(no subject)

Dear self,
This is a reminder not to feel disappointed in yourself for not applying for a long-term media intern/trainee gig that only goes for expenses of £100 a week, no matter how much possibility of getting full-time work there may be. Yes, even if you were rejected without interview for a paid internship earlier today.

First of all, in the UK, this is against the law outside of course-credit work, and it is classist, problematic, and something many media freelancers are trying to stop happening. Minimum wage is £5.93/hr and is that for a reason.

Secondly, you should not feel guilty for wanting to be paid properly. You're worth at least that much, even in media.

Thirdly, they're wrong for even doing such a thing and even more wrong for doing it through a recruiter who should know better. A company that doesn't abide by the rules of fair treatment for the low-ranking is probably one where you wouldn't want to work in the long run.

Love,
Rhi

A meme for World Book Day!

Uh, cause I can. Taken from various people. And I do not have my David Tennant Reading English Teacher icon anymore, sad day.

The book I am reading:
Madhur Jaffrey's memoir, Climbing the Mango Trees. It's a reread, but there's a lot to it I didn't remember, and I'm looking at it in a new light--how she grew up both privileged and colonised. I also have a bunch of things queued up, most notably The Knife of Never Letting Go.

The book I am writing:
Exists mostly in my head, where it's lived since 2005, and in about 6K of Word file that's two years old. Fail. It is sort of a future version of Heroes meets Maximum Ride (which I haven't even read) with a side of China Mountain Zhang.

The book I love most:
Uh, I can't pick just one. I need to find my copy of The Stand: Complete and Uncut when I'm back in the US in August. I miss it terribly. I also connect a lot to Nicola Griffith's Slow River for some reason, and if you'd asked me this question ten years ago, my answer would have been The Mists of Avalon.

The last book I received as a gift:
Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay, which I still need to read. Books I own end up at the bottom of the pile, sadly, compared to library books, which is part of why I only buy things I've read.

The last book I gave as a gift:
Lols. I gave Patricia Finney's kids book Jack and Police Dog Rebel to Matt for Valentine's Day, because he has the first one (I, Jack) and wanted it for ages.
Fun fact: when he was wee, Matt wanted to be a police dog.

The nearest book on my desk:
There aren't any, I'm at the dining table. SAD DAY. I will randomly pick one from Matt's bookshelf right behind me: Naomi Klein, No Logo.

Also, I would like to add, because I want to promote someone...

The last book I bought for myself:
Julian May, Intervention, used at the Oxfam bookstore in Victoria Road. Now, Julian May (who is female, by the by) is the most awesome science fiction writer you have not read. She's not exactly feminist, per se, and she is probably not without problematic things. But her SF books are like if someone took Anne McCaffrey's Talent series and crossed them with X-Men, then gave it teeth. Intragroup issues and benevolent aliens who still might kill you for the greater good and family problems and a whole planet colonized by Scots that is not ridiculous Caldos, thx TNG. (And that's just the prequel series to the original, which has that stuff and one-way time travel and evil alien overlords...I do think the prequel is a bit more sound, but ymmv.)

So yes, SF fans should read Julian May. Her fantasy books aren't bad either, I just like SF.