Lessons

I've learnt that things may still seem like they might be moving forward, but in actual fact, things are still stuck in their traditional ways.

The men who sit at the top of the tree, ruffling their feathers and keeping the nest warm ever stationary, never moving. Just soaking up the rays, waiting to be fed the worms from far beneath them. Never getting their beaks dirty, they wait impatiently for someone to run to their beckoned call. Their places desperately need to be filled with younger, sprightlier little birds with bright ideas but they're scoffed at, laughed at, fluff themselves up and continue to sit, watch, brag, do nothing.

Ladies don't stand much chance in working their way up the ladder in this industry, retail is their main calling it seems - look pretty for the customer, don't bite back to anyone, be subservient, passive, calm. I'm sad to see that tradition still runs deep in that if you're of another race, it's very likely you'll be holding the door open for customers or cleaning the offices piled high with their cups and plates. It's just so...backwards.

Old money, old titles, old histories buy you all things new. Having a degree means nothing, having talent means nothing - if you've got prestige, you can get anywhere here. It helps to have a taste for 'finer' things - rare meats, vintage wines and scotches in high-end restaurants with long waiting lists and brag about these feats to everyone you meet who tries to impress with their own culinary conquests. Stuck in the past, unable to see past the dollar signs and think about the future. Future of the planet, future of their loved ones, future of their children. Reap the rewards now as they come, spend like nobody's business - buy homes and don't live in them, buy cars and park them all up the streets, go on lavish holidays and spend airway miles. It's all flash.

 

I thought that my heart would melt at the sight of enormous diamonds with no flaws, the emeralds and sapphires with pearls and opals - in truth, I felt guilty to be holding them. They never looked right on my skin, it looked pretend, like costume jewellery from carboot sales. I haven't tried to blend in with the culture here, I'm pleased that I haven't succumbed and I also haven't invested any of my money during the years I've spent here on things that don't and won't bring me any joy. It just seems to go against my true morals.

I think it'll take me a while to adapt to the change that I will no longer have to pretend anymore. The Harrods days, this street and all the frustrations I've encountered - eventually I'll feel glad, I hope.

I'm nervous about the new place, about starting all over again but I know it'll be good for me and I've just got to stick with it. I've had many jobs and I've got through first days of all of them. 

Last day and I'm disappointed. 

Nice people never get rewarded anyway. What a shame...