My phone is my alarm is my phone. The pholarm goes off at 7.00am and re-set it for 7.30. Since I know I’m going to do this I always set it an hour before I want to get up, the idea being I’ll have made the long journey from sleep to able-to-get-up-ness in that time, and for the last few months it’s been working. However, because of the heat (see every other UK blog, especially those in London for news on this remarkable event) I was extra tired and slept on past that one. At 8.00 it went off again and I reached over to turn it off, cutting off the incoming, caller withheld, phone call. Thinking VERY sharply for that time in the morning I immediately phoned P&D to innocently ask if they had any work for me and, yes, they were currently calling me on the other line! What a co-incidence!
And thus it was that one hour and fifteen minutes later I was in the kitchen of the canteen at the Southern Water HQ in Otterbourne. My first piece of paid employment in four months was the role of catering assistant, or some shit. Took me back, I can tell you. Although there were some significant differences, the main one being the boss was nice and friendly and didn’t work me like a slave. In fact I had to ask for things to do towards the end of the day. It was a small setup – just three people including me serving about 40-50 meals. Lots of chats and stuff and a good atmosphere all round, but I had to keep reminding myself that that was probably the best of the lot.
The psychological aspect of tempting was interesting – when I’d done this in the past it was either as a student in the summers or when looking for a proper job, but doing it in my 30s had a different feel. There was something really nice about not being attached in any way to the workplace and with no prospect of ever getting dragged down by it. I do what I have to do and no more because at the end of the day I don’t care about the bigger picture this company might be painting. I just want my £5.25 an hour.
I’m wondering if I could hack temping full time for the next year. I don’t need to earn a huge wage at the moment and could do with the flexibility. Plus hard labour didn’t do me any harm on the farm…