Andrew Aigner-MuehlerLIVING OVERSEAS from my eyes.. ON RETURN TO LONDON
January 26th 2008 05:07
ON RETURN TO LONDON
When I left London after my first stint, I was sad to leave, had great jobs where I learnt a lot, met, lived and worked with some of the best people. I sought of new some day I would return and I did in august 2004. My plan was only to stay a couple weeks before flying of to work and live in Canada. Plans sought off changed a bit. I worked illegally with out a visa for People Now. I completed a medical trial at Hammersmith Medical Research testing a drug for physchitzafrennia which I got paid twenty six hundred pounds for five visits to hospital consisting of three nights three days plus follow up visits. There were six groups consisting of twelve patients, I was subject number three. The earlier you get there on day one of the trial means the earlier you leave on the last day of each of the visits. Anyway we had fun doing the trial. The first night of each of the visits were just checking back in, they took urine samples and blood samples to make sure we weren’t breaking any rules. For around ten weeks of the trial we weren’t allowed to drink alcohol, caffinated products, citrus drinks or chocolate drinks. Take any other drugs, smoke cigarettes or smoke weed. If we broke any rules we were risking being kicked of the experiment with out being paid. The next morning we got our dose which were either 9mg, 3mg, 12mg, 6mg or 15mg (this was in the order I received my doses over the weeks) after we received the tablet, every hour for 24 hours they took blood and checked our blood pressure, and then it was on the 36, 48, 60, 72, 84 and 96 hour marks. The first 24 hours we weren’t allowed to leave our beds, which was okay because the tablets made us very drousy, but when we were awake it was quite boring, just reading newspapers. We had no television at our beds. After the second night or 24 hours we were able to move around, we mainly just sat in the lounge watching Sky or watching DVDs, jumping on the internet or maybe we played cards or Risk. We had another full day sitting around, doing whatever. Then following morning after breakfast we were able to leave but had to return at a certain time that night and the following morning for checks. We had only three meals per day plus biscuits for supper or snack just before going to bed. The meals were typical hospital meals. Only thing we were able to drink was water, low calorie cordial and de-caffinated coffee/ tea.
Who ever does the employing of staff should get a pat on the back, because those student nurses were quite cute and good looking, thankfully we weren’t testing Viagra, because the guys who have tested Viagra are not allowed to pull themselves of, they a hard on for a couple days straight.
Anyway the trial was all completed in the first week of October, the following week I met up with my father in Austria, who was visiting his family. Then I returned to London, to move to Hove in East Sussex (south east of England), to go to college to study Media Communications which consisted of public relations, advertising, marketing and journalism.
Just before going to Austria I was accepted in to Hove College and later my student visa application was accepted. I had to make two visits down to East Croydon to the Home Office to apply for the student visa, the first day I remember quite well, as I lined up for three or four hours, and also received a telephone call from my mother in Australia, with bad news saying my grandma had past away. At that time I didn’t know what to do, my mum said not to return home, as I can have the memories of remembering nana when she was alive. So I stayed in London to concentrate on my studies. The second visit to the home office I had an appointment, which was the interview and paying of the fees.
At Hove College my lessons were Monday to Friday 9am to 1pm. At 2pm each day I started at Subscriber Services as a Telesales Executive. Where we worked for six hours each day Monday to Friday. We were selling insurance for Sky satellite systems as well as the occasional Sky box and dish. The money wasn’t great at six pounds per hour plus bonuses and commission but it paid for my rent. I left that job on the 31st January 2005 after a three month stint. I told my boss Tim Harris that I needed to leave because it was reacting with my studies, and only had two months before exams. I didn’t tell him the job was messing with my head, and I think it’s a scam. It’s the same thing with credit card insurance, by law, if you can prove your card was stolen or was part of fraud, you have to get your money back. With the sky insurance, if your dish etc breaks down and you have not got insurance, the cable company will fix it, because they wont risk you ending your business with them and going with the competition. Not saying all insurance is a scam, but you really have to look in to it. Any way my time at Subscriber Services was great, worked with some fun and friendly people, Tim was a bit scary on Fridays, he must have been taking something, but was very funny to work with. Also had a few laughs with Melanie Wall, who got promoted just before I left.
Studying at Hove College was great, I learnt heaps, the classes were small, just Emilie a girl from Bordeaux in France and myself. Jeff Clark-Meads was my Journalism and Public relations tutor, Tina Patel was my advertising tutor and Graham Gallagher was my marketing tutor. All three tutors were experts in their fields, and were a big help.
On the weekends while I was living in Hove, I use to go back to London either to work or go out with mates. That Christmas I spent ten days in Stockholm, which I will tell you more later in the book.
After my studies I moved back to London, where I stayed for two months before going to Canada. In those two months, I still had to revise because exams were coming up. The exams were still held at the college. During those two months in London I just worked at People Now for extra money to live.
This time when I was leaving London, I was less upset, I wasn’t as upset as I left the first time. I must have known I will return to London soon enough for a holiday. The only thing which made me mad about leaving, was missing the champions league finale which was being played in Istanbul, which Liverpool ending up winning when they should have lost, coming back from three goals down. What made me mad as well is I could not stick it up one of my mates Andy Haigh in London who was a Chelsea supporter. He said on several occasions Liverpool didn’t have a chance on making it too the semi finals, the final and even winning the cup.
And this was my return to London. If you really love a country that much, there is always a way of returning, even I thought I couldn’t live in London after my initial two year working permit expired. I worked months illegally before applying for student visa, which hasn’t got an age limit, as long as your studying, you can work up to twenty hours per week plus to live in London at any age. Don’t worry about the twenty-hour thing, a lot of people work more than twenty hours. If you do enter a country and want to work illegally I suggest you still pay tax, you can use it too cover you ass a bit if you do get caught. What is the worst that is going to happen? They will just send you on the next flight home, and it will be harder to enter that country on your next holiday, but what the heck, you only live once, enjoy life when and while you can.
When I left London after my first stint, I was sad to leave, had great jobs where I learnt a lot, met, lived and worked with some of the best people. I sought of new some day I would return and I did in august 2004. My plan was only to stay a couple weeks before flying of to work and live in Canada. Plans sought off changed a bit. I worked illegally with out a visa for People Now. I completed a medical trial at Hammersmith Medical Research testing a drug for physchitzafrennia which I got paid twenty six hundred pounds for five visits to hospital consisting of three nights three days plus follow up visits. There were six groups consisting of twelve patients, I was subject number three. The earlier you get there on day one of the trial means the earlier you leave on the last day of each of the visits. Anyway we had fun doing the trial. The first night of each of the visits were just checking back in, they took urine samples and blood samples to make sure we weren’t breaking any rules. For around ten weeks of the trial we weren’t allowed to drink alcohol, caffinated products, citrus drinks or chocolate drinks. Take any other drugs, smoke cigarettes or smoke weed. If we broke any rules we were risking being kicked of the experiment with out being paid. The next morning we got our dose which were either 9mg, 3mg, 12mg, 6mg or 15mg (this was in the order I received my doses over the weeks) after we received the tablet, every hour for 24 hours they took blood and checked our blood pressure, and then it was on the 36, 48, 60, 72, 84 and 96 hour marks. The first 24 hours we weren’t allowed to leave our beds, which was okay because the tablets made us very drousy, but when we were awake it was quite boring, just reading newspapers. We had no television at our beds. After the second night or 24 hours we were able to move around, we mainly just sat in the lounge watching Sky or watching DVDs, jumping on the internet or maybe we played cards or Risk. We had another full day sitting around, doing whatever. Then following morning after breakfast we were able to leave but had to return at a certain time that night and the following morning for checks. We had only three meals per day plus biscuits for supper or snack just before going to bed. The meals were typical hospital meals. Only thing we were able to drink was water, low calorie cordial and de-caffinated coffee/ tea.
Anyway the trial was all completed in the first week of October, the following week I met up with my father in Austria, who was visiting his family. Then I returned to London, to move to Hove in East Sussex (south east of England), to go to college to study Media Communications which consisted of public relations, advertising, marketing and journalism.
Just before going to Austria I was accepted in to Hove College and later my student visa application was accepted. I had to make two visits down to East Croydon to the Home Office to apply for the student visa, the first day I remember quite well, as I lined up for three or four hours, and also received a telephone call from my mother in Australia, with bad news saying my grandma had past away. At that time I didn’t know what to do, my mum said not to return home, as I can have the memories of remembering nana when she was alive. So I stayed in London to concentrate on my studies. The second visit to the home office I had an appointment, which was the interview and paying of the fees.
At Hove College my lessons were Monday to Friday 9am to 1pm. At 2pm each day I started at Subscriber Services as a Telesales Executive. Where we worked for six hours each day Monday to Friday. We were selling insurance for Sky satellite systems as well as the occasional Sky box and dish. The money wasn’t great at six pounds per hour plus bonuses and commission but it paid for my rent. I left that job on the 31st January 2005 after a three month stint. I told my boss Tim Harris that I needed to leave because it was reacting with my studies, and only had two months before exams. I didn’t tell him the job was messing with my head, and I think it’s a scam. It’s the same thing with credit card insurance, by law, if you can prove your card was stolen or was part of fraud, you have to get your money back. With the sky insurance, if your dish etc breaks down and you have not got insurance, the cable company will fix it, because they wont risk you ending your business with them and going with the competition. Not saying all insurance is a scam, but you really have to look in to it. Any way my time at Subscriber Services was great, worked with some fun and friendly people, Tim was a bit scary on Fridays, he must have been taking something, but was very funny to work with. Also had a few laughs with Melanie Wall, who got promoted just before I left.
Studying at Hove College was great, I learnt heaps, the classes were small, just Emilie a girl from Bordeaux in France and myself. Jeff Clark-Meads was my Journalism and Public relations tutor, Tina Patel was my advertising tutor and Graham Gallagher was my marketing tutor. All three tutors were experts in their fields, and were a big help.
On the weekends while I was living in Hove, I use to go back to London either to work or go out with mates. That Christmas I spent ten days in Stockholm, which I will tell you more later in the book.
After my studies I moved back to London, where I stayed for two months before going to Canada. In those two months, I still had to revise because exams were coming up. The exams were still held at the college. During those two months in London I just worked at People Now for extra money to live.
This time when I was leaving London, I was less upset, I wasn’t as upset as I left the first time. I must have known I will return to London soon enough for a holiday. The only thing which made me mad about leaving, was missing the champions league finale which was being played in Istanbul, which Liverpool ending up winning when they should have lost, coming back from three goals down. What made me mad as well is I could not stick it up one of my mates Andy Haigh in London who was a Chelsea supporter. He said on several occasions Liverpool didn’t have a chance on making it too the semi finals, the final and even winning the cup.
And this was my return to London. If you really love a country that much, there is always a way of returning, even I thought I couldn’t live in London after my initial two year working permit expired. I worked months illegally before applying for student visa, which hasn’t got an age limit, as long as your studying, you can work up to twenty hours per week plus to live in London at any age. Don’t worry about the twenty-hour thing, a lot of people work more than twenty hours. If you do enter a country and want to work illegally I suggest you still pay tax, you can use it too cover you ass a bit if you do get caught. What is the worst that is going to happen? They will just send you on the next flight home, and it will be harder to enter that country on your next holiday, but what the heck, you only live once, enjoy life when and while you can.
| 62 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
