If you’re looking for career advice (akin to my last post) or serious PR commentary, skip this post. If you want to hear about how Mini is getting on at her new job stateside, read on…
So, I’ve completed one week at my new job at a Los Angeles PR agency, and I feel it’s time to reflect on some cultural nuances and dedicate a couple of paragraphs to my new-found American friends.
The office vibe is part serious PR operation/part youth club – filled with lots of good energy, creativity, hard work, and a LOT of laughter. A great combination, conducive to both work and play.
A small team, the girls in my ‘pod’ waited approximately 3 hours on my first day before taking the piss out of my accent (which to American ears is apparently very English). I knew then, straightaway, that I was in good hands. Later in the week, this was followed by a quick admission that they have been finding it HILARIOUS that I drink a cup of Earl Grey tea at about 4 pm every afternoon. In fact, a (semi serious) suggestion was made that I should consider sporting a ‘bonnet’ (as that is obviously what all English ladies wear) at my desk, as I sip my tea every afternoon.
Urmm... Lady in bonnet drinking tea
Thus, I have found people as incredibly immature (and cool) as myself – we will get on like a house on fire. The banter is good, and it would appear that humour & warmth does ofcourse transcend cultures.
The one thing about office life that slightly concerned me last week is that I was initially under the impression that two of the girls had some major drug habit to something called ‘Red Eye’.
Imagine overhearing this conversation:
Girl 1: “Let’s take a Red Eye. Have you ever taken a Red Eye?”
Girl 2: “No, I really can’t function after a Red Eye.”
Girl 1: “Yeah last time I took a Red Eye was like 2 months ago. It left me really drained, and I couldn’t get any sleep on the Red Eye.”
A quick check on Wikipedia and it soon transpired that my colleagues were not in fact talking about some kind of narcotic – rather they were arranging their travel plans to NY for later this week. If you’re interested, the Wikipedia definition of a red-eye is “any flight departing late at night and arriving early the next morning. The term red-eye derives from the fatigue symptom of having red eyes, which can be caused or aggravated by late-night travel.”
PHEW…..
