Monday, May 06, 2013

Where did you go to, my lovely

Any post you can start with a reference to a Peter Sarstedt lyric is a good one, surely? *

So what have I done in the intervening time?

I was living in a London suburb, working in another suburb. My world had shrank. Away from the cosmopolitan craziness of central London, I found myself with very little to write about.

Then I changed jobs. I went to work for one of the world's largest online retailers (don't describe them as a bookshop - they really don't like that). It was a contract position, but the HR person assured me that it was just the initial term and it would be renewed if things worked out. It turns out that their employment practices are just as dodgy as their tax arrangements - contrary to what I was told, contracts weren't ever renewed to avoid giving any employment rights.  So I spent months worrying about the job not being permanent - I also increased the account I was responsible for from £0.8 million to over £2.5 million. I didn't manage to secure a permanent job there and although I was told I could take another contract back there after a six month break, I started looking for something else.

In the middle of this, somewhat crazily for someone without a permanent job, we moved, buying a house in a village in Home Counties. It is lovely - I had no regrets in this. No longer having upstairs neighbours for one thing is a huge improvement.

Then I found a permanent job, back in a vaguely charitable field and back in central London. Not ideal when you no longer live in London, but I needed the money. And this is where I find myself now.  With an hour and half commute each way again each day, in a job that in ten months has managed to leave me physically exhausted and emotionally wrecked. It is a toxic environment that has shattered my self-confidence totally. 

Its been a tough year and I thought that returning to this blog, might give me a release for some of it. I don't want it to be just work-related moans, although that will undoubtedly be part of it as I don't have that much else going on.


*Not that I know any other Peter Sarstedt songs

2 comments:

Roses said...

Sounds like it's been really full-on honey.

Blogging is still the best way I know to vent. You know you're amongst friends.

:-)

cogidubnus said...

Worked for a charity myself once - many many years ago...I'm glad I did because the experience was good for me and helped me grow up...but never again!