AliLindsey

Right, I've decided that we're on the up!

2009-05-22T07:14:00Z

I'm so glad that Iain has been offerered a job! He's even gone for a run today which is a sure sign he's feeling more positive. I stopped off and got a bottle of cava on the way home last night. Classy!! But couldn't afford champagne! So things are looking much brighter for us. He's done really well and been very lucky to get something.

Now I know you're all dying to know how I managed to set the fire alarm off: My pass at work wasn't working properly as we'd had a power outage which has made all the systems go wrong. So I was trying to get a tape from the gallery. Which they should have brought down to me!! Anyway. My pass didn't work, so I broke the glass in the panel next to the door which the security guard had shown me how to do downstairs to release the doors. Unknown to me, this set off the fire alarm and filled the gallery with fire retardant gas, took us spectaularly off air and basically ended up with the whole building being evacuated. And the fire brigade arriving. And the Police. And ambulances. They thought it was some kind of terrorist attack!

I didn't realise what I'd done, so was quite surprised when I was taken to see three burly policemen! Anyway, long story short. It's highlighted loads of problems with our fire safety, so in a way I think I've done them a favour. But because all the emergency services were called for a false alarm, they might prosecute QVC, and if they do, I'll have to be interviewed under caution. I really hope it doesn't go that far, so I'm just going to forget about it for now.

This recession lark is no fun.

2009-04-14T16:39:00Z

... so now it looks as though my job isn't safe either. Great. Apparently although we're still turning a profit, the powers that be have decreed that not only will our pay be frozen, but if sales don't pick up there will be more redundancies at QVC. So that's just great really. Anyway - at the moment, I'm still employed so trying to stay positive. Iain finished work on Thursday. Not really sure if it's hit him yet, he's busy sorting out renting his house out. It's good that's he's busy though I think. We're going to invest some of his pay off in premium bonds. There's bugger all interest out there even in ISAs, so we decided that that might be a good option. We might win a bit now and again, and you can take the money out whenever you like. Also, as it's the government, surely it shouldn't go bust!!

Wedding-wise, my brother finished the invitations, so we're trying to sort out with Iain's brother-in-law who hopefully can get them printed for us. Then I guess we've really got to get back into the planning. It's just taken a real back seat with everything else which is going on. Mind you, we have until November, so don't think we need to panic just yet.

Easter was quite good, we went to a car show in the rain on Good Friday which was fun if a bit wet! Then Easter Sunday we headed down to Dorset to see Iain's parents and his sister and her family. A nice day with gorgeous weather! Made a nice change. Other than that we've just been cleaning up the house and doing a bit of gardening. Well Iain has. I kill things!

Also Iain let me drive his Capri round Sainsbury's car park! It must be love, no one else has ever driven it! Apparently I drove it like a Morris Minor. I was in a car park, I couldn't exactly go fast!

Oh and we found a wasp nest in the garage - fortunately it was tiny, so Iain broke it up and killed the one wasp. Huge horrible thing! Trouble is, he tells me that there have been more "sniffing around." Do wasps sniff? Have to keep an eye on things - don't want a huge nest in there!

Have eaten too much chocolate so I'm sure I've put weight on!!

Ali x

Slightly more hopeful?

2009-04-03T17:48:00Z

Iain's now ex company have been really messing him about. So far they've taken off about £7k from his payoff. He can't protest as legally they only have to give him the bear minimum, but it still is a bit crap to say the least. He saw a solicitor today and it seems as though the agreement is ok for him to sign, so after next week, he's a free agent.

Positive news is that the company next door want to take over Iain's old place. Looks as though they'd be quite keen to take him on. We're not getting our hopes up though as nothing's definite by a long way. There's all sorts of meetings to be had with Iain's old company first. But I'm slighty more positive than I was earlier in the week.

So let's all keep our fingers crossed!

(Wedding planning has totally gone out of the window at the moment! I keep forgetting we're not married already!)

Ali x

Reality sets in!

2009-04-01T07:37:00Z

When Iain came back from work on Monday after being told they're all redundant he was actually on a bit of a high. They're giving him a pay off, so all he could see were the numbers! He was philosphical about it - said it couldn't go on forever, so we went down the pub to drown our sorrows. Which is really all you can do!

Iain basically is working up until Easter. Well I say working. He's turning up whenever he likes, using their computers and printers to look for jobs! This has been sanctioned by the company. I think they actually feel a bit guilty about it all, as they've all worked there for years. Iain's done over 20 and he's still the new boy!

I had a look at some job sites yesterday while I was on lunch. I found one job which I got him an application form for. It would be nice if he could find something soon. We're going to rent out his house as we don't want to sell it unless we have to as surely the market's going to rise a bit? I am a bit worried though. The money he's been given is nice, but obviously it's not going to last forever. We're in a much better position than other people, but I still worry! Still on a positive note, I've stopped worrying about the wedding!! In fact I haven't even thought about that!

Ahhhh - it'll all work out!

Job Worry.

2009-03-23T12:43:00Z

Iain called me today while I was wandering round Sainsbury's. They've received an email at his work telling them that there's going to be a meeting about the future on Monday afternoon. He knew that the company would be making redundancies, and I'd been worried for a while that he might be unlucky.

Apparently both big boss and medium boss are coming down from Aberdeen as are HR. Now I'm not one to worry unnecessarily, but that doesn't sound good to me. Anytime HR get involved it's not going to be good news. On a positive note, at least on Monday we'll know what's happening. But it's going to be a bugger if he is made redundant to put it mildly.

Looking on the positive side of things though, we still have my salary coming in. He still has his house which we'll either sell or rent out - so it's not all doom and gloom. Wedding-wise, well it's still going to go ahead in Nov as we'll lose too much in deposits. We just might have to cut back on a few things which we haven't finalised yet. Personally, I think table decorations would be the first thing that I'd get rid of. That would save a bit.

And also on a positive note, I did loads of overtime in the last few weeks, so that will be in Friday's pay packet. Hopefully I'll be able to pay off the credit card, then we can get down to some serious economising. Also I have a load of jewellery which I could sell if we get really desperate. So we'll be fine whatever happens.

So I'll just go back to carrying on as normal and hope for the best!

Ali x