Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Unemployment & Oncoming Learning

I hadn't realised what a long time it's been since I was here. But life has been busy at times since July, and then at others so stultifyingly dull that stirring myself to write here was beyond me.


That's the life of the unemployed, after all. I didn't think it would be, but the prophesies of all my friends turned out to be true. When you run out of money, they predicted, your brain will turn to porridge.


And so it did. Sometimes in the last month I have laid across my bed in the afternoon staring up at the ceiling almost paralysed by sloth.


Thankfully, now, I have university on the horizon, and I think I've done everything I need to do to get me there. I'm just involved in a last minute rush to get hold of a copy of the NVQ 3 certificate my last employer had, and lost, in case I have to show it at the uni to enrol.


And reading. Reading, reading, reading. But that's how life will be in the next three years, if I haven't made any unforeseen stupid mistakes and I get through the doors of the Halls of Learning.


I can't wait, actually.

1 comment:

Bruce Hodder said...

Further investigation this morning revealed that I DID have to show the university my NVQ certificate, or I wouldn't be able to enroll.

I phoned Edexcel, the awarding body for my certificate, to ask for a replacement copy and they said it would take 4-6 weeks. Which wasn't helpful because Enrollment Day at uni is in 3 weeks, more or less. I asked them if there was any way I could get the certificate more rapidly -- by paying more, for example -- but they were steadfast on 4-6 weeks.

Luckily, the university were prepared to be helpful. I phoned them with the details of my predicament and they said they WOULD let me enroll, but I would have to sign a disclaimer declaring myself responsible for the fees for the entire half year (Student Finance pays the fees per term, I think), if I failed to produce the certificate.

But I should be able to do that within a couple of weeks of the course beginning, so I will fill out the application to Edexcel for a copy of my original certificate this afternoon and post it this evening.

£35, it will cost me.

But I really should have looked into all this sooner. By misreading the form they sent me about certification I almost fucked up my whole degree.