Sunday, June 3, 2007
School’s out for the summer
Well, good grades or not, at least exams are finally over and yet another school term comes to an end. I’ll mourn my grades in a month or so when they’re finally posted, but for now I’ll live in happy ignorance and oblivion! My last exam, Europe and Scotland, was held last Monday (28 May). I really, really blew it, but I don’t really want to think about that right now. The fun part of the day came after the exam. Charlee, Nathan and I all went to the Bobbin afterwards to relax…we deserved it! We played pool, drank and just had an overall great time. I was reminded how horrible of a pool player I was, but as I was amongst friends, it didn’t matter much. Those were probably the best couple of hours that I’ve had in a long time. I love hanging out with those two…it usually involves nonstop laughter and general merriment. Unlike most of my other friends here, who I probably won’t see much of next year (as we’re all pretty much taking different classes entirely), I have the pleasure of being in most of Charlee and Nathan’s classes next term, so the fun will most likely continue. Yeah.
I unfortunately had to go home a bit early on Monday, as I had my induction at Somerfields the next day, and I thought it best not to show up on my first day of work still drunk or hung over!...lol, even though I was advised to do so by Ali (advice which I did not end up taking). I got there at 10am and didn’t leave until about 2:30pm. A lot of the day was spent watching the most ridiculous videos about safety in the workplace and blah, blah, blah. They were pretty pointless, but one in particular, involving an animated Matrix-type guy was quite hilarious to watch. All of the people there were great fun and very nice, so it seems like I’m really going to enjoy working there. I had to take a test about age-limited sales and whatnot, which I did pretty well on. I did keep getting confused, however, because I’ve had the USA age limits (18 for smoking paraphernalia, 21 for alcohol) drilled into me when I worked at a gas station many years ago, so I kept remembering those numbers and forgetting what the age limits are for things here (16 for smoking paraphernalia, and 18 for alcohol). I’ll eventually remember.
There was one problem with my job though. I walked down to Somerfields (in the pouring rain…I looked like a drowned rat when I finally got there) to start my first actual shift, and begin till training, but then I was told that I couldn’t start work without a national insurance number! Nobody had ever told me that I needed such a thing, as I was always told that my student visa (and accompanying work permit) was all that I needed to get a job. So it now looks like I can’t begin working until I get this stupid number, which they informed me could take up to 6 weeks! My understanding is that you need this number because money gets taken out of your paycheck from it, and you use it for benefits in the future; I think the closest thing to this in the States would be a social security number. However, if I’m not mistaken, visa holders in the US don’t need to apply for a social security number to work, unlike over here where everyone needs a number. Needless to say, I was absolutely pissed about this new development! I called up the jobcentre and requested a number, and they scheduled me for an interview this Wednesday. I have to bring a plethora of documents and whatnot, and then they’ll hopefully be able to grant me a number thereafter. I’m really hoping that they can expedite the process, as I already have a job waiting for me. I was quite worried about my job status during this time, and whether I would still have one while I waited to get approved for this stupid national insurance number, but Karen (my manager) informed me that I shouldn’t worry, and that I would have hours waiting for me when I got my number. She said that everyone I had met liked me and were sad that I wouldn’t be starting right away. That was so nice of her, and I’m very thankful that they’ll be holding this job for me, which they didn’t have to do. So, for Somerfields, and my own, sake, I do hope that this situation can get resolved as soon as possible!
Well, on a brighter note, I just found out that I’m going to Inverness and Loch Ness! Theresa suggested that we head over there in August when she comes back to Scotland; she very astutely pointed out that I’ve been here for almost 2 years, and I haven’t really seen much of the country yet. Oh, how true that is, and I have always wanted to go to Loch Ness, so I’m totally chuffed. I went on the First ScotRail website and found out that with groups of 3 or 4, you can travel roundtrip from Aberdeen to Inverness for £31 total (just £10 for each of us…Theresa and one of her Danish friends will be joining me). That is so cheap. And, depending on where we stay overnight, the entire excursion could end up being less than I would pay for my bi-weekly grocery shopping! Who can beat that?
So, I was updating my calendar with all of these new dates and work times, and I began to get really excited. For the past year and a half, I’ve only ever been to either the US or Aberdeen. But, over the next four months, I’m going to be heading off to Denmark for a week at the end of June, Inverness/Loch Ness for a few days in mid-August, and Dublin for a week at the beginning of September! That’s an awful lot of traveling in just a short time (for me at least), and I’m so unbelievably excited for each trip! Theresa will be with me for each one, which only makes it all that much better (by the by, if you want to see my drawing of Theresa, click here…I drew it two weeks ago while I was trying not to study…I hadn’t drawn a proper picture in over a year, so it’s not quite up to my usual standards, but it’s from my favorite picture of her, so I’m still proud of it). I’m also hoping to have a good birthday for once. I’ve never really had a good birthday in my life, and this year I’ll spend my birthday on June 28th in Denmark! That will definitely take the sting out of turning 27!! I can’t believe that I’m actually within sight of 30…never really thought this day would come. Luckily, I’m not my sister Shauna, as she will actually hit that huge milestone this September. Ha ha…she’s old! Lol.
I’m off for now, as I’ve got to go get ready. I’m going to go see Pirates of the Caribbean 3 tonight with Ali. I hope it’s a good movie; I’ve waited a year to see it (the last Pirates movie ended so abruptly that it left me anxious to see the trilogy’s end). I’ll let you know what I thought of it at a later date. Au revoir.
