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'Just for once, why don't I eat and and do nothing else, no distractions like TV,' I thought. It was quite a calming experience, sitting in silence and appreciating my food. 'This is the way to do it. Back to a simpler life.' I told myself. Five minutes later and the TV was on ;(
One of my cousins and his girlfriend, who live in Ireland, have just had a baby girl!! The girl (I don't yet know her name) was born in the early hours of the morning yesterday, and I'm relieved to hear that the delivery went smoothly. Congratulations!
What a special time this must be for them. Giving birth is strange when you think about it. My mum always says that having children is such a special thing, and the love you have for your children never dies, unlike how it can between couples.
Biologically, it's what we are here to do, isn't it? It would seem natural that the feelings associated with having children would be very deep. Which makes me wonder, are those of us who choose not to have children missing out on something special?
Twiglets and a glass of milk. Ah this takes me back. I still love twiglets!
You know that childhood trick where you pretend to push someone from behind (but just hold their shoulders) and say, 'Saved your life!'? Some people decided to do it on the Tube platform the other day - the driver even scolded culprits once the train had set off.
Have you seen these before? I'm not sure if you can see in the picture, but you put ice in the cave-like hole to cool your drink without diluting it once the ice melts. Kind of cool design, wouldn't you say?
One of my friends forwarded me a shocking e-mail concerning the Kanagawa JETs. Here is a snippet:
"...Its been confirmed that there will be no new JETs next year in Kanagawa. In other words, ALL JETs leaving this year will be replaced by a dispatch company..."
Presumably, JETs wishing to extend their contract will be allowed to do so, but there will be no replacement JETs flying in for those JETs not recontracting.
This is big news, though not wholly unexpected. During my time as a Kanagawa JET, Yokohama city JETs were being phased out. Are the costs of the JET programme becoming too high to justify?
A normal looking woman was waiting just outside a local station and as I approached to walk passed her a car (with tinted windows and alloy wheels) pulled up and a young man in the passenger seat wound down his window.
'What are you doing?' he asked the girl.
'I'm busy.' she replied.
'Are you working?' he continued.
...*silence
'How much? How much is it an hour?' he went on.
By that time I was almost out of ear shot, but I just about heard him say,
'I was only joking.'
Poor lady. Is that the guy's idea of fun?
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking is one of the most recent books I've bought. It's concerned with moments of gut feeling; first impressions; 'knowing' whether something is or isn't right in an instant; times when too much analysis can be a disadvantage and so on.
The book introduces various concepts regarding decision making - whether conscious or unconcious - while using various stories to illustrate points. Some of these stories will surprise you and get you thinking.
The title 'Blink' and the gorgeous cover design was enough to get me interested. Was this an example of a split second decision to buy the book? Well, I didn't buy the book on the spot, but on the other hand I was interested enough to buy it in the end.
It was one of the times when I thought I was going to drop with hunger. I got off the train and walked straight into the nearest food place I could think of - Subway. My turkey breast sandwich lay in front of me promising to banish my hunger. But when I went to bite into it, I just happened to look through the slats in the chair in front of me to be presented with the horrible builder's bum of the guy sitting there. Ick - that's enough for you to forget your hunger entirely!
Yesterday was very disappointing after finding out that I hadn't got the job I'd applied for after eight interviews. Unlike previous interviews, however, I was given a decent bit of feedback, so at least I can make the most of the experience for next time. Then again, I didn't agree with all of what was said and it seems as though several things from my interviews were taken out of context or just plain misunderstood. I am not really convinced by the number of short interviews and the snap decisions that were made about the candidates.
On the plus side, this was one of the most efficiently run graduate recruitment procedures I have experienced and the staff were all incredibly friendly.
So it's time to wait for other interview results and to start further applications. Like the Littlest Hobo said, 'Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.'
The fantastic night view of Canary Wharf was replaced in the morning by blinding sunlight reflecting off the river. I sat down to breakfast after finding a few of the other applicants in the restaurant area. The atmosphere was quieter and more tense.
We had arranged to meet by the hotel reception after breakfast to travel to our interview site together. A long ramp leads from just behind reception to a Hilton Hotel ferry pier. The ferry runs to Canary Wharf for £2.70 every 10 minutes. The small ferry and bobbing water did nothing for everyone's nerves, that's for sure. Within about a minute or two of setting off we had already arrived at the other side, at the pier next to Zizzi's. Then we had a 5-10 minutes' walk to the building in which we would have our interviews. Just getting to the interview stage felt like a mini-adventure in itself.
After our bags had been scanned, we were given visitor passes and asked to sit in the lobby and wait to be called. We were left until just after 9.00, the time the interviews were to start. It was the waiting that was the hardest part - I think everyone just wanted to get it started as soon as possible.
Yesterday evening I made my way to Canada Water to catch a hotel shuttle bus to the Hilton London Docklands Riverside. With a perfectly good bed in my London home, I wondered if it wasn't a little extravagant, but it was to be all expenses paid for the night so I didn't complain.
I had made it to a second interview with one of my job applications and the HR department seemed keen to meet up with the remaining applicants for dinner before today's round of interviews. Two guys currently on the scheme we were all applying to turned up and it proved a useful opportunity to ask questions and get a bit of an insider's point of view of the company. Although the aim was to 'relax' and get to know each other, it would be hard to believe that opinions weren't being formed about us over dinner.
There were eight applicants all together and everyone was really nice. Most people were friendly and very down to earth. They had come from all over the UK and one poor guy wasn't able to make it until this morning by an overnight train from Scotland. Thankfully, at least for my part, I felt no pressure at being surrounded with people who could be seen as my competitors. The HR guy present suggested that there was no set number of people there were looking for which helped, but perhaps they were just easing the situation for us.
I think it was for just the second time that I went to eat sushi in London. While I'm still aquiring the taste, this sushi did taste good and seemed to be of a high standard. With a reputation for being good among the Japanese living in London perhaps you might want to try it? This set of sushi set me back approx £12.
Address: Sushi Sei, 33B Walm Lane, Willesden Green NW2
Telephone: 020-8459-7512
