Wicked and Lazy

Firstly, I must apologise for the derth of posts. This is partly due to laziness and partly due to me being a bit low and apathetic. I wouldn't go so far as to say I am falling into the pits of depression, but I definitely feel like it's time to get out the situation I'm in.

I have a job in the 'burgh starting on 2nd April from the interview I had before Christmas. They have offered me an excellent salary, plus bonus so I am chuffed. Particularly so as two of the big employers in that area offer way below the going rate and I was sort of expecting it to be the case everywhere. I'm relieved because I'll be able to afford to buy something decent even at Edinburgh's extortionate prices.

Something I haven't mentioned previously is that I am being made redundant from my current job. It's been coming for several months and I had more or less given up any hope of getting any money from it. I thought I'd be long gone by the time they started giving people finish dates. It turns out I couldn't have planned it any better. My official leaving date is 31st March which is the day we are made redundant, I get to use the 6 days holiday I have earned for the year and finish a week early, start the new job on 2nd April, then on 6th April I get 3 months salary as a redundancy payment tax free. And I've only worked in this job since October 2005. Hurrah! I am particularly pleased that my new employer was nice enough to let me delay my start date long enough so I would still get the payment.

All those things are great. I am feeling low because I'm stuck living in the house I jointly own with the ex. We get on fine and there isn't really much bad feeling but it's still not a good situation. I need to start again in a new place and I can't really do that until I move and my name isn't on that mortgage anymore. The ex would like to delay this for a few months until he finds his feet with the job he started in January but self-preservation is starting to kick in. Everything is very amicable between us but I don't think it's fair that he gets to keep me as financial backup in case he falls apart. We've split up therefore he doesn't get to have the luxury of my higher salary. He has been selfish over this and now I think it's time I stopped being so unselfish and looked after myself.

All in all though things are probably better than expected despite the delay in moving. I finish work here in less than a month and will probably leave Coventry in four weeks this weekend. Bloody hell I should really start packing!

Time

Just a quick one because I have none.

It was my last day of work today until January and I was rushing around after fuckwits who had left it to the last minute to ask me an urgent question. Grr.

I'm flying to Edinburgh at 7 am (eek!) tomorrow and I have a busy weekend planned. Then I have job interviews on Monday and Tuesday mornings. I'm more interested in the one on Tuesday but apparently for the one on Monday, money is no object. Interesting. I'll have £60k a year then please.

Then off to home Inverness on Wednesday or Thursday to help mum get things sorted for Christmas.

Not sure if I'll be able to get on t'internet before I get home to 'sneck.

Take care lovelies!

If I knew you were coming I'd have baked a cake

Tonight, I have been mostly eating... mince pies.

Baked by my own fair hand no less. Would anyone like one? It's a bit of a tradition of mine to make a few mince pies at this time of year. I love them, but I loathe the ones you buy in the shops, the pastry is too sweet you see. Many people who have tasted my mince pies over the years have complimented me on them. Some have even gone so far as to ask how I get the pastry so perfect. I just smile sweetly and tell them the secret is to have cold hands when you make it. I'd like to convince you all that I'm a domestic goddess but it's all a ruse. God bless Jus-Rol frozen shortcrust pastry.

I have no morals.

And I must stop eating the bloody things or there will be none left for my work Christmas snack party tomorrow lunchtime.

Let's get the rock out of here

Last night I went to see a friend's band at The Golden Cross in Coventry. The support was provided by 3 bands and one of them were very entertaining. They are called Sweet Seduction and they can only be described as "hair metal". At first I thought they were taking the piss a la Spinal Tap, but the intensity of the singer led me to believe that they take themselves all to seriously. That made me chuckle even more. Lots of whipping about of hair and face melting guitar solos. Fabulous.

In other news, I was very well behaved and only drank four pints of beer. I was quite impressed with myself because usually when I try to do that I fail spectacularly and drag myself into work about 10ish. I still had a headache first thing though which was shite.

Sad But True

News update: Me and Amusing-But-Not-Very-Clever boyfriend are splitting up. We came to a mutual agreement that things had gone too far to really change for the better. It happened a couple of weeks ago but I haven't had the inclination to write about it until now. I feel fine about it. I'm sad because it's over and we've been friends for so long, but I don't feel like I've lost the love of my life or anything that dramatic. Things have been much the same as they were before we made the decision. We still go out to the pub and have tea together and sit and watch telly. In fact, the only difference is, we don't sleep in the same bed anymore. It's a little bit weird, but it makes me realise just how much like friends we'd become. Most people I know can't understand how we can go on living in the same house and doing things together. I must admit, I'm surprised it's been as easy as this. I suspect it'll be awful when I finally move out though.

I've made the decision to definitely move to Edinburgh and I've started looking for a job. I have one interview on the 19th so far. I'm feeling quite excited about finding a place of my own where I can do what I please. I've managed to persuade the ex that I can take one of the cats with me although it took a bit of negotiation. It means that I can only get a place on the ground floor with access to a garden. It's more important for me to get a flat with those things so I can have the cat than to have an extra bedroom where people can stay over. Mental, I know, but I can't bear to leave her behind.

In other news, for the past nine months we have been waiting for news at work about who will be buying the part of the business I work for. They announced it a few weeks ago and four of us will be transferring to the new company in January. Our jobs there are not likely to be secure so I really have no problems about leaving to move to Edinburgh. It's nice in a way because it means I can be completely open with my boss and colleagues about what is happening. I have always hated that sneaking around, going for interviews and then resigning with no warning. The only problem is, because I know I'm going in the next two or three months, I've already lost what little motivation I had.

Still, I finish early for Christmas on the 15th so only a couple of weeks to go. I've decided to go to Edinburgh on the 16th so I can spend a bit of time at my sister's and maybe look at a few flats while I'm there. I particularly want to have a look around Portobello. It's an area of Edinburgh on the coast, full of lovely pubs and restaurants and shops. It even has a beach! I'd like to live there if I can find somewhere suitable.

We Don't Talk Anymore

Right, we've a talk. It wasn't nearly as horrific as I thought it was going to be. I was convinced that Amusing-But-Not-Very-Clever boyfriend had completely decided he didn't love me anymore and that there was really not much option except to split up. It turns out he feels much the same way I do.

More or less, there is still love there (or at the very least strong affection), but we both know it can't go on like this. A friend of mine calls it "The Flatmate Stage". We never really have any conversations about how we're feeling because we both have a bit of a problem with talking about stuff like that. The trouble is, it's gone on for so long I'm not even sure if it's possible to get past this. We haven't made a definite decision what to do yet but it will either be split up completely and start sharing out the belongings (ugh), or try and make some changes to sort ourselves out. I don't even know if it's possible to do that.

The bugger is, I think the only reason it's got this bad is because we've gone through a terrible 2 and a half years with several family crises (his not mine). It'd be amazing to come out the other side of it all with everything intact.

So, I haven't reached the stage of applying for any jobs in Edinburgh yet, but I'm still keeping my beady eye on what's available. I haven't mentioned to Amusing-But-Not-Very-Clever boyfriend that I may move if we split up because I honestly think he'd be gutted.

Later, I may give an insight into the weekend I have just spent in Belgium. In Belgium they have a beer called Leffe. You can buy Leffe Brun and Leffe Blonde here in the UK, both of these are about 6% alcohol. The Belgians, in their infinite wisdom, have decided to invent Leffe Blue. It is 9% alcohol. We didn't realise this until quite late in the evening. Oops. Did we think, "Hmm, perhaps we should switch to the normal, less potent kind"? Don't be ridiculous. I've also eaten my weight in Belgian chocolate.

So, I've finally done it. I've been reading blogs for years in one guise or another, but it's only over the past few months that I've thought about creating my own. This can mainly be contributed to a few of the people listed over there on the left.

I may post regulatrly, I may not. I really have no idea. I strongly suspect that whatever I write may not be particularly interesting to a random visitor, but honestly I don't give a stuff.

All you really need to know for now is that I live in Coventry. I am contemplating a move to Edinburgh due to an imminent break up which is bound to be messy. Hmm, I'm boring myself already. I will try to keep any gory details to myself!