Hello there, and welcome to another blog post, my second of 2010 to be precise. I’ve worked out that I’m blogging at an average of one post per month at the moment. I’d like to say this has been because I have been fantastically busy over the last few weeks and that I’ve been living life at 100 miles per hour. But the truth is nothing that exciting has actually happened in that time.
I have been reasonable busy with work, but that has now come to an end as I decided a couple of weeks ago to hand in my notice at the clothes store I was working. A more fantastic bunch of work colleagues I couldn’t have asked for, however what I could have asked for, and undeniably needed was more money, more hours and something a bit more local to Frome. Travelling into Bath every day of the week on the bus is not only expensive but very frustrating. As the service is at best unreliable, and at worst a complete shambles! This was made plainly obvious when several inches of snow fell on Somerset in mid January and all the buses were cancelled.
So I decided what I ultimately need is something closer to home and which is full time, not 25 hrs a week like what I was travelling into Bath for. I also need a car, which I now have in the form of a Fiat Punto.
But see, here’s the thing. You’ve probably all read in the papers that the recession is now officially over and that unemployment is falling. Well I can say from personal experience that the job market is still pretty dire at the moment. Most of the jobs which are available around this way are either only part time, or pay so little they are barely worth getting out of bed for. I actually worked out one of the jobs I applied for paid less than being on the dole. So while there are lots of people out there who are technically working, many aren’t earning enough to get by on.
A friend of mine who works as a builder has just started a new temp job in Westbury, a small town just over the border in Wiltshire. I drove him to work this morning, dropped him off and then drove back to Frome. However, when I got back I discovered there were three missed calls from him, telling me that it turned out they had enough brickies on site that day and that he wasn’t needed. Trust me, employers have never had it so good when it comes to hiring, as they know there are thousands upon thousands of people out there looking for work and will do pretty much anything to pay the bills.
So the job hunt begins again really. Still not a lot of radio work out there so what I’m aiming for is a step on the ladder to becoming a retail manager. I’m hoping to do this by getting back to working for one of the supermarkets I worked for when I was a student and trying to get on one of their training schemes. So I will keep you posted.
Monday, 1 February 2010
Saturday, 2 January 2010
A short review of 2009
First things first, a very happy new year to you all.
Secondly, I’m fully aware that traditionally you are supposed to do these things before the end of a year, but the fact is that NYE wasn’t a great time to be writing this and before that I was rather busy with work, so I’ve had to wait until the 2nd of January!
2009 was a strange year for me. It started with a very enjoyable holiday in New York City. I returned one day before the infamous Hudson River plane crash, but thanks to Captain Chesley Sullenberger, a major catastrophe was averted. Since that holiday I’ve made it one of my life goals to move to that city at some point in my life, ideally as a traffic reporter, America still believes in pampering their travel news people by sending them up in Helicopters!
The subject of travel news continued to be a major part of my working life as I continued working at Trafficlink. This involved a lot of early starts, reversed sleeping patterns and trips to Starbucks to inject much needed caffeine into my veins. I also got to do some shifts on LBC which were a lot of fun, the highlight of which was probably having Ken Livingstone ask if I’d ever been arrested live on air. I also managed to do a few shifts as a studio producer at BBC Surrey, which was a great experience.
Towards the second half of the year I started to get a bit frustrated with radio, this being partly due to Global swallowing up every local station and turning them into Heart FM clones which featured next to no local content or talent, but a lot of James Blunt, Take That and Will Young on repeat. The lack of regular shifts and low pay also started to take its toll on my bank balance and as I struggled to make ends meet I started to look around for other jobs. I ended up getting a job as a junior salesman for a company in London who sold office equipment to offices in the city.
It was without doubt the toughest job I’ve ever done, and I have maximum respect for anybody who can make a career for themselves in sales. Trust me, those people earn their money! Ultimately I decided that the job wasn’t for me and I ended up leaving after a couple of months. I then decided to do what I said I would NEVER do, and move back in with my parents!
About three weeks after moving home I started a job in retail working as a sales assistant at a high street clothes shop in Bath’s brand new shopping centre. So far I’ve enjoyed helping women shop for Christmas presents for their partners and learning the art of folding piles of T-Shirts, not so much pricking my fingers on security tag pins and tidying up a shop which has been totally trashed by sales shoppers.
Looking into the new year I have a few goals in mind. I really want to save up some money to go travelling with later in the year. Some countries on my list of places to go are Australia, Brazil and Argentina, and if I get the chance, New York again! I’m continuing to apply for Radio jobs when I see them come up, but to be honest I haven’t got a burning urge to get back into the industry at the moment.
I also want to try and be a bit healthier this year, I’ve joined a local running club, which is a start. But I also want to be healthier on the food front, less chocolate and crisps and more fruit and veg.
So all that remains is to wish you all a happy new year and have a successful 2010.
Secondly, I’m fully aware that traditionally you are supposed to do these things before the end of a year, but the fact is that NYE wasn’t a great time to be writing this and before that I was rather busy with work, so I’ve had to wait until the 2nd of January!
2009 was a strange year for me. It started with a very enjoyable holiday in New York City. I returned one day before the infamous Hudson River plane crash, but thanks to Captain Chesley Sullenberger, a major catastrophe was averted. Since that holiday I’ve made it one of my life goals to move to that city at some point in my life, ideally as a traffic reporter, America still believes in pampering their travel news people by sending them up in Helicopters!
The subject of travel news continued to be a major part of my working life as I continued working at Trafficlink. This involved a lot of early starts, reversed sleeping patterns and trips to Starbucks to inject much needed caffeine into my veins. I also got to do some shifts on LBC which were a lot of fun, the highlight of which was probably having Ken Livingstone ask if I’d ever been arrested live on air. I also managed to do a few shifts as a studio producer at BBC Surrey, which was a great experience.
Towards the second half of the year I started to get a bit frustrated with radio, this being partly due to Global swallowing up every local station and turning them into Heart FM clones which featured next to no local content or talent, but a lot of James Blunt, Take That and Will Young on repeat. The lack of regular shifts and low pay also started to take its toll on my bank balance and as I struggled to make ends meet I started to look around for other jobs. I ended up getting a job as a junior salesman for a company in London who sold office equipment to offices in the city.
It was without doubt the toughest job I’ve ever done, and I have maximum respect for anybody who can make a career for themselves in sales. Trust me, those people earn their money! Ultimately I decided that the job wasn’t for me and I ended up leaving after a couple of months. I then decided to do what I said I would NEVER do, and move back in with my parents!
About three weeks after moving home I started a job in retail working as a sales assistant at a high street clothes shop in Bath’s brand new shopping centre. So far I’ve enjoyed helping women shop for Christmas presents for their partners and learning the art of folding piles of T-Shirts, not so much pricking my fingers on security tag pins and tidying up a shop which has been totally trashed by sales shoppers.
Looking into the new year I have a few goals in mind. I really want to save up some money to go travelling with later in the year. Some countries on my list of places to go are Australia, Brazil and Argentina, and if I get the chance, New York again! I’m continuing to apply for Radio jobs when I see them come up, but to be honest I haven’t got a burning urge to get back into the industry at the moment.
I also want to try and be a bit healthier this year, I’ve joined a local running club, which is a start. But I also want to be healthier on the food front, less chocolate and crisps and more fruit and veg.
So all that remains is to wish you all a happy new year and have a successful 2010.
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