Tag: Working Holiday

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On The Mend

Well, so to speak!

I’m feeling much better. While life hasn’t actually changed all that much, I’m feeling a bit more positive at the moment. Which is definitely something!

New Years is 7 short weeks away, and I’ve decided to make the most out of what is left of 2012. I have an interview for another temp job later this week, which *fingers crossed* will go well. And I’m spending Friday in central London with a friend to do some shopping and exploring.

At the end of the month Orla is coming to London, which I’m very excited about. I haven’t seen her since February, so it will be wonderful to see her! The next week Aideen, who I also haven’t seen since February, is coming to town. She’s spent the last 6 months or so on a rather epic backpacking trek around the world, and I could not be more excited to hear about her adventures in person!

The week following that I’m headed to Belfast for a few days. Orla has been raving about their Christmas markets for years, and I’m finally going to go and see some in person. I think getting out of town for a few days will do me a world of good, too. Plus, the flights were only £15. Can’t beat that!

That will bring me in to mid-December, and less than two weeks until my mom arrives to spend the holidays here. She’s never been out of North America, and I’m so excited for her to come and see London. We’ve booked a hotel right in the city centre, and have lots of fun things planned. It should be really nice time! Plus, I miss her. A lot!

Come the new year, I don’t know. If I get this temp job, it will be a 3 month contract, so hopefully I’ll have that to keep me busy. I also really need to find an internship. Yikes.

Anyways. That’s what the remainder of my year is looking like!

Also, it’s still autumn and gorgeous here. I’ve been taking the dog at the house I’m lodging at out for walks and am loving the ever changing colours of the city.

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TGIF

Not really. I just couldn’t think of a proper blog title!

It’s been a busy couple weeks ’round these parts! I started a(nother) new job. This one is far more interesting and exciting that the others though. I’m working at the Natural History Museum! It’s an incredible building, inside and out- Cathedral ceilings, towers, a 4 story escalator that ascends in to a planet. The museum houses 70 million or so artifacts in it’s massive collection. The job itself is nothing fancy- Typical guest services/retail stuff, but it’s not a call centre, which means it’s the first job to exceed my minimum expectations in London thus far!

It’s temporary work at the moment, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I can stay. I’ll have to wait and see!

What else?

Sally and I have started a new endeavor of anxiety blogging. Well, kind of. We’ve decided to start doing projects to help with our anxieties. Both to lessen them, and work through some of them. The idea is still in the works! This week, having found ourselves without Internet for 4 days, we decided to start crafting in the evenings. On the first night we made bracelets, and on the second, pastel drawings. The creations themselves were nothing to write home about, but we had fun!

There’s not much else new. My big excitement of today was finding Pantene curl conditioner in the pound shop. It’s not sold in the UK, so I bought 4 bottles. Whoo!

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Catch Up!

I haven’t been posting on here much lately. It’s been a combination of my own laziness, as well as there not being much of anything worth posting about.

I left my last job after deciding it was weighing too heavily on my sanity. No, seriously. I was having panic attacks in the bathroom on my breaks. It was not a healthy place for me to be!

I also decided to leave the house I was lodging in. There were a lot of issues and I was starting to feel very uncomfortable there. Sally and her mum insisted I come back to stay with them until I find something new. And, what luck! Their neighbour has just decided to rent out a spare bedroom, and for 100 quid less a month than I was paying, with a room twice the size.

I also found a new job today with a company who sound really great to work for. The work itself is not ideal (7 years of uni got me a job answering phones), but it will do for now. I really just need to have some kind of income from a job that doesn’t make me hate my life!

It took longer than I would have liked, but things are slowly coming together. Now I just need to get my ass in gear and find an internship!
That might be best left until the new year though. We’ll see how it goes.

I’m thinking of heading back to North America for about a month or so in the new year. The job I got is contract until mid-January. Sally and I might have some cool opportunities in LA in Febryary, and I was hoping to go home for a visit around that time too. I’m thinking a week home, a week in LA, a week in Washington DC (tentative, depending on whether something goes through), and another week at home before heading back to London. My friends Amy and Tasha have been talking about visiting London at the end of February, so the timing might work out well for us all to come back together and me play tour guide for a week before getting back in to real life.

I hate that I can’t afford to travel here yet. It’s so cheap, unless you have no money whatsoever! I am thinking of doing a weekend in Belfast in November or December as I haven’t seen Orla since February. Again, we’ll see!

Aside from that life has been relatively uneventful. Sally had surgery a couple weeks ago so I’ve spent a lot of time just hanging out around the house with her. We got The Office Thank You Project up and running recently, which has been kind of exciting. I managed to put the website together myself, which caused me days of frustration, but turned out well in the end!

Oh, I also caved and got an iPhone again. Going from 3 years with one, to suddently having a terrible Samsung basic phone was just too difficult a feat for me!

I think that’s just about everything I’ve been up to! I’m well, London is well, and I finally got around to buying a jacket!

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Day… I’m not too sure.

I’m not even entirley sure if it’s Wednesday or Thursday, let alone what day I’m on. And as I’m sleepy and not at my own computer, I can’t be bothered to count. Heh.

I do know that on Saturday I’ll have been in London one month. As such I’ve started reflecting a bit on my time so far.

I should mention that life took an extreme detour since my last post, so some of what I mentioned in there is no longer relevant. But I don’t care to discuss that in detail, other than to say I was about ready to fly home on Monday afternoon. But after some excellent advice from some amazing people, I’ve decided to plow through it.

Anyway!

I spent 8 months in the UK in 2005-2006, but in an experience far different from the one I’m having now. At that time I was here through a Canadian univerisity, surrounded by fellow Canadian students and instructors (for the most part), living a very sheltered life. Not to say there weren’t opportunities to become less sheltered, but as a shy, awkward 18 year old, I didn’t take any of them up.

Now I find myself emersed in the British culture and way of life. It’s exciting and challenging. Challiting, if you will.

I find being here like being in a strange alternate reality. It’s like Pete’s World in Doctor Who. Everything is so similar, while being ever so slightly different. I speak the language, yet can not understand what people are saying. It’s a strange position to be in.

There are the big things that most people know about: Driving on the opposite side, the accent, the outlets, the currency. But then there’s a million little things that I’ve just been learning through trial and error. The computer keyboard, the tumble dryer, looking the right way when crossing the street, the television times, calling landlines versus calling mobiles, and the terminology.

It’s not a store, it’s a shop. It’s not a backyard, it’s a garden. It’s not a buck, it’s a quid. It’s not a resume, it’s a CV. It’s not a cell, it’s a mobile. It’s not a closet, it’s a wardrobe. It’s not gas, it’s petrol. It’s not a pharmacy, it’s a chemist. And a million other little things.

I think I’m slowly catching on though.

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Day 23

I started work at my new job last week. I began training in one position, only to realize it was very much not for me. I told them so, and they kindly offered me a job in another department. I started training on Thursday and found it was a bit better. That’s not to say I’ll like the job- I really don’t think I will. But I’ll feel more comfortable with the new department at least. At least I hope!

I had the weekend off. Didn’t do much of anything during the day yesterday, and in the evening FINALLY made it to Pizza Express with Sally and Sophie. It was as delicious as I remembered, though I didn’t get the banoffee pie. Le sigh.

This morning I went to look at a room for rent, and Sally’s mom kindly came with. It was perfect for me. Small room with a bed, wardrobe, chair, TV, shelving, drawers, and an en suite, as well as an all inclusive price. I know they say don’t go with the first one you see, but I don’t think I’d find such a good deal anywhere else. The house was big, clean, and very nice. It’s also a close walk to the station I’ve been using. Plus, I could afford it! Always helpful! Heh.

So, I’m no longer unemployed and homeless! Go me!

(Not to say I was ever homeless. Sally and Karen have been amazing and put me up in their home for the past 23 days. I don’t know how I would have fared these first few weeks without their kindness and support and I am so happy to have been welcomed in to their home! Which brings me to another pro point on the new place- 5 mins from them! Heh.)

I’m still applying to jobs and am still waiting to hear back from ones I applied to ages and ages ago. But, for now, I’m getting settled, have some money coming in, a room to call my own, and the support of some amazing friends. What more could a girl ask for after only 23 days after moving halfway around the world?

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Week One

It’s Saturday, which means I’ve been in London for an entire week already. It’s gone by fast and slow, all at once. I also feel like I’ve accomplished a great deal, and absolutely nothing, all at the same time. I hate that feeling. Everything seems so chaotic, and I’ve not been good with chaos this year, so it’s no surprise that I’ve started to lose my head a bit in the last few days. Today was especially bad, but I’m hoping that a good nights sleep tonight will help. We shall see…

I’ve been applying to job upon job all week. A few in person, a lot online, so I’m really hoping to hear back from something in the next week. I didn’t come here with the expectation of finding something right away. I know that’s not realistic! But something soon would be nice. There’s an amazing job that I’ve been short listed for so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Again, we shall see.

Today Sally and her mum took me to Enfield, where I’d never been. It was lovely. A very picturesque London borough with tons of shops and restaurants and parks. I handed out a few resumes while there, we had lunch, and did some shopping. Well, I looked longingly at pretty things I can’t afford until I find work, but, you know. I did buy a portable wardrobe. Woo!

No, I shouldn’t mock. I am pretty excited about it. I’m not good with living out a suitcase, so it’ll be nice to get my things out and organized. I’m hoping it will be help dampen a bit of chaos I’m feeling.

Shopping in Enfield when a rain storm came past.

I was invited out to dinner and a movie tonight with Sally, Michelle, and a friend of theirs, but opted out. I don’t think I’m very much fun to be around today, so it’s probably best for everyone. Plus I’ve gotten myself completely paranoid about spending money. This is also why a job can not come soon enough!

Not much else new. I have a lot of paperwork to fill out tonight (National Insurance, NHS, bank), and am hoping to get to bed early. My jet lag has been terrible, and I’ve been up until 3 or 4 every night. I got up early today though and am feeling quite tired, so hopefully I can get this sorted! Everything seems worse when you don’t sleep, and between that and my normal anxiety I’m surprised I haven’t booked myself a flight home in a moment of panic! Heh.

But, all in all, things are good. Aside from my moments (err, hours, maybe) of panic I’m feeling pretty hopeful. Give it time and patience and good things will come, right? Once again, we shall see.

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Checking In

I arrived in London on Saturday after an uneventful journey over. The flight was on time, there was no line up (and I mean not a single person!) at immigration when I arrived, no bags were lost, and the Gatwick Express was waiting when I arrived at the platform.

Michelle was kind enough to come and meet me at Victoria station to help me with my things. And thank goodness! We got on the underground, did our one transfer, and shortly after the entire line shut down due to a signal outage. We had to transfer to a third train and exit at the final open stop where we then had to find a bus to take us up the rest of the line. With my 100 lbs of stuff. But we eventually made it!

On Sunday I slept. And slept. And slept a bit more.

On Monday I headed in to Central London to a new arrivals orientation through BUNAC Work In Britain. It was very helpful. They told me everything I need to do to legally work, how to file taxes, where to get a bank account, employment agency recommendations, etc. After the orientation I headed to Angel to buy a mobile and open a bank account. I’d never been to Angel before, but it was so nice! And very easy to get to from where I’m staying. I’ll have to remember that.

Yesterday I started the process of getting a National Insurance Number, NHS, applied for a pile of jobs online, and checked in with a few jobs I’d applied to before leaving home to let them know I was now here.

Today I headed in to a big shopping area close to where I’m staying and handed out my CV to anyone willing to take it! Fingers crossed that something comes up in the next week or so.

That’s about all that’s new here. I’m still jet lagged and exhausted as I’ve been having a lot of trouble falling asleep. I’m hoping that that passes soon though.

Ummm… Yeah. That’s everything! I’ll hopefully have good news on the job front the next time I post. *Fingers Crossed*