Life's a Gas

Phew, P's left our team and it feels that the sun has come out. She was so negative about everything (even her home life) that it was difficult to stay focussed on creating a better way of working which in our team which need to do.

Me and C(who's a lovely 21 year old) have agreed to do extra hours until they get a replacement for P. P's job has been advertised and I did speak to my manager beforehand about this. It would be a natural progression especially as I've been looking for another job for ages to go for this job but because P has always been so negative about it, its kind of made me wary of applying for it. However, stepping into P's shoes this week has been a real eye opener. Me and C have worked as a team and we've gone great guns at getting things onto a more even keel. Our manager had a chat with us about how things have gone yesterday and she was really impressed at what we've done. It feels like such a relief. I've started my application now, P's job is exactly the same hours as mine but on a higher band and I just hope that I get it. If not I will be really brassed off after all the effort I've put in over this past year and will have to find something elsewhere but crossing fingers I just hope it doesn't come to that.

Wish me luck!

Hi, well what a week.  Had a great night out with N&G last Saturday and boy did we have some laughs, just what I needed before a taxing week workwise.

On Monday I went for the interview.  Before going I had some hesitations about it as it means having contact with kids who may be neglected, be victims of abuse and those who have been raped.  After going into the Unit for the interview I realised that I would not be abe to cope with seeing the kids which was pretty good as I wasn't offered it anyway.  The job was within the same trust where I currently work and it would have meant a step up the ladder whilst still working part time. 

Anyhow after being told I'd not got the job by my current boss we then had a team meeting in the dept where I currently work.  The reason was to discuss P leaving and how we were to cover her work.  To be honest I did lose my top as me and C who are on the grade below P are expected to cover her role till its been recruited to which seems a bit harsh but unfortunately our job descriptions have a well used paragraph to cover these kind of events.

I went home and thought about whether I might want to take on P's job permanently but am a bit anxious about it cos the team have had problems but to be honest its difficult to know if its the work that's the problem of the fact that P can't just get on with things.  Time will tell but I'm a bit anxious about giving up my current role for this one and then have nothing to go back to.  Anyway I asked to have a mtg with Manager and discussed my thoughts and asked if they might consider a secondment to this role to cover me in the event of me wanting to return to my current one.  Not sure what's going to happen but you can only put your point forward and if the bosses don't want to take it on board then so be it.

Anyhow for the time being C (who didn't get the job she went for) and I are going to be working extra days to cover P's job until something is sorted.

Last night was P's leaving do and after having drinks in Wetherspoons we moved onto Platillos for excellent tapas and cocktails.  I've had tapas in Spain before and Platillos really came up to the mark with the standard of food and service.

Today am going to do some cleaning and chill out as I'm a bit tired out.  Going to the hairdressers in the morning then we're out with D&R and another couple for a meal tomorrow night.

Sunday I'm going to lunch with my ma and then on Monday I'm going out to tea with Sarah - definitely a socialising weekend.  Only problem is I'm a bit skint but never mind will cope.

See you soon and have yourself a great weekend.

Hi all, well after my last blog when I had my rant I felt a lot better after and it definitely got things out of my system.

Workwise: things are ok, P finishes next Friday and I found out on Thursday that C, who's a lovely 21 year old, is also looking for another job as she realises working in our team is just too much. Interview is on Monday and I've been doing a bit of research so fingers crossed for me.

Tonight we're off out with N&G. Going for a drink and then onto the curry house for a ruby murray. Tomorrow we're having Sunday dinner with all the family which will be lovely. For starters we're having homegrown corn on the cob, then roast chicken with yorkies, veggies and potatoes. To finish I'm in the process of making a banoffee pie which always goes down well with the kids.

Just been making some more strawberry jam which is delicious.

I've been reviewing whether to carry on with my blog. Been writing on it for just over a year now and sometimes I wonder whether its worth carrying on with it but as I said last time when I do need to vent its a great way of dealing with things so perhaps I'll continue with it. Any thoughts, let me know! Bye.

Hi all, got back from holiday on Tuesday morning when hubby came down with a dreadful cold which stopped him going back to work until Thursday and which he has now very kindly passed onto me. We were supposed to be going out with N&G tonight but have had to put it back a week.

Now my rant. The reason for my starting this blog was to get negatives out of my system and after going through counselling I came to find it a valuable tool to rid myself of negative feelings.

Anyway I just feel so angry about work at the moment. Went back on Wednesday and our Office Manager has made changes in the office layout to accommodate extra staff which has made it a bit of a rubbish place to sit in 7 1/2 hours a day. Did we get a say in the changes - NO. Our Trust has to achieve targets and keeping people happy isn't in the frame of things is just a matter of getting the work done.

Getting the work done is another reason for my rant. Our team has been going through staff changes since I started wth the team namely cos management want fast results and they think getting temps in will solve the problem. Of course, this isn't the case and we just end up picking up the pieces all the time. When I got back to work I found we'd yet again got agency staff in to support our team which we wouldn't have needed if the bosses hadn't recruited a clerk who is absolutely pants, has no office experience at all and to be honest doesn't seem to have a light in her head. Instead of supporting us she's bringing the team down, she's on a contract till next March and apparently we've just got to get on with things till then.

P has got two more weeks in our team and then she's off to pastures new. The only saving grace is I've got an interview in the same trust on the 13th and fingers crossed it'll be my way out of sheer madness. To be honest I love the work in our team and most of the people in it but it gets very tiring battling against the tide especially as other teams based in our office have got the temerity to tell their support staff just to sit and say nothing when they've got no work to do.

Ahhhh feel better for that now. Sorry about that. Back to happier times soon!

36 hours I should be sat in the airport waiting to get on the plane. Me and hubby can't wait. It'll be out 24th wedding anniversary on Sunday and it'll be great to be on holiday for it.

Not much more to say except for see you in a couple of weeks!

Well weather wise its been a great weekend and what a fab time I've had. Firstly a bit of an update.

P got the job but I didn't get the one which I went for. Never mind though cos I've been shortlisted for the other job and interviews will be on 13th October. Will be interesting to see what plan our bosses have for our team now, I've got some ideas but not sure whether to raise them with my boss or not - I'm going to have a chat with hubby about it to see what he thinks.

Me and N went out for tea after work on Thursday. I'd expected to be coming home about 8ish but oh no we partied. After a couple of drinks we went for a ruby murray accompanied by a bottle of Pinot Grigo. We then went and had a last one and hubby picked us up. Friday I wasn't much good for anything and was blown out of my bed at 7.00 in the morning to the news that XL had gone bust. We were due to fly with them on Thursday so I quickly got the laptop out and booked us alternative flights.

Onto the weekend. It's my ma's 66th on Wednesday and me and my sis arranged to take her to Doncaster racers along with our hubby's and my nieces. We'd booked a mini bus which was great and got to Doncaster for 12.30. Ma won £56 on the St Ledger which was cool. We had a great afternoon, the sun shined and our blokes had a few beers. The bus driver picked us up at 5.45 and we went to a local pub for a meal. R&R came down and joined us and R brought ma some beautiful flowers. We then went back to ma's for one last drink.

I'd expected to have a sore head today but managed to avoid it. So its wagons roll for Lanzarote now. I've done some packing this afternoon and sorted a few things out which I need to take: make up, jewellery. Now its time to make dinner and we're having lamb steaks which should be nice.

Tomorrow morning its ironing and then me and R are going out to the flicks in the afternoon.

Have a great night.

Hi all, finally we've got some sunshine today. Eleven days now till Lanzarote and I've already spoken to hubby about booking for next year!

Well at work its very interesting at the moment. P told work a few weeks ago that she wanted to hand her notice it, work managed to talk her out of doing that and encouraged her to apply for a lower grade job and less hours which she did. P has an interview on Thursday.

I finally became permanent in my current post after having to apply for it last week. Problem is that its getting a bit boring now and I've applied for a couple of jobs with the same employer, still part-time but on the next grade up. Work know about this and have been trying to talk me out of moving on. Obviously if P goes it'll leave the team with one person down for a bit and the bosses would be quite happy for me to move into her shoes. However, I'm not going to do that under the same terms as I think the jobs too much for one person and needs separating out but bosses won't do that.

Anyway I've got an interview for one of the jobs on Wednesday (day before P) so by the end of the week the team could be 2 people down. Tough!

Bosses want it all on their own terms and I'm not going to go down their road cos I know that it'd end up making me ill and I'm not going to do that again.

Well I hit 45 yesterday and now when I complete a questionnaire I'll have to tick the next box which finishes in the 50's age group. How do I feel, extremely happy. Its over the past 18 months that I've finally settled down into my life, kids are now self sufficient especially as R has left home and me and hubby are more loved up than ever!

I've had a great weekend. On Friday me and hubby drove to Warwick and went into the castle which was great. It was very interesting and well worth the money especially as we had a Walkers crisp offer which enabled us both to get in for £18.00. After looking round the castle we then had a wander round Warwick town centre which is truely lovely.

We'd booked to stay two nights at a B&B in Stratford Upon Avon. It was about 15 minutes walk into the centre and we had a lovely welcome from the owners. The room was beautiful and the breakfast was fab.

So Saturday after brekky we walked into Stratford and did Shakespeare's birthplace which is a wonderful piece of English history. We did a couple more of the houses and then went to the church where Shakespeare is buried. After lunch we went on a river cruise and then after a look round the shops we walked back to the B&B.

Yesterday we went round Anne Hathaways house before the journey back. We got home about 1.30 and half an hour later D&R came round with a card and some beautiful flowers. Last night we had a takeaway with the family. I slept like a log after all the walking round we'd done over the weekend.

Today I'm off out with R and my ma who's back from holiday for a girly lunch. Back to work tomorrow but my flight tickets have now arrived so its count down for Lanzarote in just over two weeks.

See you soon.

Hi bloggers, hope your bank holiday's been good, mine has been ace. The weather in south yorkshire has been good all weekend - cloudy at times but warm with lovely sunny spells.

Hubby finished work on Thursday lunch and to start the weekend off we went to a local for the pub quiz on Thursday night which we really enjoyed. Woke up on Friday with a bit of a thick head but got our packing up ready and we headed into Derbyshire for a lovely walk starting at the Grouse Inn (which if you've never been is a lovely country pub). Can't remember Friday night but on Saturday my lads went off to Blackpool and we won 3-1. Its the first time the blades have won an away match when our M's attended so the lads were pretty happy and it was also great cos it was M's birthday on Sunday and the match was part of his pressie from us.

Meanwhile I met up with R. We did a bit of shopping then got a DVD of PS I love You and came back with some Ben and Jerrys and had a girly afternoon watching the film.

Yesterday R&R came round and M's girlfriend Hayley also came and we had a Chinese take away to celebrate M's 20th. It was great to get the kids together. By the time 12.15 came I was pooped and went to bed leaving the family to continue the celebrations.

Today me and hubby went to Debenhams and I treated myself to £56 of lingerie, hubby got some new jeans and we also got a lovely quilt cover for our bed. This afternoon I've been to the allotment collecting runner beans while hubby's been finishing off the patio which looks absolutely superb. I've blanched some beans which I'm about to freeze. Hubby's just gone to the hospital as yet again his ma is an in mate - same problem water infection. This time when she's allowed home they're going to keep her on a low dose antibiotic which hopefully may help to keep the infections at bay.

So back to work tomorrow but its my birthday next Sunday and me and hubby are going to Stratford on Avon for the weekend on Friday. Can't wait. We've booked into a B&B in Stratford which from comments posted on a booking website looks pretty good.

So bring on the next weekend and its only 3 weeks on Thursday till we go to Lanzarote. Brilliant, Life really is a Gas!

Hi all. Well I'm done at work now till next Tuesday and what a week I've had. For the past two years I've been doing a job well below what I'm capable of but as I was nursing myself back to good mental health it was the best thing for me. Now the time has come, as I knew it would, that I'm getting bored and need a new challenge. Anyway a couple of part time jobs have come up in the NHS trust which I work in which are both on the next grade and would give me more responsibility and a more varied job.

I spoke to one of the people who I currently work for yesterday and asked if she'd be happy to provide me with a reference. I could tell it was a bolt out of the blue for her but I explained why I was looking for something else and she agreed to supply a ref.

Got called into a mtg with my manager this morning to find out that its sent my boss into a spin and she wants management to see if they can do anything to keep me with my present team. I explained to manager my position and told them that the only way I would stay would be if they could put me on a higher grade, which at the moment they can't. Anyway during the coversation we talked about one of the jobs I've applied which would have the same manager as I've got now. We discussed the fact that I'm going on hol soon and I asked that that be taken into consideration when the interview date is set, manager told me she wasn't sure she could accommodate my request. Hence I told her that if that happened I would be most unhappy and although I didn't say it basically I would put going elsewhere. Game on see what happens.

On a different note my mate S who's expecting twins has found out she's expecting a girl and a boy - how amazing is thta I'm so pleased for her.

N&G are away on hols to Florida on Sunday although they're a bit worried after hearing about the current hurricane scare - will cross my fingers for them.

Now for the weekend. Hubby's off now so we're planning on going walking in Derbyshire tomorrow. On Sat the lads are off to Blackpool for the footie match. Me and R are meeting for lunch. On Sunday its Mat's birthday so we're having a chinese in the evening, R&R will be coming and Mat's girlfriend which will be good.

Its my birthday next weekend and me and hubby have just booked a B&B in Stratford for a couple of nights which will be lovely. Also on the holiday front, this time four weeks today I should be having a nice drink in Lanzarote. Me and hubby are going for 11 days and we're really looking forward to it.

Well that's it for now. Have a good weekend.