It’s a good feeling to know that I have a job.  Or, will have, very soon.  After my second interview, I feel somewhat drained.  Not that it was particularly gruelling, but the anxiety associated with interviews and the tremendous relief afterwards can leave you feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck.  Then, I get excited knowing that we can stay in England, we can move house, etc.  Then, I get anxious again because we have to move house, etc.[ad#ad-1]

Anyhow, my two interviews have renewed my confidence.  It’s not a good feeling when you’ve sent out two dozen CVs and not get word for a long time.  But, being offered a job on the spot is a big booster.  I went ahead and did the second interview just to see how I would do (besides the fact that it was a little late to cancel on them).  Though I wasn’t formally offered a job, I was asked if I would accept if it was offered and when I could start.  They implied I was overqualified, and seeing that the only other interviewer at the time spent only 5 minutes with them, it was enough to convince me they were trying to see which way the wind was blowing.  I had to admit that I couldn’t accept, but I wanted to know how I did.  The main interviewer told me he could not see how I could not be successful in whatever I decided to pursue.

Of course, as soon as I received my first offer, I got called for two other interviews.  One was very tempting.  I have to make a lateral career change and I have chosen two areas of expertise.  The job I chose is in the field of my first choice.  But, the job is a temporary one, and I will be starting out part-time, moving to full-time in a few months’ time.  However, it’s a step towards my goal, and it gets me a foot in the door.  My second job would be doing what I had done years ago, so a definite step down.  The third interview, which I turned down, is similar to the second.  All three are temporary.  But, the fourth one would have been permanent and would lead me down a path towards my second choice of a career change.  It’s tempting to go for it and see how I do, but I think it’s probably best to concentrate on finding another house and a new school, etc.  There’s still that slight twinge of regret, but I know that the position would be a lot more competitive.

It’s not that I regret my decision.  But, the cost of living is a lot higher at my chosen job than if I chose any one of the other positions. On the other hand, there would be fewer transitions.  For example, our daughter will still be able to go to the same gym and have the same piano teacher.  They’ll stay in their school until mid-term at least. 

But, we’re moving because our lease will be up soon and we’ve had enough of all the problems in this house.  I’m not sure how much longer before the rest of the floor in the kitchen will cave in.  We have enough trouble walking around the areas that have already broken through.  There’s also a hole in the bathroom.  All the work that the landlord was supposed to take care of since we moved in has not been touched.  In addition, they (agent and landlord) have not resolved this issue with the electric meter.  As it turns out, we were right when we complained that we must’ve been paying for more than our fair share of electricity.  So, until October, when I start my job, we will need to take a good look at our housing and schooling options.

I was also very excited about my pay.  I had been informed by several institutions that because I am new to this country, I would start at the lowest pay level.  However, this place argued that with my experience, I should be offered something closer to the top (not the very top due to my inexperience in this country, but close).  It means we will be able to maintain our current standard of living, which is by no means extravagant in any sense.  But, to find a house in our price range will be very difficult down in that area.  We will have to live a little ways out.

My excitement has been tempered by the fact that next year, when I have actually worked a full year, my salary would be at a level such that I might have to pay double taxes – UK and US!  I’ll have to look into this. To have to pay taxes to two different countries means that the take-home would be even less.  And what makes it even more unfair is that the US uses an exchange rate of 2.1 (based on the currency exchange from several years ago), and not the current rate, which is closer to 1.6.

I have two job interviews this week and I’m a little anxious about them.  It’s been over 6 years since I’ve been on a job interview, so I’m a little out of practice.[ad#ad-1]

Having been on interviews on both sides of the Atlantic, my husband has concluded that the interview process is much more serious and gruelling in the UK.  He recalls being shortlisted for a job and was put up at a 5-star hotel for two days during the interview.  The weekend comprised a series of panel interviews and tests. Not a story to reassure anyone.

I do know that at the end of the second interview, I would receive an answer at the end of the day or the next day.  Seeing that it’s a Friday, I may have an answer by the end of the day.  However, my job preference is for the one on Thursday and at this point, I don’t know when they would inform candidates of their success/failure.  All I know is that I will meet a panel of three interviewers.

My other dilemma is that I still have not heard from the many other positions I applied for, and since some of them have not closed on their applications, I may not hear from them for a while.  Yet, some of them are for positions I prefer over the one on Friday.  Therefore, if I do not get the Thursday position, how do I approach the Friday one?  I wouldn’t want to lose out on the chance of a job, but I also don’t want to rush on an acceptance if there’s a chance at my getting a better one.

The only certainty right now is that we will have to move.  And the girls start back to school in a few days.

As the green campaign is very important in the EU, we’d like to do our part.  Our grass, which stayed green throughout the whole winter practically, shot up in the last month.  It is nearly a foot in some areas, with the weeds even higher.  We don’t have a lawnmower and it seems a waste to get one.  We would have no place to store it anyway.  The edge of the lawn by the fences are nice and trim due to the sheep sticking their heads through and feeding to their content.

We had considered letting the sheep graze on the lawn to keep it low.  We see that they are doing a wonderful job along the edge.  But we worry about the smell and mess of sheep manure.  After all, the kids still like to run around in their barefeet.  The landlord had even suggested this option when he saw the lawn, so he would have no problems with it.  It’s been rather tricky catching the farmer, though.  He visits once or twice a day, very briefly to do what he has to do.

In the last couple days, one of the lambs has found his way outside of the gates and was grazing on common grass areas.  I was tempted to lure him into our yard and let him feed, but the sheep and lambs are still somewhat wary of us (except for the flocks that chased us in the fields).  Even the ones feeding on the edge would turn and rush away when we open the front door.

As I said, we’d like to do our part to reduce carbon emissions and there’s no greener lawnmower than a sheep or goat.  We just need to resolve the manure issue.  Oh, and get the farmer’s permission as well.  We wouldn’t want him to think we were stealing his animals.