Sydney to London Without a Plane by Lorna_North

Emoticon Wreck

 

After 4 months in Sydney living professional and socially, I've noticed how everyone uses punctuation faces to convey their feelings.

 

Say goodbye to hand gestures, facial expression, even words- all you need is a colon, a dash and a bracket.

 

I've used the odd emoticon before. But only when I've been lost for anything interesting to say, to jazz up my text message with some pictorial decoration representing my feelings.

 

For example when I really can't be bothered to go for a drink with people I have no chat with: 

 

"Sorry I can't make it. Hope you have a great night, don't get too drunk ;-)". 

 

Give them a humorous winking face and you've automatically softened the blow.

 

In the Sydney office world it's the norm to send a colleague an email with important content and sign off with "regards, Lorna" and then a face to express whatever mood you're in. Which could be potentially revealing, especially when I work out the correct symbols for the "I'd rather have my head flushed in a public toilet than be here" face.

 

I am in career limbo by the way. Reception is not where I want to be. It's nothing personal to the company I've been allocated, I'm just very aware that I should be doing something a bit more suited to my professional background. 

 

I've gone from authoring part of an internationally known guide book to fielding calls regarding the most inane topics. I actually wonder if half these callers sit at home and purposefully write a list of the most pointless inquiries to bombard me with throughout the course of the day.

 

Still, I really feel that change is in the air and I will break into Australian publishing if it kills me. I was so desperate the other day I nearly applied for an editorial assistant position in Trucking Monthly… 

 

Please let there be a visitation from a winged arch-editor that will deliver unto me prophecies of my writing destiny. :-)