According to research conducted by BUPA (well actually it was the results from thousands of personality tests), up to 75% of us toil away in unsuitable jobs or have taken completely the wrong career path for our character. I went on the BUPA website to take the personality test and it turns out I'm a deep blue squiggle! What a load of old shit!
The Prime Minister popped in to see us at work today.
It was all very hush hush, no one new anything about it until about 2 hours before the event. The first I new anything was happening was when I saw an ITV film crew turn up this morning - parked in our car park right across from where I sit. No one really new why it was there. Well I'm sure some people did, but no one in my office did put it that way. Then after about an hour there was a new news item on the corporate Intranet to say that Granada Report was broadcasting live from our building for their usual 6pm slot on ITV.
Then about mid-day, lots of police with sniffer dogs turned up outside the building, and lots of other official looking people were milling about outside and in the lobby.
It wasn't until about 3pm that word got round that TB was visiting. There was then another news item confirming it on the Intranet, saying that the Granada Report broadcast would be a live Q&A with Tony Blair, focusing on the work-life balance, which the company I'm working for is supposedly a leading advocate of.
It was all very exciting! Well, not really. I didn't even get to see him in the end. I was on my phone standing in the lobby when one of the security guards asked me to clear the area. Just as I was walking back into my office I heard the police sirens as the motorcade turned up. A massive entourage then quickly walked past my office, which I presume TB was in the middle of, but I never saw him.
Anyway it turns out my office wasn't just on Granada Report, it was also on the main ITV News as they did an interview with him prior to the Granada Report broadcast.
As I left the office I walked straight past the motorcade and thought about taking some pictures, but bottled it because of all the police and what looked like Close Protection Team. Which on retrospect was quite stupid of me, I'm sure they're used to get photographed by Japanese tourists all the time!
Finally started the to-do list, no doubt this will get updated many times over the coming weeks as we remember other requirements. This is the pre-emigration list, I still need to do the list of all the things we need to do when we get to Oz, e.g. find a job!
So here goes...
Should be doing now
Dig out and organise all personal paperwork
Decide exactly what’s going to be shipped / sold
Investigate options and decide what to do about pensions
Complete car sale, cancel insurance (car No 2) - ask for a copy of No Claims Bonus
Start inventory of all items to be shipped
Get mortgage settlement figure
Should do once exchanged contracts and before we have to move out to parents, prior to emigration
Book flights – decide whether or not to have a stopover, if yes, book accommodation
Sell any unwanted items of furniture and clear out cupboards
Arrange car boot sale of items we don’t want to ship
Arrange shipping to Oz (no need to pack – shippers will do it)
If we decide to take garden furniture, thoroughly clean them ready for shipping (items with soil on will be denied entry at customs)
Arrange for mail to be forwarded and register address changes
Bring council tax and utilities up to date and cancel accounts for TV, Sky, Internet ISP, BT, etc (determine exactly what’s required)
Sort out personal paperwork – Destroy (shred/burn) / Scan / Box
Ask Doctor/Dentist/Optician to prepare hand-over files
Cancel house related direct debits and standing orders
Dig out Oz PAYG sim card
Complete inventory of all items to be shipped and tape relevant inventory lists to boxes
Back up all data to portable hard drive and decide what to do about PC
Should do between exchanging contracts and emigrating
Update CV to make it suitable for the Oz market place
Start job hunting
Get Lauren’s school to prepare hand-over files
Collect all hand-over files from doctor, dentist, optician, schools etc
Register Lauren in new School
Request credit references
Return car to leasing company - cancel car insurance
Open an Oz bank account (Commonwealth, ANZ, Westpac all have an office in London that we can contact online and set the account up)
Set up trading account (investigate best option – HIFX?) and move money out to Oz bank account. Watch exchange rate closely and move money at right time
Sign over company shares to business partner - get P45
Speak to Inland Revenue about paying taxes that will be due
Arrange leaving party
Organise all birthday cards and presents for the next 3 months
Investigate cost/need for private health cover when we get to Oz
Pay off outstanding debts
Close surplus bank accounts and destroy unwanted cards (keep at least one credit card and one UK bank account open – cannot get credit card in Oz without employment)
Arrange for Oz bank cards, etc to be sent to Cath’s in Brisbane.
Arrange travel insurance
Start investigating rental properties in Oz
1 week to go
Buy some currency for Oz, as well as stopover destination (if we decide to stop over)
Prepare Travel File:
Passports
Tickets
Accommodation booking details (if required)
Oz PAYG sim card
Currency
etc
Make sure transport to the airport is organised and will arrive in plenty of time for the flight
Check status of shipped goods
Establish who will be coming to the airport to say goodbye.
Pack activity set to amuse Lauren during flight
Make sure address changes and address forwarding is complete
Interesting commentary about today's events in The Independent. I never have liked Ian Paisley. I'm sure devolution in Northern Ireland could have been a lot more advanced by now if it wasn't for the pig-headedness of Ian Paisley.
It can't be a good thing to have a Reverend as First Minister when Religion is the cause of the troubles in Northern Ireland. If the objective is unification through changing attitudes and culture, surely the best step that could be taken is to remove religion from politics altogether. Especially when, according to a survey conducted by Dr Peter Shirlow of the University of Ulster, segregation has become more of a problem - growing since 1994.
So the ultra-Protestant Ian Paisley will have an ex terrorist Catholic for a Deputy, and a cabinet brimming with Catholic ministers. Should be interesting!
Last Thursday, while walking down to Tiger Tiger, I was approached by a scruffy looking bloke who asked me if I could spare him 11p. My default reaction was to say 'sorry, I don't have any change'.
Now the reason I bring this up is because I've got to the section within the book 'Join Me' where the reader eventually learns the point of Join Me, which is to make the world a better place by carrying out random acts of kindness (incidentally, the author has only just decided on the point of Join Me a third way in to the book, even though he has already recruited hundreds of members to the 'Collective', and spent lots of money getting leaflets and stickers printed to market Join Me).
Anyway, on retrospect I should have given the scruffy looking bloke 11 pence and not even have thought twice about it. It was 11 pence for god's sake, it wouldn't break the bank. But why was saying No my default reaction?
Well, I didn't actually say No. Instead, I told him I had no change. In fact, I went even further, and told him that I had no money on me whatsoever and was looking for a cash machine. Why I felt the need to elaborate in this way I don't know. Especially when I did have change on me, and wasn't in need of an ATM. The nice chap then proceeded to point me in the direction of a cash machine around the corner. So off I went, around the corner towards a cash machine I didn't need, in the complete opposite direction to where I wanted to travel, just so he wouldn't see through my blatant lies. I even had to wait around the corner for a minute hoping he'd move on before I could turn around and go back in my original direction. How sad!
If I analyse my actions, I guess I could use the excuse that my reaction was automatic 'learned behaviour' after years of living and working in large towns and cities where the police advise everyone not to give money to beggers because they will use it to fund their drug and alcohol addiction.
Now I'm no drug and alcohol expert (although I could be the latter if expertise is based on consumption (in my Navy days, I'm sensible now)) but I'm sure you cannot get much heroin, or even Special Brew for that matter (or is it Buckfast these days?), for 11p.
Looking back, he obviously wasn't even a tramp. He was just some scruffy bloke who was 11 pence short of his bus ride home. He probably wasn't even that scruffy, he just happened to have a beard, looked a bit rough, and was asking for money. So I put two and two together and came up with five.
It's fair to say I feel ashamed of myself, especially after I vowed to say YES more after my epiphany reading 'Yes Man'. I wasn't the only one saying no that day. While I was walking away I heard him ask at least a dozen more people if they could spare 11p, all of whom gave him the brush off. That in no way excuses my actions though.
I'm not halfway through Join Me yet but it seems to me a bit like the film 'Pay it Forward'. The interesting thing about Pay it Forward of course being that the end ultimately brings you back to the point of cynicism because his (Haley Joel Osment's character) final act of kindness - sticking up for his friend - leads to him getting stabbed to death.
After loving 'Yes Man' by Danny Wallace, I've bought his earlier book 'Join Me' the story of how he started a cult, which I'm finding to be equally as funny and entertaining. I think the reason I like his books so much is because like him, I enjoy stupid pointless things, and believe things which may at first seem to most people like stupid pointless things, can actually turn into life changing, or at least life affirming experiences, as his books show.
When we drove up to the Sunshine Coast while in Oz, we passed an attraction called The Big Pineapple. We never actually stopped to see what this is, but now I know (it's part of the story in 'Yes Man') that The Big Pineapple is one of many 'Big Things' dotted around Australia. Now some people might think how pointless, but I think it's great, and I vow to visit all the Big Things when we move to Australia. Rach is not aware yet of this wonderful adventure I have planned for us but I'm sure she'll have as much enthusiasm for it as me.
There's even a website for the Big Things - http://www.bigthings.com.au/
I was going to post a photo here of The Big Pineapple, one from the many available on the Internet. But then I thought, copyright law aside, I was stupid enough not to stop and take in the wonder of the Big Pineapple when I had chance. So I've no right to do this. The Big Things pictures will commence when the journey begins.
Here's some video I took of the waves at Mooloolaba beach on the Sunshine Coast in Australia when we went out there to validate our visa over the new year.
Soon this could be a regular weekend activity for us!
Not being used to waves like that, it was daunting at first. I soon got into the swing of things though and quickly became addicted to jumping the waves. Rach never really got used to it because she's not a very strong swimmer, but I'm sure that will all change when we live there.
