What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor?

Well hello, and welcome to my new and improved blog (I hope you all enjoy the revamped look)... Firstly I'll apologise, as it's been waaaay too long since I last put perfectly manicured nails to keys to let you know what's going on in my life...as always, there's Never A Dull Day in my world!

As many of you are aware, I am thrilled to say, that after spending the last two years slogging my guts out working in customer service at a car dealership, I finally managed to find an in-road into corporate training, and started as a trainee trainer at the national learning centre for a mahoosive automotive group at the beginning of July.  I'm not going to lie to you, the day I got the phone call confirming the job offer, I may have done a teeny little wee in my pants....that's how happy I was.

So what does that mean for me? (I hear you ask)...well essentially at the moment I'm cramming my tiny little brain full of as much information as possible...course content, delivery style, reigning in the none PC overtones that I've become accustomed to through working alongside a workshop full of blokes who think it's okay to ask "are you on your period or something?" any time you disagree with them...and making new friends.

The friends thing is rather important to me.  Working at a dealerships, you find most people are "local". It's not the kind of job you'd commute long distances for, therefore on a Friday after work, everyone heads down to THE local for a few drinks, and you end up getting to know each other pretty well.  In my new job though, people travel in from far and wide.  I live in Nuneaton and I'm now commuting to Milton Keynes (52 miles away), some of the other trainers travel in from London, Leicestershire and even Gloucester!  It stands to reason therefore that no'one really hangs around on a Friday afternoon to go for a social after work, as they all need to get home at a reasonable hour.  (I'm not quite ready to give up "pub-Friday" though, so I've been catching up with my old dealership pals on a Friday after work.)  

It's also quite an isolated job, in as much as you see your colleagues first thing in the office, and at lunch we all sit together for a natter, but the rest of the time, you're training with up to 15 delegates who might be with you for one or two days, but aren't your co-workers. Building lasting relationships with my colleagues is even more important to me though, because at the beginning of next year, I plan to relocate to Milton Keynes (MK) and leave all of my wonderful "home" friends behind.

I've been looking for an excuse to escape this small town (mainly because I've slept with too many of it's occupants, and Nuneaton's gene pool needs a little more chlorine as it is!) and my new career gives me the perfect excuse.  This weekend it struck me though...most people would be intimidated by the idea of making new friends, but I'm not.  Obviously because I'm awesome and anyone who meets me adores me (eh-hem), but also because I have a secret.  The secret is Meet Up.

I've mentioned it before, but I'm going to endorse it again - www.meetup.com is a fantastic way to meet new people in your area, through organised events...anything from book clubs, to pub crawls, and rambles to festivals.  This weekend I spent my Sunday trawling lazily down the canals from Warwick to Leamington, on a narrow boat, for a nautical themed birthday party of a friend I've made through attending meet-ups in the Leamington area.  Happy Birthday Nicki!!  It was a brilliant day, there was sun, fancy dress, food, drink and various steering mishaps which made us rather unpopular with the local narrow boat community, but we had a great time, and that is the point.

I've met this great bunch of people through the Meet Up site here in my local area...so when it comes to moving to MK, I know exactly where to go to form another social circle, and make friends in the area.  It's a fantastic site, and the events are all organised by the members themselves, so if you've just moved to an area, or (if like me) your mates are all boring "smug marrieds" that only go out as (shudder) "couples", give it a go.  I've made a few lovely mates, and I know I'll be making some more come the new year.