New Experiences #18 + #19
W/C 27th February 2012
New Experience #18: Becoming Paper Boy - My First Job
I’m planning to take a year out after I’ve finished my A-Levels and so have, for many months, been looking for a part-time job to help me save up some dollar. And I don’t need to tell you that at the moment finding paid work is not easy. So when my sister got herself a paper round at a local newsagent, I got straight on the phone to apply for the same position. Luckily, I nabbed the last spot.
So, two days later, having been shown my route and practised folding papers to avoid overt crumpling, I was out on the streets of Cyncoed searching desperately for often non-existent house numbers and tackling some ridiculously small letterboxes, all before breakfast.
Anyone that knows me well will tell you I don’t do early starts (see New Experience #5) and so it was to be a shock to my system to be up and out at 6.30 every morning. However, shock my system I did and in fact I was pleasantly surprised, as for six days in a row I was as reliable as clockwork, or at least got up when my alarm went off. Over the week I encountered British weather at its most variable, from gorgeous sunrises to fog and hammering rain. This is all part of the fun of being a paperboy, as is becoming an expert on front-page news and being disappointed by the large number of Daily Mails on subscription.
However the true perk of the job is that by embracing the day earlier you are able to hear the stunning morning chorus of birdsong, far more gratifying than anything that could come from a pair of headphones and certainly beats any breakfast radio show.
Rating: Truth be told, I’d rather be in bed, but it takes up little time and the pay is reasonable. A rainy Saturday with all those supplements wasn’t pleasant but the rest of the week was surprisingly bearable and dare I say it, fun - 4/5.
New Experience #19: ‘Cor Blimey Bouldering!
Bouldering is “a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope” and, as part of a free taster course delivered through the marvellous 5x60 programme, I went along to have a go. Delivered at Boulders Climbing Centre, the six-week course is an introduction to climbing (something I have done before) with the chance to try some bouldering at the end of each hour.
Bouldering can be done on buildings and sheer rock faces, but within the safety of a padded-floored, instructor-filled centre, climbing up a wall without a harness was not as scary or as exciting as I thought it might be. However, as a beginner this is to be expected as the challenging walls are, of course, out of bounds until you’ve had more practice.
Rating: The only way is up for me for this one folks but as a stand alone experience, it doesn't get halfway - 2/5.
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