first impressions…

Recently, as some of you might have picked up I have started a new job. I have been there less than a week and as this is a huge ass multi, there are loads of people that work in the same building as me. The company is very ‘people’ orientated and I have just had the most thorough, inspiring and organised induction ever – It lasted about 2.5 days and I met a variety of new people, some who are going onto regional and international locations so probably will not see them again whilst others will be sat in the same open plan office as me.

As always, you have to give up a bit about yourself in order to break the ice and because this is 3rd job I’ve had up here coupled with the actual location move, I am actually a bit bored of my life story. It’s not interesting anymore (I doubt it ever was!), or maybe I have grown a bit bored of telling it. Then it kind of dawned on me whether or not I am making the right impression?

I think outwardly facing I am a pretty altogether person, when I first moved to Leeds people were impressed with the fact that I had lived and worked in London but for me and the set of friends I kept there it was no biggie. No biggie going clubbing and seeing celebs or being there when something happened because in London, things are always happening! They were also impressed with the fact that I had worked for a large company in London and during my time there, was sent to work all over Europe, New York and Hong Kong. To be honest – if you work for a large, International company it is not uncommon that you may be sent to work for a while at one of the other International offices.

So, my life isn’t that special or interesting but people thought it was pretty amazing, but the other thing I pointed put to them I was also a ‘couple’ of years older than they were – whilst they were perhaps just graduating from doing their MA’s or were just trying to find a job, etc. I had already graduated and been working for 8-9 years and I was already married and on the next stage of my life which was buying a house and settling down!

Those first few years of employment really do shape you as even though I graduated from Uni, I did not get spectacular grades or was snapped up immediately by a firm. I gained my experience the hard way – from a bit of ducking and diving, a bit of courage and a lot of hard work! A lot of young people these days graduate from Uni with ‘1st’s’ or ‘2:1’s’ – and this is great but to be honest these grades mean absolutely nothing if you do not have the work experience or social skills to get along with other people. A recent temp I met told me that the reason he got the job on his last placement was due to the fact he was ‘normal’. The other candidates had better grades than he did and better design work but the manager told him that he got the job because he was the one with the best social skills and best able to fit in with the existing team.

But anyway, back to the question in hand. Whether I make the right impression? I hope so, I don’t want to be seen as someone who other people hold in a bit of awe because of my experience (laughable, but it has happened), I want to appear as a friendly individual who is up for a laugh and eager to learn new things in my new job!!!

the truth is out there…

Biker and I have a landline telephone which we use very rarely. The only people that call on our landline are family and overseas family and occasionally a friend who is chancing that we might be in (ie. too cheap to call our mobiles!). Lately however it feels like our landline has been inundated with calls – calls from call centres, from people trying to sell us something or obtain our details or update their records or people wishing to speak to the ‘owner of the house’. Anyway, we find them annoying!

Now, one caller knew my name and when challenged where they might have obtained my details she said it would have been something that I might have applied for online. Now, I do apply for a lot of online things, things like competitions or such like as I am a big believer of ‘being in it to win it’, the only other things that I apply for online are things like bank accounts, etc. So, in conclusion I think that my bank / credit card company is indeed selling my personal details to these companies and it is completely annoying to be disturbed in my own private time. The other evidence I have to suspect my multi-national bank has been selling my details is that I don’t even know my landline number. I have to look it up each time, so when I frivolously enter competitions, etc it’s always with my mobile number as a contact.

Now, surely there must be some law governing this blatent exploitation and selling of my personal information? I never tick the box for my details to be shared! I don’t want a load of unsolicited companies contacting me by mail, email or phone!!! I did not invite them to contact me and I do not want to waste my personal time talking or reading their messages. Call me a bit selfish as it’s a job and someone has to do it, hell in fact I have doen something similar but business to business and never really appreciated how nnoying it really is!

Public Transport…

Now, for people reading this who know me well, will know that since moving to West Yorkshire I am an avid fan of my car. I drive everywhere because quite frankly I am possibly the laziest person on earth. This was not always the case though, when I lived in London I never left home without my Zone 1-3 travel card which could be used excessively on tube, train and bus! I commuted daily the hour or so to work and then home again, happily reading my book or any number of free newspapers you can pick up.

However, since coming to W.Yorks I have become lazy and my mode of transport is my car, so much in fact that I am finding it hard to budge the excess tire that has found itself round my middle. Whereas my life was a cycle of walk to bus stop/train/tube station (15 mins), get on said transport and then a walk to work (another 15 mins) – so that was an hour or so of walking every day I did – not to mention walking round town, etc. These days I try and park as close as possible to where I am going and I will even drive to the local shop which is a mere 10 minute walk away (less than 2 mins in the car), I would always drive to work and the most walking I would do is front door-car and then car-park to work. Lazy, lazy, lazy!

This is going to have to change though. My new job is in the city centre which means I can indeed get the bus to work and leave the car at home, which also means more drinking after work, more browsing in shops after work and the fact that my schedule will be dictated by buses. It doesn’t mean that I will save money from not driving as the bus costs £1.50 one way that’s £3 a day. My car takes £32 to fill up and it normally lasts me about 3-4 weeks. You do the math. I have been forced somewhat into the bus route as new job cannot guarantee parking and if I can’t park (for free) at work then it will cost me possibly £5 a day to park somewhere.

However the costs do not stop there. I will also need to invest in a new coat. Yes that’s right, after selling my coat on ebay and then my other coat to Biker’s sister I am without outerwear. The only coats I have are either too big and bulky for the season or just too small since they are only very light jackets – in fact they have 3/4 sleeves so they are pretty pointless outerwear. I may also invest in an ipod so that I can listen to music of my own choice rather then someone else’s, then I will need an ipod carrier of some sort, preferably leather and with a widely recognised brown print on it. Made by Italians. It has to match my wallet and coin purse.

And then what happens when I want to go to my pilates class? I am going to have to carry, yes *carry* my yoga mat in with me along with my handbag and lunch bag? Bloody hell, this ‘getting back on public transport’ is getting more complicated and costly by the minute!

My other option is to find a car share buddy. My new colleagues think that I will be able to find one no problem, I hope so too. I am not ready to give up my car just yet!

Party Like it’s 1999…

As I get older, the nights out get less and less whilst the nights in get more and more. These days, gone are the bottles of Smirnoff Ice or shots of some radio-active blue liquid and in are large glasses or ‘good’ red wine and a Hendricks with slimline tonic and cucumber. Errr, I think somewhere along the way and I don’t know how it has happened but I have all grow’ed up!

This weekend I visited my favourite friends in London where in true nostalgic style we revisited a nightclub which was once the place to be and the place where everybody went to be seen! These days it’s a bit trashier, the drinks are even more expensive and we are probably in the very small minority that will tick the box 25 and over. For me, personally I cannot remember when wast the last time I was in this particular club – certain places within the club gave me vague memories such as the toilets in the r&b room, ah yes. Like I also remember the main room where one time they had a bit of an impromptu semi-foam party which I had to run like crazy to avoid since there was no way I was standing round in wet clothes!!!

I guess my taste has changed somewhat, I used to despise pubs and preferred to be dancing the night away preferably on the stage as I’m such an exhibitionist! But nowadays I like sitting round with a glass of wine having a little chinwag about the weather and which store does good cheap support hose…

Gone are the days of dancing until 5-6am and then off to work I go before collapsing in a pile at home, the days where I had the stamina to go clubbing maybe 2-3 times a week (OK, this was years ago), the days when I was still able to drink pints – hell, the days when I used to drink beer and larger! The days also when I could go out wearing a see-through mesh top (and black bra) and smoke 20 cigs in the space of a few hours, ah yes, back in the days where I used to smoke…

Clubbing in your 30’s is a bit different. I am not sure what it is but somehow you feel like one big fraud. I am not there to be seen anymore, I’m there to pretend I am still 19, young and carefree. I no longer dance as energetically as I once this, just the mandatory foot tapping along to the beat (sometimes not even that!), and I can’t stay too long. I get tired! But at least before where we would always get the night bus home because of lack of funds, nowadays we can just jump in a cab and not balk at the price to travel 5 miles.

I did this…

Yep, last week I told them my final answer which was I am still leaving to pursue a career at a massive corporation – I must admit I felt sad to go and also sad for them too. If only they realised sooner that I wanted to go or if only I had told them… ah well, c’est la vie!

So, next week is my final week at my current company and I do feel kinda sad, but this week has reminded me why I feel the way I do working here. It’s demoralising when your workmates take the utter piss out of sickies, it’s got to the point now where they’ve pulled so many stupid sickies that even when they are probably really ill you just don’t beleive them – like the boy who cried wolf once too many times!!!

It’s the attitude of some of my work mates – oh I’m too busy, oh I don’t know, oh so-and-so should sort this out, etc. Busy? You are not the only one who is busy, but I don’t use it as an excuse!!! You don’t know or can’t be bothered to help? So-and-so should sort this out, because you can’t be bothered and you just want to pass the buck!!! Take ownership of your work you silly imbecile!