After walking through the maze-like interior of the offices and lounges I was introduced to the commercial department, where I am currently employed. There are 8 people in the dept., making it the largest component of the front office for the club. The commercial dept is responsible for a lot of the 'behind-the-scenes' stuff. They renew the signage and advertising space throughout the stadium, they sell the corporate hospitality packages and executive boxes. The team media is also governed by the commercial dept. There are two media directors who oversee the content that goes on the official website (including video, interviews, etc.) The commercial dept also puts together all of the promotional events, like family day and the kids club. And then theres me..
Everyone is really nice in the office and has gone out of their way to make sure that I either feel comfortable or understand whats going on. I even have my own desk and computer, which quickly quelled the ongoing joke in my family that I would be donning the mascot uniform or working out of the storage closet (much to my relief). After a few days of being a near mute, I have started to pick up on office banter and I feel more comfortable speaking up when they are having a go at the American. Its funny because two of the guys in the office are on opposite sides of the fiercest rivalry in English football, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. Anthony, a Spurs fan, loves to deride Dean the Arsenal fan and vice versa. Its funny stuff and I am stuck right in the middle because I sit between the two. And I must say that I side with Anthony because I like Spurs and I cannot stand Arsenal. The two will spend the early parts of their morning scouring the news to find something worth mentioning to continue this never-ending feud. Its really entertaining.
As for actual work (thats what I'm here for right?), the club has thrown me right to the wolves. The better part of my first week I spent analyzing the results of an online survey for fans. This survey was created by Anthony to gauge how the fans perceived the club and gave them an avenue to directly express their concerns or suggestions so that the club could better serve them. I think this was a good place for me to start as it gave me an outsider's insight of the club. It also got the ball rolling in my head to start churning out some ideas to make life easier for the fans (like a web-based forum to arrange carpools...the parking lot is a mess!). After analyzing the data I compiled it into an excutive report so that Anthony and I can deliver a presentation to the higher-ups. I wasnt lying when I said they have thrown me to the wolves here. My boss hasnt been here much longer than me, so the department is in a transitional phase. He is full of energy and has really big plans for the club so I think this is an exciting time to be around Southend United. Apparently this club has one of the best data management systems in the country and it has been grossly underutilized. This system keeps track of the data of anyone who comes into contact with the football club, whether it be they buy a ticket for just one game, or they have been to every game for the past 20 years. So now I am working on a project that is helping find all the bugs and glitches in the system so that we can really start putting this to good use.
The work atmosphere from what I've noticed here is much more relaxed than in the US. People work their 40 hours a week and not much more. They appreciate being able to go home and have dinner with their families and enjoy their weekends as well. I got kicked out of the office one day at 5:30, I was told that everyone is forced to go home then. So even if you wanted to work late, you cant. Its kinda nice.
Thursday the Football Association released the schedules for the upcoming season and I will have the chance to see three home matches at Roots Hall before I leave. They open the season at home against Leyton Orient for a local derby (pronounced 'darby'). A derby is a game played against two rivals who play close to one another. Some of the bigger derbies include the aforementioned North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, while the Liverpool derby between Liverpool and Everton is an intense rivalry. The team then hosts a Carling Cup match at home against Cheltenham before taking to the road at Leeds. Which was one of my favorite teams growing up, not sure why. When I showed my eagerness to visit Elland Road, my colleagues didnt share the same fervor. Supposedly, Leeds isnt the nicest place to visit and the Leeds United fans dont take too kindly to away supporters. So I will have to weigh my options on that one. That might be a good weekend for me to go see a Premiership match in London as many of the teams I want to see (namely Chelsea) play when I will be working at the Southend games. I am hoping that I can scoot into London and catch a game. The following weekend Southend is back home to face Millwall another London side and these two hold a grudge against one another, so it should be another entertaining home match. Lastly I can finish up my trip here with a drive down to Brighton on the weekend (anyone catch the reference?). I spent the latter part of my Thursday mapping out which Premiership games I could potentially see. The release of the schedule has me all fired up to see some real football. Also, West Ham United, the closest Premiership side to Southend has agreed to come play a friendly at Roots Hall, so if I dont make it to a Premiership game at least I'll have seen a Premiership team play.
Ok enough about work, lets get to the fun stuff.
Play On:
+ I joined a gym finally. I was getting sick of not doing anything and I joined Fitness First, which is convenient to get to as it is on the bus route. I still havent gotten used to using the metric system and so I find myself guess how much weight I am lifting. Also, its worth noting that this place plays the most depressing music. The last thing I want to listen to while I am on the treadmill or lifting weights is 'When a Man Loves a Woman' by Michael Bolton. Michael Bolton and the gym is like drinking and driving..it just doesnt mix.
+ Speaking of crime, I found myself in a conversation at school discussing the whereabouts of McGruff the Crime Dog. I thought he had been kicked to the curb but I am happy to report that he is currently leading a campaign to fight cyber crime. Its good to have him back.
Welcome Back.
+ Chips (read: French fries) come with just about every meal you could possibly think of. Really strange combos too. I had a chicken caesar salad the other day and it came with a side of chips. People really like their potatoes over here I guess.
+ The crisps (or potato chips as I like to call them) come in some really really weird flavors. Why go through the hassle of waiting for the chef to prepare a leg of lamb when you can just have lamb and mint flavored crisps? Why pay market price for some prawns when you can get the same flavor in a bag of prawn cocktail crisps? In the words of some anonymous philosopher, some questions are better left unanswered.
+ I found out that the best player on Southend United, Freddy Eastwood, is a gypsy. He lives in a caravan on land that he and his 'tribe' took for themselves on the outskirts of town. Interesting.
+ Remember that minaret I told you about on my train ride to London? Well it turns out that it is remnants of a castle built in the 13th century. I took a bike ride last Sunday to visit the ruins known as Hadleigh Castle. My trek took me down the coast into Leigh-on-Sea, which is a very old fishing town, complete with narrow cobble stone roads. It was very rustic and just reeked of history. I then had to cut up north and biked through these vast fields until I came across the castle. I found myself feeling like I was on hollowed ground as I reached this towering tribute to a long-forgotten era. The best part about it was how it was open to the public. It was a beautiful day and many families enjoyed a nice picnic in the company of ancient royalty.
I looked for Excalibur, but it wasnt here.
+ I have yet to see Gatorade over here. I did see one store that had some alternate version of Powerade, but that’s about it. Most places carry Lucozade, which is the official energy drink of the Premier League. It comes in two flavors, lemon-lime and orange. I haven’t had the lemon-lime one, but the orange Lucozade tastes eerily similar to Sunny Delight. Now I know that Sunny D was the beverage of choice back when I was a hyperactive 7 year-old (it sure beat soda and the purple stuff), but I’m not convinced that this is what a world class football player would need after running around for 90+ minutes.
+ Also to the few of you who are keeping track from school, I had apple JUICE DRINK. Yes, you read that correctly, it was juice and drink.
+ I am just starting to catch on to some of the slang and common terminology used around here. The phrase I had the most difficulty with was “Are you alright?”, which to me sounds like that person thinks theres something wrong with me and that maybe I need to see a doctor. But it actuality it’s another way of asking “How are you?”. Just thought I’d let you know.
+ Now for the triumphant return of Weird Car of the Week! This week there is a double dose. Please Note: I stopped taking real photographs because I don’t want to run the risk of the owner watching me photograph their car. It would be a really awkward moment.
+ The Ford Ka: For all the alleged financial troubles Ford Motor Company is having, you wouldn’t know that over here. I see Fords everywhere. This car most especially, it might actually be the most common car I see when I’m out and about.
The egg on wheels.
There is so much going on with this car that I don’t even know where to begin. First of all, the name. Ka? That’s the best the Ford marketing team could come up with? Its like one of the geniuses was like, ‘I really like the Boston accent’ and someone else chimes in with, ‘yeah, me too, lets call it Kah!’ and the accountant in the meeting interrupts their excitement and says, ‘if we drop the ‘h’ it will save us x amount of dollars when we manufacture the name plates’ and then everyone at the meeting in unison, ‘BRILLIANT!’.. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been waiting to write that. Anyways, the car looks like a deformed egg. The thing that really bugs me the most is how the rear axle looks. You cant really tell from the picture but in person, it looks like the rear axle is angled outwards. Although I think its like an optical illusion due to the lack of a definitive rear bumper and the curvy nature of the car. Lastly, the two-tone cars need to go, I really feel like Ford was trying to be frugal here and just took leftovers from other cars and put this together. With all of that said, the people over here love this car. Crazy Europeans.
+ The Nissan Micra:
Is this what the Beetle sees when it looks at itself in the mirror?
I don’t think Nissan got the memo, this car was already invented, its called a Volkswagen Beetle. The first time I saw one of these, I did a double-take. I thought it might have been a new version of the Beetle; that’s why I was shocked when I saw the Nissan logo. I suppose its not really that bad of a car, it’s a bit tiny though. However, it scores negative points on the originality scale in a huge way.
It merits mentioning that theres nothing better than listening to the tide coming and going. I’m not rubbing it in, I promise!
