Cough, cough
After working my first and last Saturday night shift, I am very happy I decided to quit working at the Monk. When the evening began I was a little sad to be leaving, but by 10pm it was five-people deep at the bar and it seemed as though everyone in the place was smoking. Trying to serve drunk, smoking people more alcohol was not very fun and nobody tips in England, so there isn't even a financial pay off for the torture. Thankfully the Monk closes at 11:30pm (as required by law) and I was home, exhausted and in bed, by 1:30am. I think I'm too old for this kind of job!
The theatre job begins October 18th. More info about it here.
Here is the job description I received from the manager:
Varied hours are worked each week on a rota system, usually between 9.00am and 8.30pm Monday to Saturday.
DUTIES:
Using “DATABOX”, the Windows based computerised Box Office and Marketing system, for Norwich Theatre Royal, its Studio Theatre and various outside venues, including the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, Norwich Playhouse, The Assembly House and The Forum.
Office administration including post room duties, manual and computerised filing, customer correspondence, photocopying and stationery stocks. Maintain up to date customer literature stocks and displays.
Be responsible for all transactions, ensuring accuracy and efficiency and for the reconciliation of takings.
Handling special booking and membership schemes sold through the Box Office. Most importantly “Friends of the Theatre”, and “The Corporate Club”.
Developing group sales and maintaining regular contact with organisations such as Social Clubs, Coach Operators, Schools etc.
Continuously updating the customer database and being responsible for a section of it. Collecting valuable marketing information and being aware of advertisements and promotions.
Acquire through training, skills on “DATABOX” for efficient use in the Box Office.
Up date those skills as new procedures are introduced and maintain knowledge of venues, price structures and performances and attend Box Office Briefings.
Promote Norwich Theatre Royal and its facilities as the public’s first contact ensuring the highest levels of Customer Service at all times.
All other duties as directed by the Box Office Management.
The ideal candidate will be bright, enthusiastic and well presented. A pleasant telephone manner and an understanding of good Customer Service are essential, along with previous experience in serving the public and handling cash.
Full training will be given as “Databox” is specialised software but experience with Microsoft Windows is expected.
A flexibility to work rotas is necessary, as is the ability to work well within a team, in a busy environment.
~K
Monday, September 27
Sunday, September 26
Abducted?
No, inducted. I've been inducted, as in Induction Week. It finished yesterday, so I guess I'm officially ready to get down to business. During the week at the University, we had four seminars that previewed the courses on offer and watched a few films. On Friday, we watched about 5 hours of avant garde 60's short films and a feature by Don Levy called "Herostratus". It was ponderous and excruciatingly long. A pivotal scene was the juxtapposition of a woman doing a strip-tease with the slaughter of a cow. I'm guessing this is supposed to mean that the woman (or sex) is just as much of a commodity as the butchered cow and just as vile to watch? The producer of the film (now in his late 70's) was there to introduce the film and answer some questions afterwards. He hadn't seen it in over 20 years. That's about how long I would need to wait before ever seeing it again. Even still, I'm glad I saw it and it's fun to see films that you might not otherwise see. Plus, these "artsy-fartsy" ones get your academic juices flowing.
It's going to be a good semester. Busy, but good. Apart from the film archiving course (which takes two full days every week), I am taking a course on early British television which is designed to complement the archiving. Presumably so we have a better understanding and appreciation for the material we will encounter in the archive. I'm also auditing a Horror genre class. The professor agreed to let me sit in on it without having to submit work. His only contigency being that I have to commit to coming to the class on a regular basis. That suits me just fine! Really get my money's worth. They've also given us the option of going to any of the undergrad film studies lectures and screenings if we want, as well as weekly postgrad research seminars. I'll definitely do a little of both, time allowing.
Classes start tomorrow at 9:30. Here's my Autumn semester schedule:
Monday
0930-1330 -> FM009 Early British Television (and Screening)
1800- ???? -> FTV Research Seminars (optional)
Tuesday
1000-1300 -> FM 019 FHR: The Horror Film (audited)
1400-1700 -> Screenings: Key Issues in Film Studies (undergrad - optional)
Wednesday
1000-1100 -> EASF1F03 Key Issues in Film Studies (undergrad - optional)
1300-1600 -> Screenings: Early British Television
Thursday
0930-1730 -> FM005 Film Archiving
Friday
0930-1730 -> FM005 Film Archiving
-RP-
No, inducted. I've been inducted, as in Induction Week. It finished yesterday, so I guess I'm officially ready to get down to business. During the week at the University, we had four seminars that previewed the courses on offer and watched a few films. On Friday, we watched about 5 hours of avant garde 60's short films and a feature by Don Levy called "Herostratus". It was ponderous and excruciatingly long. A pivotal scene was the juxtapposition of a woman doing a strip-tease with the slaughter of a cow. I'm guessing this is supposed to mean that the woman (or sex) is just as much of a commodity as the butchered cow and just as vile to watch? The producer of the film (now in his late 70's) was there to introduce the film and answer some questions afterwards. He hadn't seen it in over 20 years. That's about how long I would need to wait before ever seeing it again. Even still, I'm glad I saw it and it's fun to see films that you might not otherwise see. Plus, these "artsy-fartsy" ones get your academic juices flowing.
It's going to be a good semester. Busy, but good. Apart from the film archiving course (which takes two full days every week), I am taking a course on early British television which is designed to complement the archiving. Presumably so we have a better understanding and appreciation for the material we will encounter in the archive. I'm also auditing a Horror genre class. The professor agreed to let me sit in on it without having to submit work. His only contigency being that I have to commit to coming to the class on a regular basis. That suits me just fine! Really get my money's worth. They've also given us the option of going to any of the undergrad film studies lectures and screenings if we want, as well as weekly postgrad research seminars. I'll definitely do a little of both, time allowing.
Classes start tomorrow at 9:30. Here's my Autumn semester schedule:
Monday
0930-1330 -> FM009 Early British Television (and Screening)
1800- ???? -> FTV Research Seminars (optional)
Tuesday
1000-1300 -> FM 019 FHR: The Horror Film (audited)
1400-1700 -> Screenings: Key Issues in Film Studies (undergrad - optional)
Wednesday
1000-1100 -> EASF1F03 Key Issues in Film Studies (undergrad - optional)
1300-1600 -> Screenings: Early British Television
Thursday
0930-1730 -> FM005 Film Archiving
Friday
0930-1730 -> FM005 Film Archiving
-RP-
Saturday, September 25
What to do.
The interview yesterday went well. It was with two of the theatre managers. I've never been interviewed by two people at one time before and I wasn't sure who to look at. They asked me a whole bunch of questions about my work experience, what I wanted in a workplace, hypothetical situations and a few personal questions. We all got along great and were chatting easily throughout the whole thing. I learned that the theatre is funded by a trust and is non-profit, so all their proceeds go directly back into the theatre. There are education programs, acting classes and all sorts of shows. Working for a non-profit film/TV/theatre organization has always been at the top of my wish list so this news made me very happy. At the end of the question & answer part they gave me a worksheet to fill in and then left me for 15 minutes to finish it. There were some math questions, a couple of theatre business questions and three hypothetical logic questions. None of them were very difficult and I finished in about ten minutes. They came back, sat down and said they had discussed my application and would like to offer me the job. I was immediately ecstatic and relieved! I accepted the job and we all smiled at each other. Yay!
The happy feeling lasted during my walk home and then I remembered that I just started a new job that I would have to quit soon. The theatre job begins October 21 and will be around 30 hours per week to start. There are about 115 full-time employees at the theatre and when there are job openings they always offer them to the 30-hour-per-week people first. I feel there will be good opportunity to move up in the organization and possibly to other departments. And I LOVE being in the theatre environment. It feels like the film festival jobs I've had and loved. My problem is the Belgian Monk.
When I was hired (a whole week ago) at the Monk it was for a full-time position. They wanted someone who would stick around for awhile and wouldn't be looking for other work. As of today, I've had one week of training and have one more to go before I can work a shift on my own. There are no part-time spots open right now so it's either full-time or no-time. I originally thought that I would keep working at the Monk and not say anything to them about having a new job until a week before I needed to quit. But that doesn't feel right. I would feel so guilty every time I was there, knowing I was quitting and not telling them. This morning I knew I couldn't do it. I went in just before opening hours to talk to the manager. I told her exactly what happened and that my new job would be starting on Oct. 21 and after that I would not be able to work full-time. She was nice about it and was happy I told her. The person I am replacing doesn't leave for another 2 weeks and she has a stack of applications for full-time work on her desk so it is not a dire situation. We agreed that I would work tonight and then be done. That way she can pay me for a full week's work and then start training someone new next week. (By law only one person in training can be working at a time, so if I didn't leave she wouldn't be able to start someone new until October 3.) I felt guilty throughout the whole conversation and now, an hour later I still feel badly. Essentially I'm quitting before I even got started. I so wish that the theatre had called me a week earlier then I never would have taken the Monk job.
~K
The interview yesterday went well. It was with two of the theatre managers. I've never been interviewed by two people at one time before and I wasn't sure who to look at. They asked me a whole bunch of questions about my work experience, what I wanted in a workplace, hypothetical situations and a few personal questions. We all got along great and were chatting easily throughout the whole thing. I learned that the theatre is funded by a trust and is non-profit, so all their proceeds go directly back into the theatre. There are education programs, acting classes and all sorts of shows. Working for a non-profit film/TV/theatre organization has always been at the top of my wish list so this news made me very happy. At the end of the question & answer part they gave me a worksheet to fill in and then left me for 15 minutes to finish it. There were some math questions, a couple of theatre business questions and three hypothetical logic questions. None of them were very difficult and I finished in about ten minutes. They came back, sat down and said they had discussed my application and would like to offer me the job. I was immediately ecstatic and relieved! I accepted the job and we all smiled at each other. Yay!
The happy feeling lasted during my walk home and then I remembered that I just started a new job that I would have to quit soon. The theatre job begins October 21 and will be around 30 hours per week to start. There are about 115 full-time employees at the theatre and when there are job openings they always offer them to the 30-hour-per-week people first. I feel there will be good opportunity to move up in the organization and possibly to other departments. And I LOVE being in the theatre environment. It feels like the film festival jobs I've had and loved. My problem is the Belgian Monk.
When I was hired (a whole week ago) at the Monk it was for a full-time position. They wanted someone who would stick around for awhile and wouldn't be looking for other work. As of today, I've had one week of training and have one more to go before I can work a shift on my own. There are no part-time spots open right now so it's either full-time or no-time. I originally thought that I would keep working at the Monk and not say anything to them about having a new job until a week before I needed to quit. But that doesn't feel right. I would feel so guilty every time I was there, knowing I was quitting and not telling them. This morning I knew I couldn't do it. I went in just before opening hours to talk to the manager. I told her exactly what happened and that my new job would be starting on Oct. 21 and after that I would not be able to work full-time. She was nice about it and was happy I told her. The person I am replacing doesn't leave for another 2 weeks and she has a stack of applications for full-time work on her desk so it is not a dire situation. We agreed that I would work tonight and then be done. That way she can pay me for a full week's work and then start training someone new next week. (By law only one person in training can be working at a time, so if I didn't leave she wouldn't be able to start someone new until October 3.) I felt guilty throughout the whole conversation and now, an hour later I still feel badly. Essentially I'm quitting before I even got started. I so wish that the theatre had called me a week earlier then I never would have taken the Monk job.
~K
Thursday, September 23
Wednesday, September 22
Little Piece of Belgium
Monday afternoon I started my new job at the Belgian Monk, a restaurant/bar that only serves Belgian food and beer (hence the name). It is a five minute walk from our apartment, in the old part of the city. It has been more than 15 years since I waited tables and I'm a little rusty, but my coworkers are nice and the food is great. Rich has been dribbling little bits of beer knowledge into my brain so I can accurately advise customers on what they should order with their wild boar sausages and mash. I'll be working full-time, around 35-38 hours per week. I'm sure there will be interesting things to write about it soon. Here is an article about it.
I'm happy to be working, although the pay is barely enough for our living expenses - it is better than nothing! I plan on working there through the end of the year and then restarting my job search. I'm having a little trouble with the idea (and reality) of being a waitress. I realize that Norwich is a small town and the opportunities are severely limited, but I was holding out hope for something a little more...intellectual? professional? respectable? I don't know exactly what I has hoping for. I keep thinking, "I've got a master's degree. Shouldn't I be doing something real ?" But I don't think bad things about people who wait tables or wonder what's wrong with them that they don't have a career. Why do I think that of myself? There's a lesson in here somewhere.
~K
Monday afternoon I started my new job at the Belgian Monk, a restaurant/bar that only serves Belgian food and beer (hence the name). It is a five minute walk from our apartment, in the old part of the city. It has been more than 15 years since I waited tables and I'm a little rusty, but my coworkers are nice and the food is great. Rich has been dribbling little bits of beer knowledge into my brain so I can accurately advise customers on what they should order with their wild boar sausages and mash. I'll be working full-time, around 35-38 hours per week. I'm sure there will be interesting things to write about it soon. Here is an article about it.
I'm happy to be working, although the pay is barely enough for our living expenses - it is better than nothing! I plan on working there through the end of the year and then restarting my job search. I'm having a little trouble with the idea (and reality) of being a waitress. I realize that Norwich is a small town and the opportunities are severely limited, but I was holding out hope for something a little more...intellectual? professional? respectable? I don't know exactly what I has hoping for. I keep thinking, "I've got a master's degree. Shouldn't I be doing something real ?" But I don't think bad things about people who wait tables or wonder what's wrong with them that they don't have a career. Why do I think that of myself? There's a lesson in here somewhere.
~K
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