unemployed yet againWell it looks as if I am going to be unemployed from next week. My 2.5 week run of mayhem is about to draw to a close, and as there are no other projects in the pipeline for me to jump on, I'm going to take a break and visit Jen in Manchester before I get back into the slog of job-hunting. Woohoo! To get in the mood for some Mad-chester madness, I watched 24 Hour Party People on the weekend. Totally Brilliant. I am amazed that the Happy Mondays ever managed to release an album, if the whole story is true...
been away too longI've been mad as a monk these last two weeks, working massive 15 hour days and then dropping dead at the end of them. So I haven't had time to tell you about the enjoyable evening I had when JT dropped by for a fleeting visit. There was lots of larger and laughter, plus a happy drunken phone call to Amanda (6:30am Australian time - I'm very very sorry for that. It was the beer, not me).
internet cafes are funnyI have to share this letter with you that someone left behind on the desktop of this computer I'm using in the internet cafe. Ahh, McDonalds... Dear Mr Webb I am writing with regards to the placement with McDonalds UK Corporate Affairs team. You requested an opinion on McDonalds and I feel that I have one that is both original and informed. In the past, like many of my generation, I harboured a particular dislike for McDonalds due to its apparent ubiquity purely profit orientated outlook. My view has however changed dramatically, due to my experiences in the past two years where I have been exposed to the reality behind many of the myths surrounding the anti globalisation/corporate movement. Having graduated with a degree in political science in 2004 I travelled to West Africa with 4 colleagues. Our aim was to investigate developmental issues and observe the effect of both western aid and investment on a developing country. One aspect of this was to look at foreign direct investment from the corporate sector, including corporations such as Nestle, Cadbury’s and Valco. Many of these corporations are heavily criticised in the West for their perceived exploitative activities and cultural invasiveness. The reality we discovered was very different. They provided the best jobs in the country with the most benefits and more importantly, people wanted to work for them and chose to do so. They also contributed the most towards community development programmes and youth. I perceive McDonalds in a similar light. It is a highly successful business which produces products which appeal to people. It is also a huge investor in the community and particularly in sports. The latter is one of the most important areas in promoting responsibility in young people with regards to their health and fitness and as such should be a priority when dealing with youth. Foe these reasons I would be extremely keen to work for McDonalds particularly in its external affairs division and to participate in the development of its community programmes. I hope that my CV will give you an idea of the practical abilities and organisational skills I possess that make me an ideal candidate for this job. However, if you require any further information do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely Philip Thompson
Holy CrapWhat can I say? I have had a rather psychotic week. I quit boring old job and had my final day on Wednesday. But I didn't have much time to dwell in that lovely post-quitting sunshine, because they kept me there for 16 hours on my last day to make sure I'd finished all their dumbarse projects. Then it was off to Wonderland the very next morning. What can I say? I am flipping out. I am Alice. And I'm in waaay over my head. The project I thought I had 3 weeks to finish - they actually want delivered by NEXT FRIDAY. And I was scared that 3 weeks wasn't going to be long enough. Needless to say, it's Saturday and I'm in an internet cafe trying to do some work. But it's the first day of good weather (30 degrees) I've ever seen in this country that a friend of Katrina's once so aptly described as like living inside a misty tupperware container. What am I doing here? Me - the pinnacle of my journalism career thus far (HQ magazine aside) being a story about a nude wedding in New Idea! Fingers crossed that I don't totally fuck everything up and they do decide to pay me. That way, I can hang around and look for work once this project is over (ie. next week I will be unemployed yet again. Shit!) that is nowhere near as exciting, intense, interesting, creative or emotionally draining. A nice secretarial job, where I can turn up drunk and nobody would notice.
Perils and Pleasures of working in HoxtonHoxton is very cool. It makes Darlinghurst look like Sylvania Waters. I have had some ups and downs in this, my last week of working here, in terms of navigating the waters of cool. For instance, yesterday, to my extreme dismay, I discovered I had lost an earring on my way home. They were my favourite pair, too - the big green dangly ones that I've had for years (I called them my complimentaries, because I was guaranteed a noice compliment everytime I wore them). I ran back to the office to try and find the missing earring, and my boss said, 'Oh, I noticed you only had one at lunchtime.' When I asked why she didn't say anything, she replied that she assumed I was only wearing the one. Hello! This is what I am talking about. Everyone has tattoos on conspicuous parts of their bodies - necks, fingers, hands etc. - and wears eighties-recycled chic fashion. So I turn up with one earring and they think I'm making a 'style statement'. Lordy me. However, on the way to the post office today, I discovered to my extreme delight that the White Cube Gallery is located around the corner from the office, literally 20 metres away. It is the uber-brit-art gallery for poseurs. Tracey Emin currently has an exhibition on, with lots of blankets covered in rude words. If only I could also make my living from being a drunken scrubber and embroidering stories about it onto blankets.
I've done itWell, I've done it. I've thrown caution to the wind and resigned. I have one more week left here before I start my mini-career as a 'cool-hunter'. Ever read Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson? Yeah, that's me, baby. My boss was quite nice about it actually. I think also secretly relived, considering how crap I was at this job. So now the mad circus of job-hunting starts all over again. Funnily enough, they have asked me if I want to do some freelance work for them. Not transcribing, mind you - they know I'm too crap at that - but they have offered me a little bit of work writing reports (where verbatim accuracy and my inability to be bothered deciphering regional english accents is not an issue). I feel great. And if it doesn't work out, I've decided to move to Dubai. There are heaps of jobs there for mag slags like myself. The no alcohol thing might be a problem, but nobody - not even a strict Islamic regime - will ever be able to stand between me and a strawberry Bacardi Breezer, when I've a mind to have one.
Thanks for the Feedback!Ahh, dear friends, you voted in an overwhelming yes. And I think deep down, I had already made my mind up that way myself. So if it doesn't work out and I find myself penniless in London, you might find me returning home much earlier than first thought! Either that or I'll move to India for a while with all the other backpackers who are trying to drag out their holiday and make it last for the sheer hell of it.
Interactive Post!According to all the latest trendy advertising/trend research, the future of publishing is all about interactivity. And today, I am asking for a bit of interactive help. The unbelievably cool founder of the company I want to work for called me and asked if I'd be interested in coming on-board as a freelance writer for them on a project that is about to start. Catch is, once the project is finished, there will be no future guarantee of work. However, this is the supreme-est, most coolest of the cool Cool-Hunting agencies in the whole world. They know that people would donate their first born child, or first-adopted Cambodian baby (if you're Angelina) to work for them. So what do I do? Do I give up my unbelievably dreary day job, replete with daily humiliations (from still not being able to use a personal pronoun apostrophe in the correct manner, despite three months' coaching) on the whim of getting a week or two's work for these really cool people???? Or do I stick with the crap job, in favour of a steady pay packet that will allow me to continue my residence in London? I would like email submissions from everyone who reads this. Please send me an email to rachaelcann@hotmail.com with the title 'New Job - Yes' or 'New Job - No' depending on your P.O.V. with relevant arguments to back up your opinion.
Happy Birthday Tags! According to Google, this is you Amanda! Happy Birthday and best wishes on your road trip. And as you wind your way across the United States of Whatever, knot your headscarf on tight (if you are in a convertible - because for some reason, that is what I picture you and JT to be driving), so you don't get Bridget Jones's birdsnest hair. Lots of Love, Rach.
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