7 posts tagged “work”

I'm sick. :-(

I have a rotten kidney infection which is making me feel shitty. Really shitty. I can't work. And that scares me. Not because I'm a work-a-holic (although I am a bit) but because no one pays me to get sick. If I'm sick, I don't get paid. Which costs me hundreds of pounds for a few days.

So what do I do? Say bollocks to it and go in and feel shit and only do half a job? Or take time off and get better and lose hundreds of pounds when I've just bought tickets for Sicily and Secret Garden Party?

There's no right answer. But stressing about it doesn't make me get better an quicker.

So I make soup. Chicken and veg soup. A recipe that is a big fat secret but really yummy.

Hopefully I'll be feeling a million times better tomorrow and I can go to work with a smile on my face.

In the mean time, I get to eat soup. Yum.

*

Sianyland update twenty minutes later: There is nothing a bowl of that soup can't fix. I feel pretty darn good now. It's magic. It's got genies in it or something.

Sianyland update the next morning: Dammit. It's only temporary magic soup.

Everything I was meant to do this weekend kind a went a bit wrong. But my weekend was still all kinds of brilliant.

I went to Wimbledon. Hooray! For two hours. I woke up late and had to queue all on my own as Sam and Kelly sensibly went on ahead. I would have had to queue until about 1 and that just didn't sound fun. So I came home. But at least I can say I've been to Wimbledon now. Even if I didn't see any Wombles. Perhaps they don't have to queue for their tickets.

So instead of sulking, I decided to have my own mini Wimbledon on my living room floor. I made a picnic and had tea and cake and strawberries and Nigel and I watched it on the telly instead. This was much better. Andy Murray won which was nice. (Except I promised The Hospital Club that if he beats Federer I'd streak across Henman Hill... hmmmmm...) Then we drank fizzy champagne (er.... Cava really) and played Scrabble in the garden. I won. Again. It's now 4-0 to me and Nigel is getting quite annoyed.

Then I rushed of to the pub to meet Sof and Virgil and Ang to see this band who are really very good. Who weren't playing. They changed their mind and decided to play on the Sunday instead. Dammit. But the bands we did see were great. And hot too. Although Sofia and I couldn't work out how old they were so we weren't sure if it was wrong to fancy them. One of them did tell me but then I got drunk on Hoegarden and forgot. The cheeky fucker also told me I looked 29 so I didn't think he was as cute after that. Still, it's better than getting ID'd for fags like I did a few weeks ago. (To have the ASDA manager say "Oh, yes. She's definitely fine. Of course you can serve her". Twat.)

I was a bit of a hippy and had little plaits in my hair and the band had no shoes on.

So, I've been in my shiny new job for a week now. And well, it's FUCKING BRILLIANT.

Although there are some things I have noticed about working in an office again:

• I still really like Prets Ham and Egg Bloomers. But their soup is not as good as I remember.
• I'm not used to working a full day anymore. I'm a bit shit at this. I liked having my lunch and watching Neighbours at the same time. But Harold is apparently leaving this week so I don't think I'll watch it as much now anyway.
• People in my office don't talk. When they do, it can often be by messenger. After working in offices where you practically got a pay rise for making a lot of noise, this feels very strange.
• I like having a structure to my day.
• I *really* like being a worker bee for half the week. But I also like being a creative butterfly for the other half of the week too.
• I don't work Mondays. Brilliant. I actually do hope you're all jealous.

So, there. Some thoughts about my office. I'm enjoying it and I like the people I work with. I feel like I do something useful with my day instead of sitting in bed typing on my blog and watching This Morning with a cup of tea (exactly what I'm doing now by the way).

But yes, things are good. Things are happy. Although everyone around me seems to be just as bewildered about how quickly things turned around as I am. But they're pleased that things are good and shiny too. I remember having a very drunken conversation with Virgil about that. And many other things.

So yeah, while I'm really enjoying being in bed with tea right now, I'm also looking forward to going back into the office tomorrow.

I start my new job tomorrow. Eeeeeshk!

But actually, I'm feeling more of a happy 'eeeeshk' than a scary 'eeeeeshk' if that makes sense. I didn't realise there was different 'eeeeeshks'. Yeah so it's scary and stuff, but in an exciting way. I get to take on new projects, play in town and learn fun things. With people who were really nice when I met them on Thursday.

So instead of freaking out, I'm actually being pretty chilled. I've done lots of work and stuff today and feel on top of stuff. I've also spent the day flirting with a handsome boy. We're going on a picnic on Saturday... that's all the nosy gossip you're getting today...

I feel... centred. If that isn't too much of a wanky word. I feel like I've got my act together a little bit (I did invoicing on time today!) and I feel prepared for whatever is thrown at me. Yeah some of it will be daunting and I won't have a clue what's going on, but I'll get to grips with it. I've been hired because I can do the job and I believe that.

So not scary. Happy. Smiley. Shiny.

A pretty good 'eeeeshk'.

Eeeeshk!!!

PS - I'm blonde now too. Which looks fab so therefore tomorrow will be excellent.

So the Foo Fighters were amazing. Realy really really amazing. I would happily marry Dave Grohl. And I stil adore Tayor Hawkins but he looks like Ed so fancying him is a bit weird. BUT YES. They were brilliant and I'm happy. I also can't move.

So today I am sitting. On my sofa with a balnket. I am being lazy and generally being chilled. Not least because I can't feel my legs of my head or... any of me really. But who cares. Lots of fun. Best gig ever. I have a little mini Dave Grohl running around in my head singing Foos songs. This happens a lot after I've been to a good gig.

I got more writing work yesterday too. I'm an arts correspondant for a new website for Chelsea socialites. A strange audience to be writing for, but it's OK money and another platform. Writing about art is fun too - I get to go to all those shows and mentally punch the arty wankers who talk bollocks. If I ever find myself talking like that I want someone to throw cheap wine at me from their plastic cup.

This means I've got enough work. In fact, with the website launching, I might even have too much. How the fuck did that happen? Two weeks ago I was crying coz I didn't have anything to do! Now I'd have to turn down work! Freelancing is strange.

But I've thought about things, and yes it means for the next couple of weeks I'll have to get used to everything and not go out to play as much as I like, but I'd rather have all this work and be tired instead of having no work. For all I know it could all dry up next week. As long as I actually save some money and look after me and don't spend all of my wages on shoes then I'll be fine. Then I'll have money to drown my sorrows when I'm unemployed. Clever.

What am I doing this weekend? Today I am chilling out on my sofa. Not even moving a little bit. But I might have a bottle of wine later. And then tomorrow I'm off to a photo studio in Spitalfields to have a chat with a guy who photographs all the people visiting the market each Sunday. It's cool. I'm also planning on buying some new shoes to wear on Tuesday. None of that sounds very rock n roll, but neither was the cup of tea I had after the gig last night.

Ooooh... cup of tea....off I toddle...

I've realised that I'm at a really strange point in my writing career. Even saying that sounds weird - I've only been freelance for around six months after all. But since erm, 'leaving' Glitterditch, I've been in a strange but really quite exciting limbo.

I have more free time during the day. Which means that Sam and I got to go to a theatre Matinee last week (Harold Pinter. Strange. Nearly fell asleep. That can't be good.) Sam doesn't have a proper job either which means we can have fun while everyone else is at work. This often ends in childish giggling.

The main reason I have more free time is really because I think it's entirely normal to write at two in the morning. I'm now also getting paid a good rate for the work I'm doing and this keeps me in pretty shoes. This stops me stressing out. And when my Dad says "Isn't it time you got a proper job?" I actually believe that although I'm poorer than I was when I was doing sales, I don't need to go back to doing 9-5.

So what am I doing now? Aside from some great and regular paid writing work for a couple of lovely clients, I'm doing a lot of unpaid projects. The stuff that will hopefully set me up for the future. The creative stuff that I really really want to do forever and ever. This is the only time I'm ever going to get the chance to do it so if I fuck it up now, then yes I'll probably have to go back to the office job. Which would at least stop my Dad from worrying.

Here's what I'm up to:

1. Setting up a very exciting new blog. Watch this space.

2. Working on a new book proposal with the beautiful Cate.

3. Scribbling my own coffee table book.

4. I'm also collaborating with a lovely artist called Jason. We're mixing my fiction work and his artwork into a whole project and exhibition about how writing and art works together.

That's a lot of stuff. And currently, it's all unpaid. When the birds are tweeting in the morning, and you've been asleep for six hours already, this is what I'll be working on. After I've spent all day working to pay my rent, buy food and wine and essentials like shoes. It's Saturday evening and I've already decided that I'm not going out tonight. Instead I'm going to stay in and work.

Strangely, even though it's daunting, looking at the list above makes me smile. I'm having more fun than ever and doing things that I really enjoy. Yeah, so I'll have to work 15 hour days and every weekend for the rest of the year, but I'm happy.

I noticed today that lots of freelance writers have personal blogs. Most of them. Except me.

So now I have one. There. Easy. Look how pretty it is. It's got a cityscape which I quite like. I didn't design it. but I did write the tagline and the title.

Now my folks can keep up with all the stuff going on in my life. So, Mum and Dad: No I haven't got a raging cocaine habit and I'm not having an affair with a footballer. Yes I'm still smoking and drinking too much.

I don't know what kinds of things I'm going to write in my blog. Not yet. But it's nice to have a place to scribble stuff about what I'm up to. I'm currently watching Peep Show (bloody brilliant) and drinking Orange Fanta (even better). That's what I'm up to. I might scribble about work stuff and all my new creative projects and I'll no doubt mention the wonderful stupid stuff that happens to when I'm tootling about London and this little place in my life that has become known by me and others as Sianyland.

Because most of the time, it's a lot of fun.