Job Application Funk

I'm in a bit of a funk today lady and gentle readers, a proper funk. Like I've fallen down a dark hole and can't pull myself out kind of funk.

I'll tell you why, earlier today I saw my old job being advertised on a job site via an agency. This was a civil service job and I immediately checked if it was advertised on the civil service site - it was. This left me with a decision to make and I'll explain why.

Over the years I have applied for a number of civil service jobs directly and never got one. Despite the fact I am qualified and experienced in admin and call centre management - I believe the fact I'm transgender is a factor in this. At one point in 2015 I applied to what looked like a civil service job via an agency, I firmly believed this was a fake job advert but applied anyway as a job could still come out of this. I registered for the job, interviewed for the job and got the job, mainly due to the fact the recruitment consultant was stoned out of her skull and didn't realise I was transgender.

During the time I was there, the entry level (fixed term) in the workplace was removed which would have been the next level I got promoted up to from a temp. I wasn't allowed to apply for permanently, a number of jobs I was experienced in and qualified for came up and I was unable to apply for them because I wasn't permanent or fixed term. Eventually after 15 months I was phased out due to the temp contract coming to an end. During this 15 months I managed a department over Christmas and New Years, trained countless staff and got nothing from it.

My choice is do I apply for this as a temp or directly. Directly I don't get in, this is plain fact, I have helped manage a department for this branch of the civil service but it counts for nothing because I'm transgender. I've got no choice but to apply for this job as a temp and hopefully get more than three months work out of it.

I should be firmly entrenched in this branch of the civil service by now, a few levels up striving to get back to I was before two decades of work placed transphobia killed my career. But I'm sat here typing a blog with only four hours guaranteed work this week.

Like I said readers, I'm in a funk.

The Haunting of Hill House

I have finally finished watching last years Netflix hit miniseries The Haunting of Hill House and can fully recommend giving it a watch. Rather than being full of jump scares its a proper slow burn series which rewards viewers for paying attention and adding layers to earlier episodes.

In particular there are a few episodes that rank with the finest things I've ever watched.The three episodes The Twin Thing, The Bent-Neck Lady and Two Storms are not only powerful episodes but the highlight of the miniseries.

There are so many things in this show that I fully expect will get better with a rewatch, the little background details in scenes, plot points that are so delicate you only realise them two episodes after you should have. Unlike a lot of horror it also has a satisfactory ending, speaking personally I go into horror not giving two hoots about the ending but this one left me nodding my head in approval.

So lady and gentle viewers if you're looking for something to get your teeth into this Halloween and haven't seen it yet give The Haunting of Hill House a view.

The Big Finish Catch-Up September 2019

For those of you new to this section of the blog, I started listening to the Big Finish Doctor Who releases when they started back in 1999, getting them as they were released up to mid 2002 and release No 33 Neverland. At that time I left Uni and due to being a bit busy with life and what not I only heard one or two releases over the next few years. I started getting back into them around 2008 and was 6 years behind at that point. Due to wondering off into the Lost Doctor range and a relaxed listening pace I fell further behind. In order to catch up I'm listening to two releases a month (or more when its a 60 min single disc release, plus without seeing the cover or knowing anything about the story) and my mission to catch up continues;

First this month its back to the monthly range with The Cradle of the Snake featuring, the 5th Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and Turlough. Good dark story, good use of a villain and a very a-typical story 9/10.

Secondly its the 8th Doctor range and Prisoner of the Sun may be the best example of a one disc story Big Finish have done. So many curve balls and twists plus a good hook at the end leading into the next story 10/10.

Finally its a trip over to the Companion Chronicles with the 6th Doctor and Jamie Nights Black Agent. A fun good spooky monster story that I recommend for Halloween 7/10.

The Big Finish Catch-Up August 2019

For those of you new to this section of the blog, I started listening to the Big Finish Doctor Who releases when they started back in 1999, getting them as they were released up to mid 2002 and release No 33 Neverland. At that time I left Uni and due to being a bit busy with life and what not I only heard one or two releases over the next few years. I started getting back into them around 2008 and was 6 years behind at that point. Due to wondering off into the Lost Doctor range and a relaxed listening pace I fell further behind. In order to catch up I'm listening to two releases a month (or more when its a 60 min single disc release, plus without seeing the cover or knowing anything about the story) and my mission to catch up continues;

First up this month is Relative Dimensions in the 8th Doctor range featuring the 8th Doctor, Susan, Lucie and Alex. For those familiar with this story I'm listening to it at the wrong time of year and its a rather lovely low key Christmas special 8/10. Its a rather intimate little story with a Doctor Who twist thrown in for good measure and this season is rivalling the first in terms of quality.

Second up The Similarity Engine featuring Jago & Litefoot with the final story of the season 1 box set. I had little idea what was going on but had a fun time none the less 9/10. As for the box set as a whole, I'll certainly be coming back for more. As a box set the first story had to do a lot of set up which I can understand, the final story had to close things up which it mostly did well and it gave us two bonkers stories in the middle, so as a whole 9/10. 

Finally this month The Foe From the Future featuring the 4th Doctor and Leela. Loads of fun and its rare that a story can make me cheer out loud like a situation with Leela late in the story does. The best compliment that I can pay a "Lost Story" is that during the story I felt like I was transported back to the era its set and could easily be watching a DVD. Highly recommended and not the story featuring cats on Gallifrey that I was expected 8/10.

Ninja Leaves Twitch

Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, one of the biggest name in Fortnite and one of Twitch’s most popular streamers, is leaving the platform to stream exclusively on Mixer. The news comes via a tweet from the streaming star, with him dubbing the move “the next chapter.” Mixer is a fledgling streaming service owned by Microsoft that launched as Beam back in 2016. The Ninja exclusivity marks a major get for the platform, which has struggled to catch up to competitors like Twitch and YouTube.

“I have been holding on to this for quite some time,” Ninja said, “and I’m just super excited to let everyone know. I’ll be streaming on Mixer full-time now and I’m honestly at a loss for words. I’m freaking out in the best ways. I feel like I’m going to get back to the streaming roots.” He goes on to say that his streams will be “the exact same,” so don’t expect Ninja to get away from Fortnite any time soon.

The Big Finish Catch-Up July 2019

For those of you new to this section of the blog, I started listening to the Big Finish Doctor Who releases when they started back in 1999, getting them as they were released up to mid 2002 and release No 33 Neverland. At that time I left Uni and due to being a bit busy with life and what not I only heard one or two releases over the next few years. I started getting back into them around 2008 and was 6 years behind at that point. Due to wondering off into the Lost Doctor range and a relaxed listening pace I fell further behind. In order to catch up I'm listening to two releases a month (or more when its a 60 min single disc release, plus without seeing the cover or knowing anything about the story) and my mission to catch up continues;

First up this month is "All Consuming Fire" from the novelisation range featuring the 7th Doctor, Ace and Bernice. A very notable story as it features a guest appearance from Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Its a fun little story of a book I never got around to reading, if I'd known this story was coming I may have been disappointed but as with the format of this blog its a fun throwaway story 6/10.

Next up is "The Isos Network" my second trip to the Early Years range featuring the 2nd Doctor, Jamie and Zoe. Its a really good atmospheric, well written and acted story. Frazer Hines does a very good Patrick Troughton impersonation and hearing this Doctor face the Cybermen brought back waves of nostalgia. 8/10 and it would have been higher if the story didn't grind to a halt for the middle two episodes.

Finally "The Seeds of War" a rare recent trip into the monthly range featuring the 6th Doctor and Mel. A very good moody small scale story set against the backdrop of a large scale space war. Also a very good way of introducing a new regular villain that I look forward to hearing again 8/10.

The Big Finish Catch-Up June 2019

For those of you new to this section of the blog, I started listening to the Big Finish Doctor Who releases when they started back in 1999, getting them as they were released up to mid 2002 and release No 33 Neverland. At that time I left Uni and due to being a bit busy with life and what not I only heard one or two releases over the next few years. I started getting back into them around 2008 and was 6 years behind at that point. Due to wondering off into the Lost Doctor range and a relaxed listening pace I fell further behind. In order to catch up I'm listening to two releases a month (or more when its a 60 min single disc release, plus without seeing the cover or knowing anything about the story) and my mission to catch up continues;

First up this month its "The Masters of Luxor" in the Lost Story range, not just any Lost Story but the original lost story featuring the original TARDIS crew in what was intended to be the shows second story. Written by Anthony Coburn and adapted by Nigel Robinson this is the most unique story I've listened to from Big Finish. I have no intention of reviewing this story or marking it out of ten I just want to bask in it and feel emotional that I've experienced it. It does feel very old fashioned and very "Metopolis" while also having that feel of the first three stories of Who. Carole Ann Ford and William Russell give a cracking performance - this is a very well realised story. Interesting is a few similarities to "The Daleks" namely the city and there is a bit of lift action that makes me wonder if this was in Verity Lamberts notes. I highly recommend this purchase as I've rarely felt so emotional listening to a story.


Next up its the 8th Doctor range as the 8th Doctor and Tamsin in"Deimos" and "The Resurrection of Mars." This is without doubt a 10/10 release, possibly my favourite script by Jonathan Morris and in my opinion one of the best stories Big Finish has released. From the start it feels like a fun romp that The Doctor is going to wrap up in one episode and then we get a cliffhanger that signifies the moment where everything changes and the story goes in another direction. This is a story of manipulation, fracturing relationships and just how dangerous travelling with The Doctor can be. As usual people die, there are twists but due to the nature of the story the victories feel like something of a relief rather than a reason to party. The Doctor and the antagonist are left in very interesting situations at the end of this story and I look forward to finding out what happens next. At the moment I would say we are in this ranges best season since the first.