Much further out than you thought

[j4]

I feel so far from everybody.

...

Spent last night hiding in my Lerkim (sadly, I can't find a picture of the original Lerkim on the web!). Got lots of stuff done that I can't do at work -- printing photos, uploading user pics for pto452, and trying to write a job application. This job is one that I definitely would want if they offered it to me -- it's an administrative job at the Refugee Council in Oakington: sounds interesting, is significantly better paid than my current job, and is more worthwhile.) Also made a start on scanning and keying the Morris Minor (Series II) owner's manual -- I want to turn it into a useful and properly cross-referenced web resource for moggy owners.

I feel as though I should feel that I've achieved something.

Gordon from Cambridge Kitchens came round this morning at 8:45a.m. (!) to take some more measurements and confirm some bits of the kitchen design. Probably just as well we had that early appointment to get us out of bed; I didn't get to sleep till after 3a.m. (didn't finish job application till 2a.m., had a bath, then tossed and turned and generally felt grotty and eventually got to sleep in the ungodly hours of the morning. And just when I was starting to think that sleep was getting better (actually slept through the previous two nights!).

...

Trying to make a conscious effort to be cheerful. To be honest, it doesn't really feel any more fake or forced than any other emotions at the moment.

Comments

[j4.livejournal.com]

It's called temping. Admittedly it may not be appropriate if you're looking for a job which gives you self-respect.

It also doesn't tend to lead to permanent full-time jobs... I don't require the job to give me self-respect, just a reliable salary that's sufficient to pay my half of the mortgage, and some kind of reassurance that I won't have to go through the whole goddamned process again two months down the line.

Thanks for the luck, though -- probably more relevant to the applications process than any preparation I could do for it...

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

It also doesn't tend to lead to permanent full-time jobs...

Did in my case - I've had seven offers over the years, and took up three of them. Worth doing, as it also gives you an 'in' with people who are good influential referees... that's how I got into the Bod, by coming from the OHS where I'd been a temp that they begged to stay.

It does depend on how much you can stand the idea of temping though - it can feel a bit rootless. I did it "professionally" for four years and at random other times, and really liked it. I've walked out of precisely one assignment (which really was very very crap), and spent over a year at another. The great benefit is that if you get on well with your temp controller, you get nice long-term assignments, they talk up what you can actually do rather than what you appear to be qualified for (thus getting you into those jobs that wouldn't consider your application on paper), you can pick and choose assignments to some extent, and you will not have to have any interviews beyond the first signing-up one. (I have once been interviewed for a temp position, and decided from that that I wasn't going to like the job, but took it because it was well-paid and short-lived. I couldn't have stood it otherwise.)