Unemployment, travelling and smoking thread. Apparently.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Why don't you get a passport?

 

Really pointless not having one.

 

Read upppp. He needs a passport for McDonalds. My instinct is that he isn't financially in an amazing place to go traveling!

 

Hehe, I joke. I sympathise. I've had a passport for years but didn't get any use out of it until...last year. Traveling and visiting new places is great, although if you haven't got the money to do it and enjoy your time away, then it does put a downer on things. I can't wait til I'm actually earning some decent money, so that I can maybe enjoy myself a bit more without all the worry.

 

So, today is the closing date for that last job that I applied for. I'm hopeful of getting an interview...kinda. All this waiting is pretty painful.

 

Today, another job has come up, this time in South Gloucestershire. Its only around half an hour from where I live, but it may be a bit of a trek to get to every morning. We shall see. I've sent an email off requesting an application form, so hopefully I'll get a reply from that soon. It doesn't start until the 2nd November, though, which is a tiny way off, but if I even get an interview I'll be delighted.

[Raining_again]

Read upppp. He needs a passport for McDonalds. My instinct is that he isn't financially in an amazing place to go traveling!

 

And passports are extremely expensive to even get without the travel >_<

 

I don't have one. I don't intend going out past mainland UK so my drivers licence will suffice!

 

(it is very handy having a photographic ID though)

[danny]

I don't intend going out past mainland UK

 

What ever?

[Daft]

How do they discriminate against you for not having an addiction?

 

Cigarette breaks. Where the office politics is.

[Fierce_LiNk]

And passports are extremely expensive to even get without the travel >_<

 

I don't have one. I don't intend going out past mainland UK so my drivers licence will suffice!

 

(it is very handy having a photographic ID though)

 

They are expensive, and don't they need to be renewed every 10 years or something? So, wouldn't you have to pay a fee every decade to get a new one?

 

Ine's got one of these ID Cards that they have in Belgium, so she doesn't even need a Passport to travel across Europe. You can use that anywhere, and it constitutes as your ID. Carrying a Passport with you, especially if you don't drive, as a form of ID...pain in the arse, I bet!

[danny]

Cigarette breaks. Where the office politics is.

 

Im not a smoker and have never been. And i hate smoking. But i woudnt say its discrimination that they get a short break to smoke. Perhaps they should revers the laws so that you can smoke indoors and there wont be a need for breaks? (thats a joke i know some on here dont get me)

[chairdriver]

And passports are extremely expensive to even get without the travel >_<

 

About the same price as an iPod...

 

 

I understand your situation Raining - my gran couldn't travel anywhere far because of her illnesses - and I'm really glad you have travelled, because to stay forever in one country would be the biggest crime of all.

 

 

It's just the most uncultured thing in the world to not ever travel. Especially when its so cheap nowadays.

 

You can go to Bulgaria, and live for a week on £10. Literally.

[Roostophe]

About the same price as an iPod...

 

You can go to Bulgaria, and live for a week on £10. Literally.

 

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUU-

 

*Facepalms so hard his nose is rammed into the back of his skull.*

 

Now I've got a nosebleed. Happy now?

[nightwolf]

What ever?

 

Is that your sarcastic disbelieving voice?

 

I haven't been out the country in a good two years now, before that it was 3. I very rarely need my passport. I'm pretty sure my ex used his birth cerfiticate when going for the interview for macdonalds.

 

Still very much unemployed. I'm tired of not working not, I miss having somewhere to go, that nice little pay packet and seeing new people.

 

Sigh, somebody give me a job..

[Daft]

Im not a smoker and have never been. And i hate smoking. But i woudnt say its discrimination that they get a short break to smoke. Perhaps they should revers the laws so that you can smoke indoors and there wont be a need for breaks? (thats a joke i know some on here dont get me)

 

No, it's not really that. Legally you are allowed the same amount of break time but people tend to take their smoking breaks together and inevitably talk turns to what happens in the office. I've never smoked but all last year I was working in an office and on the first day my team mate, who was also teaching me the ropes, told me to come out anyway.

 

From then I'd always go out on the cigarette break. Instead of smoking I just ate an apple.

 

It's not explicit discrimination but you miss so much it turns into a bit of a handicap.

 

From what I hear, this is quite common.

[danny]

Is that your sarcastic disbelieving voice?

 

I haven't been out the country in a good two years now, before that it was 3. I very rarely need my passport. I'm pretty sure my ex used his birth cerfiticate when going for the interview for macdonalds.

 

Still very much unemployed. I'm tired of not working not, I miss having somewhere to go, that nice little pay packet and seeing new people.

 

Sigh, somebody give me a job..

 

 

No she said she didnt plan to leave mainland uk. I mean ever. As in ever or just she isnt planning a trip currently.

[chairdriver]

Back to employment:

 

It's really awkward at my work, because the managers are all so hard to talk to! They all fake-ly smile at you when you talk to them in a really disconcerting way, as if they're thinking "Just keep smiling. Just keep smiling." (they're all siblings, so they have similar mannerisms). It's really offputting. You go to speak to them, and you forget what you need/want to say, because of their social weirdness. Also, I think one of them fancies me, and he's a really creepy 40 y/o with over-powering chest hair.

 

Anyway, at the cinema, you get paid £7 for being on the popcorn/drinks/sweets kiosk, which is ridiculously easy work, and you get to eat sweets when the managers aren't looking; and you get £5.90 for ushering, which is really annoying work, because you have to run around cleaning people's crap up and dealing with late people - generally stressful. Apparently sweets is that much more pay because you have to deal with money.

 

I have no interest in ushering, since it's a lose-lose situation, and I keep going to ask for more shifts on the food kiosk, but the fucking stupid bitch manageress keeps bringing up other irrelevant, trivial shit ( I was accused of burning the hot dog rolls on a day I wasn't even working...) and makes it really awkward for me to ask - and when I did mention it, she said "Yes, yes! Of course!" (all the while really fakely smiling), and then when I look at next week's rota, I'm doing all shifts as an usher!

 

It's as though she's deliberately not done what I've asked! Really annoying.

[EEVILMURRAY]

Maybe it's because she isn't a man who fancies you?

 

 

Maybe she is, get a test done.

[Raining_again]

What ever?

 

not really. I live in northern Ireland so travelling to the mainland is more than plenty for me. Like I said - my medical difficulties make it hard to travel. I cant do long distance plane travels, sitting in cars/coaches for a long time. I cant walk miles and miles like most people do, so it just would ruin a holiday. And heat would bring on my fatigue.

 

They are expensive, and don't they need to be renewed every 10 years or something? So, wouldn't you have to pay a fee every decade to get a new one?

 

Ine's got one of these ID Cards that they have in Belgium, so she doesn't even need a Passport to travel across Europe. You can use that anywhere, and it constitutes as your ID. Carrying a Passport with you, especially if you don't drive, as a form of ID...pain in the arse, I bet!

 

Aren't they like £80 or something these days... and not everyone (working or not) can afford that out of nothing. But then if you can't well you probably can't afford to travel either! :P

 

About the same price as an iPod...

 

I understand your situation Raining - my gran couldn't travel anywhere far because of her illnesses - and I'm really glad you have travelled, because to stay forever in one country would be the biggest crime of all.

 

oooh bitchy

 

Yeah illnesses are pretty shit. Luckily I've travelled all over England, lived in Scotland, and Germany. Had plenty of experiences (like having an apple tree in my garden in germany!)

 

No, it's not really that. Legally you are allowed the same amount of break time but people tend to take their smoking breaks together and inevitably talk turns to what happens in the office. I've never smoked but all last year I was working in an office and on the first day my team mate, who was also teaching me the ropes, told me to come out anyway.

 

From then I'd always go out on the cigarette break. Instead of smoking I just ate an apple.

 

It's not explicit discrimination but you miss so much it turns into a bit of a handicap.

 

From what I hear, this is quite common.

 

Yeah I've heard of smokers taking the biscuit on smoke breaks, but if a non smoker wants a break its classed as lazy.. Odd how that works. I used to be a smoker - but we are only ever allowed smoke breaks on our official break. So it was a pretty fair system.

 

No she said she didnt plan to leave mainland uk. I mean ever. As in ever or just she isnt planning a trip currently.

 

In the forseeable future. Like I said earlier, I'm not fit to travel now, probably wont get any better.

 

(p.s i've been patronised about not wanting to travel and it wasn't pretty so please don't start it)

[Pookiablo]

Ine's got one of these ID Cards that they have in Belgium, so she doesn't even need a Passport to travel across Europe. You can use that anywhere, and it constitutes as your ID. Carrying a Passport with you, especially if you don't drive, as a form of ID...pain in the arse, I bet!

 

God bless the Schengen Agreement! Shame us Brits are still technically screwed over in terms of travel!

[Fierce_LiNk]

Aren't they like £80 or something these days... and not everyone (working or not) can afford that out of nothing. But then if you can't well you probably can't afford to travel either! :P

 

That is pretty steep. Ouchies. I've got a few years left on my current passport before I need to renew it. I wouldn't look at a passport and think it was absolutely essential though, although a lot of people do. At the moment, I value my driving licence. Its just so small, and much easier to have with you than a clunky passport. I'm not traveling anytime soon, unless it is the Land of the Belgians.

 

Also, about having smoking breaks: When I had my first (or was it second?) ever job, I noticed that half the staff would go out for a cigarette break at once. Basically, we were only a small office, so there were only around ten of us. But, everyone would go out for a smoke, and they would just end up talking and smoking, then smoking and talking. Inside, if you wanted a break, there was...very little for you to do. You just sit there, look at the clock, and carry on when your break ends.

 

I did think that the smokers used to take about twice as many breaks as the non-smokers, though. Given that the boss used to go out with them for a cigarette too, she didn't seem to have a huge problem with it.

[Pookiablo]

Given that the boss used to go out with them for a cigarette too, she didn't seem to have a huge problem with it.

 

That's the thing I've always found, if your boss is a smoker, they tend to be far more lenient when it comes to colleagues who also smoke. I remember saying to one of managers one time when he went for a smoke with another colleague that I fancied a "fresh air break" and was coming with. He basically said I couldn't and told me to go back to work. Equal treatment for the win.

 

Either way, it doesn't really matter that much - end of the day I know I work harder than most and I don't stink like shit doing it.

[Fierce_LiNk]

God bless the Schengen Agreement! Shame us Brits are still technically screwed over in terms of travel!

 

I'm not sure of the full ins and outs of that ID Card. For example, if Ine were to come over here and needed ID to buy alcohol or something, I don't know for certain if it would be accepted. I assume it would be, since its photographic ID. Its a nice little thing to have, though, and it is a bit of a shame that we're getting a raw deal over travel.

 

That's the thing I've always found, if your boss is a smoker, they tend to be far more lenient when it comes to colleagues who also smoke. I remember saying to one of managers one time when he went for a smoke with another colleague that I fancied a "fresh air break" and was coming with. He basically said I couldn't and told me to go back to work. Equal treatment for the win.

 

Either way, it doesn't really matter that much - end of the day I know I work harder than most and I don't stink like shit doing it.

 

Its not something that I get too down about or worked up over, but I do think that there's a certain advantage if you work in a particular environment and you are a smoker. Its a bit shitty that you weren't allowed a fresh air break, but then I guess your manager thought that you were wasting time. Whilst he went out smoking which is a great use of his time! Pfft.

[Pookiablo]

I'm not sure of the full ins and outs of that ID Card. For example, if Ine were to come over here and needed ID to buy alcohol or something, I don't know for certain if it would be accepted. I assume it would be, since its photographic ID. Its a nice little thing to have, though, and it is a bit of a shame that we're getting a raw deal over travel.

 

Basically, the same rules that apply to Ine do apply to us when in mainland Europe, you can travel and even live freely among European states and you'll find that going from France to Germany for example, requires no identification. If you're flying from France to Italy or something like that then the airline will require a passport but that's just for identifying you as a passenger and it isn't legally required (well at least I think so).

 

As long as a visitor to Europe is checked at border control on the way in to Europe (in say France) and checked again when they leave (say Poland), then they're allowed to go to as many different countries as they like without having to produce ID. I think it's a pretty nifty idea!

[Fierce_LiNk]

Basically, the same rules that apply to Ine do apply to us when in mainland Europe, you can travel and even live freely among European states and you'll find that going from France to Germany for example, requires no identification. If you're flying from France to Italy or something like that then the airline will require a passport but that's just for identifying you as a passenger and it isn't legally required (well at least I think so).

 

As long as a visitor to Europe is checked at border control on the way in to Europe (in say France) and checked again when they leave (say Poland), then they're allowed to go to as many different countries as they like without having to produce ID. I think it's a pretty nifty idea!

 

That is pretty sweet.

Recently we were both looking at the requirements for me to work in Belgium. It did seem quite confusing at first, but generally it seems relatively straightforward to work and travel in mainland Europe.

 

One thing I've always found strange is that whenever I travel from London to Brussels or vice versa, border control will always check at one end but not the other. (they check you when you're leaving the country/preparing to enter another country, but not when you have arrived in the other place) When on the Eurostar, I think about all the possible ways a Spy or someone could sneak on board the train after border control and get within the country without getting checked, heh.

[Paj!]

My cousin just used his equivalent of an Oyster card as I.d when he flew from and to Orkney. Fair enough that's not between countries, but I always thought oyu had to have a passport in airports.

[Jon]

My cousin just used his equivalent of an Oyster card as I.d when he flew from and to Orkney. Fair enough that's not between countries, but I always thought oyu had to have a passport in airports.

 

Not on domestic flights. Though some airlines do require one, such as Easyjet. The last 4 times i've flown, (with British Airways and BMI) I've not been asked for any identification. You normally need some sort of photo ID.

[Raining_again]

Not on domestic flights. Though some airlines do require one, such as Easyjet. The last 4 times i've flown, (with British Airways and BMI) I've not been asked for any identification. You normally need some sort of photo ID.

 

You generally need photographic ID, and its specific to official ID, like drivers licence/passport (to travel within the UK)

 

its in the T&C's of whatever flight company you use.

[Goafer]

Cigarette breaks. Where the office politics is.

 

They may get 10 minutes now, but I'll be getting a few years on the end of my life.

 

Unfortunately, it's likely to be spent shitting myself and getting my relatives names wrong.

[Happenstance]

They may get 10 minutes now, but I'll be getting a few years on the end of my life.

 

Unfortunately, it's likely to be spent shitting myself and getting my relatives names wrong.

 

Dont you already do that now?