The King's Speech

The film which has won a string of Golden Globe awards, tells us of the debilitating stammer,  which affected King George VI, (the current Queen of England's father). Second in line to the throne, the prince was was not focused on to take the helm and lead the country. This all changed when his older brother Edward VII, abdicated the throne, after he had to make a choice between being a King or marrying an American divorcee (something that isn't allowed in the Anglican Church).

I went to see the King's Speech a couple of days ago, apart from being a historical film, it's a  film about over coming problems and being courageous and strong. The leading actors were exquisitely chosen and captured the attitudes and behaviours of the Queen mother and the King. I like how the speech therapist is depicted as a renegade, radical using techniques such as shouting swear words, singing, and using singing as a distraction technique.

Most of all I would urge people to see it, you'll learn something.

Sleeping Beauty Syndrome

What would you do if one day you slept for 8 hours a day, then suddenly you felt so tired you sleep for 10 days straight, missing important activities such as work, weddings, birthdays and exams. This is the fate of people who suffer from Kleine-Levin Syndrome an extremely rare sleep disorder where sufferers sleep for weeks at a time, at random, from 16-22 hours, woken only by friends or family  to eat and go to the toilet. At these times, sufferers may be irritable, react rudely, binge eat, and feeling in a dream like state.

The cause is not known, but it is thought to have a genetic base, and no medications are proven to have an effect. Additionally this disorder  can often get misdiagnosed with other sleep disorders. So the next time you wish you could go to sleep for about 2 weeks, spare a thought for those who actually do and miss crucial parts of their lives. For more information please use this link.

Examination nightmare!!!

So the exam season of January is upon us, here are a few tips for those who are sitting them at what not to do it your exams to wind up the invigilators.

• Listen to the invigilators, or they will get annoyed and write things down next to your student ID. 
• Don't try and get rude either, they will get annoyed and write things about you. 
• Don't be late
• Don't try and cheat, even if you don't get found out, you will feel guilty and that you are living a horrible hideous lie. 
• Try not to look suspicious 
• Always answer the question, even if you have no idea what the answer is, the marker may take pity on your useless answer.  
• Try and keep calm. 
• If you feel sick, don't vom everywhere... 

If you follow these guidelines then you'll probably be ok.

New Years, Smew Years

So New year was like sooo last week. How many of you have broken your new years resolutions already? Some people's resolutions will centre around may be getting a new job for the new year. If you want a new job because you are unemployed, over qualified or just thinking about a change, here are some simple pointers to help you on your way.

1. What industry do you want to move into, which are you qualified for? If you aren't qualified, what could you do to get qualified?It is important for you to be specific in your job search as you may coast through life aimlessly, moving from job to job. 
2. How will you know that you have succeeded? In short write down what you want to do and measures of success that you can follow, e.g. when I earn this amount, when I receive x years of experience, when I gain this professional qualification. 
3. Are you career aims to be a millionnaire as Delboy always said? Do you want to be a pilot but are scared of heights, do you want to be a doctor but hate science? Well make sure you career aims are actually achievable and realistic, other wise you will fail, simples. 
4. Make sure you have a time limit on all of your plans other wise like point 2, they will probably never get done. So for example, next year I want to put my self forward for promotion, or in the next 6 months I will do a time management course. 
5. Networking works, tap into it, find out what openings are at your friends companies, enquire, email and attend events. You never know who you may meet. 
6. Research properly on the industry and the job that you want, there's nothing worse then being ill prepared or ill informed. 
7. You may not be in the financial position to totally move to a new industry, but possibly volunteer within the area you want to move into. Yes I mean work potentially for free, this really opens doors. 
8. Never give up- as cheesy as that sounds it's true, you can get there if you want it.  

Finally these pointers are not step by step guides but just something to open you up to other possibilities. Life's too short to be stuck in a rubbish job.