on 1st August £11.25 from Doncaster straight to Kings Cross and £12 return the following day was very tempting, almost booked it there and then. The theatre tickets and necessary hotel are another matter, tickets are a minimum of £53 even for a Weekday and hotel in central London? I haven't looked yet, I daren't! Its on my wish list though, so surely I should do it? I think I've got so used to budgeting that splashing out has become difficult.
While writing to you I have talked myself into it, a trip to London is booked! Train tickets £38.90 for two adults from Doncaster to Kings Cross return with East Coast Trains. It brings the fare down if you book two singles and go direct to East Coast trains website, its an extra couple of quid through national rail website.
I paid the extra £1 to get the tickets posted out to me, I need something physical to reassure me I have actually got somethingin return for my pennies.
The hotel is also booked. Travelodge on High Holborn, near the theatre and close to all central attractions, £49.50.
Yes these prices are because we go on a Monday and come back on a Tuesday, but its summer hols so we can :-)
The theatre I haven't booked yet. There is method to my madness though, the prices seem to get cheaper the closer to the date we get (the opposite to trains and hotels) so I'm going to wait it out in the hope that the prices come down, if they don't I haven't lost anything I'll ust pay the full price and worst case scenario if its sells out on a Monday night (possible because its school hols?) then we have two days in London to do whatever we fancy. I have to admit I haven't done the tourist thing in London, the only reason I've been there is for exam training days and passing through to the Eurostar, hubby spent a bit of time in the city as a teenager though so I can rely on him to be my guide and drag me on and off the underground, which is the scariest part for me, I have always stubbornly walked from station to exams head office.
The only other thing to worry about is parking the car in Doncaster weighing up whether to leave it at the house I rent out (no off road parking there) or pay for parking at the station (have the feeling that might blow the budget. I also need to persuade a friend to look after the puppy, I have one in mind who is particularly good at it, but he's rubbish with dates so there's no point mentioning plans for August now.
In the meantime I am very excited about our theatre trip in Leeds next week to see Dirty Dancing (did I mention that before) I've converted my £10 worth of Tesco vouchers into £40 of Browns restaurant vouchers so we can eat for free while we are there, the only downside is we can't use the vouchers for drinks and I do so love a cocktail or two! Still having some Tesco vouchers left I plan to convert them into restaurant vouchers to use on our London trip so we can have extra money to go visit the usual attractions.
Firstly a timeline was published for the collective consultation, expressions of interest for the available posts (none of which I am qualified/suitable for) and voluntary redundancy to be received by this Thursday despite this news only being delivered late last Friday afternoon. So they can take the majority of the 90 days to leave us hanging with no answers or decisions made, but when its time for us to make a decision we don't even get a week!
The union are now putting our case forward in the weekly meetings too, although we are a very small percentage of a much larger group that are in consultation so I still feel our views and concerns are marginalised.
In the meantime I had my appeal meeting on Monday evening and the member of senior management seemed very understanding to the point of being lovely (a deception I am sure) and she supplied yet more evidence that I was forced/bullied into taking a cut in hours (evidence collected during the grievance investigation so how on earth was the outcome not in my favour?)
The meeting concluded with the reassurance that I would receive a speedy outcome with the impending decision date for voluntary redundancy in mind. Not that speedy it would seem though as I was informed yesterday that they need more time, but they are consequently allowing me more time (until 6th June) to make my decision (how nice of them!) Although there is little to distinguish voluntary from compulsory other than if I request voluntary the college look better than if they made me compulsory redundant (why should I do them a favour!) and that with voluntary I don't have to work 4 months notice, but with compulsory I might have to work some notice. What I would be doing during this notice period I really can't imagine, as the department will be closed before the notice begins.
So movement there has definitely been, conclusions though? No.
The HR team are becoming very familiar with me though and are still able to maintain a friendly demeanour in my prescence. They have managed to instill a little hope in me that justice will be done and even my more cynical colleagues are hopeful that perhaps they were just trying their luck before, hoping I'd be put off by the farce that their grievance procedure appeared to be. Surely they would not want the case to go to tribunal with all the evidence I have and the additional evidence they have produced to support my case?
I am holding on to that little glimmer of hope while trying not to get my hopes up too high.
News outside of that is a little sparce I'm afraid. The exam marking period is in full swing and will be for the next four weeks so social life is on hold. I was working at lightening pace to start with, but now the boredom has set in its more like snails pace. The glorious weather we have had hasn't really helped. I'd much rather be sun worshipping than sat inside glued to the shiney new laptop (even if it is very efficient and a lovely shiney red) Its okay though its meant to rain this week (sorry, I know I'm the only one thinking of that as a positive)
I'm already considering my options of what to spend the extra money on........holiday is a definite although I still have money from the January marking to contrbute to that. I really want to go to London to the theatre (something I have never done)
Train to London on 1st August £11.25 from Doncaster straight to Kings Cross and £12 return the following day was very tempting, almost booked it there and then. The theatre tickets and necessary hotel are another matter, tickets are a minimum of £53 even for a Weekday and hotel in central London? I haven't looked yet, I daren't! Its on my wish list though, so surely I should do it? I think I've got so used to budgeting that splashing out has become difficult.
While writing to you I have talked myself into it, a trip to London is booked! Train tickets £38.90 for two adults from Doncaster to Kings Cross return with East Coast Trains. It brings the fare down if you book two singles and go direct to East Coast trains website, its an extra couple of quid through national rail website.
I paid the extra £1 to get the tickets posted out to me, I need something physical to reassure me I have actually got somethingin return for my pennies.
The hotel is also booked. Travelodge on High Holborn, near the theatre and close to all central attractions, £49.50.
Yes these prices are because we go on a Monday and come back on a Tuesday, but its summer hols so we can :-)
The theatre I haven't booked yet. There is method to my madness though, the prices seem to get cheaper the closer to the date we get (the opposite to trains and hotels) so I'm going to wait it out in the hope that the prices come down, if they don't I haven't lost anything I'll ust pay the full price and worst case scenario if its sells out on a Monday night (possible because its school hols?) then we have two days in London to do whatever we fancy. I have to admit I haven't done the tourist thing in London, the only reason I've been there is for exam training days and passing through to the Eurostar, hubby spent a bit of time in the city as a teenager though so I can rely on him to be my guide and drag me on and off the underground, which is the scariest part for me, I have always stubbornly walked from station to exams head office.
The only other thing to worry about is parking the car in Doncaster weighing up whether to leave it at the house I rent out (no off road parking there) or pay for parking at the station (have the feeling that might blow the budget. I also need to persuade a friend to look after the puppy, I have one in mind who is particularly good at it, but he's rubbish with dates so there's no point mentioning plans for August now.
In the meantime I am very excited about our theatre trip in Leeds next week to see Dirty Dancing (did I mention that before) I've converted my £10 worth of Tesco vouchers into £40 of Browns restaurant vouchers so we can eat for free while we are there, the only downside is we can't use the vouchers for drinks and I do so love a cocktail or two! Still having some Tesco vouchers left I plan to convert them into restaurant vouchers to use on our London trip so we can have extra money to go visit the usual attractions.
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
What I wished for.......
I bought a laptop! Its red and shiny, has face recognition 3 times more memory than my old one and a super fast processor and lots more technical stuff that means nothing to me. I did my research of course and think I got a good deal (just under £400) The decision was made when I realised that trying to complete the summer exam marking on a laptop that regularly crashes, does not have a working select button, has a broken hinge and several buttons missing would not only be infuriating, but also very embarassing when I lugged it into work. Don't ever let it be said that I am frivolous however, I make sure I wring the life out of my possessions before making a new purchase. The fifteen year old items of clothing in my wardrobe are just testament to that, although they are now iterspersed with new clothes that haven't been worn yet (a result of the poor weather)
So the money I put to one side from my January exam marking has now been spent, the puppy having tried his best to use it all first, I did still manage keep some.
Did buying the laptop make me happy though? Not so much. The buying experience was not without its issues and I can safely say that British sales assistants have no customer service skills, where as the two non-British sales assistants that eventually helped me buy something were excellent even though English was there second language. I'm not sure if it was the sales process that dulled my excitement or just that material possessions don't mean so much anymore, but it didn't make me happy. Yes I was excited to get it home, set up and play, but having done that for a couple of hours, the novelty wore off quite quickly. I am pleased however that it should make the upcoming exam marking a little more efficient.
So what did I wish for when I started this journey? To be honest I had to remind myself! Well here's the list:
1. To travel - trip to France and plans for a late deal holiday in July tick that box.
2. To visit nice restaurants - Retaileyes are making this very achievable at the moment.
3. To beable to cover unexpected bills without stressing - I have a back up fund which has so far paid for the new laptop and the car insurance which was going to cost an extra £100 to pay monthly so not quite unexpected bills, but it was nice to have the money there ready and waiting.
4. To be able to treat myself now and again (posh food, nice flowers, clothes and shoes) - A purchase that has made me happy is a couple of bunches of roses (silly I know) they cost £2.50 from the local market (much cheaper and prettier than Tesco's offerings) and are yellow, orange and red, nice and bright and cheery and orange roses always remind me of my nan and more recently my wedding having had orange roses in the bouquet as a tribute to my nan. I excitedly brought the two little bunches home and arranged/stuck them in a vase and now everytime I see them it cheers me up. Proof I think that my desire for the goodlife does not hinge on the desire for money and expensive things.
5. Not to work my contracted 37 hours a week and bring home the same amount of work to do or worry about in my own time. - I still bring a little bit of work home especially at this time of year when mock exams are essential, but it is not keeping me awake at night and certainly doesn't come close to 37 hours a week.
6. To take long walks with the puppy - every day he either gets a long walk of a game of frisbee (if the weather isn't so good) and sometimes both.
7. To take time to look around and take a breath (corny I know) - I have found myself doing this more and more even on the rainy days under the safety of my umbrella and things don't look so bad despite all the doom and gloom reported on the news.
8. Not to be stressed and miserable - I'm not stressed and I don't think I'm miserable, having seen an old friend yesterday for the first time in months he said I seem really happy and I know its not an act and my friend having known me for a long time now can read me fairly well. I don't feel the need to put on a brave face or make things out to be better than they are. Life might not be how I expected in terms of my career, but its turning out pretty well and I'm realising there are more important things in life.
I have had quiet a lucky couple of weeks, besides my two pruchases I have eaten out several times, mainly thanks to retaileyes, which ranged from local pub to more Frankie and Benny's visits.
We also had a free spa day on the bank holiday which was excellent although on enquiring about membership fees we found that the joining fee alone was £200 for a couple! I think I'll stick to the freebies :-)
I've also continued the clothes shopping and bought a couple more items, but its got to stop, despite relegating some items to the charity shop that are two sizes too big for me (I can't remember being that big, I've clearly wiped it from my memory) I still feel guilty for buying new things and I'm fretting over how much I've spent, wondering how I can possibly afford it on a part time wage, but I'm not using the overdraft or the credit card so what's there to feel bad about? Don't worry the bills are not going unpaid either.
Although all of the good has to be balanced with the fact that we live with two practical strangers (lodgers) who are nice and polite and considerate, but is it on any newly married couples wish list to share their home in this way? I can't complain though, even though I grumble a little when sometimes I would just like the house to myself, at the end of the day they are the ones helping to pay for this new life and so I will smile and be gracious (most of the time)
In other news I finally got a result from my grievance! Having just returned from a meeting at the citizen's advice bureau armed with key phrases to put in a snotty letter to HR requesting a speedy resolution, I drafted my letter, checked and double checked and logged into my work email to send a copy via email not only to HR, but also to the principal for added emphasis. I was thwarted however by an email at the top of the list from HR with the conclusion of the grievance investigation. Needless to say that after 7 weeks of investigating, they did not find the case in my favour, nor did they answer the points raised in the grievance. My appeal letter has already been delivered by hand to the HR department, not that I expect that to be a very fruitful endeavour and a week later I have not had a response.
My colleagues however have also been sticking up for themsleves and have arranged a collective consultation meeting for the department, which the principal has been invited to, in order to discuss the lack of communication and support that has been demonstrated so far (now being halfway through the 90 day period) The meeting went well (we congratulated ourselves as we returned to the office) we got some answers and promise of more next week, but the issue seems to be that legally HR have to consult with the collective representatives which in this case is UCU and Unison, and as only one of our department is a union memeber it means that our little group has not been represented at all. We're are on to it now though and our one union member has offered to put forward all our questions and concerns. The principal did not attend by the way, actually she read the emailed invitation and didn't bother to respond - how rude!
And so the situation so far:
Employment: Still part-time 0.33 of a fulltime contract (exam marking starts next week)
Lodgers: 2
Eating out: 6 times over the last couple of weeks thanks to retaileyes, a treat from hubby and a treat from a friend (I'm a very lucky girl at the moment)
Hubby: 1 (7months of married bliss minus one argument)
Dog: 1 (still in very good health and looking beautiful and shiny after a recent bath)
Stepson: 1 (coming to visit for a few days over half term)
No Spend Days: few and far between after all my treats, starting next week I plan to be well behaved though.
So the money I put to one side from my January exam marking has now been spent, the puppy having tried his best to use it all first, I did still manage keep some.
Did buying the laptop make me happy though? Not so much. The buying experience was not without its issues and I can safely say that British sales assistants have no customer service skills, where as the two non-British sales assistants that eventually helped me buy something were excellent even though English was there second language. I'm not sure if it was the sales process that dulled my excitement or just that material possessions don't mean so much anymore, but it didn't make me happy. Yes I was excited to get it home, set up and play, but having done that for a couple of hours, the novelty wore off quite quickly. I am pleased however that it should make the upcoming exam marking a little more efficient.
So what did I wish for when I started this journey? To be honest I had to remind myself! Well here's the list:
1. To travel - trip to France and plans for a late deal holiday in July tick that box.
2. To visit nice restaurants - Retaileyes are making this very achievable at the moment.
3. To beable to cover unexpected bills without stressing - I have a back up fund which has so far paid for the new laptop and the car insurance which was going to cost an extra £100 to pay monthly so not quite unexpected bills, but it was nice to have the money there ready and waiting.
4. To be able to treat myself now and again (posh food, nice flowers, clothes and shoes) - A purchase that has made me happy is a couple of bunches of roses (silly I know) they cost £2.50 from the local market (much cheaper and prettier than Tesco's offerings) and are yellow, orange and red, nice and bright and cheery and orange roses always remind me of my nan and more recently my wedding having had orange roses in the bouquet as a tribute to my nan. I excitedly brought the two little bunches home and arranged/stuck them in a vase and now everytime I see them it cheers me up. Proof I think that my desire for the goodlife does not hinge on the desire for money and expensive things.
5. Not to work my contracted 37 hours a week and bring home the same amount of work to do or worry about in my own time. - I still bring a little bit of work home especially at this time of year when mock exams are essential, but it is not keeping me awake at night and certainly doesn't come close to 37 hours a week.
6. To take long walks with the puppy - every day he either gets a long walk of a game of frisbee (if the weather isn't so good) and sometimes both.
7. To take time to look around and take a breath (corny I know) - I have found myself doing this more and more even on the rainy days under the safety of my umbrella and things don't look so bad despite all the doom and gloom reported on the news.
8. Not to be stressed and miserable - I'm not stressed and I don't think I'm miserable, having seen an old friend yesterday for the first time in months he said I seem really happy and I know its not an act and my friend having known me for a long time now can read me fairly well. I don't feel the need to put on a brave face or make things out to be better than they are. Life might not be how I expected in terms of my career, but its turning out pretty well and I'm realising there are more important things in life.
I have had quiet a lucky couple of weeks, besides my two pruchases I have eaten out several times, mainly thanks to retaileyes, which ranged from local pub to more Frankie and Benny's visits.
We also had a free spa day on the bank holiday which was excellent although on enquiring about membership fees we found that the joining fee alone was £200 for a couple! I think I'll stick to the freebies :-)
I've also continued the clothes shopping and bought a couple more items, but its got to stop, despite relegating some items to the charity shop that are two sizes too big for me (I can't remember being that big, I've clearly wiped it from my memory) I still feel guilty for buying new things and I'm fretting over how much I've spent, wondering how I can possibly afford it on a part time wage, but I'm not using the overdraft or the credit card so what's there to feel bad about? Don't worry the bills are not going unpaid either.
Although all of the good has to be balanced with the fact that we live with two practical strangers (lodgers) who are nice and polite and considerate, but is it on any newly married couples wish list to share their home in this way? I can't complain though, even though I grumble a little when sometimes I would just like the house to myself, at the end of the day they are the ones helping to pay for this new life and so I will smile and be gracious (most of the time)
In other news I finally got a result from my grievance! Having just returned from a meeting at the citizen's advice bureau armed with key phrases to put in a snotty letter to HR requesting a speedy resolution, I drafted my letter, checked and double checked and logged into my work email to send a copy via email not only to HR, but also to the principal for added emphasis. I was thwarted however by an email at the top of the list from HR with the conclusion of the grievance investigation. Needless to say that after 7 weeks of investigating, they did not find the case in my favour, nor did they answer the points raised in the grievance. My appeal letter has already been delivered by hand to the HR department, not that I expect that to be a very fruitful endeavour and a week later I have not had a response.
My colleagues however have also been sticking up for themsleves and have arranged a collective consultation meeting for the department, which the principal has been invited to, in order to discuss the lack of communication and support that has been demonstrated so far (now being halfway through the 90 day period) The meeting went well (we congratulated ourselves as we returned to the office) we got some answers and promise of more next week, but the issue seems to be that legally HR have to consult with the collective representatives which in this case is UCU and Unison, and as only one of our department is a union memeber it means that our little group has not been represented at all. We're are on to it now though and our one union member has offered to put forward all our questions and concerns. The principal did not attend by the way, actually she read the emailed invitation and didn't bother to respond - how rude!
And so the situation so far:
Employment: Still part-time 0.33 of a fulltime contract (exam marking starts next week)
Lodgers: 2
Eating out: 6 times over the last couple of weeks thanks to retaileyes, a treat from hubby and a treat from a friend (I'm a very lucky girl at the moment)
Hubby: 1 (7months of married bliss minus one argument)
Dog: 1 (still in very good health and looking beautiful and shiny after a recent bath)
Stepson: 1 (coming to visit for a few days over half term)
No Spend Days: few and far between after all my treats, starting next week I plan to be well behaved though.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)