Archive for the ‘Work’ Category
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 26, 2012
Image by Vaguely Artistic via Flickr
After working every day since last Thursday I found myself free on Tuesday. I squeezed in a session on my treadmill late on Monday evening making falling asleep much easier. I planned to have an extra lie-in on Tuesday morning and thankfully I wasn’t disturbed by telephone calls as usually happens when I want that extra rest. This meant that I arose just before ten o’clock, too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. I collected some clothes that needed washing and fed the washing machine with them before collecting my tools and setting about dismantling the drain pipe from our downstairs toilet as it entered the sewage pipe outside. I cleaned the sewage pipe collar ready to accept a new soil pipe later and covered it with a plastic bag to contain the wonderful sewage smells that would continue to emanate from the open pipe until the new pipe was connected. Following that I dismantled and disconnected the toilet pan, cistern, wash basin and all water pipes and drains ready for work to continue when I feel the urge. This will be the new wet room I promised E and myself last summer! We have most of all the necessary materials we will need to complete the task. All we need now it the time and the inclination! On Monday whilst purchasing a new distribution board for the job I was doing I finally got round to buying two of the new boards I have been thinking about buying for our own house. These boards each have a ten-way circuit capacity but I know I will need to buy a further two four-way boards later. I am waiting until the weather is warmer before tackling the installation of those boards. We do have a lot of electrical circuits in our house. So it was that at 1.45 I was feeling rather hungry and thirsty too but was loathed to prepare anything and I told E that we would be dining out. She raised no objections either and off we went to enjoy the afternoon in one of our haunts. No wine this time but a couple of glasses of cider and on the way home E dropped me off at my local so that I could put in an appearance after seven weeks absence. I had but one drink and bought one drink for a friend before walking home a half-hour later behaving myself by not making a night of it but I may make another trip for that soon. On Friday, the 27th, I will have known E for exactly 40 years and I have already told her that I want to take her out for a special meal to mark the occasion. She is selecting the venue but she always does that anyway!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Celebration, Electrical, House and Home, Lifestyle, Work | Tagged: Friday, Pipe, Sewage, Sink, Toilet, Tuesday, Washing machine, Water pipe | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 25, 2012
Image by -DjD- via Flickr
Continuing about my work and how long I will carry on doing it I find myself even more in demand and thereby reluctant to stop altogether. Many people close to me tell me that I am too obliging but when I get requests such as complete loss of power I find I want to help. This was the case on Saturday. Now Saturdays are my sabbath days of rest but when an emergency situation arises and I have been asked to help out then that is what I will do. My philosophy and the teaching is that the sabbath was made for mankind and not mankind for the sabbath. I was about to enjoy my Saturday afternoon watching television (I was watching the Masters Snooker semi-finals, something I like to watch) when I received a call from a lady whom I’ve worked for many times and she asked if I could help her as her food freezer wasn’t working. Now I do not repair fridges and freezers when once I did years ago but then my employer supplied the necessary equipment for that sort of work. I talked her through the possible reasons for the problem which was most probably a loss of power but she maintained that she hadn’t a clue how to go about that. I arrived at her house fifteen minutes later. Now this lady is currently having her downstairs floors levelled which means all the floorboards being removed and new floor joists installed, quite a big job and she has to live upstairs whilst the work is carried out. That being the case it was most likely that her builder had accidentally switched off her freezer whilst raising the kitchen floor. It took me ten seconds to find the problem. It had been switched off at source! Whilst she is having this work done the builders are also doing some work on the roof and have erected scaffolding at the front of the house. When I arrived I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that scaffolding leaning over by as much as 40 degrees from the vertical having been blown over in the high winds we had been experiencing the night before. It was only a supporting stay which had become embedded in the soil preventing it falling over completely. We telephoned the builder several times but could not get a reply. I had to leave and return home. No sooner I got home I received another call from another lady whom I’ve worked for in the past. She asked if I could go to her daughter’s house as all her electrical circuits were not working. By this time it was late afternoon and already dark. When I arrived about twenty minutes later I discovered a genuine fault. The RCD unit had tripped but wouldn’t reset, thus disconnecting all of the supply. Switching off all circuit breakers didn’t solve the problem so that meant I also had to disconnect the circuits neutral cables too. Still the RCD would not reset which meant that it was faulty and would need replacing. However it was an old type unit and would be better to replace the whole board with a modern version that is easy to repair should anything go wrong. Of course I do not carry such things in my vehicle, no electrician does and as it was too late to purchase one and too late to do the work I had to effect a temporary repair. I by-passed the RCD unit so they could have power over the weekend until I could return on Monday to fit a new board. So that was my Saturday in tatters! I actually had scheduled work to do on Sunday morning, only small jobs this time and only because my clients could not accommodate me during the week. Normally I wouldn’t work on a Sunday as I don’t do on a Saturday. At least I was back home within two hours and had the rest of the day to myself. I did return to replace the distribution board on Monday morning, an up-to date version of the old one which enables the lighting circuits to be isolated from the RCD controlling the power circuits so if it trips the lights won’t be affected. I also discovered a fault in the washing machine which was probably the reason the old RCD kept tripping and eventually giving up altogether. I was told that several times in the past it had caused the RCD to trip. Some people never learn. Her failure to get the washing machine repaired caused her having to pay for a new power board to be fitted and she still has to do something with the washing machine.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Leisure, Lifestyle, People, Work | Tagged: Circuit breaker, Residual-current device, Work | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 24, 2012
Image by Topsy@Waygood via Flickr
No, I am not about to write something on foodstuffs. When I am out at work and sometimes elsewhere I often joke about my shelf life and how it has expired or about my sell-by date having passed on by. Sometimes I will laughingly blame my age whenever I make a mistake. It’s all my way of acknowledging that I am not getting any younger and more specifically how I am getting older. I am asked how long I intend to carry on working when people discover how old I am. I have been in continuous employment for forty-nine and a half years and mid-July will mark my fiftieth year in the electrical industry. I am slowing down but I can still work at a pace and often surprise not only my clients but myself too! Since the beginning of the new year I have been gainfully employed but I seldom work a complete day now. Last Friday however I did work for most of the day altering existing wiring and installing new circuits and light fittings in a house which had recently been extended to form a third floor apartment. The contracting electricians had omitted to provide outlets for a cooker and other things so I had the task of putting that right. I might be thinking that my shelf life has expired but in reality I seem to be just as active and effective as I always have, albeit maybe a little slower. There’s plenty of get-up-and-go left in me yet I think. I am one of those people who will probably just switch off like a light bulb rather than become slowly dimmer each day. What motivates me? I take an interest in what I do and it gives me a sense of achievement. It is a job that is never the same each day and sometimes it challenges me. I get to meet people and work in different places. I get time off whenever I want it and I get paid too! For the time being my shelf life has been extended.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Activity, Energy, Work | Tagged: Activity, Electrical, Light, Shelf life, Work | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 17, 2012
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Saturday is my rest day…..unless someone has an emergency that needs sorting! I arose before 8 o’clock because I needed to phone someone to arrange having my garage door repaired. As it was I phoned just after 8.30 and he arranged to come on Sunday. That meant my day would be free. I know I need to start on some household projects but I wanted to do that at some other time. I spent most of the morning on the Internet or playing my guitar but after noon I decided to make a chilli-con-carne, something I generally have once each week but not always. Although this dish is best served long after it is cooked because the chilli seeds need time to break down and release their spicy flavour it still tastes good after an hour standing, warmed up of course! It would be around 2 o’clock when I received a call from an old lady some ten miles away. Her electricity safety switch (an RCD) had tripped and she found it wouldn’t reset. I talked the process of resetting it through with her over the phone to no avail. I told her that my van was currently out of use because of the problem I was having with the garage door but I might be able to get someone to take me there. I asked E if she wouldn’t mind doing that for me and she was pleased to do so. I relayed that to the old lady and told her we would be there as soon as we could, well within the next hour. So off we went to do the job. The fault took a little while to find and indeed could not be resolved simply by switching off the circuit breakers, hence the need for an electrician. I finally traced the fault to a section of cable located in a wall that had been pierced by a nail causing a short-circuit between the neutral and earthing conductors, which is why just switching off the live conductor (circuit breaker) didn’t cure the problem. The cable was located behind some wood panelling at the base of a stairway that her son had just repaired. He had inadvertently driven the nail through the cable. To be fair the cable was buried in the plaster and he didn’t know it was there. I carried out a repair and everything went back to normal. So much for my afternoon off work! The cash was enough to pay for the garage door repairs though and left a little something for E too.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Life, Work | Tagged: Life, Rest and relaxation, Work | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 14, 2012
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The end of the week usually brings a release from the working week and a chance to relax, or used to! When I worked for an employer I didn’t have the same freedom as when I started to work for myself but the pressure became stronger. So although I used to look forward to my Fridays and my weekends to myself when I became self-employed those feelings became stronger even though I had the freedom to choose how I spent my time working. There is a greater sense of urgency when working for one’s self I would suggest. That being the case and especially now as I am kind of semi-retired or at least only working part-time I relish taking time out to engage in some self-indulgence. Last Friday afternoon I went dining out with E and yesterday we had a repeat performance but at a different location. Yesterday morning I did an electrical job repairing some lighting and replacing fittings and returned home sometime around noon. We had already planned to dine out so I wasn’t prepared to take on any more work for the day. We tend to eat a little later into the afternoon as many places by then are not crammed full of other diners and the pace is subsequently much slower and more relaxed which makes for a better afternoon I think. I tried a new dish this time. Even though the sea bass looked very tempting I decided together with E, to have pork rump in a plum sauce with steamed vegetables and new potatoes. E had tasted this dish before but it was a first for me and she told me that I would enjoy it. I always thought that pork and apple were good together and I had reservations about pork and plum. I was pleasantly surprised when the dish arrived and I tasted it. The pork was very tender and the sauce was sweet. The two things go well together. However I did find the sweetness of the sauce a little too much by the time I’d finished and I think it would have benefitted from being a little less so. I pushed the boat out with my dessert too trying a lemon based dish I had never ordered before. Its name escapes me but it was basically sponge soaked in a lemon sauce topped with something resembling custard but not custard mixed with white chocolate and meringue chippings. It was too bitter for my liking but I ate it. I probably will not have it again. I am usually open to trying new dishes up to a point but I will draw the line at some things. We left the restaurant about two and a half hours later with the other half of the bottle of red wine because for once I behaved myself by not drinking it all at the table. We stopped by a supermarket on the way home to re-stock on cola and some foodstuffs. A very nice afternoon was had by all.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Drink, Food, Lifestyle, Rest and relaxation, Work | Tagged: Cooking, Drink, Food, Friday, Meat, Pork, Potato, Rest and relaxation, Sauce, Work | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 12, 2012
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Today became the last day of my jury service. The case I was involved with drew to a close just after noon and we went to the jurors room to make our deliberations. We were divided 11 to 1 but after discussing certain points we soon arrived at a majority verdict. I had been selected as forewoman by lot, in this case the tossing of a coin. Only myself and one other woman were prepared to act as foreperson. It took a mere twenty-five minutes to reach a verdict and I knocked on the door to let the usher know. She asked if we had reached a unanimous verdict to which I replied ‘yes’. She then went into court and returned ten minutes later to escort us in. After we had all been seated (I had to take up a position next to the judge) the clerk of the court asked for the forewoman of the jury to stand. I stood up and waited for her to ask if we as a jury had reached a verdict. I replied ‘yes’. She then asked if that verdict was accepted by each of us. I replied ‘yes’. She then asked if the verdict was guilty or not guilty. I replied ‘Guilty’. The judge then informed the defendant of the verdict and the court that the sentencing would be carried out at a later date following social reports. We were dismissed from the courtroom and off we went to the main waiting area. It was around 1.15. We could not leave the building in case our services were needed in another trial. Eventually we were called to the reception, that is our group only and we were then released not only for the day but from our jury duty until and if they call upon us next time which under normal circumstances won’t be for another two years. The receptionist apologised to me for giving me bad news for I had indicated that I would have loved to continue as a juror for a little longer. The reason being there was only one trial awaiting a jury and some folk had not yet had the chance to serve on a jury after being there almost two weeks! The whole experience has been wonderful for me and although I had done jury service before that occasion was more than 27 years ago and I don’t remember too much about it. When I arrived back home there were messages on my phone asking for my services as an electrician. I now have a job to do in the morning!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Law, Work | Tagged: Court, Court clerk, Jury, Jury duty, Law, Work | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 12, 2012
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Although I haven’t been advertising for work over the last few weeks I have still been receiving requests and enquiries. All of them have been through recommendation which is nice to know. I have only been able to oblige one person thus far though. It seems some of them have decided to wait a little longer until I have finished my jury service else they have employed someone else. Either way I am not bothered. To be honest it is going to take me some time to get back into the swing of things. I feel as though I have been on holiday for a month, which is true having done only one small job during that time. If I am found available from next week I am sure the work will start-up again. I am hoping so anyhow. In the meantime I am still on duty as a juror and I need to make a start on some projects at home. I am not relishing doing that but once I have started I will be alright. Sometimes I procrastinate and feel a reluctance to do things, possibly because I know what problems I will be facing when I tackle jobs having done so many in my life! Once the first hurdle has been jumped the rest is plain sailing as they say. That first hurdle lies inside my head! I know what is going to happen, I will make a start on my domestic jobs and then receive requests to do some electrical work, it happens all the time. Whatever happens though I was happy that I had another chance at being a juror before I have to return to my normal routine. I would recommend it to anyone who has yet to be summoned to court, as a juror of course!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Work | Tagged: Work | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 9, 2012
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I am in my second week at court today but I don’t need to be there too early the first day as they will be bringing in new would-be jurors and will be processing them. I was told that there will only be a few new recruits this time, far fewer than those of us who started off the new year. Last week there must have been more than two hundred of us assembling in the main hall. Many will already be engaged on a case, I think there were five or six new cases at the end of last week, which means there will be 60-72 acting as jurors. The case I was involved with was thrown out of court after two days so I start afresh this week and may get a case or not. I am hoping I shall. During last week I was getting calls for electrical work even though I am not advertising just at the moment. Word gets around, recommendations and such playing a big part. It was Christmas Eve when I last did some work but Saturday saw me breaking the ice and doing a small job for someone local. I visited another client to assess another job but wasn’t able to do it over the weekend. That job will have to wait until at least the end of this week. When I went out in the morning I discovered a problem with the garage door. This door was fitted many years ago and is manually operated. However one of the draw cables has been jumping off the pulley when the door is fully opened, something I have to do in order to get the van in and out when there is a ladder on top. As I lifted the door off came the cable with a twang. The other end of this cable is connected to a very large spring which draws the door upwards making it easier to open. The door is quite heavy so it needs the springs to aid the lifting process. I reached up and put the cable back on the pulley knowing full well that on my return to open the door it would come off again. That is what happened. This time I was determined to fix the problem and I checked out what was needed. In essence, the pulley was too far off-set for the cable when the door was raised and what was needed was to reposition the pulley. This meant a longer bolt and spacer. To my amazement the pulley was very easy to remove and I took the bolt into my storeroom in the cellar to change it for a longer one. The first bolt I put my hand upon was exactly the same thread but a couple of centimetres longer in length. I selected a suitable spacer (I have various bits and pieces to choose from) and went back to fit everything back in place. Some grease on the pulley wheel to lubricate the cable and then a test run. Done! That was my first job at home this year but I know it won’t be the last! The ice has been broken, now I wait for the deluge.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Work | Tagged: Construction and Maintenance, Garage door, Jury, Materials and Supplies, New Year | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on December 7, 2011
Image by *Psycho Delia* via Flickr
It always seems to happen that I get calls to install or change outdoor light fittings in the winter months. The most frequently asked request is to install security lighting. The reason for that of course us that the dark evenings are with us at this time of year and the risk of burglary is thought to be higher. Although most burglaries occur during daylight hours and many of those are opportunistic people fear that the darkness is an invitation for burglars. It is true that some burglaries happen during the dark hours so security lighting is a deterrent. Why don’t people think about such things when the daylight hours are longer in the summer months? The weather will always dictate whether outside installation takes place of course, no-one wants to be working outside when it is wet and windy or cold and icy, apart from the fact that it could be dangerous. This week I have had a few such requests for outside lighting, some of which I have completed. I remember one year when I was asked to install lighting in wood decking in a garden. It was February, it was very cold and frosty and the job took me four times longer than it should have done but my client insisted I did it no matter what the cost. I had to wear gloves but that made it difficult to handle the components. I had to keep coming back indoors to get warm too. I vowed I would never repeat such a stupid method of working again and I have kept that promise. My motto now is I’m sorry but if the weather is bad the job has to wait else get someone else to do it. I do my best for people but some try it on with me! I don’t get many problems with strange requests at work, I just get some strange people to work for now and then! Speaking of which there was a guy call me on Monday who had a problem with a three light chandelier, one of the holders was loose. Thinking and wondering why he couldn’t have tightened it up himself I realised who it was calling me. He is an elderly Jewish gentleman whose wife is suffering with various health problems and I have done many jobs for them in the past. When I got to their apartment he was standing there with his arms wide open to greet me, something he has taken upon himself to do for my last few visits. I get a hug and a kiss but I would prefer he wasn’t so amorous. I try to keep a professional head upon my shoulders so my response is passive. He is sincere but presumptuous. The offending light fitting was over his wife’s bed and she was still in it! This has happened a few times but they are not bothered about me being there, it’s as though I have become part of the family as it were. The job itself wasn’t that easy to fix, well beyond his capability but I managed in the end. I even fixed a problem with a radiator valve that they had in the bathroom. Whilst I was there I met with a woman who does their house chores and now have the prospect of more work in the future. Earlier in the morning I’d been to another job ostensibly to install a power outlet for an electric fire and to fit the same into the opening in the fireplace which was surrounded by reconstituted granite slabs. Now this guy didn’t even bother to unpack the new fire and see how to fit it. It was designed to either screw straight onto a wall or fit into an opening. It had a flexible cable and plug already fitted as is the norm so all that was required was to fit it in the hole. He could have done that himself, it didn’t require any tools, his three-year old daughter could have done it, except for one thing, the opening, although wide enough, was six millimetres too short in height. He will get someone to grind off the excess. Had he looked at the fire in the first place he would not have needed my services. I fixed a couple of external lights simply by replacing the bulbs! Why don’t people think before they act? It cost him for his omission. I didn’t mind, it made my day a bit easier anyhow and still got paid!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in People, Work | Tagged: People, Weather, Work | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on November 23, 2011
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Well it looks like I am in business again. After a brief spell of ease I am beginning to rake in lots more work. Most of what I am doing will be to do with changing light fittings, you might say I will be on ‘light duties’ (an in joke) but I am also replacing switches and power points. This is a seasonal thing with people wanting a make-over as far as electrical lighting is concerned on the run up to Christmas. I don’t mind, it gives me something to do that pays well! Occasionally I am asked to install extra power points at this time of year too, to accommodate fairy-lights and other things. Did you ever see advertisements urging the purchase of furniture before a certain date in order that it will be delivered before Christmas Day? Is it any wonder folk get themselves in debt because they think the world will end on Boxing Day or that the furniture won’t be available thereafter? Of course that is why the advertisers lower their prices in the first place! The prices rise again once the holiday is over. People do strange things around Christmas. A few years ago now, I expected very little work at the beginning of the new year because of the amount I had in the preceding month but this particular year I was inundated with it and in fact, as it turned out, that January was the best month for the year as far as income was concerned. Not so these days though with the way the economy is just now but no doubt it will be business as usual, albeit only a little (?). Actually it looks as though I will be unavailable for a short time at the beginning of 2012 anyway as I am scheduled for jury service. We’ll see what happens. In the meantime I have plenty to do.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Activity, Business, Occupation, Work | Tagged: Boxing Day, Business, Christmas, Fairy lights, Holidays, New Year | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on November 10, 2011
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I did the jobs I had planned for Monday and throughout the day received more calls for work. I was rather tired at the end of the day. I had Tuesday free to myself and was able to grab a lie in bed until late in the morning. Wednesday saw me working again. This year has been quiet compared to more recent years as far as work goes but as we approach Christmas I can almost guarantee it will get busier. I have no idea why that is so but over the years that has always been the case. I shall be starting my 67 th year on this planet in a couple of week’s time and I still feel able to work, although I try to limit what I do not wishing to overdo things. With that in mind I am sometimes afraid of Monday mornings, a time when I get most of my calls for work! Life goes on and so I follow it as best I can and whilst I am still able. Songs have been written about Monday mornings and I guess many people have reservations about the start of a new week, having those Monday morning blues after presumably enjoying their weekends. When I worked for a company I always looked forward to Friday afternoons and the prospect of a weekend free from work but in reality I continued working over the weekend albeit at home. I suppose the thought of returning to our occupational duties isn’t so much that we’ve got to but because it takes us away from those things we’d prefer to be doing. Now that I have been self-employed for more than fourteen years the thought of returning to work on a Monday morning isn’t quite the same, or shouldn’t be because I can decide not to work if I so desire. However, the momentary dislike at the thought soon dissipates when I open my toolbox. Monday mornings can be switched to Tuesdays but the work still needs doing.
Shirley Anne
- Thank God It’s Monday!!! (mzmawissa.wordpress.com)
- Come Monday (rockycropfarm.com)
- Manic Monday Mornings… (multipurposemom.com)
- Monday, Monday (minkyweasel.com)
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Posted in General Chat, Lifestyle, Philosophy, Work | Tagged: Friday, Holidays, Monday, Work, Workweek and weekend | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on November 9, 2011
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For those who may not know I don’t work on Saturday unless it is for emergency purposes. I also take Sunday off as a break from work much the same as most people I think. Last Friday evening I wasn’t particularly tired when I eventually went to bed around midnight and so as I usually do in such circumstances, I watched some television. That usually helps and this time was no different. Even so I didn’t get to sleep for a couple of hours and consequently I woke late in the morning. No problem with that as I had no plans to do anything except have a session on my treadmill when I did get up. Saturday morning then, I got up around 9.30 and began to get ready for a ‘run’ but my toilet requirements kept me from doing so straight away! Now it was around 10.00 and I began to go downstairs when the phone rang. Someone wanted me to do a job and it seemed urgent when I listened to the message later but in fact it wasn’t urgent and in any case I would not have been able to accommodate the caller as it wasn’t in my field of work. I did my half-hour on the treadmill and after cooling off a little I bathed and went back to my bedroom to dress. Just as I was beginning to dress the phone rang again. Someone else wanted me to do a job but I explained that I wasn’t available on Saturday but could do it another day. He called again later to confirm that I could do the job on Monday afternoon (I had two other jobs in the morning). Again it wasn’t really an urgent job. It was about noon when I eventually came downstairs and no sooner that I got there the phone rang again. Yet another job which wasn’t urgent but I was asked if I could do it there and then. I turned down the offer! What is it with people? I am a very obliging person and I think it is rather selfish of people to expect me to work on a weekend just to suit their requirements. Most of the time the requests are for work that can be done during the normal working week so I expect people to call me at those times and not pester me at the weekend. I don’t mind receiving requests at the weekend for work to be done during the week and I don’t mind working during a weekend if it is a real emergency but I need a break too! Emergencies are rare though but it seems that one faulty switch or one faulty power point is an emergency to some people!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Leisure, Work | Tagged: Friday, Leisure, Saturday, Sunday, Work, Workweek and weekend | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on October 21, 2011
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These last two weeks have found me very busy at my electrical work and has provided me with some extra income which I shall put to good use, when I stop working of course! I have a small job to do this morning, Friday but I shall have to decline further work, if I get any, for this afternoon as the other post below indicates. Although I am working part-time I am finding that I feel tired in the afternoons and don’t much feel like doing anything. I have been spending a few late afternoons and evenings in the pub lately and although I enjoy the escape I find it an effort to actually walk there but I do. Wednesday was a fine example, I hadn’t been working in the morning as I have been doing but nevertheless I had to make a concerted effort to go out. Admittedly I had been on the treadmill and perhaps that had made the difference. It was quite windy on Wednesday, not the kind of weather to go walking in if one didn’t have to but I wanted to spend some time at the pub and so I made the effort. It’s funny really but when I am working I seem to have the energy to do all the work I get but as soon as I stop I sometimes feel exhausted and just want to sit down and rest. It may be more psychological than physical but I am not getting any younger am I? Already I have work planned for next week and no doubt the phone will be ringing throughout the week but it’s nice to be back working after the recent bout of having almost none.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Energy, Work | Tagged: Energy, Treadmill, Work | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on October 1, 2011
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As is quite normal in my job as an electrician my workload has peaks and troughs but lately there have been deep valleys and hardly any peaks! The last two weeks I had nothing to do at all but yesterday everyone wanted my services and I made up for lost income in just the one day. That is a bonus really because I don’t necessarily have to work but it is good to get out of the house and meet people as I work for them. I spent most of the day working, well most of what I would consider a working day now because I seldom put in more than five hours a day at work and more often than not I am back home before lunchtime after starting at nine. Times change though and I am not getting any younger so part-time work suits me fine. Not long after I got home I received more offers of work but I have arranged to do that work next week, some folk would have me working seven days a week if I’d allow them to. I hope I can now relax for the next two days having got through a manic Friday.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Work | Tagged: Work, Working time, Workweek and weekend | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on September 30, 2011
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The weather here in the UK is most unusually hot especially for this time in the year. The capital is the warmest place but even here on the west coast we have been enjoying temperatures of around 25 deg C. Extraordinary for the last couple of days in September and the forecast is for it to remain so into the weekend. Of course there is a lot of moisture in the air overnight which means the grass is wet where it is in the shade. We have not really had the opportunity to mow the grass over the last couple of weeks but this morning (Wednesday) I looked at it and decided that if I didn’t mow it today it might be too long for the mower to cope with it. We do have a motorised mower running on petrol but it is out of action so we have to use the less powerful (900W) electric one. I waited until the afternoon to allow the grass to dry out so in the morning I had a stint on the treadmill. At first the grass was fairly easy to mow but as I progressed up the garden it became almost impossibly difficult and I had to repeatedly switch the mower off and clear out the grass which was being compressed instead of being ejected because it was getting wetter as I moved along. This meant I had to stop and start the operation many times. It became unbearably hot and although I was wearing suitably lightweight clothing I was exhausted by the time I had finished. Normally it would take about forty minutes to mow the lawn if it was dry but this time it took me almost two hours! I had then to remove all the cuttings from the lawn because using the collection box for the cuttings was out of the question with the machine getting constantly blocked. Fortunately we have a lawn sweeping device which is mechanically propelled for collecting the cuttings but as I was already exhausted it wasn’t that easy to push it along and of course that had to be emptied about three times too. Altogether I was outside for three and a half hours. Who said gardening was easy? I suppose it would have been much easier had the weather been cooler and the grass drier. There will most probably be a need to cut the grass again in October and that should be the last time until next Spring. When I had finished I sat for a while on the garden bench and relaxed in the warm sunshine. It is most strange seeing the larger trees devoid of leaves with bright sunshine and high temperatures when normally it would be much cooler. Our weather gets stranger every year.
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Posted in Weather, Work | Tagged: Garden, Grass, Lawn, Lawn mower, Mower, Weather | Leave a Comment »
