Status Update
Hi there. Let's see if I can't get a bit more active on this thing (viz. el-jay), what with how I've been kind of neglecting it for a pretty long time. I've started making private journal entries every day, so hopefully that'll bootstrap my public output here. Yes!
I- How are you today?
Snow!! In London!
II- What's happening?
Okay, I'm still basically temping around in various places at the moment. My last two gigs have been at charity offices, which is nice, if not very lucrative. There are perks like not having to wear a suit and, at this place, not having to be in until 1000h.. but it's just too bad, scraping by from rent-payment to rent-payment. When sudden big expenses come up, I have to borrow more money from my Dad; I'll be using my tax rebate to pay him back (if he accepts it, which to be honest I hope he doesn't) but still, you know. Kind of a shitty situation. I don't mind churchmouse-style living, but having no spare cash just cuts me off from quite a lot of things. For instance, I can't afford to repair my busted bike.
III- So you're gonna get a real job?
Sure! Why not. At the least if I'm going to be a dogsbody I may as well be one somewhere vaguely pertinent like a publishing house or TV company. I'm also sniffing around various graduate jobs directories (it's quite tempting to string together a couple of part-time editing jobs), and I'll re-apply to that Adfero correspondance house my friend's working at. On one hand I don't really want to give up the advantages of temping, but on the other hand it's not like they're really helping me be all that productive, and either way, I can always cut and run if it doesn't suit me.
IV- Flat?
Yeah, that's going well. My friend Jamie the triple-philosophy-graduate is a fine fellow to live with, with many fine leatherbound books for me to steal. There is annoying stuff like the shoddy wiring (kitchen extractor fan activated by the bathroom light-switch? Hmm! And my electric radiator is kaput), bad customer service in getting me a replacement electro-magic front door fob, and other tiny things. We don't really mind them. Oh yeah, and the internet is pretty slow. Damn you, Tiscali!
V- Mathbox
My PC has been old and dying for a few years. Slowly, components have fried, sometimes to be replaced. At the moment, though, it's uh... really old and dying. Hopefully I'll somehow be able to upgrade it soon.
VI- Holiday
My Dad took me and my sister (she's 20) on a skiing holiday for a week over Christmas! A last-minute deal; we stayed in a basic hostel with cheapo equipment, but in a really nice resort high up in the French Alps. He used to grace the pistes 20-odd years ago and wanted another try before he gets too old. He took along his old boots (the bakelite exploded on the first day) and his rubber-lined Papa Smurf-style skiing suit (gave him a rash, then fell apart). I have to say, skiing really is exhilarating! Damn! I thought it would be much more difficult to learn, but I was pretty fast on the red slopes by the end of the week. There was a pretty good mountain-christmas atmosphere, too, though it was really warm with only just enough snow. Other resorts were less lucky and had folks just sitting around looking at the evergreens. Yay for global warming!
Okay, that'll do for now.
I- How are you today?
Snow!! In London!
II- What's happening?
Okay, I'm still basically temping around in various places at the moment. My last two gigs have been at charity offices, which is nice, if not very lucrative. There are perks like not having to wear a suit and, at this place, not having to be in until 1000h.. but it's just too bad, scraping by from rent-payment to rent-payment. When sudden big expenses come up, I have to borrow more money from my Dad; I'll be using my tax rebate to pay him back (if he accepts it, which to be honest I hope he doesn't) but still, you know. Kind of a shitty situation. I don't mind churchmouse-style living, but having no spare cash just cuts me off from quite a lot of things. For instance, I can't afford to repair my busted bike.
III- So you're gonna get a real job?
Sure! Why not. At the least if I'm going to be a dogsbody I may as well be one somewhere vaguely pertinent like a publishing house or TV company. I'm also sniffing around various graduate jobs directories (it's quite tempting to string together a couple of part-time editing jobs), and I'll re-apply to that Adfero correspondance house my friend's working at. On one hand I don't really want to give up the advantages of temping, but on the other hand it's not like they're really helping me be all that productive, and either way, I can always cut and run if it doesn't suit me.
IV- Flat?
Yeah, that's going well. My friend Jamie the triple-philosophy-graduate is a fine fellow to live with, with many fine leatherbound books for me to steal. There is annoying stuff like the shoddy wiring (kitchen extractor fan activated by the bathroom light-switch? Hmm! And my electric radiator is kaput), bad customer service in getting me a replacement electro-magic front door fob, and other tiny things. We don't really mind them. Oh yeah, and the internet is pretty slow. Damn you, Tiscali!
V- Mathbox
My PC has been old and dying for a few years. Slowly, components have fried, sometimes to be replaced. At the moment, though, it's uh... really old and dying. Hopefully I'll somehow be able to upgrade it soon.
VI- Holiday
My Dad took me and my sister (she's 20) on a skiing holiday for a week over Christmas! A last-minute deal; we stayed in a basic hostel with cheapo equipment, but in a really nice resort high up in the French Alps. He used to grace the pistes 20-odd years ago and wanted another try before he gets too old. He took along his old boots (the bakelite exploded on the first day) and his rubber-lined Papa Smurf-style skiing suit (gave him a rash, then fell apart). I have to say, skiing really is exhilarating! Damn! I thought it would be much more difficult to learn, but I was pretty fast on the red slopes by the end of the week. There was a pretty good mountain-christmas atmosphere, too, though it was really warm with only just enough snow. Other resorts were less lucky and had folks just sitting around looking at the evergreens. Yay for global warming!
Okay, that'll do for now.