Cadit gladius

The sword falls.

I'm to finish work on 14th of July.  My overwhelming emotion is relief.  But I am angry too.  My boss refused to give me redundancy (severance) pay.  We agreed instead that I would work until the end of September, which is (as my mom used to say) better than a slap in the face with a wet fish.  But then he discovered that by law he has to give me long-service leave, which is one week for each year that you've worked for your employer.  And I've worked for him for 12 years.  So he then said that he couldn't pay me for 3 more months and also give me the long service leave I am entitled to.   So I am to finish in 2 weeks time, but will be paid up until the end of September.  His meanness and parsimony are extraordinary: I know how much I bring into the firm, and I know how I helped build up the firm in the early days.  I was so angry when he told me this that I left the office immediately and went home.

I don't know who is going to do the work that I used to do, and who will look after the clients.  Since I like some of them, I worry.  From now on, though, they're his problem.

I'm on leave this week, and already feel more relaxed than I've felt for ages.  When you're totally focussed on your work, it's hard to write, because you don't have the emotional or physical energy to create.  Making up a world and the people who inhabit it takes emotional energy.  And I've been so determined to do a good job at work that I concentrate hard on what's happening in economies and share markets.  When I write I often run scenes and chapters through my mind.  How will the plot develop from now?  How will this character interact with that one?  When I'm working, I'm concentrated on doing my job properly, not thinking about my characters and their lives.  Well, that's over!

So, I've started writing again.  I'm writing 200 words a day of Majorca Flats.  And already my mind is filling with new plot developments, new episodes, and ways to bring all the story threads together.  It feels wonderful!

This beach at the hamlet of Walkerville, is a 35-40 minute drive from our new house.  I'm looking forward to visiting it often.