ruddy

First of all, the place is REALLY laid back, something I'm sure I'll appreciate later, but for now just makes things very muddled.

I assumed that much of day one would be devoted to orientating me to the office. Showing me the kitchen and bathroom, perhaps, or introducing me to the rest of the staff. Wrong. I met a handful of people who I happened to come into direct contact with, and had to guess what their roles were (and in some cases, their names). Apparently there is someone charged with training, but he was off sick, so I was left in the hands of our trusty editor, who I am beginning to suspect is a bit flaky. He, in turn, passed me over to the news editor, and I was informed that I will be spending the first two weeks on the news desk, rewriting agency stories in an attempt to introduce me to the paper's style and 'how things work'. Yeah, okay. Sure.

As a result, my hours are all out of whack, and I got sent home really early, after only having worked four hours. So for the next two weeks, I'm to come in at noon, sit around and do nothing for a few hours while the news editor decides what stories to use, then rewrite copy until about six. Not too shabby.

Today there was a bit of a panic because two of the subs didn't turn up until two hours into their shifts - the downside of being so laid back I suppose - and I was nabbed to help out. The night editor giggled uncomfortably when she realised it might be just the two of us doing 56 pages, and wouldn't that be hilarious for my second day. As it was, I think she only got away with using me because the main editor was away at a meeting. I didn't mind though; I felt I could handle it pretty easily.

The training guy did eventually turn up, however, and was shocked to see me at work on the letters page. He took me into an office for an introductory meeting, and cleared some things up, like my exact schedule. He also endeavoured to get me a log-in ID, email address and other practical things. I suggested maybe somebody should collect my bank details and a copy of my work permit, which seemed a novel suggestion. Hmmm....

I'm sure it will all get sorted.. somehow. Eventually. He seemed to think I would get a full month's paycheck on the 15th, even though I will only have been working two weeks. That would be quite the bonus! I assumed I would have to wait an extra month before getting paid anything at all. We'll see...

At any rate, it's heaps better than the tabloid where I was doing shifts. I was so happy to be rid of that place on Sunday night. It was the most mind-numbingly boring shift ever, and surreal to boot! I had been asked to come in early and help on the news desk, which was quite exciting as I figured it would be more work, and more interesting as well. But I actually got fewer stories to do, over a longer period of time. And a few hours into the shift, the rest of the staff decided to bugger off to the pub! They were gone for TWO HOURS, during which time I had absolutely nothing to do, as no one was even there to assign me stories. Luckily, my former classmate Karen was there to keep me company. And she had a beauty school exam the following day, so she asked if she could give me a manicure for practice. Er... ok... So there we sat, in the middle of the newsroom, applying nail polish and gossiping. I then quizzed her about nail health until the guys eventually returned, all out of breath and ruddy-faced. Hmmmmmmmmmm....

In other news, we've taken that amazing flat I described the other day. And to our delight, it's actually cheaper than we thought! Woo hoo! We still have to wait to hear whether our tenancy application is approved - damn estate agencies - and even then, we won't be moving for a few weeks yet. But it's just great to know it's there, waiting for us in all its gorgeous glory. Mmmm.