Another Busy Week W/E 7th October 2023

This week got off to a lovely start as OH and I (and the dog) had another day out in Sussex. OH was competing in another Cycle Cross event and we stopped off at another car boot sale on the way. The car boot sale was run by the same company as the one we went to previously, but in a different location, not too far away. I had more time this time to look around, so I managed to get around quite a lot of stalls.  There weren't actually as many things that appealed at this one though. 

I did buy a couple of plants for a couple of pounds each. One a houseplant and the other a fern for the garden. I also bought some perfume, which I thought smelt okay when I tried it, but I have subsequently decided I don't really like it. I'll wear it for the next couple of weeks until my birthday, as OH is buying me some of my favourite perfume as a present. I'll probably then donate it.

The rest of the items I bought were super inexpensive ranging from 10p for a couple of cards and a couple of balls of wool for LB, to 50p for various other items, including a super small present for LB, a pair of black jeans which fitted quite nicely and a black t-shirt to wear at the gym. 

The cycle cross event was okay. I spent most of the time talking to LB on the phone and taking video footage and the odd photograph for OH, but my skills are very questionable. It was great to catch up with LB and make sure she was okay. A few things that have happened amongst her friends since she started back at Uni and I wanted to make sure she was in a good place. She seems to be. We came straight home after the event. I'd taken a packed lunch with me and lots of snacks, so we didn't really need to eat out.

Whilst I was at the cycling event, I was checking for jobs online and found another job to apply for. It's with a company I've applied to before and by the time I'd got home, I had an interview arranged.  They are interviewing a lot of people over the course of this week, so I don't know if I'll be successful, but it is only a short bus ride from the top of my street and is easy to cycle to if I wished to. I booked my interview for Monday afternoon.

As a consequence of my working this week, on Tuesday and possibly Thursday and Friday. I decided to book a gym session on Monday, to ensure I got some exercise in during the week. I didn't need to do a food shop, as I'd done it on Friday, I just needed to walk the dog, get to the gym, get back and have lunch, shower and change and then head off to the interview on the bus later in the afternoon. It made for a busy day, trying to fit it all in.

The interview was short, very short. Turned out one of the shifts was 8pm to 4am, but this wasn't mentioned in the ad. So it was a complete waste of time and money for me to attend. I'm not interested in working nights. I was very disappointed, as with clearer advertising, I wouldn't have applied. It's not the first time I've had this experience with this company. It's put me off applying for any more jobs with them. It's irritating that they allow this to happen and mislead you. It cost me £3.50 to travel there and when I'm not really working regularly, it's money I'd rather not spend on a wild goose chase.

On Tuesday, I was due at work doing data entry work, as mentioned in my last post. I needed to be at work for 9am, so OH took the dog out and then he was heading north for a couple of days to visit his parents and attend another cycling event over two days. The timing wasn't great due to my working and having to walk the dog, but I just had to try to make it work as best I could.

Work on Tuesday went okay. I wasn't actually doing what I thought I would be, but I just got on with the task I was given, as I'm just happy to be earning some money. It was strange coming home to an empty house, save for me and the dog, but I was fine with it. I got a message from a friend today who was trying to organise a meet up for next week. Hopefully, I'll be able to make it, but it does depend on whether this temp job is extended. I'm pretty sure I won't finish all that needs to be done in three days, but it depends whether they've got funding for me to complete it.  I was quite tired on Tuesday night and retired to bed quite early.

On Wednesday, I woke up and got ready to take the dog out. She wanted to go out early, so we headed off at 8am. I was back by 9.30am. One good thing, was that I saw the lady who had lost her dog the other week (from a distance) and I think she had all three dogs with her, so I think she found her dog. I'm not 100% sure, but I think I saw all three dogs.

When I got back from the dog walk, I had a little time before I needed to head out to Soca Aerobics, so I caught up with a few jobs in the house. My class was really good. I enjoyed it today.

After lunch, I decided to do some cleaning. The bathroom upstairs was in need of a deep clean, so I got on with that. It felt very satisfying. I've been trying to use up some items from the freezer whilst OH is away, and decided to make some turkey fajitas for supper. OH doesn't really like turkey or fajitas, so it was a good opportunity whilst he was away to use the turkey up. I forgot how messy fajitas are to eat though.

I got some good news today. I won another £100 on the Premium Bonds, which was great. Each time I win, it gets reinvested into more bonds, so despite having very little income at the moment, I'm managing to save a little money by reinvesting the winnings. It's better than nothing. 

One day, I would like to have the maximum holding of £50K and then any winnings will be income or could be reinvested elsewhere, as it can't be reinvested in any more Bonds. It will take me forever to save this much though. Especially at the very slow rate I'm buying them at the moment. I do try to buy some bonds most months, using odd bits of money that come my way or savings that I want to move around.

I calculated how much I've won on them in the last two years and it came to £600, which is quite a good amount. I possibly could get a better return elsewhere, but I do like the excitement of being in the draw each month and the very minute possibility that I could win a big prize, with little or no effort on my part.

Thursday, was a busy day. I was due to be at work for 9am and I had to drop the dog off at the dog sitter's on the way and then catch the bus. It would have been a long day for her at home on her own and OH wasn't sure when he was going to be back on Thursday. It could be late into the night. Besides, it was a treat for the dog, as she loves going to the sitter's house. She really likes him, which is a really good thing and she hasn't been since March this year when we went away to Lanzarote.

I witnessed two cases of road rage on the way to work and a woman on the bus complaining to someone on her phone for the whole journey. I've had several bus journeys like that recently when going to work or out and about. On one, a woman was discussing the reasons for breaking up with her partner with her partner on the phone, for the whole journey.  Then there was the woman who was trying to get some money paid into her account and getting agitated with whomever was on the other end of the phone and was supposed to be paying it, but hadn't.  Do people save difficult conversations until they get onto public transport? These incidents can take up a whole bus journey and don't exactly get my day off to a good start. I'd much rather not know the ins and outs of people's personal and financial problems. Sometimes staying at home and minding my own business is much simpler.

Anyway, rant over, work was okay. I just keep thinking that I am earning money towards my family's Christmas presents, and it gets me through the day. It's not terrible or anything, but it's quite repetitive. I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to find another job. It seems much more difficult this time around. I'm starting to feel unemployable at times. I've had several rejection letters this week which is disappointing. Maybe I should just find some voluntary work and try to enjoy that instead. I might do this once Xmas and LB's birthday have been and gone. I don't want LB to miss out because I'm not really earning much money anymore. It doesn't seem fair.

OH was going to be late home on Thursday, so I picked up the dog from the sitter, walked her home, fed her, did a few jobs at home and then made some supper. After that, I'd done enough for one day and just chilled and caught up with a bit of blogging and YouTube. I think I have one more day at work and then the job is finished. So I should be able to meet up with friends next week and get back to my usual classes and the gym. It's been nice to earn some money again though, I am grateful for the opportunity.

Friday, I was at work again. I determined to try to complete the job I've been given as best I could, although I didn't think I'd be able to finish it by the end of the day. In the end, I was told that I was okay to come back next Tuesday to complete it, so that's another day or few hours that I'll get paid for, which is good news.

I had a nightmare trying to get home from work on Friday. Two buses had collided in the grounds of a hospital and so the buses on my route had been re-routed to avoid it. As a consequence, I had to walk a fair way to catch a different bus to get me home. I was glad when I finally walked in the door.

I did need to go out later on Friday, to Lidl, so that I could use the 10% voucher I'd earned last month. It wasn't too busy when I got there and I managed to get most of what I needed. I saved over £7 on the shop using the voucher, which was spent on a small Xmas gift for LB. I'd seen it a while ago and it was now reduced by £3, so I decided to buy it using the money I'd saved. I think she'll like it.

Eventually, I got home, put the shopping away and could finally relax for the evening and start to enjoy the weekend.

On Saturday morning, I was back to the free session at the gym again. It felt so good to exercise, after a couple of days of sitting at a desk at work. I then decided to spend the day pottering at home, as I'd been out at work quite a bit this week, so it was nice not to have to go anywhere. I went up to the sewing room and  did some sewing, which was very relaxing.

I hope you've been able to spend some time relaxing this week.