Still here
It's been pointed out to me that I don't update my LJ as often as I used to. This is mainly because I have less spare time, particularly with my increased travel time to work - roughly speaking, I'm out of the flat for 12 hours a day (assuming I go straight to/from the office). Anyway, a quick round-up of what else I've been doing over the past week or so.
Saturday: Went off to a 1 year old's birthday party. I'm sure I've attended at least one of those before, but I don't remember it, so it was a nice change of pace, as well as being a good opportunity to catch up with some friends that I haven't seen for a while.
Tuesday: St John Ambulance. This is a regular training session which I attend each week, and this week we did AED machines (the boxes you get in stations to help jump-start someone's heart). It's not quite as action-packed as the paddles you see in films ("Clear!" KAZAAM) but it's certainly a useful skill to have.
Wednesday: Cinema trip. This is also turning out to be quite a regular event, thanks to the "Orange Wednesdays" 2-for-1 offer. This week I saw "Team America", which was ok, although not as good as the "South Park" movie. It didn't offend me or anything, but it only made me smile rather than laugh, so it didn't pass my litmus test for comedy. Other films I've seen recently are "Lemony Snicket's..." (pleasantly quirky), "Phantom of the Opera" (the story dragged a bit, but I was humming the tunes the following day), and "National Treasure" (a lot of fun, if you can accept that it's fiction, and therefore not historically accurate).
Thursday: The BCS/IEE Turing Lecture. That was very interesting, and it was a great opportunity to hear Fred Brooks speak, since I bought (and read!) his "Mythical Man Month" book about 8 years ago. Next year they've got Grady Booch (one of the inventors of UML) giving the talk, so they're impressing me with the big names. The dinner afterwards was good too - more vegetables than I would normally eat, but very filling. And the balcony has an amazing view over the Thames - you can see St Paul's Cathedral, the Canary Wharf tower, the gherkin, the London Eye, and the Houses of Parliament, .
Friday: I went to a pantomime, on SJA duty. I'm still only an observer at the moment, until my CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check goes through, but it's good to get the experience and help out.
Looking ahead, I'm taking Monday off work for my MSc graduation ceremony. And then I'm off to France on Thursday for the annual company ski trip, so I'll be trying out snowboarding again.
Saturday: Went off to a 1 year old's birthday party. I'm sure I've attended at least one of those before, but I don't remember it, so it was a nice change of pace, as well as being a good opportunity to catch up with some friends that I haven't seen for a while.
Tuesday: St John Ambulance. This is a regular training session which I attend each week, and this week we did AED machines (the boxes you get in stations to help jump-start someone's heart). It's not quite as action-packed as the paddles you see in films ("Clear!" KAZAAM) but it's certainly a useful skill to have.
Wednesday: Cinema trip. This is also turning out to be quite a regular event, thanks to the "Orange Wednesdays" 2-for-1 offer. This week I saw "Team America", which was ok, although not as good as the "South Park" movie. It didn't offend me or anything, but it only made me smile rather than laugh, so it didn't pass my litmus test for comedy. Other films I've seen recently are "Lemony Snicket's..." (pleasantly quirky), "Phantom of the Opera" (the story dragged a bit, but I was humming the tunes the following day), and "National Treasure" (a lot of fun, if you can accept that it's fiction, and therefore not historically accurate).
Thursday: The BCS/IEE Turing Lecture. That was very interesting, and it was a great opportunity to hear Fred Brooks speak, since I bought (and read!) his "Mythical Man Month" book about 8 years ago. Next year they've got Grady Booch (one of the inventors of UML) giving the talk, so they're impressing me with the big names. The dinner afterwards was good too - more vegetables than I would normally eat, but very filling. And the balcony has an amazing view over the Thames - you can see St Paul's Cathedral, the Canary Wharf tower, the gherkin, the London Eye, and the Houses of Parliament, .
Friday: I went to a pantomime, on SJA duty. I'm still only an observer at the moment, until my CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check goes through, but it's good to get the experience and help out.
Looking ahead, I'm taking Monday off work for my MSc graduation ceremony. And then I'm off to France on Thursday for the annual company ski trip, so I'll be trying out snowboarding again.