Taking the Michael
I'm taking a breather from this job search lark (well, technically a breather implies that I've already started and been going for a while which is not true) due to the last job advert that I saw. CONSERVATION OFFICER for the CCW, yes I thought, that looks good for me. Bear with me here, as this is quite long (or skip to the end) but it goes:
DES: To 31/3/08 Help sustain Wales' natural heritage to manage special sites and promote the delivery of our full remit in your district (o.k so far), incl casework & advice on protected species, landscapes & liaison with local authorities and key partners (all alright) BUT Essential: good grounding in biological, env, agricultural or rural landscape science; knowledge of ecology, conservation, countryside & agricutural management issues; good written & spoken communication skills for a range of audiences; good IT skills(word, Excel, GIS);good interpersonal skills & team working skills & ability to deal with people of all levels; good self management & organisational skills; full current UK/Eu driving license. good track record of site management planning;knowledge of marine and coastal enviro & of our statutory duties, relevant legislation;presentation skills (powerpoint esp); fluent in Welsh and English, written & spoken.
All for £18,000. Yeh, right, as if you'd be working for that much money if you could do all that. I shall let this one go I think and put my great skill pool into something else. What I'm not sure.
Anyhow, spent the past week down and around Xeeny & Fialtia house, as a base of operations for a quick drive into Devon and to pop down to the far West coast of Wales for interviews in two jobs. First one went o.k, though it was pissing it down on my arrival. The Chav-wagon having not been taken further than the local shops for eight weeks or more was well in need of burning it's wheels. Got shown the canal, and then the dreaded interview which went o.k though lack of preparation left me stuck on a couple of Q's. Needless to say I didn't get it. The other was an overnight one which after a rather pleasant stay in a Welsh farming based B&B was also first thing in the morning. Whatta a bar-steward. This I was a little more prepped for though they did ask some git's of some Q's. I haven't heard anything, but I'm presuming the worst as always, it makes the disappoint and failure taste a little sweeter.
This was however, followed by a trip to the beach, as was the Devon trip (v.British, flip-flops, newspaper blowing off down the beach, chase, trip, face full of sand, taking my top of, "Do your worst you bastard, I've seen bigger rays coming out of my arse"-Jack Dee, ED). The surf was non-existent ankle bitters, so I took a stroll away from the flesh bearing masses on the beach and headed up to yon distant headland glowing a slight of purple from all the heather in flower, which was quite pretty:
Yonder headland:
Heather in bloom:
RSPB reserve Lundy Island in the distance:
Here I spotted tut Kestrel and a pair of sweeping Hobby's skimming the coastline. I picked my spot on the left hand side of the headland but way down one side away from the plebs who'd caught up with me, here I found a lovely little spot to sit and send MMS messages to my friends who were currently at work themselves. After sitting there for an hour and greatly being tempted to jump of this ledge(purely for the cooling water, not to be splattered on the razor sharp rocks):
and into the sea I decided I was getting burnt so headed back to the beach for some light refreshment. The beach was now one quivering mass of sun burnt flesh, neoprene and towels so I took to the defensive and got in my car and scarpered. I was going to check out another beach but somehow ended up on the road back to Haverdfordwest, so thought tits to this time to go home.
I have one thing to say about that trip, isn't Port Talbot a dump. Like Xeeny says, why oh why did they curve the M4 there, you want it flat so you can burn right past it. Apparently it was much worse than it is now though, according to my Dad if you got from one side of Port Talbot to the other with out contracting a chest infection of some description you'd be doing well.
Since getting back I have decided to up my computer even more, now with an extra 1GB of RAM(a total of 1.5GB) and my newly arrived shiny Seagate 360GB desktop drive, which is tiny, or a lot smaller than I thought it'd be, 10cm high by 6cm wide by 2cm deep. It has a cool amber light strip down the side which pulsates when its uploading. there on special offer at Maplins for £60.
I'm reading Hyperion, by Dan Simmons, which is probably the best Sci-fi book i think I've read, really enjoying it.
alacerus album of the week: NIN Pretty Hate MachineListened to this on the way back, its by far his best effort, just keeps getting better with every listen. I've come to the conclusion for a great album that you need to have a. A great opening track (Head like a Hole) b. A fab follow up to complement it (Terrible Lie) and c. A top finishing tune with decent tracks preceding it. (The only time,Down In It,Sanctified, Sin, Something I can Never have & ring finger, classic). Obvious really.
DES: To 31/3/08 Help sustain Wales' natural heritage to manage special sites and promote the delivery of our full remit in your district (o.k so far), incl casework & advice on protected species, landscapes & liaison with local authorities and key partners (all alright) BUT Essential: good grounding in biological, env, agricultural or rural landscape science; knowledge of ecology, conservation, countryside & agricutural management issues; good written & spoken communication skills for a range of audiences; good IT skills(word, Excel, GIS);good interpersonal skills & team working skills & ability to deal with people of all levels; good self management & organisational skills; full current UK/Eu driving license. good track record of site management planning;knowledge of marine and coastal enviro & of our statutory duties, relevant legislation;presentation skills (powerpoint esp); fluent in Welsh and English, written & spoken.
All for £18,000. Yeh, right, as if you'd be working for that much money if you could do all that. I shall let this one go I think and put my great skill pool into something else. What I'm not sure.
Anyhow, spent the past week down and around Xeeny & Fialtia house, as a base of operations for a quick drive into Devon and to pop down to the far West coast of Wales for interviews in two jobs. First one went o.k, though it was pissing it down on my arrival. The Chav-wagon having not been taken further than the local shops for eight weeks or more was well in need of burning it's wheels. Got shown the canal, and then the dreaded interview which went o.k though lack of preparation left me stuck on a couple of Q's. Needless to say I didn't get it. The other was an overnight one which after a rather pleasant stay in a Welsh farming based B&B was also first thing in the morning. Whatta a bar-steward. This I was a little more prepped for though they did ask some git's of some Q's. I haven't heard anything, but I'm presuming the worst as always, it makes the disappoint and failure taste a little sweeter.
This was however, followed by a trip to the beach, as was the Devon trip (v.British, flip-flops, newspaper blowing off down the beach, chase, trip, face full of sand, taking my top of, "Do your worst you bastard, I've seen bigger rays coming out of my arse"-Jack Dee, ED). The surf was non-existent ankle bitters, so I took a stroll away from the flesh bearing masses on the beach and headed up to yon distant headland glowing a slight of purple from all the heather in flower, which was quite pretty:
Yonder headland:
Heather in bloom:
RSPB reserve Lundy Island in the distance:
Here I spotted tut Kestrel and a pair of sweeping Hobby's skimming the coastline. I picked my spot on the left hand side of the headland but way down one side away from the plebs who'd caught up with me, here I found a lovely little spot to sit and send MMS messages to my friends who were currently at work themselves. After sitting there for an hour and greatly being tempted to jump of this ledge(purely for the cooling water, not to be splattered on the razor sharp rocks):
and into the sea I decided I was getting burnt so headed back to the beach for some light refreshment. The beach was now one quivering mass of sun burnt flesh, neoprene and towels so I took to the defensive and got in my car and scarpered. I was going to check out another beach but somehow ended up on the road back to Haverdfordwest, so thought tits to this time to go home.
I have one thing to say about that trip, isn't Port Talbot a dump. Like Xeeny says, why oh why did they curve the M4 there, you want it flat so you can burn right past it. Apparently it was much worse than it is now though, according to my Dad if you got from one side of Port Talbot to the other with out contracting a chest infection of some description you'd be doing well.
Since getting back I have decided to up my computer even more, now with an extra 1GB of RAM(a total of 1.5GB) and my newly arrived shiny Seagate 360GB desktop drive, which is tiny, or a lot smaller than I thought it'd be, 10cm high by 6cm wide by 2cm deep. It has a cool amber light strip down the side which pulsates when its uploading. there on special offer at Maplins for £60.
I'm reading Hyperion, by Dan Simmons, which is probably the best Sci-fi book i think I've read, really enjoying it.
alacerus album of the week: NIN Pretty Hate MachineListened to this on the way back, its by far his best effort, just keeps getting better with every listen. I've come to the conclusion for a great album that you need to have a. A great opening track (Head like a Hole) b. A fab follow up to complement it (Terrible Lie) and c. A top finishing tune with decent tracks preceding it. (The only time,Down In It,Sanctified, Sin, Something I can Never have & ring finger, classic). Obvious really.