The Wait

The last six days have been quiet with nothing much going on. Well beyond being slightly unwell due to a bug or something that's been going around. Thankfully, we're both doing a lot better now.

As of publishing this post, Andy and I still don't have jobs. They should either phone or email. I haven't had either... so I have no idea if the jobs I've applied for are still processing my CV and references, or if the position's already taken by someone else. They'll only contact us if they want one of us to come in for an interview. We're still looking for work and praying that the right jobs will turn up for both of. The waiting has been hard on both of us because it means that we're both at home looking for work, as a lot of it is done online these days. Applying for work online is challenging for both of us as we're both over qualified for minimum wage, and under qualified for anything else. This is down to the fact that we both only got half way through our A -levels before quitting. The hardest part is the waiting. I'd hoped we'd have gotten work four weeks ago. I know God is working on both of us, but we both need work and as soon as possible. Please pray that we're both able to get work as soon as possible as we need the money.

In exactly three weeks time Andy and I will be boarding a Rwandair, via Kigali, to South Africa to visit my parents. We'll be spending about ten days with them doing the normal holiday, touristy stuff as it will be Andy's first time in Africa. My parents are really excited to be meeting Andy for the second time (they met him for the first time at my granddad John's funeral in May). I'm also hoping to go with Andy to visit his father in about ten days' time... though there are still a few wrinkles that need ironing out.

A Very Long Entry, Finally

Smudge

Another week has gone by. Another seven days when I still don't have a job. Its not down to my inactivity. Its down to waiting to hear from the companies I've handed my CV in to. In a way, and from the stories I've heard, its not surprising I've not heard anything back. I just need to keep looking... and praying that I hear from the right place. I think I'm realising that even though I might apply to quite a number of different jobs, I'll only hear back from a fraction of them. I don't know why its like this, but I'm praying I find the right one and soon. I can't afford to go without a job for much longer. Andy also hasn't found a job yet, and is also still looking. As the days pass its becoming more and more critical for both of us to find employment.

Ash

I have a piece of good news, which is part of the reason I'm writing this post. I wrote, in my last post, that I would be hearing back from the Dutch in regards to the amount I needed to pay back by Friday (yesterday). I have indeed heard back from them and the error that had caused the amount I needed to pay to be so high, (€622), had been amended. The Dutch government expects you to pay a Dutch health insurer to cover you (its all private over there) if you're registered to live in the Netherlands. If the government finds out that you haven't been insured or have been insured with a non-Dutch insurance company, then you're in trouble. So I got a call from them yesterday afternoon, saying that it's all been amended and that I should get another letter in the post with the new amount I need to pay. It should be a much lower amount, thankfully.

The Garden

Since I've got this open, I might as well update you on a couple of different areas I've written about before, starting with my love of photography. I'm still taking photographs on a daily basis, as I always do, with the goal of uploading them onto Blipfoto. I've gone into a dip and since I've gone through this before, I'm not worried. Just as long as I make sure I post each photo I take to the date it was taken (in accordance with the rules). I've still not found anyone I know who has joined up because of me. Oh well. It doesn't stop me posting daily, even if its just for my own pleasure and enjoyment. I am most grateful that Blipfoto hasn't shut down. For those of you who aren't aware of it, Blipfoto went into liquidation a few years back and came very close to shutting down. Thankfully, it was bought out by the users, through a crowd funding campaign. Its an incredible website with a very unique community that I love being a part of. All the photos in this blog have been taken with the camera Andy bought me, its a Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1.

My Current Read

Over the last year and a half, or so, I've been reading my way through a ten book series, called Outlander (books nine and ten are still in the works). Some of you, who have been reading my blogs during this time frame, have read my extensive writings about this series. I'm currently on book five; The Fiery Cross. I'm not going to write any spoilers, because a good friend of mine, McKenzie, is a few books behind me in the series. We're both waiting, excitedly, for the next season to be aired at some point during September. I have a feeling I might have to pay to get Amazon Prime to be able to watch the series. Thankfully Amazon Prime is free for the thirty days and I'm hoping that by the time I need to pay for it I'll have a job. One thing I've noticed as I'm working through the Outlander books is that the books are getting longer and longer. Outlander (the first book) has about six hundred and forty pages, whilst The Fiery Cross has over a thousand pages. Its not often I end up reading books of this length. It's taken me months getting through the books at the moment. I think its partly due to the length and partly due to the fact that I'm struggling reading anything right now. I'm getting half way through most books and then giving up... then going back to them later on. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy reading and I really looking forwards to getting my hands on book nine. Book nine is currently being written, but doesn't have a release date. According to Diana Gabaldon, the author, the main series is going to stop at book ten, but there's other books linked to the series to read.

My Library Card

As I'm on the topic of books I recently joined the Crawley Library. Membership is free unless I go borrow a book beyond the date I need to return it by or if I borrow audiobooks, DVDs and CDs. I'm pretty pleased about this as I've not been part of a library since I left school, thanks to all the moving I've been doing over my life. I remember vaguely being part of a library when we lived in England when I was eight. Though the memories of that year are somewhat vague and disjointed. I'm going to be heading into library on a regular basis, and I can use this card at any of the libraries in the county, though I won't really be doing that as I still don't have a driver's licence or a car and commuting anywhere by train is expensive.

Before I sign off, I wanted to mention that I've got started using Twitter. My handle is @inkstainedthumb. If you're also a Twitter user, please find me and follow me. I would much appreciate it.

Until next time.

Challenges

Ash Asleep On My Bed

It's Monday afternoon and we still don't have jobs, however we haven't been sitting around doing nothing. CVs and reference forms have been handed out for weeks now. Every time I've gone into Crawley and seen a shop that has a job vacancy sign in the window, I've gone in and handed one in. There have been a few where I've needed to email them. Most of these jobs have been part-time or temporary, some allow the opportunity to work overtime (I'll get paid for the hours I've worked overtime). I've gotten to the point where I'm willing to take anything at the moment that my qualifications, or lack there of, allows. I still haven't heard anything from any of these shops (as most of them are) or from the job agency where Andy and I handed our CVs into a while back. I'm still hopeful we'll get jobs sooner rather than later as we both need to be able to financially support ourselves (prayers would be much appreciated in this process).

When I was in Holland I was getting a small allowance from the government because my income was below the minimum. When I came over to England I cancelled that, letting them know I'd left the country. Its been a long process of making phone calls, then waiting to receive letters, which needed to sent back. Then on Saturday I got a letter saying I needed to pay six times more than I had expected and there was no explanation why I needed to pay so much. Since I got the letter on Saturday I had to wait until this morning to phone them to ask, which I did. The reason was that the government thought I hadn't been paying my health insurance (which is mean I would have to pay) between February and July. I explained that I had been been paying, so they're going to look into it again. So I should be hearing them again by Friday, hopefully with a favourable outcome (that I don't have to pay the large amount).