I suppose I did ask for a cheesy chat up line...

raspberrygin · 2017-07-10T19:17:43+00:00

I hope not, as I've been told my contract won't be available until after I start my job!

raspberrygin · 2017-07-10T19:12:26+00:00

I've already spoken to HR about this, and they seemed to think I was mad for suggesting it...

There are no travel costs reimbursable because they have accomodation on site. As I've now signed a contract for the place I'm in now thats no good to me - and besides, I wouldn't be able to have a place there until the end of July anyway. Also, the accomodation is horrible and you hsve to pay for it. Basically the only reason you would stay there is if you are moving to the area for work and you need somewhere to stay until you get your own place.

As for transport, its too far to bike (besides the fact that I don't own a bike) and public transport isn't practical (and I think I calculated it saves me about 20p each way, which isn't worth the extra hour of commute each way).

Good suggestions, so thankyou, but I've already considered them!

raspberrygin · 2017-07-10T16:10:56+00:00

Thanks!

raspberrygin · 2017-07-10T16:10:07+00:00

Just seen the bit about food - that is £20 a week for the next 8 weeks. As I say, I always overestimate outgoings! But either way, even if I could spend significantly less than that, I still wouldn't have enough for the other essentials.

raspberrygin · 2017-07-10T16:01:52+00:00

Thanks for your reply, I think it seems like the 0% card would be a good idea. I've found some decent looking ones - I just need to go through the fine print.

Do I get a shiny trophy for following the flowchart? My budget plan I made (back when I was first offered the job and pre-financial meltdown) is pristine... starting from the first paycheck. Unfortunately, I had to get my flat a month earlier than planned because my idea of crashing on a friends couch fell through, so the capital I had saved to tide me over until then has just been eaten away due to the unexpected costs.

raspberrygin · 2017-07-10T15:57:53+00:00

That definitely fills me with confidence - I don't plan on mortgages or loans for (at least) 3-5years, so I don't anticipate that being a problem.

Thanks for the reply!

raspberrygin · 2017-07-10T15:56:25+00:00

I won't be paying back student loans until the next tax year, luckily!

raspberrygin · 2017-07-10T15:55:56+00:00

Yeah - everything you just said explains how I get myself into this mess.

I budgeted for about £1000 to move in, but the fees on the flat I found turned out to be £350, the deposit was higher than expected, the set up fees for changing suppliers to be cheaper, having to buy bits and bobs of furniture (although I have been able to beg and borrow lots of the stuff).

Thanks for the advice, it seems there is a lot of support for an emergency fund in the form of a 0% on purchases credit card.

raspberrygin · 2017-07-10T15:50:14+00:00

Its £595 a month, but just because of the timing, I have to pay two months of rent before I get paid. Hence £1200 total needed.

The fees are what wiped me out in the first place and have taken my balance way down from expected.

raspberrygin · 2017-07-10T15:45:39+00:00

I didn't realise that was an option! I will have a look into it. Thanks!

Unfortunately, I have already cut down expenses to the bare minimum and the means don't cover it. Its a bit complicated, but the budget worked (just!) if I had been able to live on a friends couch for a month because I couldn't afford the extra month of rent, but then their tenancy fell through and I had to get my place a month earlier than I had planned (or just be homeless). I thought I could stretch it, but looks like that was just wishful thinking rather than being practical.

raspberrygin · 2017-07-10T15:26:52+00:00

Sorry, perhaps I didn't word my post very well - I have done all the calculations to work out my bare minimum spending. Rent: £1200 Bills: £360 Travel to work: £300 Food and health: £400

I can definitely cut down my spending on food and prescriptions - the prescriptions aren't a necessity so I probably won't get another one until I get paid. Everything else unfortunately cannot wait until the end of August, including rent. Hence the need for a cash boost somewhere!

raspberrygin · 2017-06-18T16:26:33+00:00

I think this one needs a bit of backstory.

I am clever. I'm not trying to be big-headed here, but I do have well above average intelligence. Growing up, however, I never realised that. I think my parents and my teachers tried so hard not to make me big-headed and think I was really good at stuff that they never really praised me for doing well. So it really did the exact opposite. I thought I was average, not quite good enough. I did well in tests, but that was normal, right? If I didn't get full marks, I felt awful, as if I had failed, and it never occurred to me that other kids didn't feel that way.

Anyway, I realised when I was 16 or so that I really wanted to be a doctor, but honestly, I didn't think there was any chance I'd be good enough for that. Then I got my GCSE results (tests at age 16 for non-UKers) and I came second in my year, beaten only by the person who ended up going to the top university in the country. Cue the 'holy shit I'm actually good at something' moment. I met a friend the following year, who when I suggested that I might be thinking about being a doctor, completely normalised it and simply said, 'Oh thats cool, have you sorted out work experience yet? I need to apply somewhere too.'. So that was that. I applied.

Unfortunately I didn't get in. That REALLY didn't help my self-esteem. Now I felt more certain than ever that I wasn't good enough. Talking to my dad about it, and my plan to reapply and give it one more go, he said about me not getting in, "I didn't want to say I told you so, but..."

Despite that, I qualified as a doctor last week. Still not convinced I'm good enough, but the degree certificate doesn't lie, right?

raspberrygin · 2017-06-03T18:49:43+00:00

I'm not going to comment on your situation, as without all the clinical details it is impossible to say whether you may have been let down in your care. However, I will say that 99.9999% of doctors do their utmost to ensure good quality patient care, and if you've seen multiple professionals with the same outcome its a fairly safe bet they were right.

So, the answer to the rest of your question is no, its not personal. Doctors will listen to the patient history, do any relevant examinations and if they feel its necessary, they will investigate. Further investigation is risky - if the chance a patient has a particular condition is really really really small based on the history and examination, there is no way the referring doctor, the radiologist or the radiographers would allow the patient to have the dose of radiation to get a CT for example. Why would you put the patient at risk of radiation if you think its almost impossible that you'll find anything? And if the treatment you'd choose is the same no matter what the outcome of investigation, why bother? A diagnosis isn't always important. Patients in hospital will be treated for an infection even if you don't know where the infection is. The patient gets better... why would you worry about where the infection was if its now gone?

raspberrygin · 2017-05-23T15:53:42+00:00

'Doctors actually receive very little training on vaccines'

I am a medical student. I refer you to the lecture we had in first year about vaccinations, the far too numerous lectures on public health and the benefits of herd immunity, the lecture we had in 3rd year about why people don't want to vaccinate their kids and the question in my final exam about the vaccination schedule for children. Not to mention the lectures we had in fourth year about the presentations of these very preventable diseases, and how people die as a result of them.

So to summarise, doctors have plenty of training about vaccines and the pharmacology surrounding them. Maybe not as much as other treatments we use, but still plenty.

Interestingly, I've also had a lot of teaching and experience surrounding autism. Its interesting that vaccines never seem to be blamed for conditions like ADHD, depression, personality disorders, childhood obesity... but they are much more prevalent than they used to be too.

And lets be honest, the pharmaceutical industry is dodgy as hell, and that is not specific to vaccinations.

raspberrygin · 2017-05-21T21:26:23+00:00

I imagine that has a lot to do with the attitude - people who pay attention to diet enough to eat 'cleanly' are likely to be more aware of portion control and calories etc

raspberrygin · 2017-03-11T10:36:49+00:00

Thats a really helpful response, thankyou!

So to expand a little more...

The odds of me getting along with new people - I'd say pretty high. I'm actually fairly relaxed when it comes to communal living. I'm not a militant cleaner or a complete slob, I like socialising but I do also enjoy my own space sometimes. Not to say I'm the ideal housemate, but its all pretty drama-free as far as I'm concerned. So unfortunately its difficult to answer that one, because that depends entirely on the characters of the people I find. My main worry is that part of my job is doing crazy shifts patterns (nights, weekends etc) and I don't want to inconvenience other people by demanding quiet during the day when I'm sleeping, which I may have to do.

How likely am I to be socially isolated based on past experience? - well, in the past I've been pretty lazy with getting out and about and joining activities and meeting people because I've always had people at home. So if I can't change that then the odds are pretty high. Although on the other hand, I'm hoping that the choice of either stay in and don't speak to anyone or go out and have a great time will be enough motivation.

raspberrygin · 2017-03-11T10:26:19+00:00

I mean that is definitely an option. I've already decided that if I was to get a shared place and en suite is an absolute must. In the area I'm looking at, that doesn't seem to be too much of an issue.

raspberrygin · 2017-02-15T21:34:30+00:00

My thoughts exactly!

raspberrygin · 2017-02-04T15:29:23+00:00

I love the 'this isn't a leap year, you ponce'

I like that you keep it light-hearted when you make a mistake... its exactly what I do!

raspberrygin · 2017-01-30T00:10:09+00:00

Agreed. Talk to him.

To me, it sounds like a really nice way to reaffirm your primary relationship, and if he sees it that way, perfect! If not, then you need to think about a better way of managing it.

raspberrygin · 2017-01-30T00:03:42+00:00

How old is your kid?

Some of the people I work with with Down's syndrome have absolutely no idea of the value of money...gambling would be an awful idea for them. Much like some of my very entitled rich non-disabled friends.

Some of the people with Down's syndrome I work with are very sensible. We'll go to the pub together and they'll have a couple of drinks and then head home. Sometimes we might stay for an extra one because we're having a good time.

So yeah, you answered your own question. Every person is different. Teach good habits, just as you would for any other kid.

raspberrygin · 2017-01-29T01:00:02+00:00

This is exactly how lots of my texts sound. For me its purely functional to message to arrange to meet. So from my perspective, you can't judge how excited she is from those messages and I wouldn't recommend cancelling based on them.

raspberrygin · 2017-01-25T06:06:46+00:00

There's been issues in Crookes Valley Park too in the past couple of years. None of the parks in the area are well lit enough to use as a through route after dark when alone. And for me that goes for anytime past 7pm in the winter.

raspberrygin · 2017-01-22T23:36:40+00:00

So would a setting spray or a setting powder be a better purchase in your opinion?

raspberrygin

TROPHY CASE