working 9-5.

I can't believe it's been a year since I graduated and headed to the City, and what a year it's been...

I always wanted to be one of those glamorous girls you see in the movies; with the beautiful designer bag, walking into work effortlessly in a beautiful pair of heels with a Starbucks coffee and a token croissant in hand. I think I've felt like that girl once (or twice at a push!) but the reality is, no matter how glamorous you look or feel before you leave the house, you'll more than likely be windswept with panda eyes and blisters by the time you get to the office. Oh, and the croissants make you fat!

Despite this, I still have nothing but love for being a "City Girl'. There have been many hilarious yet embarrassing times, as I'm sure anybody that knows me will not be surprised to hear. Most involve my normal ditsy and clumsy ways - tripping up curbs and causing chaos avoiding the triple drains, but here are a couple of the best stories:

Mouse abuse. 

Firstly, I must emphasise that I had to use a cartoon mouse, as I can't bear to search for pictures of actual mice: even the tail on this one is freaking me out! Safe to say, I'm pretty petrified. 

When the guys in my team found out about this fear soon after I joined, the abuse began. From emails marked 'urgent,' but containing photos of mice, to videos and stories involving mice, every opportunity was taken to wind me up. This was taken to the next level when somebody brought a white, fluffy, wind-up mouse into the office, to hide in various places around my desk and scare me on a regular basis. Some of the best hiding places were:

• inside my box of Twinings Teabags

• taped under my desk, so that I felt the fur on my knees when I sat down 

• camouflaged amongst my white Kleenex tissues so that it jumped out when I took one! 

However, the worst of all was when a real mouse was seen scurrying around our office. When I found out, I fell into a state of panic, crying and shaking uncontrollably - pretty embarrassing when you sit so close to the Directors! Luckily, the day was saved and Mr Mouse was caught in a cardboard box and taken outside to run free...I didn't leave the office for lunch that day in case Mr Mouse and I crossed paths! 

RIP Mulberry Bag (or so I thought)

After two weeks of moving into our new office, we had a fire drill. (I use the word 'drill' lightly, as I'm still pretty sure there was a small fire upstairs). 

When the alarm went on for longer than usual, everybody piled out of the office, down the four flights of stairs, and out to our meeting point. Of course, I didn't think to grab my bag or coat; it was just a drill, after all. However, as the sprinklers switched on and a small amount of smoke could be seen from the upper floors, I began to worry. Was it too late/ridiculous to go back for my precious Mulberry? 

As we stood outside the building in the cold, I voiced my worries about my bag to my colleagues, who decided to tease me and say that it was probably sizzling upstairs, and that they had seen orange flames and so on. This pushed me over the edge and as sad as it is, tears sprung to my eyes, which everybody found highly hilarious. 

As I'm sure you can imagine, I now keep my bag close by at all times, not wanting to risk putting it in harm's way. I now ignore the instructions I was given at school - to leave all belongings and get myself out first, and make sure that my Mulberry is also safe. 

I think the moral of this story is that I'm still a poor girl with a rich girl's bag, and perhaps care a little too much about my accessories! 

Although both of these stories ended with me crying and feeling stupid, I still manage to see the funny side, and enjoy the office banter that we engage in at work. I'm lucky enough to love my job and I feel that I get on well with everybody in the office, and I truly beleive that the key to enjoying work in the City is a good work/social balance. So thank you very much to those of my colleagues that put up with me and my hysterical outbreaks, or random, blonde comments and who help to make every day at work a brighter one.