Day 5: Servo Fides Quod. Persevero ut Puto.

It was Christmas Eve back in 2008 when I decided to make a small mark upon my life that would be with me forever.  This particular story however starts about 8 weeks previously, when I received some rather unpleasant news.  It was the first week in November and I remember the time of year particularly well because of my strange reaction to the bad news:  “You’re joking?!”  I said, “…I’m supposed to be going down Chelsea next week!”.

It was a regular Tuesday morning and as always, I’d been in the office on my own since about 8:00 am.  It wasn’t unusual for the boss to arrive in much later and on this particular day, he arrived in at around 11am looking a bit disconsolate.  As I’d usually be working alone for the first half of the day, I’d be playing tracks on my PC via iTunes and as the boss sat down across from me, he asked me to turn off the music.  The boss then proceeded to tell me that he’d been to see the Bank Manager that morning and unfortunately, ("due to the recession") - he would have to let me go. 

“It’s better if you leave immediately …But I’ll pay you until the end of the week” he explained.  G-Whizz!!!  ...Thanks a bunch!!! [Insert any sarcastic fractious descriptive here].  A whole four days notice!

The thing is, I had a ticket to Burnley’s Carling Cup tie at Stamford Bridge the following week and this was the point that I came out with the silly  ‘but I'm supposed to be going to Chelsea’ comment.  Perhaps I was in a state of shock…but all of a sudden I was unemployed and all I could think of at that moment was the fact that my road-trip to Chelsea was now in jeopardy.

So, that was that.  One minute I had a job and the next minute I was job-less.  [Just for the record…I went to Chelsea the following week and had one of the greatest away-days ever.  Chelsea hadn’t lost a home game for years and after finishing the game with 10 men and a 1-1 draw, ‘the Beast’ saved two penalties to record a massive win for the Clarets].  If there was a silver lining in the dark cloud of being unemployed during that time, it was that I could spend the following day reading all the papers recording a very memorable night!

So, a time of unemployment ensued and with Christmas 2008 approaching fast, it wasn’t the greatest of periods in my life.  However, that night at Chelsea reminded me that it really is the simplest of things in life that bring the most joy.  Even though I was out of work, I wanted a constant reminder of the power of positivity.  On Christmas Eve that year, I decided to get a Latin inscription tattooed upon my wrist.  It reads “Servo Fides Quod. Persevero ut Puto.”, and translates (albeit loosely) as: "Keep The Faith. Continue To Believe."

Keep The Faith.  Continue To Believe.

During these times of uncertainty, I now have a constant reminder that you can get through the tough times and of all my tattoos, this is probably the one that means the most to me.  Keeping the faith isn’t always the easiest of tasks, especially when Monday’s postman arrives with no letters and those that said they'd get back to you, simply don't bother.

On a much brighter note, I finally had a shave yesterday which followers of this blog will know can mean only one thing!  Yes…I GOT AN INTERVIEW!!!

This all started with a chance e-mail to a friend in Dubai on Friday night and resulted in trip to Rotherham for an interview today!  In a nutshell, I e-mailed a couple of friends of mine that currently work over in the United Arab Emirates.  My school-of-thought on Friday was that although I don’t have any formal qualifications like my Quantity Surveying friends, I do have lots of experience and that 'the world could be my oyster', if I took a gamble and looked a little further afield.   The last five years in East Lancashire haven’t exactly been kind to me on the job front - so perhaps it was time to break the cycle, have a bash at something different and try a new tactic?

As a result of my e-mail, my old Football Manager sent me a really helpful e-mail back with loads of information, advice and details on the current state of affairs out in Dubai.  In his sector, qualifications were certainly required, but he did give me the details of a prospering property development company that his wife works for. 

I clicked the link in his e-mail, checked out the website and proceeded to send off my CV, a personal profile and a cover letter explaining my predicament and of my interest in the company.  This was all done whilst in bed on Saturday morning and within 24 hours, I received a Sunday morning wake-up call from a representative of the company.  As he was just about ready to head back out to Dubai, an interview was quickly arranged at the gentleman’s hotel for 12pm today.

A very interesting meeting ensued with lots of questions asked and even more still to answer, but for now, it’s another dose of the waiting game until the outcome arrives.

Day 5 of my blog has taken in the M65, the M66, the M67, the M1 and the M18.  The Ibis Hotel in Rotherham was the not-so-glamorous final destination of this 150 mile round-trip, but the door to a new career in Dubai could now be just a few steps away.

Thanks for checking in once again.

Many blessings,

Jason