I'm amazed at myself. Truly, I is. I've slept at 2 a.m. last night (transcribing interviews, let me add), gotten up at 6:30 this morning, and now it's 4:40 in the morning, and I'm still at work. And miraculously, I feel fresh enough to work for about four hours more. Yes, this is the same lazy lump of a cow you know. Now, kindly reunite your jaw with the rest of your mouth, so I can get on with my story.
Anyhoo, I've transcribed about seven interviews since morning, proofread about 16,000 pages and eaten enough junk food to sustain me for a trek to the moon. Talk about working life, eh? But you know what? I love it! Maybe it's the initial excitement of identifying yourself with a product that you've helped put together, and you know is the best, not to mention that it's something you're fiercely proud of. And I don't think I can put in my best without having a certain pride about what I'm working for. Internal jokes with the colleagues are a different thing, but listening to a third person diss my magazine in public? Hell, NO! I've never had any respect for people who work for one organisation, take the salary they give you, drink their chai, use their air conditioning, and bitch about them.
Call me weird, but I think there's a certain fun-ness about working with colleagues for a common cause, late into the night. I know it loses its glamour after about 12 p.m., when you start missing the comfortable blankie, but talking and laughing at corny jokes with your team has its own romance. It's funny how you reach a point when you don't want to even look at another page, much less edit it. Fuck this shit anyway, seems to be ringing in your head rather LOUDLY. But so what? I can't wait for the bloody magazine to come from the press the next day with its shiny, glossy pages and lovely smell of new paper. So I suppose, putting the magazine together is like going through 17 hours of labour, but when it finally is printed, it's something like checking to see whether your perfect little baby has all of its limbs, nostrils, etc.
Alright. So that's what I think of work right now, post three weeks. Maybe I'll think differently after two months. But so what? For now, I feel like my true calling's beckoned me, and do let me enjoy my limelight, will ya? Thanks!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
24 Hours with...
Our magazine Campaign India, has this teeny section, which gives people a sneak peek on the day of a person from the advertising, media or marketing industry. The column's called '24 Hours With...' Now since nobody is going to feature me in the magazine although I'm very interested to be, I think I will abuse my beautiful blog and interview myself. For those 0.5 faithful readers who've stuck by me, I think with this blog post, you'll also understand why I cannot update more often. Here goes.
Name: Moo Cowey.
Job: Editorial Assistant, Campaign India.
Professional Mission: To stay awake at work, without external help from tea, coffee, etc. Oh yes, and also sneak in some byline stories on the website.
Personal Mantra: Try not to get into the editor's way and his bad books.
____________________________________________________________________
7:00 am Time to pry those eyelids open with extreme will power. Move around the house like a zombie while trying to shower correctly, and get in breakfast through the mouth and not nose, etc.
8:30 am Be the last one to get into the mad rush of the train, cussing loudly in my head at the lack of a seat. So it's standing from Borivali to Lower Parel, AGAIN! Call him up and bully him into keeping me company till I get off the train, so that the journey seems shorter.
9:30 am Enter office on the dot, swipe my card, and waltz into our section like a poise queen. With a cheery good morning to the editor, I sit down waiting for God to send in the coffee.
10:00 am Co-ordinate with my colleagues who are either on their way to work / in Delhi / at a press conference and jot down all the stories that are to be uploaded on the dotcom. Then the mad scramble for images begins, while simultaneously cursing the designers who decide to be late again.
10:30 am Get stories in order, begin uploading on website. Have mini argument with editor over the top story for the day.
11:30 am All news up on site. Small pee break and call him up. Life seems good again. Now back to the desk to arrange for the newsletter.
11:45 am Newsletter successfully sent. Begin calling PR people to scout for press releases, ad campaigns or stories. Sigh.
12:30 pm Lunch time. Rush to the pantry with colleagues, before stupid, noisy group in office capture all seats and serenity of the place.
1:15 pm A short quick call to mum, basically to tell her boredom hasn't killed me yet. Then a half hour long phone call to him before he gets to work at 2 pm. Wish that would never end.
1:50 pm Back to the seat. Sudden press conference pops in at the ITC Grand Central. Wind up work quickly if hope to make it on time. Curse myself for not carrying my own cutlery.
2:30 pm Make it barely and register at the media registration desk. Exchange polite hellos with PR people and give away business cards by the dozen. Heck, they're free anyway. Proceed towards actual event and jot down notes, actually wondering, "When in fuck's name is this thing going to end?"
3:45 pm Cab it back to work and proceed with accumulating news for upcoming issue closing. Colleague brings random page to be proofread. Finish all that and fix up two PR meetings for coming week.
4:30 pm Chai break with the two colleagues. What follows is a half hour of chai, gossip and girl talk. Move back to work thinking sweet thoughts of packing bags and leaving.
5:20 pm Wrap up last remnants of day's work and begin to clean desk before leaving for the day. Actually leave in about 15 minutes if there's no work pending.
5:55 pm Catch the ladies special to back home, to hit the gym directly from work.
7:30 pm Meet daddy at the gym, and workout begins, followed by an amazing steam bath till dad finishes his workout.
9:30 pm Reach home, have dinner. Fill mum in on the intricacies of my day, when thoughts of my beautiful bed and fluffy quilt begin to weigh me down.
10:30 pm Phone time again, till I fall asleep while the other person is still in the middle of talking. This happens EVERYDAY.
11:45 pm Goodbye, world. See you tomorrow.
Name: Moo Cowey.
Job: Editorial Assistant, Campaign India.
Professional Mission: To stay awake at work, without external help from tea, coffee, etc. Oh yes, and also sneak in some byline stories on the website.
Personal Mantra: Try not to get into the editor's way and his bad books.
____________________________________________________________________
7:00 am Time to pry those eyelids open with extreme will power. Move around the house like a zombie while trying to shower correctly, and get in breakfast through the mouth and not nose, etc.
8:30 am Be the last one to get into the mad rush of the train, cussing loudly in my head at the lack of a seat. So it's standing from Borivali to Lower Parel, AGAIN! Call him up and bully him into keeping me company till I get off the train, so that the journey seems shorter.
9:30 am Enter office on the dot, swipe my card, and waltz into our section like a poise queen. With a cheery good morning to the editor, I sit down waiting for God to send in the coffee.
10:00 am Co-ordinate with my colleagues who are either on their way to work / in Delhi / at a press conference and jot down all the stories that are to be uploaded on the dotcom. Then the mad scramble for images begins, while simultaneously cursing the designers who decide to be late again.
10:30 am Get stories in order, begin uploading on website. Have mini argument with editor over the top story for the day.
11:30 am All news up on site. Small pee break and call him up. Life seems good again. Now back to the desk to arrange for the newsletter.
11:45 am Newsletter successfully sent. Begin calling PR people to scout for press releases, ad campaigns or stories. Sigh.
12:30 pm Lunch time. Rush to the pantry with colleagues, before stupid, noisy group in office capture all seats and serenity of the place.
1:15 pm A short quick call to mum, basically to tell her boredom hasn't killed me yet. Then a half hour long phone call to him before he gets to work at 2 pm. Wish that would never end.
1:50 pm Back to the seat. Sudden press conference pops in at the ITC Grand Central. Wind up work quickly if hope to make it on time. Curse myself for not carrying my own cutlery.
2:30 pm Make it barely and register at the media registration desk. Exchange polite hellos with PR people and give away business cards by the dozen. Heck, they're free anyway. Proceed towards actual event and jot down notes, actually wondering, "When in fuck's name is this thing going to end?"
3:45 pm Cab it back to work and proceed with accumulating news for upcoming issue closing. Colleague brings random page to be proofread. Finish all that and fix up two PR meetings for coming week.
4:30 pm Chai break with the two colleagues. What follows is a half hour of chai, gossip and girl talk. Move back to work thinking sweet thoughts of packing bags and leaving.
5:20 pm Wrap up last remnants of day's work and begin to clean desk before leaving for the day. Actually leave in about 15 minutes if there's no work pending.
5:55 pm Catch the ladies special to back home, to hit the gym directly from work.
7:30 pm Meet daddy at the gym, and workout begins, followed by an amazing steam bath till dad finishes his workout.
9:30 pm Reach home, have dinner. Fill mum in on the intricacies of my day, when thoughts of my beautiful bed and fluffy quilt begin to weigh me down.
10:30 pm Phone time again, till I fall asleep while the other person is still in the middle of talking. This happens EVERYDAY.
11:45 pm Goodbye, world. See you tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Working Woman...Shhh...
After being a crocodile, pig, mule, hippo (and all the other lazy, sloppy, slow animals you can think of) for more than two months, your favourite cow decided to go and find a job. What a stupid decision, that. Egad! So, after about endless lazing around in bed till 11 a.m. every morning, yours truly has to wake up at 7 a.m. SHARP, finish all her business in an hour, and travel standing to work EVERY fucking day. It's a different thing that life seems better when I do get to work, but sometimes, there's not much to do, and I wish I was home, or with him. Heck, I always feel the last bit. :)
Anyway, working life's good. As of now, I'm afraid of my boss, but my colleagues are adorable. It's so good when you have young, patient colleagues, who're girly in a nice kinda way, but are always free with their time to help. I've just started attending bloody press conferences at annoyingly fancy ass five-stars, and so far I think that's what I hate about this job. Stupid pretentious buildings from hell. With their silly, pretentious food. I've a good mind to carry my lunch with me, the next time. At least it doesn't judge me when I can't eat with a knife and fork. When, oh, WHEN will I master the art of cutlery? Anyway, that's beside the point.
There's nothing much happening with me these days. I don't even have time to read a book, sleep, return calls of friends who still care I exist (which I don't think will last very long), sit with mum for a while and catch up on her life and issues, heck, I even miss gym sometimes. :( What could get worse than THAT?
This is turning out to be one of the most boring posts I've churned out in a while. In fact, there's so much to say, but no time to write it. Lunch's here. So I've gotta hog. :D Toodle-oo, me hearties. And pray that I can write sooner and more frequently.
* breaks coconut in front of blogging deity*
Anyway, working life's good. As of now, I'm afraid of my boss, but my colleagues are adorable. It's so good when you have young, patient colleagues, who're girly in a nice kinda way, but are always free with their time to help. I've just started attending bloody press conferences at annoyingly fancy ass five-stars, and so far I think that's what I hate about this job. Stupid pretentious buildings from hell. With their silly, pretentious food. I've a good mind to carry my lunch with me, the next time. At least it doesn't judge me when I can't eat with a knife and fork. When, oh, WHEN will I master the art of cutlery? Anyway, that's beside the point.
There's nothing much happening with me these days. I don't even have time to read a book, sleep, return calls of friends who still care I exist (which I don't think will last very long), sit with mum for a while and catch up on her life and issues, heck, I even miss gym sometimes. :( What could get worse than THAT?
This is turning out to be one of the most boring posts I've churned out in a while. In fact, there's so much to say, but no time to write it. Lunch's here. So I've gotta hog. :D Toodle-oo, me hearties. And pray that I can write sooner and more frequently.
* breaks coconut in front of blogging deity*
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