Its Been a while!!!!

Well only like 20days since my last posting so this could be a long one!!!! Some might already know bits of bobs from talking to me on Skype and so on but yeah may as well repeat it all.

So last thing I posted was how we went to Newcastle and helped out at a Rat Race and also how I had my first interview. Since then a lot has happened hence why I haven’t posted in a while (ok also I have been lazy) so anyway I didn’t get the job working on the trains I waited and waited for a phone call but it never came then got a letter in the mail so wasn’t really to surprised but yeah kind of wanted it as just really needed some work. So Piret and I then had the Adventure Race in the Lake District to help out at. The event itself was in a random little town but we had no way of getting there so plan was to catch a train to closest place then try and hitchhike. We arrived in a place called Windermere which was about 40km from where we wanted to be and it was pissing down great day for standing there trying to get a lift!!! Lucky for us after about 5min someone picked us up!! She was a American lady who has moved to UK and lived here for the last 40 years, she had just got back from watching her daughter at the Olympics so that was quite cool to hear about that, she was in the K1 kayaking which is a dam hard event!!! The lady even drove us the extra 10km from her house to where we needed to be so that was good. Once there had to try and set out tent up in the rain great fun!!!


Our job for the event was to help out on the Bike leg, it was a pretty simple adventure race as it was just raising money for Guide dogs so they did all the events in different order the events where mountain biking, Hiking, kayaking. Piret and I had to man two different points and just mark off teams as they went past us so was kind of boring and had to sit there the whole day. Then problems started!!! We had 4 teams left to come past me as I was last point on the bike. Then one team came saying they got lost then another and another but still one missing, waited and waited on the radio to the event control center but after an hour of waiting it was decided the search party should start so land rovers were dispatched into the forest looking for them but still no sign!!! They then got me to meet another guy and try and bike around some of the tracks whilst Piret waited at point to see if they came past. The event center had just got off the phone to mountain rescue when they turned up. They had been down in another village sitting at the pub!!! Good on them!!!! That night the rain seemed to stop but the wind took over!! It was like a hurricane was blowing through the area I’m sure our tent was about to take off!!! Well we lived to tell the tale so that’s a good thing. Over all the weekend wasn’t to bad apart from what seemed like nonstop rain!!! Pirets back was playing up to so she wasn’t to happy. We got a ride back easy enough too so that was good!!!

Well the week that followed turned out to be a good one on Tuesday I got a call from Evolution Recruitment which where the agency that was in charge of the work on the trains they organized all the applicants and the tests but then didn’t do the interviews. Anyway they rung me up saying how they didn’t understand why I didn’t get a job as they thought I was going to, then said they have found me another one, told me to go to Sheffield station in the morning for a interview but said I’m the only one they had sent for the interview so I should really get it. I arrived and asked for the lady I was supposed to meet but turns out she had gone to London. Met some other guy and he asked why I was here and then he was like ok well you have the job we will take you to Chesterfield now (it’s a little city 20min train away from Sheffield) so jumped on a train and yeah started to work. Kind of funny really here I am can’t find a job anywhere then all of a sudden have a interview and start that day!!! So yeah now I have a job!!! Im working at Chesterfield station as a Passenger asstantance which is really just answering questions, helping the people who have asked for help when buying tickets on, off and also transferring between trains. The funny thing is I did an hour in Sheffield learning about what I had to do and they had a list of passengers like 5 pages long so like one ever 10min but in Chesterfield I have maybe 4 people a day some days I only have one person to help!!! So that can be kind of good but also shit cos then it means the day takes forever!!! Moneys not that great but yeah least it’s something. It’s a massive company so hopefully can move on sometime soon to something better. My hours are good thou its just Monday to Friday 9 till 5

So after two and half days of work I got the weekend. I had been asked by some mates from Sheffield if I wanted to be in there team this weekend in a running race. The only thing was it was carrying a barrel of beer from one pub to another. Sounds easy doesn’t it, well not when the pubs are split by this massive hill in the peak district!!!! The team I was in was the previous year’s winners and were out again to defend their title luckily I wasn’t the only newbie half the team was new!!! The team was made up of 8 runners and you could carry the barrel anyway you wanted as long as you kept it under control going down the hill. So the team went with last year’s plan which was to tie the barrel to a ladder then had straps to hold the ladder. The barrel had 72 pints which is 40L they had taken the beer out but put water in instead. It doesn’t really sound like much 40L divided by 8 team members but man maybe it was the weight of the ladder or the barrel itself!!! But by the time I was half way up the hill I was wasted!!!! We started last, 4min behind the team that came second last year but halfway up the hill we had already past that team and were gaining on the next. We got to the hill top then had to fun across the top which wasn’t too bad but by this stage it was getting harder to hold the ladder up high enough not to keep hitting the ground. At one stage I got waist deep in a bog and had to be pulled out by some random spectator!!! Once we got across the top it was the easy part!!! DOWNHILL was nice to run down but didn’t last long enough to let me recover fully!!! Once at the bottom then had to run another 10min to the pub I was in so much pain by this stage I thought I was going to die!!! Arms where so tired from holding onto the dam ladder for so long!!! When we crossed the line we knew we had done enough to defend the title but couldn’t beat last year’s time!!! Was a lot of fun but man it hurt so much!!! Might need to do some upper body strength before next year!!! As reward from winning we got to drink the 72 pints as you can imagine not many of us are regular drinkers so 72 ended up to be way too much. Made for a good night!!!

The week that has just passed started off with me going to work with what felt like every muscle in my body sore!!! Piret had to go away for two days to help at a adventure race so she left Tuesday afternoon then came back late Wednesday, She said it wasn’t too bad they were at some flash hotel where she got dinner and Bfast brought for her by the company so she was rather happy!!! On Thursday she had a Interview in the morning at a gym in a Uni hostel thing so she was hoped to get that she thought the interview went well so that was a good sign. She left again late on Thursday night and came back on Friday night. I got a call from her during the day saying that she got the Job!!!! YAY we both have jobs!!!! And they asked if she could start the next day!!! So she went to work yesterday and has again today. She thinks that she will normally work Monday to Friday but had to work this weekend because all the uni students came back this weekend they wanted everybody on so help sign people up!!! The gym is brand new!!! So said it’s so nice and clean and very flash!!! Her work will be much the same as what she was doing in wellington so that’s not to bad just hopefully I can go there as well for free but will have to see I guess!!! So I have been home alone this weekend hasn’t been to bad went into town and did some shopping then have cleaned the flat up today!!!


This week Piret has a day off her normal job to go and help out at the adventure race then on Friday we both head to London to help out at the Rat race there which should be fun as it’s the Main one for the year!!! So Piret is bussing down early morning and I will train down after work on Friday. Well I think that’s all for now!!! I hope to update a bit more regularly now