Well and truly time for another update and let's just say that the gilt has well and truly worn off the gingerbread as far as the Firm is concerned. It turned out that the annual pay increases were not going to become a "thing" and since 2023, my pay has gone up 3%. It is completely inadequate given the state of the economy and the cost of living in South Wales which while not London by any means is not reflected in what we actually earn. I would mind less if the fee-earners had been similarly shafted. 

I've quit the social committee on principal because I refuse to organise events that fee earners just moan about. If you can believe it, some of them complained that we had festive food at the Christmas party... last time they ordered pizza. I didn't bother going. I am so over it. I've been drafted in to sort of graduate recruitment which is not in my remit, my field of expertise or remotely interesting to me, especially when I am not being compensated for the extra workload... This has to be the year that I get out.

The house is fine although the garden is a mess and I need it to stop raining for a spilt second so I can get out there and see to it because I didn't bother last summer so now it's an absolute jungle which is made more annoying by the fact that I know it's my own fault!

Max is still fat, still lazy and still gorgeous. 

There probably won't be a holiday this year because the car was on its way out anyway and has been given a helping hand by a collision with a truck. Thank God the only damage was to the door and not to me. Thankfully we were all coming to a stop in a queue of traffic - I can't think about what might have happened otherwise and am now travelling to work by train because the idea of driving in the dark and the rain appeals to me even less than it did before I had the crash. So, the car needs to be replaced this year and given the cost of even used vehicles these days, there won't be any spare cash for a trip abroad...

I took part in Novel November and wrote just over 50,000 words and I am very proud of this fact. Other than that, I have achieved nothing of note since I last posted. Perhaps this will be the year I manage to do something worth reporting!

 Time for my biennial update... The transition out of apprenticeship provision and into what I call the "normal" work-sphere turned out to be anything but... Law Firms are like their own little planets where normal rules of the workplace don't seem to apply... Well, that's not strictly true but the levels of arrogance and entitlement are absolutely stratospheric. There is complete apartheid between the "support staff" and the lawyers and we are reminded of our place with disappointing frequency. There are no career pathways or bonus schemes for the support staff and we don't get the same benefits as the lawyers including the fact that we have to pay £7 a day to park while theirs is paid for. Not that I believe they don't deserve benefits; I just think it's rich that the people in the business who can afford to pay for their parking don't have to, while those of us who can least afford it, get stiffed.... We also don't get performance based pay rises. It's quite hilarious really since if we all went on strike, the Firm would collapse within less than a day - most of the senior lawyers can't even put appointments in their own calendars, for a start.

All that said, it is still much better than working for my previous employer, and despite the lack of a perfomance-based payrise, I've still actually had a payrise every year since I started whereas I only had 1 payrise in 6 years at my last job and that was basically because I said I would quit if something wasn't done about the fact that I was working well above my salary and remit... 

I have met some great people and even joined the social committee - I organised a little summer social where we had scones and jam with fruit kebabs and set up some garden games in our social space where we broadcast summer tunes over the sound system to create a barbeque feel. It was a fun hour to get everyone away from their desks and people seemed to enjoy it. I skipped the summer party (obviously) but it is really nice to work for a place that actually gives the staff a budget to create opportunities for socialising.

The house is still standing although I had the damp-proof course replaced earlier this year as well as a few of the windows and sadly for me, both tradespersons turned out to be utter cowboys. The plasterer was completely clueless and despite his assertions that he'd been doing the job for over a decade, I am of the opinion that he had never even plastered so much as a front step. His incompetence led me to have two radiators and a load of piping replaced which really annoyed me but lessons learned... the glazier was just sloppy and disorganised and took a small chunk of my wall out without letting me know about it which also pissed me right off. More lessons learnt and I would not have either of them back in my house.

Max is still gorgeous and the love of my life. He's very fat and prefers treats to actual food. It's hard to resist his little face when he jumps on you and miaows plaintively. 

I finally managed a holiday last year when I met Nancy in Lisbon. We spent a couple of days there and then went to Porto. It was stinking hot and I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more had it been cooler since the public transport there isn't great and it's very hilly; that led to an awful lot of tramping around in extreme heat which I didn't really enjoy. What I did enjoy was Nancy's company and I even got to see Hiro for a day which was nice. We all went out to a small restaurant where they show Fado performances by students and amateurs which was absolutely excellent. I could easily have returned home happy just having witnessed that. The food was delicious and the wine was superb. I hadn't really drunk Portuguese wine before that trip but I was pleasantly surprised and make a point of looking for it now. 

No holidays planned in the near future; it's tricky with Max because I don't like leaving him with only Ruth next door coming in at breakfast and tea time and it's a lot to get Dan over to look after him for a week. Still, we'll see...

 It seems too soon for another update based on the frequency with which I usually post these days but since I have the biggest news I have had in some while, I felt it deserved a post.

After six years, I am finally leaving my current job in favour of an opportunity with a law firm. The expensive qualification has finally paid off and after giving the interview of my life, they offered me the job. It feels surreal; like something out of a film. In six weeks, I shall be going to work in a skyscraper which is largely composed of glass with a view over Cardiff Bay. There are emerald green velvet sofas in reception and a subsidised coffee shop with a little terrace so one can enjoy said view while on breaks. I can hardly believe it and keep having to remind myself that I have worked hard and I deserve this success; it has been a very long time coming.

The first interview did not, from my perspective, go that well. I had been told that it would be more a 'chat' with some competency based questions which is a little less formal than I am used to but competency based questions, I can handle. There were hardly any competency based questions however and I found it difficult to get myself across so I left feeling it highly unlikely that I would have been successful. When I got the call, it was good(ish) news and I was being asked back for a second round. There would be some sort of task - I was dreading it being a presentation although when the task dropped, I almost wished it had been a presentation since I had no idea how to produce a project plan outline. Thankfully, I have some good friends who do and when I turned up on the day, it was as if the stars were completely aligned and someone competent had actually taken over my body and I did not even need my 27 pages of notes to go with my outline. I don't think I have been as good a version of myself as I was in that hour. I acted as if the job were already mine and I was pretty convinced it was until Mel (my new boss) said "Right, well we've got one other person to see so we'll be in touch before the end of the week' I was gutted and instantly convinced myself I wouldn't get it. When I left the room, the other person in question was in reception looking far more corporate than I ever could so I consigned it to the 'good experience' box and went home.

Well it turned out that I should have had far more faith in myself! I need to remember that version of myself and keep bringing her out.

 This update is way overdue; I can't believe that I have now been working from home for two years.. if someone had predicted this at the end of 2019, I would have laughed out loud, yet here we still are... COVID-19 is apparently not such a threat and so employers are trying to tempt people back in to offices rather than continuing to look at sustainable solutions to getting traffic off the roads which I find bizarre.  I am certainly not anxious to return to an office any time soon since the virus actually continues to run riot. 

Luffers finally had enough of being treated like a door mat and got a job with an awarding organisation. They gave him a crap laptop with no bag - just as well we got him a nice leather one as a leaving gift! It's weird without him and working on the new "L & D" team is a bit pants because our new Head of L & D has no idea about the industry or the jobs that most people in the business actually do. It's quite frustrating and we are already in trouble because we have a series of compeltely unrealistic deadlines and no people power to actually achieve them. I have a couple of interviews lined up so hopefully, it will not be my problem for too much longer...

Max is now huge and happy. He is still a very relaxed creature although he lets me know what he wants - usually by smacking me in the face first thing in the morning to tell me he wants his breakfast! 

The car is still going strong and the house is still standing. There really isn't an awful lot of news really since I don't feel inclined to be out and about with all the irresponsible people who are still spreading the virus everywhere...

So much for history...

 Who would have thought that when the pandemic started last year that I would still be working from my house now...? Actually surprisingly little has changed; people are still stupid and there are some really offensive anti-vaxx and anti-mask groups forming. One such group likens the enforced mask-wearing in shops and restaurants to the oppression of the Jews during the Holocaust and they are actually going around wearing yellow stars on their clothing. I find this disgusting and completely disprespectful never mind ignorant and intellectually bankrupt... It is a pity the virus hasn't been programmed to remove people like this from the planet.

I have become somewhat of a conspiracy theorist, I suppose. I do not believe this virus was a chance and unfortunate disaster; I think the Chinese were experimenting with bioweapons. I am seriously annoyed that none of the rest of the world (by which I mean our idiotic governements, obviously) has the nerve to demand China make financial reparations for the extreme damage they caused by a) creating the virus in the first place and b) lying to the rest of the world about how serious it was for so long before coming clean. 

I have finished my qualification late but finished nonetheless. I am pleased about that. It wasn't a great deal of fun and it was very expensive so I would have been furious with myself if I had not finished. My certificate arrived in fairly record time which was also good.

The only other major news of note is that I got myself a British shorthair last November. He's a cream tabby and he is absolutely beautiful. His name is Max and he has the most delightfully placid temprament. He sleeps a lot; mostly on my desk when I am trying to work but he's a great stress buster.

Life in the UK is apparently "back to normal" whatever that means... Masks are still compulsory in Welsh shops and pubs but other than that, COVID-19 may as well not exist. The sheer stupidity of it is unbelievable. That and the fact that the vaccines are now presenting some disturbing issues. Hopefully the researchers will continue to work on those though... 

Fingers crossed things will improved at some point this century.

Lockdown continues...

We have been in lockdown for about 12 weeks I think and the government is talking about easing things somewhat... this is a stupid decision in my opinon since our death rates are now the highest in Europe and probably the only countries with higher death rates have way more people than we do so that's pretty shocking. If only we had a proper government and not the imbeciles we have.
If I were a billionaire, I would buy myself an island, delcare myself a country and have done with the lot of them!
I am still quite content working from home; in fact, I would say that not having to commute in daily and be in the actual office has done wonders for my mental health. It is not however, doing wonders for my physical health as I still don't fancy exercise much and I still don't like cooking! I did actually get some exercise last weekend - quite a lot, in fact because I nuked all the weeds in the garden, mowed the lawn and raked the dead leaves and other crap up. It's looking quite clean and almost crisp now. I would say that I almost enjoyed myself up there and the bright blue sky and the view of the hills was wonderful.
It made me realise that I didn't need to be able to afford a landscape gardener in order to enjoy my garden so I've bought some weed control fabric in order to dispense with the terrible lawn and I will cover it with gravel to make a nice little terrace. Eventually I will put a bird bath and some pots with nice flowers on it. I bought a swing seat with a canopy over the weekend and as well as dealing with the weeds, I built the swing seat. That was hard work since the instructions were absolutely rubbish and you couldn't distinguish the length of the screws which turned out to be a key piece of information as I spent about 40 minutes trying to use the wrong scews on the seat section and wondering why they wouldn't fit properly! I have also invested in some blossom shaped solar lights which haven't arrived yet but I am confident that they will make a pretty addtion to the top terrace where the swing seat is.
My next two purchases will be a chimnea and a storage box so I can put my tools and pack up the swing seat in winter. I've got a cover for it which will do fine for the summer rain but I think once the autumn winds arrive, it wouldn't be solid enough to stay upright and might even fly off into someone else's garden so I will dismantle it for the winter, I think.
In other news, there was vague talk of us having to go back to work in the office but I am really not keen on the idea as I don't think that the appropriate safety measures can easily be put in place because the layout of the place. The kitchen and the toilets being the main issues. Still, until I am told I have to go in there, I don't really need to worry about it and when they do tell me that, I will make a case for being productive enough at home.

Week 4 or is it month 4...?!

Time seriously is beginning to have no meaning... I have a week off which I had booked some time ago and was banned (along with everyone else who had it booked off) from cancelling my annual leave. I totally understand this because once everything goes back to "normal" (whatever that turns out to be) everyone in the business will start wanting their annual leave which isn't sustainable but given that I can't go anywhere on a jaunt, it's a little bit dull. So far, I have washed the car (completely by hand since I have no hose pipe and no outside tap), washed the front door and the lower front windows (as far I as I could reach without putting myself at risk and climbing a ladder anyway) and repainted the railings out the front.
This is a job I did last year intending to put two coats on and not have to do it again for a good 5 years but unfortunately, Welsh weather and a host of other things got in my way and so I had not had chance to put the second coat on. When I went out there to do it, I discovered that it was already corroding again and so I think I may have to get out there again this week and do a (second) second coat! I am not anxious to do this because it takes about 4 hours and it's not a job you want to do when it's stinking hot or freezing so you really are at the mercy of the elements. My shoulder hurts a lot from the effort of having it raised above my head for the better part of all that time but I am inclined to think that if I don't do another coat now, I will end up doing this every year which I really don't want to do!
Next on my list is the upstairs windows. Obviously, I can't do this from the outside since I don't have a tall ladder or a telescopic window thingy however, they are tip and tilt windows which means I can open them very wide and they open inwards so it should be quite easy to do from inside. What a thrill!
I have started making a crochet unicorn but I am finding it difficult to motivate myself to finish it which is annoying because it's in 4 pieces at the moment with 5 more plus the mane to create and then put together. They aren't large pieces but they are very fiddly hence the lack of motivation. I will get there.
People are still being incredibly stupid about the conditions of the lockdown which is staggering and also annoying because it won't be them that get struck down... if only that's how nature worked...