Well I'll wish anyone who reads this a Happy New Year and hope you have a good one.For myself it's a case of the only way is up (although there is a possibility of dropping some more).
So I'm out of a job and almost penniless due to a combination of pride, stupidity, over generosity, and generally burying my head in the sand for the last 6 months.
I finally signed on as unemployed just before Christmas but it seems I have to wait till mid January to get a penny, and I expect to have to answer a lot more questions before that as they've failed to contact me in this last 3 weeks?
The bank cancelling my overdraft was the final nail in my stubborn resistance to claiming benefits (although I've been eligible for 6 months), pride or stupidity made me believe I could still bring in the money without going back into the mind numbing employment of previous years but I failed.
My hobby of online gambling brings in the money but not enough to survive on, (before anyone thinks I've gambled my money away I can honestly say I'm one of the few who uses a common sense approach to it and have made a tidy profit over the years) I operate a very methodical low risk low stake policy which on average brings in £50-£100 a week profit but for the hours spent it's not a good hourly rate, and to be honest I've never really liked horse racing so after a few hours of play I'm bored witless, also being at home has so many other distractions so I really don't spend the time I should on my one means of income.
Over generosity is another problem, much as I love my kids between them I've loaned them thousands of pounds which they promised to pay back but I've yet to see a penny, and as they are my family I don't want to pressure them as they're not really making enough themselves.
After 15+ years of solid working since my last period of unemployment it's been a nice break and I had the finances to cover it for the early part, but it's time to get back into work and this is the part I'm getting worried about as most jobs I've looked at are offering salaries which are a fraction of what I was earning 2 years ago, and the lack of any replies to my applications is leading me to think the age thing is a problem? when I last applied for work I was early thirties now I'm late forties although I don't feel any different and I certainly know more than I did then.
The job centre has been an experience as the people I've dealt with all seemed computer illiterate and lacking in people skills, so when I asked what jobs I could do it was hard not to say "yours" :)
The last woman I spoke to there seemed to lack any experience of the real world as she looked at my CV and saw I'd got certificates for car maintenance and told me most surgeons had started out as car mechanics due to their ability to work with their hands??, I couldn't resist telling her to put my name down for a surgical post (I've seen Holby City so it should be a doddle) :)
My computer skills are also a problem as my only qualification was gained over 25 years ago in the days of main frames, and despite using computers nearly every day since then it doesn't look as good as most modern qualifications.
The things I'm really good at with computers (always first point of call with the 200+ workers at my last job) tend to be slightly illegal so don't sit well with employers, A life of crime beckoned but I'm just to damn honest to profit from illegal activities so I'm probably screwed.
Anyway as 2009 begins I've got £4.39 and the remnants of some tobacco in my rolly tin, no job, no benefits, no money in the bank, credit card maxed out, a pile of bills, a sick wife and a dodgy arm, Surely the only way is up?
The strange thing about all this is that I'm now getting the buzz I haven't had since I was in this situation in the early nineties, money in the bank with a regular job and a cosy lifestyle tends to put your brain into neutral, now it's finally got into gear and I feel more alive than I have in years?
Might be my last post for a while as it's only a matter of time till the cable company cut me off as I cancelled their direct debit, and I need to be nice to the mortgage company to keep possession of this place.
Keep smiling people, I will :)
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