8 posts from September 2007

I have just realised that mostly when I can't get the jobs I apply for, it's more to do with the person who is interviewing than with me myself.

Clearly, the only thing they look at is my current role and the further in time I go from graduation date, the more difficult it becomes for them to see that my University Degree/Experience does count for something after all!

If anything, I am surprised at how my four years at University is completely shadowed by this one year at work where I have done nothing but moan and slack. If only I could say so on my CV.

But it's their fault and indeed, their loss. I just need to be more convincing in my interviews, may be. Sound confident and make them believe that I know what I am talking about.

On the other hand, may be I should go back to university next year...hmm...

At work, when we have meetings of any sort - team or work meetings, people burst into laughter at the first audible chuckle...Some of them even break into tears. Whilst I just sit there and watch how many of them are just pretending to find the joke really funny in order to get a promotion/get their work done/not run into trouble/don't look stupid.

Whereas, as the all-knowing employee know that the chucke is really to get the work done that you shouldn't have to and so I just smile and think about a blog entry like this one.

was AWFUL.
Although in hindsight, I have e-mailed green and blacks to make organic chocolate buttons so I can replace the giant chocolate buttons by nice organic ones.
Other than that, it is not as nice as I thought it'd be so don't bother!

Accidentally I just typed Olivia in my browser window only to be redirected to this website. How does the name Olivia represent Lesbianism is beyond me but I thought it made a good title for the entry.

Anyhow, I think in the whole Northern Rock going bust crisis, I think I feel disappointed. I know it's a bank and no one with any socialist inclinations should ever feel sorry for such an institution but really, if a bank with a standing such as Northern Rock failed against the sinister Barclays and HSBCs of the world, what chance do we have?

Besides that, I also found out that Northern Rock gave away 15% of its profits to Charity, it believed in local people. If anything I now wanted the bank to prosper so it would be for the greater good. But alas! these are probably the reasons which led to its failure, you really do have to be a part of the Holocaust like Barclays and IBM to succeed in this nasty world.

On a less sorry note, I bought some redcurrants over the weekend and I am thinking of making some redcurrant chutney since they are a bit too tangy for my taste. So far I have only come across Delia Smith's recipe but has anyone got a better one?

IT WAS AMAZING! I cannot believe how that recipe despite involving work of immeasurable lengths resulted in a katsu curry of which even Tokyo Diner in China Town would be embarrassed.
It was really worth the two hours I spent on it. Try it if you like a good Japanese curry.

So after that, I wished to try Nigella Lawson's brilliant chocolate mousse with buttons in it. As we all remember, she had said that all the recipes were on the BBC2 but that's a LIE! On BBC2's website it says that we should buy a book to accompany the series!

I ask, why the hell do I pay the TV licence when the chef on the tv wouldn't give the specific quantities of the ingredients and redirect us to the website which then tells us to buy a book. On principle I think this is wrong because they know if they asked people to buy a book on the TV, there would be an uproar!
On one hand, I can believe that their explanation would be that putting recipes online have certain costs, to which I have a reply that when I am spending half an hour watching her cook, it's not because I want to watch her pout, ride in a black cab and teach her son homework, it's because I want to get the recipe! Why should she not specify the quantities in a little placard at the end of the show as it used to be in the old days....?!
As a tv licence payer, I feel cheated and I think that my statutory rights are being disregarded. I wonder what I should/could do about it. Perhaps we should all campaign?

In the world of Olivia Joules, today is the day when she dares making Chicken Katsu Curry, I am following a recipe so I shall be spending my lunch buying ingredients but before that has anyone explored these adventurous realms before her. If so, make yourself known here.

Last week, after a month's hibernation, I switched on the tv only to find myself watching the Nigella Lawson's express cooking. And just to laugh at her pathetic attempts at being common I tuned in again last night. For the purposes of this blog though, I think it has given me sufficient material.

First of all Ms. Lawson, not all of us live in Chelsea, not only that, we are probably not going to take a black cab to our nearest Waitrose to buy Organic Mayo. I know you think that calling it 'Mayo' makes you more common than a kid on the street in Streatham but seriously, it doesn't. Get over it!

Secondly, please spare your son in this whole drama. You talk to him about homework when I didn't even see him on the dinner table with the guests you thought were going to distract him from doing his homework. Let alone the fact that whilst you were showing off the pantry in your luxurious Chelsea home, he was skate boarding in a skinny tight pink coloured jeans with his long blonde hair cut shabbily by the most expensive hairdresser in Knightsbridge but I think it's reasonable to assume that you are only trying to cook things super fast so you have time to find the tightest fitting jeans for your 10-year old son whose potency is something you are not worried about, yet.

And now on the cooking side of things, don't get me wrong - I think I am very tempted to try the chocolate mousse, it looked divine what with that white chocolate grating on the top. And thanks for giving me the idea of storing my chocolate buttons in a big glass jar, I think that would go very well with my cravings but not so well with the bum. But no, I shall try it and report my findings here.

BUT were you really trying to teach us how to make green chicken curry with recipe at back the Waitrose's green chicken curry paste? Because, I know you were and frankly I can do a better green chicken curry because I would know that peas are distasteful in a curry, in fact from experience, I think lemon grass would have been a better addition, perhaps you could take that one out of your 'frozen kitchen garden'?

Finally though, please refrain from pouting too much, coz really you know you look absolutely incompetent, which I am sure you are not but at prime time on a Monday evening, I don't think men tune in. Sorry to break this to you but it IS a wasted effort.

On another side note though, the price of the guardian went up this weekend, I can't believe I paid an extra 10p to read the most depressing article ever!

On that note, I shall get back to work now, but does anyone else get as cross with Nigella Lawson?

...as we all know I am in a weird redundancy/redeployment situation so I have been going for several interviews.

So there was this particular interview at a particular company which I think went sort of OK but I didn't *really* like the people for they had sweaty palms and didn't even meet me in the eye and so it would have been awkward working place and so I had convinced myself that even if I didn't get the job it would be ok as I didn't want it anyway - who would want to work with weirdos! *cough*

Anyway a few days later (after me having called them to chase up almost prematurely) I was told that I wasn't selected - ha! surprise  surpruse! and on asking for feedback they only said there were stronger candidates - which I know wasn't true because they weren't interviewing the next candidate until September! - At this point, it was only reasonable for me to assume that I was tooo normal to work at this particular organisation and although my interview had gone OK, perhaps it was the best thing for me and I went on pottering about at my current role as if I had never been to the interview - I didn't even mention it to anyone at work. Ha!

Now I have another offer at another well known company, it's a great company to work for but I don't like the role I am being offered as it is exactly similar to the role I had a year ago in my present workplace. I am utterly confused as I don't know whether I should leave the current role I am in because of the uncertainity or just go for this role I am being offered with a hope of finding something better eventually...

Anyhow, this has led to the onset of the second stage of grief - albeit anger. I wish the particular company I have spoken about above had offered me the role - it was a GREAT company, brilliant location, even their HR seems nice - no really, NICE. And after all, my interview hadn't gone THAT badly. In fact if anything, I thought it had went well! I am so cross at it that I am dreamt about the interview yesterday. And despite everything I also know that the only questions I had gotten wrong in the interview were the ones which were the FIRST Hit on the google search. And it was just plain simple bad luck that I didn't look at those things BEFORE the interview. CURSES! GAH!

I wonder what would set on the next stage in my grief about losing a job I never had!