Sunday Post 45; It's Monday, what are you reading? 31

The Sunday Post - a chance for a chat and a catch-up with other bloggers - is hosted by Kimba here: http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday! What are you reading? is now hosted by Kathryn, here: http://bookdate.blogspot.co.nz/

Let's see ....

Well, I'm now a fully functioning beneficiary.  A ward of the Government, as it were. It feels ... weird. It's good, to have some kind of money coming in, but the longer I'm out of work, the more heavily the days weigh on my hands. I'm applying for everything even remotely likely and so far all I've had are a couple of interviews, a vague expression of interest from a recruitment agency, and rejections, rejections, rejections.

I think my favourite one so far said that although my experience was "of interest" to them, it didn't' line up perfectly with what they wanted. They wanted a content writer with sub-editing skills. Which. That's. That's what I did, essentially. So right now, my job-seeking mode is ... frustrated. I feel like ... I don't know. If I'm not filling my days productively then I'm somehow ... cheating someone somewhere. But after I've applied for all the jobs in the morning, what CAN I do? Spawn is at school, and he's nine, so he needs me less than he used to and so ... ugh. I didn't mean to start a pity party. I'd just rather be working. Being home was nice and fun and all when I had funds, and then I was working for a bit, and now that I don't have funds and I'm not working? Less fun.

Anyway. Spawn is sick - it never fails, he goes back to school after the holidays, and comes home with a bug. Sore throat/sore ear/fever again. He's had it for a few days, so it'll be off to the doctor again. The school has done a hearing assessment on him too, and he's been referred to the hospital, so we're waiting for an appointment there. Likely he'll need grommets, but I'm adopting a wait-and-see approach because what-ifs aren't productive.

My Saturday night stitch-and-watch friend's mother died last Monday. She had had Alzheimer's for about nine years, and my friend was her main caregiver. Her funeral was on Friday.

I have been reading a bit, and I finished Pansies by Alexis Hall on Saturday. It never fails when I get one of his books, I have to sit down and read it till it's done. It was great, but I don't think anything can replace the standing Glitterland has in my heart. Review to come this week,  hopefully! I still need to write up The Secret Life of Pets, too.

I'm picking away at the audio for This Census-Taker, and it's going okay. I don't really listen to a lot of audiobooks but I had a free Audible credit, so I took advantage. I also started Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristof. The formatting takes a bit of getting used to but I'm enjoying the story so far.

I think that's all - lol.

What about you?

How's your week?

What are you reading?

Sunday post 23, It's Monday! What are you reading? 11

Linking up with Kimba here: http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ for the Sunday Post - a chance to catch up and chat - and with Kathryn here: http://bookdate.blogspot.co.nz/ for It's Monday, What are you reading?

I'm mostly posting just to kind of touch base, I think. I haven't posted since last week, but I do have a couple of posts in draft - one  is the Things I Like in My 40s (that people may judge me for) and the other one is my awesome ladies project, though the first lady I chose for that - Sahakduhkt an Armenian composer - has very little information.

She's the first in my lady composer part (I have five ladies in each subject I chose) and the only work of hers that remains, apparently, is a hymn to the Virgin Mary. Which I can't find anywhere.

Still. Hopefully I'll have both of those posts up some time this week.

I went with spawn's class to the museum on Friday, and got to touch a tuatara for the first time ever. They're weirdly soft and kiiiiind of creepy. But. Still very cool. Here's a handy link:
http://www.southlandmuseum.com/tuatara.html

My stitch and watch friend and I finally finished Downton Abbey on Saturday and all I can say is
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Edited because I forgot some people haven't seen it yet).

Ahem.

Spawn is home with a sore throat today, though I have to admit I'm a bad judge of whether he's bad enough to stay home or not most of the time. I tend to err on the side of "he's eight. A day at home won't matter much at this stage", because I'm an A+ parent.

I haven't been reading very much; picking away at the monolith, which is what I've been calling Perdido Street Station, but I finally pulled book 2 of The Dark Tower from the bookshelf, in celebration of the news that Idris Elba will be playing the gunslinger. (mmmm ... Idris Elba).

I also have book 2 of The Second Sons trilogy by Jennifer Fallon on the backburner.

For today, I'm meeting a friend for lunch, and then after that, the lovely Marg from http://www.theintrepidreader.com/ for coffee, as she is in my neighbourhood.

Spawn will be in the capable hands of his father, while I swan about being a social butterfly.

Other things I need to do this week are sort out my passport application - I need BOTH my marriage certificates, and I never changed my name officially the second time, so if I want it to be under my current name, I have to do that too. It's frustrating but  needs must.

I also have to be a grown-up and call Work and Income, see if I'm entitled to any kind of benefit while I'm looking for work. It's a Big Girl Pants week.

What are you up to?

What are you reading?

Life in the void

Limbo-land is a very strange place. I’ve been redundantly out of work for nearly three weeks now and it’s such a strange feeling.

Part of me feels like I’m just on holiday, and I’m going to pick up and go back to work on Monday or something, even though I know that’s not true. And part of me is sort of looking around for the thing that’s missing. I had no idea how much of my own personal identity was tied up with having that 9-5.

When I was finishing work, I said I was elated and terrified, which was true. Now, I’m mostly tired, and picking away at my days, trying to stay occupied.

Some days are okay. I’m working on tidying my room (I have the tidiness gene of a 14 year old), and reading a bit. I’m writing a bit too, which is nice. Stitching, catching up on shows like Hannibal and Salem and Empire.

Hanging out with spawn.

All of the things that you wish you had time for when you’re working. But when you have nothing BUT time for them … I don’t know. They’re all things that I love, but maybe the shine has gone off them a little bit.

I’m also playing Dragon Age a lot. Some days, once spawn is off to school and I have nothing else planned, that’s all I’m doing. So I try to plan something for every day. Even if it’s the smallest, stupidest thing.

Also, I got my redundancy payout (hooray) but I’m still waiting for my superannuation payout. When I rang the pay clerk who is supposed to pass the form on to the administrator of the fund last week, she said she was waiting for my last stats - sick days, holidays etc to come through.

Which. Bullshit. I see how that would affect the redundancy payout but should have no bearing on the superannuation. The idea of dealing with it makes me tired, but dammit, I need that money.

I’ve been putting off the phone calls I need to make and I feel a bit helpless because beyond repeatedly calling her, or harassing the administrator to the fund, there’s not a lot I can do.

Anyway.

Life in the void.