Homebrew, the Wolf of King Street, and running away to join the circus.

Hello again! It has, as ever, been an interesting few months, I quit a bar job, found another job, quit that, then quite literally ran away to join the circus.

I left my bar job with the intention of starting another similar job, but was swayed by the glamorous world of 'Marketing'. Now, I've seen Mad Men, surely I would spend my days in a suit, pitching cigarettes to other men in suits, and drinking Martinis? Well. No. Initially I was impressed, a small, smart office, staffed by ambitious young people, taking on older, established marketing firms by using the new tactic of 'direct marketing'. I was trained and instructed in their methods, and sent out to make my fortune. What this boiled down to was, door to door sales, with my earnings based entirely on commission, something that is in a moral and legal grey area. Well, door to door didnt phase me, I'd done it before for charity, surely I could do it again for myself? And I could, sort of, I made average progress. But then I started to pay more attention to the environment I was in. As is the case with 'Earn up to £1000p/w! Be your own boss!' sorta jobs, it appeals to people who think they're Jordan Belfort. In fact lots of people mentioned Wolf of Wall Street as their favourite film. It was a peek into a world I found both fascinating and depressing. A world where people spent all their commission on a suit they would wear to the office in the morning, and then change into 'normal' clothes, to avoid looking like a door to door salesman when they went round being a door to door salesman. A world where everyone talked about 'the law of averages' and 'good days and bad' or 'dont get negged out'. Another concerning element to it was the way many of the people working there were disparaging to people who had a job that paid hourly, as though this somehow inspired laziness.

I'd advise anyone thinking of entering that world to look deeper into Wolf of Wall Street as a comment on the American Dream, and if you still fancy it, watch the Maysles Brothers brilliant, albeit depressing documentary, Salesman. (1968)

Working for this marketing firm, I was surrounded by a mix of bravado and desperation, a sort of 'fake it till you make it' attitude that was entirely geared towards consumerism. It was a little jab at my clothes that eventually made me leave the twisted circus of rampant capitalism (which for all its desires was nothing like the excesses of Wolf of Wall Street, because they couldn't really afford it), I've ended up working in an actual circus.

A friend sent me a text that was from an employment agency asking for 'bar staff. Immediate start.' Eager to give it a go, I called and was interviewed n got a position working at the Cirque du Soleil while they perform here in Manchester. Now I can't speak for the show itself having only seen snippets of it on a tv screen above the bar I work at, but in terms of employers, they are great. A really international crew, my supervisors are Spanish, Dutch, American, Romanian and Belgian. I knew I'd found a great bunch when the head of staffing gathered us all round and said 'If anyone starts giving you shit, come and find us, and we'll fight them, that's what we're paid for, you don't have to put up with that.'. That attitude, coupled with simple things like being appreciative of our work, means I'm enjoying my job for the first time in a while.While the job will only last a month, I have been assured my agency can find me more work afterwards. And despite being sorely tempted, I will not follow the show around the globe, purely as you have to fund all travel and accommodation yourself.

It's been called my 'itinerant twenties' by concerned relatives and I have to say I'm enjoying it.  Might review a film on the next blog, there's some good stuff coming out soon.

Oh and many of you will be pleased/scared to know I have started homebrewing again, I've a batch of ginger beer on the go that should be ready to drink in a couple of weeks, I'll letcha know how it goes.
More soon!