Various random things
It's been ages since I made a post that wasn't fic or fandomy related so I figured it was time. I shall do this in a list because lists are shiny and they make life easier.
1) I haven't talked about it much on here I don't think but I left my teaching job at the end of last July for various reasons that basically boil down to the management and environment not being conducive to a healthy teaching or learning environment. Also my boss was not a very kind person. Anyway, the result of this was that even though I was supposed to have my salary paid over 12 months, I did not get paid in July or August and as a result I am now having to fight to get that pay. It's a significant amount of money and it's really frustrating because I have had to explain my situation over and over again to people who just don't seem to understand how eduction and the school year works. The thing is, that in teaching you only actually work for roughly 10 months of the year (this varies depending on the district and the country) and then you get all the same holidays as the kids. What this means is that technically there are two months of the year where you don't actually earn any money. Since the rest of the world doesn't function this way and people have to pay bills every month of the year, most school districts take those 10 months of salary that are earned and divide the total over 12 months and pay it that way. So you're paid a bit less each month but you get it all year round. That makes sense right? Because I don't know if it's just this country or my boss or what but I feel like people over here don't seem to get this at all unless they're teachers. This would never happen back home. In fact, it didn't. When I left my job in Canada to move to the UK I was paid my wages for July and August on my June paycheque. Yet for some reason it seems to be perfectly okay for me to be cheated out of 2/12 of my salary for the work I did last year. I would not have done any work during that time period had I stayed on - it should not affect how I'm paid. UGH!
Okay, I ranted about that a little more than I meant to. The point of all that is to say that I have officially filed a claim with the Employment Tribunal here. My ex-boss has a month to respond and possibly settle through free mediation. Otherwise we go to the tribunal on December 6 and a judge decides. I'm hoping it won't come to that, but I'm guessing that it will because of the kind of person my boss was. Unfortunately, even though I'm financially eligible for legal aide, because they rated my case at a 30-35% chance of winning, they can't take me on. Which is dumb. So I'm on my own in defending myself and I'm terrified that I'm going to get trampled by her team of lawyers. UGH.
2) I lived very minimally this summer as a result of the above pay fiasco so by September things were getting uncomfortably tight. Job-wise, I'd been on several trials/interviews for long term work for this school year but nothing had resulted in a job offer so since school started in September I have been supply teaching (Substitute teaching). Unfortunately, the first few weeks of September were excruciatingly slow for work. It has picked up and I've been getting 3-4 days most weeks but it's been frustrating and difficult. Another day I'll write a post dedicated to the ups and downs of supply work complete with some amusing anecdotes, but basically it's not a whole lot of fun. Luckily some long term options are starting to come through so hopefully I'll be able to break away from all of that soon.
3) I am not going home for Christmas this year. It's just too expensive and financially not something that's at all feesible right now. Thankfully, instead of staying here by myself, things have worked out so that I am able to go to Germany for a week to spend the holiday with ninefiend and her family. I've known ninefiend since we were teenagers and she's one of my oldest and dearest friends. She's pretty much like another sister to me so I feel like if I can't spend the holiday with my family, this is definitely the next best thing. I adore her three daughters too so I'm really looking forward to seeing them again also.
4) I have been sick for nearly 3 weeks now. I got a cold and it just doesn't seem to be wanting to go away. My flatmate jenepel got it about 2 days before I did and she's still sick also. It's sort of going in cycles where I feel better for a few days and then I feel terrible again. I've been to the doctor (about 2 weeks ago) and was told to come back if I'm still coughing in 4 weeks. Which is next week so if I haven't kicked this by then I'm definitely going back. I'm so sick of not being able to laugh without coughing.
5) Because of not feeling great, I haven't been able to do as much fic writing recently as I had hoped (which is partially why I've failed so badly on my promised Friday postings - which will begin this Friday for sure!). Thankfully, this weekend I found a really lovely place nearby where I can write and I got a ton of writing done, so things are starting to pick up. Next week is half term break too so I'm planning to get a good jump on the rest of the ficlets then.
6) Nano is coming and I'm really excited about it this year. My flatmates jenepel and lazyclaire are officially Municipal Leaders this year so it's been really exciting to see them start to get everything in place for all the write-ins and events that will be happening in London for this November's Nano. I'm already signed up on the Nano site and you're welcome to go take a look at my profile if you want to keep up with my progress through November. I'm writing the next novel-length fic within the Shakespeareverse for Nano this year, with the hopes that I can begin posting it in the new year so that's also pretty exciting.
1) I haven't talked about it much on here I don't think but I left my teaching job at the end of last July for various reasons that basically boil down to the management and environment not being conducive to a healthy teaching or learning environment. Also my boss was not a very kind person. Anyway, the result of this was that even though I was supposed to have my salary paid over 12 months, I did not get paid in July or August and as a result I am now having to fight to get that pay. It's a significant amount of money and it's really frustrating because I have had to explain my situation over and over again to people who just don't seem to understand how eduction and the school year works. The thing is, that in teaching you only actually work for roughly 10 months of the year (this varies depending on the district and the country) and then you get all the same holidays as the kids. What this means is that technically there are two months of the year where you don't actually earn any money. Since the rest of the world doesn't function this way and people have to pay bills every month of the year, most school districts take those 10 months of salary that are earned and divide the total over 12 months and pay it that way. So you're paid a bit less each month but you get it all year round. That makes sense right? Because I don't know if it's just this country or my boss or what but I feel like people over here don't seem to get this at all unless they're teachers. This would never happen back home. In fact, it didn't. When I left my job in Canada to move to the UK I was paid my wages for July and August on my June paycheque. Yet for some reason it seems to be perfectly okay for me to be cheated out of 2/12 of my salary for the work I did last year. I would not have done any work during that time period had I stayed on - it should not affect how I'm paid. UGH!
Okay, I ranted about that a little more than I meant to. The point of all that is to say that I have officially filed a claim with the Employment Tribunal here. My ex-boss has a month to respond and possibly settle through free mediation. Otherwise we go to the tribunal on December 6 and a judge decides. I'm hoping it won't come to that, but I'm guessing that it will because of the kind of person my boss was. Unfortunately, even though I'm financially eligible for legal aide, because they rated my case at a 30-35% chance of winning, they can't take me on. Which is dumb. So I'm on my own in defending myself and I'm terrified that I'm going to get trampled by her team of lawyers. UGH.
2) I lived very minimally this summer as a result of the above pay fiasco so by September things were getting uncomfortably tight. Job-wise, I'd been on several trials/interviews for long term work for this school year but nothing had resulted in a job offer so since school started in September I have been supply teaching (Substitute teaching). Unfortunately, the first few weeks of September were excruciatingly slow for work. It has picked up and I've been getting 3-4 days most weeks but it's been frustrating and difficult. Another day I'll write a post dedicated to the ups and downs of supply work complete with some amusing anecdotes, but basically it's not a whole lot of fun. Luckily some long term options are starting to come through so hopefully I'll be able to break away from all of that soon.
3) I am not going home for Christmas this year. It's just too expensive and financially not something that's at all feesible right now. Thankfully, instead of staying here by myself, things have worked out so that I am able to go to Germany for a week to spend the holiday with ninefiend and her family. I've known ninefiend since we were teenagers and she's one of my oldest and dearest friends. She's pretty much like another sister to me so I feel like if I can't spend the holiday with my family, this is definitely the next best thing. I adore her three daughters too so I'm really looking forward to seeing them again also.
4) I have been sick for nearly 3 weeks now. I got a cold and it just doesn't seem to be wanting to go away. My flatmate jenepel got it about 2 days before I did and she's still sick also. It's sort of going in cycles where I feel better for a few days and then I feel terrible again. I've been to the doctor (about 2 weeks ago) and was told to come back if I'm still coughing in 4 weeks. Which is next week so if I haven't kicked this by then I'm definitely going back. I'm so sick of not being able to laugh without coughing.
5) Because of not feeling great, I haven't been able to do as much fic writing recently as I had hoped (which is partially why I've failed so badly on my promised Friday postings - which will begin this Friday for sure!). Thankfully, this weekend I found a really lovely place nearby where I can write and I got a ton of writing done, so things are starting to pick up. Next week is half term break too so I'm planning to get a good jump on the rest of the ficlets then.
6) Nano is coming and I'm really excited about it this year. My flatmates jenepel and lazyclaire are officially Municipal Leaders this year so it's been really exciting to see them start to get everything in place for all the write-ins and events that will be happening in London for this November's Nano. I'm already signed up on the Nano site and you're welcome to go take a look at my profile if you want to keep up with my progress through November. I'm writing the next novel-length fic within the Shakespeareverse for Nano this year, with the hopes that I can begin posting it in the new year so that's also pretty exciting.