Wildewire

I accept that I have a problem: I tend to lose it when people in power or with specific responsibilities don't live up to their roles. It has dogged my working career and most professional relationships. I think it might stem from my first job: My first boss was amazing, inspiring, challenging and never had time for micro-management- just results. Sadly NONE of my subsequent bosses including Boards of Trustees etc have come close. One of my lodgers arrived in UK from Albania when he was 16 seeking asylum and not speaking English. By the time I met him, it seemed clear to me that as he wasn't gay or in iminent danger in Albania, he had come here to seek better prospects etc which, in my opinion could see him branded "An Economic Migrant" and his application for asylum would be refused. I said as much when he was first suggested to me and I have registered my concern that little seemed to be happening in his case ever since and as recently as last week. Today, he receiv...

Woah! This job-hunting lark got old a long time ago. I go on about it from time to time on here. I apply for jobs if I can match my skills and experiences to the Person Specification. I found myself applying for a job at Newcastle Cathedral and thinking "I could see myself enjoying this." So I was pleased to get short-listed. The Dean contacted me before the interview as he was not on the interview team but clearly wanted to get an idea of the person who was going to be responsible for "visitor experience" stuff. It was a pleasant-enough Zoom meeting, but I couldn't help thinking that it was a bad look- I hate working for organisations with too many management levels. He- and the rest of the team made the point that not all workers at the Cathedral shared Christian beliefs. I was interviewed by four people via Zoom. It went OK- I find it hard to assess these things- afterwards of course the moments fogginess during the interview cleared to give me the clarity I...

  I like a good whinge from time to time, but WOW! There are a couple of people in my life at the moment who know nothing else! There is one person of whom I've said "Something terrible happens to [them] every day!" It is as if they either actively attract bad shit or they've become so conditioned that they simply can't recognise anything positive or "not crap" that happens to them.  Recently I was invited to join a Facebook page by someone who had shared an article that I had found. I'm not entirely sure how they became a "friend" as I am careful NOT to have people on there I have not met. Anyway- the group is supposedly about local politics but it was mostly about baiting each other and being challenging. There were some pretty basic racists and mysoginists who would start "discussions" with things like "Illegal Immigrants Should be Denied the Covid 19 Vaccination. Change My Mind.! In any case, the (Muslim) man who invited ...

The current  "lockdown" is proving to be a lot more difficult for me than the first one. Little has materially changed for me- apart from the weather which has been decidedly wintry for a couple of weeks- a thaw has started today. I found that my cancer is back, but since I was first diagnosed thirteen years ago, treatment has improved so that, whilst I was told originally that when I got to this point it would mean whipping out a kidney or perhaps two and being reliant on dialysis hereafter. Now, I am informed that they can use a robot to target the 2.5cm lesion and I should be out of hospital in two days- unless I bleed uncontrolably or some such. I am almost looking forward to it. I'm "low priority" so will keep being shunted to the bottom of the queue until they're ready for me. I'm bothered by the potential need for a will though, I will do it just to make sure nothing goes to my criminal brothers! I've decided that looking for work is a waste o...

Uggh. I've been unwell. It started when I stubbed my toe- that's not funny! Four days and sleepless nights later, when it felt like it was beginning to heal, I did it again. I've had weeks of little sleep which is never good so, of course I feel drained. I've also been doing weird gymnastics in my sleep which have left me with all sorts of unexpected aches. Today, the foot feels fine, but I've twisted the knee. What a pathetic end to my 59th year. Government eased restrictions on people mixing over Christmas so we're now into the third national lockdown with more people in hospital and dying than at any previous time. They were STILL issuing ridiculous "guidelines" which included NOT shutting the schools until quite recently. Many people still refuse to take is seriously or challenge government impositions as a loss of personal liberty... Selfish bastards is my response to that! I think that wholesale adherence to a proper lockdown, with no sneaky part...

  Facebook does entertain me: I laugh at all the pretence. They implement issues of morality in quite peculiar and unequal ways. I have been censured for the 6th time or so, for seven days, for attempting to post the following image which, allegedly contravenes their rules on nudity. : " "Do not post: Images of Real nude adults, where nudity is defined as Visible genitalia except in the context of birth giving and after-birth moments or health-related situations (for example, gender confirmation surgery, examination for cancer or disease prevention/assessment) Visible anus and/or fully nude close-ups of buttocks unless photoshopped on a public figure Uncovered female nipples except in the context of breastfeeding, birth giving and after-birth moments, health-related situations (for example, post-mastectomy, breast cancer awareness or gender confirmation surgery) or an act of protest" If you think this picture contravenes those rules, please let me know.  As soon ...

  "Lockdown" has been easier for me than for many: I have become used to a restricted existence as I have been out of work for so long. I have cut luxuries like 'nights out' from my impoverished existence for the best part of two years and before that, my stressful and underpaid job hardly left much to even run the car on which I relied to get to the blooming job so I had not been splashing the cash much before that. I'm bothered by reactions to the pandemic: people making a fuss about wearing masks when they're in contact with other people, others who pretend to honour the "bubble" of contacts concept, and still more who just refuse to accept anything they've been told and refuse to alter their behaviours because... they're British(?). I've been consistently disappointed in my constant attempts to find paid employment. I have railed about applying for jobs for which I am qualified and where I can demonstrate appropriate experience. I am ...