Only 5 months since my last post. An improvement. Just.

So yeah. In the end I gave in my notice and spent a week avoiding people saying "Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!?"

On my second to last shift Gavin appeared looking as insanely cheerful as ever. "Lottieeeeeeee! Just the person I was wanting to speak to. Catch you on your break. I'm not letting you get away that easy!"

Oh buggeration.

Gavin had been extra fab and considerate since hiring me when I was in dire need of a job. The last person I want to explain that I have had enough of burgers and being demeaned by half-wit customers, was him. I was adamant at that point that I wanted to leave. I didn't have enough time to do anything at the weekend, I already had enough money and I just wanted to work somewhere different before I had to get a real job someday.

The man drives a hard bargain though.

He proclaimed exuberantly that he would "bend over backwards" to have me stay and probed every reason why I wanted to leave. I mentioned that I thought it was a good idea to get some other experience of work to enhance my CV. Then, something extrordinary happened...

--------------------------------------------

"I can enhance your CV beyond your wildest dreams!!"

"..."

"I know the editor of The Star and I am sure I can get you some work experience when I tell him what a wonderful person you are!"

"..." [Good but I can already get that through Uni]

"... and I can get you experience in the PR department. I know the regional head of communications and I am sure she would be happy for you to shadow her.

"..." [Oooh. Interesting]

"...and I have connections in the Council. I am sure they would have you too."

"Oooh"

"So. Have any fixed shift you like. If you want three weeks off or whatever just say 'Gavin I want three weeks off' ....... Your still going to say no arent you?"

"Well..."

-------------------------------------

So I stayed. How could I not? I now basically work when I want and am due some work experience at easter. Kerching! : )

Since then I have looked in to PR and I actually am very interested. Interested to the point where it actually looks a lot better than Journaism... In fact I have decided to pursue a career in PR instead of Journo!

To be honest the prospects of Journo had been weighing on my mind for some months. I still do like the idea of being a journalist, but am not as prepared to do all the crud I need to do before I get to where I want to be as before.

If I leave and somehow manage to get a job on a local paper (fairly tricky in itself), I will earn £13000 for 2 years until I have the chance to get my NCE (proffesional qualification). Now the NCE is notoriously difficult. Only 40% of people pass! This, although possible would require me to get my 100WPM in Shorthand which would take a real gruelling slog to do. In the event that I somehow managed all of this I would recieve a pay rise of around £3000 a year.

£16000 a year after 5 years of training? Where I would go from there would depend on getting noticed, but mostly luck and making connections in high places.

Do I want to be a respected journalist who breaks groundbreaking stories ?= yes
Do I want to be put through all that for a slim chance of it? = no

Of course if the PR doesn't work out then I might give it a go, but I am not sure I have enough determination to succeed in such a cut throat business anymore. Meh.

Now then. PR is also very competative and cut throat but there are a wealth of jobs out there. Everyone from biscuit factories to Councils have PR departments. With journalistic training and knowledge about Media and copyright law and politics, I am sure that I could do well.

I have looked at what sort of jobs I could get on leaving. Starting as a junior PR hack I would Earn around £13000 again, but would get the chartered status in 1 or 2 years! This would quickly bump up my salary to something you could realistically live off and get a mortgage with. Phew.

As much as I am a champion of "It doesn't matter about the money so long as you can live on it if you enjoy your work", I do not want to live in a mouldy old bedsit on the outskirts of London for the rest of my life as is likely if I take up Journo.

The stupidest twist in this story is that aside from giving me the money to live on for my first and second years at Uni and getting me vital work experience, McDonalds may AGAIN save my bacon and change my life with their graduate training scheme. They have a fab training scheme based in Machester where the very office where I should hopefully get work experience trains you for a year and pays you £13000 for your trouble. Essentially it is a year in industry after my degree. If I could get on the scheme then that would have me made as a junior PR exec. Hooray!!

Ah McDonalds. Hate or Love you, you always seem to save the day. Bah.

Anyway, back to the present.
Know where I am right now?

On a big rock.
Overlooking a stunning sunset across the whole of the west side of Sheffield and the surrounding rolling valleys. The valley is all misty and mysterious. Thinking about it, I think the distant hills are the Peak District. Very pretty they are too.

It really is very beautiful.

I decided to come here today because it was such a lovely day with blue sky and lots of sunshine. It looks like spring is here already from all the flowers that have come up and insects getting in my cous cous and on the lappytop screen. Squee!

This place is in a really random spot. Just the other side of Crookes road where Tapton is and just the around the corner from Veronica Hardstaff who I interviewed last year. None of the other students seem to know that this place exists. Nice really cos it means the only people here are dog walkers and the occasional school child shouting "Mummy! Why has that lady on the rock got a computer?" To be fair its not only children giving me funny looks.

But never mind! It is very worth it : )

I am used to getting stares in my general direction now since
A) I wear a skirt and heels to court and bus drivers pass by every few minutes
and
B) I go places with Megan and THE hair

Megan has been trying to get red hair for ages. I have personally dyed her hair 3 times various shades of purple and red with results varying from brown with a hint of purple to blonde streaks. Therefore when we had a nosy round the local Blue Banana [goth shop] clone "Rocky Horrors" she spent an unnerving amount of time looking at the super luminous colours behind the counter.

Well. She bought the stuff. 2 Packs of bleach and power bleach and a pot of "tulip" colour ( "Colour may vary at the manufacturers discretion. Do not apply to eyebrows. Risk of Blindness" etc ). From the samples the colour was red with a hint of fuschia. Very nice.

Thursday night after Meg's last exam and before the appointed end-of-exam bash outing to Fuzz, it seemed only appropriate that we were to do the deed then.

Out comes the bleach and powder. When mixed it looks blue. Hmm. I tentatively put it on hoping that it will turn just the right shade of blonde like the tester. Halfway though.

"Ooooooh it itches!"
"Don't worry not long left."
"How long?"
"........50 minutes"
"Oh Fuck."

Somehow she endured the itchyness and I watched her hair go from a dark brown root with reddyness from the previous dying.. to something not a million miles off Gewn Stefani. With red streaks.

Time to wash it out. The result is pretty startling. The once brunette Meggle is now a bimbo. She attempts to comb her hair but it is incredibly knotted. She looks worried. I insist on taking a photo of her blonde and try to get ther to go out like that. She has better judgement however.

On to the redness!

The stuff is so easy to apply and really takes to her hair (and face and ears). The paste looks a little pinker than was hoped but then the orange-red dye I used to use started out purple. So what do I know?

Time to wash to gunk off. Woah. This is some ultra colour. Good job she does physics. Its looking really pink.

Time to dry the hair. This will inevitably make it brighter as all hair is darker when wet. God. What is this going to turn out like?

Done.

Holy Guacemole.

Megans hair is positively neon in its hot pinkness.

"WOW!" Rachel comes down from her room
Lizzie giggles and says "Oh my God!"
Indeed.

The hair goes down a storm and but attracts surprisingly little attention from the Fuzzters. Probably because its dark, but maybe because they are all SO ALT3RN4TIVE DOODZ.

Since then randomers keep on talking to her. Within 5 minutes when she was stood outside of McDonalds 2 people talked to her. One to ask her where the local rock club is and another to ask for a light. Yep. Sounds like she looks like a proper physicist!

n.b. Here is a demonstrative photo. Looking directly at the hair may damage retinas.



Well. My hands are like ice it is getting really freezing (and a little dark) so I guess I had better get home. Hopefully the next post will only be in 4 months time...