Reading, Real Life and Redundancy

Let’s face it, there’s only one reason you probably clicked on this post as the word ‘Redundancy’ sticks out like a sore thumb, or an elephant in a polo match. Is that an expression? It should be!

I’ve been quiet for a little while and despite my best intentions of sitting down to write a post, I could never find the words. Truth be told, I’ve been a little embarrassed to write this post as it isn’t exactly an easy thing to turn around to someone and say…

‘The weather’s nice today isn’t it… Oh, by the way, I lost my job!’

Truth be told, I wasn’t really made redundant. If we are going to get technical my contract came to an end and the company I was working for couldn’t extend it. Redundancy is really just the short way of explaining it. Perhaps like when someone says ‘So and so is with child’, I could simply say ‘I am without job’. Hmm… I’m not sure it’ll stick?

It has taken me a while to adjust to the news since I found out a few weeks ago and today is officially my first day of unemployment. I do think the novelty of a midday bath will soon wear off though. Long story short, things have been a little bit sh*t. Since the beginning of the pandemic I have been working from home. I swapped my half-an-hour train commute for a 30 second walk down my stairs, although I have to say the regular supply of home-baked goods was definitely a perk (thanks Mum)!

‘I’m sorry you’ve lost your job, let me give you a hug – oh!’

I worked for eighteen months in total at the publishing company, twelve of which were spent in my dining room at home. The same room I ate in, relaxed in and worked on my business in. Now I am sitting here searching for jobs, jobs in an industry which pre-pandemic were already few and far between.

I’m not entirely sure what will happen next or what the future holds, but on day one I am already feeling a little bit lost. Just as the world is seemingly slowly getting back to my normal, I am back to square one. Back at the start of job hunting, countless applications, unemployment but perhaps with a little less sanity than I had pre-pandemic (if you’re an employer please ignore that last bit)! Let’s face it, I don’t think anyone will be leaving this pandemic how they were to begin with  and I could really do with a hug from a friend right now!

As the world goes back to normal…

There’s a few things now I’ve got more time, besides job applications, that I want to focus on. I’ve decided to participate in the #MarchMeetTheMaker challenge over on my Instagram as I have loved sharing my art journey with you. If you missed my post about ‘My First Ever Solo Exhibition’ you can read that here. Follow me along as I share a daily insight into my business here: I.Marshall Artwork

I’m finally going to put pen to paper more (or fingers to keyboard, as it were) and start writing again. Blog writing and story writing, I just miss writing and I want to revisit the children’s books I wrote during my degree as who knows what may happen at this point!

I also think it is time to tackle my long forgotten and neglected ‘to be read’ pile of books. Honestly, it has got way out of hand! I did read one book recently though that I absolutely loved. ‘The Farm’ by Joanne Ramos was thoroughly enjoyable and I would recommend it to you all – I think I may start doing some monthly book reviews to share books I have read recently. Plus… it’ll be the perfect excuse to read more books and also buy more books!

I think I also need to start listening to someone else’s advice… You all know how much I love Dr Seuss so I think I’ll listen to this…

“You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself any direction you choose!” – Dr Seuss

Well, I think I’ve rambled on enough by this point. This is real life and sometimes, unfortunately, it isn’t all that great but hopefully it is just the start of something new, something positive. What I can say though is that at the moment it is incredibly scary and daunting… but my redundancy and losing my job will not stop me.

I’d love to hear your experience of the pandemic, long, short, good or bad. I think sometimes it is nice to know that you’re not alone in your experiences and that there is always someone out there who’ll listen.

Thanks for listening, whoever you are!