Yep that just about sums up the first moments of this Saturday morning as I peeled open my eyes this morning. Checked that despite the extreme discomfort my
head was still attached… then wished it wasn’t! Goodness why why why why why? Followed how how how?
The beer monster has a lot to answer for and the worst of it is you never know when the blitter will strike.
Sometimes I manage to get myself all snuggled in bed nice and early and well….. like last night I have to pour myself into a taxi.
Have been along to the wonderful supermarket bought some orange juice, some fruit and sausage rolls – which are gently heating in the oven… mmmmmm yummy.
Fine in ‘girl language’ does have a double meaning.
You know how it goes fellas I am sure.
No..dear…I am fine! Translation: life is horrendous, I am not okay…what ever you say next will be completely wrong!
And while life is not quite as catastrophic as that it does feel a little odd. The last year has passed in blur sometimes a bit like a slow motion disaster but mostly as a exhilarating and amazing moment. So while it is the end of the world as I currently know it. Fingers crossed the next thing will be more than fine.
Tonight is the first time in almost a year that I have not had an MBA nag in my head:
don’t forget to do that essay,
must collect that book,
have to meet group at 12,have to meet other group at 4
presentation in two days,
must check email just in case something fun is going on.
This constant stream of nags and to-do’s have been ever present, challenging and exhausting.
Tonight feels absolutely, totally weird. I have handed in my rather vast pile of paper on Women and the MBA this afternoon. And while that felt great – it also felt quite sad I guess. Even over the summer as people have wandered off to new jobs, or to new countries or even back to their homes the end hasn’t felt like a tangible thing. But tonight it feels very real. At the end of this weekend I guess it is over, but another new exciting and amazing thing will start – well with any luck.
This is also not to say that I have no to-do-list it is just way simpler -
I am finding this job hunt business an interesting experience in how other people view me and also I guess what is important to the me in the next job I have.
I have been truly amazed at the amount of time people will give you. I mean I have meet CEO’s of some massive Hospital Networks or huge charitable organsisations and on the whole they have given me an hour or so of their time and a bunch of other contacts. I have decided that this is the best barometer of an organisation.
The other weird thing is that they keep referring to me as talent. ekk…. talk about instant pressure to perform. Plus, I can’t help but think of all of those reality TV programs where people strut their stuff only to be completely ravaged by some sort of pseudo-famous people – all in the name of discovering talent.
The MBA puts you in contact with some very bright and completely formidable people. So quite possibly my view of myself is a little bit skewed at the moment. But hey…. It has got to be a good sign to be called talent and at least I am not likely to be ravaged in front of a live studio audience!!
Now there are some clear benefits to living in a market town rather than the mega metropolis of a city – there is less traffic, you can walk slowly along the footpath and no one yells at you, there are trees which are not being poisoned by the carbon monoxide of the Monday morning traffic jam. In Cambridge you even have cows and ducks on your doorstep.
Loads of happy nature moments really.
But today there is a serious smell wafting about Cambridge. I even saw pedestrians checking their shoes for dog debris.
It took my nose a little while to remember the smell… but it did remember. And it must be said I have never experienced it in such an all-air-permeating way. It was and is still at 10pm on a Monday night – the delightful aroma of dynamic fertiliser. The normal experience of the smell is when people throw it on their roses in Melbourne suburbs after a hefty pruning. It would seem that the farmers surrounding Cambridge have conspired to fertilise their fields on the same day!
So while there are many things I will miss about living in this little town – I am not going to be missing this smell much at all!
I have been in my room a little too much of late. 4 walls, a bed, a sink and piles of paper…. Yep..there is definitely a lot of paper! Goodness knows how I am going to pack it all up and move to where ever is the next place by the 6th of September…
Although sitting in here has made me think about where I would like to live next… and I guess chances are fairly good that it will be nicer than here. I mean this year I have been living in a rather basic environment. Student living in your mid thirties is not nice!
At the moment I am the only person living in the house – this is good. I can shower without locking the door, I can go downstairs in my PJ’s without fear of freaking anyone out, not that they are particularly exciting PJ’s just it would seem weird…. The best thing though is leaving my shower stuff – shampoo, soap – in the bathroom. Such small pleasures.
There are however some annoying things that have happened of late. There is no longer a washing machine in the house – so I have to cycle my stuff down to Queens. Not so glamorous! Plus there is the constant fear of the bag bursting open and your knickers being strewn along Trumpington street!
The most recent appliance to leave us was the Toaster. Yep on Saturday morning it shorted out the whole kitchen…. excellent. This meant climbing up on the bench to flick the fuse which is located above the top cupboard. It was immediately clear from the fly graveyard and the yellow grease that no one climbs up there EVER with a clean rag. God it was gross!
Anyway, it has definitely made me super homesick for my lovely little flat in Melbourne……
I love Grantchester – it is definitely one of my favourite places in Cambridge. Although as one of my friends pointed out it is not technically in Cambridge!
It is a lovely stroll across the meadows, hemmed by groaning blackberry vines with just about ripe fruit on them on one side and the cam on the other. We had a gorgeous lunch in the Green Man and then yummy scones with clotted cream at The Orchard.
It has been the most desperate few days locked in my little room. Either buried deep in paper on my bed or staring wistfully out of the window – But I have finally finished my draft….god what an effort. 12 000 words and some 150 pages!
I have no idea how people write books and keep the story straight in their heads. Part way through I was wondering quite what I was trying to say and to be honest it shows in the writing – so I don’t think it is over just yet!
The paper is attempting to think about why women are not doing MBA’s. The total number of women has plateaued at best at 30% which means there is an enormous pool of untapped potential for business schools. Unsurprisingly, women have some complex pressures particularly around family – the timing of it and how this influences their decisions.
It is interesting to think about. I grew up thinking that you could pretty much do anything you pleased…really there was no boundary. And I actually feel that women on the whole in my generation are doing just this. However, there are so many value judgments that occur when it comes to family and career. If you have a baby and want to stay at home – thats bad, if you have a baby and go back to work – thats bad, If you have a career and no baby – thats bad. It would seem that while you can still do anything you want, there are super tough decisions that must be taken……and none of which will satisfy everyone and maybe not even yourself.
Have just had a lovely family injection over the last few days.
My cousin had her second wedding in her home town of Zurich. She and her hubby had their first wedding in Jayapura West Papua – a bit to far the weekend really! That being said the brides brother did come all the way from OZ for 72 hours. ekk! So maybe I am not displaying the right amount of family feeling. Anyway, it was lovely to be there for the second one.
Zurich is a funny city. Just about everyone I met said they were not a “typical swiss”. It was odd because each person also filled with enormous pride for their country but equally don’t wish to embrace the national sterotype. Which is far as I can see is being on time and making shed loads of money as a banker?! Although it is quite possible a bunch of other more subtle stereotypes that my Australian eye for detail has missed!
The happy couple and her Mum showed me around their town – we had Bratwurst by the lake, wonderfully complicated coffee (it came with a strainer) and ate piles of bread, some filled with dates, others nuts… yep those jeans are under a bit of strain at the moment.
It was a lovely and gorgeous weekend…. back to the thesis at hand.
I have been in my room a little too much of late. 4 walls, a bed, a sink and piles of paper…. Yep..there is definitely a lot of paper! Goodness knows how I am going to pack it all up and move to where ever is the next place by the 6th of September…
I love 
Have just had a lovely family injection over the last few days.
