Well things are plodding along here as nicely.. as things can only plod. And if plodding doesnt exactly paint a great picture, I guess that would be accurate. Jobs - zero. Doing some admin work at Dave's place, which isnt exactly my cup of tea - partly because taking orders from Dave sucks - but mostly because the office is so cramped and the structure so disorganised that it makes working conditions pretty frustrating. To be shipped from one desk to the next, to be given a random workload that is devoid of the tangibility Im used to - I cant get any sort of consistency or any sort of rythmn to my work. So I put in all this effort and see nothing in return (and obviously dont get even a nod of approval from Dave as the man subscribes to a hard-love work ethic.) Couple this with a few problems in my personal world (which wont be discussed here) im becoming pretty despondant about my situation here in London. And im not too sure how to pick things up or make things better. My fate lies upon getting a job I suspect.
I went to an 'informal chat' with a PR firm yesterday about a position in the Product Placement field which was pretty good. The job that may be on offer in a month or two.. and it is my dream job, the company ideal. But its also quite painful to have done that becuase I didnt sell myself particularly well - stumbling over words and ideas ... im still groaning at ill sentences in reflection - and also that there may not even be a job. But experience is always a positive so I will take that, but how do you see your dream job and then realise that if it doesnt work out there are no similar options because there is no other company which is currently doing the same thing? Bitterly, hopefully... and swiftly push it into your personal room 101 in the back of your head, I guess.
But im going to stop talking about work otherwise the site will drown in self-created pity.
(though on a final note im starting a short stint of temp work at Camden Publishing as a Conference Assistant [read:admin] next wednesday which should be good for a change of scene. )
Last night on one of the 1000 music channels they have over here, they had a special on the 40 top 'one hit wonders'. I flicked past it only to hear johhny farnham singing 'you're the voice'.. ONE hit wonder!?!?! I wish..... Lucky english.
love to all
xxx H
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Thursday, May 19, 2005
West is not on the Right. It is Left. FACT.
Who knew that on Dave's Birthday I would be the one receiving a gift! Contrary to the last post, at the eleventh hour (that is, JUST before I started dicing the onions for a mushroom sauce [which i am currently perfecting]) Dave called from ... wherever he was that day (out visiting a cricket county or something. Haven't been interested enough to differentiate between them yet) and asked that I make a reservation at a restaurant for dinner!
Well well! We were leaving Bermondsey Street! Needless to say I overdressed magnificently for the occassion...
We went to a restaurant call St. John (s) which is located in the heart of London (such a big heart it is) near the Smithfield Markets. It caught Dave's fancy as it had recently been named (in The Times, of course, of course)as one of the top ten restaurants in the world (Big claim! I wonder if they have been to India...). I guess the food style is classified as 'Modern British' and St John (s) is seen as one of the beacons of the rejuvination of British cuisine. Or something like that. Blah de blah blah...
To describe the food will require me to ask the vegetarians to move to the next paragraph. So be gone with you, you dont want to know! Because we are talking a choice of neck, trotters, tail, liver, heart, tounge.. the works! You could call it nose-to-tail cookery. Dave - not the most adventurous of diners - and myself - not wanting to get a main that I didn't eat all of, such was the novelty of eating out - didnt really stray from the more conventional choices. Our entree consisted of fishing the bone marrow out of bones and eating it with a fine parsley and capers salad on toast. Not the healthiest food, but stupidly tasty. And messy. For mains I had the largest lamb shank known to man and Dave had a Beef fillet that from the looks of it had never touched heat. Desert was brioche and tart rhubarb custard which was nice (though not as nice as how Dave now makes it) but I was basically unable to touch it as the Lamb had staked too much of a claim on my tummy. I'm no food critic, and all in all it was nice atmosphere (very bare, all white, food-hall feel) and good french wine (learning, learning) but a top ten restaurant may be a bit of a strech. Nice, but no real wow factor. Perhaps I SHOULD have tried the ox tounge...
For Dave's birthday his movie education continued with Dodgeball and Schindler's Fist. I mean List. One we have already seen, the other will probably gather dust for a long, long time ... but I am hopeful. He received a nick cave cd and snoop's newest one also (his request. going through a post-35 'im still hip, pass me my bling and crank the snoop' phase). A few books (penguin are doing this £1.50 short stories/novels by famous authours series over here - bloody good idea! great value! so the authours included D. Eggars, F.S. Fitzgerald, H.S. Thompson, M. Moore, D. Lodge). He also got a brand new mesh running/weights tank top that shows off his 'guns' (to steal from Lleyton) magnificantly. And finally a tea pot, some matching cups and a selection of teas and tea canisters. Phew!! He was one lucky boy this birthday.
Ginny also sent across the new Longhorn album which we both think is pretty terrrrrriffic. Dave is currently petitioning to have it put on the Times review list.
What else has been happening in London town? Work is very, very busy for Dave. He goes back to India on the 18th of June as athletes1 India kicks into operation which is very exciting. The company has been in the papers over here following a very high profile dispute over one of their clients - a nigerian player - both Manchester United and Chelsea are fighting over. Why? Haven't the foggiest. But apparently they are going to be on the news tonight. But I think it is really good becuase their football (soccer) operations have for so long been a real fringe part of their operations - so its a real positive to be mixing it with the big boys.
What else? What else? Caught up with Kieran last weekend for the first time which was good adn Dave got to meet him. Was a bit worried about all that as Dave had threatened to commiserate with Kieran over the 'fiesty-ness of heather'. Luckily he maintained his manners and will live to see another day. Kieran, in true form, was wearing the most inappropriate t-shirt I have ever seen. It was bought in amsterdam. So I wont say any more...
I've been travelling the tube a fair bit lately (all shoes still accounted for) in my search for work. It mind-bogglingly boring when you do this -you sort of just sit there and stare up at the map of the line you are currently on. And something had been irking me for a while and only yesterday I put my finger on what it was. NOW. Some people will not follow what I am about to say becuase the best way to describe it would be to use a diagram. And most of you will not understand why it is such a big deal. Perhaps those close to me, those who understand my hatred of the inappropriate conjugation of 'you are' to 'your', will understand. OK. Here we go. This map basically is a picture of the line and all the stops that are on it. So for example the Jubilee line, which London Bridge (our station) also has stops such as Southwark, Waterloo, Wesminster, Bond Street etc. etc. In reality from WEST to EAST(picture it, picture it) the Jubilee line goes 'Westminster, Waterloo, Southwark, London Bridge'. However the map you look at whilst sitting on a train from LEFT to RIGHT (picture it, picture it)goes (LB, Southwark, Water, Wesminster). Effectively the map is alligning LEFT with EAST and RIGHT with WEST. Which does. not. make. sense. Maps are supposed to reflect reality adn these ones do not. And it's not just the Jubilee line! Now that I have noiced it, they allll do it! It drives me crazy. I mean - its not like they read English here in an arabic fashion!!
Or maybe they do. Could be why i dont have a job. Hmm...
Anyway. Sorry about that one. I have a lot of time to think about these things.
ACTUALLY - perhaps it has something to do with what direction I am heading. Ohhhhh. I hadnt thought of that. I will have to look even closer the next time and report back (though I doubt I am wrong. That happens so rarely). No doubt I will get the comments pages rocking after this little discussion.
What I really need is a photo... speaking of which - It's funny - I started this site so I could show photos...and through a combination of not knowing how to put them on the site and not actually having any (except fore perhaps 3 from India) I have never lived up to that.
Anyways - I must go. Meeting with Kate, Eleanor's sister, and her man James for a drink in an hour or so and need to get my skates on.
Please keep sending the lovely emails - I read them all and will reply as soon as I can.
xxx H
Well well! We were leaving Bermondsey Street! Needless to say I overdressed magnificently for the occassion...
We went to a restaurant call St. John (s) which is located in the heart of London (such a big heart it is) near the Smithfield Markets. It caught Dave's fancy as it had recently been named (in The Times, of course, of course)as one of the top ten restaurants in the world (Big claim! I wonder if they have been to India...). I guess the food style is classified as 'Modern British' and St John (s) is seen as one of the beacons of the rejuvination of British cuisine. Or something like that. Blah de blah blah...
To describe the food will require me to ask the vegetarians to move to the next paragraph. So be gone with you, you dont want to know! Because we are talking a choice of neck, trotters, tail, liver, heart, tounge.. the works! You could call it nose-to-tail cookery. Dave - not the most adventurous of diners - and myself - not wanting to get a main that I didn't eat all of, such was the novelty of eating out - didnt really stray from the more conventional choices. Our entree consisted of fishing the bone marrow out of bones and eating it with a fine parsley and capers salad on toast. Not the healthiest food, but stupidly tasty. And messy. For mains I had the largest lamb shank known to man and Dave had a Beef fillet that from the looks of it had never touched heat. Desert was brioche and tart rhubarb custard which was nice (though not as nice as how Dave now makes it) but I was basically unable to touch it as the Lamb had staked too much of a claim on my tummy. I'm no food critic, and all in all it was nice atmosphere (very bare, all white, food-hall feel) and good french wine (learning, learning) but a top ten restaurant may be a bit of a strech. Nice, but no real wow factor. Perhaps I SHOULD have tried the ox tounge...
For Dave's birthday his movie education continued with Dodgeball and Schindler's Fist. I mean List. One we have already seen, the other will probably gather dust for a long, long time ... but I am hopeful. He received a nick cave cd and snoop's newest one also (his request. going through a post-35 'im still hip, pass me my bling and crank the snoop' phase). A few books (penguin are doing this £1.50 short stories/novels by famous authours series over here - bloody good idea! great value! so the authours included D. Eggars, F.S. Fitzgerald, H.S. Thompson, M. Moore, D. Lodge). He also got a brand new mesh running/weights tank top that shows off his 'guns' (to steal from Lleyton) magnificantly. And finally a tea pot, some matching cups and a selection of teas and tea canisters. Phew!! He was one lucky boy this birthday.
Ginny also sent across the new Longhorn album which we both think is pretty terrrrrriffic. Dave is currently petitioning to have it put on the Times review list.
What else has been happening in London town? Work is very, very busy for Dave. He goes back to India on the 18th of June as athletes1 India kicks into operation which is very exciting. The company has been in the papers over here following a very high profile dispute over one of their clients - a nigerian player - both Manchester United and Chelsea are fighting over. Why? Haven't the foggiest. But apparently they are going to be on the news tonight. But I think it is really good becuase their football (soccer) operations have for so long been a real fringe part of their operations - so its a real positive to be mixing it with the big boys.
What else? What else? Caught up with Kieran last weekend for the first time which was good adn Dave got to meet him. Was a bit worried about all that as Dave had threatened to commiserate with Kieran over the 'fiesty-ness of heather'. Luckily he maintained his manners and will live to see another day. Kieran, in true form, was wearing the most inappropriate t-shirt I have ever seen. It was bought in amsterdam. So I wont say any more...
I've been travelling the tube a fair bit lately (all shoes still accounted for) in my search for work. It mind-bogglingly boring when you do this -you sort of just sit there and stare up at the map of the line you are currently on. And something had been irking me for a while and only yesterday I put my finger on what it was. NOW. Some people will not follow what I am about to say becuase the best way to describe it would be to use a diagram. And most of you will not understand why it is such a big deal. Perhaps those close to me, those who understand my hatred of the inappropriate conjugation of 'you are' to 'your', will understand. OK. Here we go. This map basically is a picture of the line and all the stops that are on it. So for example the Jubilee line, which London Bridge (our station) also has stops such as Southwark, Waterloo, Wesminster, Bond Street etc. etc. In reality from WEST to EAST(picture it, picture it) the Jubilee line goes 'Westminster, Waterloo, Southwark, London Bridge'. However the map you look at whilst sitting on a train from LEFT to RIGHT (picture it, picture it)goes (LB, Southwark, Water, Wesminster). Effectively the map is alligning LEFT with EAST and RIGHT with WEST. Which does. not. make. sense. Maps are supposed to reflect reality adn these ones do not. And it's not just the Jubilee line! Now that I have noiced it, they allll do it! It drives me crazy. I mean - its not like they read English here in an arabic fashion!!
Or maybe they do. Could be why i dont have a job. Hmm...
Anyway. Sorry about that one. I have a lot of time to think about these things.
ACTUALLY - perhaps it has something to do with what direction I am heading. Ohhhhh. I hadnt thought of that. I will have to look even closer the next time and report back (though I doubt I am wrong. That happens so rarely). No doubt I will get the comments pages rocking after this little discussion.
What I really need is a photo... speaking of which - It's funny - I started this site so I could show photos...and through a combination of not knowing how to put them on the site and not actually having any (except fore perhaps 3 from India) I have never lived up to that.
Anyways - I must go. Meeting with Kate, Eleanor's sister, and her man James for a drink in an hour or so and need to get my skates on.
Please keep sending the lovely emails - I read them all and will reply as soon as I can.
xxx H
Monday, May 16, 2005
David's Birthday.
Well, it's Dave's birthday today and for that very reason I am unable to write anything. Because I have to go home and cook. BECAUSE unlike normal people who like to go out on thir birthday for a meal, Dave has decided that what would please him most is a home cooked meal (although he gets one every night...) HMPH!
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
London Bridge
Well the roar of the disappointed masses has become too much for me. The stream of 'When is your next blog'? is a constant. I didnt realise that I had started such a craze here with my little website. Humble little me thought that perhaps I would only be writing to Courtney and my mum, but oh no - OH NO - a literary superstar has been born with her subversive and underground prose!! The pull of Heather's word has travelled far indeed, it has moved beyond whispers at the Water-Coolers in adelaide and now kids the world over, log on each night for their next installment.
Or they dont.. I dont know... Sometimes the images in my head are not reality and its hard to differentiate.
To all those who do actually read this (i count 6 so far, not including the printed pages my nana gets), apologies for being a bit slack... but in truth there isn't all that much to write about.
Let me see. I am in London. I dont have a job. I am running out of money. And we dont ever leave the street that we live on becuase Dave works till so late. Did I mention I didnt have a job? I have no friends. And no job.
I probably should get out and about and explore the place (the natural science museum is wonderful, purrs my dad, you can spend an entire day in there)- but Ive done a fair bit of that, and my motivation seems weighted down by the nagging fact that I should really be looking for jobs, and such exercises are frivilous.
The job hunt? Well half the problem here is that there are so many positions, so many recruitment firms, so many.... so many alternatives that its really, really hard to discern what you actually want/have a chance for. I can spend 3 hours on an application and not even get a confirmation of receipt. Wading throught the sheer mess that is the employment circuit is enough to drive anyone insane. My first little while was simply spent trying to tell A from B. I think Im getting a bit better at it all now, but it is still really hit and miss. The major problem is that so many of the positions require 1 years experience in the exact same role. So even though I have worked in offices for 5 years and am so capable of doing everything (besides being modest), they wont even open my CV without that experience. I cant even get my foot in the door - i cant even get them to give me a phone call. Which is all I want.
Ive had a few things thrown my way, but they all appear largely admin based... which is fine... but ive covered that area. I got offered a position in this nice marketing company which would require me to do 6 months admin before getting a marketing position... downside is its two hours travel each day and £30 a week to get there! SO that is a pity as I really liked the company and would have been willing to take the 6 months admin. Ive had an offer for managing a seminar program for a big law firm here (booo-ring) and potentialy working for a large soccer-based organisation (helping organise huge B2B soccer convention held in Dubai each year)... Dave is keen on me taking the last one!! Got a couple of mildly exciting things coming up, one including a informal talk with a Product Placment manager at a large PR firm. Fingers crossed for that one, so hard that its drawing blood...but I also dont want to get my hopes up as i have learnt that things dont seem to be what you want them to be on the job front.
But im positive as these things always seem to work themselves out for me in the end. And thankfully things have changed from 'No-one is calling me!!' to 'No-one is calling me with the right job!!'
Twas VE day here the other day (... as it was elsewhere I assume)which was celebrated a bit differently here than australia. About 30 channels had shows on about WW2 (some amazing colour footage as well) and its interesting because each show would be based in a different little area of europe, telling a different story of those days. Each town had its own tale. Quite moving really.
Speaking of moving - and georgia, you'll love this - the television here.. about a thousand home improvement/lifestyle shows. YES! And Ive become fairly addicted to them. Especially the one where they do up the house for the disadvantaged people. Dave ofen pops home for lunch to see me having a little weep over how joyus the whole thing is. Hmmm...pretend i didnt write that. And I watch cooking shows with a pad and pencil for a few hours each day planning that night's three-course extravaganza. I dont think Dave has ever eaten so well! SO whilst Im not really getting out and using my free time to see london - Im certainly bettering my cooking skills.....
... so much so that Dave asked people around for dinner the other night! Which is apparently the first time in a very, very long time guests have been allowed to eat at 136 Bermondsey street (unless they want to eat Dave's famous 'Sausage a la grilled' and nothing else... The man - Does. Not. Cook.). So Dave's friend Jo Black and her man Matt (who live literally 1 minute from us) came around and we had a pasta (roasting the cherry tomatoes wth balsamic and brown sugar - whose idea was that? i remember someone telling me that excellent!) which was a long and involved process roasting a thousand different veggies. AND... dum de dumn dum!! Dave made desert!! Rhubarb!! Jo, Matt and I were a little bit worried but... then ... we didnt realise how easy rhubarb was to cook...
Shouldnt take his small victory away from him - should I? But that was a very good night. Like Sandy and CHarlie (Daves other friends I have met) I really like both of them - and this time Dave managed to party on till a whopping 2am!!
Went out the other night with Matt (Dave's flatmate) his sister Gerry and Dave's friend Emma. It was all good fun (until Emma decided to... Hmm. Well. Anyway..) and we decided to end the night with round of Sherries in a tapas bar - as none of us could ever recall ordering sherries, as surely that was only a dink the nanas drank!! But is shouldnt be. Becuase not only was it quite nice to drink, but it had a hell of a kick... Hmm.. Cheeky nanas!!
Wow. MONSTER blog. No jobs being applied for at the moment!!
Must go, love you alkl and love the emails I get - please keep them up even if I dont email you direct. As soo as I get a job and a bit more time on the computer than my few hours each day I promise to be better with my emails.
Congrats on the job Vee. Sounds brilliant, Im so happy for you.
I hope you all saw Dave in the tiser recently. You can pay him out accordingly at david@athletes1.co.uk . Alternatively if you are nicer than Ben, you can send him a birthday wish as it is this Sunday (16th may) and he will be rounding that corner be officially 'late thirties'.
mwa ha ha
love you all.
Next post will be me detailing my delicious new job. hopefully.
xxx Hot Stuff
Or they dont.. I dont know... Sometimes the images in my head are not reality and its hard to differentiate.
To all those who do actually read this (i count 6 so far, not including the printed pages my nana gets), apologies for being a bit slack... but in truth there isn't all that much to write about.
Let me see. I am in London. I dont have a job. I am running out of money. And we dont ever leave the street that we live on becuase Dave works till so late. Did I mention I didnt have a job? I have no friends. And no job.
I probably should get out and about and explore the place (the natural science museum is wonderful, purrs my dad, you can spend an entire day in there)- but Ive done a fair bit of that, and my motivation seems weighted down by the nagging fact that I should really be looking for jobs, and such exercises are frivilous.
The job hunt? Well half the problem here is that there are so many positions, so many recruitment firms, so many.... so many alternatives that its really, really hard to discern what you actually want/have a chance for. I can spend 3 hours on an application and not even get a confirmation of receipt. Wading throught the sheer mess that is the employment circuit is enough to drive anyone insane. My first little while was simply spent trying to tell A from B. I think Im getting a bit better at it all now, but it is still really hit and miss. The major problem is that so many of the positions require 1 years experience in the exact same role. So even though I have worked in offices for 5 years and am so capable of doing everything (besides being modest), they wont even open my CV without that experience. I cant even get my foot in the door - i cant even get them to give me a phone call. Which is all I want.
Ive had a few things thrown my way, but they all appear largely admin based... which is fine... but ive covered that area. I got offered a position in this nice marketing company which would require me to do 6 months admin before getting a marketing position... downside is its two hours travel each day and £30 a week to get there! SO that is a pity as I really liked the company and would have been willing to take the 6 months admin. Ive had an offer for managing a seminar program for a big law firm here (booo-ring) and potentialy working for a large soccer-based organisation (helping organise huge B2B soccer convention held in Dubai each year)... Dave is keen on me taking the last one!! Got a couple of mildly exciting things coming up, one including a informal talk with a Product Placment manager at a large PR firm. Fingers crossed for that one, so hard that its drawing blood...but I also dont want to get my hopes up as i have learnt that things dont seem to be what you want them to be on the job front.
But im positive as these things always seem to work themselves out for me in the end. And thankfully things have changed from 'No-one is calling me!!' to 'No-one is calling me with the right job!!'
Twas VE day here the other day (... as it was elsewhere I assume)which was celebrated a bit differently here than australia. About 30 channels had shows on about WW2 (some amazing colour footage as well) and its interesting because each show would be based in a different little area of europe, telling a different story of those days. Each town had its own tale. Quite moving really.
Speaking of moving - and georgia, you'll love this - the television here.. about a thousand home improvement/lifestyle shows. YES! And Ive become fairly addicted to them. Especially the one where they do up the house for the disadvantaged people. Dave ofen pops home for lunch to see me having a little weep over how joyus the whole thing is. Hmmm...pretend i didnt write that. And I watch cooking shows with a pad and pencil for a few hours each day planning that night's three-course extravaganza. I dont think Dave has ever eaten so well! SO whilst Im not really getting out and using my free time to see london - Im certainly bettering my cooking skills.....
... so much so that Dave asked people around for dinner the other night! Which is apparently the first time in a very, very long time guests have been allowed to eat at 136 Bermondsey street (unless they want to eat Dave's famous 'Sausage a la grilled' and nothing else... The man - Does. Not. Cook.). So Dave's friend Jo Black and her man Matt (who live literally 1 minute from us) came around and we had a pasta (roasting the cherry tomatoes wth balsamic and brown sugar - whose idea was that? i remember someone telling me that excellent!) which was a long and involved process roasting a thousand different veggies. AND... dum de dumn dum!! Dave made desert!! Rhubarb!! Jo, Matt and I were a little bit worried but... then ... we didnt realise how easy rhubarb was to cook...
Shouldnt take his small victory away from him - should I? But that was a very good night. Like Sandy and CHarlie (Daves other friends I have met) I really like both of them - and this time Dave managed to party on till a whopping 2am!!
Went out the other night with Matt (Dave's flatmate) his sister Gerry and Dave's friend Emma. It was all good fun (until Emma decided to... Hmm. Well. Anyway..) and we decided to end the night with round of Sherries in a tapas bar - as none of us could ever recall ordering sherries, as surely that was only a dink the nanas drank!! But is shouldnt be. Becuase not only was it quite nice to drink, but it had a hell of a kick... Hmm.. Cheeky nanas!!
Wow. MONSTER blog. No jobs being applied for at the moment!!
Must go, love you alkl and love the emails I get - please keep them up even if I dont email you direct. As soo as I get a job and a bit more time on the computer than my few hours each day I promise to be better with my emails.
Congrats on the job Vee. Sounds brilliant, Im so happy for you.
I hope you all saw Dave in the tiser recently. You can pay him out accordingly at david@athletes1.co.uk . Alternatively if you are nicer than Ben, you can send him a birthday wish as it is this Sunday (16th may) and he will be rounding that corner be officially 'late thirties'.
mwa ha ha
love you all.
Next post will be me detailing my delicious new job. hopefully.
xxx Hot Stuff
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
