Most appealing.

Mmmmmm...interesting! After wrangling for an eternity, the appeal date, location and Manager have changed once again. Now its earlier next week and slightly nearer to home. I can't wait to get this sorted now once and for all. My union official is not available so I will also have to make an alternative arrangement, but who shall I select I wonder?

Still no word from the prospective employer though? Perhaps all my delays have pissed them off for good....difficult to say at this point. I sincerely hope not.

Losing patience now.

What a shite day! Missed the postman first thing this morning as he obviously has no understanding of the fact I live in a flat and need a few minutes to get downstairs to answer the door. When I tried to call the collection office to see if I could pick up the letter today they just kept putting the phone down after I had endured the usual round of recorded options. The 'press 5 to leave a highly offensive message' option was not available to me unfortunately!

I then emailed my old employer to see if they would send a copy of the letter (it was obviously from them!) which they eventually did to reveal the following: Hearing in 9 days time in a city over 100 miles away with a different appeal Manager too!! To say I was angry is an understatement.

After a frantic set of phone calls to various contacts (including my former employers incompetant HR department), the location and date could not-or more likely would not-be changed. So they expect me to endure over another week of torture and, more importantly, NO MONEY. Later in the day they did graciously offer to pay my expenses for the trip as 'it is quite a distance from where you live'. Thanks. A bunch!

Not acceptable in my opinion. I have also emailed the union to ask their advice as I really can't see my representative being particularly happy over the trip to accompany me to the hearing.

So, I have contacted the prospective employer to ask about the position with them, and if they formally offer me a job I will drop the appeal altogether and just deal with a dismissal on my future record. That is something I didn't want to live with but the clock is ticking and my bank account is emptying. I need to work.

I await tomorrow and the replies.

And.....(no) action!!

Another day passes and still no news. I have sent another email to the appeal Manager asking what is going on? I was assured in the last correspondance that I would hear something within seven days, but alas, no.

I shouldn't really be surprised as I've already stated earlier in the blog, but it's reaching the stage now where I'm just losing interest in the whole process and maybe I should just move on now?? Need to chew that one over for a bit perhaps.

Lets see if I get a reply today at some point.

No news is no news!

Nothing much to report today. STILL not received any notification about my impending appeal....time is running out from their perspective under the Company's own procedure. It is REALLY doing my head in now, I want some bloody action please!!

Not heard anything from the prospective employer either this week, which is a little concerning too now. Are things going tits-up for me?

zzzzzzzzzzzzz.....I wish!

Another sleepless night, the latest of many over recent weeks. I'm not a worrier by nature but the following points are obviously firmly lodged in the back of my mind:

• No current job!
• Still waiting for the appeal!
• No GUARANTEE of the new job yet!
• Money running out!

I think I'm justified to be a little concerned at the minute. Don't you?

Being treated to lunch today and later on to dinner too, including home made banana cake-delicious!

I may as well stay up now and knacker myself for tonight......and so aids restful sleep. Heres hoping at any rate.

You have mail.

Today I received a letter from my former employer acknowledging receipt of my appeal letter and thanking me for 'my patience'. They will get back to me within the next 7 days!

Do these people not realise that I want to get this dealt with sooner rather than later and start to put my life back in some sort of order? Typical behaviour from them I'm afraid and a good way of torturing me further whilst simultaneously appearing to do the right thing.

The incident that started all this was over a month ago now for gods sake!

Who needs money anyway?

I have just been for my first 'Jobseekers interview'. What a joke! Apparently I'm not entitled to a bean for 26 weeks because I was fired! I was always under the impression that rule only applied to people who resigned from a job and signed on.

How do people survive in this situation? Why have I paid my taxes and National Insurance for all these sodding years......and then be eligible for nothing when I actually might need it!!

Thank god that I don't have any kids or a huge mortgage to fork out for, what the hell would I have done then?

There are times when I hate this country!

What a difference a day makes!

The interview went very well indeed! I must give great thanks to my referee who first informed me of the position, he has done me a sterling job in every way. I can't thank him enough.

I still have a second interview to attened in the near future, but I firmly believe that the position will be offered to me officially following that. The interviewer and myself got on quite well straight away and the 'history' was discussed briefly too. The interviewer was a person that I could easily work for and I liked their work ethic from the off-set.....all very good signs!

I am a very lucky person if truth be known.....how many prospective employers take you at face value these days (OK, with a large nudge in your direction!!)? Not many. I have been fortunate twice over my years of employment with both my honesty and the ability of others to take a leap of faith.

Brave new worlds?

Tomorrow is an important day. My first 'post-sacking' interview! It's within my industry which is good of course but I've never applied for a job after being dismissed, so what questions will that bring at the meeting I wonder?

I have made the potential new employer fully aware of my status and situation already and they still agreed to see me, so that can only be read as a positive sign. I sincerely hope so at least.

I have to admit that I am probably more nervous than I normally would be, but I like to think I'm pretty good at my job despite what's happened recently, so I wish that the interviewer and myself can find some common ground quite quickly and build a rapport from that. Fingers crossed.

As for my 'old' Company, I have still not received formal writen notification of my dismissal and it's nearly a week ago now. I contacted the disciplining Manager earlier this evening to see where it was. Apparently I should get it tomorrow, no explanation for the delay either. I have emailed my appeal letter to them as well. Nothing in return again apart from confirmation.

On Wednesday I have my first Jobseekers interview to contend with. That should be interesting and another new experience. One I thought I would never have for that matter.

Oh, I'm a card alright!

Just took this test when checking out other peoples blogs! The Devil.....I ask you! Or am I?

You are The Devil

Materiality. Material Force. Material temptation; sometimes obsession

The Devil is often a great card for business success; hard work and ambition.

Perhaps the most misunderstood of all the major arcana, the Devil is not really "Satan" at all, but Pan the half-goat nature god and/or Dionysius. These are gods of pleasure and abandon, of wild behavior and unbridled desires. This is a card about ambitions; it is also synonymous with temptation and addiction. On the flip side, however, the card can be a warning to someone who is too restrained, someone who never allows themselves to get passionate or messy or wild - or ambitious. This, too, is a form of enslavement. As a person, the Devil can stand for a man of money or erotic power, aggressive, controlling, or just persuasive. This is not to say a bad man, but certainly a powerful man who is hard to resist. The important thing is to remember that any chain is freely worn. In most cases, you are enslaved only because you allow it.

Follow the link to see what card you are!

Take the Test to Find Out.

Square eyes

At least all this 'free time' is allowing me to re-visit my DVD collection in some depth. I've managed to get through quite a few over the past couple of days alone. (Just watched 'V For Vendetta' which was surprisingly good and has the best-looking skinhead since Sinead O'Connor graced us with 'Nothing Compares To You'. I'm afraid the comparison has been made and Natalie Portman came out on top, though she could gain a few extra pounds!).

Might as well go through all the buggers before I'm forced to sell them off to buy a loaf of bread! Don't panic, it's nowhere near that bad as of yet.....but that does depend on whether my plans over the next few days come to fruition.

It will do me good to get out actually. I've hardly left the house since the fateful day.

It's good to talk.

After just reading my last post (appropriate terminology?), I think it only correct to mention those friends again. Emails have flooded in, the phone hasn't stopped ringing and the texts are making my fingers hurt with all the replies. The pain is worth every push of a button!

What a great bunch of friends and colleagues I have. The level of concern they have demonstrated over my situation is quite staggering to be honest. I am not a person known for emotional reactions to many situations, but I have found myself thinking of them all with great affection with all their support.

One can only hope that you-the reader-has as many people in your lives that matter as I. Fortunate does not go far enough.

Therapy...

Considering how much I've discussed my situation with all my friends over this past week, this blogging lark is actually quite therapeutic. Enough for one day though!

In the 'dole-drums'

Talking of which......have you been to sign on lately? Well I haven't in about 22 years and it has certainly changed!

I walked into the Job Centre ('Plus' whatever that means?) and no-one even approaches you for a start and thats because there are hardly any staff working there these days.....it's all automated and via internal phones. Very strange. Where have all the desks gone and the hoardes of people that used to work there.

You are confronted by touch-screens instead of boards and they print off job specs if you see something you want to apply for......which wasn't much in my opinion!

To even get that far you have a telephone type interview, sat in a very public booth where every bugger around you is very interested in what you're saying! And 'they' ask you a million and one questions about everything thats happened to you and what you want etc, etc....

I want bloody everything after paying a fortune in taxes over the years thank you very much, and the quicker the better now that I will be skint very shortly!

Honesty. Is it the best policy?

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to 'blogging' so do excuse me if I don't come across in the usual manner as I don't what that is exactly! Shouldn't think it really matters anyway as who reads all these things in the first place? I haven't read any before so who will bother with mine? Gives you the chance to get stuff off your chest doesn't it. Time will tell I suppose!

Well, I've lost my job this week and it's the first time I've ever been FIRED! A very unusual experience to be honest, it happened on Wednesday night and it still hasn't really sank in I suppose. I had been suspended for two weeks prior to the night in question (which seemed like an ETERNITY) and even though I was anticipating the worse case scenario, it was still a big shock when I was told at my disciplinary hearing.

'What happened' was that? OK, here goes!

We had a small gathering from work to celebrate a cultural event that was also used as a potential marketing exercise. I wasn't really that fussed about going if I'm honest, but my (recently appointed) boss is new to the area so I agreed to go along as I know a lot more people than her within the community we work in. (Yes, I realise that I'm not giving much away about my business, but there is a reason for that.)

To cut a long story short, I got totally plastered on (Company purchased!!) red wine and (customer purchased!!) Southern Comfort. After the event had finished I went back to work to get a taxi home but like an idiot, I actually entered the work premises whilst they were open. This didn't go down too well with my fellow Manager, but my staff have all seen me drunk socially or at work parties, so they just found it amusing (as usual!).

We had a guy from another branch training that night and I asked him 'if he was a lesbian', but not in an offensive manner.....just like a daft drunk might. A daft drunk like me at any rate.

He didn't come back the following night as a result of this (and far worse stuff that happened after I had left.....I'll explain that in the future maybe?) and when I found out I thought I had no choice but to confess what had happened with me and the fact that I had been drunk-even though I was not actually working!

My confession has ultimately cost me my job!

In my line of work, integrity is of the utmost importance and you MUST report any incidents that could affect either you or the business, let alone any legal aspects that may be affected (which this most definately DID NOT!).

So there you have it, a basic version of events and the outcome: getting sacked!

I intend to appeal against the decision of course and I know of far worse incidents within the Company that have either gone unpunished or not resulted in dismissal. I'm gutted.

Just waiting to hear when the appeal hearing date will be. Not looking forward to it and I feel I may be wasting my time, but it has to be done........nothing to lose at this point.

On top of that I've just spent an hour going over my first 'Jobseekers Statement' which I received in the post today. Half of that was wrong too!