I was on the website of the Globe Theatre earlier this evening, booking tickets for J. and I to see a performance of Romeo and Juliet when we are in London next month. When I got to the booking page, I typed in my name and then opened the drop-down box to select my title. I was offered the following choices:
- Mr
- Mrs
- Ms
- Miss
- Dr
- Sir
- Lord
- Lady
- Dame
- Prof
- Air Commodore
- Baroness
- Brigadier
- Canon
- Capt
- Cmdr
- Colonel
- Count
- Countess
- Judge
- Lt
- Madame
- Marquess
- Prince
- Princess
- Rev
- Bishop
- Duke
- Viscount
- Viscountess
Finally. I have been waiting to make a post like this ever since I started this blog.
At the end of last week, I was offered a very good job (which I have now accepted). It is with the same unit in the university I have worked at since August 2004, when we moved back to Halifax from Dublin. The job mainly entails identifying and promoting opportunities for international research amongst our faculty members, helping them put together their funding proposals, and then (hopefully) assisting them with managing their successful research programmes. It's an excellent opportunity, and a significant step up from where I am now - with a greater range of responsibilities, lots of room for professional growth, and a corresponding pay rise of about 20% over what I'm earning now. Crucially, it is also a permanent position, with a full range of top-notch benefits. I can't overstate how important this is to me - I have been waiting a very long time for a job like this, and have had to work harder than I ever imagined in order to get here.
When I first joined the unit, I was hired on a long-term contract (4.5 years) to manage an international development project which the university was leading. I admit that at the time, knowing very little about international development, I looked upon the job as a foot in the door - a worthwhile stopgap that would pay the bills for perhaps six months to a year, until I found a permanent position in student services or another area where I had more expertise. I wasn't too worried. I had a vague memory that the Nova Scotia job market has always been tough. But I felt confident that with my education and five years of solid work experience in an Irish university under my belt, that opportunities would be plentiful among the seven higher education institutions in this city, and I wouldn't have much trouble in finding a great job.
Boy, was I wrong.
How wrong? Let me break down the numbers for you. Since January 2004, when I began my Halifax job search, these have been my results:- Applications submitted for advertised positions at Halifax universities/colleges: 56
- Calls to interview: 8
- Permanent job offers extended: 1 (April 2009)
You read that right. It has taken me just over five years to reach what, in my mind, is a normal, reasonable goal - an interesting, well-paid, secure job in my field. Arriving back here in 2004 fresh from Europe (and the booming Irish economy), I would never have dreamed how hard it would be to break back into the job market here, and advance my career. Last year, I even ended up hiring a career coach, to analyze my resume and interview performance and figure out how to present myself as positively as possible. I had completely forgotten how difficult it can be to find good work in Nova Scotia - which is why so many of us leave here in the first place. Coupled with the fact that the university I work for is the most prestigious in the region, and attracts high-fliers who parachute in from other parts of the country to enjoy the famed Maritime lifestyle - well, that makes things very, very tough. There were definitely times I despaired of ever getting on in my career, and wondered if moving back to this city might have been a mistake.
But now, all of that doubt and worry has been swept away. The above has been a lengthy way of saying that this new job I've been offered has been VERY hard-won. The victory is sweet - and it has been a long time coming!
For some months now, I've been ready to throw my old beast of a laptop, the Panasonic ToughBook, out the window. It's so old and slow - I bought it second-hand in the summer of 2006, so it has certainly lived a long life. It began to seriously slow down about 18 months ago, at which time I upgraded the memory from a piddly 256 MB to its maximum of 750 MB. That definitely helped, for a while, but of course every automatic update makes the operating system and associated software that much more bloated and cumbersome. It now takes forever to do its work - so it's time for it to be retired. RIP.
I've now purchased its replacement, and freely admit to having succumbed to style over substance. After some consideration, I decided to go with one of the cheap new mini 'netbooks' flooding the market these days - specifically, the HP Mini 1140 NR, Vivienne Tam edition, which is being hyped as the world's first 'digital clutch'. I'm loving the tiny size and lightness of it - it will be so easy to travel with this little machine. But really, it's all about the looks. It's the prettiest computer in the world! Look!
Like any fashion item, there are of course matching accessories to be had, at a price. To wit: a wireless mouse, a padded tote (though the machine is sold with a protective red satin sleeve), and even a chiffon scarf. I've yet to succumb to the charms of those, though.
Today's my first day of using this little beauty and I'm liking it so far. The compact keyboard (92% of full size) works very well, though people with bigger hands would probably gripe about it. Haven't tried out the integral webcam or Bluetooth capabilities yet. My next priority is to set up wireless printing and transfer files over from the old laptop. Also, I need to get MS Office installed, but must wait until Monday when I can borrow a peripheral CD-ROM drive from work - a built-in drive is notably missing from these machines.
The only thing that I'm not crazy about so far is the trackpad. The buttons - which should be at the bottom of the pad - are instead placed to either side. Maybe there's some special technique to this, but I'm finding it impossible to use the trackpad and click with the same hand. Quite annoying - but perhaps I'll figure out a way around it.
In the meantime, I am continuing to admire it as an object of wondrous beauty fair. :-)
I've booked my 2009 holiday, and simply cannot wait. I'm heading to London for just over a week in May, with a quick pit stop in Dublin on the return journey. It will be my first trip back to Europe in an unbelievable five years (after last autumn's vacation to Paris got cancelled). I will NEVER stay away so long again.
Anyway, it's a girls' holiday - I'm travelling with JT and will meet her over there. We've rented a flat in nouveau-boho Bermondsey, a neigbourhood in SE1 that I know not at all, so I'm looking forward to checking it out. (As an added bonus, my friends C. and P. live not half a mile away from our rental flat.) We've got a pretty busy week planned, including museums, London Walks, theatre, and the Chelsea Flower Show, as well as a day trip down to my old stomping grounds in Brighton and a big birthday party for a friend of JT's. It should be a blast - I absolutely cannot wait to reacquaint myself with the city.
After our time is up in London, JT is headed for Spain to attend a conference. Rather than just fly home, I decided to hop over to Dublin for two nights, for a quick visit (though now I wish I was staying longer). My old friend and work colleague E. has kindly offered me a place to stay while I'm there, and I'm really looking forward to catching up and seeing how the city has changed since I left. Not forgetting to make time for a fabulous lunch in the cafe at Avoca, of course!
Just checked the calendar - I leave in just over six weeks! Yay!!
