tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34521929096822254042024-03-13T03:56:51.934-07:00The Disorientated GraduateThey told us university would bring fabulous jobs, great income, and a more rounded mind. That was a bit of a fib, wasn't it?The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-33500800061328988212013-04-21T11:54:00.001-07:002013-04-21T11:54:26.938-07:00Not quite living up to your hero
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<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It's probably not
entirely normal to say this, but Samuel Pepys is my hero.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I have a deep and
abiding fascination with Restoration London, perhaps in no small part
to his descriptions... but then, perhaps I have the interest in Pepys
because he happened to be there are a fascinating time in history. I
have yet to work this part out. Either way, when I moved to London I
was delighted to find out my workplace was within easy wandering
distance of a lot of the places he lived and worked, and I have spent
quite a few happy lunch hours wandering around, looking at St Brides
and Seething Lane and St Pauls. It has, if anything, possibly
heightened my interest in Pepys.</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I would like to be like
Pepys, except perhaps without the copious extra-marital affairs or
that time he was locked in the Tower. I identify with him, too – he
came from a humble background, got a leg up due to cleverness honed
with education, and was a skilled and talented administrator. I'd
like to be like that, ideally with some of the massive success that
is due at about this age, actually.</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One of reasons Pepys
and I differ, however, is that Pepys was an amazing diarist. We all
know this. The plaque on the site of his birth saddens me, as I don't
think that's now he would want to be remembered, but his skills of
observation are unsurpassed. I'm managing to blog about twice a
month, although my excuse is that Pepys didn't have interesting stuff
to watch on the telly to distract him.</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Anyway, Pepys would
often go and have a nosey at interesting sights on London streets.
Imagine my opportunity when they announced the route for Thatcher's
funeral going more or less past my work? I could blog about that!</div>
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<br />
</div>
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In the end, though,I
didn't watch the funeral. There are two reasons for that: firstly, I
had no desire to actually get involved in the thing, as I dislike the
woman thoroughly and didn't want to be seen praising her, but I also
had no desire to get involved in the protesting as I do think it was
a little distasteful. Also, it was my turn to look after the
switchboard.</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Instead, on my walk to
work from the Tube, I took a detour along some of the route. I lost
count of police at 52, and to my secret gratification I saw Jon Snow,
although not in a jolly tie for obvious reasons. More confusing was
the large amount of quite jolly people out, taking the day as another
cheery day in London, posing for foreign reporters. It all contrasted
a little with the scary signs of the state -all of the Boris bikes
were gone, no traffic on normally busy roads, police everywhere, and
vehicle blocking equipment down every side street. It was quite good
to get into work, in the end.</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Where I sit in work I
have no view of the main streets, but I could hear the noise in the
backgrounds. Military bands played, and more ominously the
helicopters roared over constantly for a good few hours. BBC News 24
was on the office TV and it was weird to see the streets we worked on
full of all the fanfare. (A waste of public money, might I add.)</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
On my lunch, after the
funeral was over, I had a wander up to St Pauls. The streets were
still very busy, and I was mystified by the amount of people with
sandwiches and little folding chairs. This was the funeral of someone
who was – at the end of the day and indeed her life – a public
citizen. It shouldn't have been a national event, and I'm a little
bemused that it was. Still, at St Pauls I was pleased to see someone
giving a lecture that sounded a lot like one of the lectures from The
Ragged Trousered Philanthropist. More alarming was all of the police
going off duty in the direction of Old Bailey – I have literally
never seen so many in one place.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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It was, basically, a
weird day. In the end I went out for a drink after work – and why
not? It was remarkably quiet, given the amount of office workers who
had the day off. That's a fair indictment of Thatcher right there –
given I work in one of the few areas she wasn't having a good go at
crushing, it's ironic a lot of us got some time off, therefore
reducing productivity.
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This write up has
mostly convinced me that I am no Pepys – so now to bedd, for my
head is aking.</div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-53932490653944968662013-04-08T12:22:00.000-07:002013-04-08T12:29:26.934-07:00Milk snatcher<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmytLm_nSn9BHECc771gok9j90C8x-w300B-0vqumVbUFFN4DyKtEWATwxRxP2OxHrJRG-4YYzkiI0fnQrx-W-J6pHMcQEWh8kGvoKB5IkSSZgdmKIq7PHBnhoRO8ZhbYGJsokLVtxtrQ/s1600/thatcher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmytLm_nSn9BHECc771gok9j90C8x-w300B-0vqumVbUFFN4DyKtEWATwxRxP2OxHrJRG-4YYzkiI0fnQrx-W-J6pHMcQEWh8kGvoKB5IkSSZgdmKIq7PHBnhoRO8ZhbYGJsokLVtxtrQ/s320/thatcher.jpg" width="235" /></a></div>
Margaret Thatcher died today.<br />
<br />
Let's get a few things out of the way: I feel sorry for her family's loss, and also a lingering set of twilight years with dementia followed by a stroke is an unpleasant way to go. And yes, she was the first female Prime Minister.<br />
<br />
Right. Now we have said that, let's say some other things.<br />
<br />
I will not mourn the end of a woman who is responsible for some fucking awful things in our country, and is still responsible now. I don't have a full set of all the awful things she did, but during her time as Prime Minister the working classes of this country were ground down into worklessness, entire communities made into poverty-ridden ghost towns. Those cities haven't recovered yey. Those cities in the north, in Scotland, in Wales, may never recover because the poisonous politics that started with her still tell them that they're wastrels, that they're not worth anything. The problems we have now still continue, and her political descendents are destroying what is left in some of those communities.<br />
<br />
I will not mourn Section 28, a legacy I was still dealing with when I was in comprehensive education, a time when queer kids and adults were given no support by public funds. By 'no support' this meant no protection of homophobic bullying, amongst a raft of other things. This still continues.<br />
<br />
I will not mourn someone who supported apartheid in South Africa.<br />
<br />
I will not mourn someone who sank the Belgrano when it was retreating.<br />
<br />
I will not mourn privatisation of vital services. I will not mourn the idea that it's somehow okay for people to make profit off the back of heating, light and clean water.<br />
<br />
I will not mourn someone who kickstarted the excesses of our financial markets.<br />
<br />
I am the daughter of working class parents. I grew up on the edge of one of those decimated communities. So you'll forgive me, right now, if I am having a drink. I'm not doing it to celebrate her death, but I <i>am</i> doing it to remember all of the tragedy and horror she caused, and her legacy is still causing.<br />
<br />
Over dramatic? Yeah, probably. Depending on when the funeral is, though, it may well block my ability to get into work as the cortege will be going very near my offices. I have a long weekend coming up, but unless the funeral is on Friday or Monday it will directly affect my ability to get into work. Whether I want to or not, it's being put directly in my way.<br />
<br />
Those are my thoughts. I appreciate you may have different ones. I don't pretend to understand them, if I'm honest.The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-49223311924745714642013-03-02T09:38:00.000-08:002013-03-02T09:38:02.872-08:00Graduate recruitment: trainee vurglesplatters needed!
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwfWrLUAJFePJ2K752SDRGqJC5cvFBaQYg58gU5LKs36AlHoAw-xWds2OK2i4xa6lpp0XcqF0CsFhJD8wulcMIzgSi8CqT0LohWfZx-6bmKFxJk3MpCn_WefxNYGv3pKyLS3z_YfU613Q/s1600/hire.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwfWrLUAJFePJ2K752SDRGqJC5cvFBaQYg58gU5LKs36AlHoAw-xWds2OK2i4xa6lpp0XcqF0CsFhJD8wulcMIzgSi8CqT0LohWfZx-6bmKFxJk3MpCn_WefxNYGv3pKyLS3z_YfU613Q/s320/hire.gif" width="265" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, in a hilarious turn
for the weird, in my new job one of my responsibilities in graduate
recruitment.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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“Do you know anything
about graduate issues?” they asked me, and I sort of burbled a bit
and then got afraid they'd seen my blog. (IF SO: HI GUYS.)</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I actually really enjoy
my job. People are still nice, I'm getting more responsibilities, I
don't have horrible jaggy days where I hate myself and my job so much
I just want to cry or burn down the office or possibly both. Okay, I
still occasionally think 'Is this it?' and the Circle line is the
bane of my life, but things are on the up.
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
My job has also opened
my eyes about graduate recruitment. Now, I've actually been part of
several recruitment drives before, and I've also a few years now of
HR and employment law and all that stuff. All the things I've said
previously remain valid. However, never before had I seen specific
graduate recruitment. Sure, I've seen the other side of it as an
applicant, but this is new to me.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And finally! it means I
have something relevant for blogging about. My reflections on London,
whilst fascinating to myself, are a wee bit off message, and a lot of
the other stuff is difficult to write about in a sufficiently
anonymous way.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, for future
reference, I work in a company that specialises in providing
vurglesplat experts to the wider world. What's vurglesplat, you say.
Well, bluntly, it's a small industry full of nerds and I'm not being
specific. Crucially, I work in the HR department. The technological
people may as well be doing vurglesplat for all I understand of it.
It makes for an entertaining night at the pub, where they talk about
their projects and then look at me expectedly.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Anyway, we are now
looking for junior vurglesplatters. Vurglesplat is something you can
study at uni in modules and in specific postgrad courses, and even if
your interest is only peripheral then it's okay, because lots of
training is provided. Good degree in something vaguely relevant –
business! maths! IT! engineering! all elements towards vurglesplat! -
and perhaps some work in the field, ish, and that's all we're asking.</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Stupidly, I thought
this would be easy.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Here are some of the
reasons why graduate recruitment is harder than it needs to be.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
1. Vurglesplatters are
really, really bad at explaining their job. You have no idea how long
it took to come up with a job advertisement. “No,” I had to keep
on gently saying, “two years industry experience is not a
reasonably request.”</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
2. Once that's done,
have you ANY IDEA how terrible university job centre websites are?
UNIMAGINABLY AWFUL that's what. As all sensible students and
graduates now, they are a great resource for looking up jobs that are
specifically hiring from their particular institution. I did hours of
research about universities that offered vurglesplat and did a good
course using similar vurglesplat theories. I looked up league tables.
Careers Centre, I want to hire YOUR students. WHY OH WHY do you have
websites that are nigh on impossible to use and why do you staff not
reply to emails?
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
(Although I'd like to
take a moment to big up my alma mater St Andrews for its swift
response within 20 minutes to my query. Knew I could trust you, guys!
Some other institutions, that will remain nameless, have stayed quiet
for a WEEK now.)</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In all seriousness, a
job that should have taken perhaps an afternoon at best – simply
uploaded a job specification to 25+ institutions, how hard can that
be? - took me three days. I do have other work to do, you know.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
3. Yes, yes, it's
probably easier to advertise on Milkround and Prospects. They cost a
lot of money, did you know that?
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, all of those things
are an issue and a barrier between graduates and soon-to-be gradautes
getting a job.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I can't talk much about
the process, because it's only just got started. However, we have
started to get some applications through. We don't have an
application form with lots of silly questions, because no one wants
to write it, bluntly. All we ask for is a CV. Here are The
Disorientated Graduate's hints and tips to get through the screening
process (i.e., er, me):</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
1. We are asking for
people to be vurglesplatters. Sure, trainee vurglesplatters, but it's
still a specific role. DO NOT tell me about how much you're enjoying
training to be an English teacher. Seriously, though, did you even
read the job specification? DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TOOK TO UPLOAD IT
TO YOUR INSTITUTION?
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
2. Grammar and spelling
are your friend! So, it must be said, is a covering letter. They're
not essential, but it's a good way of listing your 'soft skills'.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
3. You may not have
relevant industry experience. When I left uni, my industry experience
was to be a cleaner, a care home assistant or a shop worker. So I
sympathise with you, particularly if you have a good academic
background and have passed the first two stages of my checklist. So,
as a hint, turn your part time job into an example of how good you
are at the world of work based on the job specification. Does the job
want good time management? Well, you need that if you work in a shop
because of the different tasks that need doing WHILST still being
able to drop everything and serve a customer! Teamwork? Well, being a
waiter involves being part of a chain of people involved in one
single aim! Think outside of the box, a bit. Personally I'm deeply
sympathetic but there's only so much I can to make other people look
at your CV.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
4. To return to point
1, seriously, do look at the job you're applying for though, yes? I
am fed up of logging POINTLESS applications.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
That's the only
experience I have thus far. We've barely started shifting through
applications, let alone interviewing and that. Still, it's
interesting and also GOOD BLOG MATERIAL.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now if you'll excuse me
I have a stinking cold and need to return to curling up in a blanket.</div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-80704292416043394602013-02-12T13:17:00.001-08:002013-02-12T13:17:24.570-08:00
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/feb/12/poundland-ruling-government-work-schemes" target="_blank">“Poundland ruling 'blows big hole' through government work schemes”</a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It's been a good news
sort of two weeks, with Gove u-turning on his bloody stupid Ebacc
scheme and now this.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I've said before and
I've said again that everything in the world is wrong with the
government work experience schemes, taking paid jobs out of the
economy and forcing people to work with ridiculous penalties. Good, I
say. This ruling is not on moral issues, but simply on legal ones,
but if this makes this stupid scheme go away and be properly
rethought then I say that this is a good day for all out of work
people – in particular, graduates.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I wrote about this in rather more details about a year ago: <a href="http://disorientatedgraduate.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/flaws-in-government-work-experience.html" target="_blank">"Flaws in government work experience"</a> My feelings are the same nowas they were then, with a sense of cheerful contentment I have been proved right.<br />
</div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-64480952651074945402013-02-05T11:27:00.002-08:002013-02-05T11:30:23.878-08:00Richard III<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcV8bf96spGiiJUHPQv7jfY_aptA95p033f810CXP23xYsgFC9Pac4H0i15ZbINZpvH3RxMLdl67N9KRd7x2rLiZgYoxN_9X9QJOqEqyZMJuummZYqVlVzzxZKrruSJK4HYhPlvj_DO8U/s1600/richard-iii-take-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcV8bf96spGiiJUHPQv7jfY_aptA95p033f810CXP23xYsgFC9Pac4H0i15ZbINZpvH3RxMLdl67N9KRd7x2rLiZgYoxN_9X9QJOqEqyZMJuummZYqVlVzzxZKrruSJK4HYhPlvj_DO8U/s320/richard-iii-take-2.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
I blog and I did a history degree (half medieval and half modern history, fact fans) so I think I am morally obligated to comment on the Richard III news story.<br />
<br />
First: from a historical perspective, this isn't big news. It fills in a little information on Richard III in terms of where he was buried, and some more details on his death and his scoliosis, but that's really it. We learn nothing about the society of the time from it, and attention on kings and queens takes away from the real unexplored avenues of history.<br />
<br />
Now that the boring bit is over - and can I just say that I am a terrible history student because I have always found biographical history fascinting and my love for Charles II knows no bounds - I would like it to be known that this is a really, really cool news story. I very quietly read a liveblog on my phone for the announcement yesterday.<br />
<br />
And if it means that a few more people pick history to study, a little more funding goes towards archeology and medieval history studies then I say hurrah for Richard III.<br />
<br />
Finally: if you would like more information on Richard III (and if I see the phrase 'Tudor propaganda' again I will scream, what a TERRIBLE anachronism and don't get me started) then please see this helpful and informative video: <br />
<br />
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<br />
(Ignore the bit about his not having a curved spine, turns out that was true.)The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-48680371947400452862013-01-31T13:21:00.001-08:002013-01-31T13:21:43.032-08:00Dealing with weird hobbies
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWzc8EW2I_rHXhVH9Sr0UO8V__5jm0vEZgEpTpQUaF2h4Qajtnrjd39iqFtXpGAPjdAwzD-jDHbOe2ArFqOAepUE5k272Ol5TO0lJI_-9hm_ybSIKee1GnfOmTFOZfWAzAHjjHyN-zUM/s1600/img_14103_the-10-most-weird-and-funny-hobbies-in-the-world-best-video-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWzc8EW2I_rHXhVH9Sr0UO8V__5jm0vEZgEpTpQUaF2h4Qajtnrjd39iqFtXpGAPjdAwzD-jDHbOe2ArFqOAepUE5k272Ol5TO0lJI_-9hm_ybSIKee1GnfOmTFOZfWAzAHjjHyN-zUM/s320/img_14103_the-10-most-weird-and-funny-hobbies-in-the-world-best-video-2012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I used to work in a
relatively small workplace with what I now realise was a reasonably
homogeneous workplace. As long as you could talk about the football
you were generally okay – we all came from roughly the same place
and the same background. Hell, three of us had history degrees. On
one notable afternoon we discussed Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. We
discussed <i>minor character plot points</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.
This was considered normal.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I
now work in a significantly bigger workplace which is a bit of a
surprise and has a lot of stuff I wasn't quite expecting. I was
prepared for the fact there would be people from a wider variety of
cultures, and I'm enjoying that. I'm not the only northerner but I'm
the only recent one, so I quite enjoyed telling the sales team what
the term 'reet' meant. (Translation: “Right” or in context
“Alright,” so you might say in response to a query “Nah, I'm
reet ta!” which is a sentence that really puzzles my Scottish
inlaws.) People bring in food on national festivals, for example, so
whilst I am getting fatter I am at least becoming more enlightened.
All of that is good.</div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
No,
the real surprise is what a wide variety of people I work with and
trying to find common ground. I am a fairly quiet geeky sort. I work
in a geeky, male-dominated industry so I assumed that I would fit
right in with a bit of Star Trek, but this doesn't appear to be the
case thus far.</div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Firstly,
I appear to have arrived in the middle of a baby boom. I am mildly
childphobic, or at least in term of actually sprogging up myself, so
to be constantly surrounded by people who are pregnant/have partners
who are pregnant/be just back from maternity/paternity leave is a
very bizarre experience. I'm fairly good at expressing interest in
other people's kids. My cheery excuse of “I live in a one bedroom
flat in Walthamstow!” means that I can put off the 'when are you
going to have kids?' question for now, but I do idly wonder how I
will deal with the same question in my thirties.</div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Also,
other people's hobbies are really weird. I'm quite good at deflecting
football questions, but I have no idea how to discuss one colleague's
deep and abiding interest in Rolls Royces. That said, no one appears
to share my passion for London restoration architecture – I got
very excited about a Wren church near my work and everyone else was
baffled.
</div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Also,
I would be posting more often but I must confess to being sort of
constantly exhausted at the moment. I have lots of fascinating stuff
to write about, but finding the time to do so is a little tricky.
When you spend all day learning about classic cars (despite your
personal inclinations of 'you're a nice guy, but I really don't care,
please be quiet') I think the brain shuts down a little. </div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Alas, no one in my work practises extreme ironing. <i>I think.</i> </div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-57803013719538721462013-01-02T12:07:00.000-08:002013-01-02T12:07:33.240-08:00Shock: you deserve to not hate your job
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj20LZM7mfJuyxf0Jmc0Bdic2sZriwClyeuAYSptkOu7T_Exh16RiAHbViDI9wyHKvtWAyb7TOShe_iSbgX8U_ymbfnltQTiS-DeIJnq7utOw0LhKQb78Li07rv2z9qN_zlo20KNcxkCLY/s1600/hate_my_job-201x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj20LZM7mfJuyxf0Jmc0Bdic2sZriwClyeuAYSptkOu7T_Exh16RiAHbViDI9wyHKvtWAyb7TOShe_iSbgX8U_ymbfnltQTiS-DeIJnq7utOw0LhKQb78Li07rv2z9qN_zlo20KNcxkCLY/s1600/hate_my_job-201x300.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One of the really weird
things about my new job is that<i> I don't hate it.</i></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now, that might sound
like boasting, but it's mostly given me so much-needed perspective
about my old job, my first real 'graduate' job. I was there for three
years, and it's very weird the awful, awful things you start to take
as being both normal and entirely acceptable. It wasn't quite full on
Stockholm Syndrome, but there was an element of pushing things to the
back of my mind and pretending that they were a-okay.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You see – and I speak
for a lot of graduates, I think, of the last five years or so – is
that we have been made to feel quietly worthless. Not being NEETs,
generally speaking being childless, having a public perception
(whether true or not) that we have parents to fall back on and not
having mortgages, etc, there was a sense that we were constantly at
the back of the queue. We're all useless, with our silly degrees and
no hard experience, expecting to walk into an amazing job. We should
be grateful for any kind of paid employment we should have because we
deserve no better.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Which has led to some
employers, frankly, taking the piss.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm not going to go too
far into details, mostly because my old employer is litigation-happy
and liable to withhold references, but basically I put up with a long
list of crap. I casually mentioned in my newest job that there was
CCTV at my old work, which took in our computers and the boss would
occasionally watch it on his laptop at home if he was running late.
Stunned horror met this statement. I... sort of didn't realise that
wasn't normal? There's CCTV in many workplaces, I realise that, but
in an office was that strictly necessary?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
That's just one
example, and a rather specific and non-graduate one at that. The
point is that I was willing to put up with everything, despite the
fact that I was deeply unhappy and often fantasised about somehow
crashing my car in a non-fatal way in order to miss work that day.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Graduates, you will
have to put up with some crap in your working lives. My last job had
some good things about it, and got me some much-needed office
experience, but in the end I was too scared by the economy to move
on.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Let's get some things
straight: my new job isn't perfect by a long stretch. New people are
scary, and these are a lot of new people in a very technical field
that I mostly don't understand yet. Some of the work is a bit
monotonous. The Tube is still a challenge most day, and the day is a
significantly longer one. I don't look good in proper office clothes,
either. But I don't wake up unhappy, and I've remembered that
actually I am a rather intelligent human being, I have worked hard,
and I deserve a job where I can proudly say: “I've earned this.”</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Graduates: you will
almost certainly have to put up with crappy jobs, but don't stay with
them forever because you think you should, because you think you're
no better, because you're scared. My new job is not a perfect job,
but it's a damn sight better and life feels like a better place.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Most of the above is
not particularly enthralling blog material, which is why it's been a
few weeks to put together. However, I think I may be getting some
more material together soon, and you can always rely on the
government to say some face-gnawingly stupid things before too long.
So there's something to look forward to.</div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-11263262409594079242012-12-17T13:10:00.000-08:002012-12-17T13:10:32.389-08:00Blatent self-promotionSo, I wrote something for a friend, and lo, for he has published it on his superior <a href="http://fight-fight-fight.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Fight! Fight! Fight! </a>blog, designed to pitch the greatest against the great in increasingly unlikely scenario.<br />
<br />
When I say 'wrote' I mostly mean that I provided nerdy canonical facts and Andrew made them be actually funny, but here, it's worth a read.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fight-fight-fight.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/fight-fight-fight-11.html" target="_blank">Fight! Fight! Fight! 11</a><br />
<br />
(You don't get to find out who is fighting whom except by clicking the link. Yeah, I'm teasing you. Hint, though: it's topical!)The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-76921816178897709482012-12-10T12:51:00.000-08:002012-12-10T12:51:21.386-08:00New job
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When I left university,
I assumed that I would have a job in a busy city, striding through
crowds wearing a business suit and clutching a Starbucks on the way
to an important meeting type thing. This rather failed to
materialise. My first job post university was working in a
trendy-yet-casual clothes shop so I used to sit amongst the commuters
in jeans and a hoodie, and nip for a MacDonalds breakfast when I was
trying to bribe some of the younger members of staff. (Management tip
of the day for you, there.)</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Anyway. Now, to my
amazement, I am in fact battling through business crowds whilst
wearing a smart suit. I'm not holding Starbucks, because I dislike
coffee and Starbucks is just as evil as we always suspected. My first
day, as I proudly strode through (and by 'strode' I mean battled in a
sort of nervous, 'oh god I'm so short' way) the crowd, I felt sort of
proud.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Then I realised that I
was totally hopeless at this.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The reason there's been
such a long hiatus is because 'Disorientated Graduate' is something
that came about when I used to be able to walk to work, and I
wondered at what point in my university life it came about I was only
suited to work in an office on a farm in the arse end of nowhere. So
yelling in an overjoyed way 'LOOK! I HAVE A JOB I DON'T ACTUALLY
LOATHE!' was a little cruel to my readers, all three of you.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Yet the last fortnight
has proven to me that university has failed to get me used to just
about anything. I have stopped internally screaming on the Tube (at
one point, even emitting a faint squeak when I realised that yes, yet
more people really were going to join our train, let's talk about the
Circle line at some point in the future), but gosh, this is a new
world. I have no idea how to behave, not really.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One thing I have
learnt, though: big offices are <i>weird</i>. More anon.</div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-30406042659758207352012-11-26T01:15:00.000-08:002012-11-26T01:15:05.977-08:00Moving house (a hiatus)A query: what, exactly, does everyone else do with their old university work? I have carried it, in the manner of a demanted pack rat, around several houses now and it's currently sat in shiny new boxes (yes, plural) waiting to be moved to the new house tomorrow. Mr DG has managed to get everything into two folders.<br />
<br />
I have no idea if this is weird. From one perspective, my mum still has all her college work in boxes in the attic. From another perspective, she actually has an attic, a house she owns, and no intention to move house until she leaves this one in a wooden box. (Her words, not mine.) My university folders are a thing of beauty, preceding my love of filing in a professional manner. I don't want to get rid of them!<br />
<br />
Anyway, whilst you all ponder these issues (tell me what you do in the comments!) this is a wee hiatus announcement. Tomorrow, I am moving to London. Today, I am mostly going to and from the recycling centre (I can get rid of, you know, other stuff, I just have a block on uni stuff), packing up the kitchen and trying not to freak out. I'm only writing this post as part of my magnificent ability to procrastinate. After moving, there will be no internet for about a week or so, resulting in some quietness from me.The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-42102877179640220722012-11-21T11:56:00.001-08:002012-11-21T11:56:52.791-08:00A bit of consideration, people
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As we all probably
know, it's currently an employers market when it comes to jobs. I was
staying in London with a family friend for a set of interviews, and
he wondered if they still reimbursed you for travelling to
interviews. I laughed uproariously. I do dimly remember a time, back
just before I graduated, when job applications had dire messages
telling you that they couldn't reimburse for travel. So clearly, it
used to happen. Not any more.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I have become used to
not having results from job applications. It's got to the point where
getting a rejection letter is actually rather enjoyable, because at
least SOMEONE has read the application.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You know what's really
bloody rude though? When you've been for an interview and they still
don't get in contact with you. One interview I went to – three
weeks ago! - told me I'd hear back within 24 hours. After a week, I
sent a polite e-mail enquiring about when I might hear a response. At
the start of the next week, they told me. It is only today that
they've rejected me. And not just a rejection, oh no. They told me
that they'd 'decided not to recruit for the role'. So you've dragged
me down to London and now you've decided the job doesn't exist? Are you fucking KIDDING me?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There's a bright side
to all this, and it's that I've actually been offered a job. Yeehaw!
They also didn't get back to me within the predicted timeframe, but I
did get a message saying there would be a delay. It takes two minutes
to send an e-mail like that, employers. It's not hard. The job I've
got is the one I wanted more than the rest by quite a large margin,
but I needed work for my move to London.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There is also the very
real possibilities of what happens if you wait a long time to let
someone know the results. I am, it must be said, enjoying telling
people that since my interview I have interviewed for, been offered
and accepted another job.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One of the elements of
my new job? Sending feedback to candidates who have interviewed for
the company, successful or otherwise. Having this element of respect
for people who don't even work for the company is a very good sign,
in my eyes. Also, no poverty for Christmas. Wheeee!</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Just... have some
respect, employers. Someone has taken the time to apply to your
company, travel to the interview, iron the interview suit, go through
the preparation and the nerves. Even if they're no good, it takes a
tiny amount of time to let people know how they've got on. We may be
the faceless mass of desperate people to you, but one day you might
be the same boat. Think about it.</div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-68316582716888122182012-11-12T11:55:00.000-08:002012-11-12T11:56:09.703-08:00Police Commissioner Elections: sadly free of costumed vigilantes<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As you're probably not
aware, the Police Commissioner elections are taking place this
Thursday. I know, I know, it's been a real hotbed of political
discussion over these elections and I'm sure you're all desperate to
cast your vote.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
After some discussion
and thought, I have decided that I will vote for one of these
options:</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
1. Anyone by the name
of 'Gordon'.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
1a. I will also accept
anyone campaigning under a slogan of “Tough on costumed
super-villains, tough on the causes of costumed super-villainy.”</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
2. Anyone who promises
to give all of their salary to a police widows charity and to not do
any work, instead letting the police do their work without any
bullshit needless political stuff.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Unfortunately, I can't
find any candidates who fulfil any of the above criteria. The UKIP
lady in our area, Merseyside, looks a bit like Gary Oldman but that's
as close as I can get.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRYYAoLX9IlRBcL4Pjm6Nffc93qUyWEfKnejg2j2NA2L2tXbE8HBqnNh49VdS26Xz1hRAZhGuJgJQLQ7l_Ldrk9OiklMkZq1c4UihsZ3wNuydtzgCFSphAoDNhS_g4Xpne-W4-GeywKo/s1600/oldman3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRYYAoLX9IlRBcL4Pjm6Nffc93qUyWEfKnejg2j2NA2L2tXbE8HBqnNh49VdS26Xz1hRAZhGuJgJQLQ7l_Ldrk9OiklMkZq1c4UihsZ3wNuydtzgCFSphAoDNhS_g4Xpne-W4-GeywKo/s320/oldman3.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not actually the UKIP candidate for Merseyside Police Commissioner. Maybe.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So now I'm torn between
voting Labour in an attempt to keep out the UKIP/English Democrat
lot, or spoiling my ballot paper. I'm rather tempted to go for the
latter. I'm going to note, no matter what happens, because if I think
about not voting I hear my ancestors screaming at me. So like many
people, I'm now mostly trying to think of the funniest way to spoil
my ballot paper, mostly via trying to think of good quotes from <i>The Thick of It</i>.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I do genuinely disagree
with these elections, because we don't need Police Commissioners. I
have yet to hear a convincing reason why we should, or frankly any
reasons whatsoever. I've heard nothing from any candidates, or from
the government explaining this new role, or any reason why we're
wasting million of pounds on an election we don't need and can't
afford.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm thinking 'FUCKING
OMNISHAMBLES' wouldn't be a bad start.</div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-61717732634774792282012-11-04T07:49:00.001-08:002012-11-04T07:49:35.342-08:00Interview preparation, and possibly how not to do it
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Job interviews are
HARD. I go in intending to have the self confidence and general
awesomeness of this:</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8GPeUH_F-FIO1VKYrUHNPNBfEDvuo7vHAgGv9beQQVjQEQBcCo5ldSwiJljlXOK4kcHL8BuY1WRX3Cyk3BiDH7AbbTRDOXReMwMIbm66SddIj9uY9fCEPeBmiBV8Ezv0k0khLiB8OxE/s1600/tumblr_maq94e4zKH1r2px2g.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8GPeUH_F-FIO1VKYrUHNPNBfEDvuo7vHAgGv9beQQVjQEQBcCo5ldSwiJljlXOK4kcHL8BuY1WRX3Cyk3BiDH7AbbTRDOXReMwMIbm66SddIj9uY9fCEPeBmiBV8Ezv0k0khLiB8OxE/s1600/tumblr_maq94e4zKH1r2px2g.png" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
What actually happens
is this:</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8tvxJ7o-V4Pal7k1ao12S5-3mdUohSUZR3Ng5nfKLSyq1bIG79-omwBm3s4uElTEcsbtzHYEEoOYxMHb2PH0tAqT1k0Fdpw65AF0iO4IevqrXUT1WbiJZWJlrrggAGfyZKm4QnNe233U/s1600/tumblr_mc7ql6fQpv1qgavwyo1_r1_500.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8tvxJ7o-V4Pal7k1ao12S5-3mdUohSUZR3Ng5nfKLSyq1bIG79-omwBm3s4uElTEcsbtzHYEEoOYxMHb2PH0tAqT1k0Fdpw65AF0iO4IevqrXUT1WbiJZWJlrrggAGfyZKm4QnNe233U/s320/tumblr_mc7ql6fQpv1qgavwyo1_r1_500.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The only bright side to
my current round of interviews is that my current employer knows
they're happening, which means at least I don't have to come up with
an increasingly large roster of dead relatives and hospital
appointments. This is about the only good side.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I haven't done any
interviews for a long while, and I haven't done a successful
interview for even longer, so to say I'm out of practice would be an
understatement. Before we even get to the interview itself, there's
all the stuff around it. In my case, this has involved buying an
interview suit that actually fits, wearing in a new pair of shoes,
and remembering where I had put all of my see-through piercing
gauges. (I am aware I am getting too old to be as heavily pierced as
I am, but there we go.) This is more difficult than I remembered,
although that said I've never been very good at shopping.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
After that, there's the
travel arrangements. I'm quite good at negotiating my way around
public transport systems – if you can work out Salzburg, you can do
anything – but getting to London in time for an interview without
re-mortgaging your house is a difficult task. I don't even have a
house to re-mortgage. That's just depressing. Plus, you have to find
the interview location itself. One recent interview gave me a map to
their office from the train station. Like a fool, I trusted it, which
led to me wandering in circles around a suburban Surrey town for
forty five minutes last week. NEVER AGAIN.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Then you have to
prepare for the interview. Now, there's a fair amount of research you
can do using the internet and a bit of nous, but there are a great
deal of unknowns. You have to put together a question to ask,which is
nigh on impossible, and try to remember your own work history and how
it links in with the company and the job description. Chances are
your application was some time in the distant past, so you also have
to remember the spin you put on it as well.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I haven't heard
anything back from any of the interviews I've had thus far, so I have
no idea just how badly I crashed and burned in any of them, or if
indeed the preparation listed above was any use. All the preparation
in the world doesn't make a damn difference, because you can't
control how well you do or do not get on with someone. Or indeed, my tendency to babble a little. </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I have another
interview next week too, hence the fact I'm typing this rather than
actually doing said preparation. Fingers crossed at
least one of them comes back with something positive, and I can get
on with everything else to do with moving across the whole country,
i.e. freaking out about the sheer amount of stuff we own and making
some fairly random donations to the various charity shops in my local
area.</div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-31842669169767847972012-10-24T12:32:00.000-07:002012-10-24T12:32:25.758-07:00Job hunting part the first
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, since I'm job
hunting in common with many millions of people – a big chunk of
whom are graduates – I feel it's worthwhile using these experiences
to blog about. In job seeking terms, this is maximising the potential
of a situation to improve myself as a person.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The first thing I'm
going to talk about is how wonderfully kind people are. Yeah, that's
a surprise, isn't it? Looking for work is HARD, and it's easy to
focus on the sensation that you and your multiple applications are
basically pissing in the wind, with the only responses being cheery
automated messages thanking you for your application and then nothing
but deadly silence.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The thing is, though,
friends and family are wonderfully kind and well-meaning. I've only
been looking for work for three weeks, and I've lost count of the
amount of e-mails sending over job openings, people letting me know
about agencies that have worked for them, and even putting good words
in for me with their workplaces. It's made me remember that the world
isn't full of horrible people. There is an element of 'all in this
together', storing up good karma. The job market is a horrible and
uncertain place, and it feels like everyone has experienced this
feeling of pissing into the wind.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I tell you what though,
applying for jobs via nepotism is just weird. The jobs that friends
send over in their organisations are jobs that I actually want to do
and feel capable of doing. So I apply to them, but then there's that
weird moment where you think – do I mention the friend or not?
Sometimes you have to, as part of the application form, but other
times it's weird, wondering if its worth name-dropping in the
application form. Then there's the terrifying moment when you ponder
if your application is wrong for the job, and if you have
name-dropped the member of staff will you embarrass them?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
OH GOD THE TENSION.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The thing is, I'm still
glad that everyone is sending over the job openings. I have no idea
if they will lead to anything, but more applications the merrier. I'm
being vague because if any future employers are reading this I don't
want to give anything away, but one minor bit of nepotism has got me
an interview which may or may not lead to a job. I've also had some
leads in terms of things that aren't nepotism, so we'll just have to
see what happens.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Still, it's an interesting process, and one I can look on with some objectivity as obviously I'm still in my current job so I'm not scrabbling for money, just yet. It's an interesting process. We'll see how it continues, and I will keep on squirrelling blog posts away in an attempt not to wail too loudly about how much I seem to suck at telephone interviews. </div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-21924268584302416632012-10-17T12:12:00.000-07:002012-10-17T12:12:13.695-07:00London! Yay?
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, after years in a
small town in the North of England, I am taking the well worn
graduate path and moving down to London.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMiXo5v1FjuKiet4KWDL_pxJjNicEu-7jG4pqaPWIJkgpikZOLgp4ibs5JuJWe0d3PxvicqPWJHv3X07WXKvC5N1sFLjrsC9UqZdHbHTnGZHZgT1uTWbpRdQQvVgqmKCy4jo1JrcEm_6A/s1600/kermitFlail.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMiXo5v1FjuKiet4KWDL_pxJjNicEu-7jG4pqaPWIJkgpikZOLgp4ibs5JuJWe0d3PxvicqPWJHv3X07WXKvC5N1sFLjrsC9UqZdHbHTnGZHZgT1uTWbpRdQQvVgqmKCy4jo1JrcEm_6A/s320/kermitFlail.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I would like to pretend
this is because I have a shiny new job, but actually it's because my
husband has a shiny new job and I am so ready for a change. When I
was a student, I sort of assumed I'd end up moving to a large city,
drinking lattes and using public transport. I ended back up in a
small town I grew up in, managing to move all of ten miles down the
road to the coast 18 months ago to a marginally larger town. I'll
admit, there's a stonking pub here but that's about it.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As such, I am wildly
excited. We're moving towards the end of next month. I remain excited
until you ask me the following questions:</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
1. Where are you going
to live?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
2. What are you going
to do for a living?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
3. How do you plan to
move that monstrosity you call a sofa down the stairs, anyway?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Then I sort of crumble
and have to try to resist the urge to have a little cry.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yvxwCyZ7NcJjRdEug5PaQFHpFDjMxB7-ycfnWSS-bAEISrYxF8DZfiDE58HVk51S5Zrm_5Lo9AbQ7fEwFFOKzRWmv8VuXdhKttO1ZVwj2p8zdcgscaEIJL-tKW1KuJCJUzBq-XJiWtw/s1600/scared-kermit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yvxwCyZ7NcJjRdEug5PaQFHpFDjMxB7-ycfnWSS-bAEISrYxF8DZfiDE58HVk51S5Zrm_5Lo9AbQ7fEwFFOKzRWmv8VuXdhKttO1ZVwj2p8zdcgscaEIJL-tKW1KuJCJUzBq-XJiWtw/s1600/scared-kermit.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now, we are sort of
coping with part 1 via going flat hunting at the weekend, and part 3
has been solved with the grim resolve of spending a large amount of
money on a moving firm. I am proud of our large amount of mismatching
but sturdy furniture, and I simply can't face going furniture
shopping in the near future. Logically, the best thing to do is
schlep it all down to London, and to prevent Mr DG and I divorcing
with less than a year under our belt we may as well avoid the
arguments that our mutual attempts to move furniture cause.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Part 2 is one filled
with fear and horror and a grim sense of denial. Do I have a job
lined up yet? No. Do I have a plan? Only if wildly flailing counts.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Still, I suppose it's
more relevant to a graduate blog as we discuss my wild scrabbles
through the world of jub hunting. I'm still in my current job at the
moment, but desperately trying to persuade employers that I am really
very good at administration and should be taken on for the specialist
administration roles I'm applying for. OR EVEN A WRITING JOB TO
ANYONE READING THIS. Yes, I actually do enjoy administration work, or
to be precise I rather prefer getting paid and administration is the
quickest way to do it. Quietly I hope I'm going to use this move to
find paid employment writing stuff – are you reading this,
employers? I can create content for PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING, you should
see my portfolio, ASK TO SEE MY PORTFOLIO PLEASE?! However, I enjoy
eating and paying rent more than I want to be a starving artist, so
now it's a desperate scrabble for a job.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Still, a small and
dirty part of me thinks that at least this will be stonking blogging
material. Between the job hunt and the move and the new place, I am set up for MONTHS to come, before we even get to the whole bitter Northerner issue.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Plus, bonus Kermit gif.</div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-5891185988033321072012-10-11T10:56:00.003-07:002012-10-11T10:56:43.681-07:00Down with the patriarchy. Please?
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTC0uxMZT317BioUGi068lEiRYJxcX3jwLXH6nKGSuuVfq3yxu4r4YJB9Nhs-_FiPdoqWA9f-xaxWftZPDnpcFLh4NfX5RWqo5_lXWBGLyDQqkaiIkHYjaR9-wGoYNLcqK4kU5co0ZwtI/s1600/malala-yousafzai.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTC0uxMZT317BioUGi068lEiRYJxcX3jwLXH6nKGSuuVfq3yxu4r4YJB9Nhs-_FiPdoqWA9f-xaxWftZPDnpcFLh4NfX5RWqo5_lXWBGLyDQqkaiIkHYjaR9-wGoYNLcqK4kU5co0ZwtI/s1600/malala-yousafzai.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The news this week has
made me want to weep. As allegations about <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-19906695" target="_blank">Jimmy Savile</a> – and now,
some of his colleagues – have come out in a terrifyingly long list,
Justin Lee Collins has been found <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19889147" target="_blank">guilty of harassment</a> of his
ex-girlfriend, a case which has also contained some bizarre and plain
nasty details. In Pakistan, the Taliban have shot 14 year old <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19908409" target="_blank">Malala Yousafzai</a> for speaking out about women's rights.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
These three cases are
on the outside very different. Sexual perversion, domestic violence
and attempted murder are, legally speaking, three entirely different
crimes. Make no mistake, though – this is the week that the
patriarchy made itself thoroughly felt on the headlines. It makes me
feel a bit sick, to be honest.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Before you all start
protesting that these are radically different crimes, allow me to
assure you that they have one thing in common. That thing is the need
to have power over women, to keep them in their place, to use
violence and coercion to prove that power. Jimmy Savile allegedly
chose teenage girls, the kind who would be coming into the awkward
stage of adulthood but still be vulnerable. Justin Lee Collins
psychologically and physically abused an ex-alcoholic who by her own
admission was in a vulnerable place. The Taliban shot a girl on a
bus, on her way to school.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
All of the women
involved in this will forever bear scars, some more literal than
others, and I sincerely wish for the recovery of Malala, because she
is the kind of young women we need more of. All of these women have
suffered because men – and frankly, ones that sound insecure,
unable to deal with strong and confident women in any way other than
violence – have decided that men deserve power, that women are
inferior and there to be used.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The patriarchy isn't a
very trendy word. Suzanne Moore has a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/10/patriarchy-rearing-its-ugly-head?INTCMP=SRCH" target="_blank">great piece</a> in the Guardian
about it today, actually.
The concept is quite tricky to explain without sounding too strident,
although on a week like this one I'll sound as damned strident as I
please. Basically, though, the majority of the world lives under the
rule of men. There are rules, invisible rules, designed to protect
the ruling men. These rules damage men too, have no doubt about it,
but the patriarchy is the thing that judges women for getting old and
praising men for looking 'distinguished'. The patriarchy is the glass
ceiling. The patriarchy is the anti-choice movement. The patriarchy
says you get raped because you were drunk, or in a short skirt,
rather than because you happened to be in the path of a rapist. The
patriarchy exists where we let it exist, and it leads to men like
Justin Lee Collins, insecure in their control.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It has not been a great
week, in short, for happy feminist thoughts. And before anyone talks
about <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19916472" target="_blank">Julia Gillard's speech</a>, just stop a moment and think about how
depressing it was the<i> leader of a country</i> had to stand up and say any
such thing in the first place. It's a great speech, and I love the
passion behind it, but my God, I wish we didn't live in a world where
such a speech has to be made in the first.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Stop and think about
your actions this week, and think about the patriarchy too. The next
time you pass something off as 'not really mattering', like a<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2012/oct/10/is-student-life-becoming-more-sexist" target="_blank"> Pimps and Hoes fancy dress night</a>,
or the Daily Mail tutting about Lady Gaga's 'shocking weight gain',
think of the bigger picture. Fight it, if you can, because the other side of the coin may be uglier than you ever dared imagine.</div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-19393618099837607152012-10-06T06:20:00.000-07:002012-10-06T06:20:06.614-07:00Do shut up, Jeremy Hunt
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19854465" target="_blank"> Jeremy Hunt wants to halve abortion limit times to 12 weeks.</a> </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In a way, it's almost
comforting to know that two major players in the government have such
an open disregard for women's right. The fact that they were
respectively the Women's and Health Minister really says all you need
to know.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A baby born at 22 weeks
has a 1% chance of survival from the onset of labour. 1%. The
Department of Health's own figures state that 91% of abortions happen
under 13 weeks. Just stop for a moment, and look at those statistics
properly. Women are not going around having abortions at 22 weeks
willy-nilly. They are for reasons. One woman's reason to abort a
foetus might not be yours, or mine, but I personally think that
jeopardising the physical and mental health of a women who already
lives outweigh other concerns.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Abortion should be
safe, legal and above all rare. If Mr Hunt and Ms Miller are so
concerned about the rights of unborn children, they should start
looking at improving sex education in school. They should also start
doing something about making sure that children aren't born into
poverty, and go through life with a good education and better
opportunities. As they are both members of a government that seems to
be cheerfully pushing more children into poverty, they should really
look at their priorities.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This isn't Nadine
bloody Dorries, going around ranting about the unborn children and
the evil nurses who deliberately kill them. She's a fringe player,
with very little impact on what really happens. These two are from
the government, with portfolios to deliberately care for women's
health. That's why this is so enraging, and so frustrating to hear.</div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-7647140715829053362012-10-04T10:46:00.000-07:002012-10-04T10:46:29.741-07:00Beep beep
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRSH_gHP9D-ZzU8dgok2Z1urHmt3Vw_yC5Ph8Hl3IRbvjKyvcJoxEEmIINtUqtZi7zJNKKulDsxLyLXuwGZZW_GZxgKj72ed4H2vhDdm1K0yIiP6cY3lKJj1UYwNmfOpQnAbX_NrAdiw/s1600/Car-Insurance-Industry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRSH_gHP9D-ZzU8dgok2Z1urHmt3Vw_yC5Ph8Hl3IRbvjKyvcJoxEEmIINtUqtZi7zJNKKulDsxLyLXuwGZZW_GZxgKj72ed4H2vhDdm1K0yIiP6cY3lKJj1UYwNmfOpQnAbX_NrAdiw/s320/Car-Insurance-Industry.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, car insurance.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I am no longer a Young
Person according to official statistics. The other day I had to fill
in a form and it was with great melancholy I ticked the '25-34' box.
As such, today's news stories about the car insurance industry
technically don't affect me, as I am theoretically skipping into the
world of 25+ married person car insurance. In theory I am stability
itself.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So why, exactly, my
premiums have gone up is a puzzle.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Cars are essential in
today's world. I wish they weren't. I would love to get rid of my car
and not have it as a necessity. Unfortunately, this would involve
living in an area with decent public transport links, or indeed not
working in the countryside. Both of these things are facts in my
life, so I pootle on with my car. Mr DG cannot drive, so it's very
definitely my car and my bills for petrol, for insurance, for car
tax, and for repairs. Weirdly, I found these things slightly easier
to afford when I was a student. All of the above bills have shot up
exponentially in the seven years since I passed my test.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I have had very few
jobs where didn't need my car to get too and from work, starting
from pretty much as soon as I passed my test, which I passed about a
month before my eighteenth birthday. I have a feeling that every
'group' of friends needs at least one person with a car, which has
pretty much consistently been me. It makes finding work easier, it
gives you a bigger list of places to live. I would feel a bit lost
without my car, now.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I worry about people
who have to jump straight into the new world of driving, and how
they'll cope with the bills as they rise steadily. I can still afford
to keep my car going, although that said my fan belt sounds like it's
on the fritz and if it goes before the end of the month I'm going to
have to sacrifice a pair of tights and make do. Hell, I can't afford
to not keep my car going – there's no way to get to my work by
public transport, and the walk would take about six hours on a good
day.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I don't know if there's
a point to this post, per se, other than to ponder if car insurance
firms don't put out daft ideas like 'Make new drivers only drive
during the day!' (so sucks to be 20 and work night shifts, then) to
try and distract the rest of us from the fact that it's getting more
difficult by the year to still run a car. I'm no Jeremy Clarkson,
bleating on about my civil rights to drive cars at whatever speed I
wish. I'm thoroughly aware of the environmental impact of cars, which
if I walk and take public transport everywhere I can. But in this
country, if you live outside a major city, a car is a grim necessity.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I wonder.</div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-61810099509763160042012-09-25T13:27:00.000-07:002012-09-25T13:30:10.290-07:00Feeling slightly left behind (this time, avoiding libel!)<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I had a very weird
experience in work the other day. We have Radio 1 on in work, despite
all being way too old for the demographic. (I want Radio 6, other
staff want Radio 5, some losers want Magic, weirdly on that list
Radio 1 is the middle ground. We all like Scott Mills.) Anyway, it
chirps along in the background, excluding occasionally howling abuse
at Fern Cotton. No one really listens to it, but it keeps the office
from weird silence.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
No, really, I'm going
somewhere with this.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Anyway, the radio was
chirping away, and I was vaguely aware of Fern Cotton and another
female presenter talking cheerfully about a hot new boyband, and how
the lead singer was the only one worth looking at. Christina, my desk
buddy, suddenly gave a shriek.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“Disorientated
Graduate! That bloke they're talking about! You went to school with
him!”</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
[n.b. Christina went to
a different high school, but in the same small town – the crossover
of people known is fairly high.]</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Anyway, I listened
properly and gave out a small shriek myself. “OH MY GOD, I DID!”</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
He's the closest thing
from my school year that constitutes a celebrity, obviously excluding
my upcoming fame as a writer. He was on a popular talent show, albeit
without getting through to the live shows or having too much TV time,
and dated a famous female singer for quite a long time. Then they
broke up, and an ex-colleague of mine, who lives opposite the chap in
question's parents, informed me she broke up with him because he
'didn't earn enough money, and she wanted a man to earn more money
than she did'. I am, as such, failing to name any of the people
involved so I'm not sued for libel. (DISCLAIMER: I would also like to point in that I have no idea if the aforementioned story is true, and is probably just slightly malicious gossip. Amusing, though.)</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Anyway, I did some
googling and was highly amused to see that the chap in question is in
fact the lead singer of an up and coming boyband of whom even I've
heard of, although he's got a lot of fake tan and a bit of a perm
involved.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Then I felt a bit
depressed, and a little bit old as well. Or possibly that I'm getting
left behind, a little bit, mostly because one of my dearest friends
just had a baby and has now made a lovely little family. One of my
fondest (and fuzziest) memories of aforementioned friend is in our
first year at university when we got legless at a Rocky Horror themed
night at the union, and I think we're still on the Union website in
our underwear, convinced we look sexy. Now she's a mother, and a
radiant one at that. And someone I still remember singing in the Year
3 Christmas play has a song on Radio 1.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I am aware that I'm
pretty awesome, honestly. I'm doing well in my life, and at a party
this weekend a group of us celebrated the genuine leaps ahead we've
made in the last twelve months in our lives. One of the problems of
being a graduate – and perhaps, simply being this age – is that
occasionally I'm blown away by the achievements on my peers, and I
feel a little behind. I know I'm not, and goodness knows I don't want
to be a pop star or indeed a mother; still, it's a strange feeling.</div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-29984792603664838492012-09-19T12:18:00.001-07:002012-09-19T12:18:55.816-07:00Guide to Freshers Week?
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGueTL6eemKPxK0XFJoh94vGTfc8qyaP28-gkmpM8ARrzTfUhQF8V3-t69uIgl7rzVYx_rJZnSW9U_ZQTVpVicVLzmlDQI1ldTGxNKE1N4L4Oaadj06xW1iJZjqCkkMp6xgmOGfufn44/s1600/Rich-Tea-biscuits-007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGueTL6eemKPxK0XFJoh94vGTfc8qyaP28-gkmpM8ARrzTfUhQF8V3-t69uIgl7rzVYx_rJZnSW9U_ZQTVpVicVLzmlDQI1ldTGxNKE1N4L4Oaadj06xW1iJZjqCkkMp6xgmOGfufn44/s320/Rich-Tea-biscuits-007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It's Freshers Week
across the country for many students, or alternatively it's about to
start. I've been reading the various 'Guide to Freshers Week' in
papers with a sense of arch irony, wondering if many of the articles
are in fact writing for graduates who chortle at the stereotypes and
remember their own Freshers Week fondly. After all, no student is
reading the paper, right?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It was at about this
point I remembered my first day at university. I moved into
university owned housing, a self-catering house for six girls, and on
the first day three of us sort of awkwardly banded together and
desperately tried to make tea for the others. We all had biscuits,
too. I felt very cunning, because I'd read the UCAS guide to making
friends and it was very emphatic that making tea was a great way to
make friends. The only downside is that Frances managed to make a
round of tea, first.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
About a week later,
more comfortable in each other's presence and with a few vodkas in
us, Frances mentioned that she didn't actually like tea. She'd only
made it and drank it because that was what she'd read in the UCAS
guide. I gasped. So did Sandra. Turned out we'd all tried the same
cunning trick.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
(True story: Frances
really doesn't like tea. I've seen her drink it once since, when she
was desperately trying to work out what her pregnancy cravings were.
Turns out that it wasn't tea, but she felt it was a fair guess.)</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
My own Freshers Week
was an awfully long time ago, but I do know that Freshers Week is a
lot more fun when you're not a Fresher. Still, it's the start of a
great time. Plus, in what feels like an eternity away, you'll be sat
on the internet and reading Freshers Week guides and feeling horribly
nostalgic, particularly as you have to be up early for work tomorrow.
Alas.</div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-15769533565735064782012-08-29T11:11:00.002-07:002012-08-29T11:11:55.731-07:00Labels
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzkjff-zJ82V1woaBtLoibA5-RQCKfrpuBaz2A3PsJ1Zzf15cMTdyTV-2rcWTraUQ44zGhyphenhypheniw8uhc99K5Zgr1tZ9ClzczaH18G95Gh6Ckstn_5421YCu-CcQHUzT0jGneyTI9l1hdSJuc/s1600/labels-v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzkjff-zJ82V1woaBtLoibA5-RQCKfrpuBaz2A3PsJ1Zzf15cMTdyTV-2rcWTraUQ44zGhyphenhypheniw8uhc99K5Zgr1tZ9ClzczaH18G95Gh6Ckstn_5421YCu-CcQHUzT0jGneyTI9l1hdSJuc/s1600/labels-v.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One of the main
problems of being a graduate type is that when you graduate and don't
fall into your dream job (or indeed any job at all), it leads to a
strangely existential crisis. You see, for years and years you were
just 'a student'. Okay, not just a student, but the studying was
essential to your understanding on yourself. Student discount,
student politics, student feminism, student geek, student historian.
They come with their own assumptions and values, which can often be
negative but have positive connotations for the student themselves.
My sister thinks students are lazy scum, but I rather like students.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So the crisis when you
leave university and lose the label is something of a traumatic
thing. Having been defined for so long by your full-time life, it's
horrible having to be 'Second Accounts Assistant' or 'Retail
Assistant' because quite simply it's not as snappy a title. Even
those in their dream jobs are generally struggling a little, as many
titles don't trip off the tongue. And 'job seeker' just doesn't sound
good, even if it's not a negative thing in itself.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Tackling it is
difficult. I take the self-deprecation route, myself, and go for
'Office Monkey' or 'Admin Bitch' depending on my mood. Or I lie at
parties, which is morally wrong but I like to see what I can get away
with. It was a moment of some distress when I got married and filled
in a census in a twelve-month period and realised that I would,
historically speaking, forever be tarred as 'Administration Clerk'
for the rest of my life. Hell, I put down 'clerk' instead of
'assistant' just to sound a bit more historical. I wanted to put
astronaut, but the council office were pretty insistent that was
illegal. I wonder if on <i>Who Do You Think You Are 2150</i>
some descendent will look at me and just think I was boring based on
the records. I hope not.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
My trick, these days,
is to look at the other things in my life, and create a series of
labels that aren't based around my job. Yes, I'm an office monkey,
and that is a big part of my life. I'm also a writer. I'm a feminist.
I'm a geek. I'm lots of things that are separate to me as a worker,
and it's with that I keep my happiness and my sanity.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
- -
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Another label I can
take on for the next fortnight is 'traveller'. Having managed to get
my laptop back, I'm on the road as of Friday, finally getting to go
on honeymoon. As I only have a year left to be classed as a 'young
person' (another label!) according to Interrail standards, I'm off
around Europe for two weeks with Mr DG and probably too much beer. As
such, this is another hiatus announcement, but things should settle
down when I'm back. Probably.</div>
The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-54548268505892954082012-08-18T03:57:00.004-07:002012-08-18T03:57:33.112-07:00Computer issuesMy beloved laptop has developed a perplexing issue of not charging and as such it's soon to be taken to be repaired for hopefully a very small amount of money. My computer time is therefore limited to whenever Mr DG isn't using his, which isn't very often and also he has a Mac which I hate using.<br />
<br />
In short, this is a minor hiatus but I will be back shortly. Honest! (And then going away for two weeks in September, but that's by the by.)The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-54214706713839813322012-08-15T11:53:00.000-07:002012-08-15T11:53:01.337-07:00A-Level results dayGood grief, it's A-Level results day tomorrow. How the time flies. It's been EIGHT YEARS since I did that. Best of luck with that to anyone reading to whom the luck still applies.<br />
<br />
To all graduates currently feeling very, very old - man, I feel your pain. The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-30819512312976148672012-08-09T12:47:00.002-07:002012-08-09T12:47:59.693-07:00Quarter life crisis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirUfpqfhpkwPY9703-taG0j34-AicryBuHrE0EcCHWDsk6W8GUDgsOWvFwY6Mmn-AQ-9HQNAkZQiIZbUmbLKkkh6XHL-8g4cY1TdMJNWFHACUsipdP1arCu6qkeqC8RAcf2iStgFpk4qE/s1600/quarter+life+crisis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirUfpqfhpkwPY9703-taG0j34-AicryBuHrE0EcCHWDsk6W8GUDgsOWvFwY6Mmn-AQ-9HQNAkZQiIZbUmbLKkkh6XHL-8g4cY1TdMJNWFHACUsipdP1arCu6qkeqC8RAcf2iStgFpk4qE/s320/quarter+life+crisis.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I turn 25 in two days.
I am trying very hard not to have a quarter life crisis about this.
It feels like a tremendously big number, and my brain has spent the
last few weeks punishing me for this. I've been finding myself
ominously going through all the stuff I haven't done with my life; I
haven't got that high-flying job, I haven't yet blossomed into a
sinewy twenty-something with perfect skin and hair, I haven't got a
cat, I've barely travelled in any meaningful sense, I haven't written
a novel. Well, actually, I have done the last one, technically
speaking, but I don't think that Lord of Rings fanfiction when your
15 counts. Also, I'll be spending my birthday at my parents so I can
use their garden. The last birthday event at my parents? I was
SEVENTEEN.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I've read a lot
recently about turning 25 – what can I say, my generation really
enjoys a bit of naval-gazing – and mostly it makes me feel
wretched.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
SO. Instead, I've been
trying to make a list of all my achievements thus far that the
seventeen year old me would have been proud of. Apparently this is
the best way to think of it.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
1. Passed my driving
test and NOT KILLED ANYONE.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now, there are people
out there who wouldn't be impressed by this. These people did not see
my driving lessons. Not only have I been driving for eight years, I
have gone to and from Scotland more times than you can shake a stick
at BYMYSELF. Once I drove a car from St Andrews to Cardiff. It wasn't
my car. It was a borrowed car, and the seat didn't move far enough
forward for me to touch the pedals the whole way down. And I still
failed to kill anyone. SUCCESS.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
2. I have a degree!</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The title of the blog
is a hint on that one, but it's easy to forget that having a degree
is a really big achievement. To be honest, the seventeen year old me
was just hoping she'd pass the AS-Levels.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
3. I have managed to
acquire a husband.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This is not an
achievement, per se, mostly because in this one I've just been lucky
and I don't think that 'being settled' is a universal achievement.
Still, managing to organise a wedding is an achievement in itself.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
4. I get to write
sometimes.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Not that often. But I
do get paid to write, both in my day to day job and outside of it. I
manage to produce something for here on a semi-regular basis. I feel
myself moving very, very slowly, to doing this professionally.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
5. I have my own place.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Do I own it yet? No, of
course not. But I've boomeranged and I've got out today. In today's
world for people of my age, that's definitely an achievement.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
6. I've managed to
become a reasonably rounded human beings.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A true story, and one
shared by many graduates: I was picked on at school. Horrendously.
And once, Dad took me to one side, and he said: “Look. One day,
you'll be driving past that lot in a car that you own, on the way to
your nice job, and you'll see that lot queuing for a bus with hordes
of kids, and they will look old. You'll have made something of
yourself. You'll have won.”</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
He's not quite right
yet. The nice job has yet to materialise. But occasionally I hear of
the people who made my life hell, and, well, I seem to have improved
since I was in high school. They haven't.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So fingers crossed, I
will spend my birthday eating barbecue food, drinking copious amounts
of red wine and feeling good about myself. Until the hangover, which
is a totally different issue.</div>The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452192909682225404.post-27800088350025849472012-08-04T08:02:00.000-07:002012-08-04T08:05:24.717-07:00Long distance friendship<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ISXGAyKJrJfeHelBM77wDSm1NV3PhPyUnWTMEk-FsJP01V3H8ZiyO8thKvGX5pF_XvC7-7yCQJ8vRu7uQBDyaOjb6lvJr8lvmYHl_bFBJAzPWC15RdzjYyWKkDBBDoUbH7KvQ6XTwlY/s1600/long-distance-relationship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ISXGAyKJrJfeHelBM77wDSm1NV3PhPyUnWTMEk-FsJP01V3H8ZiyO8thKvGX5pF_XvC7-7yCQJ8vRu7uQBDyaOjb6lvJr8lvmYHl_bFBJAzPWC15RdzjYyWKkDBBDoUbH7KvQ6XTwlY/s1600/long-distance-relationship.jpg" /></a>Long distance
friendship starts being a problem in university, for most
people. Even if you don't move too far away from home, chances are
that some friends will do so, and visits may take place across the
country, dossing on floors and seeing what other student unions look
like. There's the beginning of a sense that your friendship network
spreads across the country, sometimes even the world.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
(And here's a fun story
for you, young 'uns – we didn't have Facebook when we started
university! It used to just be for students, and only permitted
universities got to have it – St Andrews was possibly the first in
the UK to be accredited, in my first year in 2005. I have<i> no </i>idea how
we all kept up with each other beforehand.)</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Most UK universities
are hubs. You're more likely to meet someone from a different town
than from the town you're actually studying in, excluding possibly
the London universities. With an increasingly cosmopolitan outlook in
most universities, you're also more likely to make international
friends. Forced together into new circumstances, and possibly also a
result of your age, you make firm friends. Then you all graduate, and
chances are you all go to different parts of the country.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
How do you maintain
these friendships? Even worse, if you move home, and all of your
friends have moved away, how do you keep a circle of friends at all?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm lucky in that I
have a strong friend network from 'home', from 'university', and from
that weird subsection of people who started as friends of friends and
then became my own friends. That said, I have this topic of long
distance friendship on the brain, firstly because Mr DG has a
university friend staying this weekend who's travelled from Down
South, and because it's my birthday next week. Parents have very
kindly allowed me use of their garden and barbeque, and said I should
invite friends if I want. (God, it's like being seventeen again.) So,
I asked 'local' friends in an effort to overwhelm a house that I no
longer live in and realised that there's about three people.</div>
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<br /></div>
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That was a shock.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The point is that I
still have many friends, and I don't feel lonely. In fact, my social
calender is currently fairly stuffed in terms of seeing various
friends! It's just the nature of the friendship that changes. It's
more difficult to 'just nip out for a drink', being that it involves
hopping towns and checking diaries. However, it leads to more big
social activities and more long weekends, chilling out and chatting.</div>
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<br /></div>
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It takes more effort,
and I will be the first to admit that I am a terrible friend in terms
of travelling to people – I need the odd weekend off, which
explains why I am sat at home watching the trampolining at the
Olympics and blogging rather than socialising with my husband and his
friend, although we'll be eating together this evening.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The point is that the
friendship stays strong. It's a pleasure to see people again, and I
hope they're glad to see me! I'm lucky in that at least most people
seem to be roughly between the lowlands of Scotland and the Watford
gap, so not too big a distance considering, despite the issues with
the rail network. It takes work, but then, that's true of most things
worth doing. It's just a change, that's all – but then, it seems to
be a change that most graduates are sharing these days.<br />
<br />
(Long distance romantic relationships are a whole different kettle of fish. There just isn't enough blog space in the world to tackle that one, or at least not today!) </div>The Disoriented Graduatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768239272591867952noreply@blogger.com0