The job search and more news

I had 2 weeks being a housewife after we got back from holiday in the end. I couldn't sit still. Even though I managed to ignore any inbuilt panic buttons I still had to keep busy so I ended up doing a lot of diy. Much sanding was done. The bedroom walls are now ready to be painted and the fireplace in the living room is on its way. Yes I know I should finish one job before I start the next but... well there is no but, I just got stuck in! 

I applied for jobs too, don't want you thinking I just divved about with diy. I had an interview at Birmingham University Business School. The interview panel were really nice, we got on well, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that I could do the job, I had a lot of experience that meant I was a good fit etc so I went home feeling cautiously optimistic. A couple of days later I got a very nice email saying they would like me to apply for similar jobs there but on this occasion I was unsuccessful. Gutted! Still though it gave me the opportunity to poke around the campus for the first time since 2002, when I graduated. I really loved being back. I would love to work there... Leon took out his lunch break to show me around, which was cool. There have been lots of changes like the new buildings by the train station, a new enormous and cheap fruit and veg stall on campus (v encouraging) but by far the most amazing change was Muirhead Tower. That tower, that blot on the landscape, was famously know to students as being the building the university allowed students to design to reduce wind velocity then it was erected inside out, exacerbating the wind velocity problem for generations. I don't know if that is an urban myth but it is a protected building that the uni wasn't allowed to just pull down and certainly during my time the 'temporary' scaffolding and "Caution in High Winds" signs were a permanent fixture. picture below. Well, do you know, they've gone and redeveloped it! The exterior is less ugly, more space age with fancy panels, v cool (see the link). Inside they've opened it up and built an extension so there are 4 lifts instead of 2, allowing students I imagine at least a cat in hell's chance of getting to their lectures in time without walking to the 12th floor! There is, wait for it, a lobby and a Starbucks!!! Yes a Starbucks people. I wasn't sure how I felt about that but there is now a fancy looking cafe thing in most of the buildings it seems, an attempt I imagine to keep students out of the Guild until at least after their lectures, and if that's their plan it would seem to be working. All the students I saw looked, well, studious!

Anyway, I joined the Unitemps online agency and last week I got a 2 week contract covering the enrolment at Birmingham City University (the old UCE) at Birmingham Institute of Art and Design. You should see the students, so cute! They're all fashion students, graphic design, creative, jewellery students and the like so they all have mad hair and dress to match. Bless em. Nothing like my lot who mainly rolled out of bed, pulled on flairs, and pretty much made as little effort with dressing for lectures as possible. Mind, during my week off I went to my old stomping ground, the University of Birmingham, and all the little students seemed quite trendy there too so there's obviously been a change. I mean they were wear make up and jeans that haven't been bought from a charity shop... weird.

I've enjoyed being at work again and the people at BCU BIAD are nice. I've mainly covered the office but for one day I sat in the tent helping to enrol the students, issuing ID cards, giving out free gifts etc. It was fun!

Yesterday I had an interview at the Shakespeare trust, the charity that looks after the various Stratford properties associated with Shakespeare and the archive, museum and educational events. I again felt confident, I'd obviously had experience of marketing the Restoration project at Kings Norton, now known as St Nicolas Place. Again we got on well, but I could feel I wasn't what they necessarily wanted. The lady kept on smiling sympathetically at me, and when the interview ended she hadn't even wanted to see my portfolio. It would have been a dream to not only market something I am so passionate about but work with people who are undoubtedly so professional. You could see she really knew her onions. More upsetting still I got the impression that if I hadn't spent the majority of the last 3 years in working environments where basically I was the most senior marketing person I might have learned more and have the kind of skills and confidence she thought I should have. She said she could see I had the nouse to learn quickly and the makings of a really good person for that role but they needed someone to start and be pretty much self sufficient and she felt I would be a risk. Fair enough. Back to the drawing board.

The job search

Yesterday was the 11th, that's officially 1 month since I walked out of the Leukaemia CARe offices for the last time. In the 2 weeks since returning from holiday I've signed up with agencies, fielded incoming calls about prospective jobs, put my cv on Monster, been to a jobs fair, been to an interview at Birmingham university, gone to the jobcentre, and searched online for a job for hundreds of hours. The interview went well and the panel advised me to apply for other similar roles but crucially I didn't get it. On the plus side I'm well on top of the housework... I've re-potted the mint and the rosemary, last thursday was washday and I did a handwash too, and I'm about to start a marathon ironing fest. I miss human contact by the friday but theatre on thursday night and the gym with Nathan on tuesday keeps me sane. Or sane-ish. But I hate not earning. And I hate knowing that means I'm not contributing. It'll come come good in the end I'm sure...

Tango in the Aisles

Caught up with my friend Emily from University and had a good old chat last night. Turns out the motivated ms bridges has made a film to submit into the Sadlers Wells Global Dance Contest, the idea of which is to turn the winning film I believe into a dance on stage. Firstly, bloody marvellous Em for coming up with the idea and actually doing it. Conceiving of a plan is something I'm great at, carrying it out... not always so hot. Secondly, a big thumbs up for motivating all those people and being the generally creative, fun marvellous person you are. Ladies and gentleman, ahem (dramatic pause), I leave you with... 'Tango in the Aisles'

Pues claro

I've been a bit quiet the last few weeks (nothing unnusual) because I didn't want to broadcast the fact that we were out of the country. But anyway we are back from holiday now and I can tell you all about it...

We flew on bmi baby from Birmingham to Barcelona, I must have done that flight 100's of times now, and it was a perferct flight and landing so no probs there. We had a nice full day before flying, I went to church and Al cooked lunch before going as it was a late flight. Arrived on sunday 16th at 8ish and got the train to Barna Sants and the usual train to Cubelles. My darling tiets had waited for us at the flat, and it was about midnight bless them, to welcome us and get things ready. Tieta had even prepared truita de patates or potato omellete so we could have a nibble once we were settled. The night was hot and they both said the weather had been boiling this summer so we were excited. Now I'm back we are both enjoying the cool again but when we arrived there we were desperate for HEAT!

We were able to catch up with els tiets before they set off again in the car for Igualada, and we knew we would see them in a few days for the big family gathering too. Then once we'd unpacked we sat on the balcony to enjoy the cool (in inverted commas), enjoy the beer and supper together. Loving the holiday!

That first week was blissful, honest to god getting in the mediterranean for the first time in 2 years was bloody beautiful. I honestly don't think I'd be at all bearable without my top up of the med every so often! Lol... Pictures below are of us on the beach in Cubelles, one of the few we haven't deemed as either of us being too fat, double chin or white to be published! And of one night in Vilanove. The one of me is at our favourite bar their called del mar, very creative I know, but there's a really relaxed feel and a nice view.

It was so weird in Cubelles. Not that it's turned into Benidorm over night but I heard french german, italian possibly dutch and english as well as spanish and the obligatory catalan. In fact catalan was in the minority. I get a bit scared and bored alex rigid going on about it... Ayuntamiento de Cubelles, si leas este blog, por el amor de dios, cuida de tu pueblo que lo quiero mucho y no lo dejes que los ingleses vienen demasiado! El encanto de Cubelles, the delight of a holiday in a place like Cubelles is that the menu's aren't translated, the food is caught and made fresh, the bar owners are friendly, everything is in walking distance, the things you leave on the beach are not going to get robbed, your children are safe, the beach is clean... in summary people travel 1000's of miles nowadays for that kind of experience to, I don't know, Alaska... I always hoped Cubelles would remain a secret. Boring it may be but for me and Alex it's our kind of holiday!

On the friday my cousing Edu and his girlfriend Neus came in the car to pick us up - Neus drove actually. At the same time the tiets were off to Lleida to collect Laura and Luis. So after a tour of Edu and Neus' apartment and a mini beer moment we were all back at the tiet's, all of us, Edu and Neus, me and Al, Laura and Luis; the three cousins and partners together in Igualada for the first time. For that whole weekend tieta was mother hen and happy as larry. The pictures below are snippets of our very happy family gathering. The festa major allowed Al to see Igualada at its best. We took a walk down the Rambla for a drink with Laura and Luis; down C/ San Agustin some games had been organised for the children and the Rambla had been pedestrianised so we weren't drowned out by the scooters. Later on after L and L (sorry it's quicker than writing Laura and Luis each time) had gone to meet an old friend of Laura's we had a look around the shops and the Rambla filled up with a street party. A long line of tressle tables were arranged down the mmiddle of the road and hundreds of families broaght food; impromtu bbq's and grills were set up, hot plates and even open spit roasts were going on. The smells of cooking snails, pork, paella and everything else you can imagine filled the air as well as a sense of excitement. We were loving it, just walking through it... Then we went back to the flat where the first of 2 family meals were to take place. Neus' parents, Edy and Neus, L and L, me and Alex and the tiets all gathered in the flat downstairs to eat in iaia's old living room (something I can't remember happening since I was about 7 and the golden wedding).  The big old table was laid out in the midst of an otherwise almost bare room (the flat is undergoing extensive redevelopment) and the lunch was delicious. It had been 6 years since I'd been in Igualada (pretty shocking, what with visiting Cubelles other years it hadn't felt that long) and I'd worried about Al but he really seemed to enjoy it. Food is never a problem, he can eat pretty much anything, but it's pretty scary not knowing what anyone is saying to you, even so Al has picked up quite a few words and even managed to complement tieta on the food and say hello, goodbye, encantado, please, thankyou, yes, no and those sorts of things. I was dead proud of him.

Below are the photos of our gathering at tieta Natalia's house, that's tieta's sister, where we caught up for the first time in ages with David and his little boys Oriol and Arnau. Arnau isn't pictured cause he was in his baby bouncer-sleep-thingy. The next picture is of me and Rosa Munconill. That was a surprise! I had been planning to call Rosa on the sunday as I'd heard she had wanted to catch up but it was the saturday night when me and Al were out for the festa waiting to meet Edu and the gang. We were looking for something to eat (again - that's basically all we did that holiday!) when I did a double take at this blonde lady. "That's Rosa!" one of mum's best friends. We had a lovely chat, far better than by phone and Toni even managed to get us a table and we eat like kings listening to the live bands in Cal Font (they were pretty good, too). I was so happy! Al had seen how genuinely kind and lovely everyone we met in Igualada was and felt part of the family, there was a fresh evening air, everything was perfect! Then we found out that Rosa and Toni had already paid for our food. The waiter was such a dude! He said he'd been sworn to secrecy and as they'd already left to walk home we couldn't even thank them. Loved up doesn't describe it! I'll always treasure the memory of that night...

Later on at 2am I called Edu to find out if there was any danger of them making it away from their house party to the street party and though Edu promised they'd leave any minute we decided to call it a night. Apparently the boys didn't get away til 3am so even though wwe missed them it was probably the right decision. Still, it feels weird to have been at a festa major and not danced...