After more than 2 years off from plundering ships on the open waves, this pirate’s treasure chest is starting to look a tad depleted. Initially, I was recovering from being worked almost to death 60% of the time and bored to death 40% of the time. Then of course both parents passed away, and a house move to save money longer term ensued, then I was merely ‘lazy’ for a while. Now, it’s full steam ahead looking for something that will add to the coffers. After seeing nothing much for months, I have 3 irons in the fire as it were, and a job to apply for today. The sea is too far away to even consider piracy and whilst we have some canals in the area, I doubt there’s much for a pirate to consider worthwhile. The jobs applied for so far vary greatly from a personal shopper in a supermarket, to admin work. The post I’ll apply for later is in a local university which is hopefully more my speed as I do have experience of university work. It’ll do until I move back near the sea and revert to piracy again LMAO.

Maybe I’m insensitive however filling in application forms, whilst on times mentally exhausting, can also be a giggle. You’d think ‘Gender’ would be an easy answer but in these PC times there are numerous responses available, including being asked if your gender assignment is the same one you were born with. Oh dear… I do feel a tad miffed when I have to trawl through a massive drop-down box simply to find my country of birth! On a UK job advert, shouldn’t UK be at the top? So, I now have 4 applications awaiting a response. There would have been a 5th, however I grew uneasy about it. I sent off a CV through a search engine site, had a phone call, and an offer for an interview next week. I just had to fill in yet another form. Okay so far. It took me almost an hour to gather the info needed, and fill in countless pages, then right at the end it occurred to me that nowhere was the company name listed, and the declaration stated you’d be working for an agency for 48 hours a week, with a one week notice period. B*gger that! I want to work for a named company, and be on their payroll, not at the mercy of some obscure agency. I declined to take it further and deleted all my hard work before I’d submitted it. We’re expected to be honest and transparent in our applications, I wish the same could be said for companies or agencies too!

Now that I’m actively seeking work, I’d booked myself into the local job centre to see if I qualified for any financial help. They want to know the ins and outs of a cat’s behind as we say, and it may well be that my small pension will mean I don’t qualify, but it costs nothing but time to find out. They offered me a payment straight away, however it’s one that needs to be repaid, and if I don’t qualify for assistance, I’d have to pay it back from my dwindling treasure chest. Things aren’t that bad here, thankfully, so I politely declined.

We’ve had some very welcome rain here; just half an inch so far but certainly welcome. It’s raining as I type and set for the day according to the weather report. Lovely! The ground really needs it. I have been watering the potted plants with a bucket, however a sprain to my thumb meant that couldn’t continue so I’ve been using a smaller container and making frequent trips between the kitchen tap and garden. The thumb? A few weeks ago, I was attempting to open a wide jar of dill pickles and felt pain in my thumb. The damn lid wouldn’t budge, even with plastic gloves on. Too late I remembered the ‘trick’ of pouring very hot water on the metal lid to help loosen it. Oh well. My joint is warm and gripping anything is quite painful. I read it can take up to 6 weeks for a sprain to heal. Good grief. Honestly, I get more aches and pains than I’d like. Still, getting older beats the alternative… I’m not moaning John, honestly lol.

Enjoy what’s left of the week, and have a great weekend. I hope you have rain if you need it, and sunshine if you don’t.