timsellers.net/blog

24/07/06 : Tim does a course

I have just finished a two week course that the Jobcentre insisted on sending me on.

I was sent on one of these courses when I was out of work some years ago. I was taught the "proper" way to write an application letter, fill out forms and write a c.v. - all very patronising stuff - and I remember having to take back the c.v. produced on my behalf to get them to correct all the grammatical errors. It wasn't quite so bad this time, although the whole thing could have been compressed into a few days if all the irrelevant stuff had have been left out.

There were nine of us in the group, with ages ranging from eighteen to fifty-something. They all seemed pleasant enough, but none of them were people I would normally hang around with. Presumably to overcome any awkwardness, the second day of the course consisted of "team-building activities" at some place in the forest, where we helped each other around obstacle courses and stuff. This was almost fun, although no one managed to work out how any of it was supposed to help us get back into work. There was also an archery competition (I was almost chuffed at winning this) and absailing.

The c.v. I had done was actually quite good, but pretty much everything else was pointless. For example, there was video about how to overcome the problems of applying for a job if you have a criminal record. Which no one in the group had. I made no effort to hold back the laughter at what was the most badly acted thing I had every seen.

The course must have cost the Jobcentre a fortune - it was in a conference room in one of the posh hotels in Bournemouth, and we had a cooked lunch provided every day. There was this manager-type person carefully watching us during breaks, presumably in case we nicked something or trashed the place. It must have been awful for him having such undesirables soiling his hotel.

Anyway, as a result of spending more time than usual actually looking for jobs, I got one ...

03/07/06 : A new post!

For the most part since the last time I posted, it's been hot and sunny - stupidly so over the past few days. The sort of weather that makes people moan about the heat (when it gets cooler the same people complain about the fact that summers are now crap and not as good as when they were young).

The summer may be all very nice and that, but it's not particularly interesting to write about.

In non-outdoor related activity, I've played through Super Mario Sunshine (great game, but the lack of variety means that you can only play it when it's sunny), Banjo-Kazooie (small but perfectly formed), Glover (even smaller but entertainingly weird), Conker's Bad Fur Day (the antidote to cute platformers) and am currently playing Metroid Prime again, which is perhaps the best game I've played (apart from the Zeldas anyway). I've also been watching Buffy Season 5 and am working my way through the Star Wars and Star Trek films. And I read Ben Elton's Dead Famous, which I got for Christmas about three years ago (the first novel I've read from the once brilliant Mr. Elton - and it's not bad) and have started re-reading Are You Experienced? by William Sutcliffe - possibly the funniest book I've read.

That's about it for now. If anything interesting happens, I'll be back ...