Christmas, huh?

First of all, apologies for the youtube spam last two posts, but I was just in some crazy music mood that day, it was ridiculous! Hopefully it doesn't happen again. Or rather, next time it happens, I'll steer clear of Blogger!

Anyways, so the plan was to talk about Christmas. But to be honest, I'd more interested in 'talking' about what's happening in my life right now, in terms of relationships, as I feel I need to process things- get things out of my head- as it's new territory. Besides, I spend so much time thinking about it, so it only makes sense to focus on that! So the quicker I'm done with old news, the more time I can spend on the things that matter now.

I have been meaning to write up this Christmas post ages ago, but I needed some photos off of my cousin, as my phone had a mini-meltdown one time and deleted almost all of the photos, pictures and texts on my phone, leaving random ones! :( I am yet to get them off of my cousin still, so I'll make do with what I've got, and upload the others when I get the chance to get it off my cousin.

.................................

Christmas and beyond...

Where was I? Oh yeah, finished my application in time, and all I had to do was wait. All through Christmas and new year, as interviews were scheduled for 15 January.

Christmas, last few years, have pretty much been dull for me, as I'm usually at my Aunt's, and with everywhere shut, we're literally stuck indoors all day, doing absolutely nothing! Well, eating I guess, but seeing as food doesn't really feature too high on my list of important things (awful, I know...), it's not really a highlight.

But this time around, my cousin suggested that we do something different, and go on a mini-cruise! To Spain. Just the kids. So me and my 3 cousins- Derin (girl, younger), Kunle (guy, my age), and Yinka (guy, older than me). It was a very short cruise- 24th to 27th, if I remember correctly.  I had to get a visa, and knowing me, there had to be some drama involved! We didn't make up our minds early enough, so I couldn't get an early enough appointment date. Had to keep watching their website hoping someone would cancel theirs, so I could get an earlier date, although you weren't allowed to make multiple appointments! But thanks to some smart (dodgy) thinking (adding an extra number/letter to my passport number so it seemed like a different applicant), I was able to get an earlier date. Despite that, they were even like the visa probably won't be ready in time, as they needed a certain number of days to process it, and I was going to be short by one day or two. And what with it being Christmas time, they were quite busy. It was slightly funny, because this was my second time applying for a Spanish visa, and both times, I had the same issue! I got it the last time, although that wasn't as busy a time as Christmas. But I said I'd take the gamble anyways. Why not?!

Long story short, I got it in time. A couple of days early, even. Although unbelievably, I was disappointed! I really wanted it to go down to the last day, so I'd have had to dash to London on the day we were meant to leave, then dash to Portsmouth, where we were departing from, and barely make it onto the boat! Very disappointing, right? Haha.

It was a budget cruise, so we really had no expectations. I'd only just been on one in summer, but that was like a proper one, for a whole week, and a whole lot more expensive. I definitely wasn't expecting a similar experience! But we were pleasantly surprised, though. It was a small ship, and our rooms were very tiny, but for the amount we paid, it was great! I was expecting it to be like some run-down ship or something, and that we'd have tales of woe to tell, but there was nothing, absolutely nothing to complain about! We didn't pay for our meals beforehand, because we were worried it'd be naff, but in the end, we had dinner there almost every night, and the food was really good. Fairly cheap, too. Not sure whether it was Christmas Day or Boxing Day, but they had these MASSIVE turkey thighs. Absolutely MASSIVE, and totally delicious. No complaints whatsoever.

The entertainment wasn't all that, but it suited the audience, as it was mainly old people, or married couples with their young kids. We ended up just chilling on the deck, watching the activities below. Oh, we even got to play Bingo! That was quite fun, actually! But it gives you an idea of the type of people they were mainly catering to! They did have a magician on the last day, and he was brilliant! I even recorded one or two of his performances, but it's no longer on my phone! My cousin has it, so hopefully when I get it off him, I'll upload it.

It really was a good break, as we pretty much just chilled. But with nice scenery, and people to watch/laugh at! Haha, there was even this little kid, who kept trying to climb down the stairs, but her mum kept pulling her away, but she'd return to the stairs. She eventually had her way, but kinda fell at the end! It was very funny, because you knew that was exactly what was going to happen! And best of all, I got it on tape! Maybe I should send it to one of those 'You've been Framed' type shows or something and make myself 50 quid or something, haha. It's only funny because the kid was fine, I should say! I'll upload it if/when I get it.

Oh, I remember something else! Everyone who knows me ought to know that I'm a Federer-lover! Not in a crushing type way, but I just love him to bits. He's just amazing! But anyways, Derin spotted this Federer look-alike! A bad look-alike, though, but I kind of amused myself by stalking him! No, no, not that way, haha! I just kept trying to take his picture stealthily. It was really funny! But it all ended when he happened to be seating next to our table one day, when Arsenal were playing Chelsea, and we found out he was a Chelsea fan. Didn't take any more photos, as he was no longer cool! :(

We spent most of the time at sea, other than the Sunday, when we docked at Santander. It would have been fabulous if any stores and things were open, but it being a Sunday, nothing was! Well, other than the odd corner shop. At least the weather was relatively lovely. We just walked round, enjoying the scenery. Lovely place! And ofcourse, I took a photo of a Santander bank in Santander! Wouldn't you!?

Anyways, you get an idea the type of holiday it was. Very good value for money. And the last night was pretty amazing. After the magician was done, and the kids had all gone up to bed, it turned out to be a party below deck. We were up, but you could see what was going on down. There usually was a party every night, but this time around, they played love songs, and all the couples were on the dancefloor, dancing in their partner's arms. There was like a newly married couple, some who'd been married for ages, and the dj/host got them to like say stuff about themselves, and it was all really lovely. Made you wish you had that special somebody, or that they were there with you. Sigh. But ofcourse, it all had to come to an end. *Sniff*.

But it did its job. Lovely break away from the boredom of England at Christmas, with lots of memories. Not bad. Here are some of the few photos my phone was kind enough not to delete:

First night. Tourists! :p

Not a bad sunset!

Christmas Day festivities

Santander. Not the bank, unfortunately...

What can I say?! (Coke addict!)

There were so many miniature dogs everywhere! Literally!

Ice-rink somewhere...

The day Fake-Federer's secret was revealed! :-\

Magician...

Ah, took this photo, as the fat dude just got engaged/married to the girl next to him. Go figure...

Magician... The old Derren Brown table-in-the-air move, but only video I could find.

And unfortunately I don't have any more photos/videos, but in due course, I'll add more, hopefully.

The only thing left to blog about before I can (finally!) get into 'current affairs' is what happened with the job application. I'm very sleepy right now, so will have to do that next time.

Fingers' crossed, that'll be tomorrow night...

How could I forget???

Gosh, how could I forget to add this song yesterday?! Love it so very much!

• Panic at the Disco

And the video's quite alright...

Oh, and this too! If you're a tennis fan, you'll love the video. I'll stop after this...

• Martin Solveig & Dragonette- Hello

Music

I know I said the next post will be about Christmas, but this will be a short one, well, in terms of words! ;) Was listening to the Radio 1 today and most of the songs came up, and I soon as there was one I liked, a sent a link to Joel, and I've just been in a music-listening/singing mode today, more than usual!

So I thought I'd just post youtube videos of the songs I'm currently loving right now. Won't be surprised if I look back in a few weeks and wonder why on earth I liked the songs!

Oh, one more thing, it might be better to ignore the videos, as I've found out that videos almost always spoil the song! Maybe I'm just talking like a radio lover, but I can't count the number of times I've wished I hadn't seen some videos, as Joel will testify...

So anyways here they are, in no particular order:

• Beyoncé - Best Thing I Never Had.

'You turned out to be the best thing I never had'. Luckily I have never been in that position before!

 

• Pitbull, ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack, Nayer- Give Me Everything 

"Excuse me, but I might drink a little bit more than I should tonight. And I might take you home with me if I could tonight. Baby imma make you feel so good tonight!' Haha, love Pitbull! Well, kinda...

• Nicole Scherzinger (aka shirt-singer)- Right There

 'I like the way that you talk dirty. Don't wash your mouth out I like it dirty.'- Oooh, Nicole! Tut tut! haha

But I just love Nicole! Maybe it's the Lewis Hamilton connection, I dunno, but I just do. And oh, I wish I had her body.

• Above & Beyond, feat. Richard Bedford- Thing Called Love

• Lady Gaga- The Edge of Glory

• Stromae- Alors On Danse

It might not be in English, but that's what Google Translate is for. 'Alors on danse'!

• Alexander Stan- Mr Saxobeat

• Neon Trees- Animal

'Oh, oh! I want some more! Oh oh, what are you waiting for, what are you waiting for?! Say goodbye to my hear tonight!'

•  Pendulum- Crush

• Pendulum- Watercolour

Pendulum are just great, no need to say more.

• David Guetta Ft. Nicki Minaj Flo-Rida- Where Dem Girls At

• Nicki Minaj- Super Bass

Not a Nicki Minaj fan, but that's two of hers in a row...

• Scouting for Girls- Love How It Hurts

So cheesy or whatever, but I was loving it today.

• DJ Fresh ft. Sian Evans- Louder

• Foo Fighters- Walk

 And you can't talk about Foo Fighters without mentioning this:


 SO gorgeous and inspirational, too!

•  My Chemical Romance- Bulletproof Heart

• The Prodigy- Invaders Must Die

• The Last Shadow Puppets- The Age of Understatement

• Mark Ronson & The Business Intl, feat. Boy George- Somebody To Love Me

'But, tonight, I crossed the line! I used to know her when my house was sober. I, could find, lessons in life, over and over, is it really over?'

•  Ludovico Einaudi- I Giorni

Only an instrumental, but it's beautiful!



Wow, that's quite a lot of songs! And I've been disturbing the peace, listening and singing along, but who cares, right? ;) )


I don't really have a favourite genre, well- as you probably guessed!- but I like pretty much all that can be found in the current top 40 charts, which I listen to on iplayer every week.

Just one more, and who better to end with that Adele!? I love pretty much all her songs (well, those I know), but I'll end with this:

• Adele- Set Fire to the Rain

'There's a side, to you, that I never knew...'

Chiswick contined.

So. Internship over. Part-time work about to start. I should state at this point how indebted I am to Aleka and Colin. Not only did they not have to take me on as an intern, they also did not have to take me on as part-time staff, because to be honest, they probably could have done without me. There were literally times when there wasn't work for me to do, and Colin would have to think up some random work for me to do, whether it be writing case summaries of arbitration cases he probably knows from cover to cover, or admin stuff that isn't really urgent.

Having said that, it was good for Natalie that I was there, meaning she could take days off, knowing full-well that Colin wouldn't be stranded, as I could type and send whatever emails he needs to send, print out his emails for him, and do other admin stuff, like make invoices. Working in arbitation is definitely a viable career option. You automatically invoice £150 for every nomination you get (everytime a party sends you an email asking you to be the arbitrator on a case), and most of the time, the dispute settles without you having to do any work, and you've earned the easiest £150 you can ever get! And once you have contacts and are established, you can get as many as 3 nominations per week! And also, for every email you get/send, you get to bill the client/ I learned a whole lot about being a self-employed arbitrator, and don't be surprised if when I retire- and build up my contacts-that I become an arbitrator. Free money! Haha. That said though, it is really hard work, like Colin will testify! I definitely will consider it many many  many years down the line. I even did this "Introduction to Arbitration" course at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, thanks to my dad, and I can even become an Associate Member, if I pay membership fees. See, that's the beginning! ;)

So yeah, with Chiswick being a part-time role, I obviously needed to focus on getting a more permanent role. Pretty much what I was doing before Chiswick, but Chiswick being there to keep me sane! I'd learnt from Johanna (lecturer-friend) about this shipping law case- the Cendor Mopu that was being heard in the Supreme Court (former House of Lords) towards the end of August, which I went for. Not like I had anything better to do, anyways! It was a 2-day hearing, and I went for the second day. There were a few people there, who I knew from Uni, one being Jennifer Lavelle, one of only two English people on my course. We chatted at lunchtime, and I found out from her that her employment contract (as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Maritime Law, University of Southampton) was running out, and she wasn't sure whether she'd renew it. I was pretty interested in her job, to be honest. She said she wasn't really sure if she'd stay on or not, but she did say that if she didn't stay on, the job would get re-advertised on the Uni jobs page. Would you believe I actually bookmarked the page and kept checking pretty much everyday, in case something would come up. (As usual, I've got my dates wrong, and it was actually end of July! I'm like a month out of sync, what's going on!?). Anyways, kept checking the page since the hearing, end of July, like a stalker. Oh, and like a proper stalker, stalked Jennifer's facebook page, just to see whether she'd mention anything about it.

So that's how August rolled by, September, then October, then November. You'd have thought I'd have given up by then. A similar role did apply on the website, but it wasn't in maritime law, and I didn't get it. Then sometime towards the end of November, I got a message from Johanna, telling me that Jennifer had gotten a job in Geneva, at UNCTAD, meaning, obviously, that her position was vacant, and that it'd be up on the website. Got home later that day, and no surprise, the job was already advertised. I swear the role was perfect for me! I felt that I ticked all the requirements, and there weren't asking for any experience! And even if they were, I was working at Chiswick as a Research Assistant (well, seeing as I was self-employed, I could pretty much call it anything, but the role advertised and what I was currently doing to me seemed similar), so that was experience! Boo-yah!

So perfect role, not to talk about great pay! Definitely the highest paid job out of all the ones I'd applied for previously, so I was hoping this was definitely 'the one' (it's amazing how many jobs I've hoped and prayed were 'the one's'). So yeah, the advert said latest day for applications was 20 December, meaning I had close to a month. Enough time,  one would think! And it was a pretty simple application process. CV and cover letter, basically. But as it was an academic role, you need 3 referees.And none of them personal referees, I think- either professional or academic.

My cv was ready, and having used it a million times and re-edited it a million times, it was near perfect to me (or maybe it wasn't, seeing as I didn't get that many positive replies from applications!). All that needed doing was the cover letter. It wasn't really a cover letter, it was just a question which you had to answer, but the answer was pretty much what your cover letter would cover. The said question was this:

"Please explain how your experience and skills are relevant to this post, referring to the person specification."  

I had to think long about that one, because you want your answer to be perfect, ensuring that you didn't leave the tiniest bit of relevant detail out, and that you didn't include any irrelevant information, even though there wasn't a word-limit.

The other thing I had to do was find three referees. I was going to use Johanna as one of them, seeing as she works at the Uni, but she advised against it, on the basis that there might be someone who doesn't like her at the Institute, so she didn't want to jeopardise my chances. I had two other referees I could use- Colin/Aleka, and my dissertation supervisor from Southampton- Prof. Rob Merkin. Seeing as he's as well-known, if not even more, than Aleka, I really wanted him as one of them. So I emailed like 3 or 4 of my teachers from UH, to ask if they'd help out, although I left it so late, I didn't even hear from any of them until after the deadline had passed!

So the important question. Did I get my application in on time?

I don't understand myself sometimes. This was a job I wanted badly, that I'd checked the website day after day for almost 2 months, and as late as 19th December, I wasn't ready to send it off. The 'cover letter' wasn't even halfway done! My excuse was that I wasn't to leave it as late as possible, giving me more time to think of relevant stuff to add. But in the end, I managed to get it all done in time, and sent it like in the early hours of 20th December. Talk about leaving it to the last minute! Seeing as I hadn't emailed my UH teachers on time, I had to use Aleka and Colin as 2 separate referees, with Rob being the third. So at this stage, I'd done all I could you, the rest being in God's hand. With interviews meant to be held on 15th January, all I could do was wait. And ensure I enjoyed Christmas!


Gosh, it's almost 1.30am! I really ought to stop now, and go to bed! This post is pretty much done, anyways. Next blog post will be about Christmas, then! Not like much happened then, but well, Christmas comes before January! ;)

November/December- Chiswick and all.

The last thing I mentioned about a job, was way back in October, when I mentioned that I was interning with a Shipping Arbitrator in London (Chiswick). Then I mentioned that my internship was coming to an end, and there was a possibility of getting a job with them afterwards. Not sure I even mentioned how I got the internship in the first place, but I'll do so now.

So I finished my LLM (Maritime law) in September 2009, or technically in January 2010, which was when we got our final results, with graduation happening summer 2010. And with the bloody recession and all, I struggled to find a job. Not for want of trying, I must say! But given that at this stage, I had next to no experience, none as far as shipping law was concerned, getting a job was even more tricky.

Anyways, I resorted to calling random companies up, asking for internships or what-not. I did manage to keep myself busy somewhat, as one of my lecturers from Uni, who is the editor of a shipping journal, got me to write articles for publication, to help boost my cv. I only managed to do two, which wasn't bad, given how much research one needs to do. It is somewhat funny that this whole opportunity came about through a simple "I'm bored" facebook status update! But I digress.

So this my lecturer friend, Johanna, who keeps sending me jobs to apply for, tells me about this chap who did the LLM with me, Edward, and how he met this shipping arbitrator, Colin Sheppard, at some event, and he there and then offered him the chance to intern with him for a month, which he did, and she suggests I give him a call. I'd been doing that recently anyways, so it wasn't a problem. You only live once, eh?

So I call him up randomly one morning, and I tell him I'm interested in interning with him, if that was a possibility. He obviously is surprised, as I'd called him up out of the blue, but he's like I should send him my cv, and he'll discuss it with his wife, ,who's away in Greece. Odd, I thought. Why on earth does he need to discuss it with his wife!? But at least I got a somewhat positive response, so a good thing, I thought.

Few days later, probably Sunday, I see a missed call on my phone, and a voicemail too, and turns out it's Colin's wife. I call the number back and she suggests I come for an interview sometime in the week. Can't remember what day it was. (See, I should have just watched episode 5 when it aired, as I can't really remember what happened in the other epiosdes! Oh well...)

Anyways, I go down to Chiswick for the interview. It was a pretty informal interview, and they just asked me what I'd been up to since Uni, etc, but not proper interview questions that you have to think hard about. I think the fact that I did my Masters at Southampton University made them interested in me (thank you, Chris Kirkbride- me Equity & Trusts lecturer at Hertforshire for telling me not to go anywhere other than Southampton for my maritime law masters, even though UH had a similar course. I'm forever indebted to you! See, that's what happens when you are an "over-sabi". I digress again, but the only reason why I was having this conversation with Chris in the first place, was because after I'd gotten my final year grades, I actually went to my teachers for a review of my exam papers, just so I knew where I had gone wrong. Like seriously, who does that after final year?! I did so, and I got good (unrelated) advice, and as far as I'm concerned, that's the only reason why I'm where I am. Where, you say? I'll get to it soon! ;))

ANYWAYS! The interview was a brief one, pretty much them trying to get to know me and stuff. I remember his wife asking me if I could do admin stuff, and I had to blag my way into that somewhat, as I had no admin-related experience. Long story short, they asked if I could start the next day! Definitely wasn't expecting that! I said that was a bit short-notice, so we agreed I'd start the next Monday- 25th October. (See, I haven't forgotten it all!)

I was literally over the moon! I wasn't going to get paid much- £100 a week to cover my expenses- but when you've been searching for a job after Uni, and you've been turned down mainly for lack of experience, you'd be ecstatic if you got something literally out of the blue which was related to the area of interest. It's like "Finally! Someone wants to give me the experience I badly need!" The day even got better, because as I was finding my way home, I got a phone call from one of the numerous jobs I'd applied for, asking me to attend an interview that week. It was a six-month contract, an administrative role, but in Miller, an insurance company that I was interested in working with. I went for the interview anyways, even though I wasn't totally interested in working in admin. I didn't get the job, which was no surprise! This time around, it was a proper interview, and what did I say when they asked me what type of role I was interested in? I pretty much said I didn't want an admin-type role. Muppet! Not that I'd have accepted the job anyways, but it was good (future) interview prep. I swear the Chiswick interview was my first real job interview, and it wasn't even a proper one! But I guess it only takes that one interview...

So that's how the Chiswick internship started. Oh, did I mention I was a muppet? Remember me wondering why Colin had to discuss things with his wife? If I'd done my research properly before making the phone-call, I'd have realised (or maybe not), who his wife was. After the interview, I remembered Colin mentioned her name- Aleka. It sort of rang a bell, so I did my (belated) research, and turns out she's Aleka Mandaraka-Sheppard, who's famous in maritime law circles, and beyond, probably. She even wrote one of the books I studied during my Masters, which was why her name rang a bell. I totally had no clue who she was during the interview! In hindsight, maybe that was a good thing...

The internship was meant to last four weeks, and afterwards, we'd discuss what was to happen next, whether I'd stay on in a more permanent role. I did enjoy those four weeks (and a bit), and although it was a bit of a pain getting there and back home everyday- St Albans to Chiswick is not a joke: bus, train, tube, tube, train, walk. But it was worth it. I didn't know too much about Shipping Arbitration at the start, but at the end, I got to draft an "Awards and Reasons" for a real case! It was a Small Claims Proceedings (SCP), so not a lot of money or drama was involved, but that's one proud moment for me! Obviously I wrote it on behalf of Colin, but I was especially glad to see that none of the parties had any complaints afterwards, and accepted MY ruling! Sweeeeeeet!

But yeah, the internship was coming to and end, so it was sort of make or break time. Was I going to stay or leave? (Actually I was wrong! The internship started last Monday in September, not October! *facepalm*) Anyways, I spoke to Aleka towards the end of October, informally, and we agreed I'd stay on, so it was just a matter of how long for, and on one terms. Colin's self-employed, so he works from home (and Aleka sometimes). He's such a very dedicated man, because he's turning 80 next year, if I remember correctly, and he works flat out everyday, just so he can afford to see his son- their only child- all throughout Uni. He's a bright boy, sha. Did his first degree in Oxford in History and Music, I think, now he's doing a second degree in Law, this time in Cambridge (or did he go to Cambridge first?) Anyways, there is a lot of money to be made in arbitration, and although Colin is hardly a poor man, he just prefers to continue working until he no longer needs to support his kid. He takes care of his health, though, so I'm not too worried for him! Colin is also computer-illiterate- he can only manage as far as a Blackberry! Meaning all his emails, Awards, Reasons, all need to be typed up by someone else. He's got a Secretary for this, as well as other admin reuquirements- Natalie. She's brilliant!

I totally didn't mind staying longer, and to be honest, I'd have stayed even if I wasn't getting paid! After Aleka changing her mind a million times, we finally agreed that I'd stay on a monthly rolling contract, 3 days a week, £10 per hour, 8 hours a day (10am-6pm), with the possibility of over-time. Not a bad deal, really. Except tax and NI were to be my responsibility, meaning I was self-employed! That was scary initially, but Natalie assured me that it wasn't a problem really, and Aleka was nice enough to get her tax accountant to email me about what I needed to do, afterall, Colin and Aleka are both self-employed.

Gosh, this is one seriously long post! And we're still in November/December! Gulp. I have missed this, though. I'll end this post here now, but I'll start on the continuation in a separate post, which I'll post at some point tomorrow.

It's good to be back! :D

Long time.

This time around, I'm not even going to bother with an apology. There have been too many apologies of late. Let's just say it's been a crazy busy past few months in my life, and hopefully I've reached a certain level of normalcy.

So much has changed for me recently, and I've been mearning to blog about it for AGES! And the awful thing is that I couldn't really blog about things going on at the moment, without actually blogging about what's changed, in a chronological order, so as not to 'spoil' future posts. The only way I can describe is when you have a favourite show, which is always on, let's say every Thursday at 8pm. You miss an episode one week- episode..... 5, and no matter how many weeks pass, you can't watch any further episodes until you watch that episode 5. Not that you don't love that show, but you just can't watch any further episodes until you watch episode 5. You just cannot move onto episode 6 until you've seen 5.

It's been that way for me. My episode 5, as far as blogging is concerned, happened in November. And no matter how many months have passed, I'm still stuck in November. So I'm going to spend the next few hours/days 'watching' episode 5, and the rest of the episodes I've missed, so as to bring me up to date, so I can finally get to watch my favourite show when it's actually on tv.

Make sense? Basically, I'm going to blog as much as I can on the happenings since November, so that I can actually blog about current events. Not that I haven't blogged since November, I've just tried to avoid any 'spoilers'.

Anyways, I better get cracking.