I said I’d be posting another update today and here I am. Maybe I should get myself a little apartment and live alone, I seem to be more productive and the undisturbed sleep helped too. I’m sure my family wouldn’t mind.
Yesterday I talked about work and I just wanted to briefly mention where I’m at with work outside of my main work. So my previous job with the solar panels; I’ve left but haven’t told the boss yet and I’m not entirely sure why. When I do tell him we’ll have to sort out him picking up his ladders and bits from the van. I had my interviews for two more solar jobs on Friday. There is one I’m more interested in but they would require a qualification I haven’t got yet. I’ve told them I want the job, that I’d be happy to do the course and get the qualification, and I feel I’ve convinced them I’d be good at the job. The second job I’m a little less excited about; there’s a lot of working away, most of the work is outdoors on fields and farms and is obviously out in the elements. Autumn and winter will not be pleasant.
In a slightly less work-related note I had a look back at my first blog posts the other day and the very first was posted 9th September 2019. Almost three years ago. Penny was pregnant with Rosie, Spencer was only 5 and I was still in my twenties (for another four days at least). I read the first ten or so posts and the highlight was most definitely my surprise 30th birthday party that Penny organised. There were other nice moments that I discussed with Penny whilst reading them back but it was the negatives that stuck with me. At one point I said how we had to scour our cupboards and not fully-functioning freezer for food to eat and try and do a shop to last us three or four days with only £7. My words at the time was that I would never let us get that low again and while there have been downs and times were I’m out of work I’m glad to say we have never been that low again.
I realise that was quite a depressing memory to bring up but it really helps me to see where we are in comparison to those times. They never seemed so bad at the time but looking back you can see the difference. It may be a little disheartening that three years on from that first post I’m still not happy in my work life but I recognise I’m in an infinitely better position in regards to work than I was then. Not to jinx it but when I’m out of work now it’s rarely for too long. The extra qualifications I’ve gained plus a very good range of experience means I often get a few calls back the same day I apply. I’ve also almost doubled how much I get paid when compared to construction jobs I was doing back then and more than doubled how much I was getting paid in non-construction jobs. As for experience the bad jobs were good to learn what isn’t right for me but also to know my worth while the good jobs not only benefited me financially but also taught me a lot and built my confidence.
Another recurring theme among from three years ago is video games; almost every post mentions how much of an urge to play or how I spent a few hours playing that day, one of my posts even says how Penny went to bed at 10pm and I told her I’d be up shortly but ended up crawling in to bed at 3:30am trying not to wake her. This made me laugh and while I still do get a small urge to play games here and there I’m glad it’s under control and I mostly ignore it. I know there are so many more important things I could be getting on with than playing games and while I don’t have those things completely figured out yet I’m somewhat further down the line than I was back then. Even if it’s just a case of having tried a few ideas and avenues that weren’t the right fit for me and by ruling them out I’m that little bit closer to finding the right ideas and avenues. If I’m not feeling particularly motivated or if I’m lacking energy I will just try to read up on things that could contribute to my overall goal; to work for myself and to my own schedule freeing up valuable time to look in to other ventures.
This may be a slightly shorter update than my previous two (maybe I’ve caught up somewhat and have run out of things to say) but I did start that brain dump I mentioned yesterday and would like to get back to it. If you’re wondering I’ve had three very different stories in my head regarding people with superpowers, they all take place in the same universe across different times. I wrote roughly 1500 words yesterday with two of the stories given a basic description and one of them I went a lot more in depth. Once I’ve gone in depth with the other two I think I will write basic outlines for all three with what happens in each chapter in each book. The three stories tie together but I’m unsure if I will have each story on their own with nods to the others or if I’ll write them more like the Game of Thrones series where multiple characters journeys are documented within the same book. Once I have the chapter outlines I think it will be a little easier to make a decision.
I’m not as confident as I was yesterday to put a date on my next update. I’m back in work tomorrow and it’s yet to be seen how I’ll get on coming home alone, looking after myself and keeping the house in order. On paper it sounds easy but so does being a writer so we shall see.