Comedy Show

Gemma and I have got tickets to go and see Russell Howard at the Albert Halls in Bolton in November. It’ll be the first time that either of us has gone to see some live comedy.

We decided to go and see him after seeing him on BBC’s “Mock the Week.” I think he is absolutely hilarious, and we are both looking forward to it. All of the regular guests on the program are really funny, and we wouldn’t mind going to see any of them.

This will probably the first time that we will have had chance to go out since Liam was born, so Nana Mandy has kindly volunteered to babysit Ellie and Liam.

Fathers Day Present

Finally my Fathers Day present has arrived. (A little late, but that’s the UK postal system for you!)

I opened the parcel and was greeted with a few drips of water.

“What the hell is that?” I thought.

Inside was a plastic box which I promptly opened to find out where the water was coming from. I wasn’t expecting what I saw.

It was a piece of grass.

On closer inspection though, this was no ordinary piece of grass.

Grand Slam Turf

This was a piece of turf from the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. A piece of grass that Wales had played on during their triumphant Six Nations Grand Slam Campaign in 2008.

This was something very different and a present I’d never have thought of.

It will now take pride of place in our garden, in its own little pot. We can’t have it mixing with all that English grass!!!

Thank you very much Ellie, and Liam, as it arrived after he was born! x x

Tick Tock

Time is ticking. When is our baby going to arrive?

Gemma’s Pregnancy – Week 36

Four weeks to go now!

That means that the baby could really arrive anytime in the next few weeks. When its put like that the birth is very close. I’m getting quite nervous about it now. You wouldn’t think that we’ve been through this once before.

The pregnancy is getting difficult for Gemma now, lugging her belly around with her, not getting any respite from the weight. Sleeping is now getting any easier either. She just wants it all to be finished now, and get the rewards that come at the end of a pregnancy.

Good news is that the baby is the right way up, meaning head down, which will make things a lot easier when it comes to getting the little lad out.

Looking ahead to the birth, I’m hoping that Gemma goes into labour when I’m at home. I don’t fancy having to leg it back from work. Especially if it all goes as quick as it did with Ellie.

Who knows, maybe my next post on Gemma’s Pregnancy will be the one that says “He’s Here”

My First Day as a Contractor

Monday saw me start my new career as a Contract Design Engineer.

As first days go it was a pretty quiet affair. I arrived nice and early and met up with my new boss. After a few formalities, I then had the obligatory Health and Safety induction which is pretty much the same wherever you go. This lasted about an hour and then it was back to the office to get accustomed to the workstations.

Once I had about an hour getting settled in and getting access to the correct CAD systems it was time to break for lunch. For my first day I decided that I’d try out the canteen. Its the first place that I’ve worked that has had a full canteen. There was a few choices of meals, and I decided that I’d have Toad in the Hole, with Potatoes and Veg. All things considering it wasn’t too bad. I’m not planning to eat there everyday, but it gives me another option.

Anyway, after lunch it was back to my desk to get some familiarity with the new products that I’ll be designing. The new company are in the business of designing exhaust systems, so a bit of familiarity would be beneficial as I don’t have a great deal of experience of these systems. I soon realised that there is a lot more to an exhaust system than meets to eye. It’s going to be a good challenge, really looking forward to it.

The afternoon passed pretty quickly, and soon it was time to head home. It felt good to get home, feeling revitalised and looking forward to going back the next day.

PS: My second day was spent with a 2.5 hour training session on the company’s product data management system before being let loose on re-designing some parts. Looking good so far.

Finished…

Today was my last day as a permanent employee. I have now finished as a Design Engineer, and from Monday I will be a Contract Design Engineer.

Ever since I handed in my notice 5 weeks ago, I’ve been itching to get out of there and into a job where I can actually do some proper designing. For a few months now I have had little to do in the way of designing and so I have been getting extremely bored, so now I am going to have something to get my teeth into. I am really looking forward to that.

I’ll let you know how things go on Monday.

My New Job Starts Next Week

It’s now only one week until I begin my new job as a Contract Design Engineer. I’m really looking forward to it, as it is going to be the start of an exciting new chapter in my life.

When the opportunity came along, trying to decide whether to make the jump seemed to be a scary proposition. A few decisions had to be made.

One of the most important of these was whether to form my own Limited Company, or to join an Umbrella Company.

After a bit of research and weighing up on the pros and cons of both options, (a good source of information can be found at Umbrella Supermarket) I decided that the best option for me was to go for the Umbrella option.

The company that I have gone with is Brookson. They were recommended by another contractor at the company that I’m going to be working for.

I am new to contracting, and I think going for the Umbrella route is the safer option at this stage. Nearly all of the paperwork is taken care of by the umbrella company, and so therefore there should be less chance of me falling foul of too much government red-tape. You don’t have to worry about paying your tax bills on time like you would with forming your own Limited Company, so there is less pressure for the first time contractor. It would also allow me the freedom to get out should I not like the lifestyle of a contractor and go back to a permanent job.

Who knows what the future holds?

Maybe in 6 months time I’ll find that I like the way that it is all working out, and want to have the greater flexibility that the Ltd Company option gives to the contractor. But with greater flexibility comes greater responsibility. Once I have made up my mind that this is how I want to work then I will make the next step and form my Ltd company.

So I’m going to take it one step at a time, and see how things go. The next update will be after a few days of the new job.

Until then……

A New Job, A New Start

Yesterday I handed in my notice at my current employer because I’ve got a new job.

The new job has come out of the blue, I didn’t even go looking for it, it came looking for me. It’s great because in effect, I’ve been head-hunted. That is a really great feeling.

So, I’ve got 5 weeks left here before I start my new job as a Contract Designer. I will still be involved in the automotive industry, but now I will be designing exhaust systems.

It is a little scary as I will be employed as a contractor, rather than a permanent member of staff. It is going to be an exciting time.

There are plenty of things to sort out before I start. There is the contract to sort out, how I’m going to set myself up – whether that is as a Limited Company, or as part of an umbrella company. My initial thoughts are to go with the umbrella company, as it will remove a lot of the initial hassle and paperwork that would come with setting up my Limited Company. If I enjoy the life contracting then it will be something to look at in the future.

The new company is near Preston and so I’ll be commuting. Hopefully this will not be too bad. When I went for the interview it took me about an hour, and this was when the roads are at their busiest. I hope to leave earlier than that when I start so that I can beat the traffic. It should be possible to do in 45 mins.

In the meantime I’ve got a few loose ends to tie up. I need to get the CAD system upgraded before I leave and make sure that everything is in place for the next CAD Engineer coming in. I’ll also need to give a helping hand to finding a replacement.

So a busy few weeks ahead, but it will all be worth it in the end.