Really impressed, also didn’t think it was possible. More fool me.
]]>Really impressed, also didn’t think it was possible. More fool me. 
1 – Timescale.
To be an mp, councillor, msp, etc and get elected you must be willing to commit 4-5 [...]]]>
1 – Timescale.
To be an mp, councillor, msp, etc and get elected you must be willing to commit 4-5 years to the office. Assuming you don’t then get re-elected.
I’m 21, I built a portion of my life overseas, and I want to travel a lot before I settle anywhere. Nowhere in my plan does it mention tying myself to one place for a long period of time.
2 – Variety.
I don’t doubt there are a great many things I would enjoy about such a role. I also don’t doubt that I’d find several aspects boring or monotonous.
I’ve barely started on my employment path, and through choice I have a degree in something totally different (that I enjoy). There isn’t a huge appeal for me, for this kind of work.
3 – Other People.
This is a twofold problem.
First, dealing with members of the public. I don’t dislike people in principle or theory; I do get irritated by a great many things the majority of people do regularly. No desire to bite my tongue half the day every day, nor do I wish to have people coming to me with their problems when they’ve made no attempt to fix it themselves.
Not a good mix folks.
Second, co-workers. Political people are a lot of fun and I like a lot of them. Personally.
However. I’m both young and female, and while I may be competent in any hypothetical role the rest of the people I would be working with are far older.
At best I’d be seen as the cherished baby of the group that no one really takes seriously very often.
At worst I’d be isolated, ignored, sidelined, and taken advantage of (even if well intentioned). The framework doesn’t fit my demographic and I don’t wish to be the first.
4 – Confrontation
I’m not very good at it and I don’t like it.
You get one of two responses from me in that setting if its about something that matters.
Tears then anger.
Anger then tears.
None of which helps the competent argument.
5 – I just plain don’t want to!
In fact, the more I’m pushed at a course of action the more likely I am to shy away from it. I’m just contrary that way.
]]>I set out on my search with a vague feeling of dread, and some specific criteria that I felt I would need. I even did that researching thing for several hours. All I [...]]]>
I set out on my search with a vague feeling of dread, and some specific criteria that I felt I would need. I even did that researching thing for several hours. All I learned from that exercise is that my dread was justified.
I wanted an account with a local branch (so that, if needed, I could walk in and solve issues / deposit cash and cheques).
I wanted one that allowed me to operate internationally.
I wanted one that wouldn’t freak out and spit charges at me for lots of micro payments into the account (membership site business model).
And I wanted one that would let me transfer to other bank accounts without fees and fuss, on a regular schedule if needed.
Every single bank that has business accounts has introductory offers for start-ups. Usually lasting about 18 months.
This is fantastic! However, complicated. What I noticed was a lot of them used terminology that I, as the newbie, didn’t get and they also made it harder to find the non-introductory rates and fees.
Plus, since they all seemed to similar (apart from the different ‘odd terminology’ things, those differed) it’s like they wish us to close our eyes and jab at a list.
Also, they seem allergic to answering emails. Or even, displaying a way for businesses to contact them that doesn’t involve a phone call (I’m usually busy in office hours), a call back (same reason) or wandering into their branch. The one response I did get from an email was a voicemail requesting I call them back to discuss options.
After a bunch more research and engaging the help of my virtual assistant (I’m happy she was as confused as I was, sort of) I’ve narrowed it down to two banks.
Almost. I’m going to wander around my local shopping centre, going into each branch, and seeing what facilities they have (read: One of those machines that lets you deposit cash and cheques without speaking to people) and then I’ll decide based on that and how the sign-up process goes.
It’s gotten to the point where its more important for me to have any account than it is to shop for the best deal. Convenience rules.
Anyone else been having issues choosing a business bank over here in the UK? Suggestions? I would love to hear your stories.
]]>Really impressed, also didn’t think it was possible. More fool me.
]]>Really impressed, also didn’t think it was possible. More fool me.
I’m on board with the idea that we need to cut our carbon emissions (factories? Planes? Come on now), stop wasting resources, even cutting down on what we spend on fuel. I like the [...]]]>
If we had a tram, no doubt I’d like that too.
I’m on board with the idea that we need to cut our carbon emissions (factories? Planes? Come on now), stop wasting resources, even cutting down on what we spend on fuel. I like the idea that people who cannot or won’t drive, for whatever reason, can still get just about anywhere in Fife with only minimal walking.
So you can believe me when I say this is in no way an attack on our public transport system (though I believe it could be much better), even though it may seem that way in the coming paragraphs.
But it does have a massive flaw.
You already know that traveling anywhere takes a certain amount of time, and that usually its longer by bus (due to the bus going different, sometimes winding routes and having to stop at these ‘bus stop’ things). What may take 25 minutes by car, takes about 40-45 minutes by bus. That’s not a big deal I hear you cry!
Actually, it’s worse than that.
Buses never run exactly when you need them too, unless you live in a larger city. This means that you’re often in the position of having to wait. If a bus leaves at 10:05am for example, it could arrive at 10am, or it could arrive 10:15am. Just in case it gets there early, you need to be at the bus stop early.
Say the earliest it will ever arrive is 10 minutes before schedule. That means you have to be at the bus stop, bright and ready, 15 minutes before its due. Have change? If not, leave earlier and stop by the bank. Then a shop to get coins.
Lets be conservative and say you leave home half an hour before the bus is due. So far, our time tally is 1 hour 10 mins compared to 25 mins by car.
How often can you get off a bus directly outside the place you’re traveling to?
Not very. Say you wind up close, that’s another 5-10 minute walk from the destination bus stop to your work (for example). You have to be at work by a certain time, this would take you past it.
Uh oh. Better get an earlier bus.
Say you do, and the earlier one gets you physically into your work 20 minutes early (after your 5-10 min walk) – that’s not so bad provided you can start work immediately. Can you?
Lets assume you can for ease and that at the other end of your journey it only takes you 15 minutes to get in and settled. For fairness, lets add 5-10 minutes to the ‘by car’ method for finding a parking space. That brings us to 1 hour 25 mins by bus vs 35 mins by car.
By car, you can jump in and get going. Even allowing for traffic you can be at your door about 40 minutes after leaving the office.
By bus, you need to wait on the next scheduled departure, after walking to the bus stop. For this example we’re leaving work at 5pm, the next bus is at 5:23pm (which isn’t awful as far as these things go) and it takes you 10 minutes to get to the bus stop. Provided you’re not delayed heading out the door you get to the bus stop 10 minutes early. And wait.
It takes 60 minutes to get home once on the bus (rush hour), and a further 10 to get to your front door.
Car = 1 hour 15 mins
Bus = 2 hours 45 mins.
At minimum wage for someone over the age of 21 in the UK (£6.08 per hour) that’s £7.60 by car. Plus petrol etc (for ease, lets say £5). Total for one day is £12.60.
That same journey by bus is £16.72 in time alone, plus the ticket which is £7.50 for a dayrider (cheaper than most return tickets). Total for one day of travel is £24.22.
Assume both people in our example got paid for 7.5 hours on this day earning £45.60 before tax. Wouldn’t you much rather just drive and use that extra hour and a half on something more worthwhile?
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I’m willing to bet that it’s not the same thing that gets me. Exactly, at least. I’m also willing to bet that there are cues that reach most of the people most of the time.
[...]]]>I’m willing to bet that it’s not the same thing that gets me. Exactly, at least. I’m also willing to bet that there are cues that reach most of the people most of the time.
Tonight we finally got around to watching the last Sherlock episode. We being myself and my parents, and TV being our evening thing (sometimes). I don’t want to go too far into it so that I don’t spoil it for those that haven’t seen the episode, even though we’re several months after it aired. At the end something happened that made me cry.
In fact, I was thinking about it, and it’s really easy to make me cry. Music, Books, TV, Movies, my oh-so-wonderful personal life… easy.
Now I’m not for one minute saying I’m a crybaby (who on earth would admit to that!), nor am I particularly sensitive. Most of the time.
I do, however, have some triggers that always get to me.
Usually surrounding loss, loyalty (especially misplaced), and ruin. Whenever these things happen to a character I’ve engaged with, or in a story I buy into, I’m a goner.
The fact that these emotions and situations are covered in the land of popular media, successfully, tells me that I’m not the only one affected.
My parents, with their disgustingly dry eyes, tell me we’re set off by different things.
My hypothesis is that it’s not just with sadness and tears that this happens; anger, happiness, hope, fear, and so on. In fact, aren’t we disappointed when we watch something (or read, or listen) and it doesn’t affect us at all?
Points to ponder.
What was the last thing you watched/read/listened to that got under your skin?
]]>Today, I don’t really have anything to say myself… but here are some interesting quotes I found while out searching for post inspiration.
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Today, I don’t really have anything to say myself… but here are some interesting quotes I found while out searching for post inspiration.
Thanks to Life by SaJe for the image
This one is from Personal Excellence.
Loving this one from Back in Skinny Jeans
From Silver Lovely (Love Quotes for Him)
And finally, thanks to The Bullshit Buffet for the reminder!
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The Parties are brands.
The candidates themselves are spokespeople.
Walking around putting leaflets through doors? Not [...]]]>
We’d like to think its about policy, or competency, or political party affiliation, but when you mix it all up and boil it down it’s really an exercise in marketing.
The Parties are brands.
The candidates themselves are spokespeople.
Walking around putting leaflets through doors? Not dissimilar to posting ads.
Knocking on doors to talk to people? Hard not to liken that to direct email.
Writing newspaper articles; Guest Posting.
Each technique used has different effects and reach, and some are more useful than others (both in the online world of marketing and the offline task of getting elected). If you’re really unlucky you even have to do the majority of the legwork on your own.
Whenever leaflets, letters, newspapers, etc are sent out it reminds people who the candidate is, what they stand for, and to vote (one way or the other) on the appointed day.
By staying fresh in peoples minds, they’re more likely to recognize your name on the ballot paper and award you their vote (or part of it, if you’re using proportional representation).
Similarly, with comments, ads, autoresponders, newsletters, and blog posts to our clients and audience, we stay fresh in their minds.
More than once my Dad, while he was out door knocking and speaking to people, had someone tell him that no one had been out to them before. Two things of note happened with this exchange.
First, they felt listened to and appreciated just because he bothered to show up and speak to them.
Second, they Had been feeling ignored previously.
When we email past clients, or newer ones, to let them know we’re thinking of them and we’re happy to help in any way we can we’re saying that they’re important. Not just to themselves (though we confirm that nicely on some level) but to other people too. Namely, us.
This cracked us up on the day. There were two candidates for the same party in my Dad’s ward, and his was the second name. On a bunch of the ballot papers he was marked as a second choice for exactly that reason.
Sounds similar to search engines to me!
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Congratulations Dad, I’m proud of you. Though I still haven’t quite forgiven you the suspense.
(Real posts again from tomorrow)
]]>Congratulations Dad, I’m proud of you. Though I still haven’t quite forgiven you the suspense.
(Real posts again from tomorrow)
Long day at the Craik household; this is a picture of my dad, the Labour candidate for Scotland, after the polls have closed.
Bring on tomorrow and the results. Thanks to everyone that went out and voted!
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Long day at the Craik household; this is a picture of my dad, the Labour candidate for Scotland, after the polls have closed.
Bring on tomorrow and the results. Thanks to everyone that went out and voted!
]]>I had three main things I needed to do today. One I missed entirely (my own fault, I’ll make up the class with my brother a little later in the week), one I attended and one I cost/benefited away.
That [...]]]>
“Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.” ~William James
I had three main things I needed to do today. One I missed entirely (my own fault, I’ll make up the class with my brother a little later in the week), one I attended and one I cost/benefited away.
That third thing happens to have been my Holistic Massage class. By the time I got out of work (the second thing) I wasn’t in the best of moods, my stomach was playing up, and my feet hurt.
Before you all jump down my throat for being a baby, those aren’t the reasons I didn’t attend this evening.
On a class day it costs me £7.50 to take the bus there and back. That part isn’t a big deal and I’ve been doing it for months.
The main cost is in time. It takes the bus 30-40 minutes to get there from the bus station near my home, and I must get on that bus at 5pm. Class doesn’t start until 6pm. Network strength at the college isn’t great, and better or worse I never set up my computing account there.
The class then takes 3 hours, during which I perform one or two massages (if one, I get to do some paperwork too if I have it with me or leave early). After class I have a 15 minute wait on the bus home, a further 40 minutes on the bus, then another 15 to get to my own house.
All told, it consumes all my time from about 4:30pm until 10pm (that’s 5 1/2 hours!).
What I gain by doing this each week are another one or two case studies for my portfolio (I need another two and I have one more week to gain them), extra practice at massage techniques I’ll need for my exam (next month) and access to my Tutor for any questions and feedback on my work.
Overall the course, once finished and passed, will allow me to perform full body massage anywhere in the world as it comes with an ITEC qualification.
All of these benefits are great things until you consider that I had a mountain of course paperwork to do (Procrastination rules), I was already feeling stressed and frazzled, and… Ok, guilty for not completing more of the written work sooner. In my defense it’s truly boring stuff.
I didn’t go to class, as you already know.
I also didn’t spend my time doing nothing.
When I got home I spent an hour and a half (remember this is only about 4:30pm) having a look at important email and running through Johnny Truant’s Time Management course material.
Then I rolled up my sleeves, brought out my homework folder, and completed 6 case study write-ups between 6pm and 8:30pm. My brain was fried by the end, but it leaves me with only another 3 to write out of 18 – and yes, I really did put it off that long.
Bonus – I had time to write this article before 9pm!
I truly dislike traveling for a long time when tired and cranky, and given the right motivation I can be extremely productive. In this case, the motivation was ‘Not getting on the bus and helping other people’s aches and pains’.
If it isn’t broken, hm?
(Note, in no way am I suggesting putting everything off until nearly the last minute then cutting class. Merely pointing out that on this one occasion it could have been worse)
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