Red Tape

Today I had to go for an "interview" to get my National Insurance number so soon I should be allowed to get sick, become unemployed, and receive benefits. If I continue to work I should also be able to collect a pension someday! Since I took a 1/2 day I also registered with GP (general practitioner), I now have to wait a week to see if I'm accepted and can go to them for my healthcare needs. Not only that... I got an absurd amount of money taken out of my last paycheck for taxes because I had yet to send in a form with my new UK address. Oh the red tape, the red tape!!! I have to say though, I think the red tape is more understandable here than it is in the U.S. I mean really... you can get so so much from the government here that they have to make you do something for it! I am not organized/motivated enough to keep up with it though so I'll be glad when it's all done and I can just work and live!

Anyway, so I am now about a month into my employment and without a doubt I am definitely keeping busy! Last week I went on my first assessments which ended up not being as nerve- wracking as I thought they would be which was surprising! I am usually very anxious and nervous when I'm starting a new thing but honestly I think the pressure is low right now because I am new so I feel like people will be understanding if I do something slightly wrong so I'm staying calm. I don't have any "Child Protection" cases, which are the most severe cases, yet either as I haven't been trained so my current cases are quite low maintenance. Right now my main concern is trying to learn all the community resources and the jargon and lingo for everything. Community resources are the be-all-and -end-all of social work so not knowing what's out there is more than a little frustrating.

I am not alone in my newbie status though which is fabulous! My co-worker David started about a month before I did. He is a recruit from Sweden. The Council not only scoured the U.S. for suckers, they also went all over Europe! It's nice to have someone else around who is in the same position at the office. I don't feel so ignorant as he is just a clueless! Our combined ignorance isn't good when trying to find the unfamiliar addresses of clients however. Anyway, that does it for now! Just a shout out to the grand old U.S. congress for taking one small step towards true greatness and passing the healthcare bill last night!!!

Where are you going?????

Yet again unfortunately I have slacked off like crazy with the updates, so sorry! So much has happened I don't even know where to begin. Perhaps a quick note on my flat, car, and job for now then my next post will be more reflective which is what this whole blog thing was meant to be. My flat is amazing. I live in a two bedroom place in Greenhithe, Dartford, Kent (if you want the address let me know!). I live with the landlord who is very nice and has been so helpful. It's worked well!

I got my car, a Toyota Yaris about a week ago and I must say there is nothing like driving a new car. I do miss my Ron but our time together was most definitely up and our separation was well overdue. Driving has been a feat! My first day with the car I took my fellow newbie co-worker David to his first solo interview as he has yet to receive his car. My new GPS decided to just never work properly (got exchanged this weekend) so we were left with google map directions and our superior navigation skills to get us there. Well ok most of you know I lack navigation skills so we relied on David's skills. Needless to say they weren't too much better on this trip and we failed, having to call the office in shame to get directions... I must say in our defense though that the English aren't big fans of road signs which makes it hard to know where to turn right on "Main Street" when you can't even see "Main Street". The upside of the trip however was our finding of a lorry with a naked blowup doll stuck to the back.

Work has been pretty standard, for a first week that is. Everyone has been really good to me and I do believe it will be a more than fabulous work environment. The work seems manageable and they seem to really want us to stay so I feel good. about the situation I need to make sure that I don't put too much pressure on myself though. I have a habit of putting unrealistic expectations on how long I should take to learn a new job.

Well, that's all for now! I promise the next post will be more reflective and not so diary-like!