Cat’s out of the (unemployed) bag! I got a job!

But before we get into that….

I was determined to use my last week of unemployment somewhat wisely.

I took some workout classes. The noises that men make in a boxing class should actually be studied. Like so much grunting. Like it sounds like they are having sex with the punching bag. Please I do not think men should be allowed at any workout studios. They get enough exercise punching up.

I went to the Kew Gardens Orchid Festival!! I had never been to Kew Gardens and I didn’t see everything but what I did see was really delightful. I love a good flower, as indicated by the various flowers tattooed on my body!

And the Orchid Festival!! Wowza. They really said “What if we took orchids and then put it in a 10ft tall Cornucopia” 

I had my last shift at the pub:( I made cookies to commemorate the occasion. 

No one knew it was my last day so when I told them everyone was so upset. They cried and fell to the ground screaming “God NO please it can’t be”. 

Kidding. But it was a bit of a downer. I am going to miss those kooky kids and doing shots of coffee tequila on the job. Beautiful Betty ran out and got me some Beautiful Flowers. I ate the Chicken Milanese. I can finally enjoy pizza again after avoiding it because I had it almost every meal. I genuinely think my mother, who saw The Pub once, was more upset about me leaving than I was. Girly never had to work an Arsenal game. 

Maybe I’ll come back for a weekend or two in the summer because I’ll feel left out.

The night before the new job Susana came over and we did what we do best, eat a grocery store pizza, drink wine, and watch a horrible movie. This time around we saw Beautiful Disaster which was as the title suggests, a beautiful disaster which could be summed up in this letterboxd review: 

Nonetheless, we had fun watching Dylan Sprouse have sex scenes. 

What a journey it’s been. What a horrible, demoralizing, depressing journey. After over 60 job applications, 4 interviews and countless mental breakdowns, you are now looking at the new Head of Fundraising and Partnerships at Body& Soul Charity. Ya heard that?  HIBC over here. She-E-O as one may say. 

Essentially we are a mental health charity that trying to fill the gaps in public healthcare.- AKA- therapy and support groups for Women and children affected by HIV, long term support for people who have attempted suicide and their families. Ya know the usual happy things I do.

I am in the office every day which is located in Exmouth market! It’s about a 10-minute walk away from Angel Station so the location is stellar. I have been going to Gails about 5x a week now so I have really fallen into the routine of office life. That bitch Gail is taking all of my money fr. 

I have a great team that has just been so wildly welcoming. It’s a mental health charity so everyone is very affectionate and kind. Even on my second interview, when I didn’t even have the job yet, I got lots of hugs. Hugging is very big at Body & Soul. Good morning hugs and goodbye hugs and good job hugs and are you okay hugs. Lots of hugs. Which according to my mom is “unprofessional” but hey I’d take that over unfriendly co-workers any day.  I have never been asked “Have you eaten?” so many times. Speaking of eating. We have an in-house chef who comes and cooks food for our members but she makes us meals too. And it is top quality. 

ALSO we have a yoga teacher come in twice a week to give yoga classes!! Her name is Fanula.

It’s definitely been interesting stepping into a role that a) isn’t working on the “frontline” as I did at the Coalition and b) has a bit more of a say. I am given full reigns to reimagine our fundraising strategy and the way the fundraising team works. (I even get my own unpaid intern next month!!).

My boss didn’t like when I suggested our fundraising strategy should be me dating older me:( lame

I won’t lie, I never do, it hasn’t been all easy. It has been frustrating at times trying to catch up and write grant applications for programs I don’t know anything about. I was thrown right in the deep end which means both learning on the job :) and learning on the job :(. It’s been tough keeping up.

It doesn’t help that this black hole called “Microsoft SharePoint” is a devil entity full of dozens of folders with nothing in them and spreadsheets that have missing information. Can’t wait to have my intern help fix it!

Plus I miss having my days more open. I could do my workout classes, grocery shopping and laundry when everyone else was working. I had all the time in the world. 

Granted I was also applying to jobs all day, questioning my life, looking after 3 screaming children, travelling 45 minutes to get to the pub and getting home around 1:00am smelling like beer, sweat, beer, tequila and beer. So I am glad I am employed but it has been an adjustment period for sure.

Its been good for me though in many ways. I love a routine and an excuse to organize something. I have made various excel spreadsheets and also this incredible wall to track funding applications.

So it is a really nice place to work and I feel very lucky that it is not a corporate pit stain on the world. Also, there is something so special about hearing some of our members say “Body & Soul saved my life”. It makes me feel more confident I am somewhere important and somewhere I belong.

One of my favorite days of the year!! I cooked my WORLD FAMOUS cheese dip and baked Taylor Swift’s Chai Cookies.

Obviously there was an art project involved and this year we made our own picture frames. It was a very meticulous process but the results were well worth it. 

We drank wine, gabbed and crafted. Thank you to everyone who came to share the feminist love. I love you all!

On Actual Valentine Day me and Katie spent it will each other, pints, and our chocolate box.

I didn’t even have the job for 2 weeks when LSE asked me to come in to be an alumni speaker at a Q&A with the current human rights program to talk about navigating the job market and your career path after graduation. I don’t think they were super stoked at how pessimistic I was. Not one month earlier I was knee-deep in cover letters and writing the words “I am excited to apply to” over and over nd over again. 

I told them the truth!! Ever heard of it?? God forbid someone tells the truth anymore!!
I told them they can’t be picky because being picky about your job is a luxury. I am an example that you can and will get a job after graduation it just won’t be the job you thought you’d have. 

The careers lady sent me a note afterwards thanking me for being “honest and relatable”. So there we go. I got a bunch of new LinkedIn connections and a free meal from Hiba. 

Speaking of Linkedin my bosses at work encouraged me to make a post telling my fans about this event. Guys, please know that post was not my heart. I tried to make it more me by using the word “sucks”. I stand by that even though my mother refused to like the post because of it. I am not a LinkedIn influencer. I can never be as dedicated as you dad!!!

Yay! 

I tried two new matcha places this month with two of my most prized friends!

Rory and I went to Karuto in Hamstead to get matcha with a bear-shaped Madeline. We drank our matcha while walking in a graveyard. Yall think the spirits fuck with matcha?

Then Yaz and I went to Matchado during our little rainy outing to Coal Drops Yard. Can matcha stop being 6 pounds thank you. ❤️ 

I love walking and talking and matcha-ing with my friend. Casually Socializing till I FUCKING DIE.