Hours

So, as a 'full-time', seasonal 'colleague' at my local music store, I am entitled to a 30 hour workweek. My contract expires on January 3rd, and when I leave I am entitled to 4 days paid vacation.

This afternoon, my manager man has a little meeting with me and states that due to the economic 'situation', the big-wigs have decided that full-time, seasonal 'colleagues' are getting their hours cut down to 25. Ouch.

Fortunately, because our store is such a sucessful store, my manger man has been able to dip into our bank of 'overtime' hours to ensure that all of us seasonal staff get our regularly scheduled 30 hours a week. Yikes.

I'm glad that I will still be getting my 30 hours a week, because otherwise, I would've had to seriously reconsider my job. The thing is, with the Visa, I'm only entitled to 52 weeks working, and because of that, I must take advantage and work as much as possible. So far I've been able to pick up extra hours here and there, as well as one shift when someone else called in sick. Its been good.

Amazing, though, how fast a contract can change due to an economic situation. Yeeeesh.

I've been tagged!

Hklover86 over at My Money Diary has tagged me for a meme! I have to post 6 random facts about myself, so here we go!

1. I don't drink coffee or any other coffee-flavored beverages. This isn't a religious issue or caffeine issue or anything, I just don't like coffee. Plus I'm proud of the fact that I don't need coffee to wake up in the morning.

2. I can't live without Vaseline. It's my lip gloss and seriously, I panic if I leave the house without it and will either return to get it or buy a new one while I'm out. Seriously. It's like an addiction. I really need to cut down.

3. I could stare at the night sky forever. For ever. I do my best thinking, best conversations and best relaxing under the night sky. I miss seeing the stars now that I'm in London, and back home it was often way to cold to be outside for long periods of time. I need to go somewhere closer to the equator.

4. Change that is beyond my control makes me very uncomfortable. I like to feel in control of my life and I get horrible feelings of anxiety when things happen beyond my control (for example, like my roommates moving in and out, job searches, etc).

5. I flirt more with guys I don't like and have no feelings for than guys I actually like. There is less risk involved with guys I don't like, less to lose, so I feel more comfortable. Odd.

6. I sometimes worry that I'll never be financially independant, even though I am debt free. Will I ever buy a house? Have a car? Take (more) vacations? Who knows.

Hope those were random enough for you - if you'd like to do one, leave a comment and consider yourself tagged!

Blogging Daily...

... doesn't seem to be something that I am capable of. Hmm.

That's probably because for the last week or so, up until the day before yesterday, I was feeling pretty down and miserable. I go through these spells once in a while, where I get depressed and sad - usually its a mix of feeling alone, and the grey weather, and feeling like I'm not in control (mainly when it comes to roommates moving in and out, etc - I don't usually welcome change).

This is my 2nd week now at my job, and I'm still liking it, which is good. I feel more and more like I can do (almost) everything without asking everyone what I am doing. Plus it changes enough to keep me interessted, and the fact that I only work 6 hours (and one hour break for lunch), keeps the days short.

I've been able to pick up extra hours, too. Most of the time when I work a 12-7 p.m. (we close at 7 p.m.), I've been able to stay an extra hour to help with stocking. And I took an extra shift on my last Monday, which is nice. I didn't tally it up, but I got almost 40 hours last week.

On the budget side I'm doing alright. I've gone over in my food category considerably, however I'm still under budget in my other categories, so overall I'm still way under. I will go into my budget analysis a bit more at the end of the month. And I'm looking forward to getting my paycheque, too!

And off to work I go...