Mini-break

I'm here in Malta on a much-needed break, having endured some incredibly stressful weeks at work. Upon my return to London, I will be applying for Indefinite Leave To Remain. I am not a naturally relaxed person, so you can imagine that I am a little stressed about it.

Of course, being the incredibly active person that I am, I'm here, ostensibly on vacation, but trying to see as many things as I can in this incredibly historical place. At least, that's what I would be trying to do if my boyfriend wasn't here to remind me that what I really need is a rest, and that there will be time to see these things, if not now, then at a later date, rather than trying to push myself until I break.

Just one of the many reasons I love my boyfriend. He gets when I push myself and he gets when I really need to stop doing it.

Neil Gaiman – Neverwhere…

can now be heard on BBC Radio 4. The following episodes can be heard on BBC Radio 4 Extra. The BBC production features a dream cast of James McAvoy (Richard Mayhew), Natalie Dormer (Door), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Angel Islington) and David Harewood (The Marquis de Carabas). Listen to it here. Link works for non-UK listeners as well, I’m told.

I’m really looking forward to it, truth be told. It’s one of the best stories I’ve read.

Life In The UK…

Has had its ups and downs, none of which seems to have equipped me with the knowledge I require to pass the Life In The UK test which I will be taking on Saturday. Thank goodness for the kindness of a friend who has passed me his notes (Thanks, Manish!), and a website which has over 50 sample tests so that I can see if any of what I have studied has sunk in.

As far as I can tell though, it’s not the years in which events of major significance have occurred which are causing me too many problems. It’s the breakdown of the 2001 census figures. I remember that Whites, Indians and Pakistanis form 92%, 1.8% and 1.3% of the population respectively, but beyond that, it’s quite difficult.

Similarly, I can recall that close to 70% of those who identified themselves as having a religion (and that formed 75% of the population) said they were Christian. The next largest religious group are the Muslims at 2.7%, then Hindus (1.0%), Sikhs (0.6%), Jewish (0.5%) and Buddhists (0.3%) but I can almost guarantee that this knowledge will not stay in my head after tonight.

Of course, I’d much rather be doing something far more interesting than mugging out-of-date statistics. Still, I’ve paid £50 for this test, and will knuckle down to study for this… unless I want to pay another £50 and sit the Tory version of the test which will consist of questions on culture and history which will be coming into effect in late March.

Wish me luck.

There’s only this

I’ve come to the realisation that I have gone for more interviews than the majority of my friends. Heck, I’m willing to wager I’ve gone for more interviews than my boyfriend, my brother and my best friend combined. Out of all of those in the past ten years or so, I’ve converted more than five and less than 15 (I’m conscious I shouldn’t be giving out too much personal information here). I’ve turned down two. I’ve only ever regretted one of those two rejections, but, the trade-off was my moving to London, so there’s really nothing to regret there, just the ghost of a life that could have been.

In recent months, I’ve submitted my application – via recruiting firms – for a number of roles. (Yes, I’m happy enough at my current job, but I sure do wish it paid me what I believe my market rate to be.)

Out of those roles, there were only three that I was really hoping to at least be considered for. For two of them, it turned out that the role was already filled even before my application was seen. Nothing to beat oneself up over, I guess, but, still, it stung.

The third, I was turned down for today.

Little Miss Random Recommends returns for the upcoming festive week

It’s been a while since I posted about anything to do in this fair city of London. I’ve discovered how hard it is to hold down a job, enjoy London, meet up with friends and still be able to write something worthy of being read. Some days, it feels as if there are tonnes of things that I simply must capture… other days, it’s just recovering from having done so much – or nothing at all – and not able to find something meaningful to write about.

Recently, I found myself jotting down a number of events I wanted to check out, most of them to do with the week of simultaneous gluttony and abstinence. That’s right, I’m talking about the week that is Chinese New Year/Pancake Tuesday/Lent/Valentine’s Day.