...it seems I acquired a brother-in-law on the weekend.
Yes, after possibly the world's longest engagement my sister and her fiance finally tied the knot on Saturday. Congratulations to them both.
(And I still remember the night they had their first kiss -- a winter's night in 1996 if memory serves me correctly! Shhhh, don't tell anyone.)
Yes, I know St Patrick's Day is normally March 17, but this year Irish bishops have moved it forward to Saturday March 15. This is to stop it clashing with Holy Week, which is the last week before Easter.
I'd be out there enjoying a nice drop of Guinness myself, except I've come down with yet another dreaded lurgy -- a sore throat which feels like it is morphing into a chest infection -- so I'm at home, with the feet up and a pile of books, a stash of DVDs and an wireless internet connection to keep me company!
Australian actor Heath Ledger is found dead in his Manhattan apartment and it means little to me. I've never seen him in any movies, never seen him interviewed and know very little about him.
Then I find out that The Bulletin has been closed after 128 years and I feel like howling. I can just imagine how devastating it must be for the staff to be gathered in a room and then told that their magazine has folded. It was one of my favourite reads whenever I went home; I will miss it.
Remember my post about how to land a job in the "medja"? Well, here's a couple more tips for those budding journalists out there trying to score a job in the mainstream media.
1. Send your CV with your application.
I am currently recruiting for two vacancies. In the past couple of weeks I have received numerous applications in which the applicants forgot to send their CV -- they simply sent a cover letter and some examples of published work. If you're so scatterbrained as to forget to send your CV, I hate to think what your journalism skills are like. ("Did you get a comment from the firm that's been accused of misappropriation of funds?" "No, I forgot.")
2. If the job advertisement specifies that you must submit examples of your work, then submit examples of your work.
If you don't have any examples, make some up (unless, of course, the advertisement stresses that they have to be published examples). But remember that the employer wants to see your writing style, so try and make sure your examples reflect the type of style that typifies the publication's style. If it's a hard-hitting newspaper, send examples that show you can write hard news. If it's a glossy celebrity-style magazine, send examples that would fit in a glossy title. Whatever you do, don't send something that's offensive or completely outside the frame of reference as to be laughable. I won't even mention the guy who sent me a piece about women's breasts which he wrote for his university newspaper! 'tis true! (What was he thinking?)
Walking through the quiet suburban streets, gentle rain falling, we got to the party later than anyone else (we'd gone out for a curry beforehand). In a two-bedroom house on the A4 we drank beers, chatted and watched people at least a decade younger than ourselves play video games on a giant flat screen TV.
I met a couple of 20-somethings from my home town, a chap who works in the same industry as me (publishing) and got to catch up with two of my Australian buddies. It was nice to spend time with genuine, down-to-earth people.
At midnight we cracked open the bubbly and then let off a small bounty of fireworks from a second floor balcony. From this vantage point the suburbs of West London stretched out before us, and the leaden sky was suddenly alive with exploding fireworks from every direction. It was a magical way to bring in the New Year.
The pantry's full of food, the fridge is full of booze and there's a chocolate cloud cake baking in the oven.
There's no tree, but the Christmas lights are up, the cards are on display and there's candles aplenty on the coffee table.
Yes, I think we might be ready for a quiet, festive day tomorrow. Whatever you get up to -- if you get up to anything -- I hope it's a peaceful and enjoyable one!
Cathie Black is president of Manhattan-based Hearst Magazines. A couple of weeks ago I read her book Basic Black, a "memoir masquerading as a guide to career and life" (reviewed on my reading blog) and thoroughly enjoyed it, even if I didn't find it particularly useful. There was one section, however, that made me nod my head in agreement.
Under the chapter "Landing your dream job" Ms Black provides some advice on writing cover letters and resumes, and what to do in the interview. I've done my fair share of recruitment this year, so thought I'd offer some of my own words of wisdom for those of you trying to score a job in the "meedja".
Thought it was time to give this blog a fresh, new look with the vague intention that it might encourage me to write more frequent posts. I have been concentrating my efforts on Reading Matters over the past couple of years, but I miss the camaraderie of the regular visitors that used to comment here and I'd like, somehow, to build that up again.
Continue reading "New look -- and a bit of history about this blog" »
Got all my hair lopped off. My new style looks a bit like Kylie's new mop. Short. Choppy. Lots of layers. But I haven't gone blonde. In case you were wondering.
Watched Kenny, a hilarious Australian movie, on DVD. My sister gave it to us for Christmas last year, but we couldn't play it because we don't have a region-free DVD player. I managed to get it to work on my laptop. Haven't laughed (nor cringed) so much in ages. Not sure it does much to alleviate the stereotype of Australians being bad travellers though -- but it does do a lot for portaloos!
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