After a month away from here...

Ok, Last time I was getting all stressed out over moving house and trying to fond somewhere. Well, the reason for me going quiet is that I have found somewhere and moved in (maybe I'll post some photos on here in a few days). Because of moving I haven't had any web access for the last couple of weeks, partially thanks to British Telecom cocking up my broadband installation. But I'm on now. So I've been through the rough but some how, but now there is a path and it feels pretty much like things are getting back on track with everything in my life.

Silence is not always golden

I've had a bit of a sabbatical from blogging for a couple of weeks. Not really intentionally, although I have been working every day for the last three weeks. Today is my first day off fro three weeks. And as soon as it's over, I;m going back in for another three week stint. The only thing that keeps me interested is that I need the money to move house.

I thin the real thing keeping me off here though, has been the lack of feeling like I have something to say. I guess I can now say that everything has worked into a pattern and a way forward. I won't say that it's all worked out for the best because I'm not so sure that it has. There's still a load of grief to deal with, the place I'm moving to is not really somewhere I want to live but I guess that I'm just going to have to deal with it. Work is still stressing me out a bit - I'm coming up to my 6 month probation and at this point they have the right to decide that they do not want me any more.

I think that the best thing is just not to make a big deal about it and see if I can let the date slip past without anything happening and then there's a different set of rules that they have to play by.

I'm still feeling a little bit fed up at the moment if I'm being honest. Things aren't as heavy going as they were, the balls that I need to juggle have changed a little and it seems like everything at the moment is hinged around waiting. Waiting for the references to come back to the lettings agent, waiting for them to get the tenancy agreement drawn up, waiting to get a date when I can get the keys and move in. There's still a chance that this place could fall through and if it does then I have no backup plan and nowhere to go when my tenancy ends.

Feeling terrible - in more ways the one

Ok, so I'm probably the only person who can manager to catch a cold in the middle of summer! I've got blocked ears, blocked nose and a really sore throat. So, as you can imagine, I'm not quite feeling my best right about now. Don't get me wrong, it could be far worse and I'm aware that plenty of people have to deal with illnesses far worse than the common cold. Right now that isn't really helping though.

Work isn't going according to plan either, for some reason people are just not interested in buying right now. Last month was good, very good. There are still a few people coming in but far less than last month and those who are coming in don't want to buy yet. There's interest in the merchandise but when it comes to the crunch they're all looking in respect to a future purchase.

I'm also now into the space in time where I need to be looking for somewhere else to live. My tenancy agreement comes to an end in July and I don't think there's any chance of an extension. Even if there was, I wouldn't take it unless I was desperate. Commuting is costing me a small fortune right now. Petrol, parking and wear and tear on the car. My income is pretty much at full stretch and I need to drop some costs by moving closer to work. I've really only started looking in the last few days and there's a couple of half decent leads to follow up. the first place I looked as was an absolute hell hole. Damp, peeling wallpaper and probably hadn't been modernised since the 1970's! With a little money put in it could have been so nice but as it was it was barely fit for animals let alone a human! There's somewhere else that I've seen and want to get a viewing for but I cant get hold of anyone at the weekend so I'll have to try on Monday.

Update, after a while...

Not a huge amount going down right now to be honest. We hit 98.4% at work last month. That means a basic bonus but nothing that my bank manager is going to get excited about! However, I've also got a few days of overtime coming up as I'm on a training course for two days, then my deputy is on a course for a day. Couple of weeks alter, one of my sales guys is on a weeks holiday so I'm doing the extra hours to cover. I guess that I'll be pretty tired by the end of it but hopefully that should be just about enough money to sort things out a bit.

So, massive thanks and praise, I think that my prayers have been listened to and it looks like they're going to be answered. It's not really the answer that I was praying for, I was kind of hoping that the store would hit target. However, it is an answer that solves my problems and does not create any other issues, so it's probably a better outcome than I was looking for.

Not A Good Day At Work

I had my boss come down to work to visit today and it didn't go as well as expected. I know that I've had a comparatively easy time of it so far in comparison with life in my previous employer so what would have seemed like a mild inconvenience six months ago now seems much bigger and out of proportion. It kind of feels like a case of 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' . It's not that there's a huge amount of things that I need to deal with but it just sort of feels personal.

My boss does not have a particularly motivation way of promoting the need for change and improvement. It's not his fault, he just seems to have an ability to make you feel guilty for no good reason. I guess I should be used to that, My old man has had the ability to make you feel like dirt for no apparent reason, for as long as I can remember. I can even remember Mum complaining about it at times too.

So I have to lick my wounds tonight and get on with it again tomorrow. There's no point in getting all obsessed about it because the changes that do need to happen are going to have to be driven and role modeled by me. Further more, if they're not sorted out then it's me that is directly accountable for the long term result. (I say long term, he's coming back to see how we're doing in two weeks!)

I don't think it helped that I've been feeling really ill all day. I think that I ate something really iffy last night. Thing is, it smelled alright when I cooked it, tasted alright when I ate it but it's done me in today alright. I've felt sick all day and really bloated. Come to think about it, I don't feel much better now either. The moral of the tale - don't eat my cooking!

New Pet Project

Ok, so things are ticking over in most of my life in the same way as they alway have done. Work is the same old stuff, albeit a little better than before.

But that's not what this entry is about. I have started my own web site, ratherodd.org and have spent most of my free time over the last week on getting it up and running.

It's by no means finished but it's ready for visitors. As well as being a place to have some fun, I'm also using it to promote my music as well. I'm not sure what will come of putting my music more prominently on display, if anything, but it will be interesting to see. I've decided that the web site is going to focus on bizarre, unusual and disgusting things. Now all I have to do is tread the fine line between that and my religion. I'm sure at some point I'll get it wrong. It's a fine line to tread. but I want to try. After all, having my own web page is a great new adventure!

A prayer answered, maybe?

OK, so my last couple of posts have been asking fro some help and for things to go well. Well, things have suddenly picked up at work. There are still challenges that I have to deal with - not least to sales people that I have to manage who cannot get on with each other and do nothing other than rub each other up the wrong way. Business still has the odd off day (yesterday was one of those on a spectacular level) but then today was better than average and pretty much made up for it.

Right now I have a little clear air and some recognition from my bosses and the atmosphere between us feels a little less pressured. If the store reaches it's target this month then the onus that could come from it may well pay the bills for keeping my car on the road and perhaps even cover off some of the expenses that I'm going to face when I move house some time in the next couple of months.