Holding my breath

Life is so hectic at the moment that I have still not had time to fully feel the happiness I'm sure I am due since discovering that I've been awarded a Scholarship. I've moved back down to London and started a new job although I am technically homeless (again) as Lovely Boy and I have not been able to find a place to live together as quickly as we had anticipated.

Non-Olpas applications, I am ashamed to admit have gone completely out of the window as I am so short on time and since I am couch surfing with friends, finding the time and space in which to sit down and crack out a snitch winning application has been bloody impossible. If I am honest I have barely found the time to prepare for my Conference and Advocacy exams.

I have spent the past month looking forwards to the 6th June, when Year 1 of the BVC will be over and I will finally get the opportunity to come up for air, maybe even have a lazy week in the sunshine? Alas, it is not meant to be, as I discovered today that the following weekend I will be moving house and attending a Pupillage interview on the same day! Two things I have wanted so much... and they both come on the same day?!

I'll sleep when I'm dead. I hope.

Back on Track

Things appear to have worked themselves out. I had a momentary lapse of discipline and direction following my redundancy, but managed to snap out of it long enough to bag myself a new job :)

A better paid job :)

A more Pupillage-Friendly job :) :)

Best of all, I am genuinely helping people. I am working with customers who have been made redundant and have been unemployed for at least 6 months, giving them advice and guidance to help with their search for work and signing them up for free training to make them more employable. The most amazing thing is the feeling I get when I see I've genuinely helped them, and the advice that I've given them will make it easier for them to find work.

It is absolutely brilliant experience working so closely with members of the public, and every time I have a difficult customer I feel like thanking the stars for the chance to learn how to cope and provide them with meaningful support, because no matter how difficult it might be sometimes, advising a client about entering a guilty plea or whether or not to pursue custody of children during a Divorce Settlement is going to be much harder.

Waiting to hear if I've managed to secure some funding for the BVC from my provider, I'm not holding my breath but still, all my fingers and toes are crossed.

The only issue that I have now (and its actually quite a big one) is that technically I am homeless. I had to leave London after I lost my job and go back to Brum to be with the family. I had only been there a few days when I was offered my job, and in the haste to get back down here and start as soon as possible I've had to come back before finding anywhere to live. I've also lost confidence slightly in the security of a job having experienced the difficulty of losing one, and am reluctant to actually take out a tenancy on a flat until I have at least some idea of whether the job is secure. At the moment I'm completely rushed off my feet, so it seems to be fine, but I'm still being cautious for a few more weeks. So I am "sofa-surfing", moving from friend to friend and extremely appreciative of the fact that I have friends willing to put me up. Its only in a situation like this that you realise how many people there are that will support you when you need them.