Waistcoat 1





Took about 5 weeks of college to finish and I still didn't have enough time to put on buttons but I was pretty happy with it. We also had to do a step by step process of how to make it, I made mine into a book which I will post soon.

Putting everything together over the last two weeks of college was a bit of an ordeal and I didnt get much sleep at all over the last week. This led to a new form of tiredness where I didnt look tired or feel sleepy but instead I was real cranky, stabbed myself with the needle a lot more than usual, and just could not for the life of me concentrate on a conversation for more than a few words. Even the most basic of conversations I had to ask people to repeat what they said a few times before I could line up some sort of answer closely related to what they were talking about. I usually settled for "I don't know" and tried to focus on making my four hands go back to just being two so I could continue stitching. One time I was writing down the mobile number of the teacher from the fashion department and I thought "this is taking forever" and continued on another line cause I thought it was going on too long to possibly fit on one line.

Draping vs Drawing

Was doing a draping course for the last two Tuesday and Thursday nights before the end of college.It was kind of a bad idea cause I had shit loads of other work that I could have been doing and also it turns out I'm not really that into designing dresses. Every class was just me desperately trying to make a piece of cloth look like a dress while trying to block out the sound of the 15 old Indian women who I shared the class with. This was their time of the week away from their families and what they saw as their time to fit in all the gossip of the last few days. They just spent the whole time yapping a million miles an hour. Then the teacher would ask them to quiet down and the lead yapper would say "ok sorry sorry sorry, we be quiet now," then 5 seconds later they'd just yap away again.

So to calm myself down I just spent the whole class drawing dresses instead, which was way more enjoyable and eventually gave me a good idea for the cover of my garment construction folder, which I spent one of the classes making. It's a step-by-step process of all the techniques used to make a dress.

da da da da da da da, da da da da da,...

Worked my last shift from 2-12 with so few fellow staff it wasnt even funny anymore. I was on hot food and dominated compared to this dope who was on it the day before. Everything went pretty smoothly and in the end I worked a couple more shifts than I was supposed to. I managed not to lose the head at any of the staffing people, got into a load of boxing and came away looking like one of the more reliable workers. There was one last hurdle though: post olympic work drinks Sunday night. I feared that someone would get drunk and have a go at someone from staffing but everyone got on pretty well. Then we left and went around to this hotel.

Apparently people werent getting in cause they didnt have some pass or other so there was about 20 of us outside wondering what to do. They had a big airport security operation to get in to the grounds and had this fence about 12 foot high running along the perimeter. Some of our work mates were on the other side of the fence though wondering why we werent getting in. I decided to make a break for it and with two of my team leads holding a foot each I got a boost onto the fence. In no time I was sitting on the top and then with everyone cheering  and chariots of fire playing in my head I jumped down onto the other side to join those who had gotten in. My celebrations were short lived though as about 8 security guys in green started running towards me. They took me up to security and a guy in a white shirt informed me that the police were on the way and I was to be arrested. Oh right. Ten nervous minutes later someone told me I was free to go. Well thats a relief, being arrested would have looked pretty bad in front of all the managers. Roll on the paralympics.

A Close Shave

Went to bed late and then surprisingly got a call at 7.20am to get to work asap for a shift. Had hopes of getting in to see the two Irish lads but it was just too busy. They panicked and cut way too many staff so now there isnt enough of us. Ended up doing a 13 hour shift with little sleep, tired, groggy and unshaven.

One of the staffing girls came down and told me to shave cause someone had made a surprise visit. They had everything I need in staffing so no need to worry. Actually what they had was some cheapo shaving cream and a two-blade disposable piece of shit razor. What about after shave? Oh you can have my hand cream. Great. Wheres the toilets up here? Just use the public ones downstairs. This was a low point - being told I need to shave for the first time in my life and then having to do so in a busy public toilet without my nivea after shave balm. Just cut myself the twice and thought it would be funny if I went back up with little squares of toilet paper on my face but I didnt go through with it.

Later in work I was sitting at the coke stand looking aimlessly through my phone. I had just read a mail from staffing saying I made the cut for the paralympics team a couple of minutes earlier and was browsing through facebook now. Then I looked up and the fairly strict floor manager was a couple of feet away from me. Not too far behind her was the guy who's in charge of all the staff at excel. He's the one person who you should try to impress if you can. They were both looking at me wondering what I was doing when there was tables to be cleared and two managers watching on. I said to her I was falling asleep which is slightly better than being on your phone but not all that great of a response. She said tidy up the tables and then head off. That was close. It would have been fairly ironic if I got fired seconds after reading a job offer but instead it gave me a side story to tie in with my close shave blog post. And I got to go home.

A bit of history

Had been feeling pretty anxious all day about getting into work when I'm not working but I decided to just go for it. You usually sign in at a desk just before security and they give you a pass for the day, but as I still had a pass from yesterday I was hoping the person on the desk wouldnt see me or recognise me and I could go straight in. Once inside I'd had to go by the stairs that leads to the staff area and hopefully not be seen here either.

Who the hell is he?

 Stay cool, just walk by the desk

Luckily I'd never seen the guy on the desk in my life, he must be new cause its always the same couple of girls there. Got all the way to the boxing arena without hassle too. Then I went up the stairs to hopefully get a seat where I usually sit just above where the boxers enter the arena. The volunteer at the top of the stairs stopped me though and said they were told to stop us getting in today and "you're not allowed take peoples spare seats." What does that even mean? If they're spare then they aren't peoples'. I could see behind her the place where I first sat was full up for the first time ever too. I ran around that way anyway to chance it but there was sercurity everywhere who I thought might chuck me out if I tried getting in in front of them. Got a bit frantic and ran around the far side, tried another stairs and got in while a volunteer was distracted. Sat down just as another volunteer who wasnt working sat beside me. She was just saying how lucky we were to get a seat when some girl cried "you're in my seats" so I got up and legged it. Found another seat only to have some oul lads move me off to the row behind where luckily I got to stay for the whole fight.

The fight was just as nerve wracking as trying to get in so I was close to getting emotional towards the end. Then she ran around with the flag on her back, then chariots of fire was playing, and then the national anthem was being sung while the flag was raised, our little flag above all the others at the olympics, and it was all getting a bit too much. I had been moaning about my job to a guy beside me who had sneaked in just like me and he said "ah yeah but look where you are like." He was right. I'd just watched the best bit of sport of my life, and had also seen two of our other medal winners in our most successful olympics in my lifetime. I could probably forgive the job for messing us around so much now, even though they wouldnt forgive me if they knew what I was up to.

I left the excel centre by the far exit, walked all the way around to the entrance again and saw a girl from staffing on the desk and pretended I just arrived to hand in my time card cause I was unlikely to be getting anymore shifts. Just in case anyone spotted me. Turms out she was actually really nice and took my number and said she'd call me first if anyone calls in sick. Yeah right.

Making the most of the situation

Wednesday got put on the 6am shift, good chance of being finished around 2 for the fight so took it. Arrived before 6 and had to wait half and hour for staffing to come down and let us in - total joke situation. Sent on lunch with 5 others before 1 and then told we were all finished for the day and to go home.

Over lunch we traded stories about how much everyone is getting messed about. They're chopping and changing everyone, cutting shifts left right and centre and just making a meal out of the whole situation. One girl was talking about her and two others who got sent from the bar below the boxing to the bar at the fencing. Then 3 others got sent the opposite way so you had 6 people who previously were efficient but now dont know what they are doing. My favourite person to hear stories about though is a guy who worked in my bar who was referred to as "the guy who hates all the customers." Unfortunately I never got to work with him cause he was at the opposite end but he used to come up to the guy on coffee and say "some cunt wants a coffee" or "this bitch is moaning cause her sleeve is wet."

Went to the fight. Epic atmosphere but not the greatest fight cause the other girl was no match for her. Some entrance though.

They have a new disaster system in place where to get a shift for the following day you now have to ring between 6 and 7pm. Miraculously I got through at 6.07pm only to be told that all the shifts are gone. Not sure how I am going to get in to the final now tomorrow. But of all the luck they forgot to take my day pass off me for the first time since I started so I'm in with a chance.

Chasing Katie

Have been telling my team lead to make sure to send me for lunch at 2.23pm on Monday so I can get to see Katie's fight. I brought my phone in and hid it in top of the fridge so I'm all set. The table tennis area is getting a bit boring so when my team lead asked if anyone wants to go down to the waterfront bar to help set up for an hour I said I'd go. She needed two people. Genius, I told her to get this little hot half Chinese girl I was talking to earlier but for some reason she chose this big moan bag black girl and fuck did she moan the whole time I was with her. "Why do we gave to go, there's no point in going now, why is it so far, let's go back, I don't like it here I prefer our bar, when are we going back???" Shut the fuck up, why couldn't you be the little half Chinese girl.

The bar we went to was underneath the boxing arena but no one knows its there cause they can't advertise it. So me and moan bag had to go up to the entrance for the boxing, in full view of the main bar and shout out that "there is another bar, just around to the left of the arena, about half way down, you should see a sign for the toilets, go down the stairs and to the right, there's no queues there."
"But there's a bar right fuckin there like."

It was getting close to the fight now and it was unlikely that I'd be sent back to table tennis, grab my phone potentially in front of all sorts of managers, and be allowed go on lunch. So I spent the next while not telling people where the bar is but scoping out a good place to sit. Got an alright seat in the end, not as close as I would have liked though.

What a fight though and what an unbelievable atmosphere. I'm ashamed to admit I had barely heard of her before a few days ago but she's my new hero. A lot of the fights I've seen so far haven't been the best and all the other sports here suck but this made the Olympics so far for me. I saw john Joe on Sunday and I'll try get in to the fight Tuesday but the mission now is to pick up shifts when Katie is fighting, not looking good though, Tuesday is meant to be my last shift, its going to take some luck to make the cut for Wednesday.

Depression era: survival of the shittest

Last few days have been a joke. First day didn't get to start til 11, second day was the same story but they let me in at half ten. Third day still the same uncertainty about whether or not I'll have a job but they are getting quicker and I got in for ten. Then that night while trying to clock out they said there's a new list on the wall (6 pages long) and if you're on it then you're not working anymore. I wasn't on it. Hope. Buuuuuuuttt....I wasn't on a list of people who are working tomorrow either. So I'm not working tomorrow. But I can ring in at 7 in the morning and ask about whether or not I can work and they might let me in.

It's like America in the depression era going down to the docklands everyday looking for work, only in this case my team lead and floor manager were clocking out at the same time and telling them to switch me with one of the duds, and also I received a schedule months ago with my hours saying that I was working tomorrow.

They must think the Beijing Olympic employment laws set the standard. It's bad enough doing 12 hour shifts on your feet all day with a 20 minute break where you have to walk for 10 minutes to get there and back, and then being told one of the duds who does fuck all work and goes home early everyday will be working in your place. Seriously so many of the staff are pure shit: one night I was on wash up and I had 4 (yes 4!) people drying and they couldn't keep up with me. But for some reason they won't ask the floor managers for a list of staff to keep and staff to drop, instead they pick people at random and at random I seem to be getting picked 4 days in a row.

After three 12 hour days (and don't give me this Brian Smyth shit about getting a sense of achievement doing 12 hour days, these are proper on your feet shifts carrying boxes and shit) the last thing I wanted to do was wake up at 7, but I rang up and they said I'm not on the cut list so I can come in. Awesome, Katie Taylor is on later.

If you're going to be sneaky be sneaky first

Got in for ten only to be told we were supposedly sent a text to not come in today. What a joke, I was employee of the day the day before (although in fairness it was more cause I just kept bugging my team leads to make me employee of the day so I could get a badge. I got a fridge magnet, what a rip.) Shifts are getting majorly cut down now. It was me, Dave from stillorgan and two other guys. Dave is only here to work at the Olympics so he used that story and they eventually folded and said they would start us at 11 after they'd sent 4 people home.

Word had gotten round about some people going to watch the boxing when they should be working so the 4 people we replaced figured if they were getting sent home early they might as well check it out. Only problem was HR were expecting them up to sign out. They won't be working anymore, which solves a bit of the staffing issues. There's a lesson here: if you're going to be sneaky, be sneaky first.

Money man

The lads started calling me the money man after a keg party we had in the states when I was in charge of selling red cups for a fiver. Today I ran a similar enterprise.

Hours have been getting cut down majorly lately finishing at 5 and then 3 yesterday so when I was on wash up with another guy and over heard the floor manager talking of sending one of us home I needed somewhere to hide. Apparently the cadbury kiosk was the place to go if you wanted to be forgotten about so I switched with someone when they were going on break.

The cadbury kiosk was where I thought I was going to be for the whole two weeks and I was a bit pissed about not being put there before now but its probably the worst job. It's just you on your own selling the odd ice cream, no one to talk to, no idea of the time. I guess its pretty similar to being put in isolation in jail. I said to one of the girls on her way to the kitchen that its like being in solitary confinement. "What" she said. "Solitary confinement" I repeated. "That's a big word, I must write that down" I must write that down I thought.

Then there was a rush. A massive rush. Every day consists of a bunch of rushes which are followed by 20 people standing around chatting for an hour. Then another rush. This was a big one though and I suddenly had a queue all the way to the opposite wall. There are only 3 different ice-creams though and they all cost 3 pound so I was moving fast enough. But then the cash register ran out of paper and wouldn't open. Luckily the next few customers had change so I could keep the show on the road. There I was at the greatest show on earth in the greatest city on earth and I had the technical capabilities of a 5 year old at a lemonade stand, but with less change. My manager came after a while and got me to start keeping a record of what I was selling and left a 500 pound bag of change. Add that to the 300 quid I'd accumulated, apply less accurate record keeping and a less honest person would be having a field day.