Sunday, November 14, 2010
Did I Ever Tell You About "The Prostitute Interview"?
I recently converted a bunch of old VHS tapes to CD, and just look what I found!
It's 1986, the era of big hair, even bigger shoulder-pads, and the year I opened my first ever recruitment agency. This is the original team, most of whom are still in touch.
(If you click on the link, you may understand why.)
We were young, free and single, and knew middle age would never dare to creep up upon the likes of us.
Sigh.
Fast forward 25 years on, where do you think we are now?
(Isn't life unfair?)
On tape you can hear us groan, "Do you have to? as Emma threatens to break into yet another one of her spontaneous Aria's. Little did we know it, but the vocal lessons paid off, she is now a successful opera singer, regularly performing at Covent Garden and other such venues, worldwide.
The then shy 17yr old Nettie (sitting to my left) went on to divorce three husbands, the last I heard, she's now happily living in sin with a lover almost half her years. Guess it's true what they say about the quiet ones, then?
Jill, (seated to the right of me) moved away from London to raise her family, and eventually re-trained to become a High School teacher. She retired last year.
I haven't seen this vid in decades, it made me chuckle. Video recorder's were still a novelty, Jill innocently thought this could be played back like a cine-film, on the office wall. Nettie corrected her by saying surely the tape would need to be sent off for processing first?
Oh and yeah, the interview with the Prostitute, (yes, I know that's the only reason you've hung on in here thus far) no, no, of course I didn't lie, it's all in here laid out in it's sad and sordid glory - and um, sorry the lips are so all out of sync.. (Wince.)
The sound benefits from listening via earphones, it's clear as a bell if you plug in (promise).
So, without further ado, here I present you with The interview with the prostitute..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCvV1c0htG0
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87 comments:
I admire the camera work - especially the zoom in on the nose! LOL :)
At least one person is trying to do their job. (giggle)
Previous prostitute experience? How many positions have you had? LOL!
"I don't want an interview, just give me the job!" That's the best line.
Thanks for the laughs.
LOL that must have brought back memories!
I see it was back in the days when one could smoke in the office too!
Oh my goodness did this bring back memories of the past. Thank you for the Sunday morning laugh! Happy Sunday to you and yours. XX
Hey! Ain't nothin' wrong with BIG-hair!☺!
I marvel at the then-state of the art equipment, complete with an ELECTRIC-typewriter, and TOUCH-TONE phone systems! (That's an "old"-Apple, with the floppy-drive, back there in the corner as well, ain't it?)
Almost as exciting as the first widely-available-to-the-public POLAROID-camera, of a few-years' earlier...!!!
Big hair and big glasses! I cringe when I see my Deidre Barlow looks! lol!
What a blast from the past! Too many cute girls in one office...how did you ever get anything done? And where is the drawing of the 'prostitute's favorite position'? I ask only out of aesthetic curiosity, of course!
Sounds like you guys had a good time together.
Wow. A clackety-clack typewriter! But why? Isn't that a state-of-the-art computer sitting there next to it? And all those card index files! Hahaha!! I remember those days!
Fun!
No ear plugs so I couldn't really hear the video but it sure looks like you'd be a blast to work with!
Cheers, jj
Hi Jinksy, aw, the things that poor girl had to put up with, eh?
Hi there Chewy-Pie, ah those were the days, eh? Sigh..
Akelamlu, virtually everyone smoked back then, we just never gave it a second thought - oh, how times have changed!
Hello Lori, I've been a great time revisiting my youth, trolling through all these converted tapes.. I can't believe some of the stuff it's turfing out - and I'm only half-way through!
Hey Bruno, you sure know your stuff - yup, as I recall that WAS an Apple(grin)! Can you believe that clunky typewriter?? Makes me feel old, now.
I know Denise, nothing dates us more than the hair-do's and fashion of yesteryear - and to think, at the time we thought we were the epitome of cool!
Hi Dan, oh I think the drawing was confiscated as evidence in the end..! Gosh, I miss those days (grin).
Secret Agent, we were together for many years, becoming friends as well as collegues. Yes, it was a great team.
Hi Jay, the computer generated invoices and ran the weekly payroll for us (we supplied a sizable temporary staff to various clients), but we had yet to work up to figuring out how to use the word processor function on it - that didn't come for another year or so (eyes skywards).
Hi jj - yeah, happy days!
amazing job done .. Isn't that awesome how technology work.. you can go back to happy memories and look back and see how the world has been changed...!
Have a beautiful week!
Love
Sabi Sunshine
Great fun to remember working in offices during this time. Your group of young women working together looks like such a fun and close-knit group. This picture is awesome.
lol--We truly are sisters separated at birth. My hair, while auburn, was...distinct. (cringe) I had to take a welding class in college for my art degree and set it on fire as it was solid aquanet. You're stunning darling, loved this!
Loved this and it makes me want to see what videos I have that I can convert!
Oh, Shrinky, this sort of stuff is priceless. Not just the intentionally funny, which is very much so, but also the unintentional - the typewriters, the clunky computers, the pretty but oh-so-dated hairstyles. I enjoyed this immensely. Thanks!
Hi Kim, yes, do have a deep dig - from my experience I think you'll find it well worthwhile!
Oh Jim, it's wonderfully cringe inducing, isn't it? (I still haven't shown this to the kids.)
Sabi, it's like I've discovered my own personal time machine!
Hi Technobabe, you should have seen the smile on my face when I tripped across this - I had completely forgotten it even existed!
Oh my goodness Chantel, you REALLY set your hair alight?? Eeeeeeeeeeeek!! (sorry, I shouldn't laugh). Ah, I remember those flamable hairsprays well..
LOL..ah, the things we saved (and laughingly/embarrassingly regret that we did).
Somewhere -- and only I will ever know where that is -- are three audio cassette tapes (post 8 trac and pre-CD era). On them are three badly-produced, worsely-written, and worst-of-all performed parodies of two icons of the 1960s and 1970s TV and cinema sci-fi markets. A parody of Star Trek (done before any of the Star Trek movies), and parodies of Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica. Written by yours truly. Technically produced by a former coworker and acquaintance. Performed in the basement of said acquaintance's home, in a very primitive, jury-rigged recording studio (ala War of the Worlds). Complete with bad sound effects, and worse dialogue, and five 'actors' who couldn't get an audition on Farting With The Stars.
Never, EVER to hear the sound of day ;-)
Excellent interview! Hope you found her a "position"!
Sounds like you all had so much fun - and I love the hair!!!
OMG Skunk, this I have just gotta' see - c'mon you, it's only but fair, after all, I've already shown you mine..
We tried Rock Chef, really we did..
Ugh Therese, and to think, at the time I thought it was all the rave (cringe)!
Oh, this is a treasure!! I love your stories about the girls. Yes... life puts us in the fire and burns off all the...
naivete?
I can't listen to this at work, but I can listen later!
Oh, you are fun! And how I remember that era.
I always enjoy reading your posts. You seem to have fun no matter what you do (Even swinging from chandeliers, perhaps?) I like that. :-)
a working girl on your knee and a bottle of whiskey in the desk drawer. those were the days. i miss them.
Man, that seems like a lifetime ago. I was just about to go into grad school then.
LOL Big hair, smoking in the office.....those were the good old days!
What great fun! It's so nice to see people having a good time at work. I assume there was some work being done somewhere, right?
Hi Chrissy, yup, maybe it's just as well none of us have a reliable crystal ball to see what lies ahead for us, eh?
Hello Debbie, it truly does feel like another life time ago now..
In truth Shen, thesedays my chandalier-swinging is becoming a little rusty - more's the pity (wink)!
Ahh, me too Billy, me too..
That's right Jeff, rub it in why don't you? (Young Whippersnapper!)
Life and laughter, tell me about it - God, I feel old!
Haha, Pat, looking back it's hard to remember it, but I guess we did!
Shrinky, I nearly fell off of my chair. It does look like you had a marvelous time, and the really shocking thing was seeing a time when people smoked in an office, as well as that computer from the Dawn of Time (I worked on those too).
But the thing that nearly made me fall over? Shrinky, I was a recruiter also. That's what I did, back when I did things. It's also a big part of the reason I stopped working.
What a funny thing to find out we have in common.
Hey... did the prostitute get hired?
Carol, that actually brings back memories of the days I worked in a gallery in San Francisco. Those colleagues could have been my colleagues. Except you're missing the drag queen.
good morning This is very nice blog.Thank you for it !
Gosh Alane, how spooky is that? Too funny! I'm sorry the experience sounds to have proved negative for you - I also worked in offices which left me frustrated and disallusioned, too. One of the driving forces of setting out on my own was to find the freedom to operate ethically - as I found so many don't.
Want to know another coincidence? My youngest sister was meant to be called Alane, but my dad went on his own to register the birth, and screwed up the spelling to Elaine (mum was NOT amused, especially as he had paid a visit to the pub, enroute)! We call her Lainee, today.
Oh Chewy, we tried, we really did, but each time we sent her, she came back with an unsigned timesheet - apparently, her services failed to meet the expected standard..
Haha, oh San, the drag queen may not be captured on camera, but rest assured we had quite a varied and unusual cast constantly drifting through our door! Life was rarely dull..
Hello Grandma's Scrapbook, thank you for the kind words, and for stopping by.
God the 80's had a lot of collars.
Wow... that was very interesting!! Thanks for sharing... 'smiles'...
Hugs,
Coreen
The good old days!
Good morning, that what someone said here in comments. it is so subtly put it, and I have nothing to add except ... this is great.
Red Handed, time makes fashion victims of us all!
Hi Coreen, thanks for stopping by!
That they were, Casdok (smile)..
Thank you, Grandma's scrapbook, how very kind!
Yes, "Time makes fashion victims of us all..." But I still think you and your buddies looked very cool, sort of like 80's Warrior Queens, with your huge wild majestic hair and your power pads bulking up your shoulders. You look like ladies who wouldn't take any crap!
ahahaha! brilliant!
Ha Margaret, you don't know the half (grinning wide)..!
Cheers Simon, thanks for stopping by!
Hello Dear
Where are you? Just stopping by to say Hello!
Hope everything is well with you!
Have a lovely day!
LOve
Sabi Sunshine
Shrinky, if those shoulder pads ever come back to the fashion, I will protest, lol. Nice interview, yet fun atmosphere to work in. And all those hi-tech gadgets, lol. Anna :)
Shrinky - you are priceless. I want to know when you are going to publish your full memoirs.
Anna, everything seems to eventually come around again, doesn't it? Watch out, you find yourself wearing those big shoulder pads again one day (grin)!
Aw Shucks David, I wouldn't DARE (my kids might read it), teehee..
I hope you'll be back to share more antics!
Hello Shen, oh I am still around, just slowing down some on posting for now - things are pretty busy right now on the homefront, is all!
Oh very cute. You guys would have been a blast to work with.
Hey Tatty, welcome back - where have you been hiding yourself? Oh don't tell me, you popped out to get a pack of butter? (Wink)
what a hoot. most people would kill to work in an office full of fun and laughter...thanx for posting it. i used it for my lip reading training :>)
Ahhh, the 80s. Where did the time go?
Hey Coops, thanks for stopping by - we're not related are we? My surname is Cooper!
Damned if I know, Nick, they sure sped by far too fast (sigh).
ROFL...I'm so glad I felt like getting out and about...I wouldna missed this for anything!!! Love it!! Just been thinking of you! Wanted to say "hi!" Sending you much love! Janine XO
Missing your posts....hope everything ok with you and yours? x
Oh Janine, how lovely to see you! How are the art shows going? Hope the season is bringing you joy - big hugs sweet lady, x.
Hi Kristina, oh, y'know - weather and stuff has been driving me demented (eyes skywards).. but normal service will be resumed asap - grin!
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