Are You Ridiculous or Resourceful? YOU Decide...

Under my new guise as ‘The Transient Goddess’, I’m looking at life in my own happily skewed way… I’m a professional and practical person who had worked for many years in senior Human Resources roles, before deciding to direct a life time of learning into the new direction of being a Life and Business Coach.  It’s a marvellous match and something I was clearly born to do… And this for me, is partly because I don’t quite have it all sorted, in every moment.  In fact I can be quite scatty, and am definitely ditzy – and, as it turns out, I was born a blonde.  I define blonde by being fair of hair and complexion, as well as (for me) daftly delightful… Well that is when I’m being kind to myself, which often, as it goes – I’m not.  So my Transient Goddess blogs are being written to work out this ditzy dichotomy and to keep my learning fresh.  Today’s post actually happened today…

LIFE IN THE BLONDE LANE

In real time writing mode – it’s Bank Holiday Monday in the UK (a National Holiday) and because of that I’ve just come through a misadventure which I will now recall for you…

I had arranged to go on an organised walk somewhere near Stratford today and for a change had given myself lots of lovely time to get there, park, etc., etc.

However, I get close to my destination and the traffic is queuing to get INTO my destination…

After watching all my spare time tick away until 15 minutes after the start time of the walk, I give up and drive towards Stratford. Yes I know it is the home of Shakespeare and a tourist mecca, and I drive there knowing it will be Bank Holiday crazy, but hey – I’m out of the house now and wanna make something of it.

My normal quiet car park on the edge of town has cars queuing out of it, so I decide to give up on the whole mooching round town idea, so I attempt to make my way home and am now stuck in the Stratford traffic. And I mean STUCK. I get out of town eventually, but then have to skirt back round it again (to pick up the route home), when, inadvertently I come across a tucked away car park with no queue.  I can now avoid the traffic and go back to Plan B!

I drive in to the multi-storey space, all the while scanning for space, until my car has climbed 7 stories.  Finally I find a space – Hallelujah! I note that an hour will cost ￡3.00 and I head off into town thinking I must go to the bank as I only have ￡8.00 in my purse.

Despite a dour weather forecast, the sun is shining and I am pleased with my decision.  So are the hordes of other people who have also descended on the town centre.  On the way to the bank I literally get pushed by the crowds into an Oxfam Charity Shop. I have a browse and find the most gorgeous black and silver top.  I try it on and it fits like a dream. It is a mere ￡3.99 so I decide to buy it, along with a DVD for ￡1.99.

Happy with my purchases I cross the road to get money out of my bank’s cash point. I have a slight qualm now as I wonder if any money will be left in the bank’s coffers on such a busy day; but no, the machine IS working and greedily sucks in my cash card.

Then I am told by a factual computer screen that I have ‘insufficient funds to make a withdrawal’ and my card is unceremoniously spat out. I try again 3 times until still @ ￡10 I am refused cash.

I sit down on a bench and look at the crowds around me to ponder my options. “It’s OK” I think, “I’ll get in touch with the bank”. There is, however, no phone signal and neither is there wifi…

Starting to get in to panic mode, I count out the change in my purse. I have ￡2.65. I need ￡3.00 to exit the car park… I cross the road back to the Oxfam shop and explain my predicament and that I just need to return the DVD…

‘No can do’ I am told. The ‘system’ will not accept refunds for a DVD I bought only 10 minutes ago. It will how ever refund any clothing items. I take a quick, sad decision and then I hand the beautiful, black and silver, diaphanous top back with moist eyes (due, obviously to STRESS rather than the thwarting of my materialistic atavism…).

The kindly lady behind the till suggests that she could ‘put it by’ for a week, but I have a busy week ahead and I know I won’t be going back there in that time. I fill out the paperwork and release the garment back to the shop.  Money is handed over.

The top and I then part a sad farewell for our unfulfilled future together…

I turn and walk quickly away to the car park and pray that I have not exceeded an hour and hence the money left in my meagre purse. It is an NCP car park – but I cannot find a machine to pay my fee. Puzzled by this, I walk up 7 flights of stairs to get my car and drive the zig-zag route to the outside. All the way down I look out for instructions of how and where to pay. There are none. I now worry that I will have to pay on the way out and will hold people up if I don’t have enough cash in place because I’ve now exceeded the magical ￡3.00 hour…

In mild panic I then drive back up to the 7th level (because that is the only place there is a space) and then run back down to check out the payment situation. Finally I discover at the exit that you pay a cashier upon leaving… How quaint… I hare back up to the 7th level and zig-zag my car back down to the cashier.

I hand over my ticket and the cashier announces that the fee is ￡3.00 – I made it!!!

It takes me another 15 / 20 minutes to negotiate through the heavy traffic.  Finally, after all this kerfuffle, I’m away from the town and speeding along the dual carriageway which will take another 30 minutes to get me home.

At this point my brain calms down and then catches up with my situation. Now I that think about, I know that I have PLENTY of money in the bank – so WHAT is going on? I budget carefully and check my account regularly… So have I inadvertently spent it or has it been stolen??? The journey home seems to take for ever…

Finally I reach my street and park up.  I dash into the house, dial up my bank and the exact amount of money I thought I had in my account, IS in my account. I have no payments due that would eat up the amount.  Rather than having ‘insufficient funds’, it turns out that in fact I had more than sufficient monies in place, so it must have been a banking error or just ‘one of those things’…

So… whilst I was in the midst of this maelstrom of a minor ‘adventure’, I kept chanting a favourite (self invented) mantra to myself, which was: ‘stay calm, it will all be handled’.  I repeated those words to myself and trusted that it would all be resolved.  And so it was…

And of course, now with the benefit of hindsight, it’s actually FUNNY…

Hum… You know, may be that top and I just weren’t destined for each other and it will have another, happier life with someone else… There may be other tops in my future… But, and I know it’s a big but… If any of my Stratford friends wish to stroll past Oxfam and purchase a size 12 black chiffon and silver decorated top, and then pass it back my way… I might just love them for ever… Yes – I can live with out it, but it WAS lovely…

And still I’m left with the dratted DVD they would not let me return.  All I’m saying is, that it had better be GOOD, since THAT is how I will be spending what’s left of my Bank Holiday!  Well that and writing a blog of course…

So my mantra saved the day.  And I am reminded that I am both ditzy and as it turns out, incredibly resourceful, and finally – I remembered to celebrate and learn… again…

“It will all be handled… Just Trust…”

Here’s to a Happy Blonde Bank Holiday…

From: Sandra – Transient Goddess, Coach and Author

You can Contact Me by clicking here…

I’m also variously known as:

* The award winning Author of Peachey Letters – Love Letters to Life and Co-Author of The F-Factor.  You can buy them both at Amazon by clicking on the highlighted titles / hyperlinks above, and at all good book sites around the globe.
* The Director of LifeWork Consultancy & Coaching – find out more here…
* As an International Book Awards Finalist – 2015, Women’s Issues Category
* The Winner of a Women Inspiring Women Award – 2013
* As being shortlisted for Women’s Coach in the APCTC Awards – 2014, as well as being nominated in 2012 & 2013
* Also as being Nominated for a Networking Mummies National Recognition Award – 2015…