well the time has come... for all good things to come to an end. It is hard to believe that i have not had a "real job" since 1 feb 2008. how time flies when you are having fun.
so what does a man do when he is not "working"?
- he cooks and he cleans (well some do apparently)
- he helps kids learn how to drive (maybe)
- he does a few odd jobs - including a couple of backyard blitz'
- he reads the paper and magazines (cooking ones actually) (but no books - i cant believe that)
- he rides his bike less often than when he was working (go figure)
- he starts, but never completes french lessons so he still has "un peu francaise"
- he does some manual labour - like window/carpet cleaning, being a brickies labourer and working in a bottle shop
- he spends a bit of time with his dad (especially when he was first in hospital)
- he sets up a consulting business (well sort of)
- he applies for probably 25-30 real jobs (but only those that really interest him)
- he loses money (lots of it) like everyone who ever owned a share
- he loses no weight (despite his best intentions)
- he changes his outlook on life (well sort of)
So after turning the big 50 and getting a real job and also learning that he (and his remaining nuclear family in Perth) are off to London later in the year what does he do?
- he goes off to his "real job" for 8.00am on Monday and gives them his best
- he carries on working in the bottleshop (tues/fri nights); and
- he gets set to go to London (in 25 weeks and there is so much to do/think about)
life is going to get real interesting/busy again real soon (like Monday morning).
Oh - i did manage a 10 day actual holiday in the 13 month i was off. strange really i might of had more "formal" holidays if i had actually been working.
Do i regret a minute of it - definitely not. it was fantastic to have a year without real structure.
Am i ready for the next 6 months - you bet, let me at it.
beyond that who knows what life holds? I dont and frankly i dont care. Sometimes we worry about things we simply have no control over.
I feel lucky - i now live with a sense that the days will look after themselves without too much interference from me and we will be OK or better (in a relative sense)
2 comments:
Wouldn't it be great if you had the next 6 months off from work to get ready for this move? It's such a huge undertaking that it boggles my mind.
i think it is going to be very interesting and yes it would be useful to not be working but that is not going to be the case.
it looks like we are going to make some pretty tough choices about what and how much we take as houses/apartments in the UK are small by comparison to our house (1/2 as big). Also we will probably only go for 2 years.
coordinating all the activities will be the biggest challenge.
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