Talisman

I guess I will find out on Wednesday. I have a meeting with HR the day before to go through the format, which is basically a list of set questions with a tour of the site. Unbeknown to my colleague (the one who was off sick for 2 months) I have another meeting with him and HR also on Tuesday to discuss the standard of his cleaning and what can be done to improve things. He had a hospital appointment today which left me on my own. This gave me the opportunity then to go around the site cleaning his areas and assess the standard of what he has been doing. As I suspected, he hasn't been doing much at all. I took photos to record the evidence and will get the ball rolling on Tuesday to finally do something about this. He has a history of not turning up to meetings like this, so we decided not to inform him until a few hours before. It is difficult though, as although I can't stand the man and have made no secret of this, I can't let my personal feelings get in the way. I still have a job to do and have to try and support him if he does need help. It is clear that he isn't a well man. We have our work Christmas party tonight which if I can get rid of my headache should be good. It kicks off at 7pm with the food (a proper sit down meal) at 7.30, followed by if I have the energy, lots of dancing.

You never know.

That depends on how much make up you wear, as if you cake it on, the mirror will be lying.

That's good I guess, as it's no fun travelling when you feel that rough. At least you didn't lose out financially. I hope the housing situation gets sorted too, I can imagine how stressful that must be. Thank you. I had to put my Managers hat on today and give one of my staff a stern talking to, as it transpired that while I was offsite cleaning the café yesterday he didn't do any of the areas he was supposed to. He was as usual mooching about doing not very much at all. It is clear that he is pushing the boundaries and testing to see where mine are. My own Manager and HR were brilliant though, giving me all the support I needed, so at least I don't have to worry on that score. I found out today as well that I and one of the women from HR will be interviewing for a third cleaner on Wednesday next week. They ask candidates a list of set questions which does make it easier. I will have to run through things with HR the day before and just hope I don't look and sound as nervous as I will probably feel. It feels with everything that has happened these past few weeks that I have had to hit the ground literally running, but I guess that's a good thing, as it means I will learn and gain experience a lot quicker. I just have to keep reminding myself that I can do it.

Like a few others on here, with the exception of things like travel guide books I only ever Kindle as well. It is then gift vouchers all the way for me. My wish list currently has 143 books on it, so one would be very handy this year.

Fingers crossed for your degree results Virginia - I like the sound of that bottle of wine. We have our work Christmas party on Friday which should be good fun with copious amounts of wine there too. I guess I have a reason to celebrate after all at the end (almost) of the year. It will be a marginally better prospect that what I had to do today - a deep clean of the café that the charity I work for runs in one of the nearby towns. That oven was horrible and the chairs were not much better. They are all sparking now thanks to a large amount of elbow grease. I am meeting our sales rep tomorrow which should be interesting. My colleague doesn't think so though, as until we had a cleaning supervisor that was his domain. It is 2 weeks tomorrow as well that we are off to Lundy for our Christmas hols, which is even better.

I dread to think of the amount of germs on that girls phone. That's just nasty. Sitting in front of the fire with a nice drink sounds like a good plan to me. Coran and I are not doing much today either. We are going out for a coffee once the washing machine has stopped, and to hopefully get some ballet tickets as it's that time of year when all the live performances are being broadcasted at the cinemas. It saves the drag of going all the way into London, not to mention the cost.

I am like you muggle in that I love dark chocolate. My preference is Green and Blacks, or anything with chilli in it. Like you, it has to be the really good stuff. There is no way I could stop at 2 squares though !

Mary's Boy Child - Harry Bellafonte (or Boney M if you really must)

It is almost the end of the year and I have managed to get through a few more countries since September: Gone Bamboo by Anthony Bourdain for Sint Maarten Who Slashed Celanire's Throat by Maryse Conde (a brilliant book) for Guadeloupe My Beautiful Bahrain by Robin Barratt for Bahrain When Hoopoes Go to Heaven by Gaile Parkin for Swaziland End of the Spear by Steve Saint (a really interesting book) for Ecuador My Heart Will Cross the Ocean by Kadiatou Diallo for Guinea

December is off to a flying start for me as I settle into the new job. I contacted our sales rep today who sells us all the cleaning products that we use, and have set up a meeting with him next week to introduce myself. I have also arranged a little Christmas gift to say thank you for how he has helped us this year with free samples etc. I also have a meeting on Monday with HR and my new own boss, the Head of Housing and Facilities, to discuss what we need from the third cleaner that we are advertising for - what hours we need, what duties can be redistributed to this person and so on to lighten the load on the rest of us. It seems that I will be involved in the interview process for this, which is pretty scary but also something I am looking forward to. My new contract was waiting for me when I got home from work tonight, so I will have to sign that and bring it back in on Monday. Coran and I are going in to Guildford tomorrow to get all the stuff that we need for the forthcoming trip to Lundy, and for me to stock up on Lush goodies. We will also have a very tasty lunch in our favourite organic veggie restaurant. It is hard to believe that Christmas is only 3 weeks away !

I wouldn't disagree with that. At the end of the day though, you can lead a horse to water but cannot make it drink. Apparently he has been walking around the place telling people that he is leaving, but I haven;t heard anything from HR to say that he has resigned, so my offer still stands. If he hasn't done it by the end of the week, then I will have to assume he is going to work with me. Of course I know he won't, but that's all good, as when he starts to complain I can just gently remind him that it was his choice to stay .... Thank you! Hope you manage to get that sorted out, it doesn't sound too brilliant to me. It certainly will be. My first slightly larger pay check will arrive about a week before Christmas. We are normally paid on 25th of each month, but of course with 25th December being a certain religious festival, they usually do it the week before at this time of year. It means it has to last a little longer, but I will have more than I am used to anyway, so for me it's not a problem at all. I must say that it is nice to finally get the endorsement I have been seeking. It has though made me aware of just how dependant I am on others for approval, which is perhaps not such a good thing and something I need to work on next year.

There are definately no short anything here. The temperature hasn't gone far above freezing all day. It was about minus 6 degrees when I left for work just before 7.30am. I don't mind that much though, as I was well wrapped up in my thick walking trousers and padded jacket. My hands are starting to get quite dry though with the constant going from being warm indoors to cold outdoors.

It was freezing here today, or not far off it. I don't think the temperature went above 3 or 4 degrees all day, and tomorrow is set to be colder still.

The only villain I can think of is Lisbeth Salander from the Dragon Tattoo books, but I am not sure if this really counts. I suppose that depends on your point of view.

Yes, I hope you feel better soon Autumn, you need to be careful I think and look after yourself. As for me, my first day as a Manager went well with many congratulations from both clients and staff. News tends to travel fast in a place like this. Of course the other cleaner that I work with was not happy, but I didn't really expect anything else. He has spent most of his 6 years there complaining about the place and saying that he wants to leave, and I was informed by at least one person that he had been doing that this morning after he heard the news. So at lunch time I went and found him and asked him what he felt about things. He informed me just as he had said to others that he was not happy, so I told him that was a shame, as I had hoped we could put our differences behind us and start afresh, but as he was clearly not prepared to do that he was free to resign. I went on to say that if he had not done that by the end of the week (which I know he won't) then I would assume that he had changed his mind and he was prepared to work with me, and get on with the job, and if he did that then he would see that I was and am a fair and reasonable person. Well, you have to start as you mean to go on. I told my own new boss that I had done this, and he said I had done absolutely the right thing. I am quite proud of myself actually in the way that I handled that.

I always keep mine in the fridge, but I must admit I have never really thought about why that is. I suppose it's because my Mum did when I was growing up and it's what the professional chefs I have worked with also do. When you stop and think about it though, they are not refrigerated when you pick them off the supermarket shelves, although they probably have such a high turnover that to them it isn't necessary.

What a year it has been ! I can imagine the look on my colleagues face though when he realises he has got to answer to me. He has been walking around like the cat that got the cream all week, but he won't be by Monday!

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 !

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.

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.

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.

Raining on and off for most of the day. The sun tried to come out this afternoon, but didn't quite make it.

Most of the books I would want to re-read are spiritual books as I sometimes need reminding of what's in them. Things like Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsh A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle and sorry if this sounds like advetrising, but my partners book, A Way of Seeing by Coran Foddering There is so much truth and wisdom in each of these books that it is useful to be able to dip in and out of when I need to get back on track.

I am on book no 78 at the moment and hope to get to 90 by the end of the year. I may have to choose from short books between now and then though !