One year on

It's a year since I left my job and leapt into the unknown. This time last year I was probably walking home from the pub contemplating what life had in store for me, or maybe just hiccuping and bumping into cars . I haven't done an update since April, mostly because I'm lazy but also because I've been dead busy. Since then I've been to three festivals (Sunrise, which was flooded, Glastonbury and Square festival), done four assignments, been on two CAT courses, had two visitors and had one massive party, last night. I've also moved house.

The house move happened two weeks ago. At the moment I'm staying with my friend John, in Machynlleth, which is really nice. His house is halfway up a hill and looks out over a lovely valley. He's got a beautiful red labrador puppy called Tosh and is a really nice bloke. I'm moving again in a week's time, which will hopefully be permanent. Or at least as permanent as things can be until I get a long-term job.

Friday was the last day for all the Long Term Volunteers at CAT. It was all a bit emotional. I actually cried when I did a speech which was a bit embarrassing but I guess I should have expected it because I've been pretty sad about going all week. I think I'll be back for various projects though, and in the meantime I've got some work in Membership - it's only data input but at least it's paid and will keep things turning over until I figure out what I'm doing. At the moment what I'm doing could be any one of the following:
- get casual work around here helping various local businesses do renewables installations. I've met loads of people that are involved in this since I've been here, and it would be great experience
- get a job with Dulas, which is the engineering spin-off from CAT, based in Machynlleth. I've sent them a speculative application, but was told that I should just keep an eye on their web site
- start my own business, helping people sort out their computers, similar to the sort of work I did with ITCH (IT Can Help) when I was in Cambridge
- get a job in renewables somewhere else, like Sheffield
I haven't decided yet which is best - hopefully that will become clear this week, now I've got a bit of time to think.

Talking of Sheffield, today was the end of an era:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7561179.stm
I went past those towers every time I went up to uni and back. I'm glad they're gone, even if they were iconic. They were pretty horrible.

We had a massive party last night, in fancy dress (Circus under the Sea - worked out brilliantly, lots of weird costumes), with bands, DJs, dancing and drinking. Ooh and the piece de resistance, some naked hippy sauna action at about 5am, at the CAT reservoir and homemade sauna. Yep, me included. Thankfully, it was pretty dark :)

I'm very tired now, and am planning to sleep for the next two days. I'm starting work in Membership on Wednesday.

In your face, Big Hill!

I made it all the way up the hill in one go today. I am very chuffed and slightly drunk as I have been drinking champagne :)

I'm definitely going to do my assignment in a bit

I'm having a day off work today to do my OU assignment which is sitting in front of me. It looks like a lot of maths which will probably be pretty difficult judging by what I've had to get through over the last few weeks, and I'm not looking forward to starting. So as always, I'm avoiding doing it by checking emails, playing spider solitaire and mucking about in general. This module has been all about how to build a structure without it falling down, in terms of the forces involved and the materials to use. It's rock hard and very dull and has been pretty arduous. If I get through the whole of this course without having a big hissy fit I'll be very surprised. If I get through the degree I'll be even more surprised - at the moment it seems like a bit of an unsurmountable object.

Things at CAT are great. I'm feeling settled in now and getting some really interesting things to do. I've got a big list of stuff that my boss would like me to help sort out or take control of while I'm here, and in amongst them is some stuff that it will be really useful to learn.

I am getting a bit information-fatigued however, and I'd quite like to do something that doesn't involve thinking too hard. Like walking up a mountain maybe.

There's a couple of things about this area that I really like:
- There are loads of sporty things to do, like walk up mountains (Cader Idris is a few miles away) and bike up hills (I got about half way up without stopping the other day...)
- It's full of hippies. The hippies probably wouldn't appreciate me saying that but it's true and it's really nice. Everyone's really relaxed and openminded and when someone has a party, everyone just assumes that they're invited :) And it means that there's loads going on as well like music and dancing and tai chi etc etc...there are lots of creative people about.

Best get on with that assignment then. Bah.

Oxford, commas, ha!

I've just been writing some notes on OU work and made a list without adding an Oxford comma, which made me happy. Any writers out there will know what I'm on about but basically it's where you add a comma after the penultimate item in a list. As in, Today I talked to Frank, Betty, and Derek (the alternative being Today I talked to Frank, Betty and Derek). It's a tiny little gripe but I find it really annoying and we had to do it for tech writing as part of our Style Guide. No more!

I'm really tired today and quite dirty too because I spent all afternoon trying to pull a ruddy great cable through a 100 metre pipe, with several bends in it. I also had to pick up my car from the garage after the clutch went last Friday (in the rain). At least it's going now, but I could really have done without that. The advantage of course is that I got to bike to work in the lovely sunshine yesterday and have another crack at The Big Hill, which remains undefeated. I got a bit further up than last time though. I've got loads of OU work at the moment too - loads to catch up on and an assignment by 18th April. Too much!!

Update + The Big Hill

I'm just back from going to Barton for Easter and fetching my beautiful blue bike so I thought I'd do a quick update. It's going to be quick firstly because the new series of Gavin and Stacey is on in half an hour, and secondly because I'm very tired having biked up the big hill from Machynlleth for the first time. By saying that, I don't mean I actually biked up. I biked to the bottom of the hill, and then wheeled my bike up, stopping several times to rest and pant on the way. I love my bike, but I'm sure that once I've done that a few times, I will hate it. I was so puffed out by the time I got home that I actually felt sick, and carried on feeling sick for about half an hour. If I ever do get up that hill without getting off the bike, I'm going to have a party.

The train journey from Mach to Burton on Trent is really nice - a pretty quick and also pictoresque 2 1/4 hours to Birmingham, then half an hour to Burton on Trent. The trains weren't at all full so there was no problem with my bike.

The first couple of weeks at CAT have been really good. I have:
- cleaned out a boiler with a wire brush
- assisted in making electrofusion-welded pipe joints
- lagged said pipe joints by cutting little bits out of some yellow foam and fitting it round the pipe
- been sent to First Aid with bright yellow stuff coming out of my nose due to dust from said yellow foam
- learned how to operate a mini-digger and used it to fill up a wood chip container
- done quite a bit of tidying round the site
- learned a lot about how boilers work
- been introduced to about 500 people, about 5 of whom I can remember their name
- started thinking about my project and learning about solar water heating
- performed a dance dressed in a bright yellow padded waterproof, white hardhat and blue overalls with 5 other engineers
- walked for an hour and a half to get to the pub

And in my spare time I've been studying and playing spider solitaire. A pretty full couple of weeks all in all!

The big move

I've spent most of the last few weeks packing, chucking stuff out, selling things and giving things away. It all seems like a dream now however because I'm finally in Wales and did my first day today at the Centre for Alternative Technology, or CAT as it's known by locals.

It might sound silly but I do really feel like I'm in Wales. It's not just the roadsigns because you just don't really notice them after a while. It could just be because it's rained almost constantly since I crossed the border. I'm living in a house that is halfway up a hillside, on farmland about 4 miles out of Machynlleth. It's beautiful and windy and surrounded by fields. My landlady and her daughter both speak Welsh and have already taught me a few things. I don't think I'm going to have the time to try and learn much Welsh while I'm here, I do love the sound of it though.

My first day was pretty good. I learned how to operate the funicular railway, changed a strip light, and stoked a boiler. Expect more of this kind of talk in the future! :)

I won't go into it now because I'm not really over the trauma but I've had some really bad problems with Sidney over the last few weeks, which culminated in a distressed RAC call at 3pm on Friday (as in, the day before I was supposed to be driving from one side of the country to the other in it). He was a very very very nice man and managed to fix the car with impressive speed - I'm guessing he gets paid per job completed. One thing I learned from the experience is that having a crap car is a great way to meet men. Not only men, but manly, chivalrous men, that like to help a lady in distress. Just before the RAC call, Sidney stalled on the Coldham's Lane roundabout, on the inside lane, and I was pushed to safety by two lovely and pretty foxy men who were only too happy to help me. Then whilst trying to work out the problem (turned out the petrol gauge was wrong, and I had no petrol. I filled him up and drove off whooping and cheering but then slowed to a halt again, which was when I called the RAC. I managed to not burst into tears this time though) and was helped by one of the foxiest men I have ever seen who had apparently had a mini a few years before. The RAC man wasn't bad either.

Lucy in the car, with meowing

I drove my cat Lucy up to her new home last weekend, living with my sister in the Midlands. She meowed all the way up, with a brief interlude when I put Simon and Garfunkel on, which I think might have knocked her out.

It's been noticably different without her here. On the up side, I don't have to hastily shut the front door every time it gets opened to stop the cat getting out, I don't have to put up with being pummelled at 5 in the morning and I can shut the double doors into the conservatory, which makes the house a bit warmer. On the down side, I really miss her and for the first few days I kept thinking I could hear her behind me. She's got a weird little noise that she makes - sort of a cross between a purr and a sneeze, like she's trying to clear her nose, and I'm sure I've heard that a couple of times. Apparently she's been wreaking all sorts of havoc at my sister's end too. When she moved to my house, she didn't eat for three days and took to pooing in corners. I thought it was because she had managed to poison herself by eating lilies, and had forgotten all about it anyway, but apparently she's been doing the same thing at my sister's. I think it's stopped now though. She's also been terrorizing my sister's cat who is a big wuss but understandably pissed off. I hope they manage to put up with each other though because I really don't want to move her again.

I went to Machynlleth last weekend (where CAT is) to find a place to live. I'm going to be lodging with a lovely woman called Fiona and her daughter and two cats, in her house which is about 4 miles from Mach, and 7 1/2 miles away from CAT. I'm hoping I can bike to work, which I manage it will make me super fit in no time. I've been trying to lose a bit of weight too, as it makes biking easier. I don't hold out that much hope of being good with biking - I might start out well but I'm sure I'll lose motivation after a while. I fitted my bike with a computer this afternoon to measure the speed, distance etc - hopefully that will motivate me a bit. Maybe I can reward myself when I reach distance milestones.

Preparation efforts on the car front are storming ahead. After finding a place to live and realising I'd need a car, I booked Sid (my red K-reg mini) in for his MOT last Tuesday, having finally got the engine back together and the passenger window replaced. It took me a while to start him (mostly because in the months he's been in the garage I had forgotten which knob was the choke and was trying to get him going by turning on the heater). I finally got him going and was cheering as I started to pull him out of the garage, at which point he lurched forward twice and then refused to go into gear, and I stopped cheering. I concluded that the clutch had gone, called my dad and burst into tears.

My dad advised me to call a specialist mini garage, so I got out the Yellow Pages and searched for one. I found one in Cottenham which is really close and phoned them up. They told me that they didn't deal with old minis, although they had heard of a bloke who called himself 'Mr. Mini', who lived somewhere nearby. Through my powers of internet geekery I eventually managed to track him down and called him up. He doesn't call himself Mr. Mini any more apparently, because BMW decided there was some sort of copyright conflict of interest, and the small guy always loses out in that kind of wrangle. So now he's Dean's Minis in Soham. He came and picked Sid up at half past three with a special mini towing contraption, and Sid's now being cared for by arguably the most competent and genial mini mechanic in Cambridgeshire. In the meantime my lovely dad came down from the Midlands and cheered me up by taking me out to lunch.

With luck, I should have Sid back by the end of next week, with a new rear subframe, new rear and front brakes, new handbrake and working clutch. Hope so!

Jokes

It's nothing to do with jobseeking, but I heard a couple of jokes on the radio today that made me chuckle:

Doctor doctor, can you give me something for wind?
How about this kite?

This Christmas I bought my wife a wooden leg. It's not her main present, just a stocking filler.

Both Tommy Cooper I think :)

Getting prepared

I bought a fantastic mac in the sale today, in preparation for rainy Wales. It's bright red. I'd like it to rain just so I can show it off.

I wonder if Shirley from Garbage had just bought a new mac when she wrote 'Only happy when it rains'.

Speed Clean Freak

I had the Man from Bush here today to take pictures of my house from various angles so it can be advertised. I also signed a scary looking agreement which basically gave away the right for me to live in my house.

The Man from Bush very considerately set the appointment for half way through the morning, which meant I had a couple of hours to tidy up and get myself in order. I needed the whole 2 hours as well - I had only just switched off the hoover when I spotted him crossing the drive.

My house now looks immaculate (apart from the cupboard under the stairs, which is where I 'tidied' everything into :)). I've been busy selling stuff and giving stuff away too - Alex's car (which was sitting in front of the house and will presumably be featured in the rental ad) is full of about 10 bags of clothes and other stuff for charity shops. I'm trying to work out where I can take it to because all the places on Mill Road haven't got any parking, with the exception of the Sally Army but I'm not taking it there because my friend has forbidden me (apparently they were really snotty when she dropped off some stuff there). If anyone reading this knows of a good place to take stuff, feel free to pipe up.

In other news, today I worked out how much you'd need to heat a metal bar to make it exert 250kN of pressure on its mounting.

Back on the OU study train

I got my new pack of OU reading materials the other day, so I'm back studying again. This involves getting up an hour early every morning, and studying before going to work. A simple system, which was surprisingly hard to come by last year. I got in a real mess at the beginning when I was trying to work out how to organise myself, and I fell behind straight away. I was struggling to keep up most of last year, but I'm determined that this year that won't happen.

This year's course is looking harder already. It's level 2 and has some maths in it - luckily not as difficult as the maths course last year as yet which literally had me crying in frustration midway through September when I was trying to figure out how on earth I'd worked out population sequences back in January. It was one of those moments when you see your own work and you're astounded that you clearly understood what you'd been writing about at the time, like when you open your uni notes after having let your brain rot at work for a few years. But instead of there being a gap of years into which the information was lost, there was only a few months. Dang!

I'm really enjoying the course so far, and I'm feeling really driven at the moment. Temping seems to be really sharpening my vision about what I want from life. I mean, at the moment, I'm not really using any of my skills or education. It's fun and challenging and I'm doing things that I never did in my previous job, but it's really making me want to have a path again. It also makes me want to learn enough to get a proper job, a proper career and a proper wage. On my wage at the moment, my aspirations of a double-fronted house with a workshop and a couple of acres are a total pipe dream. Unless it was in Bulgaria maybe.

Job Psychology in a Nutshell

I forgot to write a bit about the results of my careers interview. It was actually more of a occupational psychology thing - I did a load of tests about a year ago to create a profile of the sort of jobs I'd be suited to. It took me until June to return the tests - in fact I wasn't going to return them originally because I couldn't afford it and it seemed a bit pointless, but I started getting disillusioned with my OU course and decided to see if I was doing the right thing. I ended up having the interview to discuss the results four days before my 30th birthday, and about a week before I went off for my week of Science Fun in Bath (an OU residential course which was meant to be full of serious scientific experiments - it was, but my group were brilliant and it ended up being pretty much the most fun I've ever had. We spent the whole week laughing like drains). The careers interview is basically what kicked all this off in the first place and was with a lovely guy called David Cook who I would recommend if anyone reading this is feeling lost in Careerland.

The tests were standard ones like MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator), FIRO (Fundamental Interpersonal Relationships Orientation), 16PF5 (General Personality indicator) and various Preferences tests. The test results I found most interesting were the MBTI ones - I'm apparently INFJ (Introvert/Intuitive/Feeling/Judging) bordering on INTJ (I/N/Thinking/J). This type apparently works with perseverance, sensitivity and originality. The difference in the INTJ is that they tend to be more concerned with patterns than people - they're working out the solution rather than considering how everyone will feel about it :). I'm happy being both of those. I found FIRO quite interesting as well, because the test answers can not only tell you what relationships you have in general, but break them down into what you give to others, what you expect from them, and what you actually get.

The funniest thing about the tests was that I actually managed to cheat - albeit subconciously. At the time I'd just started my Engineering degree and was so keen to show that I was doing the right thing that I answered the questions in the way that I thought would skew me towards Engineering. Luckily I was found out because there was a sizeable difference in the results of two tests that should have shown the same thing. Busted!

The results of the test were basically that I like innovation, and I like people. That surprised me, because I've always thought of myself as kind of antisocial. I think it was that that made me realise I wasn't going to get what I wanted from Technical Writing, because it's basically a solitary job, and one of its key requirements is that there is no innovation whatsoever - if you're being creative, you're doing it wrong.

David was very impressed with my Bike BagTM, which I presented to him with great enthusiasm when he asked me about it. I think he thinks I should go into business. It did make me wonder, could I make money out of having ideas? Basically, invent things, then sell the design and patent for megabucks? That really appeals to me - I love thinking about how to solve problems, and I get ideas for problem-solving things all the time. Plus it would mean I wouldn't have to do the setting up-building up-keeping going part of creating a product, which I think would probably not interest me that much and I'm probably too lazy to do. If I invented something really special, I could just sell the idea and then sit with my feet up in the Bahamas sipping pina coladas while the money rolled in. Watch this space, someday there will be a Theaker on the market - who knows what it will be, or what you will use it for, but someday it'll be out there!!

Spec free!

I had eye laser surgery on Friday. It was a surreal and incredible experience, and now I can see without help for the first time basically in my life, because I've had glasses as long as I can remember.

The oddest thing about it is waking up, because the first thing you do is reach for your glasses, but then you realise you can already see. I panicked the first time because I thought I'd left my contact lenses in.

It's not an undertaking for the faint hearted though...having your eyes operated on is not a very pleasant experience. It's worrying and I found it really painful afterwards (although I think that's unusual - most people just experience mild discomfort, like you've got something in your eye). Now all I've got to do is put drops in every now and again and hopefully it should be normal in a few weeks' time.

Back to work tomorrow, for my third week at the Care Worker Agency. I'm really enjoying it, and actually it's getting better the longer I'm there, because I'm getting to know the clients and workers and I'm even going on a client visit on Tuesday, to a home in Ely, with one of my co-workers. It's kind of ironic that I've ended up in recruitment as my Dad and my sister are too. I can see why they like it - it's really interesting and challenging to be dealing with people constantly. Such a nice change from technical writing, which mostly involved staring at words on a screen.

First six months - summary!

A load of people have asked me to let them know how I'm getting on with what I'm doing so I thought the easiest thing would be to start a blog. Plus I'm not studying at the moment so I'm bored. And a bored Helen is not a happy Helen.

A quick summary of what's happened so far...
I left my job last August with a view to applying for a PGCE and becoming a Science teacher, which I really like the idea of if it weren't for the class control issues and a bit of schoolphobia. I phoned a few schools to get some work experience but never quite managed to action the plan, as I decided I really wasn't ready and wanted to try a few other things.
I spent three months having a holiday, studying for and taking an OU exam and sorting out the house.
At the end of October I went to do a course called Ecodesign and Construction at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Wales, where I met a lovely long-term volunteer called Chris, who told me all about the place and how I could become a long-term volunteer (LTV) myself.
I emailed CAT about becoming an LTV as soon as I got back then signed up with a load of job agencies. I got a post pretty soon as a Receptionist/Admin worker for a Care Workers Agency, which was great. By the time I finished I'd been asked back to CAT to do a trial week with the Engineering department, which I did at the beginning of December. It literally rained from the time I arrived to the time I left, and I had to miss my train on Friday night to avoid getting marooned in Wolverhampton, and travelled home instead the next day. It didn't dishearten me though, and I officially applied to be an LTV when I got back.

I started another temp job as a software tester, which lasted until Christmas, and during the job I got confirmation that I'd been accepted as an LTV with the Engineering department starting on March 10th. So my next step is set, and all that remains is selling or giving away the things I don't need, renting out the house, rehoming my loony cat, finding a place to stay, packing up my handkerchief and heading off to Wales.
Since I got the confirmation I've had a job as a Receptionist, which was great apart from a slightly traumatic episode on the last day (last Friday) involving a stroppy Merc owner and some lost Merc keys. I'd love to be a Receptionist again though, it was great having to be switched on all the time and being really busy.
I start a new job tomorrow - I've had a recall to the Care Workers Agency who apparently think I'm fabulous :) I'm hoping that'll sort me out until I head to Wales.

Over the winter I've also done loads of painting - the spare room, hallway and bathroom, and had a carpet put up the stairs. The house is ready now (to be rented out) but the garden has a bit of sorting to do. I also need to get my decrepit mini back on its alloys, phone a million people to sort out various moving queries, figure out where I'm going to live and then actually do the moving. So I feel like I've got a lot on! It's all good though, lots of new experiences and I feel like I'm really getting somewhere now, and out of the rut.

Just after I finished my exam I made a shopping bag to fit in my bike basket out of some old curtain fabric my Mum gave me. I enjoyed doing it do much that I've started making bags every time I'm bored between jobs. They look a bit homemade but are very sturdy and make excellent gifts! So that's kept me occupied as well.

As well as the new job, I've got a careers interview tomorrow, with the man I saw back in July, just before my 30th, which kind of started this whole thing off. It's just a catch up really, but I'll be interested in what he thinks about how things are developing. Last time he saw me I wanted to be a Teacher and I was going to quit my OU course.

That wasn't actually quick at all :) Now I'm off for a glass of wine and a ponder.