Categories: uncategorized
Date: 30 December 2005 12:15:13
Thank you to Ian and Fishsoup who popped by to say Happy Christmas. I'm sorry about the recent lack of regular updates on this blog. I will try a bit harder (for a day or two at least). Actually I did write a really long entry last week but accidentally lost it and didn't have time to do it again! So a belated Happy Christmas to everyone and really best wishes for 2006.
I've survived my travelling Christmas. Beween 23 and 28 December I visited family in Gloucestershire then Cambridgeshire and then South London before coming home again, including having a tyre pop on the M6! In case you are wondering, it is not fun being on the hard shoulder in the dark and freezing cold, trying to find an emergency phone. I had my mobile with me but I hadn't taken proper notice of junctions so wasn't exactly sure which junctions I was between and the woman on the car rescue said she could only locate me by knowing the emergency phone details. Well that would have been OK if I could have found it. The arrows on the posts started pointing one way and I followed them. Then they suddenly started pointing the other way, but no phone in between! At this point I gave up and retreated to the relative warmth of the car. I eventually located myself by realising that the motorway was just going over a railway line and looking on the map to see where that was. (Between Junctions 1 and 2). The car rescue woman confused me rather by saying there was no railway bridge between 1 and 2 (There is - I've seen it and it's clear on my map) but the local garage she was in contact with reckoned that they knew where I was from the marker post number - so I got rescued. I do, in theory, know how to change a wheel on my car but wasn't about to attempt it in the cold and dark on a motorway hard shoulder with only basic tools. My poor car is sounding very noisy at the moment as well, so I guess I'll have to take it to the garage next week. I hope it's not anything too complicated or expensive!
I'm having difficulties motivating myself at the moment. I still have unpacking and washing to do from being away. I'd also kind of earmarked these few days for getting stuff done at home - making things, finishing the bed I've built, doing some DIY etc. So far today I've done some washing up. tidied out a kitchen cupboard and hung some washing to dry! Ah well.
Also in the next couple of weeks I need to do some work to advertise my private tutoring. This is going to involve writing letters and making flyers and possibly putting in a newspaper advert. (As my self-employed sister pointed out I should be able to claim the cost of this back against tax!) If all else fails I'll have to register with an agency, but I don't really want to do this unless I have to as I'll earn a lot less money once they've taken their cut. Meanwhile I had a discussion with my Dad over Christmas about money. He is going to carry on subsidising me for a bit while I see if I can make a go of doing different jobs and building up a work portfolio. (Good old Dad!) I reckon I need to be making £50 to £80 a week more than I am at the moment in order to break even.
My craft items have singularly failed to sell so far and I'm not sure why except that maybe I've not tried the right shops. I've left some samples with my sister so that she can be my London "agent" and see if she can get any shops to take them there! Another thought I have, is marketing myself to run craft activities for children's parties - something that I will explore slowly in the New Year.
It's strange I've never really thought of myself as having any entrepreneurial spirit but, having been rather forced to be in this position, most of the time I feel quite happy about it!
Anyway -that's all for now - I'd better go and do some more jobs before I go round to visit friends at 2.00pm! I'll make sure I save this proplerly now!