Wednesday 2 April 2014

Here Comes The Sun

Crack out your sun-dresses and don your sandals, it's officially summertime, and as a girl who can't deal with the cold, this is great news for me. OK, so it's only marginally warmer, but ladies and gents I'll take it. I've also noticed everyone around me seems a lot happier too, which is all jolly lovely, and it's got me in the mood to celebrate all the other things I'm enjoying right now/give you a general summary of what I've been up to lately (you may have noticed a lack of blogs, I've been a very busy girl). 

Firstly, I've got a new internship! It's at a full service eCommerce agency, and I spend my days blogging, tweeting, and learning about how to stay friends with Google. Oh, and occasionally I get to spend the afternoon browsing pictures for the perfect image of Kit Harington for a certain brand... 


Ok, so he had to be wearing clothes for what I was looking for, but you can see how a girl could get distracted  (I mean a girl less dedicated and professional than me of course...). I am, however, really enjoying myself - even on days when I'm not browsing GoT hunks (yes, I said hunks - also GoT is back soon! I literally cannot wait...). I'm learning lots, which is a nice change from some of my other internships, and I was thrown right into it from my first day, writing articles that are up on REAL COMPANY WEBSITES!!! Not to mention the people are lovely. I am still at the pub too, which despite me having no free time now, I still love. It has become my home away from home (I'm probably there more than my real home...). I also do their social media, so check them/me out on twitter and on facebook, or come see me at The Hope and Anchor Wokingham, the best pub in the world (in my completely impartial opinion). Also, my Anglesey pictures got featured on a blog

Secondly, I'm still living with my sister and her wonderful boyfriend, which I thought would be weird, but it's absolutely not. As I type they're wailing away to Tina Turner in the kitchen, in that happy way couples that have been together forever do, my sister in Sri Lanka pants and a baggy jumper (still looking ridiculously gorgeous of course), and I don't mind at all.

I also got to see my uni friend on Sunday, and I'm seeing the wonderful Eleanor, superbabe and uni housemate extraordinaire soon. I don't like to jinx things, but you could say life's pretty good. On that note, I leave you with this... 


Happy Wednesday everyone.  

Tuesday 4 March 2014

Paincake Day


Being a graduate of the arts, I often find myself filled with a deep ennui. A sense of longing that remains unfulfilled by the everyday. Society is a burden upon my self-conscious, and the only escape I can find from this torment is within the realms of Shrove Moodsday. (It's a bit like interpretive dance, but with pancake related food items).


Lemons. Their zesty facade can't hide the truth of the bitterness beneath.


This mango coulis reeks of desperation. There's nothing cool about it.


 It's not summer, berries. You're not fooling anyone. This mango is all too aware its not Coulis.


This Maple Syrup is living a lie. And everybody knows it.


This avocado and mozzarella desperately attempt to fit in. They don't. It's the start of a true tale of unparalleled desolation. The wine is all good though, despite being from different origins.


Bananas are depressing.


This pancake is a metaphor for myself. Bare. Empty. Smokin'.


Bacon is never ready to be there when you need it.


This pancake is desperate to be put out of its misery. It is consumed with a longing for the end.

Paincake.

Paincake Day.








Dear god what am I doing with my life. Happy Pancake Day y'all!

Monday 17 February 2014

Tip your Bartender, or Life as an English Graduate, or British People Don't Brag.

This time last year, as I sat in my university room, contemplating whether it was time to start panic writing my dissertation or whether it could be put off for another week, I was relatively calm. The kind of calm that comes from thinking that when you leave uni it can't be that long until you find yourself in a 9-5 office job. That you should enjoy this relatively easy life before you're waking up at the crack of dawn to earn the living that pays for your crappy London flat and severely reduced social life. 

Well, several months down the line (eight, to be exact) and I'm still hanging around the house (not the London flat, but at home with my family) at 4pm in trackies and a t-shirt that's now tie-dyed from the amount of times I've bleached and re-dyed my hair in it. The dresses and blazers that I bought six months ago for my imminent office job hang, beautiful but unworn on my clothes rail. I've had interviews. I've done internships - actually I just finished one last week - and I have 'put myself out there' as much as I could have, and yet I still can't persuade someone to pay me. Except, of course, the landlady at the pub down the road. I love bartending. I've done it since I was eighteen, mixed in with other things, and it has rarely let me down. I would happily bartend forever if it paid more. Still I can't help but wonder, why are we not told more about the real world before we are thrown into it? I went to a school where university was more than the norm, it was a necessity. You go to uni, and that's that. Now I don't for one second resent that - I loved uni and I know it was the right thing for me. For one thing, it stopped me running away to Africa, a country which, from experience, is pretty big on mugging me. What I do resent though is the way no one tells you that it actually won't help you get a job. Yes, you will be more qualified, and in that respect it will. You can at least apply for better jobs. But in terms of actually getting them, you're no more prepared than before. 

Because I have a degree, I can now apply to be an  account executive, or a junior digital marketer. But I have no idea what that means. Obviously, I've researched it and, on paper, I know what the role entails. But, throw me into an office and the cracks would appear pretty hard and fast. University has in no way prepared me for the real world, with the exception perhaps of reinforcing the knowledge that I will always feel like I'm surrounded by people having money thrown at them for nothing, while I work two jobs to, maybe, be able to pay my rent. This is in my head. I know this. But it still makes me feel like I'm failing. Add to this the fact that everyone around me seems to be falling into their dream jobs and it's a wonder that I get out of bed in the morning. However, I'm starting to see through the illusion a bit. The curtain has been pulled away, and there is the small old man playing the wizard. Largely because I've noticed, the main 'dream job' status updater has landed three of her 'dream jobs' since last summer. And they're all in very different fields. Now, perhaps she's just a very positive person, or perhaps, more probably, she too has fallen into the facebook trap that is, in my humble opinion, ruining society. 

Let me start by saying that I love facebook. I can't get through a day, or even a boring television scene without it. But it has ruined good old fashioned British modesty. Because we now have an audience for every part of our lives, we have to make it all seem very exciting. We have begun celebrating every minor victory as if we have been given not only a golden ticket but the entire chocolate factory. But all it's really doing is making everyone else feel like, well, a bit of a failure. And it's a vicious circle, because obviously they don't want the social media-verse to know this, so they'll post an over-celebration of their latest tiny win to trick the masses into thinking their life is bloody wonderful too. This would never have happened if they had to share that  news in public. Name-dropping, place-dropping and general bragging is just not acceptable face to face. You wouldn't get it down the pub, so why is it ok on the internet?

This is one of the reasons I love the pub, and it brings me onto my second point. Everyone loves the pub. It's a staple of British society, as bars are all over the world. So why is bar-tending looked down on? (I'm guilty myself of responding to questions about what I'm up to with 'well, I'm just bar-tending for a bit'). And why is it not one of the highest paying jobs in the country? Imagine what would happen if there was a pub strike in England? It would be chaos across the country, regardless of class, social status, and if you consider the amount of family pubs, age. So I firmly believe this needs to change. We bartenders are therapists. Rent-a-friends. Often genuine friends. We will flirt with you regardless of what you look like (but remember we rarely mean it...).We will pick you up at the end of a rough day. You celebrate with us, commiserate with us, and your social welfare largely depends on us. Ask someone who their favourite bartender is and they'll know instantly. But who's your favourite lawyer? Or accountant? Or digital media analyst? Not a clue. So start a revolution with me. Maybe it is only temporary, but  I'm not 'just a bartender'. I'm a Bartender. And you couldn't make it through your week without me.