Mr. Persistent

i've got to give him full marks for his persistence. i thought i had, albeit indirectly, made it clear i wasn't interested, but that doesn't seem to deter him. he unexpectedly showed up at a friend's party last night and while he was quite subtle about it - which i must say was nice - he still made sure he talked to me and got to know me better. he didn't actually achieve much, because people kept interrupting, but you could see he was trying. it was actually rather sweet and while i still think this is going nowhere, i have to admit i was flattered.

in the world of pro-bono editing

i spent more than a week editing a 34-page text for my father's company. this in effect meant having to rewrite it all as it made little sense. and it being scientific, difficult. and with my current crazy timetable (job hunt, going to workshops, etc.), not technically a priority on my list but important enough for the company that i took time to do it. before going through it a second time, i sent him the revised text and asked him to clarify the points i had made in the comments (about 50!), so that i would know how to handle those issues. so far, so good. 

 

he called me up to explain that the medical terms were probably correct, seen as he'd now gone over them with a colleague. but the way he said it i immediately realised that he'd actually reworked the text with her independently. i'd asked for a couple of clarifications last week, so he knew i was well under way. i was well pissed. how could he, when i'd spent so much time rewriting the damn thing, rework it from the original, uncorrected version? what exactly did that say about the value of my totally unpaid yet extremely valuable contribution? unbelievable! i told him in no uncertain terms that he would have to add the reworks to my document if he wanted me to have another look but there was no way i was going to slave through an entirely reworked document. i am so pissed off.

interviews

as part of my job search, i'm going to lots of workshops on how to write your CV, the current job market, etc. and this week i went to one about managing a job interview. the few experiences i've had have been relatively laid-back (more than once, it was mostly about confirming when i could start) and the only 'real' interview i had was in November. so this was an opportunity to find out more about what to say (or not) and how to say it. 

the workshop included real practice and i immediately volunteered to be the first 'candidate'. luckily, some of my friends who work in HR have briefed me so i'd recorded myself and listened to it ad nauseam so i was prepared. be that as it may, i felt some of it hadn't gone too well but i actually mostly received praise for structured and detailed information. interestingly, someone mentioned my answers could be shorter, which is in direct contradiction to feedback i'd received from one of my HR friends, who really wanted me to develop every answer. i guess it depends on who is in front of you.

all in all, while i felt i hadn't been great, i could see how i was much better than the others. unfortunately, that won't mean anything until i actually get interviews!

Severus Snape and the Marauders - Harry Potter Fan Film

published just a few days ago!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmsntGGjxiw

ironic instructions

while i was in Australia, i got some facial cream. being who i am, i actually read the instructions and was surprised by the mention that the cream should be stored in a dry place in temperatures not exceeding 21°C. this was an Australian brand (Aesop) and as most people know, Australia is a place where temperatures regularly exceed 21° for a rather long part of the year, and while summers where i live are not necessarily as hot, temps can quite easily reach 30°+ for a few weeks. did that mean that my cream should be stored in the fridge? 

i walked into the beauty store to find out and the person i spoke to had no clue. as in, she didn't even know that the instructions mentioned a 21° maximum and was just as surprised as i was. considering this was news to her, she did a good job of helping me, assuring me the fridge was a bad idea as it wasn't a gel and suggesting i kept the jar in an as cool place as possible. quite.