Metro article + job insanity

[spudtater]

For the attention of those planning weddings. Errr... possibly just batswing, then...   8^]

Bride delays brain op for her wedding

BY MIKE TAIT

A woman has told how she delayed having brain surgery — so she could get married to the man of her dreams.

Primary school teacher Natalie Falconer, of Glenrothes, Fife, was diagnosed with a rare brain condition that left her paralysed down her right side.

The 25-year-old was due to have surgery in May last year but it would have meant missing her wedding with Steven, 24, which was set for July.

Natalie also feared the operation would have left her with ugly scars and not looking her best for the most important day of her life.

So she pleaded with the specialist to put back the operation until after her big day despide the increased risk involved. She was told she might only have a 50/50 chance of survival.

Natalie said: 'All I wanted to do was get married to the man I love. I didn't care if I died, so long as I died married.'

The operation was put off until August 2005. Everything went well and she is now pregnant with her first child.

She added: 'Looking back now, I can't believe what a rollercoaster day of emotion we have been on over the past 12 months. To say the wedding day was emotional is an understatement. But it really was the wedding of our dreams.'

— Metro, 06/06/06

Okay. Priorities here: a) "Our Special Day™" b) Paralysis, brain damage, death. Balance appropriately.   8^P

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Work: as you may know, I work at a charity, on a voluntary basis. My boss has proposed employing me part-time, at minimum wage (£5.05/hr) for 16 hours a week. I would still get council tax and housing benefit, but no Jobseeker's allowance. So far so good; it works out to about £35 extra a week. However, my getting paid this is contingent on me getting in to work at 10:30 every morning, and on continuing to do my current voluntary job alongside this new one. In other words, it's a loophole to employ me for 32.5 hours a week, while only paying me for 16 of those hours — which works out to an effective wage of £2.49/hr.

One side of me feels a little insulted. My more logical side says that it's still more than zero pounds, which is what he pays me at the moment. My lazy side just doesn't want to get out of bed any earlier in the mornings. In conclusion... I'm a mutant three-sided freak.   8^)

Comments

[spudtater.livejournal.com]

Thanks for all that; some good things to consider in there.

There are loads of things to consider, not all of which I am willing to go into on a public-viewable post.

I think I'll just see how things pan out for now.