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Job Search

Today the time came for me to go on my first job hunt; a time in a boy’s life where he ceases to be a youth and grows into a confident man of the world, yada yada yada…

OK, so I’m only 16 and still in full-time education and therefore unsuitable for full-time employment. However, I do want to purchase a £600 DSLR camera around Christmas, and need all the money I can get. A Saturday job seemed the most feasible route.

I printed out seven copies of my Curriculum vitae (you can grab a copy of my Public Curriculum Vitae – sans address and phone number – if you wish), and headed down to my local retail park in search of employment.

First port of call was Comet – a delightful little outlet that sold me a spanking new iPod nano (8gb, black – the sophisticated man’s choice), and then exchanged it for me hassle-free a fortnight later when it ceased to function. Then it was across the carpark to Currys, who also liberated a CV.

After Currys I decided to visit B&Q, which coincidentally was my dad’s first place of work too. They didn’t fancy one of my crisp handouts, but instead provided me with an application leaflet and advised me to arrange a telephone interview rather than to use the online service. After that I visited Marks and Spencers, who gave me a similar treatment. Finally I visited Halfords, whose service desk was devoid of life; and Homebase, who aren’t looking for part-time applicants.

So, what has this blog post achieved? Well, nothing much really, but if you happen to call in at Comet, Currys, B&Q or Marks and Spencers at the Kingsway Retail Park in the near future and spot a spiky haired, unintelligible assistant… gizza wave.

A Monopoly of the Guildhall

As many visitors to this website may have realized, I am amateur (but very enthusiastic) photographer who showcases his photos on Flickr. I live in a smallish city in the middle of England called Derby, and make a point of carrying a camera with me wherever I go; as such, a have a huge collection of photos from around my hometown.

I realized a few days ago that a search for ‘derby guildhall’ in Flickr returns results almost exclusively from myself and people with whom I am acquainted.

The first result is a HDR image from JonnyFez, a photographer that I met a fair time ago through a Derby group, and with whom I correspond fairly frequently. The second picture was taken by myself, and pictures 4, 5 and 6 were taken by the founder of the Derby Flickr Group (of which I am a member), dexter_mixwith.

There are a a couple of photos on the page by three photographers that I don’t know, but apart from that the photos are from Jess Payne (a fellow student and friend), Rose Akers (another fellow student), and Jyoti Mishra (a very friendly photographer and musician that I have contact with every other day – visit his blog).

The photos on the second page are exclusively by dexter_mixwith (real name John, I believe) and I, and the third is exclusively my photos – except for one by Rose.

I thought that was pretty cool. Of course, I also have very little else to post.

Sitting in on Static Vendetta

Last night I sat in on a pre-gig rehersal for a friend’s band, Static Vendetta. Considering that my own band isn’t exactly in the best shape it’s ever been in, watching Static Vendetta practice is elightening.

To start with, they play as a definate unit. The band is led by the drums, which are imaginative, varied, powerful, and – critically – consistant. The band takes their timing from the drums – this is the way that it should be. In The Lowlifes, songs have a tendency to rely on either me or Elliot for timings as we use an electric kit (it’s all we can fit in the attic), and they’re quiet.

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Coming to you live from Chester

Those of you who know me personally will perhaps know that I have been in the city of Chester for the past few days.  Perhaps not the best timing for a holiday (with an important gig coming up, and days after my girlfriend arriving back off holiday), but a welcome change of scenery all the same.

Chester is a city of heritage and beauty.  Initially a Roman settlement founded around the time of the crucifiction of Christ, the city is the only city with a complete surrounding wall left in England – although only half the wall is Roman, the rest added as the city expanded a few centuries later.

Chester is also the home of England’s largest Roman ampitheatre.  Situated just outside the city walls, it seated up to 7000 people - although it’s primary use was combat training, not recreation.  The city isn’t full of just Roman artifacts, however; the city has a wide array of Tudor, Victorian, and Georgian sights and houses.  One of the city’s main attractions (other than the wall and open excavation of the ampitheatre, of course) is the city’s unique and characteristic rowed shops.

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Summer romances

I woke up this morning with a pounding headache and a sensation in my throat akin to having a barbed wire fence dragged through my thorax, and so decided to take the day off school.  My headache is subsiding somewhat now, and as I have a SPB to work on and a geography coursework extension to plead for, as soon as this post is finished I’m going for a shower and dragging myself to school for half a day.

As I lay in bed this morning debating whether or not it would be worth downing a large amount of Ibuprofen and hoping for the best, it struck me how crap summers are.

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The true meaning of love

Whilst sitting in science yesterday with Elliot and feeling immensely bored unstimulated, I decided to work out the true meaning of love.  Well, if you want me to do some real work, try motivating me with something other than photocopies mind-numbing physics worksheets.

There is a trend within the much hated ‘Emo’ subculture here in England of drawing hearts as <3.  This comes from instant messaging conversations and websites wanting a textual alternative to the heart, but some quite mislead people took it upon themselves to take this out of context and draw textual hearts everywhere – on their school planners, on posters, on cards, etc. – in an attempt to conform and feel like they’re a part of the Emo or scene subcultures.

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