Category Archives: Work and Studying

Feb 06 2013
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Work and Studying

Getting Plastered

Back to work, but luckily the builder’s son is doing a week’s work experience with him, so at least there is someone as incompetent as me on the job.

A very large skip was delivered early, so our first lesson was how to load it correctly. All flat stuff in first, then stack the edges with other, bigger flat stuff.

Finally, place all the rubble sacks on top. To finish off, all the gaps are plugged with baguette wrappers, coke cans and old Sun newspapers.  I just thought you chucked everything in, squished it down and hoped for the best.

On a break, I got chatting to the painter. Anyone else ever find when they mention MS, someone will always say, ‘ Oh, I knew someone with MS. Terrible it was. Just awful. Downhill like that (clicks fingers loudly).’ Oh, cheers mate. That’s supposed to make me feel better?

We moved on to the plastering. Quite possibly the most boring, tedious, soul-destroying job ever. All I have to do is follow the builder round and round the room, scooping out plaster for him. Yawn. Then clean out the buckets. Yawn. Then do it all again. Then we wait for it to dry, then go over it again and repeat five or six times.

Last job, pipe work. So boring I won’t even go into details, suffice to say it’s maths with bits of copper. Some jobs just drag. And I was freezing, even though I was wearing the woolly thermals my mum bought me. It was one of those days. Next time will be better as the kitchen units will be delivered and I can hopefully make myself more useful.

Mid-way through the day, The Teenager texted me to say his wrist was sore again (see Muddy Hell for details…). I texted back that I would bandage it up when he got home, and no, he couldn’t have a Domino’s pizza for dinner to make him feel better.

I got home tired, cold and sore. Maybe I will take up the builder’s idea that I start up his social media instead of helping fit kitchens? He wants to create a Twitter account for his business, so must start thinking of suitable, buildery-type tweets. Something like – Blimey, the price of bacon sarnies is shocking…….

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Jan 17 2013
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Work and Studying

Backseat Van Driver

Still panicking about wonky eye, still waking up half-blind, stumbling my way to the bathroom. But luckily I had my work site visit yesterday, where we trundled 40-odd miles down the road to visit a possible job.

We stopped off in Starbucks for a caffeine refuel and catch-up before setting off. Boy, I needed that caffeine and I wish I’d had that chocolate croissant for the sugar before I got back in the van.

The boss drives his van like an absolute maniac.  He is a man possessed. You know all those jokes about ‘white van man’? All true.

‘Are you going to stop?’

‘Why?’

‘Um, it’s a red light.’

‘Oh, yeah.’

‘Can you slow down?’

‘Why?’

‘Scared.’

‘Can you pull back from that little old lady?’

‘Why?’

And so on, all the way there. Down the motorway, along winding roads and hairpin bends. He is a nutter. So much for my relaxing day trip. Anyway, we got there in one piece, legs wobbling and looked around the job. Beautiful area and it was lovely to be out in the countryside. A couple of hours later and we were back in the van (gulp) and drove home.

I am now officially a back-seat van driver. Just out of curiosity, I had a look at all the other vans on the motorway. Most were going faster than us and most of the drivers were eating, talking on the phone and joshing with their labourer all at the same time, so maybe the boss wasn’t all that bad.

We popped in to another quote before I was dropped off home and I passed the time waiting in the van by flicking through a builder supplies catalogue. I’ve picked out the waterproof jacket I want and a possible new pair of boots (sadly only in grey or black). I’m toying with the idea of a reflective vest. The boss just sighed when I told him.

I’m not really getting the hang of this builder look, am I? When I worked last weekend, I put my pile of newspapers on the dashboard before we drove to the job. I get the feeling he wasn’t very impressed to have his usual Sun replaced with the Guardian and Times or when I pulled out my lippy for a quick touch-up…

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Jan 15 2013
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Work and Studying

Why Work?

Quite soon after my MS diagnosis, a few people asked me when I would be giving up work. I was stunned.

Surely now, more than ever, I would need the security of a routine, wages and the confidence boost a rewarding job can give? It seemed to me that to stop work was an old-fashioned view and had no place in the 21st century, when there was so much understanding and support in place.

I stand corrected. Recent research uncovered the depressing facts:

  • More than 75% of people with MS report that the condition has impacted their employment and career opportunities.
  • Up to 80% of people with MS stop working within 15 years of the onset of the condition.
  • Up to 44% of people with MS retire early due to their condition.
  • People with MS lose an average of 18 working years, assuming a retirement at 60.

The report states that with the right support, people with MS could continue to live full and productive lives for much longer, yet during periods of economic downturn and job losses, people with long term health problems feel especially vulnerable.

Research shows that many employers lack knowledge about the condition and may not always understand that the needs of employees with MS can and should be accommodated in the workplace. MS is a ‘hidden disease’ and the extent of its impact is not visible to others and over 80% of us are affected by fatigue.

In my case, my chosen career path has veered off in a completely different direction than pre-MS. I was steadily building towards a new career once The Teenager was old enough for me to work full-time. I am a matter of months away from completing my second degree.  It’s ironic. Just when my whole life was opening up, when I could put the years of child-care behind me and finally take on a much fuller role in my career, along comes MS and puts paid to my plans.

Life has a funny way of turning round and smacking us in the face when we least expect it. I could either crumple or make the best of a whole new situation and right now, I’m planning to work for as long as I possibly can.

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Jan 14 2013
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Work and Studying

Pass Me The Dinosaur

Who knew? Building work is a bit like being in an operating theatre and I seem to be getting much better at identifying and passing each tool to the boss. When he’s under a bath or sink with water leaking  out from somewhere, speed is of the essence. Unfortunately, sometimes my hands and brain don’t seem to agree, but I muddle along just fine.

I worked on Saturday, my last day with the woman who calls me Alan. The job is almost finished, the skip is twice as full as it should be and I will be sad to say goodbye. It’s been a crazy time and I’ll miss Trixie, the massive dog I sneakily buy treats for.

Anyway, all I had to do was unpack the bits for the sink, toilet and shower, lay them all on the ground and pass them to the boss along with the right tool. Simple.

‘Flathead’. ‘Yes, boss’.

‘Phillips’. ‘Yes, boss’.

‘Smaller Phillips.’ ‘Yes, boss’.

‘Push fits and isolator valves’. ‘Er, um, oh, yes boss’.

‘Adjustables’. ‘Huh??’

‘Don’t worry, I’ll get them myself (rummages in tool bag for ages, sighing dramatically)….these!’

‘Oh, the dinosaur!’ I grabbed them from him and moved the two bits together and actually, it really does look like a dinosaur.

Building can be a tedious and boring business at times, so anything vaguely comical (apart from me being called Alan) is good. I wandered round tidying up, chucked the brush around a few times and we were almost good to go. Until the boss realised the sink was leaking. I passed all the tools, one by one. Then he said, ‘Pass me the dinosaur’ with a pained look on his face. Result! My mission now is to rename each of the tools for a laugh.

I got home tired but happy. Then I noticed that my university books had been delivered. I don’t even want to think about studying, drafting essays or cramming for the exam. It all seems rather pointless, as the career I had planned for when The Teenager was old enough will now probably not happen thanks to MS, but I’ll worry about that another day. I would much rather work out what I can re-name a chisel. Or a circular saw.

Life’s too short to take too seriously…

p.s. where is the snow??

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Jan 03 2013
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Work and Studying

You Can Call Me Al

I’m getting used to my new job as a builder’s mate, but am relieved it’s only for a few months. I like my morning latte at McDonalds, nodding to other builders who look at me with sympathy/amusement/shock. I like being a passenger in the van, bumping along the roads.

We head to Spar before work and I spend five minutes dithering between a pork pie, a Scotch egg, a grotty sausage roll or huge white-bread sandwiches for my lunch. The other day one of the assistants looked up as we entered the store and said a cheery, ‘Morning chaps!’ Huh? What is it with everyone thinking I’m a bloke?

The lovely eccentric woman we are working for right now is still calling me ‘Alan’ and it’s my new builder’s nickname, but at least it’s better than ‘Half-Shift’. Something rather disturbing happened last time I saw her though. She came upstairs holding a book out, saying, ‘I think you might enjoy this, here, take it’ and she thrust it into my hands. I turned it over. Susan Boyle’s autobiography, ‘The Woman I Was Born To Be’. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Gender-confusion to one side, I think I will enjoy myself until my proper job starts. I’m loving the fresh air, the fact that every day there is something different to do and it’s good to learn new skills. After nine weeks of working from home, it’s a blast to have company again.

MS is always hovering in the background though, like a bad fairy at a christening. One day, it could be my balance playing up, the next my hands might be tingling. We just work round it. It’s part of me, there’s nothing I can do about it, so there’s no point worrying. For now. One thing I have noticed is that my confidence is increasing, after taking a severe bashing last year. This more than makes up for the black dust up my nose, the bits of plaster in my ears and being mistaken for a man…

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