Diva-ish Behaviour

The things that I enjoy most about London:

Dishoom, Shoreditch. Definitely not your typical Friday night Indian.

This won't become a habit, but there is something so calming about opening a bottle of chilled white wine on a Friday evening after a jam-packed week at work.

Houses of Parliament. Best evening stroll after a long day at work.

L is for the way you look at me, O is for the only one I see, V is very very extraordinary and E is even more than anyone that you adore. London's very own tribute to Frank Sinatra (as I like to believe). Heron Tower, Bishopsgate.

View from Sushi Samba, Heron Tower. Beautiful.

Paramount Bar, Centre Point on Oxford Street. Best tasting cocktail I have had to date!

The Drift, Heron Tower. Reasonably priced, fab ambience and a must go. To be shared with the right people. <3

Ninetyeight Bar, Shoreditch. The magical world of Alice in Wonderland. Escapism at its best.

Yalla Yalla, Shoreditch. Beirut Street Food on London's street side. Dine on wooden boxes and feel the festival vibe with al fresco dining.

Meat Liquor, just off Oxford Street. The onion rings are the size of your fist! 

The Hummingbird Bakery. To satisfy a sweet tooth.

Byron, Shepherds Bush. The oreo milkshake is a small meal by itself, a fusion of sinful flavours.

Shaka Zulu, Camden. BRILLIANT

Starbucks on the way to work after working late evenings at client events.

Vertigo 42, Bishopsgate. The romantic side to London. 

The Tea House Theatre, Vauxhall. Real Afternoon Tea. Quaint and cosy. #sundayafternoon

Sushi Samba, Heron Tower. Sip on a cocktail and take in the view. Not a great menu for a veggie but who needs to eat when you can drink in style?!

Docklands Nail Bar. My treat that keeps me smiling.

The Shard.

Starbucks, working weekend. They spelt my name right!! Guess London is getting used to me :D x

Natural Beauty Scathed When Girl From The Midlands Takes On London Lifestyle Full Time

Hello World it has been awhile since you last heard from me for I have been enjoying work, chocolate and living!

I have a cause for concern however, and therefore writing this post as a means to seek advice so please feel free to offload any home remedies, tried and tested techniques or crazy and wonderful theories.

Since moving to London I have begun to notice that the skin on my face has started to deteriorate. Its by no means hideously horrid, but it has been playing on mind. I have been fortunate and blessed with good skin and have not found acne breakouts a problem. Only of late I have started to notice tiny pimples appearing on  my face and I am at a loss as to why, and what I can do differently to stop this.

I cleanse my face every morning with a daily facial wash, and close the pores by splashing cold water. I don't wear powder or foundation and haven't since the age of 16 and do not wear bronzer everyday. Most days I wear eyeliner and mascara and whack on a bright lipstick. Weekends is when I tend to indulge and splash out with a bit more imaginative makeup.

I don't touch my face throughout the day (or if I do, this is extremely limited - I'm more of a hair twizzler than face toucher) and wash my hands after travelling on the underground and throughout the day. What is going on then you hear me scream?!

My conclusion is that I strongly believe that it is the underground commute that is taking its toll on me and my fresh, hydrated Midlands skin. The underground is horridly unclean with dust balls blowing around, mice on the tracks and tonnes and tonnes of people coughing, sneezing and jabbering on. What concerns me even more is that the Londoners skin looks great!

There must be an agony aunt out there somewhere that can help me.

Yours truly from a disheveled Diwa x

The Dole & Me

                                                     Pondering life 02/03/13

Since leaving Sparkies in January I have been interning at Cancer Research as an Employee Benefits Marketing Intern. During these 7 weeks I have been supporting myself from the savings that I had accrued working the previous Christmas. The moment that every graduate dreads, I put an application in for Job Seekers Allowance as my financial bubble was on the brink of popping. All seemed fair and well, I attended my first JSA appointment and was told that my application was approved and that I would be receiving £52 per week. This money was much needed as it would allow me to continue interning in London.

A couple of weeks on it materialised that I was not eligible for JSA as I was interning 37 hours a week. As you can imagine I felt a vast mix of emotions. My first was worry. I was in over my head, I can't possibly sustain my lifestyle, I am never going to get the job that I want and now I am going to have to ring my parents and relay what a disappointment I was. I saw my life panning out before my eyes; I would have to move back home with a bruised sense of ambition.

To be told that there was a cloud of doubt over my application as there was no reasonable time that I could possibly apply for jobs whilst interning full time was crushing. The entire driving force behind interning is to gain experience within the industry that I wish to penetrate, building the blocks required to secure a paid job in this sector. My arguments for justifying that I was able to apply for jobs: I applied during evenings and weekends. I had a huge spreadsheet of jobs applied for to prove it - colour coded, dated and ongoing. It was after all, in my own interest to secure a job and begin climbing my career ladder. As I saw it, internships are the baby steps needed to make that leap.

As it happens there seemed to be a path paved for me and I had turned a corner. I was offered the position of Marketing & PR Assistant and have completed my first week in my new role. I needed to vent, so I have - London, don't punish the young for trying to find their way during this tricky time (job wise).

On another note, Happy Mothers Day.

Love to all x

Top 10 Valentine's Presents On A Budget...Or Not

By far, February is the best month of the year. The fun from Christmas has died down by now and we've all started to settle into the new year. Then February comes along, the healthy eating New Year's resolutions has gone out the window and there are better things to look forward to. Pancake Day is on the 12th, followed by Valentine's Day on the 14th and then my birthday on the 18th (which usually I try and drag out to a birthday week) - good times.

I'm feeling the love this Valentine's Day. The freezing cold air where my lips feel so sore and numb, shivering immediately from stepping out of the Angel Building. The cold is running up into my coat cursing that tiny gap of exposed skin between where your gloves end and your cardigan begins. Brrr i'm getting cold just thinking about it! But the funny thing is, is that I LOVE it! I like walking past shop windows seeing the Valentine's displays, walking into card shops and seeing people spend time pouring over the Valentine's Day card selection, searching for the perfect one. Maybe it is because I have got that little bit older that I appreciate the warmth and fun of it all. Since I am feeling the love this Valentine's I thought I would spread it, and relay a Top 10 guide of the perfect gifts for this romantic time of year. I feel like Cupid, call me Cupi(n)der if you will.

Valentine Do's
1. Customise M&M's and make them into your very own: www.mymms.co.uk/config/#/customization

2. A weekend break to Paris. It's cliche but who cares, nothing screams more romantic than a smooch under the Eiffel Tower.

3. Roses. Every girl melts over beautiful roses. I despise the colour red (besides red lipstick obviously) but red roses, ah they take me to a dreamy place.

4. Walk into M&S, they have such a cute display of Valentine's things from pink champagne to Valentine crackers. You can't go wrong there.

5. Get down on one knee and propose (in a public place preferably so other people can coo over how cute you both are)

6. Breakfast in bed. You can buy heart shaped pans for fried eggs, cut the toast into hearts too. No qualms.

7. An experience day. There is nothing more fun, especially if you're new in the relationship than a day out wine tasting, or a cooking class.

8. If you can't be together for Valentines, deliver a dozen roses.

9. Sing her/him a love song over skype. "It's all about youuuuu, its all about you baby" - McFly is a winner

10. Asking the person you fancy out for a drink on Valentine's Day.

Valentine Faux Pas
1. Forgetting

2. Spending Valentine's with the boyfers AND his parents

3. Breaking up on Valentine's or just before :(

4. Drunk texting/ drunk dialing your ex. Cringe

5. Being alone on Valentine's Day. Don't be a douche, hate on it together with your girls over a tub of Haagen Daz. Go to a traffic light party with your boys and get with the drunk girl dressed in amber.

6. Taking your girlfriend to McDonald's because you think you're so dope. No you're not, you're an idiot, for many reasons!

7. Sending a smoochy woochy text to your girlfriend's mum by mistake

8. Cooking dinner when neither of you can actually cook

9. Getting drunk on Valentine's Day, work will be painful the day after

10. Dressing your naked body in sushi like Samantha from Sex & the City - no one can pull that off in the real world!!

Wishing you all a Happy Valentine's Day. Cuddles x

Interning: The Devil Wears Prada

                                          Snowy London, 18/01/13
                                           
I can only apologise for my mysterious dissapearance, a lame excuse but I have simply been busy. Busy travelling the length of the country on a weekly basis since the end of October, working my part-time job at Sparkies and gaining valuable career experience in the week. Now that I no longer work at Sparkies and therefore do not need to travel back home to Derby from London every Friday evening, I have regained somewhat of a life. I have missed offloading in written prose so here we go...

Internships is something that I knew very little of, I associated the behaviour with our American friends. Something that Lauren Conrad from The Hills did whilst she juggled her priviledged lifestyle with her quest for true love. Something that Annie did on 90210 which led her to a bottomless inheritence left to her from her belated boss who happened to be a famous, billionaire actress. Basically, interning was something that I thought rich people did for fun that allowed them to fill their time and keep Mummy and Daddy happy as they felt their child was making something of their lives. How wrong I was.

The British budding graduate interns, and I have now become a serial intern. I live a nomad lifestyle living out of my suitcase which I drag with me from one family member to another in efforts to gain valuable industry experience. They say a dog is man's best friend, mine is my suitcase. When I am without it I have random spasms where I feel I have forgotten something valuable, my handbag alone is not enough!

Anyway, interning is what you make it. My internships were fantastic!! I enjoyed reading different newspapers and magazines in the morning on the quest for client coverage, I liked having to step out after lunch to buy the new copy of Vogue and habitually holding onto my receipts. I loved the thrill of deadlines and office pressure where at one point I was shoved into the back of a black cab with a HUMONGOUS brown box and told to travel to the other side of London in half an hour, otherwise the client's product would not be used in the photoshoot! I also welcomed the dress code of wearing heels to work, drinking white wine in the afternoons, and office banter which included laughing at London tumblr tweets. London is where I want to be, and PR is where I want to work.

On a more serious note, interning does have it lows. Whilst enjoying the responsibility that one has, you can quite easily be bogged down with admin type roles which have included taking the office post everyday to the post office at 5pm. I couldn't help but question, is this normal? Do graduates do this? Well, I have concluded yes and no. Yes, of course with any type of job there will be aspects of admin that needs to be covered however, I think its up to you to decide when enough is enough. If by the end of the internship you reflect and realise that all you actually did was sorting out the company's database then what have you taken from the experience? Some advice. In the forefront of your mind you must keep revising your goals and if they are not being met then flag this up with your manager, otherwise the industry has effectively swallowed you up and spat you out. Translated this means, they have got what they want out of you for no financial cost to them. Whilst you have left without broadened skills, when your entire aim was to be one step closer to securing a paid job in this sector.

aka, know your worth.

Enjoy the snow!
xxx

What is it with Brits abroad?

It is through the key hole that you discover what makes a holiday unforgettable. 

I cannot take credit for the beautiful photograph above, that all lies with my younger sister and her creative touchscreen (none crapberry phone). However, I will proceed to present an insight into my muddled thoughts which have circumstantiated having experienced Brits abroad. Being British is a rigid image, we are certainly not the tall athletic physiced blonde, blue eyed tanned German one sees sipping a cold beer in the sun. We are not the chirpy, bright-eyed Dutchman we see during hotel breakfast; the early riser who talks proudly over orange juice at the breakfast table and opts for sour yoghurt and honey to awake his pallet in the morning. We are also not the energetic, loud and somewhat annoyingly enthusiastic American, licking a fast-melting ice cream looking out onto the harbour. What are we then when we are abroad? 

On a family holiday away in Kos, Greece I enjoyed the heat, the relaxed way of life and the friendly Greeks. I enjoyed this holiday, but it was a different kind of enjoyment, an enjoyment that I was not accustomed to. It panned out to be a slow-paced vacation and a week of escape from the normalities back home. Without any sort of guided recognition I found myself observing the different nationalities and their style of holidaying. The German holiday maker appeared organised armed with a bulky, black, optical zoom professional-looking camera and with some sort of plan for the day in mind. They mooched about the souvenir shops taking a more steady look at what it was that Greece had to offer the tourist. They did not commit to a sale over a snap-shot decision nor did they spend many minutes considering what to buy. The German style of shopping that I observed appeared relaxed, they would look with the eye and only intermittently quiz something more closely with their hands. They confidently handled the tourist scene which stirred interest on my part. The Dutch governed the cycle track, they rode fast, tall and straight-backed clearly being an old hand at such an activity. The Dutch cyclist saw the bicycle as an effective mode of transport opposed to a means of fun and would warn off slower riders ahead, and wandering pedestrians encroaching onto their cycle route with an assertive, short and sharp ring of the bell. The Dutchman's face looked relaxed, he was able to appear friendly without smiling, a unique trait. 

This only leaves the British holiday maker from the Europeans that I had observed whilst in Kos.

The Brit was a late arrival at breakfast, why should he awake early, he is on holiday after all. He ordered a beer at 11am opposed to a water or fizzy drink, the sun was intense and he was sunbathing and groping for something cold after all. His locality accent was strong (Mancunian, Brummy or Southern) and his laugh was loud. He roamed the island mostly topless, he was on holiday after all. He was red. Red-face, red-bellied and red-backed. However not all Brits took on this glow. Others appeared, so brown that you couldn't help but try and calculate just how many days had they been lying in the sun, had they time to see anything else of Kos beside the shore? The Brit ordered big at dinner; meat, chips and a large Mythos beer, dessert as well, he was on holiday after all. 

Even now, I try and fathom through my thoughts in efforts to pin-point why the Brit abroad stuck out so rigidly for me. I was thankful that I was on the island at the end of the holiday season (mid September) as I knew that had I holidayed earlier I would have seen many more Brits abroad. When talking to other Brits on holiday, conversation flowed and was warm, it was nice to contact familiarity whilst away. However, it was all too British for me. Did I notice these traits because I could spot the Brit abroad wearing an M&S linen trouser, a Topshop playsuit and Matalan beach bag? I think that what I am trying to admit is that I didn't like seeing so many Brits on my holiday. I wanted to meander through the small streets of Kos hearing different languages, looking at different clothing that I couldn't recognise the branding of and have help from the waiter because I couldn't read the menu. This holiday, this time around was too commercialised, it was too much of a little Britain for me. 

I am appreciative to be British and a second generation Brit lucky enough to have holidayed abroad in this current economic climate, and I mean that. However, I wanted to be cultured from the experiences from my holiday. I wanted to taste the traditional Greek cuisine. I admit that being a vegetarian did limit my ability to do so, and Greek taverns were plentiful however what I'm trying to say, is that I wanted a little more. I wanted more moussaka and less pizzas, less tour guides, less sun loungers and more mythology. Maybe this is something that I will experience more mainland Greece, who knows. Maybe it is I that has been spoilt by my previous holiday experiences and by my History degree that I sought more culture over convenience. 

More fun and games

So I think that it is about time for my next Olympics related update. My last blog was all about the more glamorous side of volunteering; meeting the athletes, embracing some of the coaches, watching the tournaments and, being in general awe of the Olympic Games. However this time I have noticed something different, maybe this has something to do with the fact that we are now into the second week of the games and the nation are accepting the world event as  a part of our daily routine. Some of the sparkle, smiles and pizazz from last week has been diluted. The bone that I am trying to pick is about the London underground system. In my last entry I remember being surprised by the way that the everyday Londoner portrayed himself differently. I saw him as friendlier, approachable and forthcoming. He was someone who looked up opposed to straight ahead with an icy stare. Eye contact was not an awkward misdemeanor.  I now hold a contrasting view. I ventured out around London, this being the first time not sporting my Gamesmaker uniform. I was pushed, squashed and not spoken to. Neither did I have half as much of the attention that I had been used to receiving last week. People would look at my uniform, smile at my presence, start conversation, and generally offer me a half an inch more space in an underground carriage than I was experiencing on my journey in disguise. I had become more background than foreground. I had a taste of commonality and it was bitter. I wanted to be a Gamesmaker again. I made my journey back to base camp and slumped on the sofa. London had reverted back to its giving with one hand, taking with the other persona. Had I been cocooned in an Olympics-loving bubble which had now been severely deflated? I cross - examined my journey and reflected. Yes, I was squashed at times but it was rush hour. Yes, I was not approached with enthusiastic conversation about the Olympics but that was because I was part of the London's general traffic. Yes, people didn't smile at me BUT I smiled any way during intermittent awkward eye contact, and that is what matters. I still love that London are hosting the Olympics and I still believe that London is changed by hosting the games. Yes, I smiled and although receiving a lesser ratio to the times that I smiled to the times I received a smile, I believe London is proud to be the hosting nation. It is simply expressed in a 'London' way: reserved, conservatively proud and borderline friendly. 

Back of house

Enough on that, now onto what makes volunteering for the Olympics hot and, what makes it not. Thursday afternoon, first shift back from my day off yesterday. During our twenty minute  group brief I got chatting away to fellow volunteers and we exchanged what we had got up to on our day off yesterday and how much our feet had been aching. Conversation started with a volunteer that was slightly taller than myself, a black rimmed glasses wearer who had a 'I work in IT' look about him. It materialised that he didn't in fact work in IT but was a Project Manager in Surrey. Nonetheless his day off topped mine. I relayed how I rested my entire body as I spent my day off sprawled across the sofa watching the Olympics on TV which was broken by venturing out during rush hour to make my way across London to spend time with my cousin brother. On his day off he travelled to his girlfriend's parents' house and asked her Dad for her hand in marriage. Hugh Grant eat your heart out! After I stopped melting over how cute it all was, reason caught me and I quickly asked if it had gone well. He replied with a huge grin and offered more detail on the background of their relationship. They met at University, lived together in their final year and in total had been living together for four and a half years. I asked if he had thought about how he might propose to her and he said if the weather stays nice, during a picnic. Nawww, what a brilliant way to start the shift. We were split up into groups and deployed to our various roles. I was in back of house. It sounds exciting but I soon realised that it was not! Below you can see what I was doing. 

This was the view I was looking at from my sitting position

I swapped between sitting on the chair, and casually pacing the floor. During both methods of existing I was left alone with my thoughts. It was a lonesome experience. My role was to check security passes as my post was an access point. After about half an hour of no one walking past, trickles of boxing athletes from various countries and their coaches began to walk past me. I engaged in a short wander and came across the boxing warm up area. I sneakily took a picture and accidentally backed into a Turkish boxer on my way back to post, oops. 

Athlete traffic was slow and far between and considering I did not know any of these boxers I was looking forward to being relieved. I was then posted on manning the entrance to the Olympic Family Lounge. This was fun as it was a fairly busy entrance point and I did get to meet some more boxing athletes and IOC members. All of whom were extremely friendly! However, some of the media did try and sneak past me. I did at one point have to get a bit of a jog and shout on to drag them back. Without an accredited  pass it is a no go - there was no getting past me! After my dinner break I managed to watch some of the boxing too - I love being in the Olympics bubble!

Boxing warm-up area

On my next shift I was placed in the seating bowl. It was my role to guide people to their seats and engage in friendly chat. I was at my most active just before the event began. Pretty much from then on I was watching the table tennis. During my afternoon shift I was enjoying the women's table tennis and during the evening I was watching some of the men's. Team GB were playing during both sessions so that was extra exciting. Especially because the crowd get completely behind the British competitors. It really is an incredible atmosphere to soak up, and I did let out a few cheers myself when a particularly nifty shot was played! 

Some of my Olympic volunteering pizazz - watching Team GB

If I was to choose what I had enjoyed watching the most out of what I have been lucky enough to have seen so far it would have to be the Boxing. This is because the crowd are so enthusiastic in supporting and watching the rounds. Cheering, clapping, and stomping on the floor - its a fantastic environment! My second most enjoyable to watch has been the Judo. It is again great to see the crowd get so behind the competitors, however I think that a lot of my fondness of the sport has to do with being in touching distance of the Judo athletes and coaches! 

Table tennis is a sport that I have not as yet been able to fully appreciate. It was introduced as an Olympic sport during the Beijing Olympics and so London 2012 has been the second year that it has been included in the games. I think that the sport is awkward to watch. The athletes appear like giants in front of a 'kids' size table and net, holding tiny bats. They have breaks in between each round and wipe the sweat from their faces and arms with unnecessarily large towels. I can't help but think that Table Tennis is the amateur version of 'proper' Tennis where sweating buckets, grunting and skidding across the court is fully understood. I don't know, maybe I need to watch it a little more to give it a fighting chance. For me, it was the atmosphere from the crowd that made my experience. The enthusiastic roars and mexican waves definitely help take away some of the scepticism I felt toward the sport. 

From behind the tainted glass

My cousin and I waving the flag!

On Sunday I went to the Olympic Park and was lucky enough to watch the Synchronised Swimming in the Aquatic Centre. I went with my family; my Uncle, Auntie, Grandma cousins and their family. That is three generations that had come to see a part of the Olympics! We were a group of ten and I was on kiddie patrol. I spent the day making up songs with them on the bus and around the Olympic park whilst tightly holding their little hands. Imagine getting lost in the park when it was at full capacity, eek. It was a brilliant day watching the swimmers in their bright and sparkly costumes dancing in the water. 

The event lasted around an hour and a half to two hours. I was trigger happy throughout the entirety of it, I wasn't missing a snippet of this wonderful Olympics experience. By the end of the swimming I was ready to get out of there. The Aquatic Centre is so warm and has this way of making you sleepy! We wondered around the park and soaked up the atmosphere, everyone is so energetic and chirpy - its amazing to be a part of! 

I think what I liked the most from this day is that I got to see the Olympic face head on as a spectator opposed to from behind the scenes as a volunteer. The many faces that make up London 2012! 

Start right, end right

First day back at ExCel after a couple of days off I was bouncing with energy. On the way down to the arena from the staff area I bumped into only David Cameron! He was sitting in our break area having a cup of coffee. I tell you no lie, he looked straight at me and smiled! I was wired for this shift. It was an extremely busy day in the seating bowl for the women's wrestling but I enjoyed meeting lots of wonderful people. At the end of my shift my team leader grabbed me and told me what a brilliant job I had done all day. She said that the arena manager had told her that this was the first day out of 11 that the arena had ran without any hiccups - its a wonderful feeling to be recognised for the effort that you put in. Perfect finish to the day! 

Only 2 more shifts left until my Olympics experience is over, I've had a ball! 

Keep smiling x