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dearbarbie
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Name: Kim
Country: United Kingdom
Metro: Birmingham
Birthday: 3/28/1982
Gender: Female
Interests: China, China, China, fine and unusual beers, vanilla, conversation, boys, snow, red, biaotze, Alan Partridge, snowboarding, Lindt chocolate, art, languages, travelling, friends, cinema, Dave Gorman, music, love, green, friends, raindrops, Grant Nicholas, photography, teaching, current affairs, roses, Daria, random senses of humour, Captain Oats, mozzarella cheese, Badly Drawn Boy, live bands, artists and guitarists, rainbows, doggies, makeup...
Occupation: Manufacturing/production
Industry: Business
Message: message me
MSN: kim@kmsklinar.co.uk
Yahoo:  kimsklinar
Member Since:
10/31/2004
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| I think today’s going to be a good day!
The office post just came and there was something for me and it wasn’t any order paperwork or a complaint letter!
It was a packet, so I opened it, and there were some bags of Maltesers from one of my clients! How nice is that?! I was telling my contact there how I’m starting to get a bit snowed-under as I’m preparing the department for my departure and she said I needed some chocolate to keep me going! So I am the proud recipient of her corporate gifts which have made their way into the office kitchen for everyone to see and for word to get back to my excuse for Management. Woo, I’m not completely rubbish at my job and it’s nice that my customers appreciate me even when my boss does not! [/big head] It’s all about simple achievements here.
I went out with John last night - what a legend. John’s fab. He’s just moved into a swanky new apartment in Birmingham city centre next to the Arcadian so we went for a few drinks, was fun (and cheap as we gatecrashed a student night at £2.50 a round).
By the way, photo-a-day is still going although I do sometimes forget (not often) and the set needs organising:
Mum & Dad visit - 3rd May:
Dinnertime - 6th May:
Awaiting my assessment day - 16th May:
Graffiti artist in Trafalgar Square - 20th May:
Making Matt’s birthday cake - 17th May:
A bendy pencil, gift from Arch - 23rd May:
Barbecue shopping - 25th May:
Life is fun, isn’t it?
Kim xx
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| This weekend was busier as ever, but the weather (sunny) was a pleasant change to the thunder and lightning of recent, and London embraced this with a blinding display of bare white legs.
On Friday I got the train to Matt and let myself in as he was at Wembley watching the England v Brazil game.
Saturday was everywhere (well as everywhere in Shepherd’s Bush you can get). At first I had a house viewing near my office-to-be so we walked through the Bush to it. It was a complete scumhole and the house would be condemned if it weren’t for the Aussies in the sleeping bags and layers of dirt holding up the walls. Onward, we walked then to Hammersmith for a drink and then to get some fancy dress costumes. Emily and Adam (Matt’s flatmates) were hosting a Murder Mystery party back at the flat that evening and Matt and I had been given the characters of Frenchman and Award-Winning Yachtswoman (respectively!!) We got stripy tops and a few other bits (as you’ll see in the pics below) and then headed to Ravenscourt Park for a late picnic.
After that, it was back to the flat to get ready, although I had to pop to see another house (which was loads better and I’m hoping the flatties get in touch so I can move in) just around the corner from Matt. Then we got ready for the party:
Matt’s outfit was complete comedy - he completed it with an onion…an eyeliner moustache…
…and some red wine…
Other ‘guests’ included a merchant banker, a limbo dancer, an ex-cricketer, and a voodoo priestess:
Matt seemed very comfortable in his self-styled and rather camp outfit…:
Yesterday (Sunday) I saw another house which I also liked, so waiting to hear from the housemates, and am seeing another on Saturday. I need to decide by this weekend really, otherwise find somewhere in my first week at work whilst staying at Matt’s. Argh!
Mum called me yesterday about the annual August Bank Holiday party at their house - this year’s is for 3 things - her and Dad’s 30th wedding anniversary, my brother’s 21st and sort-of my 25th party. So if you know me in person and want to come, get in touch and I’ll let you know the details. There’ll be people coming from all over the country so will be limited room to stay over and I’m trying to make it a bit of a school reunion too. I know it’s eons away but diaries get full (talking from experience, natch!)
Oh, by the way, this is the Grohl that I made Matt for a birthday present:
Haha, I was well proud of that!! Kim xx
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| Oh dear. Big Brother season is among us, therefore summer must be on its way. I cannot stand BB personally, although my boredom at work is going to make me an addict. I just clicked that link and my procrastination led me to this:
“19-year-old student Emily Parr. She says she could read from the age of two and rates her intelligence as 10 out of 10.”
Oh, you’re so edgy. I could read from the age of 2 as well. Does that mean that I qualify with potential for Z-list celebrity status? Maybe if I market myself with that I could get more extras work…there’s also a Wakey lass on there. Great. I’m going to get mocked the world over for my accent, or finally people will have heard of where I’m from!
That’s my annual BB rant over with, now onto business.
Things feel pretty random at the moment - like I’m all over! The past fortnight or so have seen me get the Chiltern line to London more than my commuting boss, not that I’m thankful that it paid off, but I’m everywhere at once. This weekend was nice to be spent at my place in Birmingham. We had a barbecue (yes, in the rain, you can take the Kim out of Yorkshire…)…on disposable barbecues as my landlord didn’t finish the proper one in time:
Classy or what.
This is Stu, who seems to have developed quite a penchant for Bison Grass vodka and apple juice, marketing it to his fellow barbecue guests as ‘tastes like apple strudel’. Fair enough, it does:
After being left to cook food for almost 20 people in the rain, we headed out to Birmingham. I can only assume this was to drink beer (diesel, thanks Stu) but I (un)fortunately cannot remember.
Sunday was cool. Bank Holidays are all about taking your brother back to the coach station and getting back into bed with all your clothes on to watch Alan Partridge with leftover wine and Ben & Jerry’s. On Monday, Matt and I went to Stratford-upon-Avon to meet Adam, Emily, Mary and Mary’s brother - after a walk about and some dinner we went to see King Lear starring Ian McKellen.
And that was the end of the fun part of the weekend. Tuesday involved going back to my house, getting suitcases etc., and starting my Big Move to London - am storing things at Matt’s to make my move easier. I also looked at 3 houses, one of which I really liked but the bedroom was t-i-n-y. The search continues.
Kim x
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| Yesterday I accepted a new job!!
I’m going to be working near Kensington Olympia (London) and hopefully spending time down the gym too thanks to subsidised membership - although that’s at Chelsea Bridge!!
How the hell I got that job I don’t know…the interviewer really went for it, asking me all kinds of questions, I had to do a 10-min presentation on the company and its business services, I used words I couldn’t even say (and admitted this), I was quizzed about why I have a 2:2 and should be recruited, I was asked why I want to work for myself and haven’t done so yet (as per previous post), I was asked what inspires me, am I competitive, what are my major life achievements, am I perfect?
It’s going to be a fab career move for me I think, and it means I can live near Matt and have my weekends back and be normal once again!
Anyway, 6 people interviewed, one person chosen. Me. I’ll be working in a team of 5 and am really excited about meeting my new colleagues and getting settled (after some training in Manchester), although it will be sad to leave my housemates/friends in Birmingham behind although I am sure we will stay in touch and still meet up.
This post is going to look a bit boring so I’ve added some random pictures.
So I handed in my notice yesterday afternoon. Understandably my boss was less than impressed, but I can’t work out why it wasn’t obvious that I was looking to leave. I have been so demotivated and devalued by him being too lazy to do photocopying/send things to clients by email that are in-front of him/having me do his dirty work and take the brunt of a customer’s tempers when he did something wrong if he did it at all. I know my job is/was as a support role and to manage the office while he went on customer visits etc., but to do that successfully don’t you need to talk to your staff/train them/respect them?
When I interviewed for this job I admitted I knew nothing about the steel industry. Everything I know now I have pretty much found out myself, or have had to get to the bottom of somehow. No information has been volunteered to me, which I guess shows initiative on my part, but I’m an account executive not an interpol detective. Sending me to Belgium for 3 weeks to drink a lot of coffee and get bored in a hotel does not constitute as training. Nor does giving me a list of email addresses in Germany and Italy and asking me to sort it out myself with ‘I don’t know, ask them, you can go to their offices if necessary’.
Anyway, boss, yes, he was not happy. Asked why I am leaving so soon, well, more commented, he didn’t listen to anything I had to say much! Then he promptly was cold(er) for the rest of the day. His boss has asked me about why I am leaving this morning and was very nice about it, and we’re having a meeting next week.
I really could bum about for the next month but I need something to take my mind off the pending boredom so am now writing a mega-manual on how to do my job for the next poor soul to eat cereal at my desk and check their Facebook a million times a day whilst losing the will to live.
This job HAS been good for me, I’ve learned more about myself and the way I need to work to be happy than I could have anywhere else. The flashy name looks good on my CV and I’ll no doubt get a good reference. Birmingham’s been a cool place to live. Not only that, but it randomly brought me closer to London where Matt lives. If I had still have been living in Wakefield, there’s no way we would still be together now due to the distance and cost of seeing each other.
So check me out, and now a busy weekend looms. A house barbecue tomorrow (a mix of Arch’s birthday, and me and her celebrating job progress), on Monday I’m going to see a Shakespeare play (woo)…in Stratford.
On Tuesday I’m going to find somewhere to live (hopefully)…if anyone has any tips about finding a houseshare in Shepherds Bush, drop me a comment!
Kim xx
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| I’m a member of an online promotions ‘thing’ and just received this in an e-mail…I quite like the band and think they deserve a bit more promotion so ladies and gents, I present to you, Air Traffic:
Check them out, especially if you’re called Charlotte.
Also, as promised, see pictures below of Matt’s birthday drinks in Hammersmith (although I didn’t get very many:
Cake!:
Adrian:
Matt and Ad:
Jo, Andy, Adam, Emily and Matt:
Here’s one or two I pinched from Andy (sorry!):
Woo, it’s Thursday!
Kim xx
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