Moments in this Uncertain Time

Heatwave sun, and everything is bleached. Pale and unreal, the streets taste of car-metal and other peoples summer holidays. The curtains are drawn in my bedsit, allowing a serene yellow haze to wash over my room. Cooler too, though I must head out again in a few hours to the job centre.

So many things to sort out, and not knowing how they will, or if I am doing the right thing. Nonetheless, it is better to be actually engaged in the process of doing something rather than doing nothing. Went to the Citizens Advice Bureau for 9am yesterday. They had so many people to see, I waited 2 and a 1/2 hours to see someone. I have made a proper appointment for Thursday. I am hoping they will give me information on how to deal with my landlord (who isn't getting his rent next week...) They advised me not to say anything to him until I have talked to them. After the CAB it was off to the job centre. They gave me a number to ring, so it was off home (though I did call in at the Housing Benefits Office to briefly discuss applying for a claim). I had my first interview on the phone, which took about 45 minutes. The call kept cutting off, but they rang back. I have an appointment at the job centre this afternoon. Phase two. This isn't the job centre I was at yesterday, but a further one in the next town (kind of) of Portslade. Postcode lottery. It will take me an hour to walk there. The other one I could be at in 30 minutes.
After I could do nothing more yesterday, I met Claire in St Nicholas Churchyard. She was made redundant from Telegen last Friday too. We sat and talked about it, about the future, about everybody else. (My favourite story was that one disgruntled employee, when discovering he hadn't been paid jumped over the barrier, proudly procliaming 'I've not been paid, I'm gonna nick stuff!'. I don't know why that amuses me so much!) Andy joined us when he had finished his gardening job.
The churchyard was peaceful; a dog walker, a group of students, a couple of guys playing footballs between the gravestones.
After Claire left for home, Andy and myself headed down the seafront. he bought me a coffee from the Meeting House cafe, and we sat on the stones. Such an unreal summers day. Spring has been superceded. Summer is the new, if temporary, pretender to the throne.
I headed home. Found my tenancy agreement rather quickly (I need this for the housing benefit claim) and after a dinenr of tuna and noodles watched an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, before falling, utterly exhausted, to sleep.

Nearly 1:00pm now. Got up early this morning. Rang the company dealing with redundancy claims, then headed to the bank. Direct debits and credit card payments (the worst mistake in my life getting that damn card four years ago) going out next week) going out next week and no means to pay. I used their phone and got put through to a call centre in India (actually encountering that old cliche at last!). The people there read off their scripts and I tried to listen. Heavy accents and a bad line made them difficult to understand. My credit card is closed. Is this good or bad? They are sending me out a claim form (I have insurance). Do I still pay next week? Does interest continue? What is a new payment plan?

Lost in the unknown lands I headed home. Lunch and a cup of tea and write this. An hours snooze now I think, and then off to the job centre in that mysterious lost sector of Portslade.