My experience is a couple of decades old but I always had more success with agencies. My top tip, though, is to get a food hygiene certification. That got my foot in the door for probably about half the temp jobs I did, the longest being about 8 weeks washing up in a police canteen. Making sure you’ve got steel toe-capped shoes also helps.
The whole USA certificate, retirement for a spouse, bank, and social security at the time your spouse dies. If you live in the USA and you are married please, please please, have at least 3 months in savings to cover your bills. Thankfully I do. It took 1 hour and 20 minutes waiting on the phone to report the death of Mr. Image which stopped payment of his S.S. I can not apply until I can get an appointment in Sept. to receive survivor benefits. Then it will take until Oct. to get retroactive monies. The bank, and his retirement benefits which I am entitled to will not release funds until they have a death certificate, which I am told can take 4 to 6 weeks. I will be okay waiting, but I know many in the same situation will be dealing with a death and money issues as well.
Agreed, in principle. My UK state pension was very quickly upgraded when I was widowed, with no fuss or bother, but my widow’s pension based on Mr Puzzler’s occupational pension is in a muddle. After two months I received a payment which was less than a third of what I was expecting. I am still in dispute with them, but just thankful I have my own occupational pension to rely on, and concerned for those who have no other source of income.
I'm joining you @Graven Image and @Puzzler. Mom and Dad had a small annuity that put money into their checking account every month. Well, at least the times when I didn't have to call them to find out why the payment didn't drop for two months. Now that Mom passed (in January), Dad hasn't gotten a payment since. I was sent paperwork to let the annuity company know that, yes, I would like the payments to keep going into Dad's checking. The paperwork was very hard to parse, so I had to make an appointment with a specialist to let me know how to fill out the forms. Sent it in. Still no payment. So I called to ask what the deal was. "Oh!! You want the money to continue to go into your father's account? You need more paperwork." So not only do I have more gobbledy gook to get help with, they also sent Dad some paperwork to sign with a notary that he wants the payments.
This process also required me, my sister, and brother to provide information for paperwork as we now move up into the survivor's position on the annuity.
My Old Dad died in July 1986, only a few days after at long last making his Will...
Fortunately, he left everything to My Old Mum, barring his woodworking tools, which he left to me (I still have some of them - wonderful old things with lovely wooden handles, a joy to hold, and to use).
Probate took a few weeks, and we had no trouble at all in transferring the ownership of the house (no mortgage - he'd paid cash, back in 1961!), his bank account, and his Post Office savings account (remember them?) to My Old Mum.
When she died in 2004, I was the sole heir, and, with the help of a competent solicitor, had no trouble in transferring the assets to my ownership. The house had to be sold by auction - an interesting experience, with (happily) two people bidding against each other, so that the reserve price was well over-topped...
I therefore regard myself as one of the lucky ones, having had no real problem in dealing with the deaths of both parents (which, I am told, makes me A Norfan on both sides...). I sympathise with those of you who are finding things difficult, but ISTM that matters were somehow easier in Days Gone By.
(BTW, I should perhaps point out that my parents adopted me, that I was their only child, and that there were no other beneficiaries to consider. Nowadays, having since 2005 become part of my birth family, so to speak, there are more people to consider, and my latest Will has been made with numerous bequests in mind).
ICTH the bloody Herring Gull that crapped on me today. I know it's supposed to be lucky but I'm now struggling to get the stains out of my clothes! 😡
Little Miss Feet and I nearly suffered a similar fate when we attempted to feed the ducks in Glasgow's Victoria Park. I say attempted because in doing so we were repeatedly mobbed by pigeons. I took to alternating a handful of seed scattered into the water with another on the shore but even so we had to fight our way out of the mass of pigeons. They stink, by the way. We did, however, manage to avoid becoming targets for bombing raids.
It's not always easy to make sure that your duck-food reaches its intended recipients, especially if there are seagulls or swans sharing the same patch of water!
David and I used to try saying "bugger off, seagull - this isn't for you", but they didn't take any notice ...
I once told a seagull in Cornwall it needed to go on a diet. It took absolutely no notice.
I suppose I could have been politer about it. Admittedly it was ginormous, but in retrospect I should probably not have begun with "Blimey, you're the fattest seagull I've ever seen, you really want to stay off the chips, matey, it's a wonder you can get off the ground."
... in retrospect I should probably not have begun with "Blimey, you're the fattest seagull I've ever seen, you really want to stay off the chips, matey, it's a wonder you can get off the ground."
That was rather rude.
@Arethosemyfeet - I think "bonkers" may be the default setting for pigeons ...
I once told a seagull in Cornwall it needed to go on a diet. It took absolutely no notice.
I suppose I could have been politer about it. Admittedly it was ginormous, but in retrospect I should probably not have begun with "Blimey, you're the fattest seagull I've ever seen, you really want to stay off the chips, matey, it's a wonder you can get off the ground."
Try holidaying on the Isle of Wight, @Ariel ; the gulls there evinced no interest whatsoever when I tripped and spilt my chips all over the beach. Those in Teignmouth thought - tch…snatched a sandwich out of an unwary pedestrian’s hand . Vandals!
Me: I'd like to buy a ticket to this forthcoming exhibition.
Internet: Excellent! Just click here. Do you have an account? No? Then you need to sign up -
Me: Wait, why do I need an account just to buy a ticket?
Internet: Because then you can buy tickets. You can also donate to us, go on our mailing lists and be showered with promotions and events you're not interested in, get regular begging letters, take up membership and regret ever signing up. Just click here.
Me: But I already have pages of accounts and passwords for sites and I really don't want any more. I just want to buy a ticket -
Internet: Tough. You have to sign up. You have 15 minutes to make your purchase. Are you going to click that button or not?
Me: Not. I shall try my luck as a walk-in on the day.
Internet: Cracking good luck to you with that. We're very popular, you know.
Me: I've gone off you.
Me: I'd like to buy a ticket to this forthcoming exhibition.
Internet: Excellent! Just click here. Do you have an account? No? Then you need to sign up -
Me: Wait, why do I need an account just to buy a ticket?
Internet: Because then you can buy tickets. You can also donate to us, go on our mailing lists and be showered with promotions and events you're not interested in, get regular begging letters, take up membership and regret ever signing up. Just click here.
Me: But I already have pages of accounts and passwords for sites and I really don't want any more. I just want to buy a ticket -
Internet: Tough. You have to sign up. You have 15 minutes to make your purchase. Are you going to click that button or not?
Me: Not. I shall try my luck as a walk-in on the day.
Internet: Cracking good luck to you with that. We're very popular, you know.
Me: I've gone off you.
These sorts of hoops to jump through are very wearisome and put me (and Mrs RR) off these sorts of events. Fortunately. many of these sites allow you to check out as a 'guest'. Here it helps if you use the horrid Paypal.
Yes, normally I do, but for this particular site, unfortunately there's no alternative to setting up an account. Whether you're a regular visitor or an overseas visitor coming to England as a one-off, by the look of it, you still have to set up an account if you want to book tickets online. I'll go along in person and chance my luck, if the queues aren't too long.
Really hate this "set up an account" bilge. I had to set up an account for something recently for a friend who doesn't have the internet. He supplied all his personal details, address, date of birth, then needed to think up a user name, a password (which had to have suitable length and complexity), a "memorable word" and a "secret question" before we could actually access anything. It took us about 20 minutes just to get him registered and wait for pages to load and confirmation emails and all that jazz before we could actually get into the program.
I had hoped to keep my mobile number out of sight - the landline already being infested with scammers. But so far this week I have had a text from Linda (28, single) who likes polite gentlemen (boy, is she ever barking up the wrong tree), and a call to tell me there is an outstanding prosecution against me for tax fraud.*
*Is this the modern equivalent of the telegram 'Flee at once. All is discovered'?
While the movers were packing up my furniture from the house in Fredericton, I had two or three calls (on my mobile) suggesting that I had committed a crime, and should report to the Law forthwith. On a day that was already fraught with emotion, this was All I Needed. Luckily, whenever I told the removal gentlemen about it, they said they'd had similar calls and not to take it under my notice, which made me feel a bit better.
I too am now getting enticing emails from, well I was going to say, 'ladies of easy virtue' but these ladies (or chatbots) appear to have no virtues at all. The word 'bot' in 'chatbots' is, in this case, quite apposite.
At first I thought I was getting these unwelcome and unasked for emails because I had clicked on something I ought not to have clicked, or not unclicked something I ought to have clocked (and there is no health in me). Cf Book of Common Prayer).
However it appears there has been a massive breach of personal data of UK voters (oh thanks very much!) and these scumbags have got hold of my email address.
I just delete the emails ..... but it is annoying.
I've regularly been getting spam in Russian, addressing me as Sergei Vladimirovich and telling me a) my credit card has been stopped, b) I need to invest in gold bullion and c) please contact them about my bank account. A resounding "nyet"* to all three. No importunate women so far, Russian or not, but on FB there has been a spate of barely literate men claiming to be charmed by my posts or profile pic (which isn't even a picture of me) and wanting to be my friend.
I do that with frequent reminders that my Netflix subscription (which in my case I have not got) has expired, or that my McAfee subscirption (yes, the bad spelling is a surefire giveaway) is now dead.
Despite consigning them to the Fires of Spam-Hell, they keep recurring, but at least I know what they are when they do raise their Hydra heads...
If you lift the phone and a voice at the other end says You have won the lottery/have a parcel awaiting delivery/are about to be arrested etc etc, it is a scam because they do not know who they are speaking to. If, otoh, they do know your name, it is even more certainly a scam, and they will now try and get things like your DOB to 'confirm' your identity.
Talking of unpleasantnesses perpetrated on Farcebark, has anyone else had a flurry of posts on their timeline with a "hidden" bit (as it might be for an unpleasant or upsetting image) which "tags" one of your friends (among other people), with the words "died in an accident" or "just passed away"?
I haven't fallen for it; I've usually deleted or at least ignored the posts, but it strikes me as a particularly nasty way of doing whatever it is these sick individuals want to do.
Talking of unpleasantnesses perpetrated on Farcebark, has anyone else had a flurry of posts on their timeline with a "hidden" bit (as it might be for an unpleasant or upsetting image) which "tags" one of your friends (among other people), with the words "died in an accident" or "just passed away"?
I haven't fallen for it; I've usually deleted or at least ignored the posts, but it strikes me as a particularly nasty way of doing whatever it is these sick individuals want to do.
I've seen something similar on Facebook but didn't click on it. My annoyance with FB lately was having my account cloned, presumably so someone could then tell my friends I'd had an accident abroad and to send money quick.. The nice thing to come out of that was that some FB friends that I know only slightly were quick to flag up there was a problem. It was good to have people keeping an eye out for such dodgy dealings.
If you lift the phone and a voice at the other end says You have won the lottery/have a parcel awaiting delivery/are about to be arrested etc etc, it is a scam because they do not know who they are speaking to. If, otoh, they do know your name, it is even more certainly a scam, and they will now try and get things like your DOB to 'confirm' your identity.
I had one today telling me they were calling about my housing problem. I asked who they thought they were calling, and suggested that they had obtained my number illegally, at which point they hung up!
Don't get me wrong - I'm to handbags what Imelda Marcos was to shoes* - but it's getting a little wearing, especially as most of them seem to be for the same handbag, just being marketed by different people.
* come to think of it, I'm to shoes what Imelda Marcos was to shoes as well ...
I pulled a white handbag out of the cupboard to use today as I am wearing pink and white, instead of my usual navy or black. It is now destined for the bin, once I have emptied it, as it is falling apart. I wonder if I will now see endless adverts for handbags?
Would whoever keeps ripping branches off the lavender in my front garden and discarding them on the ground please stop it.
I'm in two minds about taking the plant up and into the back garden and replacing it with something else, except that what it might be replaced with may suffer the same fate.
Would whoever keeps ripping branches off the lavender in my front garden and discarding them on the ground please stop it.
I'm in two minds about taking the plant up and into the back garden and replacing it with something else, except that what it might be replaced with may suffer the same fate.
Not if you replaced it with something prickly - holly? Firethorn? Mahonia?
Would whoever keeps ripping branches off the lavender in my front garden and discarding them on the ground please stop it.
I'm in two minds about taking the plant up and into the back garden and replacing it with something else, except that what it might be replaced with may suffer the same fate.
Replace it (secretly, by night) with something possessing Sharp Thorns...
They'd probably just move on to the other lavenders. I have a small hedge, and they've been having a go at the end bush nearest the road. Also, there's a little 2 year old next door who loves the lavender (I know it's not her, she's away with her mum atm).
In my darker moments I think about replacing everything with gravel, which is what was there originally, but the scent has been lovely drifting in through the open windows, especially when it rains. But I do have a spare small rose bush looking for a home...
People, or more specifically, bored kids on summer holidays
Would whoever keeps ripping branches off the lavender in my front garden and discarding them on the ground please stop it.
I'm in two minds about taking the plant up and into the back garden and replacing it with something else, except that what it might be replaced with may suffer the same fate.
Roses. Or perhaps a plant which has barely visible thorns. Or something which has leaves which cause irritation (preferably arising a few hours later).
Comments
No, basically.
This process also required me, my sister, and brother to provide information for paperwork as we now move up into the survivor's position on the annuity.
A nightmare.
Fortunately, he left everything to My Old Mum, barring his woodworking tools, which he left to me (I still have some of them - wonderful old things with lovely wooden handles, a joy to hold, and to use).
Probate took a few weeks, and we had no trouble at all in transferring the ownership of the house (no mortgage - he'd paid cash, back in 1961!), his bank account, and his Post Office savings account (remember them?) to My Old Mum.
When she died in 2004, I was the sole heir, and, with the help of a competent solicitor, had no trouble in transferring the assets to my ownership. The house had to be sold by auction - an interesting experience, with (happily) two people bidding against each other, so that the reserve price was well over-topped...
I therefore regard myself as one of the lucky ones, having had no real problem in dealing with the deaths of both parents (which, I am told, makes me A Norfan on both sides...). I sympathise with those of you who are finding things difficult, but ISTM that matters were somehow easier in Days Gone By.
(BTW, I should perhaps point out that my parents adopted me, that I was their only child, and that there were no other beneficiaries to consider. Nowadays, having since 2005 become part of my birth family, so to speak, there are more people to consider, and my latest Will has been made with numerous bequests in mind).
Little Miss Feet and I nearly suffered a similar fate when we attempted to feed the ducks in Glasgow's Victoria Park. I say attempted because in doing so we were repeatedly mobbed by pigeons. I took to alternating a handful of seed scattered into the water with another on the shore but even so we had to fight our way out of the mass of pigeons. They stink, by the way. We did, however, manage to avoid becoming targets for bombing raids.
David and I used to try saying "bugger off, seagull - this isn't for you", but they didn't take any notice ...
I suppose I could have been politer about it. Admittedly it was ginormous, but in retrospect I should probably not have begun with "Blimey, you're the fattest seagull I've ever seen, you really want to stay off the chips, matey, it's a wonder you can get off the ground."
@Arethosemyfeet - I think "bonkers" may be the default setting for pigeons ...
Try holidaying on the Isle of Wight, @Ariel ; the gulls there evinced no interest whatsoever when I tripped and spilt my chips all over the beach. Those in Teignmouth thought - tch…snatched a sandwich out of an unwary pedestrian’s hand . Vandals!
For posh seagulls?
We didn't lose any to the seagulls, but I did get dive-bombed and had to buy a new t-shirt.
Internet: Excellent! Just click here. Do you have an account? No? Then you need to sign up -
Me: Wait, why do I need an account just to buy a ticket?
Internet: Because then you can buy tickets. You can also donate to us, go on our mailing lists and be showered with promotions and events you're not interested in, get regular begging letters, take up membership and regret ever signing up. Just click here.
Me: But I already have pages of accounts and passwords for sites and I really don't want any more. I just want to buy a ticket -
Internet: Tough. You have to sign up. You have 15 minutes to make your purchase. Are you going to click that button or not?
Me: Not. I shall try my luck as a walk-in on the day.
Internet: Cracking good luck to you with that. We're very popular, you know.
Me: I've gone off you.
These sorts of hoops to jump through are very wearisome and put me (and Mrs RR) off these sorts of events. Fortunately. many of these sites allow you to check out as a 'guest'. Here it helps if you use the horrid Paypal.
Really hate this "set up an account" bilge. I had to set up an account for something recently for a friend who doesn't have the internet. He supplied all his personal details, address, date of birth, then needed to think up a user name, a password (which had to have suitable length and complexity), a "memorable word" and a "secret question" before we could actually access anything. It took us about 20 minutes just to get him registered and wait for pages to load and confirmation emails and all that jazz before we could actually get into the program.
*Is this the modern equivalent of the telegram 'Flee at once. All is discovered'?
What makes people do horrid things like that???
At first I thought I was getting these unwelcome and unasked for emails because I had clicked on something I ought not to have clicked, or not unclicked something I ought to have clocked (and there is no health in me). Cf Book of Common Prayer).
However it appears there has been a massive breach of personal data of UK voters (oh thanks very much!) and these scumbags have got hold of my email address.
I just delete the emails ..... but it is annoying.
(*That's Russian for "no")
Despite consigning them to the Fires of Spam-Hell, they keep recurring, but at least I know what they are when they do raise their Hydra heads...
I haven't fallen for it; I've usually deleted or at least ignored the posts, but it strikes me as a particularly nasty way of doing whatever it is these sick individuals want to do.
Yes. I haven't clicked on it as it was obviously fake, but apparently it's a phishing/hacking thing that spreads malware via your contact lists and Messenger.
I had one today telling me they were calling about my housing problem. I asked who they thought they were calling, and suggested that they had obtained my number illegally, at which point they hung up!
* For now, anyway - tomorrow it might be toasters, or cushions, or trousers ... 🤥
Indeed!
Don't get me wrong - I'm to handbags what Imelda Marcos was to shoes* - but it's getting a little wearing, especially as most of them seem to be for the same handbag, just being marketed by different people.
* come to think of it, I'm to shoes what Imelda Marcos was to shoes as well ...
I'm in two minds about taking the plant up and into the back garden and replacing it with something else, except that what it might be replaced with may suffer the same fate.
Not if you replaced it with something prickly - holly? Firethorn? Mahonia?
Replace it (secretly, by night) with something possessing Sharp Thorns...
In my darker moments I think about replacing everything with gravel, which is what was there originally, but the scent has been lovely drifting in through the open windows, especially when it rains. But I do have a spare small rose bush looking for a home...
People, or more specifically, bored kids on summer holidays
I like your style, though.
David loved lavender: I can never see it without thinking of him rubbing the flowers between his fingers on the lavender bush in his mum's garden.
Roses. Or perhaps a plant which has barely visible thorns. Or something which has leaves which cause irritation (preferably arising a few hours later).