Finally!

I'm so excited, we ordered my ring this morning! Finally! They said it should take about 5 days to make up so hopefully next week I'll have my wedding band. We're still not sure if we'll be getting the second one but I have high hopes that we will.

I went for an interview yesterday at a very nice company. I think it went well but you can never tell. They did ask me to do a PPA (Personality Profile Analysis) which I wasn't too comfortable with but I was shocked at how accurate this test turned out to be. How it works is that they give you four descriptive words/phrases per line (20 lines are provided) like 1) Easily led, 2) Brave, 3) Trustworthy, 4) Like people . You then have to select which word/phrase describes you mostly in a working environment, which word/phrase describes you the least, and two words/phrases left blank. My results came back fairly positive, saying that I'm a perfectionist and that I'd rather do things correctly and finish the task before starting something new. They also said that I'm accurate, precise, detailed, sceptical, inquisitive, probing, non-aggressive, analytical, logical and so on. N thought it was funny that they said that I take rejection personally because she's always telling me that I'm too sensitive.

Decisions decisions!

Can you believe it - I got a job! I went for the interview this morning and an hour later they called to say that I got it. I was so surprised especially since the interview did not go well at all. If it were for any other job I would be ecstatic but I really got such a negative vibe from my soon-to-be boss that I'm considering turning it down. Its a decent position for a higher salary and its at N's company so we'd save a bit on petrol but that's the only advantage I can think of. The soon-to-be boss is arrogant, unfriendly and has a reputation for putting people down and making the working environment unpleasant.

N offers no guidance or advice in helping me make a decision, just some simple words of advice would be appreciated but that seems too much for her. We're supposed to support each other and help each other in times of need but she's not interested lately.

To change the subject completely, I've now mailed 6 of our invitations so hopefully they'll be received in a week or so. I can't wait to start getting RSVP's!

With this ring...

This is my ring! Isn't it gorgeous?! Its the one that we found a few weeks ago. Its 18ct white gold and has 12 princess cut diamonds with the total of 0.54cts. We found it at Browns and so far their service has been excellent. We'll be ordering it in 3 weeks and then depending on our finances we might get the second one before the wedding (but I'm not counting on it since I don't have a job yet).
...
Our MD called us in this morning regarding our retrenchments. He told us that we could leave this Friday if we wish, so that's exactly what I'll be doing! Why stay longer if there's nothing left here for me to do. I do have an interview on Thursday for what sounds like a very good position, whether I'll like it or not remains to be seen.

This and that

This weekend I got a few DIY things done. I finished the changes to the programs (I'm so much happier with them now), I made the little bridal party kits for my bridesmaid & maid of honour and I started with the cocktail menu's. I haven't added any backing to the cocktail menu's yet because I want to wait and see what colour overlay we'll use, so it will either be black or gold.
....

For the Bridal party kit I included:

* Panado

* Plasters

* Gum

* Tissues

I also baked a Madeira loaf cake yesterday which turned out so well. This recipe is definitely a winner.

Madeira Cake

Source

125 g butter
250 ml sugar (210 g)
2 extra large eggs
10 ml grated lemon rind
5 ml vanilla essence
500 ml Snowflake cake flour (280 g)
10 ml baking powder
250 ml milk

1. Cream butter and sugar together well.
2. Beat in eggs, lemon rind and essence until mixture is light and fluffy.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder together and mix into the creamed mixture
alternately with milk.
4. Pour into a well-greased 23 cm loaf tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 1 hour - I reduced the oven temp to 160°C.

I served it with strawberry jam while warm, yum!

Today my MD gave me a letter of recommendation. I read it with a heavy heart. He said such nice things that it makes me a little sad to think that I'll be leaving soon. I have mixed feelings about leaving, but one thing that I am happy about is not having to "hide" the truth about me being gay and marrying a woman anymore, that alone feels like a weight off my shoulders. My biggest worry is our financial situation and of course the change, changing jobs is stressful! I really don't like change but its inevitable I suppose.

Changes

A big change happened today. I was retrenched! That's right, after working here for 8 years I have lost my job. The company relies on diamond sales and since the recession the sales have dropped drastically. They are now going to have 1/4 of the staff that they originally had.

This couldn't have come at a worse time, just a few months before the wedding. I don't know what we going to do but we'll have to think of something fast.

To change the subject - last night I worked on the programs. Although they were already finished, I wasn't too happy with the overall look. I added some rhinestones and left out the envelope.

Lots done, lots to do

The weekend was quite productive. We planned to go to the suit hire places to check out what they had but N had to work on Saturday morning and since they all close at 13:00 we couldn't make it, but we did go to a couple of places that sold suits. Unfortunately we found nothing suitable, the suits were either far too expensive or too big or off-white. But there are other options which we have enough time to look at.

We bought a few things:

N's tie and her best men's ties

N's cuff links

The cutest pair of blue lacy Calvin Klein undies (which are light enough to not be seen through my dress)

A clutch, which I thought was totally unnecessary being the bride and all but what would everything (make-up, perfume, mints, etc) go into if not into a clutch?

We also tried looking for shirts but didn't find anything that we liked. I thought I was difficult to shop for, but N is even worse. We found a woman's suit that was in a stone colour and after some convincing I got N to try the jacket on and it fit like a glove! She looked so sexy in it and it looked like it was made for her, but she refused to get it. Even though it was a very light stone colour she is set against anything that isn't white. So the search continues...

Today I ordered the best men's gifts. One will get an engraved hip flask and the other will get an engraved pocket knife. Each will also get the tie that they'll be wearing on the day and a cigar.

On Friday I called my mom to see how she was doing and to tell her about the visit that I had had earlier and we were talking about getting her treatment and how much it was going to cost. I told her I'd check her bank account while we were talking and by some miracle as the account details opened there it was - a surplus payment from an insurance. We were so shocked and relieved that we were both almost in tears. I left work early to pick her up and take her for her treatment and to our amazement there was another surprise in store for us - the medication cost 1/3 less that we had expected to pay. It really was a good day! I took her again on Saturday and Sunday morning for her treatment and got my brother to take her today and tomorrow. It's only for five days so it'll be finished then.

As the wedding gets closer I get more nervous. I am not out at work and although I've been here for 8 years I'm a pretty private person. My colleagues are curious and ask about N and the wedding but I've always just allowed them to believe that N is a man. I have never mentioned her name so they have picked a fictitious name which they use when referring to her. I know that I'll have to let them know sometime especially since they'll all want to see the wedding pictures, but I wish I wouldn't have to, after all it's my personal life and it's got nothing to do with any of them! We have a client who is gay and after hearing some of the comments that my ever-so-friendly colleagues made about her, I'm even more nervous. I don't really care what they think since I don't hold any of them in a high regard but I still have to work here and don't want it to be an uncomfortable environment.