Tagged with work …

Jan 23 2012
Leave a comment
Life

Tax return

I now have to do one and last Friday I did one. Because of the nature of my current work situation it’s been fairly easy to calculate how much I owe in tax for a while but I still hate doing it. Why do I hate doing it? Because the form that HMRC set up is full of questions that require me to do a double-take.

For example, I know that I am really a self-employed worker. I do my own invoices and such so there’s no other bracket I could fall under. Despite the fact that deep down inside I know all this to be true, the wording of the questions regarding this fact had me doubting my own mind because they were so hard to understand. It should be pointed out that I am not someone who is an expert on financial matters and I don’t keep up with financial news that much. I imagine someone who was the polar opposite of me might have a better understanding of the questions.

This got me thinking…how many others out there are in my position? How many other people who recently graduated from university and went down the freelance road are having to do this for the first time? If you are one of those people please leave a comment about how you found the whole experience and whether or not you found it daunting or otherwise.

I guess what I’m asking is this: am I really that thick?

Tagged , , ,
Jun 15 2011
Leave a comment
Life

Generic update in the middle of June

I’ve just realised that we definitely are in the middle of June. How interesting. Anyway…

About a week ago I had a job interview that came out of nowhere. It was for a really cool sounding position that involved coding, digital marketing and lots of other interesting things but once again I lost out. You know why I lost out? Because they picked a candidate with experience in the field. It seems like it’s almost impossible for me to actually get a job if the candidates I’m up against are more experienced. Either way, I did get some really positive feedback and I now have a plan as how to proceed from here. This might take a while to implement properly though because of something that will be mentioned in the next paragraph.

Next week, me and my girlfriend head off to Glastonbury. This is my second but for her it’ll be her first having been harshly denied the chance to go last year for tedious reasons. We are going to be with a heap of friends and we’ll probably enjoy it immensely. I’m not doing any live-blogging this year and will be shunning the internet all together so I will, in effect, be completely cut off from the outside world for a few days. Should be interesting. Glastonbury also happens to start a ridiculously busy period for me. I will be on holiday in Rome the weekend after Glastonbury – it was a birthday present – and then the weekend after that I’m going to be in Spain covering the Bilbao Live BBK festival for Clash. There’s also a Weezer gig somewhere in the midst of it all.

At the moment I’m having what could be considered a ‘think about what I want to do’. Because of the hectic nature of the next couple of weeks I might go on a mini-shutdown. Hopefully I’ll be able to come to some conclusion about where I can go. Should I try and do more freelance work for new clients? Should I go pitching article ideas again? Should I still be applying for something more full-time? Either way, the only thing I’m certain of is that I will keep doing work for Guildford People and I’ll keep doing the music writing stuff because, in the case of the former, it’s financially satisfying for a freelance gig and, in the case of the latter, it’s still fun to do and I feel like I can develop a lot more in that field.

So that is where I’m at. I will also try to blog more because I’ve been really slacking in that area for 2011. Sorry!

Tagged , , , ,
Sep 08 2010
Leave a comment
University

Presenting…my dissertation

I have been toying with the idea of putting this online for a while but since I’m now a graduate and that it has been marked a long time ago I think now is better late than never. I’ve uploaded the dissertation that I wrote for the final year of my BA Honours Journalism degree at the UCA in Farnham. Despite the fact that there are probably things that could be improved on, I’m still very proud of it. It is called…

Does new media represent a genuine alternative to the practices and approaches of traditional local news media?

You can download it as a PDF file. What do you think of it? Do you agree/disagree with the points made in it? Do you think new media is key to the future of local news media? I’d be interested to know your thoughts.

Tagged , , ,
May 23 2010
Leave a comment
Life

Now that things are calmer

A queue in Brighton

Before yesterday’s brief attempt at a blog, I hadn’t done any blogging here for the best part of two weeks. I’ve been really busy. Here’s what’s keeping me busy:

University – It’s done. It’s all done. My last hand-in was on Thursday 13th May, on the morning of The Great Escape no less, and I have to say that I felt a bit disappointed with what I handed in. I can’t really do much now except hope that I’ve not been marked on anything that I think is unfair. There is much, much more I want to say about my three years at the UCA in Farnham but I will have to wait until I’m graduated and until I know that that chapter of my life is over for good.

One Little Indian – I have been doing an internship at One Little Indian Records’digital department for a while now (approaching a month and a half). It’s been enjoyable and it has taught me so much about the music industry to the point where I’m incredibly grateful. It’s also opened my doors to a few new paths where my career could go down. Journalism, digital and possibly even PR (I say possibly because my CV just doesn’t have enough PR-specific experience) are possible options now. Or maybe even something else entirely!

MusicOMH – I have started doing voluntary writing again, this time for a website called MusicOMH. A couple of reviews that I’ve done are already up there and there’ll be more coming. Doing gigs is a lot more convenient for me this time than my last voluntary post purely for the sole reason that I’m in London during the day anyway, so getting to wherever I need to get to is easy and it gives me something to look forward to at the end of the working day.

The Musical Chairs – I’m still keeping it going. Whilst the ‘busy period’occurred, the website turned two years old in its current format and it would be a shame to just stop writing for it. I’m trying to post as much as I can when I get the time and so far it seems to be working out fine. Besides, why drop a blog that has been given entry to The Great Escape for two years in a row? It would be mad!

So yeah, a lot is happening. The main message though is that the end of university is appreciated far more than is healthy. For reasons I’ll explain at a later date, I felt like I’ve been held back from moving on with what I want to do in my life. However, over the gloriously sunny weekend I’ve had time to contemplate and reflect and I don’t think I would want to be in any other position.

Tagged , , ,
May 07 2010
Leave a comment
Life

Right before a ridiculously busy week…

I get a cold. Marvellous.

Sadly, there is just not enough time to get proper rest. Here is my schedule for the next week and a bit:

8th-9th May: Finishing off print work for university

10th May: Internship

11th May: Internship + Bill Bailey live

12th May: Internship + The Divine Comedy live

13th-16th May: The Great Escape festival in Brighton

That schedule both terrifies and excites me at the same time.

Tagged , ,
← Older posts
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.