Things this summer isn’t giving me… August 14, 2011
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- A tan
- Ray Ban’s
- Sunshine
- Ice cream
- Blissful days
- The smell of Nivea sunscreen
- That white shirt that I for some reason never bought in Zara, even though I bought a pair of shorts to go with it.
- A decent visit to H&M
- Good work/life balance
- Hair bleached by the sun
- Sand between my toes
- Good health
- New nail polish
- A beach holiday
- A city break
- Any kind of break
- Progress at work
- Cake
- Laughter with friends
- Frekless
- Peace of mind
- Adventure
- Energy to get me through the rest of the year
Good morning! March 28, 2011
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It is 4.57am and I have been awake for about an hour already. My friend H came to visit me this weekend and she’s catching an early flight to be able to go straight to work. A normal day I would have gone back to bed to sleep for another 3 hours, but I need to leave in about 90 minutes to go and see a client. I’m slightly nervous. I’m about to do my first client presentation face-to-face.
I did my absolute first one a week ago on the same topic as I’m about to present today. But that was just over the phone with the woman who’s responsible for the project on the client-side. Today the whole research-team and marketing and possibly even finance will be in the room to listen to what great recommendations I have to say. Sometimes it feel rather daunting that our clients base multi-million strategic decisions on the recommendations we write. And although my manager and my manager’s manager checks the recommendations before we make them, it is still up to me to ensure that the data is accurate and that the information that leads us up to making those recommendations are correct. Scary! But kind of cool too.. 
On a different, non-work related note, I’M GOING TO DUBAI!!! I’m so excited! In about a month’s time, or actually just 3.5 weeks I’ll be jetting off on holiday for 11 days. I just can’t wait! I’ll be meeting up with a friend who lives there and a colleague of mine is going back to see her mom as well, so I’ll have some people to see which will be very cool indeed!
I really should get into the shower now so I have some time to practice my presentation before I leave, but just thought that an early morning update could be something I haven’t done before
Cheerios people!
xx
My great 72 hours December 6, 2010
Posted by confusedsince1984 in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
Hello all or none,
Sitting on the bus on my way to London. I’m supposed to be meeting with clients for the first time, I woke up at 6 this morning to ensure to be there on time.
But, of course there’s been some major accident somewhere so the driver was told to take an alternative route. I’ve been on the bus for 2 hours now and we’re not even close to being there yet. The bus is supposed to take about 1.5-2 hours normally.
To add to the pain, I was robbed on Friday. Yes, some random druggie came up to me and Y and asked for my handbag. Taking the fact that he had a knife into consideration, I swiftly have him my bag. He left. We went into a gas station and called the police. Spent all Friday-eve with the police. Spent Saturday and Sunday sorting out new locks, bank cards, phone, buscards and all the things that follow. And now, I’m stuck in traffic. I’ve informed my boss that I’m running late, but as soon as I leave this bus I have no way of contacting him as my phone still doesn’t work.
And, he suggested that I get off at an earlier stop and take a taxi. But, I can’t do that as I have a limited amount of cash on me, and no bank cards. Argh! So it looks like I’m gonna miss the meeting, even though I woke up at 6am instead of 7.30 like I usually do. And I had to go out and wait for the bus in the dark which completely freaked my out as last time I was out in the dark some random idiot robbed me! Argh.. not in the best of moods!
Oh well.. now I’ve done enough whining!
xoxo
Work, work, work November 6, 2010
Posted by confusedsince1984 in Daily update.add a comment
So this blog has completely died off since I joined my new organisation. The main reason is because I simply don’t have time. But, I see it as a good thing because I enjoy life! At least most of the time…
So what have I been up to lately? Well, although I enjoy it, my day-to-day life revolves around work. Obviously I go to work everyday, but whatever activities I do outside of work also only includes my colleagues! For example, I’ve been out about 4 times the past 2 weeks, only with work. I joined a choir – with some colleagues. I’m going to a “Jane Austen Sunday” (we’re gonna watch the whole Pride & Prejudice in one go… 5 hours!) tomorrow. Only work people will be there. So yes, I realise that it might not be the greatest thing – but I enjoy it right and don’t know what else to do!
However, I’m going to London next weekend to meet up with a friend from uni, it’s gonna be great! Haven’t seen her in about a year so we def have some catching up to do!
Anyhooo.. I’m gonna go into town and do some shopping – I’ve got a list!
- Leggings
- Mascara
- Black leggings
- Black shoes for work
- Other shoes?
- Anything else?… Please?
yes, very important indeed!
Cheerios!!
Much needed update July 25, 2010
Posted by confusedsince1984 in Daily update.add a comment
So I’ve been absolutely terrible at updating my blog the past few months. It has popped into my head now and then that really, I should write something. Anything! But I’ve found that as I’m stuck in front of a computer all day at work, the last thing when I get home is to sit down in front of a screen. Excuses, excuses, right..
Last time I wrote I hadn’t even started my new job and now I’m more than 2 months into it. It has been two very exciting months I must say. My first day went down in complete confusion. It turns out that I’m in the middle of an open-plan office, with about 70 others around me. Learning their names, job titles, which team people belong to, and which social groups people belong to was hard work in itself! I still don’t know half of them… but I’m slowly getting there. I also had this guy showing me around the first day – turns out that he’s my manager and he forgot to mention that vital piece of information.
My dad asked me about a week or two into the job what it actually is I’m doing. I had no idea. I’m still not entirely sure, but I guess I would summarise it as “I try to figure out how well a product would perform in the market place, before my client has launched it”. I work for a really big client which is fun because my team is pretty big. Overall, I think I’ve been very lucky with this job. It’s a great position to get my feet into market research, it’s a massive organisation which provides me with great opportunities for growth and development, and the office is really big, fairly young and very sociable with lots of other people who has moved to Oxford for the job. Not that I moved to Oxford for this job, but I don’t know anyone in this city, and it certainly helps being with other people who doesn’t know the city either.
Apart from work, summer is in full bloom outside, but I haven’t had much chance to enjoy it to be honest. I haven’t had much vacation and even if I did, I’m not sure what to do with my days off. I’ve never lived in a city which isn’t close to water, so not being able to be close to a beach, a lake or an ocean of some sort is like not having much summer at all. As we don’t have a garden or a balcony either, and as Youssef is stuck with his dissertation, I’m not entirely sure how to enjoy this summer. It’s very odd…
Anyway, yesterday we went out to dinner and then to the cinema to watch Inception. We went to a french restaurant which we’ve passed several times but never wanted to go into, but for some reason we ended up in there. Is was really nice, I had coq au vin for main and then crème brulée for dessert – how delicious! I love crème brulée!
Inception was AWESOME! Some people from work are gonna see it on Wednesday and I’m seriously considering going with them to see it again. It’s very rare that I’m completely absorbed by a movie like that. It was so, so good!! You have to see it. You simply have to! It. Was. Awesome.
Anyway, I think this post is coming to an end. I feel somewhat out of comfort writing this. I believe it’s because I haven’t written for so long. I will try to get better. As always.
Cheerios!!
Nothing much… April 28, 2010
Posted by confusedsince1984 in Rambling on....add a comment
I’m starting to get really excited for my new job! It’s another 2½ weeks until I start and a lot of things will happen before then. I will quit my job in Zara, I will make a poster presentation of my dissertation at a conference at my old uni, I will go to Sweden and… well, that’s about it. But 2½ weeks feel very, very distant at the moment. Ooh! I’m also taking a distance unit in Statics that I haven’t even gotten started on! I’ve got looads to do! BUT still, tonight I decided to do nothing. I’m always so tired after work that I don’t get anything done.
But I do wonder what I will do for my first day. If it will be difficult. If I will make a fool out of myself. What to wear. Hmm… I wish I had money I could spend in Zara whilst still benefitting from staff discount.
Saw this clip yesterday on youtube. I thought it was hilarious the first time I saw it…
Anyways… cheerios!!
Wondering, pondering… April 19, 2010
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A few days ago I was watching a very geeky TV-show on BBC called Beautiful Minds. It’s a series of shows depicting the lives of different influential scientist. This time it was about James Lovelock (what a name by the way! Gotta love it!) who developed the theory of Gaia. I can’t really explain it well, but basically, Gaia is the earth. And the idea is that the earth is a self-regulatory system that somehow serves its own purpose. That life is what creates the atmosphere and life on earth is what regulates the amount of gas and the temperature on the planet. Or sorry, rather that the temperature is somehow always regulated by the life on the planet.
He used the example of some alga that lives in the top bit of the ocean. When the ocean gets to warm it exhales some kind of gas which goes up in the sky and creates a cloud. This cloud then reflects sunbeams back to space and gives shadow for the ocean. Which cools it down and the algae are happy again. I really can’t explain this very well, but the theory appealed and fascinated me. I liked the thought that in the long run we’re just pieces of a puzzle and that the world will somehow outlive us.
Hmm, not sure if I’m making myself very clear here, but this is (roughly) what I thought: Once upon a time the world, plants and animals lived in peace. Then mankind came along, we spread all across the world and after the industrial revolution we started polluting the environment. Think of this as the parasite, the enemy or the cancer of the world. There is more and more pollution which leads to environmental consequences. And what does these consequences do to our environment? It makes the earth unpleasant for its inhabitants to live here. With time (and assuming that we’re not able to do anything against the problems we already have) this will lead to massive natural disasters which in turn will lead to a smaller amount of humans on the earth. After some time, a balance will occur, where there are either no humans at all, or a much smaller number of people who can then perhaps live in harmony with the earth. Aww, what a cute story!
Anyway, I didn’t think much about that until a big ash cloud spread out across Europe and all the little humans became very upset. It is almost as if the earth had to do something to regulate the amount of pollution across Europe! Now, now now.. I KNOW that this is not what happened, and the two (volcano and pollution from air travel) aren’t related. But I still do like the thought. Especially when I had just seen that show. Isn’t it ironic? Don’t you think? A little too ironic? Yeah, I really do think…
Anyways, I’ve got work tomorrow morning so I should get going. Oh, I forgot to say loads and loads of things!! I got a job in Zara, yeah yeah… but I also got a REAL job for a company I’m not gonna mention here! I’m so excited! I’m starting in the middle of may as a research analyst for a MAJOR market research organisation. Well done me! I’m very proud of myself. It took me 7 months to find this job and it’s been haaaard! But persevered! I should buy myself an award!
Late night shopping March 20, 2010
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I just went to the gas station to buy milk. It’s cold and rainy so I wore my wellies and warm jacket. In the parking lot a pink Hummer limo was standing. Never mind. I needed milk.
I approached the till with the bottle of milk in my hand when one member of the staff approached me to ask if I was the driver of the pink Hummer limo. I’m sorry, but do I look like I’m driving a limo? Was it the hoodie, the wellies or maybe the milk that gave it away? I thought it was funny…
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Dublin, here we come :) February 21, 2010
Posted by confusedsince1984 in Daily update, Just for fun.1 comment so far
I’m sitting in the airport in Birmingham, waiting for our delayed Ryanair flight to Dublin. I worked my last day at work on Friday and I’m quite happy to get a break before getting into my job hunt. I’ve never been to Dublin or Ireland so I’m looking forward. I’m not gonna write anything long, just wanted to update my blog for once. this time from my BF’s iPhone so please forgive my poor spelling.
xxx
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My dream February 8, 2010
Posted by confusedsince1984 in Confusions.Tags: Career confusions, Work, Worries
2 comments
I woke up this morning thinking about a dream I had. I dreamt that I had been at work, wondering how I should get out of there. And then, I remember it clearly, thinking that perhaps today is the day I will quit. Perhaps, today is the day I decide to pick myself up and do something drastic. Rather than spending my days miserable in the same place, maybe I should just quit and hope for the best. Surely I did move to Oxford without a job or a flat, hoping for the best. So why can’t I quit my job now, and hope for the best? So why allow myself to get comfortable on my low wage in a place I really like to think that I don’t belong in? I pondered about it for quite a while, called my boyfriend for advice during my lunch break. To my surprise he wasn’t sure of what I should do. Rather than his usual “get up and leave!!” speech he told me that I had to go with my own instincts and that only I can know what to do. Indeed, it was a weird dream.
In my dream the day pressed on and I kept coming back to this idea, that today was the day. At the end of my shift I approached my manager and I told her that I’ve been thinking about it all day and I finally decided to quit. She looked up quickly, smiled, nodded and simply said ‘ok’ and kept doing her chores. I felt uncomfortable. I felt like I had to explain myself so I started rambling about how I felt it was time and that I wasn’t angry or upset about anything. I just felt that it was enough. She kept smiling and said that it was ok. I told her that I would like to work for another 2 weeks. That was ok too. No reaction. I could’ve told her that I was going for my lunch break, it didn’t seem to bother her. It was ok.
On my way home I called my boyfriend and told him that I quit. He sounded shocked and surprised, but happy. When I came home we went to the local Indian restaurant to celebrate. We spoke about how we had eaten there our first night in our flat, and now we were back. Hopefully at another crossroad. Food was delicious. Service was poor. On our way home it was cold. I shivered lightly, pulled my jacked tighter around me but felt happy in a way I haven’t felt in a long time.
The next morning I woke up realising that it really wasn’t a dream. But it seemed so surreal that I have to keep reminding myself that my stay in this shop is coming to an end. I really did quit. When I came to Oxford I wanted to try to work in retail because I’ve never done it before. I have done that now, fulfilled maybe not a dream, but at least something I wanted to try.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Check.
Although I should be in sheer panic because I won’t have a job in 2 weeks, I feel a sense of peace that I didn’t expect. Let’s just hope that it leads to something better. If it doesn’t, well… it can’t be that much worse
I never thought that it would have such a profound effect on me. Although I knew that my work made me miserable, I never knew how miserable. Sometimes I would think that I was just exaggerating and that it really isn’t that bad. But just telling my boss that I’ll leave in 2 weeks has lifted such a weight of my shoulders. I feel, for the first time in months, some kind of peace.
It’s lovely. I’m off tomorrow, I’m gonna enjoy some good sleep now.
Life is like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope – a slight change, and all patterns alter.
