The Story So Far

During the time of my unemployment - between last November and February - I submitted regular blogs, but since I've been back in employment the frequency has been less. Nevertheless, I don't forget about my blogspot - perhaps someone somewhere even reads it..!
I've been working as a temp for the same agency - and in the same department - since I started in February. The work involves creating instruction documents for cosmetics display units, which are used by various well-known cosmetics manufacturers in equally well-known chain stores and supermarkets. What worked in my favour in being selected for this work was my previous experience in an engineering environment - especially my prior knowledge of CAD (computer-aided design) and work with technical writing. My interest in language certainly helps, as I'm sorting out documentation for a variety of European languages and liaising with a translation agency.
When I started the job, we carried out all our work in Microsoft Word, and these documents were converted to Adobe Acrobat pdf files for the clients. Embedded Autocad images and coloured graphics were used in the illustrations - along with general instructions pictures for standard procedures. However, Word isn't primarily a desktop publishing application, although it was used as such. So now we are working with new Apple Power Macs and doing the work in Adobe InDesign, which is powerful and quick, though rather quirky. I've soon discovered that Macs and their applications have their own idiosyncrasies.
So, what's the future as far as employment is concerned? I've been told that I will still be here for the rest of the year (where has it gone..?), and there may be a permanent position opening up. Naturally, I'll believe it when I see it. I may working for a pittance - but that disadvantage is counterbalanced by the fact that I'm working with likeable people in a workplace with a relaxed but hardworking ethos. We'll see what develops.

Oh, yeah?

I read in today's Telegraph Online that MPs are urgently wanting to interrupt their all-too-brief summer recess to discuss the development concerning the possible release of Al-Megrahi, the jailed Libyan who has terminal prostate cancer. It looks as if the outcry from some quarters in the United States has provided them with an ideal opportunity to draw more expenses. Times must be hard for our parliamentary betters. Plus ca change...

More deaths in Afghanistan

Yet again we've had reported over the media that more soldiers have died in Afghanistan: this time one of the deaths has been of a high-ranking officer. While I've never disguised my opposition to UK troops being in these places, I've always respected the men who have been sent there to endure the deprivation, heat, flies, muck and the bullets (unless they engage in sick murderous or sadistic games with unfortunates who get in their way). What angers me is that these men who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan were sent to do a dangerous job by politicians who for the most part have proved themselves lacking in even the basic credentials of honesty and integrity. How many military people are asking themselves why they're risking their lives every day (and the eternal heartbreak of their families) for the political reputations of a self-serving clique of mealy-mouthed politicos? If our institutions carried with them some dignity and the gravitas that comes with trustworthiness and honesty, perhaps they would be worth fighting (and dying) for.

Message to Richard Dawkins et alia

There is a God who designed the entire created order and before whom you are responsible. Get over it.

Expenses and all that jazz

It's been a while since I last posted a blog here, but sooner or later I had to - there's been so much going on in the political scene for me to keep quiet!

The present scandal of MPs expenses has been given a great deal of attention by the press - nothing new there - but what has come clearly to light is the depth and breadth of antipathy and mistrust the public bears towards politicians - as well as those avaricious bankers who precipitated the present financial crisis. Those who merely dismiss this whole episode as media hypocrisy are missing a vital point; this expenses scandal has been the latest and biggest nail in the coffin of public confidence in our political leaders.

 We've seen Government pledging untold billions of credit to bail out profligate banking interests, while so many people's lives have been adversely affected by this credit crunch. The bill for this will take decades to pay off. We've been conditioned to expect lean times for the forseeable future by the same elite class, many of whom have been content to milk the lax parliamenary expenses system for all it's worth to maintain a standard of living that many ordinary people can only dream of. Furthermore, many of those whose "mistakes" have been uncovered have either been defensive or have failed to understand what the fuss has been about. Such is their political awareness and empathy with the public they purport to represent.

But this isn't the only cause for anger and indignation; there is an increasing resentment for the additional burdens of legislation and taxation which have been steadily imposed. The issue of immigration is never far from the public mind. We were conned by politicians into membership of a European project (remember the EEC?) which was held out as a promising free trade arrangement; over the years it has come to light that this was only a part of the picture: we are actually in the process of being subsumed into an emerging European super-state - without any public mandate. Any promises of a referendum on the part of this present government have mysteriously fallen silent - and they will in their sucessors as well.

We've been accustomed to seeing cabinet ministers on both sides parrotting the party line when they have been asked searching questions on the radio or TV, and we have seen the usual evasions and half-truths we have come to expect.

All of these factors - and doubtless many more - have contributed to the impression in the general public that politicians don't represent them - they're in the business for their own slice of the pie - whether that be the lust for power and influence, financial rewards or some vainglorious political kudos.

We need more independent-minded people in politics. I'm not against the concept of the Tory/Labour divide, but I feel that too much power rests in the party machines on both sides.When an MP joins the cabinet, he/she surrenders any vestige of independent thought. The withdrawal of the whip has been a Sword of Damocles poised over the heads of mavericks and dissenters. This mustn't be allowed to continue.

What should be done? After the last unscrupulous freeloader has been dismissed, the government should call a general election. Upon the accession of the next government, the issue of MPs' pay and expenses should be given immediate attention. 

In the meantime, the misdemeanours continue to come to light. The level of public discontent will in in some measure play into the hands of more radical and unscrupulous political interests - but nevertheless this whole scandal could - if handled correctly - serve to advance representational democracy. 

Working!

For 2 weeks I've been in employment as a temp in a local company; it's been nearly 13 years since I've worked in my home town, and I must say that it's a novelty to walk a mile to work in the mornings - and all the more pleasant because there's plenty of birdsong to hear along the way. And it's a boost to the sense of self-worth to have some kind of employment to go to!

The work is updating spare parts documentation for product display stands - these are for various companies (chiefly cosmetics manufacturers) and are used in various retailers, varying from large chainstores and supermarkets to pharmacies. I'm working with 3 other men, and they're really nice guts to work with. It's great to be able to listen to music or the radio as you work. Music is certainly something we all have as a common passion. The job may only be for a month, and the pay doesn't compare with what I was earning in IT, but I'm grateful for it nevertheless.

I contacted my friend and former Zeda and Alliance & Leicester colleague Peter, who's still out of work, having applied for more than 100 jobs. I feel for him - and hope that despite this current recession he finds something soon. There's work out there, but with huge numbers of applicants chasing one position, employers can cherry-pick.

The Brown Stuff

They say that when the brown stuff hits the fan, we'll all get covered. Without a doubt, the media each day uncovers more of the mess that the banks and finances are in. We now learn that our prime minister has pledged even more Treasury money to help stimulate the banks into mutual trust and trade - which suggests to me that he and his darling henchman had no idea how much trouble the banks were in when this problem started. Is it that they weren't told? Or was it that the banks painted a false picture of their financial position? Or perhaps it was because the picture has steadily worsened since then? - I don't know, but it's apparent that what started out as a pustule has changed into a boil, which in turn has turned into an abcess. Septicaemia beckons.

But what else could Brown do but mortgage taxpayers' money for years to come? If he were to let the banks rot, the social repercussions would be enormous and far-reaching. The vision of starving and dispossessed pensioners with worthless savings isn't one that any prime minister would welcome. It wouldn't reflect well on him or his reputation if he were to take the Marie Antoinette stance and let them eat cake.  As unemployment and poverty increase, the potential for civil and political unrest lurks like a ruffian on the stair.

So what's likely to happen? Given that this is a global financial crisis (in my view one that has been encouraged, if not engineered) that started over the pond, it is one that will require global solutions. This would be a step in the direction of a centrally-controlled global economic system to be universally imposed as the panacea of all these ills. This may well be Obama's brief; he happens to be the most left-wing president of the United States ever to be elected. This in turn would lead to co-ordinated political control, since politicians always dance to the tune of their financial masters. Orwell wasn't wide of the mark. When the brown stuff hits the fan, we'll all be covered.

Still turning

The wheels are still turning on the jobseeking machine, but there doesn't appear to be any forward (or backward) movement. I responded to an email alert last week; what was significant about this was the fact that it was a job advertised through a local temping agency with which I was already registered! I went in to see them and told them that I would like to be put forward for it. It's for a local company, and it consists of reformatting documentation. It's initially for 2 months. Despite this, you can't take anything for granted in this game, so I've continued to apply for appropriate IT jobs. As for last week's jobs - I haven't heard anything yet. Today I will be going to my Job MAETS course. I've completely redrafted my CV to make it more detailed and yet more terse at the same time.

Sign on Brightly

Today was sign-on day - the first time for a few weeks, since the Christmas period had interrupted the proceedings. On returning home I phoned the agency for the aforementioned job (see the previous blog post); I should hear sometime next week. In view of the fact that there are 300 applicants for this position, I think I stand an excellent chance (of being turned down, that is). I also phoned a recruitment agency who'd called me last week about a Derby support analyst job he thought my CV matched. The fellow who had phoned me has since left the agency! So his successor will be finding out progress on the job application.

I also phoned a company (still Derbyshire - Alfreton) that has been advertising for an analyst programmer for ages. They want someone with AS/400 and RPG skills, but I thought I'd see what they have to say. The lady I spoke to didn't seem to think that my lack of these skills would present an unsurmountable obstacle, so at her suggestion I posted her a copy of my CV with a covering letter. I also applied for a contract helpdesk job - this time in Leicester..

Post-Christmas Normality and other short stories

It's a while since I entered anything in this blog. Since I did, Christmas has come and gone in its customary fashion. It was a great time - our younger daughter and her husband were with us, and we all piled down to Leicester to spend Christmas Day with our elder daughter, her husband and kids. 

Nothing has happened on the job front, but on Friday 2nd January I applied for an IT job in a well-known company situated in the wilds of Derbyshire. I sent the online application off, only to receive an email requesting that I click onto a link and supply more application details. So I did; I spent the best part of an hour carefully thinking about and measuring my responses - only to find in the end that the wretched browser had locked up. (It is Google Chrome, and a Beta version, so I suppose I shouldn't gripe). I sent an email to the recruitment people to let them know what had happened, and they kindly sent me an email containing all the questions I'd either answered or had yet to fill in. So I completed these and sent them off. I'm glad to say that the application has been not only received by the recruitment people, but also sent to the company in question. We'll see of anything materialises in the way of an interview..

Looking at the job pages, it's clear that the market is still in its pre-Christmas stasis. I'm sure that (to continue the metaphor) with the passage of time, everything will loosen up, and with a hard shove the logjam will be cleared.