New Blog

So I was about to delete this blog and think about starting another one because since I am no longer unemployed it seemed pointless to write about being an unemplyed graduate when that is exactly what I am not.

But then I saw that somehow, between my last post and now, I have gained a few more followers. Never being one to disappoint, I've decided to start posting again.

Fear not, gentle readers, the premise of the blog may have changed but I am still here.

Watch this space.

EDIT: Scratch that - I have started a new blog. Please follow me at http://alreadythefuture.blogspot.com/

I Love Boxie

I don't often plug products on this blog, in fact I think this is the first time, but it is well deserved.

I Love Boxie is a t-shirt company based in London.
You tell them a story, something that has happened to you that you think deserves to be immortalised in print, they think up a line that sums up the story you have told, and print it.

Simple, brilliant, and beautiful.

It's been a year since I had a conversation with Moxie, the enigmatic woman behind the search for 'Boxie', and a year since I got my t-shirt. Thankfully, dispite recessions and crunches, they are still going strong.

I love Boxie and so should you - here's the website: www.iloveboxie.com

Thank God I have a Job...

Well it's been an eventful few days.

Thanks to the rain we've been having and the fact that I wear cheap shoes to work I fell flat on my face yesterday (more specifically my eyebrow) which lead my glasses to bend completely out of shape as they took a chunk out of my face. Excellent.

So, one minor head injury, two hours and £50 later I have been told by Specsavers that I'll be getting a new pair of glasses next week. So Thank GOD I can stop feeling sick at the thought of spending £50 because I fell over by replacing that thought with, "Oh well, it's payday again in a couple of weeks".

Phew.

Specsavers was an interesting experience. I seem to have been attended to by the entire body of staff they have, none of whom have the feintest hint of a sense of humour, and they all seem to talk very very quickly - I'm convinced they are all either A.) Cocaine addicts, B.) Hopped up on coffee 24/7 or C.) massive fans of The Gilmore Girls.

Also, the guy who tested my eyes kept saying, 'But hey, that's just part of who you are' every time he mentioned my short-sightedness. As if it's something to be ashamed of or something?! Very odd.

I'm Marc. I'm short-sighted. And proud of it. When it's legal for short-sighted people to marry I'll be first to the registry office.

Slacker

Goodness, I haven't written in ages. Apologies. I have no excuse, and I didn't even bring a forged note from my parents. For shame.

Work is going really well, even did a day's overtime today (partly for the money, partly so I'll have something to hold over the managers should they refuse me time off for Glastonbury). Of course, it being a Thursday and not a normal work day for me, my head thinks it is Friday. MUST REMEMBER TO GO TO WORK TOMORROW MORNING!

Nothing much else to report. Getting paid this week was heavenly, but it's almost all gone now after paying lots and lots of rent right away. I'm dying for a new pair of jeans but don't know if I can justify paying full-whack for a good pair. Have swiftly slipped back into scouting eBay for lovely things (jeans and trendy work clothes included) so I'm sure I'll soon be back to eating cold beans out of the tin again.

All-in-all I'm quite content really.

Mustn't forget to mention how AMAZING television is at the moment. Ugly Betty, True Blood (ohmygodohmygod), Spooks (thanks for the recommendation, mum), and Gavin & Stacey starts in about 10 minutes - whoop!

Promise to write something witty and/or insightful soon...probably.

Work work work

I am happy to report that my first two days of work have been excellent!

Although learning how to actually do my job is more complicated than a crossword set by the head lecturer of crypticism at the university of impossible, I am really enjoying it and everyone in the office is making me very welcome.

ALSO - I get free newspapers (yes, this makes me happy, I'm a geek) and I get my own desk (well, when I can be trusted to fly solo, as it were)! The perks are there just to make the fact that I have a job that much sweeter. Brill.

Determined to eventually get a full-time position, although I don't know if I can get one soon. I'll have to see.

My God, I'm shattered.

First Day Nerves

Wracked with terror at the prospect of my first day tomorrow. But also very excited, of course.

Can't really think of anything else exciting to write about this evening, apart from the fact that I SO wish I was in Berlin at the moment. I bet it'll be an amazing day tomorrow, celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the wall coming down. I wonder what it's like to live in a city with so much history?

No, scratch that. I DO live in a city with a load of history. What I mean, I think, is: I wonder what it's like to live in a city that celebrates its history. Pretty cool, I think.

No doubt will tweet again tomorrow.

Confused by the DSS...

The benefit system in this country really needs sorting out.

I signed-off today (YAY), only to be faced with starvation until payday. Apparently the only money I am entitled to (being without children, a spouse in the army or a major injury) is a 'crisis loan'. Fine, I say to the chirpy young lady on the other end of the phone, I'll take that then. Of course this involves me having to call another number, thus spending more money I don't have on phone bills.

But I'm suddenly terrified by the word 'loan'. How on earth am I going to pay this back? All of my wages, when I get them, will inevitably be eaten up by rent and food, leaving little or no room for loan repayment.

So, looking at this situation as if I've just been offered a crappy job I don't even want (which of course isn't the case), where is the motivation for me to take this job and sign-off? Faced by a month of extreme poverty, who in their right mind would want to get off the dole and start working?

Me, it seems.