my1stweek

well, it sure does feel good to say i have a job. i must say, it feels even better to be working. my first day was on tuesday and day 1 was mostly filled with admin bits and bobs like setting up my new work email address and social media accounts, employment stuff and some online e-learning. day 2 was a video chat and more online training.

day 3 and my final working day of the week was the most productive. i finished off some training and started to do some planning on what i will soon be doing such as hosting online events, social and outreach events and supporting others. i got a fair bit done and it felt great to have something to do with myself that has real purpose. before i found work, i tried to fill my time with the odd project, talk or event and developing and creating content for twodoughnuts. these are all things i have enjoyed and will continue to do outside of work, however i always wanted more. i love my kids and live for them, but getting permanent employment was the thing i wanted most after that. i understood my limitations better than anyone, accepted that and moved on, without doing that it wouldn’t of been possible at all.

in a world where many people are fed up of work, i can well and truly, even happily say that i’m not. i got what i wanted and i like what i got. i’m looking forward to getting down to it and seeing what employment is going to bring. i know in only my first week, apart from feeling like a newbie because i am one, it has done me the world of good.

 

 

 

 

Advertisements

bringinhomethebacon

i wanted to write a quick post today, as it’s the eve of me starting my new job. it’s going to be my first day at my first job. so sorry if i’m happier than usual, it’s a big moment for me! it’s been something i’ve tried and tried to achieve and something i’ve wanted to do for as long as i can remember. i wanted to prove i could do it for nobody else, except myself. md tries to tell you no every day, i’ve rarely listened to it. this is the attitude that got me to where i’m at; the same attitude shared by people who’ve given me their support. i’m not naming any names because if you know, you know. thank you and apologies to anyone who felt my wrath in my younger days.

to anyone who wants to do something, just keep asking. eventually someone will answer. and my motto is don’t listen to stupid people who tell you ya can’t. because look at me, i’m gonna be bringing home the bacon! sorry to all you tofu loving mother hubbards out there.

why not relive my looking for work journey? pathfinderstrustee, my1stinterview, lookingforwork, lookingforwork2 and work.

 

myfav5actors

so a few months ago, my mate carrie started a feud on twodoughnuts about who had the best or in her case the worst taste in music. it was so much fun (not), we’ve decided to do it again. this time in the twodoughnuts vs. life on the slow lane blog wars, we will be debating our top 5 actors. sorry in advance for her bad life choices. i’m half expecting john wayne to show up on her list, she’s that old school.

5. christoph waltz

what a nasty basterd. his accent makes him that bit nastier when he’s baaad. he shows up in inglourious basterds as a top nazi jew hunter and is as intimidating as they come. a real mean hearted sleaze bag. in water for elephants he plays a domestic and animal abuser, running his circus and workers into the ground until he becomes completely unhinged. he’s a guy you love to hate because he’s excellently vile. he turned it around in django as an insane, yet super smart bounty hunter. he got a bit of a rough deal as the bond villain, considering he was as evil and as well executed as le chiffre for the first half of the film. at some point plot holes and carelessness turn the film into a bit of a joke. can’t undo the menacing shadowy entrance at the head of a table fit for brexit though.

4. tom hardy

when tom hardy is number 4 on a top 5 list of actors, it must be decent. bronson, locke, legend. that’s all you really need to know and that’s without all the others. bronson was his first real claim to fame and he killed it; acting, singing, thugging and stripping off. playing a conflicted welshman in locke, he made an hour and a half in the car on his phone interesting. he was just showing off at this point. and in legend, he plays both, yes both of the krays. enough said. the man plays a mean baddie and gets his head in the game for every role he plays. i’m willing to bet his eyebrows alone can out act carrie’s whole list, see the dark knight rises.

3. jim carrey

i was struggling to choose here. ultimately it had to be jim. it’s not all about being a serious actor, not everyone can pull off being funny. he lit up my childhood. for whatever reason he seems to be loathed, but he should be loved. he’s made us laugh and cry with laughter. ace ventura, the mask and dumb and dumber all in one year. classics. and as hilarious as him and his face can be, he can put on a gutwrencher with the best of them. eternal sunshine and the truman show really get the feels going. i want to thank him for helping us all spell beautiful. let’s have a moment of silence for all those quotes! a tommy gun, p-a-r-t-y? because i gotta, alrighty then, if i’m not back in five minutes…just wait longer and last, but not least “can i have a mint?”

2. denzel washington

two words. training day. how can you forget those crazed eyes and that cigarette? good cop gone crazy. for someone who plays the good guy role so often, he’s so much better when he’s bad. in american gangster he’s bad, but like scarface before him; he too manages to get you rooting for him. deja vu (the film) is far-fetched and you could argue insane, this man made it believable. when he’s watching the girl and she feels something is watching her, he makes you feel it. he is something special. i love me some denzel.

1. leonardo dicaprio

r+j, titanic, the beach, shutter island, the departed, blood diamond, django, inception, gatsby, wolf of wall street. i mean come on. he has got to be the goat – to clarify, the greatest of all time. i’m talking films of epic proportions here. a young lad on a sinking class war, another one on his gap year, a psychopath on the runaround, to a rat in a land full of them, a dreamer, a roaring 20’s crook and what it says on the tin – the wolf of wall street. his intensity can be off the charts. he’s a scorsese boy and if you’re rated by him you know you’re the cut above. he’s in a class with the pacino’s and de niro’s of the world.

justificaretion

south glos council never give up. it’s taken me a year of fighting to finally get the funding i need for my care. i’ve been moved out five years and it took me until last year to put my foot down. next week i will be having an nhs continuing health care (chc) funding assessment. the same assessment i had less than 2 years ago. nothing has changed at all since then. i have made this point clear, but let’s give it another go, why not?

for those who are wondering what chc funding is – it’s a battle between the council and the nhs as to who is going to pay to look after me. i don’t even really need to be in the room, but i will be, they insist on it. it’s a room full of strangers talking about you, in front of you. as you can imagine it can become quite personal. including gems like how far can you walk and tell me about your bowel movements. i just met you and this is crazy, here’s your assessment, tell me about your bowels maybe? i’ve spent a life of conversations like these and they’re such a drag. everything has to be justified x10.

they’ve usually already made the decision before walking into your house. unless you’re “disabled enough”. 18 months ago i wasn’t deemed to be. they do like coming though, it’s out of the office and they like drinking tea. my kettle might have to be broken this time. it won’t change much whoever decides to get the bill. if they lose, the council will go off, tail between their legs for another 18 months until they’ll want to do it again. they can then only hope i’m bad enough. if they win, my social worker will be grinning wider than the cheshire cat. either way it’ll be 2 hours of my life i can’t get back. please pray for me that i don’t slip into a coma because of the sheer boredom of it all.

work

drum roll…..

i now have a job. after years of trying to find employment as a “disabled”, i finally achieved my goal. my dad said i would never be able to get a job. he wasn’t being horrible, he just couldn’t see how it would work. well look at me now. i’ve been told lots of things by lots of people. every time i got told something, i wanted to prove them wrong even more. so to anyone who doubted me, cheers.

i started a family, i live independently, i went to uni and i can now add “i’m employed” to the list. i will be working for dmd pathfinders as a development worker. this is a charity i’ve been involved with for a couple of years now. it is ran by people like myself, for people like myself. they are a great bunch of guys and i’m glad to be able to work with them. i will be helping to develop the charity, as well as the people who need us, supporting them and even putting on events.

i had my interview on thursday afternoon and aside from some minor hiccups, it wasn’t too bad. i want to thank jon, mark and daniel who interviewed me and all the pathfinders crew for taking a chance on me. i’ve been unsuccessful in finding the right opportunity for a long time and it’s a nice feeling to know someone has believed in me enough to employ me. i’m excited to get started and to see what i’ll be getting upto.

i want to thank anyone who has supported me, continues to support me and follows twodoughnuts, i couldn’t have done it alone. let’s get to work!

lookingforwork2

last week, i wrote about my long journey as a “disabled” looking for work. this is something i have talked about before and something that i’m ever in the pursuit of. so far, employment has passed me by. i’m never “experienced enough” apparently, or maybe i’m just too damn disabled who knows? as always though, i’m hoping this will soon change. it has to eventually surely.

so i mentioned how i wheeled away as a trustee for dmd pathfinders, as i knew i could be doing something much more like work. with that i spoke to the ceo of the charity, jon who kindly gave me a bit of a fighting chance to do so. back in december when i was laying in a hospital bed, eating terrible food with little to no sleep, a job came up. it was a job very similar to the role i applied for and got interviewed for in london for muscular dystrophy uk’s changing places campaign a few weeks earlier. it was for a development worker. unfortunately i was in no state to be applying for jobs and i was disappointed. at the time it wasn’t worth thinking about, i needed to get better first. well in light of me being unwell at the time, i was given the chance to apply late. what a pleasant surprise it was. the universe actually threw me a bone.

i was sent over the application and away i went. i had some tasks to complete and after a few days of going back and forth in my head, i sent off an application i was quite happy with. now let me cut to the chase, i have another job interview next week. i will gladly take any luck you can send my way. i said it last time and i’ll say it again, take a chance on me. if i fail, i will try again. if i succeed, the long journey will have paid off and i’ll be  feeling overwhelming happiness or joyful excitement. i’ll be ecstatic.

lookingforwork

i would like to be employed. or at least something that resembles employment anyway. i want something i can really sink my teeth into. i have tried and tried. i’ve been involved in as many different projects that i can, in hopes that it would resemble work. or if not, hopefully it would lead to something eventually. so far it hasn’t, not really.

i have just stepped down (or wheeled away) from being a trustee at dmd pathfinders. i did a 3 month stint and i’m not quite sure what i’ve achieved or contributed during that time. except being a part of the action duchenne conference representing the charity. i want to thank ceo jon, mark & tyran for their support and making me feel comfortable.    i will continue to support pathfinders and have tons of faith in them, it just won’t be as a trustee. i similarly left muscular dystrophy uk’s content advisory group after 18 months last year.

because i’m disabled, it doesn’t mean i’m not organised, productive or ready to take on the world. i’m all of those things. i believe in myself, the world often doesn’t wholeheartedly believe in me or people like me. this isn’t me giving up or admitting defeat. i will carry on trying. i need to feel productive and really be able to know i’m making valuable contributions to anything i get involved with. if i’m not, i not only feel like a spare part, i am one. i don’t mean any disrespect to anyone. i just know i could be doing more.

i think someone should take a chance on me.