Sleepless in Shawlands
Why is it, every Sunday night, no matter how completely knackered I am, I cannot get to sleep? Maybe it's cause of the longer lies during the weekend. Maybe it's the dread of work the following morning. Maybe it's the aliens hovering above my flat with their ray-guns. Who knows?
Yet another busty weekend. Or busy rather. A busty weekend would be a fine weekend indeed. Spend a fair amount of time working on this website that I'm doing freelance, as well as filling in a whole host of (paper) forms for various things. They seem to have been piling up for ages. Still got about 3 to do, but there's no real hurry for them .... yet.
TV ariel people came on Saturday too, and stuck a nice digital ariel on the roof meaning I now get a clear picture for the first time in about 26 months. Who'd have thunk it! And what with the plumbers due this afternoon, it's like a flat upgrade.
Obviously a genius
After yesterday's break from riding to work, this morning was surprisingly warm. No ice either, so I guess the overnight temperature was above freezing. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, "Looks like summer's finally arrived". Ever the optimist.
Recruiter woman phoned this morning to give me the good news that the interview appears to have gone well, so well that they've offered me the job. Dammit. When I insisted on thinking about it over the weekend she did not sound impressed. She obviously expects her successful applicants to excitedly accept the position immediately.
The job is not one that I want. However, the job I am currently doing is not one that I want. In fact, working in the field I am in is not something that I want. At the moment lack of any other skills prevent me from moving into job in another field for the same sort of cash that I have been on (Damn IT). Taking the job would be the sensible thing to do, that much I do know. However I am also sure that 3 to 6 months down the line I'll loath that job as much as just about any other IT job I've been in.
Dammit, I really hope it's my turn to win the lottery tomorrow.
Curry on as normal
Curry, T minus seventy three minutes and counting.
Job interview today was slightly more organised than I imaged. Three lots of interviews in the space of 2 hours. The first three people did the technical interview which wasn't too bad. Lots of questions on SQL and such like. Second three did the general personal information type interview and finally the last person was from HR. She seems rather concerned about the number of jobs that I've been though, even thought when I had my last interview with her (about 2 months ago) she didn't mention it at all. Most odd.
All in all it seemed to go reasonably. Not great, just reasonable. They claim I should hear something back tomorrow, but I am fairly sure that I will not be accepting the job should they offer it.
Here have just confirmed they are offering me a 2 month extension of my contract when it expires tomorrow. Undecided whether I'll take it, but since it's 2 months as opposed to 3 it's more tempting. Additionally it looks like they've just got a new piece of work which appears to be reasonably interesting. And the money would come in handy. We shall see...
Alice in chains
Now, that would be a witty title if my bike was called Alice, which it's not. It's called "The Bike". Why do people insist on naming inanimate objects? And more so, why do they always have womens names? Are females names synonymous with inanimate objects? I think I better stop there.
So, chains. Yes. Monday was freezing, Tuesday was ice-tastic. Like riding on an ice rink. Tyre chains would have helped, or even better would have been tyres with metal studs through them. How cool would that be? Running down neds would be so much more pleasurable.
And today is snow. "Looks like I chose the wrong week to give up crack cocaine". Nothing like trial by fire. No really, this is nothing like trial by fire. If only there was some heat I would be happy as a sand boy (points for anyone who can tell me where that phrase came from - extra points if you don't google it). It's snowing right now too, and lying. Better not keep it up or getting home I might actually require chains for the tyres.
As a side note, I saw a metric shed-load of schoolkids on my way in this morning. Same time as usual, same route, same speed, same everything (expect weather and number of schoolkids). Maybe we should be afraid. Maybe this is the start of a world takeover attempt? Still, would have to be better than Blair....
Tablet, or macaroon?
Looks like I made it to work on the ole' bike without expiring or being seriously injured. Not only that, but I made it home again too. Quite surprising. But dear God, was it cold! Also, my odometer claims it was only about 4.5 miles in either direction, even though the same route (I think) was about 6.1 miles the other week.
Spent most of today setting up a tablet PC for a demo, and quite nice it is too. Possibly not as practical as a laptop, but significantly lighter and the whole touch screen thing is most impressive. And, as Ian pointed out, the ability to draw "comedy cocks" on it is also helps to retrieve the boredom. Although it does get boring pretty quickly.
Another load of photos arrived from Mr Colin which, while quite entertaining, suck ass since it just hammers home the fact that absolutely nothing has changed here in about 3 months. Well, apart from the Finniston on-ramp being closed. Damn him and the fun he's having.
Run ragged
This weekend I've been as busy as a ... er ... busy thing on a particularly busy weekend. You know how it is, just as you finish one thing and catch your breath you suddenly remember yet another thing to add to your list. And by the end of the weekend your list was longer than it was when you started, and you feel twice as tired. Almost looking forward to going back to work to get a bit of a breather. OK, so that's a lie.
Anyhow, the bike has new tyres on it and is somewhat cleaner than it was before. A very quick test of it seemed to show an occasional rubbing noise coming from the back, but it's working well enough and I'll have a look at it later in the week. Still planning on riding to work this week to see how it goes. Except for Thursday that is, as I've got another job interview and ain't turning up on my bike for that.
What the feck has happened to Haddows? The jakey's best friend. The offies have all turned into "Haddows Locals" selling groceries along with the booze. It'll confuse the hell of the drunken bums when the stagger in and come face to face with a packet of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes. Reeling from shock they'll find themselves in the "Chilled food" cabinet and impale themselves on a Pepperami while being showered with pre-packaged sandwiches from the top shelf. The world just ain't what it used to be.
jake/jakey Noun. [Scottish/Glaswegian use]
1. A drunk, a meths drinker. Derog.
2. A down and out, a homeless person. Derog.
Commutable
As from Monday I be cycling to work. At least, that's the plan. A mere 6 miles or so either way, which allowing for traffic and what not should take just over 20 minutes. Covered bike parking here helps, and since the bus is regularly taking 35-45 minutes on the way in, and up to one hour on the way home it should speed up commuting considerably. (Admittedly, it's not the 6 mile journey the bus takes)
It's light enough in the morning to get in without problems. The only issue is the sun, and today a nice pair of shades (can I call them that) arrived from that worldwide electronic car boot sale that is eBay.
In the evenings it's still dark enough to warrant lights. Only for another few weeks, but anyhow a nice set of LED lights also arrived from eBay today meaning that I'm set to give Lance Armstrong a run for his money.
So this weekend I will get those new tyres fitted, along with the shedload of other stuff I've to do. This is going to be one busy-assed weekend.
Another one bites the dust
Been muchos busyos over the last few days. OK, some of it was work but the main reason being that I just got Max Payne 2. Yeah, OK, I know it's been out for ages, but for a number of reasons I never got round to getting it.
I played the original when it first came out and was mightily impressed. Not as much so as when Doom made it's debut, but still, it had a well though out story line and good game play and, of course, bullettime.
So, anyhow. I was not even remotely disappointed with the sequel. A most splendid game, and one of the best sequels there has been I believe (OK, again, apart from Doom and Doom II - Let's not even mention Doom 3). True to the original, and quite rightly so. Why change when you've got a winning formula. But that's it finished now. There's always the other game play modes I guess, but it'll be a year or two before the next sequel.
Once again, a piece of music from somewhere caused me to stop dead and listen. This time the end theme from the game. Performed by Poets of the fall the piece was called Late goodbye and is well worth a listen. They're a Finnish group and their CD ain't available on Amazon (grrr) but I think I shall be sourcing a copy very soon.
We're in the money
Ladies and gentlemen. I am now rich. Oh me, oh my. Oh yes, for on Saturday evening I did indeed win the lottery. But alas, I am unable to give you all money as my winnings were smaller than Colin's desire to return to work. I won the lowest amount you can win, a paultry £10. Still, better than a kick in the teeth.
Being the lazy bugger that I am, I bought my ticket online, and didn't bother to check the numbers. Then, on Sunday evening an email arrived telling me I was a winner and to visit their website. Well, let me tell you, I was as excitied as a puppy chasing a new squeaky toy. As I entered my login details I was imagining the tens of thousands I had won, and tentativly wondering if maybe it was a million or two.
After login a pop-up greeted me (after I told FireFox to allow it, such was the level of my excitment) but it still did not tell me my winnings. I had to visit my account before I found out it was a tenner.
But, fear not. This is just the start of my winning streak. Mark my words. Soon I shall be rich, and smite you all.
Last man standing
The Last Juror by John Grisham
Recently Sênoir Grisham has had a bit of a mixed bag. The King Of Torts was reasonable, while A Painted House was rather woeful. The last really good Grisham book I remember reading was The Bretheren which, oddly, is now nowhere to be found on the UK Amazon site.
I got a loan of The Last Juror from my folks, rather than buying it, so I had no reason not to read it. I wasn't holding out a great deal of hope on it being excellent, but I did hope it would be an enjoyable read.
As with many of his other novels, the book is set in Clanton, Mississippi, this time in 1970 and basically follows a young newspaper owner called Willie Traynor. It will come as no great surprise that this book was easy to read and doesn't require a great deal of though, but then that's one of the things I like about Grisham.
The title of the book is odd, given the story it contains. However expanding on this would give away more of the plot that I wish to do so, so if you want to know why go read the book youself. All in all it was an enjoyable read and it seems Grisham is back on track. I won't say this is a great novel, as it's not. Many other people, and even Grisham himself, have written much better books, but it's a good way to pass a few hours.
Tyre-iffic
I use my bike. I used my bike a fair amount last year. However, I must admit, the previous year I did not use my bike at all. Nor the year before that nor a few years preceding that. So, there were parts of my bike that needed replacing before using it in earnest.
As with most things, good intentions slowly turned to apathy which became laziness and (for one reason or another, mostly money) the tyres were never replaced. They were rather cracked looking, and the tubes both deflated enough over a 2 week period that they required re-inflating. The tread was worn and looked miserable. But they worked, and that's why they remained on the bike.
However, with my plan to do at least 1,000 miles in 2005 I decided that, until I get a new bike, I should get the tyres sorted. So at the weekend 2 shiny new tyres, and 3 spanking new inner-tubes (buy two, get one free) were purchased. And my, do they look splendid. Not on the bike yet, but they will be soon, trust me.
Anyhow, on my way to the bike shop I zipped past the place I currently work to see how long it would take from the flat. A cats whisker over 20 minutes I am pleased to announce. This is a damn sight faster than the bus, so this looks like an attractive method of transport. The only issue at the moment is the light. While it's now bright when I go to work in the morning, it's too dark to ride without lights by about 5pm, and with summer just round the corner (cough) I am loathed to shell out cash on some. However, we shall see.
In other news, a super quick "Thanks, but no thanks" letter arrived on Saturday from my interview on Thursday afternoon. Oh well.
The magic shower
I have a magic shower. Oh yes I do. Now this piece of magic shower kit was installed in 1991, back when water had just been discovered, and it is in need of an upgrade, to say the least.
Now don't get me wrong. It still works. Well, works as in heats the water. And this is a bit of the problem. It has a digital readout (which was probably really cool and sophisticated for 1991) which goes from 1 to 8. One of the main problems at the current time is that the selector doesn't really work, and it randomly chooses a temperature of water to supply. And more often than not the temperature it selects is 9....
So, time for a new shower. And this is where the first hurdle appears. Now, I have no plumbing experience, but I have been assured by a couple of people that changing an electric shower is relatively straight forward. So I was willing to give it a go. On examining the pipe work I did, however, notice that my flat has no tap between it and the mains water supply. This means that, for example, if my kitchen tap needed a washer changed, I would have to turn off the water to the entire block of flats. Not good.
Adding in a stopcock is not something I could even begin to consider myself. So a carrier pigeon has been dispatched to the Acme Plumbing Company, who are set to arrive on the scene at 2pm on Monday to give me an outrageous quote for fitting a stopcock.
It looks like 27 months after moving in I may finally get the shower fixed properly....
Excitement overload
I have only just calmed down. Amazing. A++++++ Credit to fun things. Would do again. Yes, today I finally did it. I splashed out. I made the purchase. I went wild in Glasgow. I bought a new pair of shoe laces. Does the excitement ever end?
I asked the girl behind the counter for some round black laces. She proceeded to the stand with the laces and look for a minute before proclaiming that they only had flat or boot laces. I could plainly see the round laces so I said to her "There's some on the 2nd row at the very left". So she moved to the right of the stand and says she's sorry but they only have flat ones. Honestly, do some people really not know their left from their right?
Actually, I do have a reason for getting laces. Apart from the fact that they are an essential piece of kit for keeping your shoes on you plates of meat, I have a job interview and my current laces are kinda broken, and full of knots.
When I say I have a job interview, I actually have two. It never rains but it pours. A recruitment firm called to ask when I was free for an interview, and literally as I was placing the phone back on the desk it rang again. This time a place I applied to directly wanting an interview tomorrow. So, first interview tomorrow, next one Tuesday. Thrilling stuff.
Damn the wee man
Just got an email from Colin who's busy touring India at the moment. He left around the start of November, so he's been away for about 1/4 of a year now and I thought it was time to find how things were really going.
Still I definitely feel I made the right decision jacking in work. Even the thought of being back at the NHS still fills me with dread!
Nice. Thanks for that. Here I am, stuck at work, reading emails about him living the high life in India. The hardest part of his day is apparently deciding whether to have another beer or not. Honestly I don't see how that can be hard ... of course you'll have another beer!
So, is he missing his job and the company of his friends so much that he'll be jumping on the next flight home? Will he hell.
Long term plans are mucho liable to change, but..... Perhaps a plane from Chennai/Madras to Singapore and then travel north through Malaysia/Thailand/Cambodia/Vietnam/Laos kinda of area. Maybe China? Maybe back down to Indonesia? I was speaking to somebody who said it was easy to get a job English teaching in Taiwain/South Korea. I wouldn't mind giving that a go if I could get a 3 month contract. And although it's a long way off a working holiday visa in Australia still sounds like a good option.
Oh well .. looks like I'll be stuck with the usual drinking buddies for the time being. Nothing like emails in this vein to brighten up an, otherwise dull, working day.
On a lighter note ... at least the new design on the blog looks better.
Muddy, as a fox!
Having learned from previous expiditions on my bike in a Scottish winter, I decided to invest in some mudguards. A wise move it was indeed, for when I returned on Sunday I did not look like I'd been shot by a mud machine gun. No, not this time. This time I merely looked like I'd been pelted with handfuls of mud. A marked improvment.
I was also impressed to find that Pollok Country Park has, not one, but three Mountain Bike Circuits. I possibly didn't choose the best time of year to go exploring, but I felt it was my duty to check them out.
The Green circuit was marked as easy, and for the most part it was. It was pretty much flat all the way, with only one of two small, part-burried logs to go over. There were, however, a few super-muddy patches which produced entertaining amounts of wheel spin and copious amounts of flying mud.
After making round unscathed, and not out of breath, I decided to tackle the blue (medium) circuit. And this is where the laughs were suddenly on me. No your flat, easy trail. Not even slightly hilly bumpy trail. But a steep, windy, narrow trail over tree roots and loose gravel and more mud that can be thrown by opposition MPs. I almost fell off twice, and had to pause for breath a number of times, proving how out-of-shape I really am. (Personally I blame people for force feeding me beer).
Fortunatly I made it to the end in one piece, but decided to leave the Red trail for another day....
The Wonderful World Of Blogs
It used to be business cards. Then it was mobile phone numbers. Now it's blogs. "Do you blog?" "Where's your blog?"
Dammit! I feel left out. I want a blog. I want to be RSS'd. I want to fit in!
So here it is. An install of MovableType, complete with a hideous default layout. Not the most appealing thing in the world, but give it time. It will grow into a thing of beauty. Trust me.
Well, at least the layout will. I have no idea what I'm going to write about, but I'll do my best. Now all I need are some readers...