Monkee

One thing to be mindful of if he’s that pedantic is if he does an FOI request he would get access to any Teams chats where he’s been named.

It didn’t cost me financially as I was still paid through my annual leave. I didn’t incur any other costs. If I didn’t have the leave so would have had to take unpaid leave then I would have to have weighed up whether it was worth me doing free work for two days or asking for some sort of compensation.

If a trial is genuinely a trial - e.g. a couple of hours to see if you have the necessary skills - then it’s OK that it’s unpaid. I would class that as being part of the normal hiring process so I wouldn’t expect any compensation. But anything outside of maybe 2hrs or where you incur unexpected (unusual) expenses then I think it’s fair to ask for some sort of payment or expenses to be covered. Years ago, I had an interview for Broadcast (the TV analysis company). I was then invited to do a 2-day trial with them which was basically sold to me as me having got the job and this was just to meet the team I’d be working with. At the time I didn’t really think too much about it, took 2 days of annual leave and agreed. I was basically sat at a desk on my own the entire time doing data entry. And then I didn’t get the job. It was annoying but I never said anything because I was quite angry but I didn’t really lose any money as I’d taken it as annual leave. It really wasn’t fair what they did and I felt very used.

God, I hate people like this - entitled, can’t follow simple process, blame others for their incompetency, go all Karen when the ball is actually in their court. I’d just keep doing a copy and paste of what he needs to do to get his money. I recently discovered the concept of “Don’t JADE” - justify, argue, defend, explain. The idea is that once you’ve given someone a reasonable answer or boundary, you don’t keep trying to convince them that you’re right. Every extra explanation gives them another detail to challenge and turns the interaction into a negotiation. This is how I’m trying to manage difficult people without getting myself worked up, stressed, apologising when I don’t need to or explaining the same thing over and over again. Because, at the end of the day, “life is too short”.

This is brilliant. I’d totally forgotten about this and can’t remember most of my answers but I do spit a few when there’s only 1 vote next to it. I do have a question though… Who met Cliff Richard?

Good shout! I’ve always liked Ryan Stiles, he always seems like he’s great fun both one and off stage. Naturally funny - I find that very attractive.

I was diagnosed 4 years ago (at the ripe old age of 42) and it was genuinely life changing. It just helped me to understand more about myself, have more control, forgive past behaviour, etc. There was some grief for things that could have been different but I try not to dwell on it. Even if I hadn’t been diagnosed, understanding certain traits like executive dysfunction, time blindness, emotional disregulation, hyper fixations, rejection sensitivity, impulsivity and task avoidance helped me to manage myself and put coping mechanisms into place. It also helped friends and family to know how and when to support me. In relation to medication, I find that it helps me in a few areas. It’s a mood stabiliser so I don’t feel like I’m bouncing off the walls (stops the impulsivity and sometimes reckless behaviour) or paralysed with depression the next. It helps me manage energy levels so I’m not falling asleep in the middle of the day. I did learn not to take my meds before a long-haul flight if I was intending to sleep though. I’m more focused, productive, and I don’t get overwhelmed as much. I do still struggle at times but as I’m open about what support I need then I’m lucky that friends and family often notice things before I do. My sleep pattern hasn’t really improved (I still end up doomscrolling until 4am even if I’m absolutely exhausted) and lack of sleep is a huge trigger for me. I also forget to take my meds quite a lot and made the stupid “I feel great, I don’t need to take them” mistake from around March to June this year then had a total meltdown that took about a week to recover from, resetting myself and get back into the routine of taking them again. So on the whole - best thing I ever did. @DavidB6937 Hope this helps with your question about meds too. As @deathreysaid, no such thing as a dumb question with this stuff. There’s so much info and voices out there it can be hard to find the answers you’re looking for.

Clue is one of my all-time favourite films. I watched it last night after hearing about Tim Curry. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched it and still notice new things each time. Tim Curry was amazing. I had a thing for him as the Grand High Wizard in The Worst Witch. If you haven’t already, go to YouTube and watch him sing Anything Could Happen on Halloween.