Wow, it's been more than a week since I've written! That'll do wonders for my hit counter. ;-P I've just been lazy, really, and also have not been allowed to comment on the biggest thing that's happened in my life this week, so it seemed easier to slack off. I won't make you gag for it: Shoes has got a new job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-) :-) :-) Here's how it all went down:
Last week he received an e-mail from an IT company called MMRIT. They do legal and financial IT, IT consulting, networking and general support. The director has seen his CV online, and wanted to know if he was interested in a helpdesk position. Helpdesk is like the reception of the IT world. You answer calls, do light technical support (in some companies) and direct calls according to the issues. It's not what Shoes wants to do in the long run, but he almost certainly has to start off in a position like this to get a foot in the door. Nobody is going to put him on the technical side of things with his lack of experience, especially because he's only just started studying his Networking Qualification, and that seems to be compulsory for technical work. So he phoned the director to set up an interview, and was slightly surprised by what turned out to be a half hour phone interview, rather than a simple arranging of times. Luckily, the night before he made the call, we were lying in bed thinking up the sort of questions he'd get asked in the face-to-face, and preparing answers. He sailed through the phone round fine, and went in on Friday last week to meet the director and the helpdesk manager. I was banned from mentioning anything to anyone, although I did cave and tell my mother and my sister, unbeknownst to him, and swore them to secrecy under pain of death.
So he arrived at the station at 9:40am, to start the interview at 10am. What followed, he says, were the worst 65 minutes of his life. I got a panicked phone call at 9:50am - he'd made a wrong turn on leaving the station and couldn't find the road. I google-mapped it, and sat on the phone directing him to the right street. Of course, London had chosen that Friday to warm up after months of torrential rain, and he was wearing a suit for the first time in his life. So he ran, sweating and claustrophobic, up and down roads in Temple looking for this street. He drank a whole bottle of water whilst on the move, and when he finally arrived at the company, was desperate for the loo but too frantic to go. He was ushered into a room to sit at a desk opposite two rather imposing figures, and offered a glass of water, which he promptly declined on account of his needing the loo so badly. Big mistake. What followed was 45 minutes of hard-core grilling, the likes of which he has never encountered before, this being his first real job interview and all. Although he said he managed not to stumble over his words, he couldn't answer three quarters of the questions the director put to him. Apparently most of the interview centred around networking, which is the second part of his course so he has literally only just started it - I think he's read through the introduction the day before the interview. He not only felt stupid and green, but his extreme nervousness, toilet issues and suit-phobia had all combined to make his mouth dryer than Ghandi's sandle, and his lips began to stick to his teeth when he spoke. At the end of the interview, where we had practised that he would close with a short statement about what he could bring to the company, he just about teleported himself out of there in his rush to get away, all carefully thought out self-promotions scattering in the dust of his haste.
He phoned me afterwards, quite dejected, saying he had completely blown the interview and never expected to hear back from them again. Fast forward 5 days, to where he has made his peace and chalked it all up to experience, and he gets a call this morning to say he's got the job! Like I said to him, if it was meant to be, then despite his less-than-perfect showing, he'd still get the chance; if not, his next interview would be a hell of a lot better. I guess it was meant to be! He starts on Monday 13th August, just three days before we go to Portugal. One of the really great things about this job is that it pays about £3,000 per annum more than all the other entry level positions he was looking at. It's alot more admin based than what he wants, but it's all about the first year or so of basic experience; once he has that he will be able to apply for the type of job he can sink his teeth into.
So, as you can imagine, we are both extremely happy, and I am very proud of him. When we came to London in 2005, he was still very lost in terms of where he was going and what kind of career he wanted for himself. In a year and a half, he decided on the path he would take, studied what he needed to get himself there and now has a brand new job in the industry. I feel like I should be taking a few tips from him!
In other news, this last week was one of the best we've had in a very long time. I volunteered at an RSPCA event on Saturday morning, and then came home and changed and we headed off to a boat party on the Thames - a sunset cruise. We couldn't really see the sunset of course, as despite the change of fortune this is still London and the weather was still shit, but at least it was warm enough to stand out on deck for the first three hours with our drinks. A boat party is a bit different from a normal party, because it feels like a lock-down, which psychologically makes people that extra little bit crazy. You board at 6pm, and you can't get off til the boat docks again at 12pm. It's a raging, out-of-control, mayhem-filled cracker of a party, with everyone in the best spirits you can imagine. It was organised by party promoter Friendz, which is a South African promoter, and the majority of people at their events are all saffas. Even more reason to rock the house (boat). Rock it we did - and when we finally docked at 12pm, the Awesome Foursome, Neutrino, OJ and G-Days took the party back to our place and continued well into the early hours.
Scarves and I had to be up at 12pm on Sunday to get ready for the UK Street Dancing Championships. It was a bit of a rough ride getting there, but I'm glad we went - the dancing was fabulous, and the experience well worth it. Since Scarves is the former dancer and I am the former gymnast, we have agreed to go to each other's beloved events when and where we can find them. Unluckily for me, the number of big league gymnastics events around London - and anywhere in the world, for that matter - is very tiny. Gymnastics has a very small following in comparison to many other sports, and the major events tend to be splashed across the world, making them hard to see even on TV. At least I get to watch the dancing though, which I do enjoy. I am determined one way or another to be in London in 2012 with tickets for the Olympics Gymnastics events.... it has always been one of my dreams, and this is the first time it has ever looked possible!
Last week he received an e-mail from an IT company called MMRIT. They do legal and financial IT, IT consulting, networking and general support. The director has seen his CV online, and wanted to know if he was interested in a helpdesk position. Helpdesk is like the reception of the IT world. You answer calls, do light technical support (in some companies) and direct calls according to the issues. It's not what Shoes wants to do in the long run, but he almost certainly has to start off in a position like this to get a foot in the door. Nobody is going to put him on the technical side of things with his lack of experience, especially because he's only just started studying his Networking Qualification, and that seems to be compulsory for technical work. So he phoned the director to set up an interview, and was slightly surprised by what turned out to be a half hour phone interview, rather than a simple arranging of times. Luckily, the night before he made the call, we were lying in bed thinking up the sort of questions he'd get asked in the face-to-face, and preparing answers. He sailed through the phone round fine, and went in on Friday last week to meet the director and the helpdesk manager. I was banned from mentioning anything to anyone, although I did cave and tell my mother and my sister, unbeknownst to him, and swore them to secrecy under pain of death.
So he arrived at the station at 9:40am, to start the interview at 10am. What followed, he says, were the worst 65 minutes of his life. I got a panicked phone call at 9:50am - he'd made a wrong turn on leaving the station and couldn't find the road. I google-mapped it, and sat on the phone directing him to the right street. Of course, London had chosen that Friday to warm up after months of torrential rain, and he was wearing a suit for the first time in his life. So he ran, sweating and claustrophobic, up and down roads in Temple looking for this street. He drank a whole bottle of water whilst on the move, and when he finally arrived at the company, was desperate for the loo but too frantic to go. He was ushered into a room to sit at a desk opposite two rather imposing figures, and offered a glass of water, which he promptly declined on account of his needing the loo so badly. Big mistake. What followed was 45 minutes of hard-core grilling, the likes of which he has never encountered before, this being his first real job interview and all. Although he said he managed not to stumble over his words, he couldn't answer three quarters of the questions the director put to him. Apparently most of the interview centred around networking, which is the second part of his course so he has literally only just started it - I think he's read through the introduction the day before the interview. He not only felt stupid and green, but his extreme nervousness, toilet issues and suit-phobia had all combined to make his mouth dryer than Ghandi's sandle, and his lips began to stick to his teeth when he spoke. At the end of the interview, where we had practised that he would close with a short statement about what he could bring to the company, he just about teleported himself out of there in his rush to get away, all carefully thought out self-promotions scattering in the dust of his haste.
He phoned me afterwards, quite dejected, saying he had completely blown the interview and never expected to hear back from them again. Fast forward 5 days, to where he has made his peace and chalked it all up to experience, and he gets a call this morning to say he's got the job! Like I said to him, if it was meant to be, then despite his less-than-perfect showing, he'd still get the chance; if not, his next interview would be a hell of a lot better. I guess it was meant to be! He starts on Monday 13th August, just three days before we go to Portugal. One of the really great things about this job is that it pays about £3,000 per annum more than all the other entry level positions he was looking at. It's alot more admin based than what he wants, but it's all about the first year or so of basic experience; once he has that he will be able to apply for the type of job he can sink his teeth into.
So, as you can imagine, we are both extremely happy, and I am very proud of him. When we came to London in 2005, he was still very lost in terms of where he was going and what kind of career he wanted for himself. In a year and a half, he decided on the path he would take, studied what he needed to get himself there and now has a brand new job in the industry. I feel like I should be taking a few tips from him!
In other news, this last week was one of the best we've had in a very long time. I volunteered at an RSPCA event on Saturday morning, and then came home and changed and we headed off to a boat party on the Thames - a sunset cruise. We couldn't really see the sunset of course, as despite the change of fortune this is still London and the weather was still shit, but at least it was warm enough to stand out on deck for the first three hours with our drinks. A boat party is a bit different from a normal party, because it feels like a lock-down, which psychologically makes people that extra little bit crazy. You board at 6pm, and you can't get off til the boat docks again at 12pm. It's a raging, out-of-control, mayhem-filled cracker of a party, with everyone in the best spirits you can imagine. It was organised by party promoter Friendz, which is a South African promoter, and the majority of people at their events are all saffas. Even more reason to rock the house (boat). Rock it we did - and when we finally docked at 12pm, the Awesome Foursome, Neutrino, OJ and G-Days took the party back to our place and continued well into the early hours.
Scarves and I had to be up at 12pm on Sunday to get ready for the UK Street Dancing Championships. It was a bit of a rough ride getting there, but I'm glad we went - the dancing was fabulous, and the experience well worth it. Since Scarves is the former dancer and I am the former gymnast, we have agreed to go to each other's beloved events when and where we can find them. Unluckily for me, the number of big league gymnastics events around London - and anywhere in the world, for that matter - is very tiny. Gymnastics has a very small following in comparison to many other sports, and the major events tend to be splashed across the world, making them hard to see even on TV. At least I get to watch the dancing though, which I do enjoy. I am determined one way or another to be in London in 2012 with tickets for the Olympics Gymnastics events.... it has always been one of my dreams, and this is the first time it has ever looked possible!
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