This time last week, I was applying for a job I had seen on the Internet. It was a job doing something very similar to what I used to do way back in my glory days. I liked the sound of it but my only reservation was that the company involved was based near White City, west London…or so I thought. So anyway, I get an invite to go for a test this afternoon. Yes, in my line of work you get tested before you even get an interview. I can take a 75 minute proofing and writing test and the best people will get called back for the interview proper. Oooh, I can’t wait. Then I check out exactly where these people are: Ealing Broadway. The very words Ealing and Broadway are perfectly harmless when rendered separately, but when you bring them together in that particular configuration it just brings back deep-seated feelings of misery and woe.
You see, I spent my fallow youth as a student at Ealing College. I did a BA degree in Information Management and Publishing and this meant that every day (because it was a 5 days a week course), I got up at seven in the morning, travelled for over 1 hour 45 minutes and returned home at 7pm. This happened for three years and it can really grind you down travelling the entire length of the Central Line. It was more like a full time job that a have-it-away, drink-as-much-as-you-can, fuck-anything-that-moves kind of University type experience. In fact, I didn’t start drinking hard until I was 24 and ensconced in my first long-term assignment.
Anyway, so now I am presented with the choice. I can either just toss this one aside and say “no, I am not doing that” or I can go for it. Now I’d really like the job…really…really…really like the job. I need the money. I need to actually get into a social environment again and it would be good for my general esteem and demeanour. The only problem is that I know the travelling will rip me to shreds in a couple of weeks. Oh well, that’s life I guess.
Plus, I also believe that Ealing is cursed, but that’s another story for another time. I might tell you if you ask nicely, gentle reader.
In the meantime, here’s some clever computer animation with music and stuff:

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