Zoom...
...and another month goes by...
Weather update, for those of you in foreign parts: It's getting rapidly colder and darker round here, it's gloves weather when cycling in to work, and even if I leave bang on 5.30pm it's obviously getting dark. I'm really not looking to the clocks going back at the weekend- just looked it up and on Sunday sunset here is going to be at 4.40pm (give or take) and it'll be getting on for an hour earlier by the end of the year.
I seem to be noticing the early nights more this year- I suspect it's at least partially because how light it is becomes a lot more significant when you're cycling home from work hoping that you're not going to be mown down by a dozy driver. Before anyone says anything: No I'm not cycling without lights when it's dark- I realised when I drove round Oxford quite how invisible cyclists are in the dark without a decent set of lights, and I like my headmeats where they are (and various other organs, to be honest).
Been seeing more about the campaign to change the clocks so we stick on DST all year recently, and I'm all in favour of it- an extra hour of daylight in the evening sounds like a much better deal than an extra hour in the morning when I'm likely to be asleep anyway.
Still, at least it's not raining.
Job News: No, not mine (which still pottering on reasonably happily). Around the time of our mini-holiday I mentioned in my last post Cat decided that she was dreading having to go back to work so much that the first thing she was going to do was resign, and after a couple of weeks of throwing CVs around and hoping she'd find something before she started getting very short of money, she landed a job as a trainee bartender at Raoul's, which for those who don't know is not only one of our favourite drinking holes, but also a place with a national reputation for really knowing their drinks.
It's a bit of a departure for her from retail work, but she's loving it- everyone there is really passionate about making the finest cocktails known to mankind- if you ever want to loose some time there, just ask one of the barmen about any spirit or cocktail and they'll be able to talk about it for hours. Not only that, but the earliest she has to get into work is midday and the flexible working hours mean that we can actually go out on Friday (or any other night) without her having to get up the next day. I think the biggest downside for her at the moment is the daunting task of having to learn how to make all the cocktails (well over 100 on the current list, and there are a lot of off-list drinks she has to know too), all to a *very* exacting standard, but she's enjoying that too- it's far more interesting brain-work than standing behind a counter in a shop that doesn't seem to get any support from the company management.
All in all, things seem to be going well, and I get a highly trained cocktail barperson for a girlfriend- result!
Thassit for now, teatime, I think.
Weather update, for those of you in foreign parts: It's getting rapidly colder and darker round here, it's gloves weather when cycling in to work, and even if I leave bang on 5.30pm it's obviously getting dark. I'm really not looking to the clocks going back at the weekend- just looked it up and on Sunday sunset here is going to be at 4.40pm (give or take) and it'll be getting on for an hour earlier by the end of the year.
I seem to be noticing the early nights more this year- I suspect it's at least partially because how light it is becomes a lot more significant when you're cycling home from work hoping that you're not going to be mown down by a dozy driver. Before anyone says anything: No I'm not cycling without lights when it's dark- I realised when I drove round Oxford quite how invisible cyclists are in the dark without a decent set of lights, and I like my headmeats where they are (and various other organs, to be honest).
Been seeing more about the campaign to change the clocks so we stick on DST all year recently, and I'm all in favour of it- an extra hour of daylight in the evening sounds like a much better deal than an extra hour in the morning when I'm likely to be asleep anyway.
Still, at least it's not raining.
Job News: No, not mine (which still pottering on reasonably happily). Around the time of our mini-holiday I mentioned in my last post Cat decided that she was dreading having to go back to work so much that the first thing she was going to do was resign, and after a couple of weeks of throwing CVs around and hoping she'd find something before she started getting very short of money, she landed a job as a trainee bartender at Raoul's, which for those who don't know is not only one of our favourite drinking holes, but also a place with a national reputation for really knowing their drinks.
It's a bit of a departure for her from retail work, but she's loving it- everyone there is really passionate about making the finest cocktails known to mankind- if you ever want to loose some time there, just ask one of the barmen about any spirit or cocktail and they'll be able to talk about it for hours. Not only that, but the earliest she has to get into work is midday and the flexible working hours mean that we can actually go out on Friday (or any other night) without her having to get up the next day. I think the biggest downside for her at the moment is the daunting task of having to learn how to make all the cocktails (well over 100 on the current list, and there are a lot of off-list drinks she has to know too), all to a *very* exacting standard, but she's enjoying that too- it's far more interesting brain-work than standing behind a counter in a shop that doesn't seem to get any support from the company management.
All in all, things seem to be going well, and I get a highly trained cocktail barperson for a girlfriend- result!
Thassit for now, teatime, I think.