Trying Harder Failing Better

I don't update this at all these days. Still at the college, back with Josie, might be moving house. There.


Yet another driving test tomorrow. I'd better pass this time. If I don't it means another long wait for another test, preceded by more blooming expensive driving lessons that I can't afford. Fingers crossed. Wish me luck etc. etc.

It's the end of the year soon. Gulp.

Things are moving too quickly for me to keep track of.

I have a new job. I now work as an art technician at Stockport College. The work is great, but the pay is low. This is frustration incarnate, as the only reason I didn’t move out when I was working at JD Williams was because I was doing something I hated, and didn’t want to lose the feeling I could quit if I wanted to. Now that I’m doing something I wouldn’t mind relying on, I’m not earning enough.

The work itself is great though; It’s basically babysitting a class of 17 year olds. I show them how to do Photoshop and silkscreen printing, and tell them to be quiet when they get noisy. The other staff are friendly, and there’s a real sense of community about the place. I’ve never worked with people who are like me, and have the same interests and values. It’s also nice being valued for one’s (admittedly meagre) achievements, too. It’s also interesting being on the other side of Art education as well. Doling it out instead of taking it for granted. I’m surprised how, substantial, the facilities are at Stocky Coll as well. There are Mac suites and workshops and superb printmaking facilities. There was none of this at Aquinas, and it’s also explained why so many students I knew found the transition from college to University (on art courses) difficult. At Stocky Coll most of the teachers and technicians will basically do the work for the student, while at university you’re basically left to get on with it.

It’s made me think about taking on teaching as a career, but I don’t think I’d be able to teach art A Level. It’s too basic at A-level, and I don’t want to end up hating one of my passions. I could probably teach graphics, as I’m sufficiently detached from this subject to treat is as work. I do feel a little young for teaching at the moment though, and I know it’s something I can go back to, if I feel inclined. We’ll see.

Apart from that, I’ve made no art, but I have become a hypocrite and set up a twitter, so add me, and I can annoy you in an entirely new way!

I have been at work for 6 months. Since starting, I haven’t had time to write up a description of what it’s like. I wrote something about having to go to the dole office after about 10 minutes, so it’s about time I recorded for posterity my time working for JD Williams.
( More and more and more )

If you're a regular here, you’ll know I usually spend the New Year making a list of resolutions. They mostly fall into the mundane self-improvement stuff. Quit Smoking, lose 50lbs, dead-lift 200kg, grow it big, etc. I actually felt quite cocky this time around when I decided to review last years list, as I thought I'd actually achieved one of them. This is because of the First I got at university. I was almost dead certain I'd put down "get a first" as, well, the first thing on the list. But now that I've come to review the list, I can see how misplaced this pride was, compared to what I set out to accomplish last January. ( I now present a list of what I didn't do over the last year: )

2-0-0-9!

The big news this week is work. I started my job as an inbound enquiries advisor. It is a very easy, but also incredibly boring job. The people I work with are nice, and none threatening, which makes a change from my previous jobs. I think that’s all I have to say about work. That is how interesting it is.


It’s weird to think that this time last year I was making art and worrying about a dissertation, and now I don’t seem to have any momentum at all. This will be a long year.

I went to Barcelona for a week with my parents and brother. My parents wanted to go to Edinburgh, to see what all the fuss about the fringe festival is about. So I reminded them that it isn’t hot and sunny in Scotland. It is wet and cold, and windy. And they aren’t interested in the theatre, or mediocre stand-up comedy. So I persuaded them to go to Barcelona. A weeks holiday in Barcelona at a four star hotel including flights was the same price as three nights in a crumby B&B in Edinburgh. Didn’t take that much persuasion.
Barcelona is nice, it’s like a cross between a theme park and a city. It even has rides, like the cable cars and a beach. I expected a Manchester-on-sea sort of place, but it turned out to be huge. Plenty of museums and art galleries. I had plenty of paella.
Work starts tomorrow. It’s my first ever full time job, and the first time I’m getting paid above minimum wage. Not much above minimum wage, unfortunately. So no yachting holidays just yet.
It’s my last day of holiday and I’m lounging about watching old films I found in a box of VHS’s. Some of the old ITV idents are pretty insane. Rock on.

August, you truly are, the eigth month of the year.

The summer plods on. I have a job now, which I start at the end of the month. This is good because it means I don't feel guilty about basically lying around. I think I'll end up watching a lot of handball, archery, and other unpopular sports.

The olympic opening ceremony was pretty incredible. I've been thinking how awful London's attempt will be. I have no idea how they will create anything as awesome. My money at the moment is on a brigade of holographic dancing Cilla Blacks, while that inept logo is spelled out in the manner of those carphone warehouse adverts. Tim Henman will then shout "Twentytwelve" at the top of his lungs. What a time to be alive!

Müm, were amazing, by the way. Why weren't you watching them?

Anyway, how are you doing?

I’ve finished Uni now, and now in the middle of what can I only describe as the long, dull summer. I’ve been looking for work, but my two-week intensive burst hasn’t resulted in much (4 jobs a day), so I’ve signed on. I am officially a member of the underclass.

Today was only the second time in my relatively short life that I’ve been into a Jobcentreplus. Last summer was the first time, when I went for an interview for an employment agency. I was taken aback by the level of security, and slightly amused by a kid who’d brought his skateboard to the interview.

When I walked into the Stockport branch of Jobcentreplus this afternoon, to meet an M. Grimley, I passed two lads beatboxing on their way out. There was another group smoking on the railings outside. Once inside I was directed up to “New claims” on the first floor. I didn’t fancy my chances squeezed into the tiny lifts with a pushchair and it’s nicotine stained mother, so I took the stairs.

There was a definite divide in the long office, sofas in a line down the centre, and the desks where the staff worked were along the walls. I was told to take a seat on the sofas and asked to wait. The office was done out rather nicely, actually. Everything seemed new and corporate. Artistically lit posters on the walls exclaimed, “Yes, you can get a job!”, while others showed happy, smiling, pretty people, working on a checkout, or caring for an elder. One was even dressed as a chef. The only real noticeable difference between this office and any other modern place of work, were the people. I mentioned the divide earlier; it was between the employed, and the jobseekers. There was a definite air of cigarette smoke and body odour about the place. Tracksuits and shaven heads were also prevalent, as were noisy and unruly children. The jobseekers all seemed a little on the undernourished side, in comparison to the staff.

The staff weren’t that patronising, not to me anyway, but while I was being shown jobs that might suit me in the Stockport area on a computer screen, I wondered why I was here, counted amongst the GCSE dropouts and teenage mothers. I know it doesn’t really mean anything in the long term. It’s just a mega bummer.

On paper it shouldn’t have been an incredibly depressing experience. The offices were modern, the staff were sympathetic and helpful, and they were basically handing out free money. It must have something to do with my perception of myself. The snob in me wanted to feel superior to the moron in the tracksuit being interviewed across from me (his looking for work involved walking around the industrial estate) but I was in the exact same position, acknowledging my un-employability. All in all, the experience was a lot like school. There were professionals paid to help and make this a productive experience, whilst no one whatsoever wanted to be there. At all.

My signing on day is Wednesday. Joy of Joys.

Does my face count as my head?

Sometimes I don't know why I bother.

I almost have a degree. All my work is up and in a nice little pile in the exhibition space. I reckon I'm on for a 2:1, but to make things interesting, I'll shave my head if I get a first. Interesting is relative.

Being the massive nerd that I am, I really, really, really want to buy this. 

I also want to live with someone who wouldn't mind playing it with me, over and over again.

You should come because it's going to be awesome (probably).

Reduced Fat houmous is disgusting.

My new years resolution to update my Livejournal at least once a week is going pretty miserably. I think I entered into that pact with myself in the same spirit I entered into the observable phenomena thing I did before Xmas after finishing my dissertation. I wasn’t doing anything but moping round complaining I couldn’t think of anything to do, so I decided to document this and see if through the documentation I would change into a highly productive student. Kind of like Meller. I wanted to see if measuring myself changed me. Unfortunately I measured myself wandering around the corridors at uni, playing about on facebook and watching E4, I got bored of this and the experiment failed. So yeah, I though I’d start doing Livejournal-worthy things if I knew I had Livejournal content to fill.

( Computer based moanings, pretty dull. )

In other news; Art Sheffield 08 is pretty good, not great. I might write up a full report on all the pieces and galleries and post it up here or something, I might as well, then I can get marked on it as well.

We had a mini bonfire last night by burning up our mouldy old canvasses that were festering in the basement in and old barbeque. Our landlord appeared at one point, and we were prepared for a bollocking, but he instead asked if it was a barbeque or a patio heater, and gave us some old trellis to burn. We also burnt a load of paper from out of the recycling bin. I proposed burning some of the plastic recycling, so as to get a totally legal high, but luckily this suggestion was not acted on, as it was merely in jest.

The uni ball eye needle point pens are a totally adequate replacement for the pilot Hi tecpoint V5’s I’ve been using for ages, and at £1 for 2 at pound land, as opposed to about a fiver for 3 at WHSmiths, they’re a steal!

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:

Administration assistant for RTA, Sales assistant for SSP at Sheffield Train Station, Telesales canvasser for RTA and general agency caterer for a company called Bald Fox.
They’ve all been pretty awful, but I suppose the telesales ranks as the worst, and the catering as most interesting. I served princess Anne one week and a man with hate on both knuckles the next.


B) Four films I would watch over and over:

Considering I’ve only got about 4 on DVD this isn’t so hard, The Truman Show, American Beauty, Pi and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind


C) Four places I have lived:

Braemar Road in Manchester, Crescent Park in Stockport, Exchange works in Sheffield and this house in Sheffield.


D) Four TV shows that I watch:

Well I watch more than 4, but what I watch most is; Curb your Enthusiasm, Peep show, BBC news 24, assorted shite on E4.

E) Four places I have been:

New York, Paris, London, Venice, all quite recently, well, except Paris.


F) People who e-mail me (regularly):

Andrew South (societies coordinator, or whatever he is), erm, hondartza fraga, of Scaf, My tutor Hester used to mail me quite a bit. I don’t get many emails really though.


G) Four of my favourite foods:

I’ll scoff anything Gluten-free, which means steaks mainly, Indian food, New York Breakfasts, Crisps


H) Four places I would rather be right now:

New York, and then I think pretty much any international capital, in a rich country.


I) Four things that I am looking forward to this year:

Learning to drive? I’m not looking forward to much at all this year. Not graduation that's for sure.


J) Four favourite books:

Pale Fire; Nabokov, Life a users manual; Perec, Illuminations is great by Walter Benjamin, but it’s hardly laugh a minute. Any of the Adrian Mole books I think I could read forever.

This week and weekend so far has been a bit hectic. I’ve finally managed to get some sort of routine with both my sleeping and working, actually synchronised in some productive order. Which is much better than going to bed at 2 and waking up at 11.
I’ve been spending this last week entirely engaged in the production of cones. Which is frustrating as I’ve been hard at work, mired in production, without very much to show for it at all. Sigh. Throughout next week I plan to have at least 7 cones done a day. I might start some sort of cone count on here. I mean, why not?
I was back in Stockport this weekend for a very brief visit to the opticians. The plan was to knuckle down whilst not in Sheffield, and get all my assessment documentation done. I wanted to play some chess too, so I could properly celebrate the death of Bobby Fischer (a man parodied in the “hit” Abba musical Chess”) . I also had plans not to meet two strangers in a pub who kept buying me excessively strong cider whilst arguing about the value of Art in a consumerist society. These plans also included not falling asleep at moscow_olympics's house, not waking up still completely trashed and definitely not having a terrible, terrible hangover, which resulted in my doing nothing but groaning and watching the internet. No I hadn’t planed any of the above, but it happened. At least it was fun.

I have acquired an unshakable nostalgia for 2005. It was a good year…

Does anyone fancy coming out for a booze with me on saturday? I'd like to do some sort of miniature crawl, like various pubs along the 142 route, ending in smile. text or ring me if you fancy it :) it might even be fun!

Once again, it has been rather a while since I last updated this here Livejournal. I’d love to say it was because I’ve been really busy working really hard, but that would be a lie.

Here, for your viewing pleasure is the standard end of year meme with which I may send you to sleep. You might notice I haven’t answered all the questions that Meller has, just because I couldn’t think of anything witty to say. And because I should be in bed now ;)

( A Year in Tom )

It is October already. The 4th. The 4th of October. Where did the summer I had set aside to do my dissertation go? I had all these plans to lock myself up in my room and write and write and write. But now it’s October and I’ve got thousands of words to write about something or other and no time in which to do it. Crimony! It peculiarly feels like the end of the year is just around the corner, when I’ve only been back about 2 weeks. I hope it’s not like this for the rest of year, I’m already stressed out to the max, I think I might actually go mad.

In other news, Josie is in L.A. in California in America. I am very jealous. Sheffield, for all its dulcet tones, just is not L.A. Hell, its not even Leeds.

I am looking forward to April’s wedding. I have a feeling it will be the premier event of this seasons social calendar. It is also the first wedding I have been to in 10 years.