Categories: uncategorized
Date: 08 December 2004 18:49:25
Not a blog title I saw myself ever writing, but life is often stranger than fiction.
Last month I cocked something up at work which meant that I let down one of my clients. I felt really really bad that I'd said I'd do something and then just forgot about it until it was too late (it involves getting stuff from a London charity for Christmas presents). I could quite easily justify that I had more important priorities (with a large inner-city caseload that was, in a sense, true), but the truth is I was really annoyed with myself for saying I'd do something and then not doing it, despite there not being any love lost between me and this particular client (she's definitely not one who's pleased to see me, that's for sure, and she drives me up the wall to be honest), and it was niggling me to such an extent that it was getting me quite down about work in general. I didn't pray about it, I just let it keep bugging me, which I guess God must have noticed. Anyway, yesterday totally randomly my colleague was fiddling about with the radio we have in the office and had the radio on a local station. I wasn't even really listening, but in one of those rare couple of seconds where you stop what you're concentrating on I became aware that the presenter was talking about a local charity which was having an appeal for food and toys for local families. I managed to note down the website address, and discovered that it was a local Christian bookshop. Now I have to say (to my shame) that my heart sank a bit - I think I know the shop, and it's a bit fundy/prosperity-orientated for my taste. But I phoned them today, spoke to the most lovely and helpful woman, faxed her the details and I pick up the stuff just before Christmas. It's such a small thing, particularly as the client irritates me to the core with her ingratitude, but it has lifted a disproportionately huge weight from my shoulders. So hooray for that bookshop, and God bless them equally disproportionately.
As far as 2nd best goes - I must admit to being a bit of a perfectionist, which manifests itself in silly things like grammar pedantry and an alphabetised CD collection as well as constantly studying at higher and higher levels. So I always strive to be the best I can (even if my equally strong tendency to procrastinate scuppers the perfection levels at time. At least I can say with hand on heart that I'm by far the best procrastinator I know!). But reading through the uni tutor's advice about the various applications I have to do, it turns out that they have two automatic ESRC funded places that they can award and the ESRC just takes their word for it and doles out the money. They can also forward another candidate to the ESRC for an open competition for a third funded place, subject to scary things like an interview at the ESRC, and they said that they always forward their best candidate for that so that the automatic places can go to their first reserves. And I have to say - all I could think was I really really don't want to have to go through that competition place hassle. So Lord - just this once, make me second best :)