Life is riddled with a procession of minor impediments

[Tiplodocus]

I've got pins and needles in my arms.

[Theblazeuk]

You should still claim Hawkmonger. What's the worst that could happen? It turns into 'more trouble than its worth' would mean what, if you calculate your time spent on this as minimum wage. £20?

[Batman's Superior Cousin]

And now I forgot an appointment with Ingeus today, even though I told them I'd be unavailable on Tuesdays. Their excuse is that they forgot, and I'm to blame for not reminding them!!!

[Spikes]

Had a Tetanus jab today, so my arm is a bit sore. And I got stung by some stinging nettles.

[Professor Bear]

And now I forgot an appointment with Ingeus today, even though I told them I'd be unavailable on Tuesdays. Their excuse is that they forgot, and I'm to blame for not reminding them!!!

I feel you, BSC, but get on top of that shit right now, because they will peg you as a troublemaker and fast-track you to shit schemes you shouldn't even be on in the first place.  I personally encountered a lot of anger from other participants whose stories made it clear that they were actually being blocked from finding work by the schemes rather than enabled, and one of the courses dedicated to improving participants' computer skills and literacy was being run by a woman who complained that the computers we used weren't working properly "because they keep putting red lines under words."
I repeat: computer skills and literacy.

You'd expect there to be a higher standard for schemes run by liars and incompetents with no actual purpose beyond giving public money to the private sector and normalising unpaid work positions while reducing the most vulnerable members of the poor to a sub-class of untrained labor who are actively blocked by the schemes from seeking educational qualifications, but here we are.

[Batman's Superior Cousin]

Thank you Professor B, will do!!!

[TordelBack]

Woke up this morning duh duh duh duh duh.
Ignored storm as I loaded my poor Fiesta to the roof with the muddy tools of my muddy trade, shovels,mattocks, generator, submersible pump, total station, surveying gear, drawing boards, rain gear etc. etc,
Noticed tyre was totally flat.
Unloaded the tools of my trade etc., still ignoring storm, in order to get at stupidly located spare tyre.
Changed tyre, finding driving rain and staggering gusts increasingly hard to ignore.
Reloaded car with etc.  Noticed cat had been into my bag and eaten my sandwiches while my attention was on wheel and storm.
Tried to start car. Nothing.
Tried to find neighbour to beg a jump start. No-one home.
Rang nearby friends and relations.  All at work.

Did I mention it's raining?

[Theblazeuk]

Cat ate your sandwiches? Clever girl...

[Ancient Otter]

Woke up this morning duh duh duh duh duh.
Ignored storm as I loaded my poor Fiesta to the roof with the muddy tools of my muddy trade, shovels,mattocks, generator, submersible pump, total station, surveying gear, drawing boards, rain gear etc. etc,
Noticed tyre was totally flat.
Unloaded the tools of my trade etc., still ignoring storm, in order to get at stupidly located spare tyre.
Changed tyre, finding driving rain and staggering gusts increasingly hard to ignore.
Reloaded car with etc.  Noticed cat had been into my bag and eaten my sandwiches while my attention was on wheel and storm.
Tried to start car. Nothing.
Tried to find neighbour to beg a jump start. No-one home.
Rang nearby friends and relations.  All at work.

Did I mention it's raining?

Any floods up your neck of the woods Tordelback?

[TordelBack]

Any floods up your neck of the woods Tordelback?

Thankfully I live on a hill, so no.  However this is the sight that greeted me when I finally made it to work:



Note forlorn sponge and basin in centre.  I was supposed to be digging holes somewhere under all that.

[Hawkmumbler]

Bah,mI feel for you Tordels. That must be an excruciating series of events.

[CrazyFoxMachine]

:O:O:O and I thought OUR site was wet today. sshheeesh.

I did find out one of my new co-workers is a veteran squaxx though which is a nice surprise!

[TordelBack]

Bah,mI feel for you Tordels. That must be an excruciating series of events.

Nah, it was more amusing than annoying really.  After half a bottle of wine anyway.  Apart from the sandwiches, that is.  There are some crimes that can never be forgiven.  Find your own duvet tonight, bastard cat.

Happily we had worked hard and late Tuesday in anticipation of the weather, and got almost everything critical sorted, although even that had required a pump running full tilt all day so there was no hope at all today.

[Hawkmumbler]

Luckily got a text from a friend of mine up Cumbria and our usual fossil scrounging site is above sea level but highly saturated by rain water. Bodes well for Trilobite and trace fossils next time i'm on my hands and knee's.

Have you ever been in this situation before Tordels? Previously colleges of mine have had to drain flooded sites with pumps to get to the bottom, hope you don't have to go through that frustrating task.

[TordelBack]

Oh yuss.  So often that some years ago I bought my own little genny and submersible pump, reasoning that everyone always wants to hire the bloody things on the same morning and the queuing and disappointment was becoming too much.  I love my pump dearly, or at least a lot more than the half day of back-breaking bucket chains that seemed to constitute much of my working life prior to that.  (One job I worked on in Mayo in the 80's, we estimated that we (a team of 8) had spent an average of 200 hours a week bailing a site - it rained every single day for a month).

Good luck with your trilobites, Hawk.  All I've ever found are crinoids, although the wife has a nice little ammonite from a gravel driveway.