Technical Problems?

phew! How many weeks since I last wrote a post? Yes I've been busy but there have been 'technical problems'. Two years ago if you'd said that I'd be lost without my laptop I'd have laughed but that's exactly what has happened over the past few months.

The PC upstairs - in the almost smallest room in the house piled high with stuff that's not made it to the loft yet - is terribly slow due to the amount that is saved on it and the programmes it runs (plus it is 5 years old now - a lifetime in the world of computers).

I did have part ownership of a laptop whilst mine was on it's many travels back to the menders but there were several marital rows over which was more important - my need to finish an on-screen edit at 10pm in the evening or his need to play poker on facebook!

Finally my laptop was deemed to have gone wrong WITH THE SAME PROBLEM 3 times in less than 6 weeks. So, yes I could have a replacement or a voucher for a new laptop - which will arrive 2 weeks after they've finally taken the old one away.

We got excited - we could choose a new laptop! I got hints and tips from others and I made up my wishlist - wide screen (one you've tried it you'll never go back), large memory, usb ports, wireless, etc. etc. Except when the voucher came it was for a particular model number of Toshiba - sob! My OH visited the store and found that particular model isn't made anymore - result! But he then went ahead and chose a replacement without me! I can't moan though as he also managed to get a wireless printer!

Whilst researching my choices I was often told to get a Mac - what about this one?

Erm, where did January go?

I know it's not quite over yet but I feel like I've missed it!


It is probably because January 09 has been an important date in our household for several months as it marked the grand occasion of my son starting full-time school.

There has been a lot of thought and discussion (mainly by my OH) about my possible return to the 'work place' during the sudden influx of hours that I would now have to watch daytime tv, twitter, Facebook oh and blog. I applied for several, even went to interviews, but as I blogged about here people didn't quite know what to do with my almost 4 years self-employed status.

If you follow me on Twitter and Facebook and look at this blog regularly than you will know that I haven't been spending my time there - and there hasn't been any daytime TV either. In fact, I have a theory, once those school gates are closed time moves triple fast and before you know it the clock's at 2.45pm again! Mum friends call me up and ask me how I'm coping now the house is so quiet and to check if I'm lonely - I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I'm not.

Thankfully my son is, just about, settled at school and, I don't want to jinx it, I've been lucky enough to have some regular work over the last couple of months (I did take Christmas day and Boxing Day off). I now have something else to worry about - it's half term in 2 weeks time!

Today I had an email from a colleague who said 'take a break (write a blog entry!)' - so here it is ... now must get back to my in box ...

When is a gift card not a gift card?

A few years ago shops stopped selling gift tokens - the ones that you could keep in the 'Notes' part of your wallet or purse until the time came to spend it.

Now you get little plastic cards - the same size as bank cards. Even handier - right? Except that you have to keep the little 'gift receipt' in order to use them. At least that's what it says on the back.

My OH's birthday is very soon after Christmas and as a result no one knows what to buy him - including me. This year he had a stack of gift cards which he was eager to spend.

So we were in the queue at M&S and he handed over his gift card.

'sorry, this hasn't been authorised'

'I beg your pardon?'

'S'not authorised, you can't use it'

'But I have the gift receipt here - it says it has £X on it'

'We've 'ad a few of those. 'ed Office sent an email saying there wor 4 days b'for Christmas where the computer's didn't work'

'so what are you going to do about it?'

'you need the receipt'

'I've got the receipt, here'

'no the sales receipt'

'but it was a gift, I don't have that'

'Can't do anything without the receipt ...'

When I contacted my sister (who'd given my OH the gift card) she'd actually bought 4 different gift cards in that transaction, didn't have the receipt anymore and was more than a little stressed that M&S had over £100 of her money and weren't honoring it.

Needless to say it is in the hands of customer services but there are probably many more who bought gift cards over those 4 days and what are those gift receipts for?

Unfortunately the gift card problem doesn't start there. He also had an itunes card except they come in two pieces and the wrong one was put in his card. I think we should nominate a different day to celebrate his birthday ...

Happy Bloggerversary

I started this blog exactly a year ago today. Back then I didn't really know what this blog was about (and, truth be told, I still don't). My posts have been a bit haphazard and uncoordinated but I think I'm going to stick to posting my ramblings here in the hope that they become something more coherent.

A few things that I've learnt over the past year:

• Include a note at the bottom of your invoices asserting your right to claim interest for late payment - it has helped me several times to get paid (and I've even managed to claim interest, once) without having to resort to the small claims court.
• Not all 'colleagues' on forums are actually there to share information and help others and sometimes the best thing to do is remove yourself from the 'conversation' for a while.
• Breaks are important - whether it's going for a walk, meeting friends for lunch, a holiday or even just doing something else instead - a short break will leave you feeling refreshed and will help you to look at your work with fresh eyes.
• There are some great blogs out there but if you have too many to keep up with in your blog reader then it is time to unsubscribe from some (I've still not done this as i think all the blogs that I follow are great).
• Social networking is great - I've made so many friends in the blogosphere - some have become 'in the flesh friends' too. I've also received work, kept in contact with family in far flung places and rediscovered old friends who I'd lost contact with during my many moves over the last 20 years (England, Scotland, England, Wales, down south, up north - but not Ireland, yet).
• Be careful what you do say whilst blogging and networking - sometimes things can be taken totally out of context and used to ridicule yourself and others. (Actually, again, this is a do as I say not as I do as although this has happened to me I haven't really sanitised what I write at all).
• Don't rely on your main client - for the first 2 years of my freelance business the majority of my business came from my ex employer, then in June this year the work suddenly dried up. All my contacts have moved on within the business or elsewhere and their replacements have their own freelancers - plus they aren't using many freelancers in a bid to save money.
• Save up throughout the year to pay your tax bill - mine's due at the end of the month and it's double last year's bill (I suppose I must have had a good 2007/08, not that I noticed).
• Try to get some up to date training - another new year's resolution! If the courses I want to do ever take place outside of London I really want to try and get on them this year.
• Some employers view a period of self employment more suspiciously than they do a period of unemployment.

I'm sure there are plenty more that I'll think of later.

Here's wishing you a happy, productive and prosperous 2009

Nerves and References

I blogged back in October about my decision to apply for some part-time work. Since then I've filled out reams of application forms and, for the most part, heard nothing. Last week I had a surprise phone call - I had an interview at part of the technical college next to the school where my son will be in January. Great!

Then came the stressful bits. The next day was filled with calls from someone in the recruitment office - I hadn't put my maiden name on the application form: there was no space or request for it BUT I had submitted my CV in the initial round (before the recruitment company would send out the application form). Then they left a garbled message for one of my referees and I had to get them to contact her again. Then, what really shocked me, BECAUSE I WAS CURRENTLY SELF-EMPLOYED I had to supply a character reference - not just any character reference, this had to be from a 'professional' who had known me for more than 5 years. (I have since upset many friends and relatives when recounting this - because I didn't ask them!) Of course this was needed immediately so I wasted a day trying to get them to agree to various 'professionals' who knew me - some hadn't known me for long enough, others weren't 'professional enough', then I had to get hold of the potential referee to check they could do it, now!

Today I had the interview - they were running 10 minutes late and then I was left with 3 of the panel whilst the remaining panel member stepped out to talk to the previous applicant again. I didn't get the job.

Throughout the whole process I was struck with how things have changed. My last interview was over 10 years ago and then you were advised to keep your CV to a single page and expand on it in the interview. The applications I have made over the last couple of months require a lot of work and crafting - personal statements and examples in answer to specific points in the person specification. In the interest of fairness all candidates that were interviewed were asked the same 6 questions and there was little room for expansion on that.

So in all I felt a little disadvantaged that I was self-employed - my experience of running my own business wasn't really touched on and in the need for a character reference gave the impression that it was disregarded in my career history. The nerves didn't help either.

At least, if I apply for another, I won't be as nervous about my first interview in 10 years.

They've done it again

Those people at Penguin have created a 'must have' classic again. It may not look like much but I'm putting it on my Christmas list:

So Santa forget the sable but I have been an awfully good girl ....

This Freelance Life

I started writing this over a week ago but got interrupted and never completed it:

I've been pondering a lot over what being freelance means to me lately.

I think it came to a head when, over the weekend, my husband and my mother were going through the job 'page' in our local paper and reading out advertisements for me. I came up with many, many excuses for not applying.

A lot of them were based in schools - examinations coordinators, admin managers and similar. Although these had the plus of being term-time they were all 30 mins drive from home and the hours were 8.30am till 3.30pm.

1. This would mean that I wouldn't be able to take OR collect my son from school - the school gate isn't opened until 8.30am and children should be collected at 3pm.
2. My mother's assertion that she would retire from work and do the drop of and collection duty sounds great but it's a big commitment - she'd have to be at our house for 7.30am every morning and her day would be tied up with the need to be back at school for 3pm. Plus we sometimes have a volatile relationship and I'd hate for my son to be left stranded because she's suddenly decided I'm ungrateful.
3. Quite frankly I don't want to return to a full time office job.

I love being freelance. I love doing what I do.

One of my Twitter followers tweeted the other day 'Are there any other freelancers out there and what do you do?' a few hours later she tweeted again 'I know at least 3 other freelancers follow me on here but no reply - what if I was looking to place some work?'. She was quite right of course and had it not been for the time difference (about 9 hours) I would usually have answered pretty promptly - except I didn't have much work on and it was Sunday.

Sunday?! Well as most freelancers will tell you - I do often work Sundays. I have been known to work late into the night as well. It's a small price to pay for the freedom to be able to look after my son during the week and get all those little jobs that running a house and volunteering for charity entail. Family and friends help out with childcare at the weekend (and in the week) so I can do this.

So I'm digging my heels in over the job front as long as I can ...

Well it hasn't turned out to be so long as this weeks' paper had the perfect job for me - working with books, term-time, school hours - keep your fingers crossed for me!

I won't be giving up the freelancing though - as long as the work is out there!