Curious?

Some Major Life Changes in 2009...

2009-12-01T15:34:00.015Z

Hello again all!

I know it's been a while since my last post, but I've been struggling to find the time recently. However, I'm back in business now! In the past few months my life has changed dramatically, and there are still (hopefully) more positive changes to come...

Firstly, 3 months ago I was made redundant from the job I had been doing for the past nine years. This has been both a curse and a blessing. On the plus side, I had been longing to do something different for a long time. Suddenly I had the opprtunity to find something new, along with (again, hopefully) enough redundancy money to last until then. Also, the money would enable me to pay off a few debts & finally get married after years of living with my fiance.

I soon discovered the downside though. Due to the "credit crunch", there were more people than ever in my situation, and less and less employers hiring staff. So far, there seems to be hardly any decent jobs out there, and far more applicants than ever before! In the past 3 months, I've only had 4 interviews, although with 2 more on the way.

Then there's the blogging. I thought I'd find more time for this being out of work, however I spend so much time job hunting that I rarely find the time these days. In fact, I feel guilty when I'm not searching for work, particularly as the redundancy money is getting low, and Christmas coming too!

The other big change is that I am now married. Our wedding day was Saturday 7th November, and we had a wonderful day. This was the last Saturday so far this year with perfect weather, and despite our worries about all that could go wrong - absolutely nothing did! Even our two families (who had never met before) got along like they were old friends!

As we'd aimed to get married as cheaply as possible (it was still more expensive than we'd planned in the end!), and only allowed ourselves a couple of months to arrange, my outfit was a bit of a mix and match affair. The bridal shop told me that the only way I could get a dress in time was to have a bridesmaid's dress and have it delivered as an express order. Apparently, people tend to order their dresses as far as a year in advance! As far as the accessories, they came much more cheaply from ebay, and I had to hope that they were going to match! I found the most amazing boots...

and bolero jacket...

In fact, I was told that the outfit looked like it had been hired or bought as a set, as everything went together so well!

The only thing I'm finding difficult is the change of name. This seems to take weeks for the bank, Job Centre etc, leaving me in a state of limbo while I wait for the change to take place. Imagine phoning a company, being asked your name, and finding the answer really difficult! It tends to be a case of "you know me as..., but I'm not anymore. My name on your system should now be... Did you know that?" It gets to a point (particularly as I'm now dealing with several agencies and employers) where I can't remember who I've told, and who I haven't! This can start to get confusing after a while! Mind you, everyone seems to get over excited when you tell them you've just got married! Hopefully this should start to get easier soon.

Now for the next hurdle to overcome. Christmas shopping on a budget!

The Job Hunting Nightmare!

2009-10-23T09:36:00.015+01:00

I've now been unemployed for almost 2 months since my redundancy, and I'm now realising how much I'd underestimated how hard the search for a new job would be. The last time I was in this position was a whole decade ago, and times have certainly changed since I was last in the job market, so to speak.

Last time, it was relatively easy. Sign on with the Job Centre, then sign up with an agency or two. Then take on a bit of temp work and wait until the next permanent job comes along. This took me about a month, then I was sorted out for the next ten years or so, and was pretty painless. OK, so I did end up being really bored in my last job, and longing to do something different, but at least I was being paid!

Therefore, I started out this time assuming things would be the same. How wrong could I be! I started with the Job Centre (see my previous post on the subject). The advisor at the time told me I had really good skills and experience, and she couldn't see me being out of work for very long. That was reassuring. She even made a note on my file that for the next 3 months, I would be able to turn down any job that didn't pay as well as my last. I thought then that the job hunt was going to be easy, and I may well end up with a much better job than before.

Next, I decided to try the agencies. The first one I went to were happy to sign me up. Again they told me how easy it would be to get me a job, and how impressed they were with my CV. Also the results of my typing test proved well above average. Now confident in my abilities, I decided to try some more agencies. This was where I hit my first snag, although I didn't realise at the time how much of a problem this would prove to be.

The second agency were again impressed with my credentials, however in order to register with them they needed what I didn't have - ID. I had no passport or driving licence, and the only other thing they would accept was a birth certificate. I hadn't seen mine in years!

I assumed this was an iscolated incident, the exception rather than the rule, so I continued applying for any suitable job I could find. However, this was where the second snag occured. There seem to be so few suitable jobs out there at the moment, and most of them seem to pay very little, while expecting so much from potential employees. I've spoken to so many agencies now, and whilst they all want to offer me work, they simply have nothing available! The woman at one agency I spoke to told me that the only thing on offer was 1 week's work and even she was on a temporary contract!

During my search, I have been asked several more times for my birth certificate, and even though I had managed to locate the short version of mine (for the purpose of my upcoming wedding), I was told that this wasn't good enough! This has now led me to pay to order a copy, in order to stand a chance of being employed. Employers these days seem to require so much proof that I am eligible to work in the UK, even though I can prove that I've done so for the past 20 years with no problems! The world's gone mad!

New Beginnings...

2009-09-12T16:47:00.010+01:00

Now that I'm out of work, I thought I'd have a fair bit of time on my hands. Not so! The job hunting takes up most of my day now (everyday), and there seem to be endless jobs to do around the house. However, I now have an extra thing to focus on...

I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!

Where to start I wonder? I started off thinking this should be simple, particularly as this is going to be a small do. Just a registry office and then on to the pub! First, pick a date and invite everyone. Then book everything, and turn up on the day. No.

First, we needed to decide who we really want at the ceremony. Then, as we're looking at only a couple of months ahead, contact everyone, and make sure they can all make at least one date. Then I can start booking things. This sounds like a potential nightmare in itself. There is also the memory of my sister's wedding to contend with. She started off thinking about a small, intimate wedding, and ended up inviting at least three times the number of people she first thought of (including many family mambers we hadn't seen in years). She also somehow ended up with five bridesmaids (myself included). I think because she (and her husband) were unable to say NO to people! We need to avoid this at all costs!

Then we started thinking about everything else involved. The cake, photos, flowers and even the dress! Somehow, I think this may end up being a bit more complicated (and expensive) than I'd first thought!

I'll keep you posted on my progress!

Amazing Insights from the Angels

2009-09-06T13:30:00.009+01:00

Whilst nosing around on the net, I decided to look for a site that could give me a free card reading. I had been pondering on the issues facing me at the moment, due to my sudden redundancy, and felt the need for some additional guidance.

My dilemma is this. I have been in constant work for the past decade, although for a long time now I have felt in a rut, and wanted to do something entirely different. However, I was unable to justify leaving a stable job to do this. Added to this, I had huge debts to sort out.

Suddenly I was out of work, plus I had some redundancy money to fall back on (for a time anyway). I could probably walk into a new job, similar to my previous one, which would provide a stable income. The problem is, do I want to go back to a job like this that I would most likely be bored in, but commit myself to it anyway, and keep the money?

I could also use this situation as an opportunity to try something new. The trouble is, what would I be good at and really enjoy doing? I have always wanted to work for myself, but can I be certain I would make enough money? I needed help to focus my mind on these questions, so I looked for a site that could help...

The very first site I found was amazing! It offered FREE Angel card readings instantly online (no sign up required), using four different card spreads. I tried them all, and found them relevant to my situation. The readings from the cards were consistant over all of the different spreads. They highlighted my situation, for example that I had been worried about my finances, and felt at a loss at the moment. I didn't know where to go next. This is all true. They also told me not to worry, as financial help was coming, along with guidance from a wise person that understands my situation. This made sense to me. I have a meeting coming up in a couple of weeks to speak to a specialist advisor about available courses I can take to re-train for a new career. The final message was that my redundancy was actually a good thing, and will open up new opportunties that I would otherwise never have had. This made me feel much more optimistic. I was so impressed that I added a link to the site (top right) for anyone who fancies giving this a try. Have a go!

While searching on the site, I discovered that they offered more than just this service. There's some great stuff on offer, which I may well buy into (when I can recover from my option anxiety!), all of which would be of really helpful in my quest for psychic development. Why not take a look for yourself? I'd love to hear your opinions on this site.

I've selected a few interesting items which I am tempted to try for myself. Have a look below...

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The Best & Worst UK Payday Loans

2009-09-02T18:10:00.014+01:00

Payday loans on the whole are a bad idea. I know this. The reason being is that they charge a huge rate of interest. However, I have been incredibly short of cash for a long time, and sometimes there is no other way to make it through the month, particularly as they can deposit funds into your bank account on the same day the loan is requested. I have come to the opinion that as long as you can afford the loan repayment, and don't get to the point of relying on them every month, they can be helpful in the short term. As I have had some experience now of using these, I thought I should share my experiences.

There appear to be hundreds of these companies nowadays, and one quick search on the internet will prove this. They promise to provide loans with no credit checks, which is handy for those of us with a bad credit rating. The trouble is that not many can be trusted. Many of these companies will make false claims in my experience. most commonly is that no documents will need to be faxed to them before a loan can be approved. I have personally approached several of these companies, who display "no faxing" in big letters on the website, but as soon as they approve the loan in principle, they request multiple documents to be faxed before they release the money! Others promise to guarantee acceptance, and then turn down applications with no reason. Believe me this is true! I don't know how they can get away with this.

In the end I found two companies I thought I could rely on. However, whilst one of these has continued to impress me, the other has now made my blood boil! Here is the story...

The Worst

Quick Quid is a company I have used a couple of times now. The first loan was obtained with no problems at all. Next time I needed a loan, the amount they were prepared to offer had increased (this is common). The problem came to light when it was time to repay this.

Friday:

As I am having to keep a tight reign on the finances, I decided to check that everything to be paid had come out of my account. I checked online, and no sign of the Quick Quid payment. Our online banking system tends to be a few days behind, so I then looked on the Quick Quid website. This showed my loan as still being outstanding. Confused, I entered into "online chat" with an advisor, who told me that the payment had been returned due to insufficient funds. I knew this must be wrong, as there was plenty of money there, more than enough for them. They refused to believe me, or even consider the possibility that their system had made a mistake! I was then told that they had taken a part payment, and that unless the remainder was paid by the end of the day (I was told this at 8.30 at night), my account with them would go to their collections department for which I would be charged an extra £12. This sounded so unreasonable, seeing as they had no proof that it was even my fault! It was just lucky that I had bothered to check. No one from Quick Quid had bothered to let me know there was a potential problem, let alone allow me much of a chance to sort this out!

So I spoke to an advisor at the bank, who could tell me everything, in and out of the account. The bank told me that there was several hundred pounds in the account (much more than they would need to take out). This was despite a payment of £428.75 (the repayment amount for Quick Quid) coming out, plus a further payment of £171.50 (again from Quick Quid)! I contacted Quick Quid again, only to be told that they could not do anything unless I could prove this with a copy of my bank statement, which had not yet been issued! They agreed that someone would call me regarding this issue within 48 hours... That call never came.

Tuesday:

I gave Quick Quid some grace over the bank holiday weekend, and when I still had heard nothing by Tuesday morning, I called to speak to someone about this. Again I was told that they needed to verify this with a copy of my bank statement. Luckily, these transactions now showed on the online banking system, so I was able to email this over. I was again promised a call once they had received and checked the information I sent them against their own records. No call came from Quick Quid. So I waited...

While I was waiting, I received a call from my partner. He had checked the account in a cash machine, hoping to get some out. This told him that our account was soon to be overdrawn, as all of the available balance was about to be withdrawn, and then some! Again I phoned the bank to find out what was happening. I was told that there were two pending payments, one for £107.71 and the other for £161.54, which neither of us had authorised. I calculated that these pending payments, plus the original overcharge for£171.50 added up to the whole loan amount (£428.75) plus the £12.00 they had threatened to take from me for late payment! However, I could not prove this.

Back to Quick Quid! Unwittingly, they made my case easier, as they could confirm the two latest charges were from them. The issue they seemed to be having concerned the original two charges. These were clearly marked on the bank statement! They finally admitted (after what seemed like hours on the phone) to the £171.50 charge as well, but couldn't work out the £428.75. I had to tell them over and over again that this payment had not been returned, and was not pending, because IT WAS ON THE BANK STATEMENT AND CONFIRMED BY THE BANK! Finally they seemed to accept this, and I was told that a manager would call me some time today (although they were very vague about how long this would take).

I waited over an hour, and no call came. Judging by their record for calling back, I called again. This time I spoke to a very bored advisor (I use the term loosely) who told me an email had been sent to the manager. She could not put me through to ANY manager, or give me any idea when they would call. This, I thought was a lost cause, she just didn't care, even though I repeatedly remeinded her that her company had unjustly taken £440.75 from my account! At the end of the conversation, she even had the gall to ask if there was anything else she could help me with! I told her that as she couldn't be bothered to help me with this, I couldn't see what else it was worth asking her for!

However, surprisingly enough, I did receive a call from them at 4.30 that afternoon (that was virtually my whole day wasted on them). I assume this was the elusive manager, as she finally agreed to deposit £440.75 back into my account, with no arguments this time! Yippee!!!

Take this as a warning. If you're looking for a hassle free pay day loan, DON'T GO TO QUICK QUID!

The Best

There are exceptions to this rule. Wonga is it. Their site is easy to use, and hassle free. They don't ask for endless documents to be faxed, and you can see at a glance how much the loan will cost. They also tell you in advance how much they will be willing to lend (unlike some others). You are also able to see how much less this will cost if you repay them early. This is easier to do than will other sites, as you can do it online.

With most of these companies, if you choose a lesser amount than your limit with them, you have to stick to this. They will not authorise another loan of any amount until the first is repaid. With Wonga this is not the case. You are given a limit (which rises every time you repay a loan in full) and if you want to increase your loan (up to the limit of course) you are welcome to do so. Again, you are able to check in advance online how much this will cost.

Even better, it states clearly on the website not only how much you can borrow, but exactly when the funds will be in your account (usually about an hour or two after applying). I have not seen this approach anywhere else.

The site itself consists of two sliders primarily. The first gives you the ability to slide to the amount you wish to borrow, and on the other how many days the loan is for. By juggling with these, the total cost of the loan (including interest) is shown, so you know exactly where you are. The same applies when borrowing an additional amount. In this case though, you can see the original loan details, and the loan with the extra amount added, so this is easy to calculate.

I have dealt with Wonga three times now, two for new loans and one including an additional amount which has been added later. They have always been reliable so far. Whilst I must repeat my warning, that it can be dangerous to your finances to rely on pay day loans, Wonga are my first choice of this type of lender.

Don't trust the others, if you really need quick cash, you're much safer going to Wonga!

Redundancy: My First Week...

2009-08-29T12:46:00.008+01:00

Its now been a whole week since I was made redundant, and I've actually been quite busy!

Monday:

As this was my first "proper" day out of work, I needed to register with the Jobcentre as unemployed. However, it has been almost a decade since I was last in this position, so I first had to remember where I had to go!

I started out nice and early, to the area where I (vaguely) remembered it to be. This was not on the bus route from my house, so I walked for about half an hour. When I arrived, there was just this big empty building, with a sign in the window telling me that it had moved last year! It was now on the other side of town, in an area that would have been far easier to get to! So I turned around, and headed back in the opposite direction.

When I finally arrived, I saw a woman at the reception desk. I was hoping that I could get the registration process over with nice and quickly, then get advice on job hunting, available courses fro a new career, and available benefits until I got everything sorted out. How wrong could I be? All I was given was a leaflet with a phone number that I had to call, as apparently this is now the only way to register with them!

I returned home and made the call. By now the morning was just about over. I spent 20 minutes on the phone, being asked what appeared to be the same questions over and over again! At the end of the call I was given an appointment for Wednesday to actually talk to a real advisor. Finally!

Tuesday:

The day began with a call from my former employer. They had a redundancy agreement that I had to sign before I could receive any redundancy pay. I was also told that I would need to get legal advice. I went straight down to the office to collect this, then had to find a solicitor that would be able to produce a letter to state that they had advised me on the matter.

The afternoon was then spent tracking one down, and they gave me an appointment, also for Wednesday. This was going to be a busy day!

Wednesday:

I now had two appointments in the centre of town, 3 hours apart. Firstly, down to the Jobcentre. When I arrived, they asked for my name, and ticked me off a list. I was told to go upstairs, and wait in "area C". I was also given a tiny piece of paper, with a "C" on it. Did they think I would forget this by the time I reached the top of the stairs? I arrived at the top, and was greeted by another receptionist, who again took my name and ticked me off another list. She also took away my "C"! This was beginning to seem ridiculous!

While I was waiting in "area C", another member of staff approached me. Not surprisingly, she also ticked my name off yet another list, and told me someone would see me soon. I was beginning to wonder why the jobcentre had employed so many people with so many lists!

I finally was called over to see someone. This, I was told was the "Financial Assessor".She went through all the questions I was asked on the phone, and asked me to sign that my answers were correct. I then had to wait again to see the "New Claims Advisor".

When I was called over, the first thing I was asked for was my most recent payslip. I handed it over, and the advisor noticed a problem. The payslip stated that I was paid up to the end of August (this was the 26th). It turned out that they could do nothing for me. They were unable to register my claim until I was officially out of work on 1st September. No one had actually asked me that question! I had only been asked for the last day I actually worked. Therefore, my claim was cancelled, and I have to go through the whole process from scratch next week! What a waste of time!

This took a whole hour, and I was left with two more hours to wait before the next appointment. I walked into the solicitors on time, and was told that the person I was seeing was at another branch! I started to think that my whole day would be a waste of time, until it turned out that he was just running late! Luckily this meeting went according to plan, and I now have to wait for the solicitor and my former employers to sort out their paperwork.

Thursday:

I decided that with so much time on my hands, I could do the weekly shopping early. I may save myself the "trolley rage" of shopping on a Saturday (see previous post). Again, how wrong could I be? If anything, it was even more hectic than normal! Nevertheless, I got it out of the way, and came home with the local paper (Thusday is job day). However, there was hardly anything of interest this week, just one which was mildly interesting! I decided to think about it.

The other prioject I needed to complete was to produce a currect CV (Curriculum Vitae). The problem was, as I had been in my last job for so many years, I had trouble remembering where I had been before, and when! This process took ages, but I think I finally got there (a bit vague on the dates though)!

Friday:

Now that I had done just about all I could do (I felt a bit in limbo, as I couldn't quite get started with courses etc until I was officially unemployed), I decided to do a bit of job hunting on the internet. I also called about the one job in the paper, and agreed to email my CV.

Then I hit the next problem. Our computer, seems to have a mind of its own recently, and right in the middle of an application, it turned itself off! This is not the first time, and it's always annoying, but never more so than Friday! Once the computer goes off, it invariably takes ages before it will allow you to restart it. So, several hours later (try a few times, then leave for a while and try again) I managed to apply for a whole two jobs. Just have to wait and see about those, I suppose.

Saturday:

Priority job...

Catch up with my blogs (hence this post)!

Redundancy: The Pros and Cons...

2009-08-24T17:04:00.004+01:00

My whole life changed the other day, as I suddenly became redundant. At first, this was a total shock. I was certainly not expecting it, after all I had been working in the same office for over 9 years! Now that the shock factor has started to diminish, I can now begin to consider my options. Is redundancy really a curse (as I first assumed), or could it actually be a blessing?

Admittedly, as I looked at it from a negative point of view, I am well aware that money may be tight for a while. With the state of the economy, and so many out of work, a new job may be hard to come by. Plus, even with two incomes, my household was already struggling, and had been for some time.

However, I began to realise that there were positive aspects to the situation. I will receive a lump sum as a redundancy payment. This will enable me to clear any priority debts, and keep the household going for a while. Also, my job was boring. Really boring in fact! For years I had toyed with the idea of doing something new, for example a course where I could re-train myself for a fresh career. The only problems were, I had so far been unable to afford it, and also I could never decide what course to take! With the lump sum on its way, the first problem has been dealt with. I now need to work out the second! The possiblilities are endless!

Tarot Card of the Day (Tuesday 18th August 2009)

2009-08-18T16:13:00.002+01:00

As part of my psychic development, I periodically use tarot cards. This is for two reasons, firstly in an attempt to learn to read them, and secondly to glean whatever understanding I can from each one I read in relation to my life.

It is important to not only go by the book description of each card’s meaning, but also to look deeper at the card, as something in the image can stimulate another meaning. This in turn means that the same card can be interpreted differently on different occasions.

Today’s card is the Ace of Wands. The book meaning of this explained as denoting creation, invention and the beginning of enterprise. This is also described as a good card financially, meaning money, perhaps fortune or inheritance.

Whilst looking at this card, I saw the wand itself to represent a gift from a higher power. The shoots of new growth on the branch gave me a feeling of optimism.

I feel this card related to me today. At the beginning of the day I was seriously financially stressed. We had no money to see us through to pay day, and I had no idea what to do about it. Before my card reading (again first thing in the morning) I scoured the internet looking for a way out, even temporarily. I began looking for a short term loan, although had no luck with several companies. Even when I thought I’d found one, I discovered that while they were happy to lend the money, they were more expensive than I had first thought. Even worse, they could not deliver until after pay day! By lunchtime, I had managed to secure a loan which provided the money I needed within an hour! I then needed to cancel the first one, but just as I was about to call them, they phoned me and I was able to cancel with no penalties. It appeared that today someone from a higher power was watching over me.

I believe that today the Ace of Wands was the most appropriate card for me. I just hope that this also works as far as beginning a new enterprise, which would allow me to create enough extra money to diminish my need for such loans in the future! Maybe my next card reading will give me the answer to that question?

Has the World Gone Mad Over Swine Flu?

2009-08-13T13:27:00.006+01:00

After so many the recent health scares, swine flu is certainly being taken more seriously than the others. The trouble is that no one really knows what to do about it, as there is so much mis-information and confusion surrounding the subject. My personal experience of this is as follows...

My partner is in what has been described as a "high risk group" as he has a condition called C.O.P.D. (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Therefore, when he felt ill last week with flu-like symptoms, he looked into the NHS website and filled in their questionnaire. At the end of this, he was told that he needed "Tamiflu" and given a reference number, and that someone without sysmptoms should get this for him. As this was first thing in the morning, I called my work to explain I would be late, as I had to collect this. A very worried voice at the end of the phone asked "are you coming into work? I thought you would both need to be quarrantined?" There was certainly no information about this on the website, or anywhere we could find! However, I could see the sense of it, if it really was so contagious! There really should be some clarification on this.

After a few days, I too started to feel unwell. I stayed home (as instructed by the media), although there was no fit person to collect any drugs for me! By the time my partner was fit and back at work, I checked the website, and again got the answer to take "Tamiflu". My symptoms, although less severe than my partner's, had by now lingered long enough for me to be required to obtain a sick note from my doctor. I called them, and was told that I should come in, but go into the surgery through the back door. When I got there, I was quickly ushered into a small examination room and told to wait. So I waited...and waited...

After an hour and a half (when I thought I'd been forgotten), a doctor finally appeared. I was then taken to another room (with a working computer, but apparently no medical supplies!) and I told her my story. She asked me why I'd been advised to take Tamiflu? How should I know? I'd just followed the questionnaire! She told me that these helplines and websites aren't run by people with any medical knowledge or experience, and also they're not supposed to be offering this anymore unless there is an underlying medical condition. She seemed to blame me for this! I didn't cheat - honestly!

She took my temperature, and found it to be normal. I could have told her that! Mind you, I had been sitting in front of a fan for the past hour and a half. It was the first time my temperature had felt normal in days!

Finally she signed me off work for a week with "flu-like symptoms" as she had no way of telling whether it was swine flu, normal flu or any other virus! If the doctor can't tell, who can?

Strange but true!

2009-08-10T13:15:00.006+01:00

Hi all,

In this post I want to share with you some of the inexplicable occurrences which have made me feel the need to explore the supernatural world. These are only small things, and have no great impact on my life, except that they have opened my mind to new possibilities.

If there is anyone that can provide logical explanations for these events, please let me know!

For some time now, I have had the feeling that there is some strange force (for want of a better word) that is trying to tell me something. It seems to affect technology on the whole, although these "messages" are very difficult to interpret.

Musical Mayhem!

The first of these strange messages came to me several times last year. Here is the background to the situation...

For some time, my partner and I used a file sharing program on the computer called "Limewire" (which you may have heard of). We would download all sorts of music, and I would then save selected songs to my mobile phone. I would then play these while cooking, in the bath, on the bus etc.

One evening, I was playing my music (on the random setting) whilst in the bath, and a tune came on that I didn't recognise at first. As it settled down to the main part of the song, I realised that I did know this, but it was an entirely different version, by another artist! I checked the computer and confirmed that I only had one version downloaded, and the description was the same as the phone. I knew this song very well, as it had been downloaded some time ago, and played many times. However, I played the version on the computer, and again this had changed to the new version (I must point out that I had only ever heard one version of this particular song before, so this was quite a surprise)! Following this, I did some research into the song on the internet, and eventually found the exact same version that had somehow installed itself on both my computer and phone. This was indeed performed by someone completely different.

This same thing has happened more than once, and I have never been able to understand how this happened or why. As far as I am aware, there is no logical way that this can be possible. If it is a message of some sort, what does this mean?

Picture Perfect

This is a new thing to me, and I have only experienced it once - today in fact!

After having a clearout, I discovered a photo ID card, which I had forgotten about. It had quite a good picture, and I thought it would be a good idea to add this to my blog. Sounds straightforward enough doesn't it?

I tried to scan this, then realised the scanner was unplugged. Ok, that's easy to sort out, I thought. I plugged this in, and it still refused to scan. Not being very technical, I decided to try another way.

Instead, I tried the idea of taking a picture of the card on my digital camera, and then I should be able to plug this in and save the picture from that. Easy.

I took the picture OK, but when I looked at my photos on the computer screen, the one I wanted didn't appear to exist! Everything else was there though. I couldn't understand this! I looked at my photos on the camera itself. All the saved pictures showed up, except there was one blank space, and no ID card photo!

Frustrated, I tried taking the picture again. However, every time I pushed the button to take the picture, the camera just turned itself off! I tried this several times, and I had only just replaced the batteries (with brand new ones before you ask)! What could this possibly mean, and how could it happen!

Any ideas anyone?

Puppy Pandemonium!

2009-08-05T19:13:00.008+01:00

Well, last weekend turned out to be quite a hectic, for a very unusual reason. As followers of this blog probably know, I live with my fiance and our two cats, Bob and Ziggy (A.K.A. "The Boys"). We live in a terraced house with a totally enclosed garden.

Bob and Ziggy (remember them?)

We had been hearing noises from our new next door neighbours garden for some time, mainly dogs barking and whining. Although we didn't realise quite how many there were! As it turned out, there is one adult (that I've seen so far) plus a litter of NINE American Bulldog puppies, all waiting for new homes...

On Saturday morning, I had just got up and was feeding the boys, when I noticed that Bob was hissing through the cat flap. Intrigued, I went to have a look. I was amazed to see several puppies wandering around the garden! However, at the time I wasn't sure where they came from (so far I hadn't actually seen any of the dogs from next door, only heard them). Also, I couldn't quite work out how they got in! I was only just awake at the time, and had lots to do that day, so I decided to finish what I was doing, and then decide what to do about our visitors.

Once, I'd fed the boys and made a coffee (to help me come round), I took another look in the garden. No puppies to be seen anywhere! Where did they go? I kept checking periodically throughout the morning. Sometimes they were there, then they were gone. I was beginning to think I was seeing things, until I realised what they were doing. I noticed a small hole in the fence. They were squeezing through into the garden, taking a look, and going home!

I decided that as they weren't lost, or in any immediate danger, I would do my jobs for the day (see previous post - trolley rage), wait until my fiance got back from work, and then we could sort it out. I forgot entirely!

Sunday morning, I managed a short lie in, although my fiance got up at the usual time. When I came downstairs, I was greeted with "you won't believe the morning I've had"! It was only about 9.00am!

Shortly after he got up, he had seen the boys run up the stairs together, but thought nothing of it. Following this, he had heard noises in the kitchen, and gone to investigate. Four of the puppies had squeezed through the cat flap, and were exploring the kitchen! They had their noses into everything, including the remains of the previous night's cat food! While he worked out what he should do about the puppies, they continued to roam around downstairs. They found several cat toys to play with, and even started licking my man's toes! They were all very friendly and very confident.

Luckily at this point, there was a knock at the door. Our next door neighbour had realised what had happened. He apologised, and between them, the puppies were returned home over the fence. I assume this escape route has been fixed now, as they haven't invaded since!

The Perils of "Trolley Rage"...!

2009-08-01T18:21:00.009+01:00

Welcome to the weekend. Two whole days off to recharge my batteries before the next working week. However, for me, this can be quite daunting, as this also involves the weekly shopping expedition. I suffer severely from trolley rage!

My main objective when shopping is to get in and out as quickly as possible, so that I can start to enjoy my free time. The trouble is, I find myself trying to put this off for as along as I possibly can - bad move! The later in the day I leave this, the worse it gets!

When I arrive at the supermarket, the first thing I find is that I seem to be the only one who has a clue where they're going! I develop tunnel vision, and aim directly to what I'm looking for (hoping that no bright spark has decided to move it since last week), and grab what I need. Everyone else seems to just amble about. There is always someone (or more commonly a whole family) preventing me from reaching the section I need to get to, just having a chat! I've even seen a couple blocking off the entire milk section, while they debate about which carton to buy! How difficult a decision can which type of milk be?

There also seem to be so many people who stop in the middle of the aisle while they figure out what they want to look for next. This always leaves just too little room for anyone to get past. Even worse is when one family bumps into another in the middle of the aisle, and just stop to gossip. Then there's two trolleys and two families taking up twice as much room! Why?
By this point I'm becoming desperate to get out. When I finally make it to the queue, I feel like my blood is boiling, and that there must be steam coming out of my ears by now! Then I find that the queue has become so long that I can't even see which checkout I'm queueing for! So I wait, and wait...

By the time I arrive home, I tend to discover that I've forgotten something really important, and/ or bought something I realised I didn't need!

Why do I put myself through this every week?

Tarot Readings for the Day

2009-07-30T19:18:00.009+01:00

While I haven't attempted this for a while, I decided the time was right for attempt a tarot reading, to see if I could make sense of it!

I started with a single card...

Whilst on the face of it, this seems like a very negative card to come up in a reading, it doesn't necessarily have a literal meaning. This purely means an ending of some sort. For example, the end of a job, which can provide an opening for something new to take it's place. When looked at like this, it becomes a card for change, the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. This makes it a much more positive card.

A card reading of any kind is very subjective. Whist there are some standard card spreads, and meanings for each card, the way to read and make sense of them is very personal.

One example of this, is to look beyond the book meaning, and see something deeper in the picture itself. This will allow you to find different meanings in the same card, depending on the situation the time you read them, and on any specific question in your mind at the time. Another is connected with the spread used (the way the cards are laid out). With this first reading, I decided beforehand to read the first card that came up, and only look at one card.

Another simple yet standard spread is to lay out three cards side by side, and use them to represent past, present and future. For my second reading, I used this spread, although I wanted the cards all to represent where I am now, so that (hopefully) I can gain an understanding of where I am heading. Whereas individually all the cards will have a separate meaning, when combined these can provide a more detailed answer to a question.

My three card reading for today was as follows...

The hanged man represents trials and sacrifice, along with divination and prophecy. This means that while I may be dealing with many issues at the moment and not at my most upbeat, I am in the right frame of mind for this reading. This is something I need to do now. Temperance however, shows a more positive attitude from those around me. I can moan, complain and offload my worries and have the reassurance of a sympathetic ear! Finally, the strength card shows that I will be able to recover from these troubled times, and that I have the inner strength I need. I will be able to emerge a stronger and wiser person for it. Everything happens for a reason, and there are lessons to be learnt, so that I can progress.

All of the information gained from the two readings I can relate to at the moment. I have been juggling with various issues and stressful situations for some time, and need to see an end to these. I have already seen evidence of support from those close to me, and it is very reassuring to see positive changes coming my way!

Back to Reality!

2009-07-28T07:30:00.000+01:00

Well it was back to the old routine yesterday, after a whole week's break from the office. It's amazing how quickly you get out of the habit! The early morning start I could certainly do without!

To begin with, I was late in to work. Not really my fault (Ithought). I only missed the bus because it was on time for a change!

When I arrived, I soon became buried under a mountain of paperwork. The other girls (bless them) had had a go at some of my stuff. However, they don't quite know what they're doing, so my first couple of hours was spent working out where they'd filed (and hidden) everything!

However, after a few hours of dedicated (although dull and seemingly endless) paperwork, I had things back under control.

Then I hit the next problem with my job. Once the backlog was cleared, there was no more to take it's place! It became a long, long afternoon!

This was only Monday. I've still got the rest of the week to go until the weekend. I need another holiday soon!

Meet my Moggies a.k.a. "The Boys"

2009-07-25T19:09:00.000+01:00

(Left to right) Bob (the sleepy one) and Ziggy (the spooky one)!

Hi all

I thought I'd take the time today to introduce two of the most important members of the family - The Boys! You may think they look very similar, well there's a reason for that, they are in fact brothers from the same litter.

Firstly, here's Bob...

Bob has always come across as "big brother"! He's in charge. As a kitten he was in charge of the toys, and now that they're older, he's also in charge of the food! Bob is always the hungry one, so it's quite surprising that his brother gets a look in!

Bob is also the confident one. He has to know everything that's going on, and will stick his nose into everything!

And here's Ziggy...

Ziggy is generally far more timid than Bob, and is usually quite happy for him to take the lead. If there is a noise (such as a knock on the door), Ziggy runs and hides (just in case of danger)!

However, when all is quiet, and just the family are home, Ziggy creates his own noise! He has an incredibly loud meow, and will go on and on when he demands your attention! I call Ziggy "my furry alarm clock", as he will not let me lie in in the morning! In addition to his loud voice, the constant clawing of the bed will always force me to get up in the end!

These boys are now twelve years old, but they still act like kittens. Although they sleep more now than they used to, they still enjoy playing together. They chase each other all over the house (you really don't want to get in the way!) and play fight, virtually every day. They say that cats are quiet on their feet, but these two sound like a herd of elephants!

Anyway, tonight (Saturday) will be hectic - it's fish night, so the boys are getting excited! I'll try not to get trampled in the stampede!

The Ultimate Quest for Online Cash - Part 3

2009-07-23T18:26:00.000+01:00

While still searching for the ultimate money spinner, I discovered Squidoo and blogging. These are fairly new ideas for me.

I started Squidoo a few months ago, and whilst being a lot of fun to do, hasn't yet earned me my fortune. To date I have $0.92 in my account, this is at least something, although I'm not quite sure where it came from! The idea of Squidoo is to write articles (in Squidoo they are called lenses) about any subject you can think of. You can add pictures and video clips to spice it up, and you get paid if someone clicks on adverts on your lens or buys any products you may be selling.

You can check out my "lensography" by clicking on the link below:

http://www.squidoo.com/cattyjen-lensography

There are also links on this to my other lenses.

I also discovered something called "linkpayer". If you are adding links on your lens, you can enter the link on this site and they convert it into a linkpayer link. Whenever someone clicks on this, you get paid by linkpayer (this may be where my $0.92 came from). I have been trying to find this site again recently, but now it doesn't seem to work!

Blogging, it seems is very similar to squidoo, although this is an ongoing project. It does require that the blogger updates the blog on a regular basis to be found by search engines. However, there appear to be many possibilities of making money this way, even though I haven't so far (I've only just started about a week ago). Like everything online, this seems to take time! Great fun though!

As said before, the main thing is to constantly update a blog. I found after a few days that I was struggling to think what to write about next, so I took a look at my lenses for inspiration. I realised that many of my lenses (18 in total so far) were connected with TV, film and celebrities. This gave me the idea for my second blog "Movie Mania", a collection of reviews and articles related to movies, TV programmes and actors/ actresses that I had an interest in. To be fair, the average reader may well not have heard of many (if any) of the films I've covered so far, but believe me, there are some great movies & TV shows I can highly recommend for the discerning movie buff! If you fancy taking a look, click on the link below:

http://moviemania-cattyjen.blogspot.com/

Hope you enjoy the new blog!

Divination - Goddess Card for the day (Tuesday 21st June '09)

2009-07-21T19:57:00.000+01:00

As part of my quest to discover my psychic side, I decided to try divining with a pack of Goddess Cards. These can usually be very helpful in making sense of the world, and can be easier to read than Tarot Cards.

I picked out one card to help me today, in light of my financial issues, which was Maat. This card represents fairness. Underneath the picture was the saying "This situation will be handled in a fair and just manner". While I'm still working out how this will manifest itself, I started to look deeper into the picture. When reading cards it is important to do this, as this will give each card not only a deeper meaning, but your perception of the image will alter every time the card appears in a reading. This is partly to do with the question you are looking for an answer to, and also your state of mind at the time.

I noticed that to me the picture looked cluttered, which is how I'm seeing my life at the moment. So many issues to take in, and just about managing to get by! I need to look deeper now, and hopefully my card for tomorrow will make more sense of this one! I'll keep you posted...

The Ultimate Quest for Online Cash - Part 2

2009-07-19T14:20:00.000+01:00

In my search for the perfect method to make money online, I have seen many articles relating to affiliate marketing. However, this can be tricky if you don't know what you're doing, and can also become expensive.

The idea is to sell someone else's product for them by signing up to become an affiliate. I've attempted this via "Clickbank" (a free to join site) along with the resources provided in a site called "Legitimate Online Jobs" (I had to pay to join this). When you become an affiliate, you are given your own link to the website promoting the product, and you type up adverts. Every time someone clicks on your link and buys the product, you get paid a commission. Sounds easy doesn't it? Unfortunately not!

The snag is that you are competing with so many others (mainly very experienced people) using the best keywords that are being searched for. Also the most effective way is to buy these keywords from Google (using Adsense or Adwords). With this, every time someone clicks on your advert, you are charged. This is OK if enough people actually buy via your advert, but if not, you still have to pay (this is how it can be costly). I have tried using free advertising, but this way it is hard for your advert to be seen, let alone be clicked on. The other issue is to find a product to sell that people actually want to buy!

I have so far failed to make any money using this method, as at the moment I can't really afford the expense of trying out adverts and keywords to get started in this business. I have read that many people fail at this, for the reasons I have just outlined.

There are many websites out there offering to make you money online by doing this. However, in my experience they don't really help you get started with any useful information, just the bare bones of the idea. Legitimate Online Jobs did just that. Also, whilst they did incorporate other money making ideas and links to other sites, the majority were only useful if you live in the US.

One final point, if you see sites offering money for data entry or typing work, these are usually exactly the same as this. There is no guarantee of being paid, as your payment is dependant on the adverts you submit.

It seems that making a second income online is never as easy as it appears!

The Ultimate Quest for Online Cash - Part 1

2009-07-17T19:04:00.000+01:00

As mentioned in my previous post, I have been spending the last few months trying to figure out how to make money online. So far with limited sucess.

I thought I should share some of the methods I've tried so far, along with the pitfalls as I find them.

As I see it, there are several ways available. However, most of these online systems seem to require some form of payment upfront, and or monthly. There are also so many scams out there, and it is incredibly difficult to know which system to trust.

I've tried loking at reviews of anything that looks remotely interesting, with varied results. However, any scam that is good enough at looking plausible is also able to fool you with scam reviews! Who can you really trust online?

These are the methods I've looked into so far:

MLM (multi level marketing)
Affiliate marketing (via google adwords/ adsense for example)
Online gambling systems
Cash gifting
Data entry/ typing jobs
Article/ review writing

MLM ( Multi Level Marketing)

This was my first venture into the world of online money making. I discovered a site called The 3 Cash Machine. This site claimed to provide it's users with free cash pouring into their paypal accounts on demand. They sold this system to me in the understanding that it would not only work wonders for my bank balance, but would also be easy and completely free! To a complete newbie like myself, this seemed perfect, although not the case in reality.

This required me to sign up to about 2- traffic exchanges, to promote my new free website, and also to a company called GDI (Global Domains International) to host my website. This was only free for SEVEN DAYS! After this, I was required to pay them $10 per month (not such a free system now)! Also, the basis of the system to to encourage others to sign up under me. I would then be paid to sign them up to all the (useless) stuff I had already signed up for myself!

Although they made a point of making this seem easy, I was never warned about how hard it actually was to get my website seen, let alone recruit others! Also, GDI (based in the US) would not accept any form of cancellation than a phone call to their offices in the States! This would have cost me a fortune calling from the UK! Not surprisingly, this venture fell completely flat and I gave up after what seemed like hundreds of hours promoting this pointless site. I ended up using my own method to cancel GDI - I just didn't pay them. Eventually, aftere several emails from them (they know better than to waste their money calling overseas!) they cancelled my account for me! I didn't make a penny out of this system, and the traffic exchanges I signed up to simply sent constant junk emails. I would go to work, come home and find HUNDREDS in my inbox!

In conclusion, MLM is a waste of time (and potentially money)and there are so many similar ones out there. Take my advice, don't bother!

Keep a lookout for my next post on the subject of online money...

Thought for the day # 1

2009-07-17T18:08:00.000+01:00

Have you ever heard about the agnostic, dyslexic, insomniac?

It's a sad story. He lies awake every night, wondering whether there really is a DOG!

(Think about it!)

Welcome one & all to my brand new blog!

2009-07-16T13:55:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone, & welcome.

Just to let you know, this is my very first blog post ever, although I have written several articles (or lenses as they call them) on Squidoo.

I decided to write this so that I could share my thoughts with like-minded people who are curious about the madness of modern life, the mystery of death & everything natural & supernatural in between!

I'm a very average woman, living an average life, with my fiance & two cats (Bob & Ziggy - collectively known as "The Boys"). However I have experienced some weird occurances which make me question the world & my own place within it (more about that later).

My efforts to understand the supernatural world seem to be constantly interrupted by the harsh realities of the practical one. There is always (as they say) "too much month left at the end of the money", which has prompted me to look for an additional source of income online. I'm still trying to fight my way through the scams, to find something genuinely profitable. If & when this happens, I will post the details on this blog, so that more people can benefit from the knowledge. However I am hampered by the fact that I have an incredibly limited budget, & most of these online income sites require some payment upfront, &/or monthly. In the meantime, I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has been able to make some reasonable cash online.

In addition, I would love to hear from anyone who has had any strange psychic or supernatural experiences, basically anything you are unable to explain. I will tell you more about my experiences in a later post, although if you would like to know more, please check out my lens on the concept of psychic development on Squidoo (Click on the link below):

http://www.squidoo.com/Psychic-Development-2

Well, that's it for my first ever post. I look forward to your comments & any questions you may have. So far, I've only scratched the surface of the topics I'll be writing about & what makes me, well, me I suppose! Look out for post no. 2, coming soon!