There and back again (barely)

I've been off in Surrey working today - running a first aid course for a sports club out there. It's a return job - I did them a couple of years ago, and they specifically asked for me back. I should have trusted my instincts and said no:-( But I really need to make some money for my sisters wedding in a couple of weeks, so i booked in three. This one, one next Monday up North which will be an absolute nightmare, and one in a few weeks in london, which should work out OK.

This was a particularly annoying one, only partly becuase it's a good couple of hours drive away. Also, they do not take it very seriously and it pisses me off. I arrived 20 mins early, ready to set up (as they are told I will in the confirmation letter), to be told that the classes did not finish until the time the course was due to start and I had to wait outside. Then, when the time finally did come round, I discovered that only some of the classes ahd finished - i was expected to run a course around a bunch of kids training & running around etc. By 30 mins in to the course I had needed to sit the candidates down and give them a lecture on behaviour and my expectation that they will listen to me while I am talking and complete the practical tasks correctly without wansering off for a chat. So all in all, not my favourite course. Add in the fact that 15 mins before the end of the four hour course someone came to tell me my car alarm was going off. I got out there to discovere that it must have been going for the whole time & therefore I had a flat battery..... Phoning round & searching for jump leads in the rain did not make me inclined to return in the future.

I have decided not to retake the qualification when it come up for renewal at the end of September though. I really do not have the time to go off around the country on our "spare"weekends. And Aggie finds it really difficult to cope with the kids on his own. And the money, while nice, is not really enough to make up for the hassle.

I still like the job, and still get a kick out of it. But I'm not in the industry anymore, so I have to work hard to keep up to date & spend spare time learning new stuff. And TBH, I just don't have the time to work for myself as well as my employer, study, look after the kids, Aggie and the house.....