So the weekend's pretty much done with. It dragged a little, in a good way, because I kept thinking yesterday was Sunday, for whatever reason! Probably also because the weekend *kinda* started for me on Thursday, because Joel came round Thursday evening (even though he was a bit ill, bless him), and didn't leave until Sunday, although I had to go to work on Friday! :'( We didn't really spend that much time together, as he got here Thursday evening, did some food shopping, got back home kinda late and tired, then I had to go to work on Friday. I made sure I left work at 5pm, so we could spend as much time together, as he was leaving early-ish on Saturday for a barbecue. I'd hoped for the weather to be awful so he wouldn't have to leave, but that didn't happen. But yeah, enjoyed the little time we spent together, and he's back on Tuesday evening, so it isn't all too bad.
Finally went to church in Southampton today! We moved to a new building fairly recently over a month ago, while I was away, and I've been back almost a month now, but it's actually the first weekend I'm spending in my flat, so was finally able to go to church here. It used to be somewhere far, and I had to depend on the church bus to get there (cabbing it costs about £15 one way!). But the new place in on my way to work, so it's much easier to get to. It's a nice church and everything, and I was contemplating finding a new church during the service, as I don't really feel 100% at home there. I've been going there a long time, but I don't speak to anyone there. Like today, I just went in, and as soon as the service was over, I disappeared! I think I was even the first person to leave! Obviously it's not the church's fault, I just find it difficult to talk to 'strangers', and when I don't know people somewhere, instead of being friendly, I almost always have this unapproachable look! I do go for the weekly life group on Tuesdays ans speak to people there, so even if I do end up going to another church, I'll probably keep going for it. I might just stick with it, seeing as church isn't about making friends! Anyways, it doesn't matter much, because I'm hardly ever in Southampton weekends, these days!
So got back home after church at about 1pm, and I finally cooked! Was slightly worried that I'd mess it up, seeing as it's been well over a month since I cooked, but I've still got it! It's like riding a bike, isn't it?! I also cooked and cleaned, and add that to laundry yesterday, it's been a productive weekend! I also unpacked my suitcase (yep, same suitcase I took to America),and I even had Joel help me out! I hate unpacking! But it's done now, so yay!
So I've done everything I planned on doing this weekend, all I have left to do is watch tv, but I never need a second invitation for that! Oh, I'm also waiting for my cousin. She's got work experience relatively close by for a couple of weeks, so she'll be staying at mine, which isn't a problem. I hardly ever use my bed, so she can stay in my room. So I now have a legitimate reason for sleeping on my sofa! It's actually a sofa bed, so ideally I should use it as one, but it's just long transforming it into a bed, so I just sleep on it as it is. I probably wouldn't if I was taller, but I'm not, so whatever! :)
Really looking forward to Wednesday! I don't think I've mentioned it yet (ofcourse I haven't! ;)), but it's my birthday on Wednesday! And I've got the day off! Not sure what I'll be doing on the day, but I'll be spending it with Joel, which is more than good enough for me! Then at the weekend, I'm umm, Go Apeing? How does one say it? "I'm doing Go Ape"? "I'm going for Go Ape"? Anyways, so long as you know what I'm on about, it doesn't matter, right? The best way I can describe it, is that it's like NYSC boot camp! Having said that, I haven't actually done NYSC, so I could actually be wrong! Idiot, right? But yeah, it's a physical activity thingy- swinging through trees, zip-wiring, stuff like that. This video's on their website, so it explain it better!
I'm going on Saturday, with a group of 13! Should be fun! I'm looking forward to laughing at people! But I won't be surprised if I'm one of the ones being laughed at! We couldn't get an early slot, so we'll be starting fairly late, at 3pm! I split is into two groups, so 8 people will be starting at 3pm, the remaining 5 starting at 3.30pm. That way it's kinda flexible. the 'slow' ones can start at 3pm, or people who are late can start at 3.30pm, and we'll all finish roughly the same time. It lasts between 2-3 hours, so we'll probably go out for drinks afterwards or getting something to eat, depending what everyone feels like doing. I actually wanted to do this last year, but people chickened out, but they're surprisingly up for it this year! I guess everyone's growing up, haha.
Anyways, that's next weekend sorted. And it's in London, so probably another weekend I won't be spending in Southampton. I'm not sure whether my cousin will be staying at mine over the weekend, but if she is, I'll probably just go for the day on Saturday, but I doubt she'll be. I haven't got any friends in Southampton anyways, so I don't have mind staying in London another weekend, except it's expensive, and I don't have unending pockets. Wish I did...
But umm, not sure there's anything else to report on from the weekend. But my memory 'leaks' sometimes, so I'm probably missing something out! I'll stop typing now, as I'm just rambling! Have a good week, whatever you get up to! I'll be sure to report on my week, and weekend, sometime soon!
Kisses.
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Weekend update.
It's quarter to six, I'm awake, I don't need to be up until 8.30am. No better time to blog, I guess!
My last post was about the weekend plans, right? The weekend went pretty much according to plan. Finally dragged myself away from the cricket and went to my Aunt's. Got there about 8.30pm, and basically just chilled with my cousins. Good times. Didn't go to church on Sunday for one reason or the other, so headed for the Emirates, with a brief and pointless detour to Watford. My cousins were going shopping, and the plan as to get there early-ish, so I could get back in time to catch the train I needed, but we left too late, and barely 20 minutes after getting to the mall, I had to leave. Pointless, right? Didn't even get to look properly in any shops!
Anyways, made it to Fiinsbury Park, where I was to meet everyone, in good time. Was meant to get there for 1.30pm, but seeing as F1 started at 1pm, I made SURE I was at Finsbury Park before 1pm, just so I didn't get stuck underground and miss the start, which is like the best part of the race. I did miss it in the end, pesky internet reception. Was in the Arsenal store trying to buy a replica kit, and at the vital moment that I needed the internet on my phone to load really quickly, it just took it's bleeding time, and I missed the first three laps! Annoying, but at least I got to watch it in the end. Didn't watch everything, though, and when we eventually got to the Emirates, they were actually showing it on the screens in the food hall, so I watched the last 10 or so laps there. I was recording it at home, so I just re-watched the whole thing when I got home. Don't judge! ;-)
So yeah, jersey bought, F1 on my phone, all I had to do was wait for the others to turn up. Chris and Ibukun turned up first, then we had to wait for Joel and his sister, but not for too long. I was a little nervous, but really didn't need to be. They turned up, she gave me a hug, I said 'happy birthday', then we headed off to the stadium. She's actually a bit similar to me, in the sense that we're both crazy, I'm talking random dancing and singing on the street! It was funny, and good to see that she was having a good time. It was her first time at the Emirates, and she seemed to have a good time throughout, so I guess it was a good idea, afterall!
My last post was about the weekend plans, right? The weekend went pretty much according to plan. Finally dragged myself away from the cricket and went to my Aunt's. Got there about 8.30pm, and basically just chilled with my cousins. Good times. Didn't go to church on Sunday for one reason or the other, so headed for the Emirates, with a brief and pointless detour to Watford. My cousins were going shopping, and the plan as to get there early-ish, so I could get back in time to catch the train I needed, but we left too late, and barely 20 minutes after getting to the mall, I had to leave. Pointless, right? Didn't even get to look properly in any shops!
Anyways, made it to Fiinsbury Park, where I was to meet everyone, in good time. Was meant to get there for 1.30pm, but seeing as F1 started at 1pm, I made SURE I was at Finsbury Park before 1pm, just so I didn't get stuck underground and miss the start, which is like the best part of the race. I did miss it in the end, pesky internet reception. Was in the Arsenal store trying to buy a replica kit, and at the vital moment that I needed the internet on my phone to load really quickly, it just took it's bleeding time, and I missed the first three laps! Annoying, but at least I got to watch it in the end. Didn't watch everything, though, and when we eventually got to the Emirates, they were actually showing it on the screens in the food hall, so I watched the last 10 or so laps there. I was recording it at home, so I just re-watched the whole thing when I got home. Don't judge! ;-)
So yeah, jersey bought, F1 on my phone, all I had to do was wait for the others to turn up. Chris and Ibukun turned up first, then we had to wait for Joel and his sister, but not for too long. I was a little nervous, but really didn't need to be. They turned up, she gave me a hug, I said 'happy birthday', then we headed off to the stadium. She's actually a bit similar to me, in the sense that we're both crazy, I'm talking random dancing and singing on the street! It was funny, and good to see that she was having a good time. It was her first time at the Emirates, and she seemed to have a good time throughout, so I guess it was a good idea, afterall!
Not going to bore you with details of the games. There were two matches, the first one being the irrelevant one, as it didn't involve Arsenal, that's why I was able to watch F1 during the first game. The second one was the good one, and it had Henry playing against us. It was all good fun, and apparently, according to Twitter, there was some booing at the end, because we drew, but I honestly didn't hear it at the time. Oh yeah, probably because I was a bit tipsy! No, I'm not an alchy! But I was forced to down a bottle of Smirnoff Ice! After watching F1, a wanted to get some food, and I noticed they had Smirnoff Ice, so I thought, 'why not?'. Bought it and headed to my seat, but the steward was like 'Sorry, you can't take any alcohol past this point.' Annoying, because I wouldn't have bought it if I realised. So I had to down it, so I could go to my seat, the effect being I was a bit intoxicated, prematurely, the effect being that I was sleepy! But anyways, it was a good day out, and the weather was lovely. Took one or two pictures, but seeing as we were on the upper tier, it's hard to tell who's who! Here are a few of them:
 |
| F1 on tv at the Emirates, with fellow losers :) There were quite a few of us, actually, and this was only one tiny section of the Ems. |
 |
| Oh umm, AC Milan at the Emirates. I think he got confused... |
 | ||
| Arsenal players warming up at the top right. |
 |
| Pre-match line-up. |
 |
| I think it's Henry just on the edge of centre circle, left side of the photo. |
 |
| This was after the first goal. Our only goal... |
 |
| Post-match. Podium also being set-up for trophy presentation to Henry's team. |
 |
| Henry being a sweetheart and doing a lone-man lap of appreciation. We love you too, Titi! |
The rest of the photos aren't much better.
So, match over, time to head home. Was so so sleepy on the long train home, it was ridiculous. Kept falling off, but didn’t want to miss my stop! But when I actually got in, about 10pm, I all of a sudden wasn’t tired! I don’t why your body plays these mind tricks on you sometimes.
Oh yeah, so I got my iPad 2 from my Aunt’s house on Saturday, and I’ve been using it a bit since. It’s cool and everything, but so far, it hasn’t added that much to my life. It’s just seems like an overpriced toy, and because I’m not an Apple person, the first couple of days were annoying, as I kept getting stumped as to how to do one or two things. Much better now, but I guess I need to find a good use for it. Bought a book on Amazon for the Kindle app, and I actually started reading it. Girl with the Dragon tattoo. The beginning is a hell of a lot boring, but Janine, Joel’s sister, is a huge fan and she said to keep with it, that it starts off slowly, but gets a whole lot better. I have no idea what the book is about, as I try avoiding reading book covers (not like a got the option this time, seeing as it’s an e-version!), but I even have no idea what genre it is. Guess I’ll find out soon enough. Anyways, I digress!
I mentioned that the iPad had a story, didn’t I? It’s a funny story, but I’ll try to keep it short. A while back, before we went on holiday, my mum was asking me about getting an iPad for herself, and she wanted to know whether to get a 3G one or a Wi-Fi one. I told her 3G was best, especially as she lives in Nig and all. The plan was to get my uncle in America to buy it for her, so she could pick it up when she got there. They all got to America a day before me, and when I got there on Friday, the iPad was bought already, but it was a Wi-Fi one. My mum didn’t want the Wi-Fi one, so she planned on selling it, then buying a 3G one. Not sure who’s idea it was, but we decided to auction it on eBay. My cousin, Tolu, was the one sorting it out. We were sort of impatient, so we only let it run for about 3 days. It was exciting, because I’ve never sold anything on eBay! My mum wanted it to sell for $750, and my cousin kept updating us with bids, when they came in. There was a bit of a mini-drama, like a day before the bid was to end. Scammers kept sending my cousin emails saying, O, it’s my son’s graduation, I’ll pay you a huge amount, but I need you to send it to XYZ address asap, blah, blah blah, and one of them kept bidding, and was the highest bidder at the time. My cousin actually had an encounter with the scammers once, so he’d already learnt his lesson! He tried selling his iPhone one time, and one of the scammers actually had him, and he’d already posted the iPhone, I think to Nigeria or something, when he finally realised it was a scam! Lucky for him, there was like a rain delay, so the postal services people were able to get the iPhone off of the plane before it departed! Talk about lucky escape! So this time around, he was more cautious!
Anyways this was Sunday, and we were at my other Aunt’s house, and Tolu got my other cousin, Bimbola, to become the highest bidder, just to see it the person wanting him to post it to XYZ address would bid higher or not. But they didn’t, so umm, Bimbola was the highest bidder, with only a few hours to go! Tolu was panicking for a bit, because he hadn’t told anyone else that my cousin was going to bid, so he was hoping and praying that someone else bid higher! Someone else did, phew, so that was Bimbola off the hook! The bid was about five hundred and something dollars at the time.
So yeah, the auction eventually ended, and the highest bid was $635. My mum wasn’t too happy with it, but she was okay with selling it at that price. All that was left was for the winning bidder to pay, and the iPad to be sent to him/her. I think eBay gives you 48 hours or so to contact the seller to arrange payment, but umm, the winning bidder never did! So after all the time and drama, the iPad 2 didn’t even get sold on eBay. Time wasted, but it was good fun monitoring the bid and everything.
We really couldn’t be bothered to go through the whole thing again though, so we had to think of alternatives. My dad eventually decided to “buy” it off my mum, so I thought it was case closed. My mum bought herself a 3G one, which she named “My Beautiful iPad”, which was all so very funny at the time, and it came in handy at one point during the holiday. I still need to blog about this holiday, and I will. Eventually...
So holiday over, went back to England. My parents and brother stayed like a whole week longer than me. Lucky them! Shortly after they got back, a got a call from my dad one evening, asking if I wanted to but the Wi-Fi iPad 2, and how much I'd pay for it. Seeing as I didn't really need it, and didn't really mind having one, and seeing as I would be doing him a favour getting it off him since he obviously didn't want it, I said maybe £300. Not like I could really afford it, but I just said that. He laughed, said he'd think about it and get back to me. He called me the next day, said he'd thought of my offer, but that they decided to give it to me as my birthday present! Totally wasn't expecting it! Was tempted to say no, but you can't really turn down an offer like that, can you!? So yeah, since my Aunt was in Nigeria at the time, it made perfect sense to send it through her, to me.
So yeah, that's the story behind the iPad. Now that I've told it, it doesn't seem as interesting as it was in my head. Oh well! I need to make it worthwhile and find useful apps. I should get back to reading that book, too.
It's quarter to 8 now, I better get my act together and get ready for work. Was extra late yesterday as I woke up at 9.30am! Unbelievable!
Hopefully I get to blog before my birthday on the 10th. Actually, I plan too! ;)
Have a good week!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Hello again!
It's been a busy week! Wait, that should have read 'lazy' week! I've actually left work at about 6.30pm everyday, well, apart from Monday when I left at quarter to 10, but other than that, it's been a relatively stress-free week. But I didn't blog, because I was too lazy to put on my laptop, and was also too engrossed in tv. I just felt like chilling all week. But with football returning for real, well almost, this weekend, WOOOOOHOOOOOO! I just felt like relaxing all week, because it's going to get a whole lot busier!
So I didn't get up to much all week. Wait, what happened last weekend? Oh I remember. I was in London for my friend, Titi's graduation, then went to the hairdresser's, got my eye-brows done, etc. Nothing remarkable. We both went to Oyinda's on Saturday to hang out, Joel met us there, and it was just more chilling, really. Went to Titi's church on Sunday, watched tv, oh wait! I actually watched darts! I remember my cousins always teasing me about my sports obsession, and my excuse was always: "Well, I'm not that bad, I don't watch Darts!". But I guess I can shelve that excuse. Having said that though, it wasn't my choice! I'd forced them to watch F1 earlier (they did enjoy it, however, and what I brilliant win that was for Lewis!), so I couldn't really say "no, can we watch something else?" It wasn't terrible, but I don't really count two fat men playing a pub game as a real sport. Sorry!
Anyways, that was pretty much my weekend, the highlight ofcourse being getting to hang out with Joel. But with another weekend spent away from home, it meant another week of take-out for lunch/dinner. I just cannot cook during the week! Okay, maybe I can, but I refuse to! I don't even have any food in my house to be cooked, so it isn't really an option. Weekend is for food shopping and cooking, weekdays are for going to work and relaxing afterwards. But seeing as I'm away this weekend, it's going to be a question of who bites (harder) first. My pocket or me!?
Enough rambling, I hear you say! And what's happening this weekend? I'm home right now, but as soon as I'm done blabbing on here, I'll be heading to my Aunt's house, to get my iPad 2! Birthday present from my parents! My Aunt was in Nig, and just got back yesterday. It wouldn't surprise you to hear that there's a story to this iPad, one that I'll be telling when I collect it. But more importantly, I'M OFF TO THE EMIRATES TOMORROW! WOOHOO! It's been a long time since I was there last! I feel like I'm the prodigal 'son', and want to say to the Emirates that I'm back! And I'm not going anywhere! (Okay, I'll be going back home after the matches are over, but I'll be back often!) It's the first weekend of games at the Emirates, one being on right now. It's still pre-season, but once the Emirates Cup comes round, it's an indication that the Premier League season is about to start! I honestly really unbelievably indescribably excited about this! Until we lose a match, then I'll be back down to earth, but for now, I'll just get excited about the fact that I'll be seeing my boys tomorrow, woohoo! And also, we'll be playing against Thierry Henry's team, so there's the likelihood that he'll be playing! His team were playing today, but he didn't get to play, meaning that he'll probably play tomorrow! I'll have my camera at the ready!
I'm not sure if you could tell from the last paragraph, but I'm really excited about going to the Emirates tomorrow ;-) But there's more! I'm going with Joel, Chris, Ibukun, and Janine... Joel's sister. I've been to the Emirates with Joel, Chris and Ibukun before, but never with Janine. Not just that, but I've actually never met her before. So not only am I excited about tomorrow, I'm slightly apprehensive. What if she doesn't like me? It's her birthday tomorrow, and I don't know why I suggested it, but when I asked Joel whether he wanted to come to the Emirates with me, and he was like he couldn't, as it was his sister's birthday, I suggested that he ask her if she wanted to come. She's an Arsenal fan, so unsurprisingly, she said yes. I guess I was going to meet her at some point, and meeting her at the Emirates is a good place as any to meet her. I'm a bit nervous, but I guess I really shouldn't be, really. I bet she doesn't bite! Anyways, the Emirates is my territory, so it should feel as if I was meeting her in my house! I'm sure it'll be alright. I'm just a scaredy-cat! I'll let you know how it goes.
I said I'll be heading off as soon as I'm done writing this blog post, right? I've changed my mind! Watching a briiliant spell of test cricket right now, so I think I'll wait until it's over! Take a bow, Stuart Broad! Hat-trick in test cricket? They don't come round very often! Brilliant stuff! Wish I didn't have to go anywhere, but it takes 3 hours to get to St Albans, so I better not wait to long!
Adios, for now. I think the cricket needs my full attention right now. Have a good weekend! :)
So I didn't get up to much all week. Wait, what happened last weekend? Oh I remember. I was in London for my friend, Titi's graduation, then went to the hairdresser's, got my eye-brows done, etc. Nothing remarkable. We both went to Oyinda's on Saturday to hang out, Joel met us there, and it was just more chilling, really. Went to Titi's church on Sunday, watched tv, oh wait! I actually watched darts! I remember my cousins always teasing me about my sports obsession, and my excuse was always: "Well, I'm not that bad, I don't watch Darts!". But I guess I can shelve that excuse. Having said that though, it wasn't my choice! I'd forced them to watch F1 earlier (they did enjoy it, however, and what I brilliant win that was for Lewis!), so I couldn't really say "no, can we watch something else?" It wasn't terrible, but I don't really count two fat men playing a pub game as a real sport. Sorry!
Anyways, that was pretty much my weekend, the highlight ofcourse being getting to hang out with Joel. But with another weekend spent away from home, it meant another week of take-out for lunch/dinner. I just cannot cook during the week! Okay, maybe I can, but I refuse to! I don't even have any food in my house to be cooked, so it isn't really an option. Weekend is for food shopping and cooking, weekdays are for going to work and relaxing afterwards. But seeing as I'm away this weekend, it's going to be a question of who bites (harder) first. My pocket or me!?
Enough rambling, I hear you say! And what's happening this weekend? I'm home right now, but as soon as I'm done blabbing on here, I'll be heading to my Aunt's house, to get my iPad 2! Birthday present from my parents! My Aunt was in Nig, and just got back yesterday. It wouldn't surprise you to hear that there's a story to this iPad, one that I'll be telling when I collect it. But more importantly, I'M OFF TO THE EMIRATES TOMORROW! WOOHOO! It's been a long time since I was there last! I feel like I'm the prodigal 'son', and want to say to the Emirates that I'm back! And I'm not going anywhere! (Okay, I'll be going back home after the matches are over, but I'll be back often!) It's the first weekend of games at the Emirates, one being on right now. It's still pre-season, but once the Emirates Cup comes round, it's an indication that the Premier League season is about to start! I honestly really unbelievably indescribably excited about this! Until we lose a match, then I'll be back down to earth, but for now, I'll just get excited about the fact that I'll be seeing my boys tomorrow, woohoo! And also, we'll be playing against Thierry Henry's team, so there's the likelihood that he'll be playing! His team were playing today, but he didn't get to play, meaning that he'll probably play tomorrow! I'll have my camera at the ready!
I'm not sure if you could tell from the last paragraph, but I'm really excited about going to the Emirates tomorrow ;-) But there's more! I'm going with Joel, Chris, Ibukun, and Janine... Joel's sister. I've been to the Emirates with Joel, Chris and Ibukun before, but never with Janine. Not just that, but I've actually never met her before. So not only am I excited about tomorrow, I'm slightly apprehensive. What if she doesn't like me? It's her birthday tomorrow, and I don't know why I suggested it, but when I asked Joel whether he wanted to come to the Emirates with me, and he was like he couldn't, as it was his sister's birthday, I suggested that he ask her if she wanted to come. She's an Arsenal fan, so unsurprisingly, she said yes. I guess I was going to meet her at some point, and meeting her at the Emirates is a good place as any to meet her. I'm a bit nervous, but I guess I really shouldn't be, really. I bet she doesn't bite! Anyways, the Emirates is my territory, so it should feel as if I was meeting her in my house! I'm sure it'll be alright. I'm just a scaredy-cat! I'll let you know how it goes.
I said I'll be heading off as soon as I'm done writing this blog post, right? I've changed my mind! Watching a briiliant spell of test cricket right now, so I think I'll wait until it's over! Take a bow, Stuart Broad! Hat-trick in test cricket? They don't come round very often! Brilliant stuff! Wish I didn't have to go anywhere, but it takes 3 hours to get to St Albans, so I better not wait to long!
Adios, for now. I think the cricket needs my full attention right now. Have a good weekend! :)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Sorry!
So I put on my laptop specifically to blog and post holiday photos, but I'm having such a terrible headache, not sure I can manage a proper post. I've not got any painkillers at home. Or rather, I don't know where I put them. Or am I just too lazy to look for them? Anyways, this will be brief.
I'm off to London for the weekend, as it's my mate's graduation tomorrow, so will be going to her house to celebrate. Will use the rest of the weekend to get my hair treated, get my eyebrows done, and ofcourse more importantly, catch up with friends, and Joel. We have birthday plans to make :)
Goodnight, and have a great weekend. I'll blog when next I can.
I'm off to London for the weekend, as it's my mate's graduation tomorrow, so will be going to her house to celebrate. Will use the rest of the weekend to get my hair treated, get my eyebrows done, and ofcourse more importantly, catch up with friends, and Joel. We have birthday plans to make :)
Goodnight, and have a great weekend. I'll blog when next I can.
Monday, July 18, 2011
You really don't know!?
So this weekend, I went to my Aunt's in St Albans. She actually wasn't around, as she went to Nigeria on Friday. But my cousin was home from Uni, and my other two cousins were home, as well as the grandparents, so it was pretty much a full house.
We planned on going to see Harry Potter on Saturday afternoon, but the weather was such a turn-off, so we didn't go in the end. One of the main reasons why I went to my Aunt's, apart from to see everyone, ofcourse, was to get my hair relaxed. My female cousin, Derin, was supposed to get it done for me on Saturday, but she was out the night before, I didn't get back early, so agreed to do it Sunday morning. Church wasn't on the agenda, unfortunately, as my Aunt wasn't around, so no one to drive us. One of my cousins does drive, but he says he doesn't like the church we go, so that wasn't happening.
Anyways, long story short, I planned on leaving home by 1pm, meet Joel either at Kings Cross/Waterloo, before heading on the train to Southampton in order to get home early, but that didn't happen, as we decided impromptu to go see Harry Potter. As I had to relax my hair in the morning, the earliest time we could see the movie was 14.40! But the movie was good, though, so not complaining about that! And just in case you plan on watching it, I'm not going to mention anything about what happened.
So Harry Potter over, went straight to the station so I could get home, after meeting up with Joel for a little while. Got on the train at 17.44, and the plan was to meet him at Kings Cross, which was where I was getting off the train. Spoke to him before getting on the train, and he said he'd be a bit late, as he was at his sister's.
Got to Kings Cross, and there was a text from Joel, telling me he was close to Kings Cross, and also asking what time I wanted to get on the train from Waterloo to St Albans. So I text him back, telling him that I'd probably miss the 18.35, so will probably get the 18.55 one. So there was I, waiting at Kings Cross for my boyfriend to show up. Was getting impatient, because it'd been 25 minutes, and waiting too much longer would mean that I miss the train from Waterloo.
My phone rings, yay, and he's like 'where are you?' I'm slightly upset, so I'm like 'somewhere, where are YOU?' so I could go find him. But he's like he's at Waterloo! That made me really upset, as I felt I'd just been wasting my time in Kings Cross for no reason, which technically, was true! I quickly got off the phone, said I'd meet him there and rushed to get to Waterloo, in the hope that I'd have calmed down a bit by then.
I got to Waterloo just in time to catch the train actually, but seeing as I'd been looking forward to seeing him, and despite my 'upsetness', I said I'd get the next train. Who knows, maybe it was partially because I wanted him to know exactly how I felt about being left at Kings Cross. So yeah, we had an argument, but not a massive one, fortunately! Joel's very level-headed and calm, and I generally am, so there wasn't any shouting or anything, just him explaining his bit, and me trying to make him see why I was upset.
Turns out it was just a case of miscommunication. He'd tried sending me a text telling me to meet him at Waterloo instead, so that I wouldn't miss the train waiting for him, but it the signal cut out, so I didn't get the text until after I'd actually spoken to him. I ended up crying, but not actually because I was still angry with him, or anything, and that's why I'm writing this unfortunately long post.
So he said the reason why he decided to go wait at Waterloo, was because he thought I was actually going to get on the 18.55 train, whether or not he turned up at Kings Cross, so he thought he'd stand a better chance of getting to see me at Waterloo, since that was where I'd be getting the train to Southampton.
And it was what I realised there and then that made me cry. I realised that he didn't realise (haha), how much he means to me, that why he thought I'd get on the train just like that, without even seeing him! Like hell I was going to do that! It's not like getting on that train was life or death! And even if it was, I would have found a way of seeing him, even if it was for half a second! I know I'm not great on the emotional expression font, but surely you ought to know, after us being together 9 months already, how very important you are to me? And just in case you still don't know, I'm telling you now, Joel Matthew Fletcher, that you mean the whole world, and more, to me, Adebowale Morayo Awofeso, okay!? Maybe I ought to tell you/show you more, but if there's only one thing you know in this world, it's that you're the most important person in my life, and you'll always be my baby, as long as it's God plan. Never forget that!
I eventually got on the train, and despite the little tiff, I was glad I got to see him, even if it was just for a measly 40 minutes, more than half of which was spent being upset and in tears. I'll make it up to you next time, I promise! But yeah, I spent the whole train journey half-sleeping, half-wiping tears off my face, but in a way, I guess it was a tiff worth happening, since it made me realise that I've probably not been doing enough to let my boyfriend know how much he means to me which is criminal, and I'm going to try to do better at showing it. It's not my forte, but the best I can do is try, so from now on, I'll be doing my best to ensure that you have absolutely no doubt about how I feel.
*Phew, my laptop crashed a few moments ago, luckily my looooong post was saved by Blogger!*
It might have been a far-fetched conclusion to draw, but I'm glad I drew it! I did apologise about being upset and everything when I got home, although we'd gotten over the miscommunication before I left.
Anyways, I'll stop boring you! I should go to bed soon anyways, don't want to wake up at 10am again this week! Do have a great week, and hopefully I'll get the chance to blog during the week. Be safe! :)
We planned on going to see Harry Potter on Saturday afternoon, but the weather was such a turn-off, so we didn't go in the end. One of the main reasons why I went to my Aunt's, apart from to see everyone, ofcourse, was to get my hair relaxed. My female cousin, Derin, was supposed to get it done for me on Saturday, but she was out the night before, I didn't get back early, so agreed to do it Sunday morning. Church wasn't on the agenda, unfortunately, as my Aunt wasn't around, so no one to drive us. One of my cousins does drive, but he says he doesn't like the church we go, so that wasn't happening.
Anyways, long story short, I planned on leaving home by 1pm, meet Joel either at Kings Cross/Waterloo, before heading on the train to Southampton in order to get home early, but that didn't happen, as we decided impromptu to go see Harry Potter. As I had to relax my hair in the morning, the earliest time we could see the movie was 14.40! But the movie was good, though, so not complaining about that! And just in case you plan on watching it, I'm not going to mention anything about what happened.
So Harry Potter over, went straight to the station so I could get home, after meeting up with Joel for a little while. Got on the train at 17.44, and the plan was to meet him at Kings Cross, which was where I was getting off the train. Spoke to him before getting on the train, and he said he'd be a bit late, as he was at his sister's.
Got to Kings Cross, and there was a text from Joel, telling me he was close to Kings Cross, and also asking what time I wanted to get on the train from Waterloo to St Albans. So I text him back, telling him that I'd probably miss the 18.35, so will probably get the 18.55 one. So there was I, waiting at Kings Cross for my boyfriend to show up. Was getting impatient, because it'd been 25 minutes, and waiting too much longer would mean that I miss the train from Waterloo.
My phone rings, yay, and he's like 'where are you?' I'm slightly upset, so I'm like 'somewhere, where are YOU?' so I could go find him. But he's like he's at Waterloo! That made me really upset, as I felt I'd just been wasting my time in Kings Cross for no reason, which technically, was true! I quickly got off the phone, said I'd meet him there and rushed to get to Waterloo, in the hope that I'd have calmed down a bit by then.
I got to Waterloo just in time to catch the train actually, but seeing as I'd been looking forward to seeing him, and despite my 'upsetness', I said I'd get the next train. Who knows, maybe it was partially because I wanted him to know exactly how I felt about being left at Kings Cross. So yeah, we had an argument, but not a massive one, fortunately! Joel's very level-headed and calm, and I generally am, so there wasn't any shouting or anything, just him explaining his bit, and me trying to make him see why I was upset.
Turns out it was just a case of miscommunication. He'd tried sending me a text telling me to meet him at Waterloo instead, so that I wouldn't miss the train waiting for him, but it the signal cut out, so I didn't get the text until after I'd actually spoken to him. I ended up crying, but not actually because I was still angry with him, or anything, and that's why I'm writing this unfortunately long post.
So he said the reason why he decided to go wait at Waterloo, was because he thought I was actually going to get on the 18.55 train, whether or not he turned up at Kings Cross, so he thought he'd stand a better chance of getting to see me at Waterloo, since that was where I'd be getting the train to Southampton.
And it was what I realised there and then that made me cry. I realised that he didn't realise (haha), how much he means to me, that why he thought I'd get on the train just like that, without even seeing him! Like hell I was going to do that! It's not like getting on that train was life or death! And even if it was, I would have found a way of seeing him, even if it was for half a second! I know I'm not great on the emotional expression font, but surely you ought to know, after us being together 9 months already, how very important you are to me? And just in case you still don't know, I'm telling you now, Joel Matthew Fletcher, that you mean the whole world, and more, to me, Adebowale Morayo Awofeso, okay!? Maybe I ought to tell you/show you more, but if there's only one thing you know in this world, it's that you're the most important person in my life, and you'll always be my baby, as long as it's God plan. Never forget that!
I eventually got on the train, and despite the little tiff, I was glad I got to see him, even if it was just for a measly 40 minutes, more than half of which was spent being upset and in tears. I'll make it up to you next time, I promise! But yeah, I spent the whole train journey half-sleeping, half-wiping tears off my face, but in a way, I guess it was a tiff worth happening, since it made me realise that I've probably not been doing enough to let my boyfriend know how much he means to me which is criminal, and I'm going to try to do better at showing it. It's not my forte, but the best I can do is try, so from now on, I'll be doing my best to ensure that you have absolutely no doubt about how I feel.
*Phew, my laptop crashed a few moments ago, luckily my looooong post was saved by Blogger!*
It might have been a far-fetched conclusion to draw, but I'm glad I drew it! I did apologise about being upset and everything when I got home, although we'd gotten over the miscommunication before I left.
Anyways, I'll stop boring you! I should go to bed soon anyways, don't want to wake up at 10am again this week! Do have a great week, and hopefully I'll get the chance to blog during the week. Be safe! :)
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Back to the real world.
So I've been away on holiday for the past two weeks and a bit. Got back on Sunday afternoon, started work on Monday. As you can imagine, I haven't had time to unpack, cook, or do anything sensible. As a result, my flat that was neat and tidy, is now a mess! Not sure when I'll get to tidy it up, because I'm away this weekend, will be the next, and who knows, maybe even the one after that! I blame jetlag, though. I've been waking up late all week, even woke up at 10am on Thursday, when I usually get to work at 10am! Not helped by the fact that I went to bed at 4am the night before! But like I said, it's jetlag's fault! ;) But at least I made it through the week, and I plan on mainly resting this weekend, so I can get back into the swing of things.
I had a good time in America, although I didn't do much resting! Took LOADS of photos, majority of them rubbish, majority of them not including me. I'll post some of them, as well as the low-down on the holiday, in my next post. This post is just a brief one to say hi, and that I'm back! Hope you've been keeping well. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
I had a good time in America, although I didn't do much resting! Took LOADS of photos, majority of them rubbish, majority of them not including me. I'll post some of them, as well as the low-down on the holiday, in my next post. This post is just a brief one to say hi, and that I'm back! Hope you've been keeping well. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Sunday, July 03, 2011
Season finale! Part 2.
It goes without saying, but do watch (read) Part 1 before this! ;) Hopefully this shouldn't be a long one...
So interview over, time to check my email a million more times. They did say they'd be in touch by the end of the week, the interviews having taken place on a Wednesday, or the next week at the latest.
By end of the week, no email. Week after, no email. Cue manic panic. Kept checking their wesbite to see it they'd updated it with the name of their new hiree or something, but nothing on there either. I checked my cv thoroughly- was there a lie in it? Nothing. Phew. I remember Johanna saying they would frown upon any mention of doing a PhD alongside the job. *Thorough examination of my cover letter*- no mention of a PhD. Phew! But what on earth is going on, I wondered?
On the Wednesday after, I called the Secretary, Anita, to find out what was going on, but she said she didn't know anything. She suggested calling HR, as they'd be the ones to send out the email or whatnot, which I did, but they said they didn't know anything. At least thy didn't say I wasn't successful, so that was a good thing, I thought. I called back the next day, still nothing. No email either. I also checked the online application thingy to see if mine had been updated, but nothing. Really couldn't function much at work. Called HR again, and it turns out the person who was in charge of the job I applied for had quit, so someone else just started dealing with things, so that was probably why there was the delay. I was told I'd get a call back soon, once the new person had caught up to speed.
Temporary relief for the weekend, but not completely. Waited for the call, but nothing on Monday. Called again the next day, and they said I'd get the call back. Later in the day, I finally got a call back to learn my fate. To finally get put out of my misery. Or so I thought.
Turns out everyone already knew their fate. Everyone else except me! The HR woman said they weren't going to contact me until they were very sure, but since I'd been calling them repeatedly, they thought they'd let me know what was happening. They didn't contact me because they'd already offered the job to someone else, but I was like the reserve candidate, just in case things didn't work out with the other person! Talk about bitter-sweet! Turns out I didn't do too badly in the interview, but I didn't get the job. Or rather, I wouldn't be getting the job unless the other girl (dunno why I always assumed it was a girl!) turned the job down, her security checks didn't turn out, or worst case scenario, she dropped dead! I remember saying to Natalie that maybe I should, you know, get myself a hired gun! Obviously didn't mean that, but it was so so depressing. I remember being so 'depressed' when I wasn't sure whether or not I'd get called to interview, but this felt so much worse.
Oh wow, watching Burlesque for the first time, and who do I see? Eli Gold from the Good Wife! I was thinking that he looked familiar, but a quick IMDb search and it turns out that it's him as Alexis in Burlesque! I'm so going to look at him differently when Good Wife resumes, haha. Just in case you didn't know, Eli's my favourite Good Wife character!.
Sorry about that! So where was I?
Ah. So the HR person said I should just keep calling, and maybe things would go wrong for the other girl. Fat chance, right!? It's amazing how when you want something badly, how you try and find clues in your favour in the littlest of things. Johanna told me there might the possibility of them hiring two Research Assistants, so I kept stalking the website for anything. There's a bit on the website where it says:
So I called again the next week, but called the Secretary more, as I thought she'd know more. She did tell me that the contract had been sent to the other person, and they were just waiting for her to sign it. I called the HR person one last time, and she told me flatly that she doesn't see them offering the job to anyone else. Fair enough, I thought, and decided not to bother calling after that. Was ofcourse disappointed, but I just felt that there was no point stalking the poor people any longer. If things did indeed go wrong, they had my email address, my address and my contact number, so they knew were to find me! I did pray one last time, and I even remember saying that if I got it one way or the other, I'd give a testimony in church! But yeah, all I could so was continue with life and continue with other applications. Sigh, how I hate applications!
And continue with life I did! I'd started driving lessons a while back and finally decided to book my practical test, as I felt I was ready. Somewhat! I'd orginally settled for 18 February, a weekday, but I'd planned on taking that day off work. But I had to change to another date, when I inexplicably thought I had nothing planned for that day when Natalie asked me, and she then booked her assessment centre for that same day! When I eventually realised the error, it was too late for her to change her test date, so I had to move mine. Sigh! The earliest date I could eventually find afterwards was 4th March. Annoying, as it meant paying for more lessons, but not much I could do about that.
I'd previously gotten an invite from Johanna to come down to the Uni on 27 January to be a judge at the first year contract law moot competition, as they didn't have enough judges. I agreed to do it, partly because it sounded like fun, and partly because I really thought I'd get the job, so it'd be a great opportunity to maybe meet people I'd be working with, and maybe I'd even be able to do some flat-hunting. But ofcourse, none of that wasn't happening! I didn't pull out, but dragged myself down to far-away Southampton for the moot, wondering wistfully whether that'd be my last time there. It turned out to be good fun, and I was glad I went, even though it was bitter-sweet and I didn't get home until about 1am. And apparently I can put it on my cv, so it wasn't a bad idea to go!
No real luck with any other applications, so all I had to concentrate on was Chiswick work. Oh, and driving lessons. And it was after one of such driving lessons that my phone rang. Was in the kitchen washing up, when it rang. I answered the phone, and who was it calling me? Filippo Lorenzon! My heart was thumping straight away, but I knew what it was. It couldn't have been anything else. He was calling to offer me the Research Assistant job! After the usual pleasantries, he offered me the job, and after I said yes, he was like 'Can you start on the 14?' I was a bit in shock and good thing I didn't say yes a second time, because that so wouldn't have meant starting in less than two weeks, as this was the 4th February, and I obviously had no where to stay in Southampyon! I knew they needed someone urgently, so we settled for 21 February instead. I remember telling my Aunt, who was in the kitchen, about it when I got off the phone. She seemed more excited about it all than me! I am very bad at showing emotion, but I think I was just in shock, really. I'd sort of accepted that the job wasn't mine, so wasn't even expecting the phone call! Told my parents about it, everyone was happy, etc. Who says God doesn't work miracles, right?
I did have to get off cloud 9 asap though, and start figuring out how to find myself somewhere to stay. Had to go down to Southampton the next week to meet the people I'd be working with, so used that opportunity to do some flat-hunting. I was able to see two that day, but no satisfactory one. I did manage to get like 10 different viewings for the Saturday after, so my Aunt and I drove down from St Albans. I really HAD to find something that day and sign a contract, as I had only one weekend left, which ideally ought to be my moving in weekend. My Aunt loved the second one we saw and pretty much made her mind up there and then that that'd be the one I'd be getting! But I convinced her that we should look at other ones, just in case! We ended up having two choices- the second one we saw, and the last one we saw. They were from different agencies, and it later turned out that the girl who showed us the second one and the guy who showed us the last one, were a couple! Not married, but they lived together. It was kinda funny! My Aunt even suggested they open a lettings agency together! We did go with the one we'd seen earlier, and luckily were able to sign the contract there and then, and we were told we'd be able to get the keys the next weekend, so just in time for me to start work on the 14th! Phew! I was lucky my dad had sent me some money for some exam, if not I probably won't have been able to afford to move in on pretty much very short notice. It was an unfurnished apartment as well, so had to buy a bed, wardrobe, fridge/freezer, washing machine, etc. It was a nice newly refurbished one-bed flat not too far from the station, very decent price, so I didn't really mind. We bought the bed and wardrobe that same day, and the plan was they'd deliver the next weekend, so at least if I didn't have time to buy anything for my flat- and I was running out of money- I'd at least have a bed to sleep!
So yeah, great end to the job saga! I don't know why my life attracts so much drama! I should have just gotten the job in the first place and avoided all the heartache and drama, but I guess God wanted it that way for a reason!
I've got to end this here, as I have to leave literally now. Gotta go see my cousin in a minute, so have to stop typing like now! More drama occurred, but I guess that can be left for another day! Flat drama, driving test drama, etc! Maybe that'll be the DVD extra scenes, but other than that, 'current affairs' can begin, woohoo!
So interview over, time to check my email a million more times. They did say they'd be in touch by the end of the week, the interviews having taken place on a Wednesday, or the next week at the latest.
By end of the week, no email. Week after, no email. Cue manic panic. Kept checking their wesbite to see it they'd updated it with the name of their new hiree or something, but nothing on there either. I checked my cv thoroughly- was there a lie in it? Nothing. Phew. I remember Johanna saying they would frown upon any mention of doing a PhD alongside the job. *Thorough examination of my cover letter*- no mention of a PhD. Phew! But what on earth is going on, I wondered?
On the Wednesday after, I called the Secretary, Anita, to find out what was going on, but she said she didn't know anything. She suggested calling HR, as they'd be the ones to send out the email or whatnot, which I did, but they said they didn't know anything. At least thy didn't say I wasn't successful, so that was a good thing, I thought. I called back the next day, still nothing. No email either. I also checked the online application thingy to see if mine had been updated, but nothing. Really couldn't function much at work. Called HR again, and it turns out the person who was in charge of the job I applied for had quit, so someone else just started dealing with things, so that was probably why there was the delay. I was told I'd get a call back soon, once the new person had caught up to speed.
Temporary relief for the weekend, but not completely. Waited for the call, but nothing on Monday. Called again the next day, and they said I'd get the call back. Later in the day, I finally got a call back to learn my fate. To finally get put out of my misery. Or so I thought.
Turns out everyone already knew their fate. Everyone else except me! The HR woman said they weren't going to contact me until they were very sure, but since I'd been calling them repeatedly, they thought they'd let me know what was happening. They didn't contact me because they'd already offered the job to someone else, but I was like the reserve candidate, just in case things didn't work out with the other person! Talk about bitter-sweet! Turns out I didn't do too badly in the interview, but I didn't get the job. Or rather, I wouldn't be getting the job unless the other girl (dunno why I always assumed it was a girl!) turned the job down, her security checks didn't turn out, or worst case scenario, she dropped dead! I remember saying to Natalie that maybe I should, you know, get myself a hired gun! Obviously didn't mean that, but it was so so depressing. I remember being so 'depressed' when I wasn't sure whether or not I'd get called to interview, but this felt so much worse.
*Random alert*
Oh wow, watching Burlesque for the first time, and who do I see? Eli Gold from the Good Wife! I was thinking that he looked familiar, but a quick IMDb search and it turns out that it's him as Alexis in Burlesque! I'm so going to look at him differently when Good Wife resumes, haha. Just in case you didn't know, Eli's my favourite Good Wife character!.
*Random alert over*
Sorry about that! So where was I?
Ah. So the HR person said I should just keep calling, and maybe things would go wrong for the other girl. Fat chance, right!? It's amazing how when you want something badly, how you try and find clues in your favour in the littlest of things. Johanna told me there might the possibility of them hiring two Research Assistants, so I kept stalking the website for anything. There's a bit on the website where it says:
"The Institute maintains a fully staffed office and employs Research Assistants to assist with Institute projects."
I saw "Research Assistants", and in my mind, when I went on the website before the interviews, it said 'A research assistant'! Who knows, it might not have ever changed, but I just had to believe that that meant they were going to hire two people! At least it made me feel somewhat better!So I called again the next week, but called the Secretary more, as I thought she'd know more. She did tell me that the contract had been sent to the other person, and they were just waiting for her to sign it. I called the HR person one last time, and she told me flatly that she doesn't see them offering the job to anyone else. Fair enough, I thought, and decided not to bother calling after that. Was ofcourse disappointed, but I just felt that there was no point stalking the poor people any longer. If things did indeed go wrong, they had my email address, my address and my contact number, so they knew were to find me! I did pray one last time, and I even remember saying that if I got it one way or the other, I'd give a testimony in church! But yeah, all I could so was continue with life and continue with other applications. Sigh, how I hate applications!
And continue with life I did! I'd started driving lessons a while back and finally decided to book my practical test, as I felt I was ready. Somewhat! I'd orginally settled for 18 February, a weekday, but I'd planned on taking that day off work. But I had to change to another date, when I inexplicably thought I had nothing planned for that day when Natalie asked me, and she then booked her assessment centre for that same day! When I eventually realised the error, it was too late for her to change her test date, so I had to move mine. Sigh! The earliest date I could eventually find afterwards was 4th March. Annoying, as it meant paying for more lessons, but not much I could do about that.
I'd previously gotten an invite from Johanna to come down to the Uni on 27 January to be a judge at the first year contract law moot competition, as they didn't have enough judges. I agreed to do it, partly because it sounded like fun, and partly because I really thought I'd get the job, so it'd be a great opportunity to maybe meet people I'd be working with, and maybe I'd even be able to do some flat-hunting. But ofcourse, none of that wasn't happening! I didn't pull out, but dragged myself down to far-away Southampton for the moot, wondering wistfully whether that'd be my last time there. It turned out to be good fun, and I was glad I went, even though it was bitter-sweet and I didn't get home until about 1am. And apparently I can put it on my cv, so it wasn't a bad idea to go!
No real luck with any other applications, so all I had to concentrate on was Chiswick work. Oh, and driving lessons. And it was after one of such driving lessons that my phone rang. Was in the kitchen washing up, when it rang. I answered the phone, and who was it calling me? Filippo Lorenzon! My heart was thumping straight away, but I knew what it was. It couldn't have been anything else. He was calling to offer me the Research Assistant job! After the usual pleasantries, he offered me the job, and after I said yes, he was like 'Can you start on the 14?' I was a bit in shock and good thing I didn't say yes a second time, because that so wouldn't have meant starting in less than two weeks, as this was the 4th February, and I obviously had no where to stay in Southampyon! I knew they needed someone urgently, so we settled for 21 February instead. I remember telling my Aunt, who was in the kitchen, about it when I got off the phone. She seemed more excited about it all than me! I am very bad at showing emotion, but I think I was just in shock, really. I'd sort of accepted that the job wasn't mine, so wasn't even expecting the phone call! Told my parents about it, everyone was happy, etc. Who says God doesn't work miracles, right?
I did have to get off cloud 9 asap though, and start figuring out how to find myself somewhere to stay. Had to go down to Southampton the next week to meet the people I'd be working with, so used that opportunity to do some flat-hunting. I was able to see two that day, but no satisfactory one. I did manage to get like 10 different viewings for the Saturday after, so my Aunt and I drove down from St Albans. I really HAD to find something that day and sign a contract, as I had only one weekend left, which ideally ought to be my moving in weekend. My Aunt loved the second one we saw and pretty much made her mind up there and then that that'd be the one I'd be getting! But I convinced her that we should look at other ones, just in case! We ended up having two choices- the second one we saw, and the last one we saw. They were from different agencies, and it later turned out that the girl who showed us the second one and the guy who showed us the last one, were a couple! Not married, but they lived together. It was kinda funny! My Aunt even suggested they open a lettings agency together! We did go with the one we'd seen earlier, and luckily were able to sign the contract there and then, and we were told we'd be able to get the keys the next weekend, so just in time for me to start work on the 14th! Phew! I was lucky my dad had sent me some money for some exam, if not I probably won't have been able to afford to move in on pretty much very short notice. It was an unfurnished apartment as well, so had to buy a bed, wardrobe, fridge/freezer, washing machine, etc. It was a nice newly refurbished one-bed flat not too far from the station, very decent price, so I didn't really mind. We bought the bed and wardrobe that same day, and the plan was they'd deliver the next weekend, so at least if I didn't have time to buy anything for my flat- and I was running out of money- I'd at least have a bed to sleep!
So yeah, great end to the job saga! I don't know why my life attracts so much drama! I should have just gotten the job in the first place and avoided all the heartache and drama, but I guess God wanted it that way for a reason!
I've got to end this here, as I have to leave literally now. Gotta go see my cousin in a minute, so have to stop typing like now! More drama occurred, but I guess that can be left for another day! Flat drama, driving test drama, etc! Maybe that'll be the DVD extra scenes, but other than that, 'current affairs' can begin, woohoo!
Season finale!
Hopefully by the time I'm done with this blog, I should be able to blog about current affairs! Won't that be great!?
So after the surprisingly fabulous mini-cruise to Spain, back to the real world! Resumed work at Chiswick the next day. Colin and Aleka were away on holiday to Greece, and Natalie was having some time off, meaning I was the only one around. It's amazing how trusting the Sheppards can be, allowing a relatively complete stranger in me have complete access to their house! I'd only been with them for about 3 months, and they didn't even blink twice about leaving me with pretty much full access to their house. What if I was some Nigerian crook (won't that be surprising!) merely biding my time? Would have had a field day selling all their stuff and stealing all their money, if indeed they keep any money in their house. But in a way, I guess it was nice to know that they trusted me that much! They are pretty decent and nice people, and you sometimes wonder why there aren't more people like them in the world!
So yeah, everything was back to normal early January with everyone back. But I was nervous pretty much every time I got an email, because I was expecting either an invitation to interview or a failed application notice from the job I applied for. I hadn't mentioned the application to Aleka or Colin, even though I'd used both of them as referees. Didn't think it was necessary, especially as they'd have been expecting me to make applications, anyway.
An email eventually came, but it was to Colin's email. With Colin not being fully computer-literate (the only gadget he uses is his Blackberry), Natalie saw the email first, and already my heart was thumping! It was a letter asking Colin for a reference. Aleka also got a similar email. They obviously had no clue what for initially, but I told them the details and we discussed it briefly, and Aleka seemed very sure I'd get the job! My brain obviously went into overdrive! Were they asking for references because I was definitely going to get interviewed? Was everyone's referees getting the same email? Couldn't get much work that day, and just kept on checking my email over and over again.
With interviews scheduled for 19 January, I finally got an email on the 6th. I remember when the email came through, I couldn't bring myself to open it, and had to get Natalie to open and read the email for me! You can imagine the relief when it turned out that it was good news! I could finally breathe!
Can't really remember much of what happened in those two weeks (probably because nothing much happened!), but I tried to prepare for the interview as much as I could. Read my cv and cover letter again just to remember what I wrote in it! I emailed my lecturer-friend, Johanna, to see if she had any idea what it'll be like and stuff. She didn't really know much, other than that there'll be a panel of 3. Filippo Lorenzon, Yvonne Baatz and Charles Debattista. I was a bit relieved, because all 3 of them had taught me during my LLM. Not that they knew me personally, but at least I was familiar with them, and kind of knew what kind of characters they are. I also called the Secretary, Anita, to see if I could find out anything from her, but she pretty much told me what Johanna said.
I also remembered from checking the website, that they had someone, Matt, who was filling in temporarily, as Jennifer had left almost suddenly, so he was filling in until the next month or so, when he started his training contract in a Law firm. So I called him up the day before to find out more about the job, what he's been up to, so I could casually mention it in the interview when they asked me what I knew about the role that I spoke to Matt, blah blah blah, just to show that I had done my research well, haha! And also in the hope that might know what type of questions they might ask, as he most likely was interviewed before got the job, you never know! And he actually did tell me one of the questions they might ask! He was like they might ask you what you'd do in a situation whereby one of the lecturers wants you to do something for them by a particular deadline, and another person comes to you with a similar deadline. How would you deal with it? My initial answer to that would have been that I'd prioritise and try to do the most important one first, etc, but Matt was like the answer they would be looking for is communication. That I should mention that I'd let both of them know about the other person's deadline, just so they both know what's going on. So I filed that in my brain, just in case.
Since he was being very chatty, I also asked him if he knew anything about the candidates they were interested in, how many people were being interviewed, etc. And he actually knew! I think he said 8-12 or so people were being interviewed, out of about maybe 120 applicants or something, can't really remember the exact numbers, although I wrote them down. He also said there was some guy being interviewed who was coming all the way down from Australia or something, and he was like that person wasn't really a strong candidate, seeing as they'd like someone to start immediately. He also told me that they were interested in two candidates in particular, both of whom were Yvonne Baatz's former students. And seeing as I'd be taught by Yvonne Baatz, that made me even more nervous!
So interview the next day. Got there about 30 minutes early, tried to read the the articles I'd had published, which were on my cv, as Johanna had told me that I'd probably get a question about it. I was too nervous, so was only able to browse through all but one. And you guessed it, I got asked about it! It was a very simple question though, about what the article was about. I knew it was on arbitration, but couldn't for the life of me remember the exact bit it was on. Talk about embarrassing! That question was from Charles. He also asked me another question, this time on a specific area of maritime law, and I did not know the answer! What made it worse was that the next day at work, the work I had to do was on the answer! If only the interview had come after, not before! Sigh. I answered Filippo and Yvonne's questions well, at least! Yvonne did ask me the exact same question Matt had told me about, and thank God, I remembered the answer the Matt told me was more important. She kept nodding her head all through, so that was a good sign, I thought! I was worried about not answering Charles' questions right. Oh yeah, I also got asked where I saw myself in 5 years. Although Johanna had told me that I'd be asked that question, I still stumbled!
I remember thinking to myself that maybe I'd be the only black girl being interviewed, and who knows, they might hire me just so as not to seem racist! What a silly thing to think! And ofcourse, the next person being interviewed turned out to be a black girl! That was that theory out of the water, straight away!
All in all, I wasn't too happy about my interview, as I didn't think I did well enough. But I'd done all I could do. The rest was in God's hands. All I could do was wait.
Okay, this post is getting WAYYY to long! And like every good season finale, there has to be a Part 2! But not to worry, it's a double-bill, so it's coming up right away, after the obligatory advert break... ;-)
So after the surprisingly fabulous mini-cruise to Spain, back to the real world! Resumed work at Chiswick the next day. Colin and Aleka were away on holiday to Greece, and Natalie was having some time off, meaning I was the only one around. It's amazing how trusting the Sheppards can be, allowing a relatively complete stranger in me have complete access to their house! I'd only been with them for about 3 months, and they didn't even blink twice about leaving me with pretty much full access to their house. What if I was some Nigerian crook (won't that be surprising!) merely biding my time? Would have had a field day selling all their stuff and stealing all their money, if indeed they keep any money in their house. But in a way, I guess it was nice to know that they trusted me that much! They are pretty decent and nice people, and you sometimes wonder why there aren't more people like them in the world!
So yeah, everything was back to normal early January with everyone back. But I was nervous pretty much every time I got an email, because I was expecting either an invitation to interview or a failed application notice from the job I applied for. I hadn't mentioned the application to Aleka or Colin, even though I'd used both of them as referees. Didn't think it was necessary, especially as they'd have been expecting me to make applications, anyway.
An email eventually came, but it was to Colin's email. With Colin not being fully computer-literate (the only gadget he uses is his Blackberry), Natalie saw the email first, and already my heart was thumping! It was a letter asking Colin for a reference. Aleka also got a similar email. They obviously had no clue what for initially, but I told them the details and we discussed it briefly, and Aleka seemed very sure I'd get the job! My brain obviously went into overdrive! Were they asking for references because I was definitely going to get interviewed? Was everyone's referees getting the same email? Couldn't get much work that day, and just kept on checking my email over and over again.
With interviews scheduled for 19 January, I finally got an email on the 6th. I remember when the email came through, I couldn't bring myself to open it, and had to get Natalie to open and read the email for me! You can imagine the relief when it turned out that it was good news! I could finally breathe!
Can't really remember much of what happened in those two weeks (probably because nothing much happened!), but I tried to prepare for the interview as much as I could. Read my cv and cover letter again just to remember what I wrote in it! I emailed my lecturer-friend, Johanna, to see if she had any idea what it'll be like and stuff. She didn't really know much, other than that there'll be a panel of 3. Filippo Lorenzon, Yvonne Baatz and Charles Debattista. I was a bit relieved, because all 3 of them had taught me during my LLM. Not that they knew me personally, but at least I was familiar with them, and kind of knew what kind of characters they are. I also called the Secretary, Anita, to see if I could find out anything from her, but she pretty much told me what Johanna said.
I also remembered from checking the website, that they had someone, Matt, who was filling in temporarily, as Jennifer had left almost suddenly, so he was filling in until the next month or so, when he started his training contract in a Law firm. So I called him up the day before to find out more about the job, what he's been up to, so I could casually mention it in the interview when they asked me what I knew about the role that I spoke to Matt, blah blah blah, just to show that I had done my research well, haha! And also in the hope that might know what type of questions they might ask, as he most likely was interviewed before got the job, you never know! And he actually did tell me one of the questions they might ask! He was like they might ask you what you'd do in a situation whereby one of the lecturers wants you to do something for them by a particular deadline, and another person comes to you with a similar deadline. How would you deal with it? My initial answer to that would have been that I'd prioritise and try to do the most important one first, etc, but Matt was like the answer they would be looking for is communication. That I should mention that I'd let both of them know about the other person's deadline, just so they both know what's going on. So I filed that in my brain, just in case.
Since he was being very chatty, I also asked him if he knew anything about the candidates they were interested in, how many people were being interviewed, etc. And he actually knew! I think he said 8-12 or so people were being interviewed, out of about maybe 120 applicants or something, can't really remember the exact numbers, although I wrote them down. He also said there was some guy being interviewed who was coming all the way down from Australia or something, and he was like that person wasn't really a strong candidate, seeing as they'd like someone to start immediately. He also told me that they were interested in two candidates in particular, both of whom were Yvonne Baatz's former students. And seeing as I'd be taught by Yvonne Baatz, that made me even more nervous!
So interview the next day. Got there about 30 minutes early, tried to read the the articles I'd had published, which were on my cv, as Johanna had told me that I'd probably get a question about it. I was too nervous, so was only able to browse through all but one. And you guessed it, I got asked about it! It was a very simple question though, about what the article was about. I knew it was on arbitration, but couldn't for the life of me remember the exact bit it was on. Talk about embarrassing! That question was from Charles. He also asked me another question, this time on a specific area of maritime law, and I did not know the answer! What made it worse was that the next day at work, the work I had to do was on the answer! If only the interview had come after, not before! Sigh. I answered Filippo and Yvonne's questions well, at least! Yvonne did ask me the exact same question Matt had told me about, and thank God, I remembered the answer the Matt told me was more important. She kept nodding her head all through, so that was a good sign, I thought! I was worried about not answering Charles' questions right. Oh yeah, I also got asked where I saw myself in 5 years. Although Johanna had told me that I'd be asked that question, I still stumbled!
I remember thinking to myself that maybe I'd be the only black girl being interviewed, and who knows, they might hire me just so as not to seem racist! What a silly thing to think! And ofcourse, the next person being interviewed turned out to be a black girl! That was that theory out of the water, straight away!
All in all, I wasn't too happy about my interview, as I didn't think I did well enough. But I'd done all I could do. The rest was in God's hands. All I could do was wait.
Okay, this post is getting WAYYY to long! And like every good season finale, there has to be a Part 2! But not to worry, it's a double-bill, so it's coming up right away, after the obligatory advert break... ;-)
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
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:
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...
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...
Friday, June 17, 2011
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...
Oh, and this too! If you're a tennis fan, you'll love the video. I'll stop after this...
- Martin Solveig & Dragonette- Hello
Thursday, June 16, 2011
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:
'You turned out to be the best thing I never had'. Luckily I have never been in that position before!
"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...
'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.
It might not be in English, but that's what Google Translate is for. 'Alors on danse'!
'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 are just great, no need to say more.
Not a Nicki Minaj fan, but that's two of hers in a row...
So cheesy or whatever, but I was loving it today.
And you can't talk about Foo Fighters without mentioning this:
SO gorgeous and inspirational, too!
'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?'
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:
'There's a side, to you, that I never knew...'
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
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...'
Saturday, June 11, 2011
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:
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! ;)
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! ;)
Friday, June 10, 2011
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)