On Work

Sorry for not posting the promised post; stuff happened and work got in the way of my unemployment. Which I'm not complaining about.

So, yes, work. Two weeks ago I went into town to check back with some temping agencies I'd signed up with. No dice. I went to another agency and was talking with the staff when my phone started vibrating. I decided to show them what a classy individual I was and didn't answer it; but checked the message when I got out later: it was the first agency I'd been in, telling me they'd just got a call from an employer. Dice.

Anyway, long story short, I filled out forms till 6pm and was out the next morning at 6 for work at 8:30. Nice. Oops, that was the night of the election. An expat American was up till 4am watching the results come in...

Google Maps are great things; they can show, in minute detail, the apartment building you lived in in Japan, and can even take you on a virtual tour of Ancient Rome. They will even direct you within a mile of where your temp job starts, provided you know in which direction you'll need to walk. Which I didn't.

I got lost.

Eventually found my way to SpeedyHire, a construction/building safety training center, located conveniently a half-hour's walk from the train station, where you can learn how to set up a scaffold with minimal risk of it collapsing on you. They are rapidly expanding throughout the UK and Europe, where scaffolds fall like rain, and were in desperate need of an admin assistant. Enter me. I assisted with administration like nobody's business; completing certificates to send out to the trainees, filing past lesson rosters, making tea and coffee, and rearranging offices and training rooms.

On my way home after my second day I got a call from Borders Books, asking me if I still wanted to work for them up till Christmas. What? Work in an environment where I'm surrounded by books, and talk to people about books? So I said sure, if I could do evenings. They said "maybe", but I went in for the interview and got the job, and started my first shift on Sunday (which was after a full week at SpeedyHire, and a Saturday night at the pub). Worked Monday all day, but found out at the end of the day that the new receptionist was starting, so the decision from Corporate was I had to go. Low man on the totem pole. Which, to be honest, kind of bummed me out, because I'd really started to LIKE SpeedyHire - the staff are super, it's incredibly busy, there's something new to do every day. But walking out of there, I realised I had a new voice mail. A nightclub in town I'd talked to was wondering if I was still interested in working. Nice. Went for an interview the next day, and am waiting for that.

Worked Borders T/Th/F this week, which I was a bit nervous would be too much on top of working at SpeedyHire. Had an interview at a publishing company yesterday, which may have gone well, but I have the feeling it wasn't great. We'll see how it goes; they said they'd let me know by mid-week next week. I really, REALLY hope I get it.

And that's about it; two weeks ago I had one part-time job, for about 10 hours a week. I've had two jobs since then, one full-time temp and one part-time ongoing, and two interviews. So things are looking pretty good. My parents have finally got tickets to come out for a visit, so we're looking forward to that. Christmas is on the way, which means lots of food, family, and frosty nights. Should be good.

Next up: Graduation, music, British TV, travel, or Other.
Stay tuned.