Fallout

Remember how I said that when you're inanely busy, something has to give? Well we have the answer. I interviewed for a permanent position in my office and didn't get it. I just wasn't giving the answers they wanted to hear, and that comes down to a lack of preparation for the interview. I'm still not entirely sure what was lacking, so all I can really do is google typical interview questions.

The manager was very kind, we get on very well and she did note that I still have 11 weeks where I am, and there was still a possibility of... possibilities. Of course I can't bank on that so I have to assume I'll be unemployed at that point. The real difficulty is that it's almost right on top of my rental lease expiring, meaning I will somehow have to find a new place to live while unemployed. Just in case you don't immediately grasp the significance of that, landlords essentially never let to someone without permanent full-time work. To say that November is going to be a challenge would be an understatement. A dear friend has kindly offered to host me if the worst comes to worst, but he is in Wales, nowhere near either here, or my work, so I'm not sure I can realistically take him up on the offer.

Not my car, I park better than this.

I finally managed to get myself a small loan, and bought a car. It's a ten-year-old, pug-nosed, one litre shoebox on wheels that you could park on a drink coaster, and although it has 100k miles on the clock, the service history shows that this little creature has been very well looked-after. So I have now been driving to work for a week. Amazingly, I keep forgetting that I have a car and that having a car means I can Do Things™. Things like actually going down to the holiday park where my caravan is (I can't stay overnight as the van is let out to holidaymakers, but I could still use the facilities there or even just visit the beach). I can visit the big supermarket where the prices don't gouge me. I can get bulk buys home because I don't have to carry them. I quite dislike that it's a car that has made this all possible, and that I can so easily feel relief at doing things the easy way, but it is what it is. A week of commuting has been even cheaper on the fuel than I expected.

As for the loan, it is expensive, but not in the eye-watering-interest bracket that I had expected. It is definitely cheaper than credit cards or payday loans. The option is there to pay it out early if lightning strikes and I suddenly get rich enough. The repayment itself is quite affordable (I say that, as someone facing unemployment!!!) because even taking that interest into account, it is cheaper to drive than to commute by public transport. This world is crazy, huh?

As for my second (older) job cleaning, I got what I wished for and immediately wished I hadn't got what I wished for. They have found someone to replace me. I will, as of Wednesday this week, be absolutely free in the evenings and not have to run off to push a vacuum cleaner around. It's what I want, but of course I'm also thinking: I really should be trying to earn more money for November. As it stands my full-time income won't leave much over once all the bills are paid. There won't be much in the tank for an unemployed December. The old boss is still offering ad-hoc work, and part of me is grateful while part of me wishes I could walk away from needing two jobs...

Good: lost a bit of weight, not much but it's a start
Hmm: parking costs more if you pay for it online, so I am constantly chasing change to feed the machine, meaning I have to keep paying cash for groceries. Last supermarket visit I made five separate transactions to get as much change as I could. A few funny looks. I hope it doesn't make me go shopping more and spend on things I don't need.
Bad: parking fine two hours after I bought my car, in my own backyard, because I didn't have my permit yet. £100. Currently appealing this but unlikely to get it lifted.