Wednesday 30 April 2008

SO NOW WHAT...?

Hi girls and boys. You just will not believe what has happened since my last blog. Honestly - if someone wrote my life as a book, no-one would publish it because everyone would be saying "But that kind of stuff never happens in real life!" Want to bet? Okay. So a quick recap of the last blog - Monday - find out redundancy is on. Tuesday - go to hospital to see consultant and get told camera down throat ( and in at the other end as it turns out) is inevitable. Here then - is the next episode.

Last Saturday, I received a letter from the hospital telling me I am booked in for the test on 15th May. Was shocked to learn colonoscopy is also on the cards and consequently went into deep depression (again - is being manic depressive all part of being a writer?). It ruined the weekend which was a shame because Hubby and I went down to Middle Sister's for a family tea on Saturday and I was too out-of-it to really enjoy it. Anyway, along came Monday and off I toddled to the office (like Shakespeare's schoolboy 'creeping like a snail, unwilling to school') and the guy I have been PA to said "Let's go out for a coffee and a Danish." As we were sipping our cappacinos he apologised to me for the way the company have handled the redundancy. He knew it was on the cards way back in December but had been told not to tell me. In the next breath he told me he would be resigning that day and I was the first to know. By mid-afternoon, he was gone and everyone was gobsmacked - mostly the Newish MD who walked around looking like a shell-shocked soldier for the rest of the day.

On Monday evening, Youngest Sister called. She was very worried about me, said I was not my usual self on Saturday and had lost all my sparkle. She convinced me I should make an appointment at the doctor's to find out why the endoscopy/colonoscopy thing is deemed necessary when my only symptom has been the anaemia - surely the sensible thing would be to try me on iron tablets first and see if they made a difference rather than subjecting me to the two horrible tests. I rang the doctor on Tuesday and got booked in for this Friday, so I will go armed with a list of questions.

Five minutes after getting to work, yesterday, Newish MD came into my little cubby hole. I knew, as soon as he shut the door, that he was going to lay something heavy on me. With my line manager now gone, they thought they had a new role for me. Would I be interested in heading up the new Customer Services department? Chairman walked in an hour later and reiterated how desperately they now need me to stay. What would it take, they wanted to know, to achieve that? By yesterday evening, I had a written proposal in my hand which I took home to show Hubby and discuss with him. Basically it would mean working the three and a half days a week I originally suggested months and months ago. The salary would drop but there would be the prospect of bonuses which would - theoretically - more or less make up for the shortfall.

Since all I have managed to line up is one interview and there is no guarantee I will get offered the job, Hubby thinks I should accept their offer and use it until something more suitable comes along - that way I don't actually wind up jobless for any length of time. Chairman has been with me most of today tying to persuade me to stay and he is prepared to be as flexible as I like.
I'd like to actually tell them to stuff it because only last week I was told they didn't need me and now they begging me to stay. But realistically, the offer they have made consists of of a pretty good package which I probably would be a bit daft not to at least try out.

Now - dear Blogspot Buddy - add to all that the fact that Sarah the Publisher called me yesterday to say they may have to suspend the second Yuck book indefinitely because Ashley the Illustrator has let us down big time and not come forth with any further illustrations - I will perhaps be forgiven for feeling that The World And His Wife Are All Out To Get Me - what was it Kenneth williams shouted in Carry On Ceasar? "Infamy. Infamy. They've All got It in For Me."

I know just how he feels!!!!!!

1 comment:

Anne Brooke said...

Lordy, Jilly, it's a rollercoaster - so sorry to hear all this and sending you huge hugs.

I would take the job for the moment if you can - it will be money, they're begging (hurrah!) and it's part-time so you can write more.

Ruddy publishers too - what a nightmare.

==:O

A
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