Manners Cost Nothing
The title applies to this wee man as well as anyone else … his tummy seems to be recovering and now it is finding a balance between allowing him a little grace for being off colour and keeping the routine we need to establish. He is learning that sitting before getting food is a really good idea – when he comes in from the garden he sits politely in front of the biscuit cupboard. He does then have to be reminded to take it gently and not snatch and he still thinks he gets a biscuit for crossing the threshold as opposed to performing when he gets there.
However, for a smart Pup it has taken him almost 2 weeks to realise I do not eat from a bowl on the floor but from a plate on a table. For the first time at teatime he was trying desperately to climb onto my lap … another lesson we need to work on.
The manners I was initially referring to though were not Pups.
I applied for an interim contract role around 3 weeks ago. The post has now been readvertised 6 times (all with 2 day cut offs) … it was obvious that they didn’t want to interview me – but it has taken them until today to formally acknowledge my application and let me know I wasn’t successful. It was by e-mail so it didn’t even cost postage to have at least acknowledged my initial interest?
Within a few hours I got a phone call from the agency who didn’t call me back on Friday. The temporary roles start tomorrow. She apologised that she had been manic the past few days and then said she had filled the roles but they always get a high percentage of no shows so would I be a back up. After some discussion of the shift patterns, all of which included 4 x 8 hours shifts, we had agreed that with an hours break I was happy for her to call me if she needed me and I explained I needed the hours break to pop home and feed Pup. Then she realised it is not actually an hours break – it is a half hour lunch break and two 15 minute tea breaks. I said that reluctantly then I could not help … but I was getting to the point of thinking it was not going to be worth the hassle. She was lovely to talk to, very pleasant and thanked me for being upfront about my timing incompatibility … but to just not call on Friday and then ring to see if I would be ‘second best’ the day before it starts is I think rather rude!
Tomorrow – Job Centre again with my completed diary to show what work searching I have completed this fortnight; not as much as they would like but then the jobs are not being advertised! While I am there I will use my Christmas Gift Card (although I might have to get essentials with that and use some of my JSA to buy the Christmas meal with early next week since the bank have still not sorted out access to my benefit which I should have had to spend 10 days ago.
In addition to not looking forward to the Job Centre visit I am expecting to encounter Toxic on the way and he is likely to be either in a grump because I have told him to sort himself out or will be all charm in an effort to win me round … think I might put my suit of armour on tomorrow – okay it isn’t very sexy, I think it may still be rusty from last time it was laundered and it isn’t very warm but if it protects me it will do!