Rant of the week

Well yesterday got pester by another agent to not sign with Tiscali as Hyperion willing to line me up for a end of week telephone hook-up. He reckons that I am selling myself really short by going to a system accounting role whether than focusing on the Hyperion experience I have with Qantas. There is a turth in there somewhere that I can probably earn alot more money and better package than the one I am getting if I sticked with Hyperion roles.

The flipside is that any alternatives will not happened for another 2-3 weeks and it could well mean a few more weeks of cleaning bathroom and toilets. Personally I am tired of not working, playing games with agents and sit around on my arse waiting for the best role to come. Part of me keep thinking that his motivation is more about his commissions rather than my well being, so really from his point I should really be cleaning toilets for now. 

In truth being consultant does have it pecks, it does pay better than most companies. The price that the agent is not factoring is why am I in London. Career is only one piece of the jigsaw puzzle. Other parts is also with the growing, learning and living in a different city. Consultant does get pay more but you end up travelling all over the place. You do meeet different people and get to work with them but hardly ever for a long duration, on top of that because you are “the consultant” which always means that you never really part of the social circle of the place.

I will work in SOHO for the next couple of months and see, maybe in a few weeks I will bored and sick of the place and maybe even in London in general, but there is only one way to find out. Pops to the agent, he did informed me that things with Hyperion will not move fast enough for an end of week resolution and advice me to take the job. Now I have to actually live back to a “normal” lifestyle.

Next decision – when to find a place of my own and move out of the hostel……    

NottingHill Carnival

Europe’s biggest street carnival, with over 2 million in attendence over the weekend. Although alot shops in the area boarded up for the weekend, it didn’t take anything away from the atomsphere of the carnival itself.

      
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=12250&l=0380d&id=544948593

The whole weekend has a very distinct Carribbean feeling, when you have Reggae music bluring out of loud speakers and bearded man holding packets of hash its time for party!

 Sunday was designated as “Children’s parade” where they have kiddies parade on a shorten route. Monday is the big day where all the big floats come out, especially the Corona float which everybody likes to be on for some reason.

Views even better from the back…..

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=12251&l=e757c&id=544948593

PROFIT!!!

MIA

Wherever he is, I am sure Jamie is taking good care of him……

Weekend so far

Feeling alot better now, only bit of a cough. No sore throat.

Well, I tell you what I didn’t do thats actually goto Nottinghill. Made it as far as Hyde Park and sat down for a drink. UK is great you can drink in the public no one gives a toss. Also met up with Adelina on saturday night as well and caught up for a quick hot chocolate at Starbucks.

What I do have here is a few pics from the friday night outting at the “Walkabout”. For those in the knows, “Walkabouts” are “Antipodean” chain of pubs but are mainly theme based on Aussies and Kiwis. At least you can get proper Australian beer as opposed to Fosters. This particular “Walkabout” is based on an old church near Leicester, as the pic shows most people are there to get trashed. I was there with my friend Eugene in my London trip back in April. Last time I bailed around 1:00a.m. This time I stay all the way till 3:00a.m. Hardcore eh? not….

     

Will fly a “solo” mission out to the Nottinghill festival tommorrow.

Yay, I am now employed.

Fucked it! Why am I buying time to twiddle thumbs so that I might be able to line up for a Hyperion job while theres a nice job sitting in front of me. Nothing wrong with working with Oracle GL, HFM, I procurement and in 6 months time I can still make a play for any Hyperion roles. So from yesterday, I have accepted Tiscali’s offer and no longer unemployed.

London is having a long weekend this weekend. Nottinghill street festival so I will be heading out that way this weekend. Supposed to be like the biggest street festival. 

Slaying dragons

“Will….. You got to slay some dragons!”

More on that later….. 

Spoke to an agent today and looks like I will be getting an interview with a major Hyperion consulting company, but the big boss is away so nothing will happen until at least 2 weeks where I will get an interview. He would like me to stall the Tiscali a bit even to the point of bad mouthing them and insisting that Hyperion role suits me alot more. As much as he spoke certain degree of truth, he really acting out of self interest more than mine. You see when the revolution come, I will have all the employment agents line up and shot, before the lawyers but after politicans, journalists, reality TV contestants and Kyle Sandilands.

Well instead of spending 2 hours to clean the hostel, I spent 2 hours in cleaning the hostel AND the Attics which is a seperate building to the main hostel. Bit of improvement isn’t it? It still meant that I missed out on the bulk of the wednesday night BBQ, but god bless Maia for leaving some for me.

Two of the girls (Brooke and Kylie, both Kiwi) in the Hostel are having a big night tonight. They both been working here for 4 months and are considered as the backbone of the Astor family. The place will not be the same without these girls. As part of their “send off” we went to the roadhouse.

RoadHouse @ Convent Garden

If anything, I wished my camera has a optical view finder.

       

Think the pictures told the story of the night. It was only 11:30 and most of them already plastered, I spoke to a few of them the following day most of them don’t remember how they got home. Sounded like a great night.

I left around 12:30 with my mate Tarkan. (Hes a Turkish Australian thats dancing with Tess the Swedish blond in the last 2 pics) He had to work the following day, I have no voice with my sore throat. The topic of gals and relationship comes up. From my time observing the nightlife, theres a few lesson that can be fathom:

• Most girl dig taller guys (maybe girls pick up taller guy’s Pheromone better);

• As one drank more, the social inhibition goes;

• Hooking up at closing time is much easier, thanks mostly to alcohol.

Back to the conversation with Tarkan, I mentioned that the girls likes the attention of the few “selected” guys. His reply to me was that he wouldn’t wanted to date anyone within the hostel circle as it can be a bit like living a life in a fish tank where everyone can see you clearly, but on the point of my inhibition, he replied the following:   

“Will….. You got to slay some dragons!”

“From today, you needed to start a rigorous training program where you have one beer everyday to build up your alocohol tolerance.”

If you know me, than you would know that I cannot take alocohol thank largely to genetics, and I am in the drinking capitial of the world.

“Its like you just have to able to talk the girls language (by being tippsy but not to the point ‘trashed’) than things will be come a bit easier”

Hes right, its no fun being sober and act cool/intellectual while everyone around you is having fun and getting hammered.

“You needed to get out there and slay a dragon, than the next one will be easier. (Won’t be easy but easier)”

I hate beer, but I guess theres nothing wrong with a bottle of Southern Comfort instead.      

A for Anal

I just have one of the most frustrating telephone interviews in London, I almost threw the phone out the window.

Its with a certain big 4 company and heres just a taste.

Q: “Tell me how you dealt with a difficult situation?” 

Me: *Explain the difficult scenarios and whats it involved…*

Q: “Ok, you explain the diffcult situation can you tell me what you did?”

Me: *Explain a smmary what I did in the situation…*

Q: “Ok, you explained generally what you did, can you explain something specify?“

I really wished they invent a phone where you can slap the guy on the other side.

Turns out that the phone interview is not even for a particular position, it just a way for them to find out your suitability as a consultant, they than tick the box and forward your applications to the particular division for consideration. In this case I was interviewed by someone that I won’t work with and have no idea of Hyperion or business analytics system. They will forward my application to their technology division.

Thanks A*******, you owe me an hour of my time  and I wanted it back.

   

Between the gutters and the stars.

Bit under the weather the last 2 days, so hopefully I will be over this cold in the next 2 days.

I met with Sarah Fan (Shes my mum’s friend’s daughter) on sunday night for dinner in Soho. She on secondment with Deloitte St Alban office as a tax consultant and going to spend 6 months here in London. Interesting girl, even more interesting to see the contrast between me and her in London. It seems she felt very edgy about living in London like walking on the streets or walking back home from the Angel tube station. I am totally at ease with life in London and feel comfortable walking around in the middle of night. (Well maybe not everywhere, I still dun like to goto Kalle’s bar down at Brixton) Maybe thats the difference between a guy and a gal, than again I am not really an “ordinary” person.

Last night started my first “job” in London. Mark the hostel manager agree that I can spend one hour each night cleaning the bathroom and toilets of the hostel for a 50% discount on rent. That works out to around £7 an hour. Guess thats better than nothing, considering that I just got a call from the agent that the Finance Director of the clothing company will not proceed my CV further. Quite frankly I knew this going to happened when he didn’t mention anything about the next step in the interview process. The reason he mentioned was that I did not “project my confidence enough” for the job. Theres always elsewhere. 

To make things interesting, I got a call from the agent this morning that Tiscali (The UK broadband company from a few post back) actually offer me a 12 months fixed contract! That took me a bit by surprise, I actually told the agent that I probably won’t proceed with the role yesterday because of limited scope on Hyperion.(They only use Hyperion Financial Management) Now the agent told me they offer me the job based purely on the strength of my last interview. I am due in this afternoon at 6:30p.m. for another interview with Rob the Finance Director to nut out the role a bit further. Its a damn attractive proposition and in the absence of a real alternative (unless you count cleaning bathroom and toilets “a real alternative”)  I might just have to bite the bullet and take it. 

P.S. Msg to Mr. Wilson and Mr Su: I see what I can do with the pictures….

Update: took me around 2 hours to do 8 showers and 6 toilets. Think I am over-doing it if its meant to be done in 45 mins…..

Lets go bowling.

@ 1:30a.m. that is.

Theres a bar/club at Holborn call BOWLS. It basically a bowling alley that opens till 3.00a.m. but also sell drinks as well. Not just bowling you can also play pool and Karaoke or watch the crappy 60s movie they have outside the front. Only shame is that the American girl with us was really digging the Kiwi guy so me and another Aussie are effectively the “third and fourth wheel”. We just retreated back to hostel and let them be and take bets on whether he got any that night.

London is a great place, probably get sick of it one day but till that day comes I will love every moment of it.

FABRIC

For those that dunno Fabric, its one of the top clubs of London. Its near Farringdon in the city. Its around 6 minutes cab ride from where I live. It has three rooms. Room one is FabricLIVE where they have bands played live in between the house music, Room two is drum and base (and where most of the pill poppers are) and room three is a smallest room where they play the bulk standard house music.

I was surpise to see hip-hop band Yo Majesty playing in the middle of club of house music. I took a few movies of them bu unfortunately the sound quality was really really bad so I didn’t ended up uploading it. Man dun they know how to work a crowd!! I am still amaze at how big live music is in the club culture over here. So many places I been to has a live band of some sort.

Guess the best part of the night is that me and my friends are doing running tally of how many people wanted to “buy” off you. I only got one but my friend has four. Guess being a thin Asian guy kind of help. Maybe next time I should carry some chalk and make some money.