AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!

THAT was exactly how I felt this morning after my phonecall was rudely ended by a grumpy menopausal WOMAN on the other end of the line !!

In order for you to have a clearer picture of this I need take you back to a conversation I had with Robert which led me into making that "fateful" telephone call. He expressed some concern about me being at home 24/7 since resigning from my job (i.e. not meeting anybody, not having any friends = no other human contact apart from him and my in laws etc.) After a brief reassurance from me he seemed to have accepted my explanation and decision of not returning to work for the time being. However I could still feel that he was not convinced enough. So I thought maybe the answer is to consider looking at doing some voluntary work instead as that will get me out of the house for a few hours which will please him and as it is voluntary expectation of my performance wouldn't be too high (I hope).

Initially I wasn't sure what I could do or where to look for volunteer work apart from physically knocking on every local charity shop in the village. However I soon realised how vast the data on the internet is as after only a few minutes of browsing, I found a couple of websites with lists and lists of any type of voluntary work you find.

So armed with that information we talked about it over our morning coffee and (surprisingly) he was very supportive. He suggested the RSPCA as I had expressed an interest earlier on in the year while we were at their show that I wouldn't mind helping out in the kennels. So we researched a little bit further into it and found that they are advertising for volunteers to walk their dogs. I will need to attend a few classes before I will be accepted of course but I thought there and then "Great! ". However as the job involves working with cats and dogs there would be quite a good chance that I may get bitten or scratched. And as a health and safety guideline (in the UK) I will need to show them that my tetanus injection is still within date . Who knows, maybe, in case my arm falls off I cannot sue them as they have taken every precaution! LOL!

Luckily (well I said luckily as I have got a scar now) I had that injection when I cut my foot earlier in July but I need to have some paperwork to say that I had that done. So I phoned my doctor's office to try to find how do I go about getting that, but instead of speaking to the doctor I was put through to one of the secretaries instead, I always do - "speak to the doctor, no he is far too busy to speak to you". I thought "Oh no, I know how well this is going to turn out!" as I have never ever had a good experience liaising with any of those women there so why should this time be any different. Lo and behold, I had to explain my dilemma to a "dragon" (believe me, this is a "nice" description of her) who was the least interested in whatever I had to say. I was then put on hold twice before I heard a big KLUNK (!!) and the line was cut off !!! Let me stress that all that time when I was given very rude and abrupt answers to my questions, I, on the other hand, held on very well and remained calm and good natured throughout. And what did she do - she cut me off !!! Oooooh was I MAD !!! I was livid to say the least !! If I could reach down the phone her neck would have been broken in few pieces!!

I decided that I had to cool off before calling them again to avoid getting into an argument over the phone. The second time however I did manage to speak to my doctor's secretary and I must say, she was a breath of fresh air !!. She was really nice and polite to me . On top of that she said that I can have the paperwork within 2 to 3 days time! However that is meant to be seen yet

For the time being - it's FANTASTIC!