Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover; And Please Put Your Knickers Away
For the last month I have been 'freelancing' in terms of employment - teaching dancing and temping as a housekeeper. I have been pretty nervous to admit this, but I am horribly happy and content right now, working on nothing that remotely constitutes a graduate career and earning little while still living with my parents. I have been busy making new friends, catching up with old ones, and struggling not to plan an escape to some remote corner of the world. In the last week I have considered Bali, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, but for now I think I will put this on hold, as I have just been invited to the furthest place from the British Isles on Earth next week - France. This game-changing invitation is as a result of my temp work as a housekeeper at a local residential conference centre for the last few weeks. The staff there are some of the friendliest and most upbeat individuals I have ever met despite having to clean up after other people everyday. I feel like I have been there for months rather than days, as every staff member is made to feel equal to the next regardless of job description or wages. I only have one fault so far with my job, and it is not an uncommon one I'm sure. Aside from the surprise of business ladies leaving their knickers lying around their room next to an empty bottle of wine and the neighbouring (male) room's bed untouched, it is the attitude of people who sit still all day rather than take part in any physical activity that surprises and somewhat upsets me. As I was cleaning the males (I hasten to add disgusting toilets), two ladies came out of their seminar room to use the facilities. As a housekeeper/cleaner, I make myself scarce. However before I left their earshot one exclaimed 'There are a lot of children about today', while the other agreed adding 'I think it's the school holidays.' I wanted to scream at them and shake their chubby cheeks from office work all day - I am not a child!! And I have a very respectable degree thank you very much! But following 4 months of an unpaid graduate internship I needed some money, and as it turns out, I actually really look forward to going into work everyday. I may not be solving the world, or this companies, financial woes, or fighting for world peace, but I am on my feet for 7 and a half hours a day cleaning up after them to enable them to do their job, and learning the apparent hierarchies of the world. It has been a humbling experience to work with some of the happiest people I have ever met, despite them all earning little above minimum wage they do not begrudge their job or lifestyles. That just shows that Bob Marley et al, really were right when they said that Money doesn't buy happiness. Just like the private school child who assumed I was Polish purely because I was working as a dinner lady at his school for 6 hours, I feel sorry for the business men and women out there who have forgotten what it was like when they started their career and no longer have any concept of the hard work millions of low paid workers do everyday while they ignorantly graze on unhealthy snacks while staring at their computer screen. I am so glad I have accepted a job as a housekeeper for the next few months, not only because I get to go to France for a team building two days next week, but also because it is helping me to appreciate different hierarchies in this world, with the hope that one day I will have enough money and experience to help others find employment at any level in whatever sector they choose, in my own little quest to decrease families dependence on the state welfare system and increase their independence, home security and self-confidence to achieve something in life, be that from becoming Prime Minister, to simply getting out of bed every morning and making it to a place of work.
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About meI enjoy writing and have had experience from my degree and through working on news posts. I hope to use this blog as a summary of extraordinary things I've discovered or witnessed in everyday life. Archives
March 2020
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