Kirstie Nicols is good at her sales job but would much rather have a career as a journalist. Wheels of progress Do you ever get one of those weeks when everything just seems to be going right for you? Well that’s been happening to me this past week; and right now, I’m feeling on top of the world!
Just after my last blog, I had a quiet day at work and did some clever calculations (the type that would only have taken 10 minutes if I’d only concentrated in GCSE Maths), and worked out that we were all due a bonus. Being my first ever bonus, I got a little over excited and went out and used my overdraft to buy myself a little present. Ok, a medium-sized present. All right, I suppose you could say it’s a pretty big present…it’s a brand second-hand new motorbike! I understand that this has absolutely nothing to do with the world of work, but unfortunately you’re just going to have to bear with me a little longer. It’s taken nearly ten years to persuade my parents (who are still under the impression that it’s just a phase I’m going through), that having a bike is a good idea; and yes Mum I will be careful, and yes Dad I will do my best not to have too many horrific accidents. Because of this, I’m just a little delirious over the fact that when I get up in the morning, I now get to ride to work. This of course means that anyone and everyone is being subjected to a full account of how great my new toy is. This means that any blog readers also have to endure the story. In the newsThe motorbike incident isn’t the only thing that’s gone well; I’ve also just finished a week’s work experience at my local newspaper which, apart from anything, meant a week off work. When I started up my new bike on Monday, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the newspaper; but I knew it was likely to be a bit like marmite, and I would either love it or hate it (which worried me a bit because I’m firmly in the marmite hate camp). As I’m so determined to pursue a career in that area, it could have been a bit of a setback if I didn’t like it after one week. It turned out there had been no need for me to worry; after I’d got past the awkward small talk conversation with the receptionist and met one of the guys who was going to be looking after me for the week, everything started to feel right. He even did his best to make the health and safety talk interesting…although, I’m not sure how much entertainment can be got out of explaining the only safe ways in which to lift a box off a shelf. I spent most of the first day being shown around the offices by many different people; everyone I met had work they really should have been doing so had to keep dashing off to finish it. Despite that, I never seemed to be short of offers to finish the tour from people fancying a bit of procrastination. Funny that! I spent the rest of the week shadowing various people, generally getting in everyone’s way, and attempting to make up for it by making lots of cups of tea. I tried to take in as much as I could; unfortunately I have the memory of a fish and I’m sure I had the same thing explained many times over, and probably by the same person. Every night (as I was riding home) I tried to go over what I thought I’d learnt; felt pleased with myself that I’d remembered so much, then forgot it again by the morning. However, by the end of the week they were letting me attempt to write a short piece on a local news item (which was of course, scrapped and then rewritten after I’d worried about it all day, thinking they were actually going to use it), so I must have done something right! A second editionIn all it was a long, confusing and very busy week, but by far the most enjoyable time I’ve ever had in a workplace. Just before I left on my last day there, I went to say goodbye to the guy who had met me at reception on my first day (it turned out he was in charge of the work experience placements; I’d hardly seen him all week) and thank him for letting me try it all out. He said he’d heard I’d been working hard, paying attention…and then he asked if I could come back in for a second week. I’m not entirely sure what it was that impressed them enough to ask me to come back (though I have a feeling it was my amazing tea making skills); whatever it was, I’m really looking forward to another week there. Somehow I don’t think my boss would take too kindly to me booking holiday with one day’s notice; so I’ve arranged to go back in the middle of November. The past week has been extraordinary, and it has really helped me to focus on what it is I want. All that’s left to do is to show off my new bike at work on Monday! Read Kirstie's previous blogs | 
