Tag: exchange

the-this-is-not-an-xmas-card-exchange

thegirlinthecafe 21 Comments

I admit that I am a little late this year but it is that time of the year again:

The annual this-is-not-an-XMAS card postcard exchange

I will design a brand new Girl postcard which I am going to have printed in a card shop in a special very limited edition. It is not going to be your typical Christmas card, there is no Christmas tree on it nor any other Christmas references. It’s probably going to be more of a New Year card to be honest, but I am not sure yet. It can be anything.

It will be a double card in full colour and it is not going to be the image you see on the top of this post by the way.

Now, you want one of those extremely-limited-edition-due-to-be-a-collectors-item-cards won’t you?

Current card counter: 10

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To all of us who need some …

thegirlinthecafe 6 Comments

(If you like the above Sondre Lerche – Good Luck song, download it free and legal in MP3 format here)

Latest news from the find-a-job-rollercoaster-ride:

I have not heard back from the recruiter I visited yesterday, so either the jobs were already gone or she didn’t like me. I will send her an email tomorrow to check up on it.

And after a very long day of waiting for things to happen today (ok I admit that I did stare at my phone for some time today!) – I got a phone call (really like it when they call, I like to think that they are genuinly interested when they do) from two new recruiters, and an email from a third.

So here is the plan:

1. I will meet with recruiter one at 10am tomorrow for an introduction interview (that’s them trying to figure me out)

2. At 12.00pm I will meet recruiter two. Now recruiter two is incredibly interesting as in one hand she holds my CV and in her other hand she holds my dream job. I have seen the job description and checked out the website of the company where the job is at, and oh my – how I would want that job! She will interview me to get to know me and to hear more about my work experience and after that she will decide if she is going to propose me as a candidate. I am not counting on anything, but fingers crossed here.

3. On Monday I will have another introduction meeting with recruiter three.

So that will keep me occupied the next couple of days, and the recruiter interest is kind of a good thing. Of course I am also still sending of job applications and I am amazed by the number of recruitment agencies in London. One of them surely must have a job for me?

Five very random notes to end this post with:

  • I am hugely enjoying Jamie Cullum’s new album (I’m all over it is one of my favourite songs). Anybody else out there likes him?
  • Here is a very handy page telling you (in a beautifully designed way!) when and when not to use an apostrophe. Very useful!
  • The Brit with the most difficult to guess twitter name must be Alexander Armstrong. Xanneroo? Come on! I do like him though, he is tall and lanky, a tiny bit posh and very funny in Armstrong & Miller. Miller is on Twitter too by the way. (Bennylicious, honestly guys ..!)
  • And actor Jim Carrey is on Twitter too. Not only that, he has one of the most creative websites I have seen in a while. Check it out on JimCarrey.com. Amazing.
  • I am trying to think if I am going to do a this-is-not-a-christmascard-exchange this year. What do you all think? I know I made the unforgivable mistake of not posting all your cards online last year, but I have just ordered a scanner and I promise that that won’t happen again. I am just polling interest here, the official announcement might come later – if I have a go from my audience … (oh an to take the stress out of this all – we could move the whole process to January?)

Beat the credit crunch: Five cheap ways to get books

thegirlinthecafe 5 Comments

Book exchange in Lympstone (Devon)

I like to read and I used to buy my books new in the many book shops London seems to have. I normally don’t really want to keep books after I read them so I found some better and cheaper ways to get books and to get rid of them again.

And in these times of credit crunch: here are five cheap ways to get books:

  • 1. Exchange with a friend.
    Probably one of the easiest ways to get fresh books to read and to get rid of some of your own books. You could organise a little book meeting and discuss a book over tea. Nice and easy!
  • 2. Charity shops
    The UK is a haven for charity shops (Oxfam, Red Cross etc), and most of them have a book section. I have bought several books in charity shops, they are cheap (ranging from 50p to £2) and often in good condition.
  • 3. Readitswapit
    I use the readitswapit website a lot. You can list your books there, and exchange them with other users on the site for the price of a stamp. It works brilliantly.

    The site is aimed at the UK though and I don’t know if there are any international equivalents out there, if there are, please add them in the comments!

  • 4. Ebay
    There are loads of books on sale on ebay, and it is certainly possible to grab a bargain there. In order to keep postage to a minimum, i is a good idea to buy them from someone who lives in the same country as you do.
  • 5. Lympstone book exchange
    And there are places like the book exchange in Lympstone. Lympstone is a tiny village near Exmouth. We had a wander through the small streets and accidentally stumbled over this outdoor book exchange. The idea here is that you can take any book you like from their shelf and leave the amount of money you find reasonable for the book in the post box beside it. You read the book and if you like return the book the next time you are there. (The money they get for the books goes to RNLI (Royal National Lifeboats Institution – which is a charity in the UK).

    I picked up Tony Parsons – The Family Way and left them £1.50. The stack of books looked great and I really liked the fact that people are still trusted. There were no people around to guard the book shelve nor the money. Lovely.

Other possibilities (which I haven’t tried myself):
Book crossing – leave a book for someone else to find, and register the book’s travels on the website
The new London based Choosewhatyouread, an attempt to get people to read books in stead of the free newspapers messing up the bus and underground.

Do you have any tips on how to get cheap books? Please add them to the comments!

The this-is-not-an-xmas-card exchange – last chance!

thegirlinthecafe 2 Comments

I am looking forward to your cards already

I have just spend most of the day in the office where I work to drink tea and listen to music, and oh to work on my card for 2008 and it is done! I am quite pleased with the result and have just send the order to the printer.

There is 1 card left available, so if you want one, read more here about the rules and send me an email if you like the idea. Sold out!! (Unless 10 more people signup then I will order extra cards!)

The people who are already on the list: the cards will arrive with me (hopefully) from the printer around the 20th of December so they will be with you earliest in the week after Christmas. Seeing as it isn’t a Christmas card anyway, hopefully that’s fine. And I will email my address to you somewhere next week. But please don’t send your card too far before Christmas, I am away from the 24th and would love to find them when I come home after New Year.

I want your Love, Actually on a postcard

thegirlinthecafe 19 Comments

It’s that time of the year again, and you know how I feel about it.

But the question is are you up for it again?

I will design a brand new Girl postcard, which I am going to have printed in a card shop in a special very limited edition. It is not going to be your typical Christmas card, there is no Christmas tree on it nor any other Christmas references. It’s probably going to be more of a New Year card to be honest, but I am not sure yet. It can be anything.

It will be a double card in full colour and there will probably be a quote of some sorts, you know the style. It is not going to be the image you see on the top of this post by the way.

Now, you want one of those extremely-limited-edition-due-to-be-a-collectors-item-cards won’t you?

Sold out!

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