Suspension in Diary

Jay’s been suspended from work. From what he’s said, it was all just fun banter that people have with their mates, taking the mick out of each other. Some of the comments taken out of context could be seen as a little offensive, but in my office, similar comments are flying about all the time and everyone knows they’re all said in jest. But someone at Jay’s work must have made a complaint about him as he went in yesterday morning, and was sent straight home on full pay pending an investigation.

I think it’s an overreaction; why didn’t they just take him to one side and ask him to be careful about what he said in the workplace, what happened to receiving a verbal warning? I hope they let him state his case, and the people who the comments were aimed at will back him up.

He’s decided that he’s not going back even if they let him, as he won’t feel comfortable there anymore as he doesn’t know who reported him. I think he’s got a case for either unfair dismissal or constructive dismissal, depending on which way their decision falls.

OK so fine, maybe some things shouldn’t be said in the workplace and maybe some discipline should be called for, but I think it’s an overreaction.

He’s not coping well, he’s been struggling again with his depression lately anyway and spent the day at home yesterday “Sleeping and crying.” in his own words. There are a few jobs going in my place which he’s going to apply for. Not ideal as one of them is working nights and weekends, but he needs something at least to tide him over. We have a mortgage to pay, bills, and a wedding to pay for.

He’s only been there a few months and was really happy there. He finds job hunting really stressful. I hope he gets something soon.

One of the jobs at my place is actually recruiting six people, so they’re having an “assessment day” which is what I went on when I got this job. Lasting several hours it’s group tasks, a short interview, an IQ test. My team leader has asked me if I will accompany him to help him run it. I was honoured and said thank you for thinking of me, and he looked surprised and said “You were the first person I thought of.” Nice to be thought of, I suppose it’ll all look good if any more opportunities for promotion come up.

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Not sure if I’ve mentioned it but Jay’s taking me to Edinburgh for my birthday next month. Thinly disguised, as there’s a band he wants to see, but he’s paid for the hotel and we’re sharing the driving, dropping in very quickly to see my parents on the way up. (If he doesn’t get a new job soon, I might have to pay for the hotel myself.) We did think of flying as it’s a lot quicker and perhaps a bit cheaper, but there were no convenient flights for us. We’re only there for the weekend, can anyone recommend anything that we absolutely must not miss for daytime activities?

I’ve also decided what I’m doing for my hen party. I did want to go to Center Parcs, but they only let you book for a minimum of three nights and everyone said they could only stay for two. So I’m just having a weekend in Nottingham instead, 10th-12th March, and letting everyone book their own travel and accommodation, a lot less stress and hassle for me. We’re having a day trip to Go Ape which is an aerial adventure, like an obstacle course high up in the trees. I’ve always thought it looks like fun.

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We went to a wedding on Friday, the last one we’ll attend before our own. It was a good day, lovely weather and they had afternoon tea which was very posh. Unfortunately the evening meal was a hog roast and they didn’t have any vegetarian alternative. All the salads had peppers and onions in them, the only two vegetables I can’t stand. So I just had a baked potato with butter; they didn’t even have any cheese! I’m going to make sure the veggies are well catered for at our wedding. After all, omnivores can eat vegetarian food, but vegetarians can’t eat the meat, so there’s no reason why it can’t be 50/50 or even higher in favour of veggies.

We had a productive week last week; I booked my hair and make-up artist, Jay bought his shoes and ordered the invitations and we collected the rings. I’ve also booked a hotel room for our photographer (I’ll forward the booking to you, Erika!) and booked myself into the bridal suite for the night before. As my family will be there, I thought we could use the spa, have some dinner, and chill out and I’ll wake up already in the venue, so I can get ready there.

Most of the big things have been sorted, now we can enjoy looking at the details.

I have a few more things that I’ve been meaning to write about, but that will have to wait until I’m in the right frame of mind.