pie
I've spent the past two days networking and doing other useful things that involve leaving the flat, socialising, and doing errands. No sooner is the man out the door and on a train home to attend a funeral, than I'm out and about with my peeps. Wow. I should get rid of him more often eh?
It all started on Saturday. Richard was working, and I met up with Alison for lunch and gossip and lots of bitching. Brilliant. On the way home, I bought vegetables. Yeah! Time to return to that strict diet. I've been straying, but only a little bit. Of course, as soon as I type that I realise that the very next thing I did upon returning home with all the fresh produce was convince Richard to order pizza with super fattening (yet delicious) garlic butter dipping sauce. Ooops.
Don't worry. I did work it off later. We got ready to go out - yes OUT! - to this month's Winchester Club. I was convinced it would be an awful evening. It got off to an auspicious start, with me realising none of my clothing fits and I'm terribly fat and hideous and...yeah. My confidence was next to nil and I wasn't in the best mood as we walked into the club.
But I immediately spotted my favourite rock star in the world at the bar, who I had recently learned had just gotten married, and I swooped in to congratulate him and catch up. He really is the sweetest guy! Awww bless. He made me smile. And then I saw another friend, unexpectedly up from London. Another nice surprise. In fact, I soon learned the place was packed with people, some of whom were super hip and rarely showed up at these sort of things. My interest was piqued, my mood was lifted, and I even danced. Quite a bit actually. Till my calves were sore and my neck was sweaty. Yum.
The next day, Richard had to be up early to get ready for his trip home for the funeral of an old family friend. The previous night, my London friend made an off-hand suggestion that we should meet for lunch or something before he had to return. Normally I would smile and agree politely and never bother following through. But this time, with my new determination to reconnect, I decided to accompany Richard to town to see him off, then meet the guy for lunch.
And that's exactly what I did. I called him, woke him up and dragged him out of bed. Figuring it would be a while before he actually turned up, I told him to meet me in the cafe at the book shop where I used to work. That way I could have a leisurely cup of tea and read or watch people, something I used to do all the time but haven't done in ages. I was in for a shock, however, as the shop has been completely transformed. Nothing was where it used to be. Eeps! And my tea bag exploded in the cup, spewing tea guts everywhere. Yuck.
I still enjoyed myself, however, and when Ken finally arrived, sopping wet, I bored him with work anecdotes for a while before leading him to this place Richard and I have recently discovered. It's such a hidden gem, located on the main square, yet camouflaged alongside a posh hotel restaurant. It looks like it'll be really expensive, but it's cheap and cheery and nearly almost empty. The only questionable thing is the music, but I'm willing to sacrifice aural style for a window seat overlooking the square.
We got some grub, then Ally phoned and said he was on his way to meet us. Joy! A party! After he arrived and ate, we moved on to another pub, where we had a few more drinks and chat and played the quiz machine. It was just really relaxing and lovely, a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. And Ally is one of the people on the top of my reconnect list. He almost succeeded in dragging me out to pub quiz that night, but in the end I spent the night in my pyjamas on the sofa. One step at a time, eh?
Today the little rat woke me up at the ass crack of dawn. Grrr. I couldn't get back to sleep either, because I started thinking about my visa application. If I don't get this press officer job, I think I'm going to apply for an old fashioned visa extension. You can get them for a variety of legitimate reasons, like visiting artist, self-employed businessman, etc. Then there's the 'other' category, where you basically appeal to their good nature. It's a total long-shot, and an expensive one at that - 200 quid just to apply - but something I might have to do. Blah.
Unable to stop thinking about it, I eventually got out of bed, got a pen and paper, and wrote out the application. I'm not going to actually file it for at least a few weeks yet, but it's good to be prepared, I guess. Plus, I've decided to make an appointment with an immigration advice charity, and it would be good to come armed with my preliminary application for them to look over as we discuss my options, non? Look at me being all organised!
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention all the networking I've been doing! Alison reminded me that one of our classmates had done work placement at the very place I have my interview on Wednesday, so I phoned her to get the low-down. It was great! She gave me all sorts of advice and insight, not limited to that job. I also got the inside scoop about who's who and what they do at two of the big nationals, and who to contact to get some shift work and freelance jobs. I also found out that she got one of the jobs I had applied for. Bitch. Ah well. At least I know who it went to, and am able to use her position to my benefit.
I emailed another former classmate who I heard was doing lots of subbing shift work and she finally got back to me, saying she's about to go on holiday and would I like to cover for her? Damn! Suddenly I'm inundated with possibilities. Yet unsure whether I can legally pursue them without screwing up my chances for a work permit in the future and/or notifying the authorities of my wherabouts! What a dilemma!
My plan now: go to interview on Wednesday and see how that pans out. If it's looking unlikely, meet with immigration people for advice, see if I can freelance, and possibly file visa extension application. Sell car. Register with a doctor and dentist.
Mmmm. That's about it. Looks a bit insignificant, but really it's a step forward. Plus, each one of those involves way more effort than you'd think. The visa application, for instance, will involve compiling complex financial data one both me and Richard. FUN!
At least I'm leaving the house every day. That's a big step in itself. And today I fetched some mail, went to the post office, paid my final utility bills, photocopied and sent the receipts to my former landlord so I can get my deposit back. On the way home, I bought pumpkin mix. I'm making me a pie!
Impressive eh?
