Hi blogfans. As you may be aware UBS informed me that they, ahem, no longer require my services.
This all began around 11.45am on Tuesday 28th April when the 'big boss' called me on my mobile. This, I knew was THE call and yes I could have run away and joined the circus / gone to the pub I went straight upstairs and faced the music. In a meeting room. With the big boss and a gentleman from HR.
I can't exactly remember what was said but I think I heard the words "your role is now redundant" and "economic downturn" and as I was part of the Bank's employee forum I sort of knew what would be said next, the forms shown to me and that I would be due back in UBS in two weeks time (less now) to be handed my notice formally. During this two week period the firm will look for potential roles for me internally, not that I am holding out much hope, because let's face it, the market is not good - but hopefully something will be out there in the big wide world of jobs for me soon.
Tuesday night, after an afternoon of clearing my desk and sending personal information 'home' I went to the pub and consumed two and a half pints of John Smiths Extra Cold - boy did that go down smooth. This was swiftly followed my two vodka and orange chasers. I stopped at this point to go home and nestle in the bosom of my lovely family. I bumped into a friend on the train who very kindly drove me home in my own car to save me walking and leaving my car at the station. Thank you Ryan, that was much appreciated!
I went out with my lady wife to the local pub / eaterie for a lovely meal and nice long chat. Here we realised that a)we like food b)we like each other (phew) and c)you know what, we'll be ok in the end.
Just before bedtime I looked at the form which informed me as to why I was not as good as others in my job pool and went to bed with that and many other thoughts milling around in my head. I slept very badly but once I was up the next morning (wednesday) the sun was shining and I got myself showered, dressed and took the children to school. This was a really nice thing for me to do and I very much enjoyed taking that part of the morning routine away from my wife for any times that I would be around (possibly for quite a while now!).
After this I spent time at home installing Microsoft Office 2003 on my home PC (thanks Ricky) and synching my gmail account to it too. From here I emailed various contacts and throughout the day received lots of lovely calls from friends and family who were and are very kind and supportive to me.
I went to the supermarket for a break with the missus and here I eyed up the pot noodles on offer as my money wont last forever! No (delicious) pot noodles were purchased even though I remember chicken and mushroom to be the best and only flavour worth eating.
I continued to send my CV to various contacts and register online with 'cityjobs'. In the evening Gabby went out and I suddenly remembered my all important 'TV clock' was out of synch as I had totally forgotten to watch The Apprentice! This, as you may know, never happens. I waited for the missus to return from her (cheap) evening out and we watched Alan Sugar and all his apprentices (is that a word?) perform their task (badly) and then get grilled in 'the boardroom'.
Thursday was a new day and I had slept REALLY well! I took the children to school once more and then went to get a decent, interview-friendly haircut. Yes, I do look good and much neat and tidy! I then kept up my thursday lunch arrangement with an old colleague and had a lovely beef in black-bean sauce and a long chat. Amanda (the FX panda) inspired my to write a list of 50 things I would like to do and then to actually do at least 10 of them. I really need to start on this list - maybe you'll read it here first (luck you!).
I also stood outside UBS and faced 'the three-keyed demon'. I bumped into some (already ex-) colleagues and had short chats. Then my good friend and colleague Dan brought out a couple of belongings for me that I had missed.
Finally I decided to meet up with my recent boss and team-mate for a beverage. This is something we did often anyway and maybe I shouldnt have done so but I really enjoyed meeting up and getting it over with so there are no stigmas in my mind about doing so in the future! I stuck to many diet cokes and after this came home.
Last night I had a lovely salad and then popped over to the same friend who drove me home on 'day zero' for a chat and to 'chew the fat'.
Today I got up early and came into town to come and see 'Penna' who are an outplacement firm UBS pay for me to use to take the next steps. It's really good here and I have plently of resources to use including 9 hours of 1-2-1 time with a consultant, use of a PC and phone for months if needed, and 50 credits towards various courses, which is excellent.
I will soon leave to meet up with my pal Ricky for a coffee (chocolate in my case?) and then over to Milly on the train later for some lunch.
In between all this I will be touting my CV (which Penna will help me touch up) and working on my list of things to do.
Thing 1: visit Borough Market (!)
More soon, thanks for looking.
