It’s five months since I handed in my notice at work and a couple of months since I received my P45 – nothing says unemployed more that a P45!
The good bits
- I don’t have to commute
- I can wear what I like
- I can work on my blog, with the excuse that I’m ‘keeping my hand in’, for when I manage to land the perfect job
- I can say I’m bored, tired, stressed out and people empathise – a privilege not given to many people in paying jobs!
- I’m my own boss
- I have time to renew old friendships and make new ones
The bad bits
- I don’t have a commute which means no time to catch up on google reader or relax
- I haven’t drunk a hot cup of peppermint tea in about, ooh, 17 months
- My clothes are constantly covered in food or snot
- I haven’t had a decent conversation about anything other than Edward, his sleeping patterns or teeth in months
- I have no monthly income – child benefit doesn’t count
I was sent a copy of the book ‘I don’t know how she does it’ to read (it’s been re-released to tie in with the film of the same name) which was a great opportunity to see how the other half live – those mums who juggle work and their children.
I loved the book! Allison Pearson is a good writer and I enjoyed reading how the main character, Kate Reddy, juggles work, the nanny, her relationships and trying to do her best as a mother. I especially loved the opening scene where she distresses mince pies so she can pass them off as her own for the school carol concert. “Women used to have time to make mince pies and had to fake orgasms. Now we can manage the orgasms, but we have to fake the mince pies. And they call this progress.”
I really hope I can squeeze in a trip to the cinema to see the film which moves the setting from London to New York. Some of the reviews I’ve read have been great and I’d love to see SJP out of her Sex and the City role.
The film tie-in edition was published by Vintage on 1st September, price £7.99 in paperback. The film opens in the UK on the 16th September.