Cathcart & the Joys of Hot Water

So, my circumstances have changed yet again - mainly for the better, I might add. Here's a rundown of what's been happening within my super-exciting existence...

Work
I was working in the Scottish Power HQ at Cathcart, doing my customer service thang. It's very different from Citypoint, mainly in a good way, but I do miss certain aspects of the old place. Cathcart is far more luxurious, and it's got a cash machine, gym, large canteen etc, which collectively put Citypoint to shame. However, gone was the element of fun, laughter and carry-on, which was there during training, and for the first few weeks after starting the actual job. Our original training group had been completely fragmented, and all that remained were me, Tania & Jaz, a couple of Asian folks with whom the banter was very limited. There are others, but they remain at Citypoint and Gary, a good mate from work, has eloped to East Kilbride.

I'd lasted 3 months so far in the job (including the months' training), and my intention was to stick at it for another 3 months - for a grand total of 6 months' customer service experience (realistically though I couldn't see myself answering phones and being moaned at all day for much longer than that). Because Scottish Power was my first proper job, I had hoped to last a while longer as it could be considered good CV material. The job itself didn't exactly qualify as rocket science - answering phones all day, resolving customer queries; stressful at times, rewarding at times, but at least with enough variety to not be too tedious, and to justify the £6-an-hour wage.

In terms of location, Cathcart is convenient travelling distance from my new flat (more of which later). The team was female-dominated, with me being virtually the only guy other than the team coach and Jaz (and some other random guy who for conversations sake might as well be invisible). If you'd told me months ago I'd be working alongside all those girls, I'd have had a Father Jack-esque glint in my eye, and become very excited but in reality, it was a very mixed bag! Some of them had been on the phones longer than me, and most had permanent contracts, but I was still agency - and agency people are expendable, as both my flatmate and I found out recently - the hard way.

Amsterdam
I recently went to Amsterdam, with my friend Marc, whom I've known since Primary 4, and boy, was it interesting! There's the Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank's House, The Erotic Museum, and a whole host of other famous tourist landmarks... so did I visit any of these? Did I f**k! I went straight to the coffee shops, got stoned out my box, and headed for the Red Light District. There did I discover the real Amsterdam - the one they don't dare tell you about in the tourist brochures and holiday programmes. Trouble is, I can't remember it, as I was stoned out my box. Anyway, maybe I'll catch the art galleries and museums next time round, and get a dose of "real" culture... I'm not at liberty to reveal all of my exploits in this blog, but let's just say that in the Red Light District, 50 euros goes a long way ;)

Absent Friends
Moving swiftly along, on the day before I left for the 'Dam, I went out for drinks with Iain (former flatmate, ex-ESE) and some other friends. Present were some of my old ESE comrades, whom it was good to see after all these months in the non-ESE wilderness. Iain was to be leaving soon for his trip around the world, and so it was a good time to have a gathering. The venue was The Loft in Ashton Lane. It was very busy, and featured some of the most stunning girls I've ever seen gathered together under one roof! Much catching up was done, and it was good to see everyone. I had to leave early, in order to catch the last train to Prestwick (was leaving for Amsterdam the next day), which was unfortunate, as a lovely wee blonde girl called Gillian sat down next to me and started chatting to me. She's a sociology student, and really nice, but I had to go, so I asked her for her number, which I carefully stored on my phone. Her number still remains unutilised on my phone, and I'm still summoning the courage to text her. Chances are she'll have a boyfriend by now - girls like that don't stay single for long! I will definitely do it though - nothing to lose!

Once I came back from the 'Dam, I went out for a curry at the Ashoka in Ashton Lane, as Iain 's departure was imminent, so the usual suspects from (and formerly of) ESE were brought together again. The curry was phenomenal; it was the second time I've dined in the Ashoka, but I simply can't praise this place highly enough - the food is great - truly worthy of Allah himself. I couldn't stay too long, as I was due to move into my new flat on the same night. I said goodbye to Iain, wished him luck on his travels (if you're reading this Iain, hope you're having fun wherever you are!), and made my exit, next stop my new flat.

The Flat
The new flat is very nice indeed, situated on Victoria Rd, just next to Somerfield. Locationwise, it is spot on, with the following all within 5 minutes' walk away:

• Somerfield
• 2 24-hour garages
• Post office
• Train station
• Bus stop(s)
• Pubs
• Chippy
• 24-hour snack place
• McDonalds & KFC (if you like that sort of shit)
• Gym

It's also a short bus/train journey away from the city centre and Shawlands, and I recently discovered I can get the number 4 bus just round the corner (for any journeys to and from Prestwick). It's also near the Scottish Power building in Cathcart, but that's no longer relevant, as I'll shortly explain.

The flat itself is a modern, top-floor, 2-bedroom flat. There is a communal bathroom, and my flatmate also has an en-suite with shower. The best bit is probably the kitchen/lounge area, which is spacious and has laminate flooring (as does the hall). The furniture consists of 2 large black leather couches (2 of the best I've ever sat on), and a large square coffee table. There is also a circular dining table with 4 chairs. We have large double beds also. The flat has central heating and double glazing, and a car park (no use to me right now though). In addition, there are various paraphinealiea (wrong spelling?) and kitchen utensils, courtesy of Ikea. Ok enough - as I'm not an estate agent and not hoping to move out at any time soon, I'll stop advertising the place!

This luxury does of course come at a price; Overall it costs £560 per month, along with around £190 council tax. If you include bills, this tallies up to around £400 a month each - eek!! Still, it seems worth it for now as it's so good to live in such a spacious, modern place.

My flatmate is Mark a.k.a. "Shagger"; I met Shagger at Scottish Power (he began training on the same day as me, and we have been friends ever since). He is only 17, and is essentially still a boy, but he has life experience and maturity beyond his years. He had a private school education, but was a bit of a rebel, left early and by the age of 15, was working in pubs in the West End. He fled to Portugal, to start life as a DJ, but eventually returned to Glasgow, in time to start at Scottish Power. He's the son of Angus Simpson, ex Scotland Today presenter, so I suppose I can say I've had celebrity in the flat! Although mature in certain respects, Shagger's age occasionally makes itself apparent, but he's a damn good flatmate and friend all the same. It was Shagger's parents who took us to Ikea in the car, to purchase most of the household essentials, and so that was a great help. The trip to Ikea was a great laugh, and when we came to pay for the stuff at the till, the machine wouldn't accept my card, so I went to the bank, withdrew as much as a could, and Shagger gave me what cash he had, and we could just afford it with 19p to spare! Lucky, eh. Seriously though, one day I'll have more exciting stories to tell.

I haven't yet met many of the neighbours, but the other residents in the building apparently consist mainly of pilots and basketball players (from the "Scottish Rocks" team - they are, to my knowledge, all American). I've seen a few of these guys - big 7-foot black guys, built like stone pillars (one of whom looks just like Snoop Dogg!), and they are normally accompanied by several stunning girls, so there is often eye candy on the stairways!

We should be having the official flatwarming party soon, so details will be posted on this blog.

Regrets? I Don't Think So
Since moving into the new place, I've barely given the old place a second thought. Initially, I was delighted to be living there, having just moved out of my parents' house once again. I did in fact enjoy it until just after New Year - this was mainly due to 2 reasons; firstly, our boiler broke and we were without hot water, and secondly, once I started working, the difference in lifestyles between myself and my student flatmates became apparent and was an issue - as a result I stopped enjoying living there. Another big problem was that I was finding the place increasingly claustrophobic, given that I was living with 3 others, had a tiny kitchen and no communal area to speak of. One thing that really drove me to move out was that the foreign girls had guests from abroad round constantly, and I could barely move for fear of bumping into a French or Austrian somewhere - there was no escape!! I most definitely know it was the right decision to move out when I did - in fact I probably should have left earlier.

Once I'd decided to move out, I had to give the landlord a months' notice, but straight away I went about trying to find a replacement flatmate for me (by placing an ad in a Byres Rd newsagent). In total, about 11 people came to view the room, and none of the first 10 wanted it, because either they'd found another place, they wanted a living room, or my flatmates just found them strange. Eventually, a Greek guy, whom was a friend of a friend of my flatmate, saved the day by deciding to move in. However, this happened just before my months' notice was up and so it turned out that the search was essentially a waste of time! The only convenience here was that the new guy could give me the deposit directly instead of the hassle of me getting it off the landlord and him giving it back.

Anyway, it was nice to be done and dusted with the old place. I hear that to this day there is still no hot water in the flat, so I'm glad I got out when I did!!

The Sacking Part 1
Things started to go wrong around the time Mark got sacked. Initially things had been looking good, what with having just taken on a great new flat, and both of us with an ok job in a good location. We'd both been intending to join the Scottish Power gym (for only £16 a month), and then things would have been sorted for the time being. However, Mark being still a teenager, he's often prone to immaturity, and although he was always looking to have a laugh in the workplace, sometimes he would take it too far.

He'd been late a couple of times before, like most of us, but only by a couple of minutes each time. Because of our rotational shift pattern, we had to work every second Satuday morning, and for the first few Saturdays he'd not come in, phoning in sick (hungover, or on a comedown from the Friday night - not exactly sensible!). He'd lasted a long time without getting the sack, but there was a couple of times when it had looked inevitable.

The day came, shortly after we'd moved to Cathcart, and both he and I decided to get the bus in one morning (we usually walked). We left the flat assuming there was plenty time to get the bus into work. However, this particular morning the bus was delayed and to make matters worse they changed driver at our stop. After getting off the bus at our destination we ended up running into work, so as not to be late. Mark had forgotten his security pass and had to wait in reception for our manager to sign him in. As a result he was late yet again, and come the end of the shift, I noticed he had left early and I then found out he'd been sacked.

This was a big disappointment all round, and this meant I was the only male left on the team (apart from the team coach). That day spelled the beginning of the end. When I saw him later he was positive about it, confident that he'd find another job. The main concern for both of us was being able to still afford the flat.

The Sacking Part 2
2 weeks later it was my turn. By this point, I could've had my permanent contract with Scottish Power (the 3-month trial period was up), but because I'd been late a couple of times previously (by a few minutes, due to subway strikes), I was put on a further months' trial period. Sadly, there was one morning when I'd barely slept during the night and ended up sleeping through my alarm. I eventually did wake up and go into work but I was 30 mins late! I was given my last warning, and could've considered myself lucky, but a few days later, I came in, logged in on time, but because I wasn't ready to take calls for 8.30am, I ended up getting the sack too! I found this out at the end of the shift when the girl from the agency came to speak to me and broke the news to me. Admittedly I was disappointed for the whole of about 5 seconds, then I got over it pretty quickly (in fact I was far more disappointed when Mark got the sack). The agency girl was very nice about it, saying that I did a very good job, but S.P. couldn't keep me on because of my timekeeping - fair enough. She said if I came back into the agency, they would help me find another job.

The reason I wasn't particularly disappointed was that since we'd moved to Cathcart and since Mark had been sacked, there was just no atmosphere any more. Although I was slowly getting to know some of the girls in the team, being the only guy left from the original training group was just no fun at all. Couple this with the fact that I was beginning to find the job tedious and repetitive and was getting fed up, and you can see why I wasn't all that bothered. I suppose in that respect the timing was good.

So there we were, having just taken on a new flat, and both got the sack within 2 weeks - harsh eh? Sometimes the timing of certain events can be so inconvenient! In general, though, most of the others who were with the agency had been either sacked or quit, so now it's clear to me why so many were taken on in the first place! It's an unfortunate situation but that's the harsh reality in the cutthroat world of the call centre! Agency employees are particularly expendable.

What irritates me slightly is that if you are a minute or two late, it's a big blemish on your record, but if you work beyond the end of the shift (as I did most days, sometimes up to half and hour), it's not taken into account. I'm not saying lateness is in any way good, but this seems a bit unfair. I know most people I met at S.P. had been late on several occasions, but how it's treated really seems to depend on your manager. Our manager was in essence a daft little girl (well, to me anyway - she's 21), who had been fortunate to rise through the ranks of the call centre in the space of 2 years. Both me and Mark had always got on with her, and initially she seemed very enthusiastic about having us in the team, but gradually things soured a little. In fact, I'm sure she fancied Mark and he claims to have pulled her in a pub. I suspected before from conversations in the pub that she had a thing for me too, but I think it eventually became clear to her that neither of us was interested, and once she had the slightest excuse she gave us the boot! It's a theory but personal issues may well have played a role in the sackings. What reinforces this idea to me is that shortly after Mark got sacked and before I got sacked, she came up to the flat one night, drunk, apparently with the intention of pulling Mark (she'd phoned up earlier to say the sacking was nothing personal), but it wasn't happening, and shortly after I was sacked too. I believe there may have been an element of jealousy when she saw the flat, and she knew she had the power to fuck things up for us. Incidentally, I met her dad (a strict Catholic) in Strathie's pub in Shawlands and let slip that she'd sacked me, and he seemed angry at that and said he'd be "having serious words with her", which I found quite funny - so hopefully for her sins she got grounded or something!

Finally, on this issue, I'll just mention the waste which is created by sacking employees who have been with the company for a while. By waste I mean the knowledge and experience gained; Mark was statistically the best in the team, and personally I knew the system inside out, and could've suggested ways to improve it. However, due to minor timekeeping issues, all that knowledge and expertise gained over the 3-month period can never be used again and is a total waste. Oh well, it's their loss if you ask me.

Barcelona
On a more positive note, I was in Barcelona recently, for 6 nights. I went with Suzi, Suzi's brother Joe, Martyn, his girlfriend Claire, and a couple of others, and it was a great holiday. I'd post pictures if I had the facility at the moment, but you'll just have to use your imagination for now. We saw a lot of the touristy things, such as Parc Guell and the Sagrada Familie (big cathedral), and I even summoned the courage to go on the cable car, despite my fear of heights! It was worth it though. We went to a couple of clubs as well, including Pacha. We stayed in a cheap apartment, with a loft conversion, 8 beds, PC with internet access, kitchen and of course bathroom - it was great value. That's the 3rd time I've been in Barcelona but it never loses its appeal. There were a couple of things which put a negative spin on things; namely that I got the sack the day before I went on holiday, and that Martin fell out with Claire after a few drinks (he thought she was cheating on him), and they were arguing for the rest of the holiday. However, this didn't prevent us from having a great holiday!

The Future
So what are my plans for the future? Well, keep the nice flat, for starters. Although I went back to HR Consultancy (recruitment agency), and they said there were vacancies at the notorious Sky call centre, the girl never got back to me regarding the assessment centre. This position is based in Ibrox and consists of 3 12-hour shifts per week, and is a combination of customer service and sales (sound familiar Iain?). Instead, my flatmate roped me into going to a similar assessment centre through Stafffinders, and as a consequence I now have a job doing outbound sales for Sky, starting Monday 4th April. I'm not too pleased with this, as I couldn't sell heroin to a junkie, but I reckon if I can stick at it for a month then I can attempt to find something better.

You might be wondering why, given my qualification, am I still looking for call centre work? Well, this is mainly because I'm trying to settle into a stable lifestyle, and want something fairly menial to do and which will earn a few bob while I attempt to settle in. Once I've got other aspects of my life sorted out, I'll probably then focus on a possible career. There is also the fact that I want some work experience under my belt and a call centre is also a great place to meet new people. In fact, at the moment, a degree-related engineering job has never seemed more appealing! Luckily I have savings in the bank, which have kept me going, but Mark is really needing a job (being skint doesn't stop him from conjuring up packets of fags and bottles of wine however!). He has a couple of jobs lined up; he's got Lloyds TSB part-time (customer service) starting in the middle of April, and Stafffinders offered him (ironically) Scottish Power sales, after his 18th birthday at the end of April. Until the middle of April, he'll probably have to sign on, and might be able to get his allowance backdated.

We also both joined a gym, Fitness First, which is just round the corner from the flat, and is further testament to how well situated the flat is. I'd looked at a couple of gyms (Virgin Active in Finnieston, LA Fitness in city centre), but Fitness First seemed the best choice due to location and cheapness. I intend to go regularly from now on, as my fitness has been waning, not helped by the amount of drinking and smoking I've been doing lately. I've previously made a failed attempt to give up drinking alcohol altogether for a while, but I was always too fond of a few beers or glasses of wine. I'm goin to really try to take things in moderation from now on as I believe it's the excess which has bad effects on the body and mind and that most things in moderation are actually good for you. 'Mon the moderation!

Basically, my short term goal is to settle into a stable lifestyle, and improve my health, as my circumstances have been changing so frequently over the past 4 months. Once I feel settled in, then I can take things from there.