A Day In My Shoes

0730
My alarm goes off. It’s dark. I hit snooze.

0745
My alarm goes off again. It’s still dark. Not impressed. Nonetheless, I drag myself out of bed and into the shower. Even though I’m waking up almost two hours later than my normal time at home, the long English winter night has really put my body clock out!

0830
After a quick bowl of Weetabix (like Australian Weet-bix but with an ‘a’ instead of a dash – weird) and spending far too long in front of the mirror deciding what to wear and battling my hair with a curling tong, I’m ready to go!
It’s a short ten-minute walk to the local underground station (Stockwell), and then it’s time to battle my fellow rush hour commuters for a spot on the tube. One perk of Stockwell station is that it’s on two of the main lines, Northern and Victoria. My work just happens to be on the Northern line also, so I only take one tube, which takes around 25 minutes. At first it was unsettling spending the commute underground without any mobile service. Now, I relish the half an hour without technology, and have already almost finished reading the first Game of Thrones book (no judgement please).
Another perk of Stockwell station is the Jamaican train announcer who brightens every morning with his cheery “Stand clear of da closing doors plis. Rastaman driver, take these beautiful people to their destination!” Who can honestly have a bad Monday after that?

0920
I arrive at work, ready for my 9:30am start. I’m interning at a boutique PR agency in Camden called Fluorescent PR. They specialise in fashion and beauty, working with clients such as Ted Baker, Burt’s Bees and TK Maxx. I work with a small team of five full-time staff and two other interns, and I absolutely love it.
My first job every morning is to visit the local newsagent and collect the day’s magazines and newspapers to scan for media coverage of our clients. What a chore. Who wants to spend their morning at work sipping a cappuccino whilst flicking through the latest Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire magazines? It’s a tough gig, but someone’s got to do it.

1100
We receive regular deliveries from couriers all morning, mostly press sample returns from magazines. It’s my job to manage the samples, which means marking off the items and reorganising them on the shelves. I also help with the media call-ins, which is when fashion editors and stylists request samples for upcoming spreads. We’ll curate a selection of items and organise a courier to send them over, then cross our fingers and hope we get printed!

1300
Lunch time! Most days I bring a packed lunch from home, but once or twice a week I’ll spoil myself to lunch at the famous Camden Market. The market is less than two minutes from the office, and boasts an incredible hub of food stalls. From traditional souvlaki and Chinese to homemade pizza and curry, the toughest part is deciding what to eat!

1400
I get to run a lot of errands at work. Today it’s taking a pair of men’s suede brogues to Vogue House for Brides magazine. Yesterday it was taking a Burt’s Bees care package to the management office of girl group The Saturday’s. Whatever it is, I love getting to see different parts of London like Chiswick, Greenwich and Richmond, and it’s nice to get out of the office and stretch my legs (unless it’s raining, in which case it’s usually fairly horrible).

1630
At this time every day I take the mail to the post office. Not much to elaborate on really. Exciting stuff.

1730
And it’s home time! Back on the tube and then home to Mansion Tower to have a shower, cook myself dinner, and relax watching some Celebrity Big Brother BBC News.

2300
In bed, alarm set, and ready to do it all again tomorrow!

Nicole x

This post was originally written for my Absolute Internship blog, which you can visit here.

Great Expectations

In just 25 sleeps, I will be jumping on a plane and flying to a new country on the other side of the world, with nothing but the clothes on my back and an unbridled desired to learn.* Am I mad? Maybe. Am I excited? Beyond words.

In December I will be travelling to London to intern at Fluorescent PR, a boutique agency specialising in fashion, beauty and lifestyle. You could say it’s a bit of a dream gig!

I’ve taken a bit of time out of planning the perfect winter travel wardrobe to have a think about what I expect from my trip, and this is what I’ve come up with:

I expect to be cold. As a Queenslander, born and bred, we whip out the woollies as soon as the mercury drops below 20 degrees Celsius. And with London tipped to experience the coldest winter in over 100 years, I am kind of freaking out!

I expect to be challenged. Pushed out of my comfort zone each and every day. I have never travelled alone before, and am naturally a bit of an introvert, so the challenges will come thick and fast. But I am prepared to jump in and make the most of every opportunity I can get my hands on.

I expect to be exhausted. Early mornings, late nights and everything in between. Going to work and coming home in the dark. Exploring the London nightlife until the wee hours. Sleep when you’re dead, right?

I expect to be inspired. London is one of the fashion and music and art and history and everything cultural capitals of the world. I can’t wait to lose myself in the museums and galleries, wander through the endless markets, and just sit and watch the people walking past.

I expect to have my life changed. I know I am not over exaggerating when I say that this is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I don’t plan on wasting a single second of it.

So London, I hope you’re ready for me, and I will be seeing you in 25 sleeps!

Nicole x

* Also a good 30kg of luggage

This post was originally written for my Absolute Internship blog, which you can visit here.