Well the job hunting is not going well

I've probably been made redundant at the worst time of year, coupled with the worst economic downturn this century..... which doesn't make finding a job (any job) easier, I was looking at the various job sites on the internet and the amount of people applying for even the most menial of jobs is staggering....

I've also found out that I am not entitled to Job Seekers Allowance because my Class 1 contributions haven't been high enough in the years they looked at, my Class 3 contributions are high enough and up-to-date but that doesn't cover things like JSA.... when you need it most eh ? One of the pitfalls of being self employed for so long I guess..... so things have gone from pretty damn bad, to bloody awful in the space of a few days really, but looking on the bright side, if I drag my sorry arse into town every two weeks and sign on the dotted line, they will pay my class 1 national insurance contributions for me.... bless.... at least I'll have a pension when I hit 65 ... providing we don't die of starvation in the mean time.

So this Christmas is going to be a VERY low key affair, the kids will be lucky to get an orange and a walnut in the bottom of their stockings on the 25th December from us, it's turning into a very Dickensian type Christmas, but the eternal optimist that I am, I will keep bashing away at applications, probably the most annoying and soul destroying part of looking for a job is how these days they don't even get back to you to say "NOT YOU !!"...... the only time you ever get anything back is when they want to interview you, which I think is pretty damn rude considering you have taken the time to apply... but it seems that's the way of the world these days.

I suppose the only silver lining to this whole sorry episode is that the CSA can't take their substantial slice of my salary anymore, I honestly don't know which was worse, working and having over half of my pay packet surgically removed at source, or not working and not having to pay child maintenance. It's six of one and half a dozen of the other really. In an ideal world I would be allowed to see my kids and then maybe I wouldn't feel so bitter at having to fork out for something I get no benefit from....some people simply do not know how lucky they are...... hey ho....

Anyway Freya is fine as are the rest of the kids, I'm teaching shadow boy to play chess which he enjoys, obviously he isn't very good at the moment, but he has grasped how the pieces move and keeps badgering me to play him, and I oblige, he is a very bright lad very quick on the uptake six months of this and he'll start to make me think a bit, but at the moment he gets mugged every time he plays, it's very much like taking candy from a baby..... but it's all about learning, and I do tell him when he is about to make a stupid move, but he can't disguise his intentions very well and his attempts at subterfuge are very amateur, almost transparent, but hilarious to witness...........