Jump to content

What's Up in November 2016?


Athena

Recommended Posts

Thinking of you over in New Zealand - we have an app on a tablet which sounds an alert when a big earthquake hits somewhere in the world, so we knew about it and have monitored all the aftershocks that followed on too.  Hope they don't find any more damage to your house bookmonkey  :friends3:
 
I've had a lot of overtime at work recently, so haven't been around the forum much.  I do try to keep up with it, but don't have the time or often the inclination to post any thing as I'm often too worn out to use the laptop, and hate trying to post on my phone.  Thankfully, I've got next week off, so hoping to recharge my batteries and start thinking about Christmas!  :xmassmile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 95
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Thank you. She is on the mend. I went to see her this morning and she was sitting up in bed much more like her usual self, but still a bit shaky, which is understandable.

x

I'm glad Coran is on the mend. I'm sorry you were treated so badly by the hospital.

x

I have just shy of 1 month left at my current job so hopefully something will turn up sooner rather than later.  It will be a strange observance of my 17th anniversary at the company knowing that the following day is my last.  I have faith and am positive that things will turn out, though :D.

I hope things will work out for you.

x

The South Island of New Zealand has been hit by a very large 7.5 earthquake. It lasted about 2 minutes, has caused a lot of damage to some areas and triggered tsunamis. Some areas are still cut off and we continue to get aftershocks. All OK here but biggest and by far the longest earthquake I've experienced.

x

Wow, that must have been scary! I'm glad you are okay.

x

Thanks Chrissy. There's still a lot of quite severe aftershocks, but most we don't feel here. One town, Kaikoura, is cut off with slips and could take days to clear. A lot of tourists are in that area so poor things are wondering what the heck has struck them and when they'll be able to get out. But thankfully only two fatalities.

x

I'm sorry about the two faatalities, but glad it's not more than that :(.

x

Where are you Poppy? I'm in Palmy North and it was huge here. Hate to think what it felt like in Kaikoura.

x

It must have been scary :(.  

x

Hurray that the cows have been rescued.  :blush2:  Click.

x

I'm glad to hear that. 

You're a lot closer than me.  Yesterday I discovered there is slight damage to my house.  It's an old ex-Housing NZ house, so I'm worried there may be more we can't see.

I hope the damage won't be too extensive :(.

x

The last 6 weeks or so have been utterly insane work wise, I have had almost no time for anything else. By the time next Monday comes around I will have had 3 days off in 22, only 2 if them at home and all 3 on call. I've only managed to make it into the city of Barcelona a few times although I am hoping to make it to a football match this weekend. So far I have been out here working on my own but on Friday I will have a collegue for the rest of my time here which will mean I can have a decent amount of time off. I will have to agree some kind of shift pattern with him but anything is better than what I am having to do at the moment.

 

In truth I am missing my old job and I am looking forward to the end of March when I will be able to sit down and decide if I want to continue with this or go back to the old job.

x

I hope you'll enjoy your time off. I'm sorry you didn't get much time off at all. 3 days in 22, with all 3 on call and only 2 at home, sounds too little to me. I'm sorry the new job isn't working out as well as you'd hoped. 

x

Not only the cows, sea life is being rescued where the seabed has been lifted by the quake :D (paua are abalone).

x

That's so nice :)

x

I've had a lot of overtime at work recently, so haven't been around the forum much.  I do try to keep up with it, but don't have the time or often the inclination to post any thing as I'm often too worn out to use the laptop, and hate trying to post on my phone.  Thankfully, I've got next week off, so hoping to recharge my batteries and start thinking about Christmas!  :xmassmile:[/font]

x

I hope you'll have a nice week off :).

x

Things are okay here. I had a lovely weekend away in France. I am quite tired from it now though, so the next while I plan to rest (as well as do other stuff). I'm glad I went though, it was great to be 'away from it all'. We were quite lucky with the weather. It rained a lot in the Netherlands while we were away, and we even had a mini-blizzard driving through Belgium, but in the south of France the weather was great. We even had a couple of hours sunshine and the temperature was nicer than at home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not only the cows, sea life is being rescued where the seabed has been lifted by the quake :D (paua are abalone).

 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/nz-earthquake/86476242/divers-and-volunteers-band-together-to-save-stranded-shellfish-and-sea-life

 

 

Do hope you don't find there's any more damage Bookmonkey. They built the Housing NZ houses pretty sturdily, so fingers crossed for you :hug:

 

Fingers crossed too. :D

 

That`s some funny looking sea creatures ! How nice that people are rescuing them. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

x

I'm glad Coran is on the mend. I'm sorry you were treated so badly by the hospital.

x

 

Although it was pretty traumatic at the time, I really cant get too upset about it to be honest as the risks were explained to us and we knew this sort of thing was a possibility. At the end of the day their quick thinking saved her life. She is okay now and getting better each day so that is the important thing. The wounds are healing nicely, and the pain levels are diminishing each day. It could all things considered have been a lot worse.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds great ! :)

 

EDIT - Well, you know what you said. ;)  It`s disappeared for some reason. :doh:

Haha :D

 

Although it was pretty traumatic at the time, I really cant get too upset about it to be honest as the risks were explained to us and we knew this sort of thing was a possibility. At the end of the day their quick thinking saved her life. She is okay now and getting better each day so that is the important thing. The wounds are healing nicely, and the pain levels are diminishing each day. It could all things considered have been a lot worse.

I'm glad she is healing well :).

 

My brother is getting his diploma next week, so I'll be attending the ceremony. His gift should arrive in the post today.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Counting down the last 2.5 weeks left of school. I will officially be DONE! I've got two finals and two presentations to do and I really need to get on them. This weekend will be spent working on a paper and studying. I won't be straying far from home.

 

I feel like I may be coming down with the crud. Those darn kids, sneezing, wheezing, coughing and hacking their way through my immune system, lol, smh! I thought I'd be somewhat safe from that since the littles moved cross country!  No matter, got my study fortified with heat, kleenex, and all my comfortable, cozy goodies to make confined study more appealing. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Congratulations to your brother. How lovely :)

 

Hope everybody has a great weekend! Out for birthday celebrations for my Gran's birthday tomorrow and baking my sister'a husband a cake for his birthday on Sunday.

Thanks :). I wish you a great weekend too :)

 

Counting down the last 2.5 weeks left of school. I will officially be DONE! I've got two finals and two presentations to do and I really need to get on them. This weekend will be spent working on a paper and studying. I won't be straying far from home.

 

I feel like I may be coming down with the crud. Those darn kids, sneezing, wheezing, coughing and hacking their way through my immune system, lol, smh! I thought I'd be somewhat safe from that since the littles moved cross country!  No matter, got my study fortified with heat, kleenex, and all my comfortable, cozy goodies to make confined study more appealing.

Good luck with the last 2.5 weeks of school :)! I hope it goes well and that you don't get too ill :(.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Congratulations to your brother Athena - I hope he likes his gift.

 

I bet you will be glad to finish school as well Virginia, and hope you feel better soon.

 

I am enjoying a very quiet weekend after the somewhat dramatic events of the previous one. The morning was spent pushing a trolley around Sainsbury's and the afternoon sitting up in a bed (almost) finishing a rather good Icelandic crime fiction novel.

 

Tomorrow we are hoping to go and see A Street Cat Named Bob at the cinema - I finished the book recently and we have a couple of free cinema tickets that need to be put to good use.  

 

I almost forgot that we booked our summer this morning as well. We are going to the Channel Islands for 2 weeks in June - spending a week each on Guernsey and Jersey, which should be good. We had originally hoped to go this last summer, but by the time we got round to booking all the affordable places were already gone. I was determined not to let that happen again, hence the somewhat early booking. It will be our 20th anniversary while we are away, and both of our birthdays, which will be cause for celebration.    

Edited by Talisman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, the film was very good Athena. A lot of the characters were different, but the story was basically the same. It is well worth watching.

 

It has been another strange day for me workwise. Last week my Manager informed me that he had his 6 month review today. His probationary period had already been extended some three months previously due to complaints from various members of staff, and he had been told that if there were more then he was likely to lose his job. There have been a lot more, and so today was D Day. This means that once again I no longer have a Manager. I applied for the post myself after my previous Manager left, and was second in line to get the job, and now have to go through the process of applying again.

 

As for my now ex Manager, basically things caught up with him. When he started there he failed to disclose the fact that he had ADHD. He did eventually tell them, but they had to practically drag it out of him, after it became clear that something was not right. There were numerous complaints from the various departments that he cleaned, he didn't help me at all when my other colleague was off sick for 2 months, and has been caught out doing personal stuff on the computer in work time and lying to cover his own tracks. I feel for him in a way, as I know how difficult it must be to live with a condition like this, but at the end of the day, he wasn't doing his job and he got found out. It's what happens unfortunately when you don't tell the truth. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel it's always better to be honest about these things, rather than sneaking around trying to hide it. It is sad in one way, I do feel for him too as I know from personal experience it's not easy at all to live with ADD (without the hyperactiveness at least), but lying isn't the way to go about it at all. Being honest is best.

 

Good luck with applying for the manager's job, I hope you get it!

 

My brother's graduation ceremony was really nice :). I'm very proud of him. My dad was in the ceremony too, he was chairman and he spoke to several of his students that were graduating. I thought my dad did a good job. Each student is spoken to by someone who was involved in their project (ie. a professor or a PhD student), explaining the project to the families. Unfortunately not all of the speakers spoke as clearly, I couldn't make out some bits. My dad did a good job though, and I'm proud of my brother.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And so you should be. You should also be proud of yourself. I am. I must admit that it has been a tough couple of months, but it has been also been a big learning curve.

 

I applied for the supervisors post six months ago when it was first advertised and was second in line to get in, but I have learnt a lot in those months and now have a lot more experience and a much better idea to what the job will entail. They have said that if any members of the existing cleaning or gardening team (as it also involves supervising the gardener) wish to apply then they need to put that in writing by the end of tomorrow, so I have emailed to confirm my interest, and can only take it from there. Of course my colleague is walking around like the cat that got the cream, as he did not like my ex Manager, or the one before that, but that will change. He will be difficult with whoever does get the job, but I have been there a long time and know this, and HR and the CEO also know where I am coming from with regards to certain things, so it's a matter really of watch this space. I get the feeling that they have learnt quite a lot themselves from this experience and things are going to start changing around there. It's about time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Flew back to the UK on Monday evening, its nice to be at home again even if it's only for a few days. I finally have someone to work opposite me so that neither of us is on shift all the time. We've both been trying to make the best of a messy situation at work and it looks like we may be finally reaching a solution.

 

I've even had a chance to do a little reading for once as well. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great news on the job front, Brian!  I hope it continues.

 

Congrats to your brother, Athena, and good luck vibes to you, Talisman, on your promotion.

 

Happy Turkey Day tomorrow to my fellow American members :D.  I hope you have a lovely one!  It'll be just a small gathering here and I'm very much looking forward to some time off work.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Congrats to your brother, Athena, and good luck vibes to you, Talisman, on your promotion.

 

 

 

It will certainly fingers crossed. I heard back from the HR Manager today to say that I should hear back from her towards the end of the week. It will though be another interview. That's fine, as this time having been through it once before, I will be a lot better prepared.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm having a pretty lazy week at the moment - should really get off my butt and get some stuff sorted out!  Need to start Christmas shopping soon - the Christmas Market starts tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get around it this weekend to make a start. :D

Happy Thanksgiving to you peacefield, and all our other American members for tomorrow :)

 

Good luck with the job application June, fingers crossed for you. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Flew back to the UK on Monday evening, its nice to be at home again even if it's only for a few days. I finally have someone to work opposite me so that neither of us is on shift all the time. We've both been trying to make the best of a messy situation at work and it looks like we may be finally reaching a solution.

 

I've even had a chance to do a little reading for once as well. :D

That sounds promising :)

 

Congrats to your brother, Athena, and good luck vibes to you, Talisman, on your promotion.

 

Happy Turkey Day tomorrow to my fellow American members :D.  I hope you have a lovely one!  It'll be just a small gathering here and I'm very much looking forward to some time off work.  

 

Thanks Peacefield :).

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it!

 

I'm having a pretty lazy week at the moment - should really get off my butt and get some stuff sorted out!  Need to start Christmas shopping soon - the Christmas Market starts tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get around it this weekend to make a start. :D

Good luck with the Christmas shopping!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have some great news to report - the Department Head came on the radio (we use walkie talkies where I work) about 12 noon to ask where I was and came over to see me and offered me the Cleaning Supervisor job. This is the best news I have had all year. I am absolutely chuffed to bits. He explained that I didn't need to have a second interview as the previous one was only six months ago anyway, and as I was second in the running that time around, that made it really a formality. Our gardener I know will be chuffed to bits, but it will be the other cleaners worst nightmare. I am more than ready for that though, as I know I will have all the support that I need from both the Department Head, who will now be my boss, and HR. Of course it also comes with a large pay rise - more than £2000 in fact, which means I will be earning almost as much as the support staff. This will make a huge difference, as I will be able to start saving again and putting more money into my pension. As there is really no reason to wait, I start on Monday, when my new boss will tell the rest of the team. I can't wait to see the look on a certain person's face !        

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...