On Loan

This week I am working in West Hampstead London. My previous employer, the one who made me redundant 19 months ago, don't have enough qualified engineers to fulfill their requirements to their main customer. My ex Boss called me a few weeks ago to ask if I would mind helping out for a while. I of course said yes as my current position is currently far from exciting and I jumped at the chance to feel useful once more. Emails were exchanged, numbers were crunched and a contract was signed between our two companies and here I am on temporary loan.

As soon as I arrived on site I was greeted by numerous familiar faces and was warmly welcomed back into the old gang. Within minutes I had solved a minor problem and it was as if I had never left. I felt at home and at ease.

That was a night shift last Friday night and two more followed in quick succession. By the early hours of Monday morning collectively we completely replaced one Signalling control system, provided one new system and up dated two more. I personnel had over seen one of these upgrades, thoroughly tested it and brought it into use. If you have travelled anywhere between West Hampstead Thameslink and Blackfrairs stations since 4am on Monday morning, I have helped your journey go as smoothly as possible. If you have experienced any details, they were not of my doing as the equipment I have worked on has behaved itself beautifully.

This week I am working days monitoring all these new and upgraded systems. So far I've been very bored, sitting around just in case something goes wrong. Of course I hope nothing does fail, but if it does at least I'd have something to do.

While I sit here writing this I suddenly feel quite sad that I was made redundant from a job I loved. I did however walk straight into another job with a company which treats it's staff very well indeed and I suppose I should be grateful that I have a job at all in the current economical climate. The fact remains that after 19 months, I still feel like an outsider. A round peg in a square hole. I feel that my current employer is wasting their money by not using me and my skills to their full potential. I want to shine and excel, but I cannot. It could of course be my own fault for not speaking up. Maybe I should stop feeling sorry for myself and push myself forward.

The fact remains that I have enjoyed this last weekends work and I would be keen to do more if asked. Being a "hands on" engineer is far more rewarding than driving a desk all week.

Regards



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