Update on Possible Job

Lies

So just after a month after I contacted the potential employer asking what was going on, I received an email. This was only 3 days ago and he basically said that he had been too busy to check his emails until now and that he would be looking into sorting his life out a bit more over the next few weeks. That was it.

So he still has not given me an answer one way or the other. I replied yesterday with an on-call retainer proposal. For a monthly fixed fee I offered to be on call and meet him anywhere in the world within 24 hours. He could then pay me a daily rate when I was there and I could go home when the work was done.

This meant he wouldn't be paying someone an annual salary if he didn't need them all the time, I wouldn't have to sit around like Billy-no-mates waiting to be summoned, I could still carry on working for myself, and if it didn't work out then neither of us had lost anything.

I haven't heard back yet obviously but I think it's a good offer and a happy medium. I texted him to inform him that he had an email from me, so I I will let you know!

What Happened With That Job

So just to give you an update on what happened with that potential travelling PA job - absolutely fuck all happened is what. 

What did happen is that he flew me out to Vegas and pretty much ignored me the whole time. He was a day late in arriving so I hung out with his friends and family; only one of whom knew I was even coming. I then tagged along with them like a bit of a lemon. When I didn't seek them out, nobody even contacted me to see if I was ok or to see what I was doing for dinner etc. It was awkward to say the least.

So I knocked around Vegas for 5 days waiting for him to speak to me about the job. He did not. I must have spent around 40 minutes in total talking to him one-to-one, the rest of the time I was just amongst the other 18 people (his friends and family) that he had invited along.

I could kick myself now that I wasted a great opportunity to hang out more with the Blogger Wolynski that I knew from reading her Vegas Images blog. She met me at The Mirage for a drink and kindly offered to show me around the 'regular' Vegas. But because it was the day before I left, I thought surely he will want to speak to me soon so I kept myself available. I wish now that I hadn't as I saw nobody the entire day and night.

The last morning I checked out of the hotel and called him to see what I should do with the phone he had given me for us to call each other on (the irony) he said they were going for breakfast and to join them. I then had a 10 minute chat with him where he said he didn't really know what was going on and maybe he would meet me again the next time he came to Europe. I said I didn't know why he had brought me there, he said he didn't know either but that he thought it 'might be fun' and so I could see how he lived. This would have been fine if I had actuallly seen more of how he lived!

I had borrowed £300 for spending money and my business had been neglected for 5 days, he asked me to bring my laptop but never asked me to do anything and the whole thing was just a bit odd. I then got on the plane home. Turns out Vegas is great if you're actually with some people you know, otherwise it's just you knocking around on your own for days skint and bewildered.

When I passed my driving test I texted him to let him know (he had paid for it after all!) he simply replied with "congratulations!". A week later I emailed him to say what a great time I had, to thank him for the trip and that, although learning to drive had been great, my business had suffered financially, that I wanted to move forward and make plans. I said I wanted to give him first opportunity to hire me as he had invested so much in me.

I stated that if it wasn't the right time, or I wasn't the right person then that would be fine (I wasn't even sure if I wanted to work for him or what that job might even be) but that his thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated. That was a month ago and he has not replied. So basically, some bloke I had met twice paid 2 grand for me to get my driving licence, then paid over 3 grand to fly me out to Vegas where he ignored me and I have not heard from him since.

How often does that happen?!

Vegas - Like Purgatory?

View from my hotel room

Well Vegas is pretty mental. Before you come you think of it as being this bold, colourful, exciting place where everyone is having fun, fun, fun but in reality it's a 24 hour money-making machine that's essentially all fur coat and no knickers!

It's almost like the situation where everyone tries desperately to have fun at New Year but you know it's all a bit of an effort. In fact, hardly anyone looks like they're enjoying themselves playing poker or slot machines - they sit and stare with dead, empty eyes for hour after hour and they all look really sad. 

There's music everywhere - even in the street. There's always really loud cheesy pop songs blasting out of every building or plaza or some chick telling you to come visit this show or eat in that restaurant. It is full on here. There's also lots of people riding around in mobility scooters who look like they have nothing wrong with them.

It's a mixed bag to be honest. Half of me looks at things and is enthralled and the other half is quite appalled. In The Venetian there are Gondoliers rowing about on water under fake painted dusky skies... on the second floor. How weird is that. The fake Trevi Fountain is fun unless you've been to the real Trevi Fountain. I sound a bit jaded about the place and I have had some fun wandering around taking billions of photos, but it's like being in a dream. This place is not any kind of recognisable reality.

Everyone is out for a buck here; if you have no money, or once you have tipped someone for doing their job, you are history. They have absolutely no interest in you apart from what you can give them. On the plus side though, it's very clean and my hotel room at The Mirage is lovely. The maids even tidy up your toiletries in the bathroom which I found quite unnerving at first - I'm pretty tidy & I line things up so they barely had to touch a thing really.

I do miss BBF a lot. I thought I'd be too busy to miss him but that has not been the case. Turns out it's weird being in a holiday destination without anyone you know! I like my own company but I miss normality, decent coffee and having something to do.

Yesterday I discovered Victoria's Secret though. We don't have one in the UK but their bra's are amazing. When I tried on the bra I ended up buying, I let out an involuntary sigh it was so comfortable. It is like a dream to wear. And strangely a size smaller than the one I was measured for and bought in M&S last week. The 2 I bought are not racy (nude and black) but they are without a doubt the comfiest ones I've ever owned... ever.

I fly back tomorrow which will be strange. I leave Vegas at half 4 on a Wednesday afternoon and arrive back in the UK at 11am Thursday! The flight is 9 hours and I have a driving lesson in the afternoon. I definitely need a nap before I attempt to navigate the streets of Brighton in a Toyota Yaris! 

Another great thing that happened (apart from Victoria's Secret) was that I met up with the formidable Wolynski. I have been following and commenting on her brilliant blogs for around 3 years and a couple of days ago she came to the hotel and we had coffee out by the pool. She is a right character and was a joy to be around even if it was only for a couple of hours. How she manages to live here is incredible to me, but I've only seen the touristy strip part of Vegas and not the 'real' bit though.

Anyway, that is Vegas so far. I arrived on Saturday and go home tomorrow; I have yet to talk shop with my potential future employer and I'm sitting around waiting to be summoned. I have no idea why I'm here, what my purpose is, or what is expected of me. I'm in the dark and a bit lost to be honest. We shall see what happens but at the moment it's all a bit unsettling.

Going to Vegas Baby

Such is the bizarreness of my life at the moment. I received an email from the potential employer on Tuesday asking if I was free to travel and visit him this weekend. I only had a driving lesson planned so agreed asking him where he'd like to meet me. Vegas that's where!

Yes, he is going to be celebrating his son't birthday in Vegas this weekend and wants me to come out to see him. I hope we will be discussing the potential job, but I think it may also be a get-to-know-ya situation to see if we want to work with each other. He's asked me to bring my laptop so there may even be a trial-shift situation going on.

If I do get to work for this guy, then I won't be talking about him on here although I will hopefully be telling you all about the far-flung places I'll be visiting. I've never been to the US before and I might even get to meet up with Wolynski whose Vegas blog I've been following for around 3 years now. Meeting a virtual person is quite bizarre in itself but if I'm to get this job then knowing people all around the World will come in very handy!

So I leave tomorrow morning and come back Tuesday night I think. I'm staying at The Mirage which looks kinda cool on their website, and I have no idea what to expect. I can't stay too long as I have my driving test quite soon and I want to be able to pass it first time. Then I can start travelling properly!

"Please Do Not Enter This Bin"

I've come to a mental arrangement with the driving. I've decided that I just can't go on having meltdowns every few days so I'm just going to do what I can do and slow down with the hours a bit. So my new mantra is "it's just driving".

I've got my test in a couple of weeks and if I pass then I do, and if I fail then I will simply take the test again. If the client waits for me and hires me then that's great, and if he doesn't then he just doesn't. I feel much better and my driving has suddenly improved as well.

The driving wasn't really that bad looking at it, but I've never taken on anything that takes so long to master! I kept getting frustrated seeing complete idiots driving around when I hadn't gotten the hang of it yet. I see people driving appallingly every day and it's galling that I probably drive better than they do yet they have their license.

I was at the 7 Dials Roundabout in Brighton today - this roundabout has 7 roads leading off from it hence the name and even experienced drivers shudder when they speak of navigating it. It's basically a free-for-all situation that can and does turn into a cluster-fuck in the blink of an eye. I'm still apprehensive when I approach it but I'm getting much better.

Talking of complete idiots, all the big dumpster bins in Brighton have a warning sticker on them alerting people to the fact that it's dangerous to sleep in them. On a par with printing that a bag of peanuts "may contain nuts", they've had to state the obvious because some fool did indeed drunkenly climb inside for a kip and was then turned into a human pancake when the binmen emptied the snoozing thicko into the back of the truck the next morning.

So because one solitary dimbo (obviously it was a man, as no woman would sleep in a bin. Even if drunk she would get herself home) at some cost, all the bins in Brighton and Hove now warn people that sleeping in one may not be the best idea. The bloke in question was actually a teacher if you can imagine, but just because one person did an unimaginably stupid thing, they've had to label them all just in case someone else has been eyeing up a bin as a good place to spend the night.

I'm uncertain as to whether they based the image on the victim himself, but here is the Council's impression of what a foolish man looks like. So if you're staggering home from a night out on the lash, do not consider climbing into a bin for a snooze. Your Council may not be as vigilant as ours, but I can inform you with some confidence that it will end in tears.

Possibly Something Again

Just as I had pretty much forgotten all about the mad potential job offer, on Monday I received an email explaining that he had been continuing with Christmas celebrations right up until 'Twelth Night' (alright for some) and had only just gotten around to replying to his emails. Then he said this:

"The whole driving thing is so important, that I would like you to get your license before we make a final decision.  So, what I propose is that I pay for you to take a 1-week intensive course to obtain your drivers license.  No obligation.

Let me know what you think"

Shiiiiiiit. Of course I said that this would be acceptable - who wouldn't want someone to pay nearly a grand for them to learn to drive? But I'm taking it with a pinch of salt this time to avoid any disappointment.

I've okayed it all with him and he has given me the go-ahead for me to pay for it with funds from the bank account I have access to. So now I have to send off for my provisional license again (I've changed surnames as well as losing the original 20 years ago!) and when that arrives I will be having 4 hours of driving lessons a day to get me ready for the test as soon as possible.

Although I want to get my license quickly, I don't want to rush it, scrape through my test and crash straight into the nearest school crossing! I imagine it will be hard but utter numpties have their license so I'll be damned if I can't get mine.

So I will keep you informed of my progress and let you know how I get on. Imagine if I did get the job though - I bet it would make for some interesting blog posts!

Nothing it Seems

Just a quick update on the whole offered-a-dream-job thing. Last week I emailed the client a question about his BT bill (I hadn't heard back about the possible job and, as he didn't reply about the bill, I figured he was just busy)  but last night he replied. But he only answered the question about the bill and didn't mention a single thing about the job.

I emailed straight back as he'd just sent the email, asking if he'd had time to give it any more thought - and he failed to reply.

Therefore I'm going to have to assuming that he's either just a rude mentalist or that he likes messing people around. What kind of person emails to ask those sorts of questions and then fails to follow it up? So as far as I'm concerned I'm not mentioning it again and from today I'm just getting on with my business as if he's never asked. 

If he brings it up again in the future then I can address it, but today I feel like an utter prat and a bit down at the same time. This is crap cos the job would have been nice, but if he hasn't brought it up again even when pressed, I would say it's probably not happening.

What a load of balls.

Something or Nothing?

As you know, my day job is being a freelance PA to various clients. One of them is an International businessman who travels constantly so I look after his UK interests - I receive all his post, I sign cheques and tenancy agreements, I liaise with management companies etc.

I once mentioned that if he ever had a full-time position available he should let me know. Then on Monday I received this:

You asked me once about a full time or more of a full-time position.  You are obviously very competent, and the main problem would be that you do not drive.  My assistant would need to travel extensively, including places such as California, where driving is absolutely essential.

So, I have some questions:

1)  Are you interested in a permanent position?

2)  Are you able to spend a large part of your time away from the UK?

3)  Would you be willing to learn to drive?  

Thanks!

Blimey! I replied that I needed a bit more elaboration on what the job would entail and what did 'a large part of your time away from the UK' translate as.

He replied:

The position would involve everthing from handling correspondence to chartering airplanes; from filling a car with petrol to planning parties;  scheduling dentist appointments to buying houses in Costa Rica.  Coordinator, secretary, chauffeur, gift buyer and wrapper, troubleshooter, courier.  Helping to shoot a music video (we need more glitter for the backdrop!). Taking next flight to the Cayman Islands to get the title for the yacht certified by the Cayman Shipping Register (we need it in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow)

Since I last saw you, I think about 4 months ago, I have not been in one place for more than a week.  Various Caribbean islands, Central America (ziplining in the rainforest is fun!), a dozen places all across the US, Canada, etc.  This is typical!  Before that, as you know, I was all over Europe for the summer.

As you can imagine I was very excited about this. BBF and I talked it over and decided it would not be something you could pass over. Even if I tried it and hated it, I would earn enough money to be ok while I got my business back on track.

The thing is, I have asked if we can have a chat on the phone and that was 2 days ago. Now he might just be very busy, he could be working on how I can get my license quickly, or he may have decided to leave it. But I just want to know!!!

I'm finding it very hard to concentrate as I don't know if I have the opportunity of the job of a lifetime, or if it was a glimpse of something amazing and now it's nothing. A girl from a small town in Bucks who didn't even go to university does not get these kind of opportunities very often.



I will of course keep you up to date with developments, but all I can say at this point is eeeeeeeeeek!!!!!