Working it off

You know, the reason I put up with all the photocopying and transcribing (not that it’s bad, it just gets a little… repetitive when you do it four days in a row) is because there is the promise that one day, maybe one day, I might actually get to write something (okay, and because I’m a slaving work experience girl and MK is so nice about the fact that I’m slave labour, etc).

Well, the day came. I GOT TO WRITE SOMETHING. And sure, I basically wrote about a TV show without ever having seen the TV show, and it was only 40 words, but hey! IT WAS WRITING THAT WILL (hopefully) BE PUBLISHED. I’d have been happy if it were 12 words! Even a title would’ve been good, dammit.

But other than that, life at work experience has been full of transcribing. I sat in on their production meeting a couple of times, during which two people discussed whether there should be three pages in a row or four pages in row without ads while everyone else just sat there. I learnt that in a weekly magazine, they work approximately three to four weeks ahead but this is very fluid. I also learnt that Excel can be used for purposes non-maths-related (they use Excel for to map out the magazine) which gave me an insight into the general structure, something which you’re aware of as a reader but never really take notice of.

But most of the time, I ran around doing odd jobs that will really add to my journalistic experience, such as taking CD’s out of their cases and photocopying. Ergh, yes, every work experience person’s nightmare. But I guess the main point of work experience is not about the “experience” – it’s about the contacts and it’s about being round these people, and having the opportunity to talk to them. MK asked me the other day if I needed to ask anyone questions because the entire team is quite experience and can you believe it? I don’t know what to ask. Geez, real journo I am.

Anyway, so next week I’m off (to the snow. Sick. GARGH!). But the week after I shall turn up, bright and motivated (to do more transcribing and photocopying) and full of inquisitive, intelligent and thoughtful questions… That’s the plan anyway.

Xx



Image: Total Film

Work experience: Work it, baby!

DAY 1:
9:30 Pick up work experience insurance, think to self: “half an hour is PLENTY of time to get to the other side of Central”.
9:35 Get food.
9:40 Check email while eating.
9:43 Give money to awesome accordion busker wearing jester hat in the tunnel.
9:44 Power walk through tunnel. Still plenty of time, but still.
9:54 Emerge from tunnel, realise there are no street signs, shrug shoulders and think: "Well it’s not like there are THAT many streets right next to Central Station. How can this NOT on the right street?"
9:56 Realise that I am, indeed, NOT on the right street and start to panic.
9:58 See men in business suits, and with obvious logic, decide to follow them.
9:59 Make it into building JUST IN TIME. Float through doors feeling good like everything’s just fine.
10:00 Only to realise I have to line up to sign in anyway >sigh<

Okay, so I love this magazine. Really. Its shiny pages and clean, modern layout that is glamorous and intelligent while being down-to-earth, plus excellent writing and appealing topics are part of the reason I was attracted to journalism in the first place. The fact that a comedian whom I like very much periodically appears in its pages doesn’t hurt either.

Which means that if work experience here were crap – I’d be depressed. VERY depressed. It’d be meeting your favourite actor after having adored them for twenty years and realising they’re a complete idiot.

But it wasn’t crap, thank goodness. MK, the person in charge of me/does something to do with editorial, took me with her to get a coffee and we had a nice chat, I asked her what her role was exactly and she asked me about my part-time job. MK seems to be a really lovely person, and I’m glad she’s looking after me. Everyone else in the office seemed lovely too – I was only introduced to two other people in the all-female office (although funnily enough, when we had cake later in the afternoon, a man appeared) and they were funny, chatty and nice. Which helped me not feel like the biggest outsider/retard in the world. Excellent.

I had this expectation that I would be photocopying all day and generally being slave labour (see first post) and that would be fine because then they’d see I didn’t mind doing the boring jobs and they’d say something about a “good work ethic” yadda yadda yadda. But whoopee! I got to do * real * work. Not that I mind doing the boring jobs but still – who wouldn’t prefer transcribing interviews over photocopying? Especially interviews from a show that possibly has more crazy wackadoodle nuts than this season’s Big Brother! That sort of made up for the fact that I was doing it for SIX HOURS. (With lunch break and copious amounts of toilet breaks in between – there’s only so long you can listen to people blather about themselves. Really!)

And at the end of the day I got an early mark. So yes, it was fun. Yes, it was repetitive. Yes, I became a little crazy after transcribing interviews for six hours, (work experience insurance doesn’t cover mental health, does it?) but from what I can see so far, I’m going to really enjoy the place.

Xx

Work experience: episode 1

Work experience: two words that are synonymous with both "Sweet. Unpaid labour!" or "I do these crappy things so that one day I might get a JOB THAT'S BETTER THAN YOURS, SLAVE DRIVER."

The English language is indeed fickle. In fact, it's even worse when you consider that sometimes there is work experience that doesn't fit into either meaning. Which is what I hope this will be - since it can't be the former, I HOPE IT'S NOT THE LATTER (please please please please).

...

Anyway.

Before day 1:

What do you wear to work experience?
Answer 1. "Indigo jeans and a nice white top," says the boy.
Answer 2. "Girl jeans. Everyone looks good in girl jeans," says the ex-boy.
Answer 3. Black chiffon dress + black opaques + black mary jane (see pics below)

Yo. Sounds good, we have two voting for the same thing, a decision can be made, I LIKE IT.

Except that I'm short and I'm too lazy to get my jeans altered so I have to roll them up and I look daggier than I did when I was eight and my parents bought me ANIME CLOTHES to wear. Okay, maybe not quite.

But in any case, after subjecting the boy to six or seven outfit photos, I finally decided on answer 3 + vintage gold chain + cream military coat from Bardot (before I looked too goth - did I mention my hair is dark too?)

Also, work experience insurance. Now, before anyone says anything bad about UTS, I just have to say that the girl who organises this is possibly THE reason that UTS does so well in journalism - she is an ANGEL at organising last-minute insurance for all these idiotic students. Such as me. Who had to fax in the insurance form overnight so she could have it signed first thing in the morning before I went to work experience. Gosh, I'm a douche.


Anyway, tune in for Day 1 tomorrow!

Xx

And please - don't say anything about me looking retarded, okay? That's how I look normally. Yes, my face does look like that normally and my head is normally cut off. So I'll actually be quite offended if you say anything.