I'm feeling a lot more positive this week. For two reasons: I have money.... And I've had an interview.
First - money. a) I finally put my travel expenses in at work, yay....!! and b) Yes, I have got myself a part time pub job. Lovely little pub off the main street of Chelsea. Good food, great atmosphere, friendly people. I love it. And it was only because my friend Shak dragged me out for a pint (which he very kindly paid for) and us having a bit of banter with the manager that I blurted out, "Do you have any jobs going?" Yes, he does. And he needs more females to balance out the bar staff. Part time is fine. And would I like to come in for a trial shift next week? Yes please :-) And there's Shak sitting opposite me at the table, pint in hand, merrily cheering me on! Ha ha...
So, I come for the trial shift. 6pm on a Friday night. It's only meant to be 2 or 3 hours long, no payment (to me).....But because the pub is sooooo busy, 7 hours later at 1am, I'm helping break down the bar (catering term for tidying it up, not dismantling!!) and having a chat with the manager. He's given me 40 quid for the night, and paper work to fill in. Awesome. Cash!! And I have the job.
One week later, I have my first proper shift. It's strange being back behind the bar. I'd not been in that position for almost 8 months. And before that almost 8 years! And I'm wondering if I'm doing the right thing being back there? Yes, I am, stop being silly, Maya! Yes, I am actually pretty excited about it. I do like bar work. And there is another girl in who's on trial shift. I tell her what happened to me the week before and we joke that it will happen to her. It does. She's there at 1am helping us to break down the bar. 40 quid. Contract. Good one.
That night was manic. Totally. There was a birthday party and a load of regular drunken lunatics getting pissed as usual. And suddenly out of nowhere, the Jagerbombs start flying! Shit. Fun to prepare once you have everything, but a pain to put together because the bar is always short of shot glasses. So I spend a lot of the evening getting glasses collected, washed, helping the other bar tenders serve - which also means I'm out of the sales race! However, I'm so fast at doing this, and the bar tenders are only short a couple of times that night, that I earn the nickname of Ninja! Haaaaaaaaaai-ya!!! It is now my name on the till.
A week after my first shift (2 weeks after my trial), I had an interview. It was funny because it was the first interview in the last few months which I had not been nervous in. Perhaps I was still unsure about whether I wanted the job or not to the point that I knew that if I didn't get it, I wouldn't be too disappointed. Or perhaps I'd just become non-chalent after being in so many interviews and had almost accepted that I probably wouldn't get the job anyway, so why get stressed or worried about it!? Either way, I felt myself chatting away, so relaxed and happy, and ready enough to just expand and expand on everything. And the interviewers were really friendly and nice... I don't know when I will hear about the job -but my point is, I wish this would happen in every interview... Humph! Now, I know that I am capable of being relaxed and answering questions fully, I will do my best to repeat it. Fingers crossed. Ahem... yeah... the prospect of having to have a non-chalent attitude for a job I desperately want really doesn't appeal, though somehow I'm going to have to master it... *sigh*
And so a few days ago, I checked my bank balance. I have money from my travel expenses... and my first weekly wage from the pub. Excellent. Smile. So I went and dragged Shak out and bought him a pint. He was happy.
Sunday 26 September 2010
Thursday 16 September 2010
The cost of moving
Hot desking is actually surprisingly easy to do once you get used to it though you need to be able to compact all your things into one notebook. I remember the second or third day of coming to volunteer and passing my new line manager Carla on the way with a massive bag full of files, notebooks and papers that she had to transport from one office to another depending on what meetings she had on, what activities, etc. She had clearly been carrying it all the way from home - not close - that I took it off her immediately for the last 4 minutes of the journey. I remember after that vowing to myself to be a minimalist.
Having to remember to get receipts for everything was, and still is, a hassle. You have to remember to ask for them, keep them together and then sort them out every week or two... or three. I was initially good at it partly because I was recycling the money I was spending on travel and food the week after and therefore couldn't do without.
But then there began to be issues with my oystercard. I forget to ask for a print out of my journeys at the end of my day and decide to do it the next day. But then can't do it for one reason or another and so I decide to go at the end of my journey of the second day and ask for one. But then I've made so many journeys on the first day that when I eventually ask for a print out, the journeys are coming off the sheet!! Bugger. OK, so I have to call the oystercard company to send me a statement. Shit, it's registered to my brother and I hadn't realise that I'd switched it by mistake until then (I'd been using it for around 6 months by this time). So I have to ask him to change the details for me online (I give him another oyster card in return) so that Oyster can help me. They're suspicious and give me a hard time but they help me anyway. *Sigh*
And then there's that game that you play with yourself with the oystercards - which one has the most cash on it - enough to get you to work, or at least the one requiring the least top up... That just leads to more confusion and should be avoided at all costs. Seriously. And this is possibly the main reason why I am now 5 weeks behind in getting my money back. Also because somewhere in between I lost one of my three oystercards, had to call Oyster, get a new one sent (they replaced the wrong card though so I had to ask them again) but then found the oystercard I thought I'd lost but then forgot to touch out when exiting a station so had to call Oyster again.... The boys there love me. They really do. [Sarcasm].
But the issue has almost come to an end, I have my statements and I will put my claim in for the last 5 weeks (or it is 6?) on Monday. I swear. I will. Promise.
Having to remember to get receipts for everything was, and still is, a hassle. You have to remember to ask for them, keep them together and then sort them out every week or two... or three. I was initially good at it partly because I was recycling the money I was spending on travel and food the week after and therefore couldn't do without.
But then there began to be issues with my oystercard. I forget to ask for a print out of my journeys at the end of my day and decide to do it the next day. But then can't do it for one reason or another and so I decide to go at the end of my journey of the second day and ask for one. But then I've made so many journeys on the first day that when I eventually ask for a print out, the journeys are coming off the sheet!! Bugger. OK, so I have to call the oystercard company to send me a statement. Shit, it's registered to my brother and I hadn't realise that I'd switched it by mistake until then (I'd been using it for around 6 months by this time). So I have to ask him to change the details for me online (I give him another oyster card in return) so that Oyster can help me. They're suspicious and give me a hard time but they help me anyway. *Sigh*
And then there's that game that you play with yourself with the oystercards - which one has the most cash on it - enough to get you to work, or at least the one requiring the least top up... That just leads to more confusion and should be avoided at all costs. Seriously. And this is possibly the main reason why I am now 5 weeks behind in getting my money back. Also because somewhere in between I lost one of my three oystercards, had to call Oyster, get a new one sent (they replaced the wrong card though so I had to ask them again) but then found the oystercard I thought I'd lost but then forgot to touch out when exiting a station so had to call Oyster again.... The boys there love me. They really do. [Sarcasm].
But the issue has almost come to an end, I have my statements and I will put my claim in for the last 5 weeks (or it is 6?) on Monday. I swear. I will. Promise.
Wednesday 15 September 2010
I am not quite writing to apply for a job...
So why am I writing this? Possibly because I've just been reading other people's blogs about food, birds, clever thoughts, and then hoped that by a miracle I would be able to produce some sort of literature of the same calibre that was so good that all my friends would want to read it day after day, comment, laugh, cry (yeah, alright...). Whatever. Cynic. Maybe it's just a form of catharsis.
So why I am writing this thing again? Because I'm crazy. Just as crazy as to decide to be a volunteer and tell people about it. Sorry, a what? Yes, a volunteer. A full time one. Well, four days a week. Almost full time. And I've been doing it for 5 months and a half. Well, actually 5 months and 18 days to be exact, so just over. But yes, I need to leave. And get a paid job.
Don't get me wrong - I love it. I think it's one of the most terrific things I have done in a long while. The people are great, the job's marvellous, I'm learning sooooo much! I even forget sometimes how long I've been there. But it doesn't pay. And when you have rent and bills coming out of your ears, it can get frustrating. But it is one of the most rewarding roles I have been in. And that's what counts.
Now, it's not the first time I've volunteered. The first time was at the London Wetland Centre in Barnes. Part time. I did a few days or evenings a month doing all sorts of things - birding, edutaining (educating whilst entertaining young people visiting the centre), aviculture, leading batwalks - it was awesome!! I did it for over 4 and a half years, but then I had to move towns for work near the end of 2007.
I came back to London last year, did a couple of odd jobs and decided that I needed to get into what I wanted to do. Despite qualifying in Spatial Planning and working in the field for a couple of years in 2007 - 2009, I decided that it wasn't really what I wanted to do, nor believed it. Putting up buildings? Pah. I wanted to go back into environmental work but using the skills I'd developed in Planning. So I did.
Earlier this year, I applied for a job as Community Project Officer with a charity called Groundwork who do environmental urban regeneration work. And I was soooooooooo close... but not enough to get the job, but enough to be offered volunteer work. I had a few gaps in my experience. Beneficial? Definitely. Likely to be busy soon?? Ha ha, no. Choice??? Yes, and no. It was definitely a way forward and despite the lack of money, I could see the benefits really holding down the balances. So I said yes.
The deal? To initially assist with a consultation conference on a large scale project - The Wandle Valley Regional Park. Then to help out on smaller community projects such as landscape design, playgrounds and community gardens. Lunch and travel expenses were paid for. The experience has been amazing. Though it's been pretty damn hard, a good old struggle - but I wouldn't change it for the world. The story starts here. Let me tell you what it has been like....
So why I am writing this thing again? Because I'm crazy. Just as crazy as to decide to be a volunteer and tell people about it. Sorry, a what? Yes, a volunteer. A full time one. Well, four days a week. Almost full time. And I've been doing it for 5 months and a half. Well, actually 5 months and 18 days to be exact, so just over. But yes, I need to leave. And get a paid job.
Don't get me wrong - I love it. I think it's one of the most terrific things I have done in a long while. The people are great, the job's marvellous, I'm learning sooooo much! I even forget sometimes how long I've been there. But it doesn't pay. And when you have rent and bills coming out of your ears, it can get frustrating. But it is one of the most rewarding roles I have been in. And that's what counts.
Now, it's not the first time I've volunteered. The first time was at the London Wetland Centre in Barnes. Part time. I did a few days or evenings a month doing all sorts of things - birding, edutaining (educating whilst entertaining young people visiting the centre), aviculture, leading batwalks - it was awesome!! I did it for over 4 and a half years, but then I had to move towns for work near the end of 2007.
I came back to London last year, did a couple of odd jobs and decided that I needed to get into what I wanted to do. Despite qualifying in Spatial Planning and working in the field for a couple of years in 2007 - 2009, I decided that it wasn't really what I wanted to do, nor believed it. Putting up buildings? Pah. I wanted to go back into environmental work but using the skills I'd developed in Planning. So I did.
Earlier this year, I applied for a job as Community Project Officer with a charity called Groundwork who do environmental urban regeneration work. And I was soooooooooo close... but not enough to get the job, but enough to be offered volunteer work. I had a few gaps in my experience. Beneficial? Definitely. Likely to be busy soon?? Ha ha, no. Choice??? Yes, and no. It was definitely a way forward and despite the lack of money, I could see the benefits really holding down the balances. So I said yes.
The deal? To initially assist with a consultation conference on a large scale project - The Wandle Valley Regional Park. Then to help out on smaller community projects such as landscape design, playgrounds and community gardens. Lunch and travel expenses were paid for. The experience has been amazing. Though it's been pretty damn hard, a good old struggle - but I wouldn't change it for the world. The story starts here. Let me tell you what it has been like....
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