I still don't know...

The drive down to Plymouth was good – no traffic and I arrived at 4.45pm. I’d bought some champagne because I thought whether or not I got the job I was being interviewed for the following day, it was worth celebrating that I had got this far!

I actually slept that night. It could have been the champagne, or it could have been because I had been up since 3am and had done a morning of work and then a five hour drive!

I didn’t really hang around the next morning, the girls had already left for work and I was out of the house by 8am. Lunch (followed by the actual interview) started at 12 noon, the drive was approx 2 hours, but in the meantime I wanted to check Falmouth out. It’s a lovely place, lots of interesting shops and cafes... I actually ended up parking somewhere quiet and letting my mind drift so that I felt more relaxed at the interview.

There were three of us being interviewed, myself and two blokes, and after a light lunch where we meet the interviewers who all seemed genuinely nice, and the principal who also seemed really nice, there was a bit of wait before my interview and then I was called in!

I did really well. In fact if I had the chance to do it all over again, with the exception of the nerves and I would have liked to have been a bit more succinct on a few questions, I wouldn’t change much else. My presentation was well researched and interesting and the one thing I think that really came across was how passionate I am about Cornwall and wanting this job...

We were told that we would hear on Friday. Thursday crawled by, Friday crawled by and eventually I called HR at about 5.15pm. It seems a decision has yet to be made! They told us they were making a decision straight after the interviews, but it seems we have a split jury and I THINK it’s between me and another candidate, we’ll call him Mr Slick. I am a slightly less obvious choice for marketing and PR because I’m not slick and polished. But I do have an uncanny ability to market things extraordinarily well and my communication skills are second to none. The other guy looked like he could schmooze. I mean, really schmooze. And he currently works for a university so comes from the relevant background. This is all supposition of course (or maybe even wild fantasy!) but I suspect the battle is between him (safe choice, less creative) and me (slightly unconventional but more creative and passionate and with a good track record). Of course I could be barking up the wrong tree and they could be deciding between the two other candidates! But really, the other bloke was just weird.

Monday cannot come soon enough!

But honestly, I won’t be surprised if I get it, but I won’t be surprised if I don’t get it. I think it’s too close to call. What I can tell you though, is that I am proud of myself and what I’ve achieved thus far. I did my best and I think my honestly and passion shone through. Let’s hope it’s enough, but if not...onwards and upwards, always onwards and bloody upwards!

I came home to a letter. Another job interview! I laughed my head off. I have sent off three job applications and received three interview requests! The first job if you recall was to get me back into the swing of applications and interviews. Really weird company though. I think I blogged about this, the staff were all grey and looked like the life had been sucked from them. I decided before the interview even started I couldn’t work here. I just had this strange instinct that it really wasn’t for me. It would have been like giving a child with ADHD some orange squash and a drum and shoving them into a library filled with people suffering from acute nervousness. So I just got through the interview as quickly and as efficiently as I could.

Of course on Monday, there is the small matter of a house auction in Cornwall that we will be attending...

We’re driving down on Sunday to stay in Plymouth with our friends again. Such supportive and lovely friends that on my last visit they gave me a key! To be fair, we do live about 250 miles apart and this is my third visit in three weeks, lol!

Today (Saturday) we’re doing nothing. Stress levels are through the roof, so we’re tackling them from the bed. My partner is still asleep, so is the dog, even the chickens are quiet. So after typing this, I will be shutting down the laptop and trying to get a bit more sleep myself...

Night night Jon boy...

One foot in Sydenham, one foot in Cornwall and the world in between

So much to blog about that I’ll have to keep it brief… as I said, our broadband no longer works (major disaster for all sorts of reasons, not least I work from home every week), so I haven’t been able to blog about some of the lovely things that have been happening.

We spent a long weekend in Devon at my partner’s aunt and uncle’s fabulous house overlooking Plymouth Sands. We went sailing on the Saturday and I proved not only to have a sturdy pair of sea legs (it’s the rugby player thighs!) but an aptitude for sailing generally. I steered all the way over to Cornwall! But as if that wasn’t enough. The most magical thing happened. A school of wild dolphins played around the boat for about 15 minutes. It was such a privilege to be so close and my partner’s uncle (who sails a lot) said he had never seen so many. We dropped anchor and had a lovely lunch before clambering aboard the dinghy (with all the dignity of a baby elephant) and heading into Caulsands. Now I like ice cream and it’s true that in my time, I have eaten quite a lot of it – some bad, some good, some gorgeous. But truly I have found the best icecream in the world and it is Cornish and comes in a sugar cone. We all had a double scoop and I had strawberry and honey comb. It was massive but if I could have hired a second and third stomach I’d still be there now…

The next day we caught up with my partner’s cousin and her partner and went for a few drinks and a drive through some beautiful Cornish countryside. We headed home on the Monday and then spent the rest of our week off pottering around the house and garden, enjoying each other’s company, eating well and throwing out all the jetsom and flotsam that sneaks in when we’re not looking to fill up drawers, cupboards, storage boxes and book shelves.

I feel much more rested now, but I can’t deny that I’m a little sad to be back at work. We have plans for our future that I want to happen now! Being stuck in an office questioning whether what you do is really all that important is not how I want to be spending my days. I want fresh air and a new direction! But you know what, plans are afoot and it may just happen sooner rather than later ;0)