Thursday, 11 October 2018
Life is Good(ish)
I've had a surprisingly okay last few days - trip to the sad remains of Margate yesterday aside - for one simple reason: I only went and got the job!! Got the call Monday afternoon and I couldn't be more pleased. Would've liked to find a proper way to celebrate - alcohol maybe? - but I'll take a trip to Shoreditch with my best friend for vintage clothes window-shopping, burritos and killer African hot chocolate - which I did on Tuesday. The hot chocolate, by the way, was cardamom-infused and topped with shaved chocolate, and has probably ruined me for any and all future experiences with hot chocolate. That was a celebration for sure! And to top it off, I learnt that one of the magazines I sent some of my poetry to back in July (Brittle Star) has accepted my piece called Astronauts in Hard Hats (based on the real life event of two construction workers on a tyre swing in my local park). Also, my sister is coming home for the weekend tomorrow. So I'm feeling pretty okay about life at the moment, depression, anxiety and general mental health aside.
Sunday, 7 October 2018
A Sickness of the Populace
Well, my aforementioned interview is now three days in the past and tomorrow I find out if I have succeeded or not. For now, though, I am suffering with one of my rarely-experienced colds. I probably picked it up from any one of the millions travelling through London or someone in the office during my placement at the start of this week. It was, of course, inevitable, and I know if I was doing that sort of thing on a more regular basis, I might even build up an immunity to it all, but this one burst of exposure has taken advantage of me. Right now, I'm almost through the drippy-nose stage and have reached the stuffy nose/head stage which makes me feel tired a lot. I'm hoping to skip the cough if possible because that is genuinely the most annoying feature of any cold but I have the feeling I won't be so lucky.
And that's about all I have to report for now. These last few days haven't been that exciting - aside from a visit to Tunbridge Wells which is basically a town which combines the poshness of London's West End with the quirkiness of the seaside (just without the sea). Hopefully I'll have good news in the days to come - and shake off this abominable cold!
And that's about all I have to report for now. These last few days haven't been that exciting - aside from a visit to Tunbridge Wells which is basically a town which combines the poshness of London's West End with the quirkiness of the seaside (just without the sea). Hopefully I'll have good news in the days to come - and shake off this abominable cold!
Thursday, 4 October 2018
Three Days of The Week
I knew it'd be a little while before I was able to blog again, what with my work placement at The Week in Queensway, London, so here I am to give you an update.
I was, predictably, quite nervous on my first day: I didn't entirely know what to expect, how difficult it would be, what the people I would be working with would be like. But after I struggled through the crowds of people travelling into the city, I made it and the woman looking after me - Claudia - was rather friendly - though a little quiet. My first task was to search through a small list of websites/online tabloids for any humorous/unbelievable news stories - I'll be damned if I can remember any of them now though. Then it was on to the old work experience favourite: photocopying! Even with help from the other volunteer, it was slow going, and my hands were definitely shaking by lunch time. This I took in a Starbucks across the road, but my nerves seemed to think the solution would be to eat more than my stomach could handle. After most of a salmon bagel and half a piece of chocolate orange marble cake, I had to stop and try to calm myself down before going back. The photocopying and filing of articles into the week's topics (Brexit, Tories, the whale in the Thames, etc.) continued past the time it was supposed to, and it was almost 5pm before we were done (2 hours later than planned!) That was, however, the end of day one and I even got out early, off home with a nervous gut that was still reluctant to take in any food.
Day Two, in spite of the millions of other people going the same way as me, I was reminded that people do this trip every week day: I met a friend on the bus to the station on his way to work in Sevenoaks. When I finally reached my temporary work place, it was back to photocopying for a bit, this time into simpler categories like Health and Science, Bad News, Gossip, etc. This was easier than what was to come, that being fact-checking. Obviously, the news that is written has to be checked to ensure it is factually correct - whoa betide anyone who misquotes a politician or misspells a celebrity's complicated name - but when these facts must be checked against several different sources, it quickly becomes a chore. I decided to stick to an article on the first voyage of Captain Cook which required fact-checking similar to that I did for my uni essays. It was around this time, however, in my stride as I was, that my period decided to start. Now I had come prepared, but not nearly well enough as I later found out. I ended up in a considerable amount of pain on the final train home. But, for the time being, it was a bearable pain, though it didn't help motivate me with my fact-checking. Fortunately, there was another task to complete: phoning estate agents to ascertain the continued availability and price of certain properties that the magazine wanted to showcase. This was surprisingly simple and even slightly enjoyable. Unfortunately, I ended up staying 10 minutes late while relaying my fact-checking to Claudia which meant I missed two of my earliest trains from London Bridge. And on this train was when the pain got worse, so by the time I was home, I had very little appetite - again.
Day Three, however, while being the busiest day getting into London - for some strange reason - was an okay day. Apart from a little bit of photocopying in the morning, it was pretty much all fact-checking for the whole day. By the end of it, I was pretty tired of reading facts about rapists, trans-gender Girl Guides, and the public opinion on Theresa May. My reprieve, as had been my decision for the last two days, was the crossword in the free Metro that I had picked up for those three days which I tried to complete while eating my lunch. Around that, it was a slow day and I found myself checking my watch at regular intervals, glad when I had to nip off the toilet if only to get myself moving. But by the end of the day, it felt strange to realise I was done; the three days had gone, just like that, and I was off home for the final time. I gave my thanks, which were dully returned, found my way swiftly onto each train and bus, and was home in time for dinner by 7pm.
Now, I have another job interview today, another chance to learn some new skills (if I get lucky).
I was, predictably, quite nervous on my first day: I didn't entirely know what to expect, how difficult it would be, what the people I would be working with would be like. But after I struggled through the crowds of people travelling into the city, I made it and the woman looking after me - Claudia - was rather friendly - though a little quiet. My first task was to search through a small list of websites/online tabloids for any humorous/unbelievable news stories - I'll be damned if I can remember any of them now though. Then it was on to the old work experience favourite: photocopying! Even with help from the other volunteer, it was slow going, and my hands were definitely shaking by lunch time. This I took in a Starbucks across the road, but my nerves seemed to think the solution would be to eat more than my stomach could handle. After most of a salmon bagel and half a piece of chocolate orange marble cake, I had to stop and try to calm myself down before going back. The photocopying and filing of articles into the week's topics (Brexit, Tories, the whale in the Thames, etc.) continued past the time it was supposed to, and it was almost 5pm before we were done (2 hours later than planned!) That was, however, the end of day one and I even got out early, off home with a nervous gut that was still reluctant to take in any food.
Day Two, in spite of the millions of other people going the same way as me, I was reminded that people do this trip every week day: I met a friend on the bus to the station on his way to work in Sevenoaks. When I finally reached my temporary work place, it was back to photocopying for a bit, this time into simpler categories like Health and Science, Bad News, Gossip, etc. This was easier than what was to come, that being fact-checking. Obviously, the news that is written has to be checked to ensure it is factually correct - whoa betide anyone who misquotes a politician or misspells a celebrity's complicated name - but when these facts must be checked against several different sources, it quickly becomes a chore. I decided to stick to an article on the first voyage of Captain Cook which required fact-checking similar to that I did for my uni essays. It was around this time, however, in my stride as I was, that my period decided to start. Now I had come prepared, but not nearly well enough as I later found out. I ended up in a considerable amount of pain on the final train home. But, for the time being, it was a bearable pain, though it didn't help motivate me with my fact-checking. Fortunately, there was another task to complete: phoning estate agents to ascertain the continued availability and price of certain properties that the magazine wanted to showcase. This was surprisingly simple and even slightly enjoyable. Unfortunately, I ended up staying 10 minutes late while relaying my fact-checking to Claudia which meant I missed two of my earliest trains from London Bridge. And on this train was when the pain got worse, so by the time I was home, I had very little appetite - again.
Day Three, however, while being the busiest day getting into London - for some strange reason - was an okay day. Apart from a little bit of photocopying in the morning, it was pretty much all fact-checking for the whole day. By the end of it, I was pretty tired of reading facts about rapists, trans-gender Girl Guides, and the public opinion on Theresa May. My reprieve, as had been my decision for the last two days, was the crossword in the free Metro that I had picked up for those three days which I tried to complete while eating my lunch. Around that, it was a slow day and I found myself checking my watch at regular intervals, glad when I had to nip off the toilet if only to get myself moving. But by the end of the day, it felt strange to realise I was done; the three days had gone, just like that, and I was off home for the final time. I gave my thanks, which were dully returned, found my way swiftly onto each train and bus, and was home in time for dinner by 7pm.
Now, I have another job interview today, another chance to learn some new skills (if I get lucky).
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