My First Weeks In Northampton

Written in Early Dec '06

So I know all of you have been waiting to know what I’ve been doing since here… Apart from spending rands and feeling so bad about it!!! Hey it’s not like I haven’t looked for work!!! In total I’ve applied for 13 jobs and only two have gotten back to me – the one was a no it was a long shot anyway) and the other one (Barclay Card) I’m still waiting for them to get back to me with a telephone interview…

So flying an international flight is BAD BAD news, apart from having 4 good bye drinks at the airport (and I choose to drink something that they have here) I got on the plane and want did they offer me?! Wine!!! So I had 3 or 4 (I can’t remember) glasses of chardonnay. MMMM nice food! Duck starter and lamb for mains with some funny yet good tasting egg dessert! So I tried to watch “the lad in the water” but I was too pissed and it was 11pm SA time anyway so in an attempt to get my self to UK time I went to sleep. Woke up at 2am UK time and realised I had a hangover from hell – nauseous, headache, disorientated… I shouldn’t have gone to sleep, oh plus before I went to sleep I had 3 cups of coffee!!! Argh!

I spent the next 5 hours awake, looking at all the sleeping ppl, trying to watch movies – getting up and thinking whether I should throw up or not (I didn’t – I just don’t do that).

Next stress was landing – are they going to question me for like an hour? But I was lucky, armed with x-ray I went to the health check place, got passed and the kind man stamped my visa – the chick in front of me got the third degree… Now I was so lost, thank god for all the signs!!! BAGGAGE CLAIM here I come to wait for the huge, 28kg, big green bag! WOOHOO, it came thru relatively fast! Off I was with my stupid “one wheel not working you know how that can be” trolley. I must say thou that JHB is so much better in space and design than terminal one of Heathrow – it’s just plain ugly!!!

ARGH, I couldn’t see my uncle so after looking outside I went to buy an international calling card to call him. Long story short – I found him and we were off. Driving to Northampton I learnt that they grow cabbage in winter – lots and lots of cabbage!!! I saw my first Tesco’s truck and Marks and Spencer convenience store.

What else? COLD COLD COLD!!! Nah it really wasn’t as bad as I expected. The next day my aunt took me into town and she made me walk myself flat – mainly I was looking for a hat, gloves and a warm jacket – coz a huge 7kg army jacket an only be worn to so many places… I was really impressed with the pricing and selection that was offered in just a simple town. I think the best think for me thou was walking out into the market square between shopping complexes, and I saw these stunning old buildings bathing in a bright, rich, warm sun light.

SO now needless to say - I can handle my own on the busses and even know how to save money on them. I’ve been to the town museum which has this STUNNING shoe collection with a pair dating back to 300BC and it’s still intact, I know – no ways but it is really amazing. They also have an art gallery with some stunning paintings and drawings – beautifully framed and ready for purchase. Up stairs is the real art – all from really old schools – one is even from the 1400s and you can literally see how old it is – I was in awe. And just we you think it’s over there is another floor with a history of the town, I couldn’t read all of it but I’m get back sometime.

There is a park in every suburb and Abbington is the biggest, I’m so sad that I missed that autumn weeks – there were still trees with some leaves on – which is weird apparently. Everyone reckons isn’t pretty warm still and its gonna be really real cold this winter… hell anything’s colder than I’m used to!!!

Went to my first pub on Saturday with 2 cousins and 2 of my one cousins friends. I felt really weird coz there were like 3 ppl of colour around and all these white ppl dressed funny. The one thing here is some of the hairs styles!!! Eish!!! So after 3 drinks we went to an high end bar and after a few red bulls it was off to the only club tat would let us in – a gay club – for some music and pool. No where else would let us in apparently – well 3 of us coz they had takkies on. So this place was really small and shyt but the pool was 70p a game and we were too pissed to care about anything else, just the price of the pool made us stocked. And we was all too pissed so I got a ride in my first taxi – a real back cab, 5 of us and a 4 mile ride cost £11.30 – better than I expected but sharing is much more cheaper!

Bad news! I find myself saying yeah instead of ja. And what’s more is pl here don’t understand me – I mean really they are the ones with the accents!!!

And what else am I gonna do? Near future: Oxford, Milton Keynes, Cambridge and some other day trip places. Not too distant future: London and Cornwall for Xmas.

BTW – I brought this awesome 17” widescreen laptop, Intel Duo Core 2 processor, 1GB RAM, 100GB hard drive, HD mobile ready, wireless, Bluetooth, brightscreen movie quality 1440 x 900 resolution. It’s killer!!! All for £800, it’s so cool to have a £ sign on my keyboard!!! Next thing subscribe to skype!!!

What else is cool? Walking the streets and only having to worry about the cold and not getting raped, mugged or killed.

Oh ja! The music shops!!! Huge, for anyone that knows me and the problem that I have with LOOK AND LISTEN you can only imagine my issues with a music or cell phone shop on every corner!!!

And they’ve got pot noodles here!!! Not sure how many of you remember those… and pickled onion flavoured chips, the beef flavour is up to shit but…

What else? Oh my aunt is totally Xmas crazy, but Xmas has a different feel here – it feels traditional not so commercial, plus stuff is on like 20% mark down now on top of all the specials already… and me without a job!!! I’m really dieing without a job – y’ll should know me and that I hate doing “nothing” and hate being unproductive!

…

Ah…

I got nothing left (look t pics)– but my brain is going into sleep mode, gotta mail y’ll tomorrow so getting up to Mac Donald’s for the “free” wireless that you have to buy a voucher to use… (Can you hear the tome or my voice?)

Meeting New Friends

So in an effort to meet new people and network off the network, I got together with a Renderosity mate. Apke aka ultimatemale.
I tell you what! What a lovely guy. You know how you're meeting someone for the first time and you think - oh no, I hope we get along or it's going to be a total waste of time? Well thank goodness neither of our time was wasted - sorry Apke I'm assuming you enjoyed my company

We met at Trafalgar Square and trotted off to St James's Park. Yes that's how you spell it, don't ask me why, I ain't the Queen. It was around sunset time and we were scouting scenes to shoot. Apke said that this was his first Landscape Outing, I still reckon he's fibbing...
As the sun was so low and skies overcast we were finding it hard to shoot the budding flowers and swimming birds.
What exactly do you call it when ducks and swans are doing the thing they do when on top of a body of water, floating about?
I knew that there was a bridge that crossed over the little lake and had stunning across water views of the Jubilee Walk that runs next to the Horse Guards Parade and of Buckingham Palace the opposite side. SO that was our next port of call where we spent a good hour and more. I think Akpe was having a hell of a lot of fun. When his first memory card got full, I think that was our indication to move on to the palace.
We walked up to the road leading into Buckingham Palace and while Akpe was standing in the middle of the road shooting (hee hee after walking into the path of an on coming black cab - he was just so excited) I was shooting him, well the whole mood/scene that is. I got this most awesome shot with a Volvo that was kind enough to stay still and make a lasting impression for me. I love light trails and tryig to get the full sequence of the green red and amber in my shutter timing.

After being denied the use of the Queen's toilet we aimed for Piccadilly Circus a mere 20 mins walk away and Akpe filled up on a burger and chips and I got myself soft serve with cookie pieces in < my mom's favourite.

We even sat for another 30 and more minutes chatting just getting on really well. And at 22h30 or there abouts decided to hop aon the tube and make our way home.

Thanx Akpe for being a great/cool dude. Look forward to the next meeting/outing.

Got The Job

So I went for my second interview last Wednesday before going on a photo hunt and meeting Akpe (ultimatemale on renderosity). What the 'interview' entailed was watching an old hat do the work and explaining what was being done and then it was up to be to basically replicate what she had done or at least some that I could follow instructions.

It was all easy enough but I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy doing the job too much. It looks very tedious and mind numbing. ut at the same time, it's a good set of skills to have and the job ops from this position are really good in SA (which is where I'm probably going to have to live forever). And damnit I don't wanna live in middle class forever. I want the holidays to exotic places and the house that is big enough to throw a party in!

Anyway so the boss man called me and told me today that they wold like to offer me the position. I virbally confirmed that I was accepting it and was told to wait for written confirmation to start on the 10th of April. I get home today and the 'recruitment officer' who sent me and email a few days before to say I had been unsuccessful, had sent me an email asking about my visa. I hope there isn't now an issue with the visa being a holiday one!!! He originally sent me a letter to say that I was unsuccessful (after 2 interviews already) after he'd come back from holiday. He didn't confirm what the managers had done in the meantime and jst went on his merry way. Shows you how you can get blown off from HR or recruiting and they haven't even got a clue what the co is looking for nor the potential of a person.

To be perfectly honest I think that they are only employing me coz I have no experience and they can pay me less at the end of the day... I've only been offered £17,500 pa which is not too great but I'm hoping that I will get an increase really soon, like in 3 months, provided that I'm actually still there - it would suck to have to look for another job...

Well if all is still going according to plan (visa not being an issue) I should be earning a bit more money and not be getting my ear munched at day in and out by next week.

Wish me luck in my new endeavor.

Oddly English

So there is something that I learnt about that will explain a lot.

It's called fly tipping. What is it you ask? It is the English people's habit of leaving rubbish out in their unused front lawn, space, patio. And I'm not talking garbage, I'm talking rubbish: prams, bicycles, skates, tyres and any thing generally large and non-decomposable that is no longer of service - chairs included. It looks disgusting and there is no reason for doing it but sheer laziness to go to the dump/tip and dispose of this rubbish. And yes there is a law against it, it's that out of hand.

Anyway so the point? It's quote fascinating actually.

I've now seen 3 television sets being left outside the bounds of the fly tipping area (in front of the wall on the pavement). Apparently if you don't want your old, still working TV anymore you don't take it to the 2nd hand store for a bit of cash. You simply leave it outside with a note on saying that the set is working and consider it a donation. Some soul then comes walking past and picks it up to do as he pleases with it...

Fascinating isn't it?

P.S. I've since seen 2 more TVs wondering about (10.04.07)