Living My Dream

Hello Dear Readers,

Forgot to mention on Friday I was offered a full time position as a Data Specialist for the Reflora Project at Kew Gardens, and my contract runs until December, 2013.  I started this Monday.  I'm also hopeful of a possible extension of the contract assuming we do a good job at the beginning of the project!

For those that may not understand why it's so exciting for me to be a scientist at Kew (and indeed why if you asked me two years ago what my dream job would be I would have said to work at Kew Gardens) here is a video that explains it all, and features people I work with and places I work in.

Cheers,

Heather

Last Minute Reprieve

Hello Dear Readers,

As usually seems to happen to me, I've been saved from destitution and poverty at (nearly) the last minute! The guy in charge of the project I've been working on has been able to secure extensions for our team and I'll be working at the museum until next April! This is great news as it's very likely Chris will lose the job he has now with all the government re-structuring they are doing.

Just wanted to pass on the happy news and encourage anyone who wants to get a behind the scenes tour of the Natural History Museum at London do to so before next April!

P.S. Amy, this means it's on! Break out the Krazy Glue...

Musings on a Snowy morning

Hello Dear Readers,

Ahh, the 2nd of December and the snow is gently falling outside my window as I sip hot tea and wait for the oatmeal to finish on the stove.....This was the scene that greeted me as I put the trash on the back porch:
Which gave me the perfect opportunity to photograph my newest sweater for Odie in the early morning light and the glow of the snow:
Unfortunately it's still in the 70's in Cyprus right now but hey, it gets chilly sometimes......

Still all the snow is great ambiance and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. I have my penguin pajama's on, and have hung stockings by the chimney with care
and loaded up the presents delivered by Santa via my brother when he came back from visiting the States over Thanksgiving. Still haven't touched them yet, aren't I GOOD!

Yesterday was my first day at the new job at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington. The old building is AMAZING as you would expect it to be. I'm in the "crypt" as it's called, short for the Cryptogamic Herbarium where the non flowering plants are kept. It's a really nice setup because the two other girls I work with have desks right next to mine (there are 4 in a square). So different from my isolation unit over at Kew where I could not see a soul for HOURS in between tea times...... One of the girls is from Cyprus, so I'm hoping I'll be able to practice my Greek a little bit more. Yesterday we started at the luxurious hour of 10 (as we do today which is why I'm getting in some early morning blogging and cooking/cleaning) and pretty much straight away went for tea and cake. I love working in England! Then we had tours around the buildings and met a ton of people. Everyone seems perfectly lovely but I couldn't help feeling pangs of homesickness for my friends at Kew, an Irish girl reminding me of my friend Emma, a fashionably dressed Londner reminding me of Nina. Sigh.

Today is more of the same I think, meeting people, learning about the collections, wandering like rats through the labyrinth of old and new and newer buildings. They keep telling me not to worry if I can't remember the way. I tell them I'm not worried, I KNOW I won't remember the way. But I'll figure it out soon, my army brat new places new faces instincts kicking in. Another year, another house, another job.

Time to eat some oatmeal and get dressed and get prepared to go out my front door into this:
Ahh, I love weather, and there is so much of it here! Hope the buses are running alright, I'll have my knitting (almost finished with a fantastic apple vest for my friend's son) so I'll have plenty to keep me occupied.

The Best Day of my Life

Hello Dear Readers,

Well, it's a start. Today I was pretty much offered a 5 months curatorial position at the Herbarium at Kew Gardens. (For those who don't know, this is my dream job). Funny thing, the reason I was offered this post is because I was highly recommended for the last post I applied for and didn't get, and it turns out that the person who's spot I'm filling in for is the one who got the post I applied for. Crazyness!

It's just for 5 months, and pays pretty poorly, but hey, I'm getting my foot in the door and who knows where that will go? I can start as soon as the HR paperwork goes through, so I'm going to try to max out my last week of freedom here, going to museums, maybe a little bit of shopping (get some new work clothes?) maybe a quick trip to Brighton...... but yeah, Job. Sorted.

Cheers!

Received in the Mail Today

Dear Miss Lindon,

Post as: Assistant Botanist (Rubiaceae)

Thank you for attending the recent interview for the above role. I am sorry to say that you have not been recommended for the appointment this time. However, the Board was impressed by your performance and asked that you be treated as a reserve candidate in the event of the successful candidate not taking up the post.

It then goes on to say, don't quit your day job yet though! Oh well, it is a very nice rejection, and I can always hope that the selected candidate is a fool and says no.....

Quick Update

Just a quick update from the weekend. had a wonderful trip to Cambridge to visit Molly and George. We walked around the city, had a rousing game of Upwords in which George graciously gave me an l for slaw to turn midget into widget! Next up is a trip to Cyrpus, provided the passports come back from the immigration office in time.....

Oh yeah, and had interview on Friday. The interviewers said I interviewed well, but there is also apparently a lot of stiff competition. Hoping to hear back this week at least one way or the other. Advancing on the job front, I have an interview tomorrow at Mountain Warehouse. Outdoor gear anyone?

Kew

Had a lovely day today, and I took a 1 1/2 hour walk around Putney/Barnes Common. I was going to write a lovely blog post about the birds and the bugs and the dogs and climbing a tree, but as soon as I got home that went all out the window.

I found out I got an interview this Friday. At Kew. Wish me luck :-).