It should be a crime for anyone who calls themselves a blogger to neglect their forum for so long. I do apologise. If there's the smallest possibility that I have regular readers, take solace in the fact that I do feel the same amount of guilt as I did when in high school I didn't write in my diary for a week. I'm back and I hope to continue entertaining you as best as I can.
I do have some exciting news as to why I have been MIA for so long. For those of you who are new to this blog let me catch you up on the latest happenings that are important. Since 10 April, I've been freelancing at Woman & Home magazine. But not the kind of freelancing that allows me to backpack through South Africa writing about where I've been and the people I've met. I was helping them out in the office with bits and pieces like fact-checking articles. I had been seated at the Beauty Editor's desk, before they'd hired Ashleigh and some of my regular readers might remember my hesitation in making that desk my own. Then Ashleigh arrived and the game of musical chairs began. I packed the lid of a Mondi Rotatrim paper box and like a drifter I didn't develop any ties to my new surroundings. My next destination was a former features writer's desk. The new features writer would be starting soon, so I made no plans to lay down roots. I was now being confirmed from week to week now, as opposed to monthly. This might sound scary to some in today's economy, but I embraced my inner nomad.
It was Thursday and the new features writer, Karishma, was arriving the following Monday. I spoke to the assistant editor about being confirmed for the upcoming week, but I was unsure of where I'd be moving to next. As of Monday, there weren't any desks left open in the office.
Whilst working on some fact checking, I was called over to the board room. I'm such a nervous personality amd I immediately started to sweat. I'll never forget my interview for school prefect. As I got up to leave the interview, I noticed an enormous amount of residue left on the plastic seat. To this day, I feel sorry for the poor soul who had to sit in that chair after me. The chairs in the Woman & Home boardroom are plastic too, but thankfully I was wearing a winter outfit, so I'd have some safety absorption layers if the flood gates were to open.
Luckily the meeting didn't take too long and after about 10 minutes I had been offered a permanent position as a features writer. Halala! I was still going to be living out of my Mondi lid, but I had a job. My desk was on it's way, but until then I was still playing musical chairs. I got the chance to inhabit my assistant editor's throne of a chair which was amazing. I also got a feel for the production desk, but it's about as functional as Apple iOS6 maps. It's a desk meant for scanning and that's it.
I now have my own desk which anyone is more than welcome to tour. If you're feeling really generous, you can always send a desk warming gift. Hint: a stationary tray is at the top f my wish list. In my bottom draw I keep a selection of teas. My extensive two tea collection includes Lipton's yellow label and green tea. My trusty tissue box has migrated with me and even though my desk is lacking in space, it has pride of place.
As of today, I've been at Woman & Home for three months and I've been permanent for a month. So I'm all grown up with a reasonable tax deduction at the end of every month and 15 days annual leave. Halala!
Showing posts with label job. Show all posts
Showing posts with label job. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Working girl
The last post took a while and this post is here to explain why. At the same time, this post explains why this post was so late. So, I'm killing many posts with one click.
I have a job! After four months, I have a job. So, I'm sorry to say, but my knitting has taken a back seat.
I am officially working as a freelancer at Woman & Home and if I impress the superiors, they might discuss something more permanent. Either way I have a job. So you can imagine the sorry look I get from Winston every morning as I leave for work. Both him and Juno (my mom's Great Dane) are highly unimpressed that they have been locked out of the house for the duration of the day - I think Juno's just unimpressed that she has the misfortune of being alone with Winston all day, but more of that in my next post.
Entering the working world has come with some fun experiences that I thought I should share with you. The first being traffic. I have resigned myself to the fact that I will be travelling an hour each morning to work. But I'm still not used to the arseholes that plague our roads and my greatest fear is I may become one. I don't ever want to be one of those arseholes that speeds up during the orange and can clearly see there is a queue of poor right-turning drivers sitting halfway across the intersection at the mercy of your right foot on the accelerator.
So I've tried to keep a level head, by respecting my fellow commuters on the road. It does take a lot of energy and patience, but I find a good radio show does the trick in keeping me distracted. However, you have to be careful. You need to create the perfect balance of distraction, entertainment and critical engagement when you're listening to the radio in the morning. I usually flick between John Robbie's show on 702 and 5fm with Gareth Cliff in the morning. I find that I can listen to the headlines on 702 to provide me with a well-rounded knowledge of what I should know to critically engage with my world. After the headlines, I listen to Gareth and his team to put a smile on a shitty morning spent in traffic. I also switch to 702 if I'm getting annoyed with the increasing amount of dubstep breaking into the mainstream via the 5fm frequency.
But you have to strike a balance between the two. I find that if I listen to 702 too much, I fall prey to the "if I was in charge, I would" syndrome. There's nothing wrong with having an attitude of wanting to make the world a better place, but some times it can become counter productive. Our mindset changes and we tend to whine and moan, are blinded by our own opinions and retreat to our armchairs never to rise and take action again. So, I indulge my sense of humour and swallow a teaspoon of salt in the mornings when listening to Gareth. We always need to remain mindful of the society we live in, but we also need to be able to laugh at ourselves - especially in Joburg traffic when we are at our most volatile.
My next working world experience has to be the office coffee cups. For the first two days I remained chained to my desk, I only ever got up to go to the bathroom. I didn't take a lunch break and I didn't go looking for water. I ate lunch at my desk and rationed my supply of water in my green bottle. I wanted to make a good impression; show them I was a hard worker and wouldn't be slacking off in the kitchen splashing about in the office gossip pool.
By the third day, I decided to test the waters and made myself a cup of tea. And by the end of the week I was pouring myself water from the office water cooler.
I think I was concerned about some sort of coffee cup initiation.
I didn't know if there was some sort of process and I was definitely concerned I would be punished for using someone else's mug - and what I mean by 'punish' is the owner giving me dirty looks. Thank goodness my office doesn't have any of those things and all the paranoia was in my head.
My final working experience, which will be a long term one, is nesting. I'm in a temporary position at the moment. They've asked me to stay on for another month at the same rate. So no signs of a contract... Yet.
Because I'm only temporary, I have certain commitment problems at my desk. I know it's not mine to have and to hold, however, I have allowed myself a tissue box. I'd like to bring my pins and paper clips, but I don't want to be too presumptuous. I'm treating this like a new relationship, because we all know how it can be a tissue box one day and the next you've got a personalised mug, motivational quotes stick to the computer screen and a stationary kit occupying the top draw. So I'm taking this new job one step at a time. I'm being cautious, because I don't want it to be a one night stand.
I have a job! After four months, I have a job. So, I'm sorry to say, but my knitting has taken a back seat.
I am officially working as a freelancer at Woman & Home and if I impress the superiors, they might discuss something more permanent. Either way I have a job. So you can imagine the sorry look I get from Winston every morning as I leave for work. Both him and Juno (my mom's Great Dane) are highly unimpressed that they have been locked out of the house for the duration of the day - I think Juno's just unimpressed that she has the misfortune of being alone with Winston all day, but more of that in my next post.
Entering the working world has come with some fun experiences that I thought I should share with you. The first being traffic. I have resigned myself to the fact that I will be travelling an hour each morning to work. But I'm still not used to the arseholes that plague our roads and my greatest fear is I may become one. I don't ever want to be one of those arseholes that speeds up during the orange and can clearly see there is a queue of poor right-turning drivers sitting halfway across the intersection at the mercy of your right foot on the accelerator.
So I've tried to keep a level head, by respecting my fellow commuters on the road. It does take a lot of energy and patience, but I find a good radio show does the trick in keeping me distracted. However, you have to be careful. You need to create the perfect balance of distraction, entertainment and critical engagement when you're listening to the radio in the morning. I usually flick between John Robbie's show on 702 and 5fm with Gareth Cliff in the morning. I find that I can listen to the headlines on 702 to provide me with a well-rounded knowledge of what I should know to critically engage with my world. After the headlines, I listen to Gareth and his team to put a smile on a shitty morning spent in traffic. I also switch to 702 if I'm getting annoyed with the increasing amount of dubstep breaking into the mainstream via the 5fm frequency.
But you have to strike a balance between the two. I find that if I listen to 702 too much, I fall prey to the "if I was in charge, I would" syndrome. There's nothing wrong with having an attitude of wanting to make the world a better place, but some times it can become counter productive. Our mindset changes and we tend to whine and moan, are blinded by our own opinions and retreat to our armchairs never to rise and take action again. So, I indulge my sense of humour and swallow a teaspoon of salt in the mornings when listening to Gareth. We always need to remain mindful of the society we live in, but we also need to be able to laugh at ourselves - especially in Joburg traffic when we are at our most volatile.
My next working world experience has to be the office coffee cups. For the first two days I remained chained to my desk, I only ever got up to go to the bathroom. I didn't take a lunch break and I didn't go looking for water. I ate lunch at my desk and rationed my supply of water in my green bottle. I wanted to make a good impression; show them I was a hard worker and wouldn't be slacking off in the kitchen splashing about in the office gossip pool.
By the third day, I decided to test the waters and made myself a cup of tea. And by the end of the week I was pouring myself water from the office water cooler.
I think I was concerned about some sort of coffee cup initiation.
I didn't know if there was some sort of process and I was definitely concerned I would be punished for using someone else's mug - and what I mean by 'punish' is the owner giving me dirty looks. Thank goodness my office doesn't have any of those things and all the paranoia was in my head.
My final working experience, which will be a long term one, is nesting. I'm in a temporary position at the moment. They've asked me to stay on for another month at the same rate. So no signs of a contract... Yet.
Because I'm only temporary, I have certain commitment problems at my desk. I know it's not mine to have and to hold, however, I have allowed myself a tissue box. I'd like to bring my pins and paper clips, but I don't want to be too presumptuous. I'm treating this like a new relationship, because we all know how it can be a tissue box one day and the next you've got a personalised mug, motivational quotes stick to the computer screen and a stationary kit occupying the top draw. So I'm taking this new job one step at a time. I'm being cautious, because I don't want it to be a one night stand.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
A good day
I have very little excitement in my life at the moment, so bear with me.
I got a 'no'! I'm so happy. I finally got a reply for a job and it was a 'no'. Even though "Thank you for responding, however your application had been declined" is not the best news, it's progress. It's better than thinking my job applications are being sent into a void of unopened emails with CVs attached. I imagine a lot of my responses are floating around in space like the melodies of Will.I.Am At one stage I thought I'd have better luck posting my letters, and then I giggled at how preposterous such a thought was - to put this into context you have to understand that the South African Post Office's sorting office in Gauteng has been on strike for weeks. I sent my boyfriend a Valentine's Day card and he has yet to see it.
I know a lot of adverts say, "If we have not contacted you by such-and-such a date, consider your application unsuccessful." Which I'm sure is the best way to save time when it come to hiring and recruiting. But if you're someone like me, who has had little, in fact, no success when it comes to job hunting, this was a serious turning point. It was just so nice to have a little bit of interaction, even if it was an unsuccessful application. The fact that someone took the time to open my CV, give it a read and then send a reply containing 'no' was so much more motivating than the never-ending silence.
On another completely unrelated, but happy note...
I had such a pleasant day as a consumer.
Last night, I made my easy and loved falafels for the parental unit and myself. When I was near finish, my dad started loading the pita breads into the oven. In my house, we have better luck with the lotto than we do with pitas. For the last couple of months, the pita breads we have bought and thrown into the oven remain flat piece of hard crust on the outside and a soft doughy-goo on the inside. They never rise and yet we continue to favour these unsuccessful pitas over wraps. After many weeks of perseverance we had a most wondrous night! My mum had picked up a pack of Global Wrapps pitas.
My mum and I are huge fans of the brand. When we can, we will frequent their restaurants and order a haloumi and avo wrap and a BBQ chicken and potato wrap for my mum and I respectively. And on this particular Sunday night, we had struck gold with puffed up pitas for our easy Carte Blanche dinner in front of the TV. This week, however, was an entirely different experience.
So as I was saying, my dad had started chucking them in the oven when he noticed some of the pitas had turned into hosts to some unsavoury guests. Green patches of mold had come up on the sides of the last three pitas in the packet. And I'm not talking about a slight case of mold you would happily digest if it was the last slice of bread.
This was a full scale invasion of an ecosystem. So we ate the three best looking ones.
The very next day, I walked into Checkers, not to throw a fit, but to politely bring to their attention the green facts. I told them we ate three - we had to, there was no other starch in the house - and that we had double checked the date of expiry. I think I was quite polite in asking them for a refund and the manager was happy to do so. He was so happy to do so, he also gave me a fresh new pack. So, thank you Checkers for your understanding and fabulous customer relations.
Too many times, as consumers, we are immediately on the defensive. Even today, I was trying to remember sections of the Consumer Protection Act on my way there in case I'd have to drop some law knowledge - what little I know - on the manager. I've been a cashier and had a woman spew the line, "I know my rights as a consumer," across the counter. I've also seen a woman demand petrol money for her travels back to the store where a packer had forgotten to include an item in her grocery bag.
We are far too defensive and sometimes a quiet conversation can be a far more pleasant experience than the one that can be riddled with accusations. Who knows? You might get a free packet of pitas for your manners.
I got a 'no'! I'm so happy. I finally got a reply for a job and it was a 'no'. Even though "Thank you for responding, however your application had been declined" is not the best news, it's progress. It's better than thinking my job applications are being sent into a void of unopened emails with CVs attached. I imagine a lot of my responses are floating around in space like the melodies of Will.I.Am At one stage I thought I'd have better luck posting my letters, and then I giggled at how preposterous such a thought was - to put this into context you have to understand that the South African Post Office's sorting office in Gauteng has been on strike for weeks. I sent my boyfriend a Valentine's Day card and he has yet to see it.
I know a lot of adverts say, "If we have not contacted you by such-and-such a date, consider your application unsuccessful." Which I'm sure is the best way to save time when it come to hiring and recruiting. But if you're someone like me, who has had little, in fact, no success when it comes to job hunting, this was a serious turning point. It was just so nice to have a little bit of interaction, even if it was an unsuccessful application. The fact that someone took the time to open my CV, give it a read and then send a reply containing 'no' was so much more motivating than the never-ending silence.
On another completely unrelated, but happy note...
I had such a pleasant day as a consumer.
Last night, I made my easy and loved falafels for the parental unit and myself. When I was near finish, my dad started loading the pita breads into the oven. In my house, we have better luck with the lotto than we do with pitas. For the last couple of months, the pita breads we have bought and thrown into the oven remain flat piece of hard crust on the outside and a soft doughy-goo on the inside. They never rise and yet we continue to favour these unsuccessful pitas over wraps. After many weeks of perseverance we had a most wondrous night! My mum had picked up a pack of Global Wrapps pitas.
My mum and I are huge fans of the brand. When we can, we will frequent their restaurants and order a haloumi and avo wrap and a BBQ chicken and potato wrap for my mum and I respectively. And on this particular Sunday night, we had struck gold with puffed up pitas for our easy Carte Blanche dinner in front of the TV. This week, however, was an entirely different experience.
So as I was saying, my dad had started chucking them in the oven when he noticed some of the pitas had turned into hosts to some unsavoury guests. Green patches of mold had come up on the sides of the last three pitas in the packet. And I'm not talking about a slight case of mold you would happily digest if it was the last slice of bread.
 |
| Check it out! The green on the packet matches the green on the pita. Now that's branding. |
The very next day, I walked into Checkers, not to throw a fit, but to politely bring to their attention the green facts. I told them we ate three - we had to, there was no other starch in the house - and that we had double checked the date of expiry. I think I was quite polite in asking them for a refund and the manager was happy to do so. He was so happy to do so, he also gave me a fresh new pack. So, thank you Checkers for your understanding and fabulous customer relations.
Too many times, as consumers, we are immediately on the defensive. Even today, I was trying to remember sections of the Consumer Protection Act on my way there in case I'd have to drop some law knowledge - what little I know - on the manager. I've been a cashier and had a woman spew the line, "I know my rights as a consumer," across the counter. I've also seen a woman demand petrol money for her travels back to the store where a packer had forgotten to include an item in her grocery bag.
We are far too defensive and sometimes a quiet conversation can be a far more pleasant experience than the one that can be riddled with accusations. Who knows? You might get a free packet of pitas for your manners.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
An unemployed youth's nightmare
You know you're in serious unemployment trouble when you realise you had a Martha Stewart day. No joke.
I started off my day cleaning the kitchen. I always hear a couple of sarcastic comments from my mom when she arrives home and walks into last night's post-dinner mess. Granted, I could do a little more around the house, but this morning my parents were blessed with a daughter who rolled out of bed with a housewife attitude.
I packed the dishwasher, washed-up, wiped the sides and threw in a load of towels. I then showered, donned an ankle-length floral dress and I was off to the shops by 9:30am. I picked up all the pieces I needed for my baking and dinner plans. As soon as I was home, I was throwing on another load of washing and toasting oats and almonds for my granola bars.
Once I'd finished my baking - including washing up - I was on the net looking for tutorials on knitting. I'm not even going to try and explain myself on that one.
My only redeeming quality of the day came at 2pm when Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, delivered his budget speech. I was sitting in front of the TV with my knitting.
At 5pm, I launched back into full Martha Stewart mode and I was cooking my babotie before Master Chef Australia came on MNet.
I'd mentioned how Martha Stewart my day was to my mom and then I received this email:
I just realised I took pictures of my food and Instagrammed them, I'm twenty-something and I'm knitting, and I blogged about it. I'm becoming a hipster. And I'm going to include a photo of my dogs:
I need a job.
I started off my day cleaning the kitchen. I always hear a couple of sarcastic comments from my mom when she arrives home and walks into last night's post-dinner mess. Granted, I could do a little more around the house, but this morning my parents were blessed with a daughter who rolled out of bed with a housewife attitude.
I packed the dishwasher, washed-up, wiped the sides and threw in a load of towels. I then showered, donned an ankle-length floral dress and I was off to the shops by 9:30am. I picked up all the pieces I needed for my baking and dinner plans. As soon as I was home, I was throwing on another load of washing and toasting oats and almonds for my granola bars.
 |
| They do taste really good. |
Once I'd finished my baking - including washing up - I was on the net looking for tutorials on knitting. I'm not even going to try and explain myself on that one.
My only redeeming quality of the day came at 2pm when Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, delivered his budget speech. I was sitting in front of the TV with my knitting.
 |
| I'm hoping to knit a head band, or it might become Winston's scarf. |
At 5pm, I launched back into full Martha Stewart mode and I was cooking my babotie before Master Chef Australia came on MNet.
 |
| And here's my babotie which I am quite proud of. |
I'd mentioned how Martha Stewart my day was to my mom and then I received this email:
 |
| Apart from the Print Screen and Paint job, this photo has not been doctored . I really did get an email about the best advice Martha Stewart ever received. |
I just realised I took pictures of my food and Instagrammed them, I'm twenty-something and I'm knitting, and I blogged about it. I'm becoming a hipster. And I'm going to include a photo of my dogs:
I need a job.
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