The joys of going to work

Looking for a job can be tedious, and looking for the perfect job is even more so. I spent nearly nine years working in the customer service industry, and after such a long time a change was needed. My goal was to break into the social media industry and working in a place like Facebook was my dream. I was aware the transition was going to be difficult and ‘oh boy!’ it really was. 

We are familiar with the frustration of knocking on so many doors with no answer and when you do get an answer, it’s a rejection. You shape and reshape your CV just to get noticed and still sometimes it doesn’t work. You speak to professionals to try to get guidance, but it doesn’t seem to work either. I experienced all of this but I never gave up and I never gave in, because I knew, with perseverance and determination, I would reach what I was striving for.

 In order to academically better myself, I went back to college and did a few courses. I created my own blog and I started researching online for ways to increase my passion for social media and, as a result, I got a better flavour for what was going to be my next career move.

CPL + Facebook = PERFECT COMBINATION

Through CPL I landed a career opportunity as a Community Operations Analyst – onsite Facebook - and I can honestly say my dream did come true. This role is a totally new experience for me. There is very little in common with my past work experience, but I love the challenge and achievement that comes with it.

So, for the last two months I have been waking up – literally - every morning looking forward to going to work and often a sense of pride embraces me when I step foot inside the building, not only because Facebook is such a well-established company, but also because I have so much fun doing my job. We have had a laugh and even though you have a high target to reach, you keep laughing, and top it all off, I am working with intelligent and interesting people from different corners of the world who I have learned something from.

I’m not lying when I say that my enthusiasm is a genuine, well-earned feeling. I am gaining a new set of skills, professional, personal and emotional.

I recently had a dinner conversation with a group of friends, and some of them were expressing their feelings of monotony in relation to their jobs and the only answer I could give them was, ‘to try to avoid tediousness, we have to use our own initiative to make what we do interesting.’ And they ask me, ‘How Marlon?’ and I say, ‘that question can only be answered yourself, because everyone’s career is different’. I am one of those people who think that gaining satisfaction from your job goes far beyond the technical aspects of it.

I know my motivation is exacerbated by the fact it was tough for me to get to where I am now.  You might I agree with me if I say ‘the rewards are greater when the journey is longer and difficult’. I want to share this feeling with you, because good feelings are worth sharing and because as much of a positive person as I am, I would never undermine peoples professional activities, no matter how monotonous they may be.

I always encourage people to fight for their dreams, whatever they might be. And if you feel you are stuck and want or need a career change, don’t be afraid, go out there and try to grab it. I did it and here I am, thanks to CPL, working in Facebook and so far so good.

Cheers to a bright future…

Marlon/Marlife

Don't give up on love - Part 1

I would like to start my message by saying: First of all, we have to make sure that the love we feel for

ourselves is good enough. Once that’s done, anyone that might come our way will be more valued and appreciated.

I am a firm believer of the saying “In order to love someone, we must love ourselves first” and I would add to it “no matter what”.

It seems to be our generation is losing the ability to fall and be in love. If we pay attention to the statistics, it is quite alarming to see that divorce rates are on the rise. We seem to be unable to keep a healthy relationship, and changing partners is becoming easier than changing our underwear.

I know we can’t generalise, however, if you speak to a friend, a colleague or an acquaintance you would hear stories of people who are single all the time, that have short-term relationships which can be considered just flings. On top of all these, romance is nowhere to be seen.

So the question is: Where has love gone? Where is that special one for every single one of us?

I did a bit of a research and I found a few valid reasons why we are losing the ability to love.

    1     Instant gratification has become more relevant than anything else:  Modern culture has driven us to have easy access to nearly about anything, and it is true that the easy we get things, the less we value them. The problem with instant gratification is that it can become a habit, extinguishing the so gratifying sense of achievement of a lasting relationship.

     2      This sense of gratification can easily lead us to become more narcissistic and/or egocentric. We human tend to try to please ourselves first than others, which it’s fine, it’s human nature. The same way, we should love ourselves (self-esteem) first in order to love others. The problem with egocentrism is that we might lose empathy for others. When we concentrate only and mainly on ourselves, we will overlook the needs of our friends, partners and others, and it’s there when this patterns affect our relationship in a counterproductive way.

3      Technology in many ways has fooled us into believing perfection is achievable, but it is not and more so when it comes to human interactions. We will never ever have the perfect partner, boyfriend or husband. Our Iphones and laptops might function to perfection in so many ways, but we humans will always be imperfects and therefore prompt to making mistakes. We can buy a perfect app, but we will never find a perfect other half.

4      We seem to have forgotten to make love, we seem to want just sex.  We are way too busy, to try to take the time to make love to our special person either date, boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife or partner. To please them, to connect with them not only in a sexual way, but also in a spiritual and psychological. Ask yourself this question, when was the last time you were engaged in love making way in such a profound way that the climax was so high to the extent that you lose yourself into your other half’s being?

 

5       Dating has become a sport. Sometimes some people date for the sake of it – mainly because they are bored and/or horny.  When people date, they are supposed to have a special time to get to know each other as individuals, however, alcohol would more likely be part of the occasion, which in turn will take you to a different level which more likely be ending up in bed. Have drunken sex which more likely you won’t remember the next day and you will consider it meaningless. Needless to say, we would end up sleeping around.

6    We have become really bad at loving. We don’t seem to understand that love is complex, it has so many stages, and it’s mutable. Love is a beautiful feeling, yes. Relationships are challenging and the only resource we have to face those challenging is to be able or try to be understanding, open-minded and, more importantly, being sympathetic with our love ones. But we seem to give up so easily. Love is nothing to be ashamed of. Love is a beautiful feeling that truly feeds our soul, brain and heart. Love is the real reason we keep going.

Just remember this, every time your heart beats, it’s beating love, a feeling that you are capable of experiencing if we truly have the disposition for.

Next time I will discuss what we should do, or try to do, to keep love alive.

Marlon/Marlife

A super gay night called DADDi

After taking a long break from the scene, I figured it was time to regain my gay social life, but I wanted to do it in a remarkable way. My intention was to explore the best gay night out there at the moment.

 Daddi has been around for quite some time now, and all the comments and rumours I have heard have been rather good and were backed up by the photos I have seen on social media. So I’ve been excited to give it a go and experience it for myself.

  

Saturday, 4th April, was the best opportunity for me to put on my gay colourful clothes and dancing shoes, and discover the super gay night that is DADDi. I arrived at the Turk’s Head early to check out the venue before the night kicked off (and getting nicely drunk!). My first impression was a warm welcome by two very hot guys with a friendly and sexy smile, and when they stamped my wrist I thought I was being admitted into gay heaven. Inside the venue there were DADDi posters displayed everywhere which gives you a sense of belonging to the event, and dimly lit lights which set the tone for a hot, sweaty night.

DADDi invites you to be you.

 

 As the night was progressing and I was getting more and more drunk, dancing with my friend Luke, and the place getting crowded, I quickly realised that DADDi’s night is not about being trendy or pretty or walking around with a pretentious attitude. DADDi’s ethos is about being you which I think - from a marketing and business point of view- this is its well defined, competitive advantage. As a result of this, I can honestly say that this alternative night was so needed in Dublin’s notoriously monotonous gay social scene.

  After midnight the atmosphere was electrifying. Hot dancers filled the stage and sexy staff were walking

around, making sure that everybody was having the time of their lives. The dance floor was covered in hot men, dancing topless – paradise! At some point I screamed in my mind, ‘Oh my God! So many cocks, so little time.’ We were impressed by the music in such an amazing way that we felt everywhere single pulse, rhythm, and beat of the night, to the credit of resident DJ SteoDub and Madrid based DJ Dave Urania.

  As you can see from the photos, Luke and I, had the best time ever. We cannot wait to go back.

  Dance, Drink, Flirt, Sweat

 I would like to publicly say a HUGE thank you to organiser, Steve Blennerhassett, and his team for creating a night out in Dublin like no other, and setting the bar high for future nights. Guys, keep up the good work. I have already become a user of the DADDi app, available to download for free where you can be notified of upcoming events  and other DADDi related information. 

I would highly recommend DADDi as one of the best nights on the scene. All you need to be is yourself and have the disposition to let go and have a great time, it is guaranteed. For me, DADDi was an orgasmic experience.

All the images belong to Ronan Hurley - GobsmackedMedia - whose work I think it's great.

Marlon/Marlife