Miscellaneous

I went to Hong Kong a few weeks ago with my family and I had a really good time. Spent most days eating, walking around, chilling out, eating and some more eating… Anyway, I went to some interviews and they all sounded pretty positive. I decided to take up teaching positions (teaching English as a foreign language to kindergartens) because Hong Kong offers very good opportunities for teaching.

I’m hoping to make the big move in August- exciting! I thought it was time to stop talking about it and just get on with it, you know? There are somethings worth taking the risk for, and why not. When I set my mind to something I’ll do it, I’ve always been a very determined person. Especially since a lot of my friends have gone travelling or moved to a different country , I thought it was time to set myself a challenge and just get out there with no inhibitions. There is nothing worse than looking at the past and regretting not doing something for whatever reason. Even my parents have been very encouraging!

I’m very bored with living and working in London. I don’t find it that exciting anymore. I’m also very bored of the daily grind too. Once upon a time when I was a student it was pretty fun going on trips to museums and drinking myself silly at nightclubs, that bubble has burst and I want to get out of it.

There’s something about Hong Kong that has a buzz to it, especially during the night time. I was literally having a Lost in Translation moment; even though I’ve been there, like, 10 times. I think I need to get away from London for a while and come back with a fresh start otherwise it’s going to suck me dry!

 

House Tai O The Old and the New

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Miscellaneous

I don’t even know where to start with this post…. This year has been pretty crazy! It’s gone so fast and, I know I say this every year, but my goodness it’s rather scary. I have seen friends get engaged, have children, moved away, gone traveling…. this year has been full on to say the least.

The biggest and happiest event was being engaged to Sam- yay! It was really surreal for the first few days and I remember feeling slightly dazed. Now we need to start planning our wedding…

I started working full time back at my previous company for a while and I really enjoyed it (pretty sure most people won’t say this!) However, I finally got onto a CELTA course and I finished work because I couldn’t keep up with the work load. However, it was the best option as I’m now looking for work in Hong Kong, which is another exciting and amazing news. I’ve been planning to go for ages and I feel like it’s finally happening.

Oh, and how could I forget my massive tattoo on my arm at Nine Tails??! It was something in the pipelines for many years and I decided to take the plunge and just go for it. I like doing things at the spur of the moment- as you can tell.

I started taking up my driving lessons- again. I kept on stopping and starting in the past but I’m 25 now and I should know how to drive by now. For some people driving isn’t so important but for me, Doncaster isn’t exactly transport friendly and most of my friends drive (in Doncaster that is). Its just been something that’s been dragging on for ages and I don’t mind driving as well!

The illustration side of things have been quiet but I guess that’s because I was working full-time for a year. But, I was part of the Picture Show with some very good friends. It went okay, I’m not going to go in too much detail, but it was definitely a worthwhile experience.

I did a few things here and there this year. I was part of the Meenan Sisters Feminist Show at a gallery down in Vyner Street in Bethnal Green and I made some new work for my Etsy Shop.

Next year apart from going to Hong Kong, I am planning on doing a PGCE as an illustration lecturer in the FE sector. I’ve always wanted to go down the teaching route and it seems to make sense to be a lecturer. I’m planning on doing illustration maybe part-time but my plan is to find the right course somewhere in the UK and take a year out and study, study, study.

Thanks for supporting me and I can’t say it enough. Happy New Year and let’s hope 2013 will be a good one! x

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Miscellaneous

I’ve been thinking about what I want to do and it’s sort of scary. I figured I can always continue with illustration on the side and work full-time or part-time to support myself (which totally makes sense). Now my problem is that although I have three years experience working in a SEN related role (autism) but the pay for these jobs are so low it’s a joke. I have seen job advertisements for SEN and TA roles starting at £50 to £60 per day. I’m not being picky but I know how much hard work you have to put into it especially if you’re working one to one with a student. Even if you’re a HLTA (higher level teaching assistant) you’re still looking around £22,0000 per year- quite frankly if you’re living in London it’s definitely not enough money. It’s a very rewarding job but the pay, for me, doesn’t justify how much of your time you have to put into it. I hope like I don’t sound like a mad money woman!!

Having spoken to a couple of people on Twitter and Facebook it’s enlightened me a lot more in that this is the career route I definitely want to take. Anyway, I’ve been toying with the idea of being a lecturer for an FE college or in the HE  sector. I think need to knuckle down now and start looking into it; I’m getting to that stage in life where I’m panicking about jobs, money etc!!

I might be having a quarter life crisis!!! X

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Miscellaneous

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