So far, so good
Cripes, I'm exhausted. This working for a living is doing for me. It seems like ages since I updated - which is mostly because it is ages since I updated.
In any case, deep breath, and here goes.
A couple of weekends ago I went to Oxford, and took some photos of lovely people doing silly things; and some twigs; and some flowers. The results I will bore you with later, when I get a chance to upload them properly. It might take some time though. Company was good, camera-pr0n was good, though I was mostly shattered.
Last week was my first full week then The New Job (TNJ). It involved a two day staff conference, a trip to Colchester (via London), a snowy drive to Nottingham and a day cowering at home from the white stuff falling from the sky. The staff conference was actually good fun. The novelty teambuilding exercise involved making a video, which I enjoyed more than I thought I might. Methinks there might be something to explore there in the future. Colchester was bloody miles away. I was also not impressed by the Holiday Inn. Snowy Thursday I made the trip because of another planning day. This is where my life started to unravel.
Well, not my life as such, but the stoic, professional face I'd been wearing for days. This is the face of a person who is quiet, considered, positive, professional, reasoned, respectable and well turned out. Unfortunately it slipped off and the real me poked through. Still, they haven't terminated my employment yet...
This last weekend I did very little. I stayed up too late doing a bit of work, playing The Lord of Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-King, which has probably the longest title of any game I own. I also watched some Oz (gritty!), some Battlestar Galactica (ok-good), some Heroes (wonderful fan heaven) and Lost (too predictable). I did find time to DJ at Malediction on Saturday and spent most of Sunday being slightly dead.
Apparently I need a silly DJ name - answers on a postcard...
My setlists were:
Laibach: Jesus Christ Superstar
Feindflug: Stromtod
KiEW: DcDisk
Vigilante: Survive
Skinny Puppy: I'mmortal
Front 242: Headhunter (Front Line Assembly Mix)
Oomph!: Gott ist ein Popstar
Suicide Commando: Godsend (Deceased pt II)
XPQ-21: White and Alive (Recover)
Tactical Sekt: Awaken the Ghost (Final Awakening)
Stromkern: Perfect Sunrise
God Module: Lucid
Icon of Coil: Remove/Replace
The first set went mostly to plan, despite the fact the night was in rather conservative Birmingham. The second set started along similar ideas, but then got a little bit more traditional as people were actually there by then and wanted to dance.
Front Line Assembly: Liquid Separation
Stromkern: Stand Up (Radio Edit)
Oomph!: Augen Auf
Icon of Coil: Shelter
Solitary Experiments: Homesick
Coreline: Organised Sound
Soman: Antique
Modulate: Skullfuck
CombiChrist: Sex, Drogen und Industrial (Soman remix)
Chameleons: Swamp Thing
New Model Army: Here Comes The War
Sisters of Mercy: 1969
VNV Nation: Electronaut
The big surprises were the number of people dancing to Modulate and someone saying to me it's the first time he'd heard Here Comes The War played out. I was shellshocked.
This week I have mostly been trying to convince myself that listening to the Today programme counts as work; enjoying the Archers and watching my Cthulhu investigator be murdered by a nasty piece of work with a .45. Poor Dr Kersh. He died a noble death during what was perhaps his most stupid and suicidal plan to date.
Finally I am nearly up to date, before jetting off again at the weekend. But there is time enough for one final story.
A couple of weeks ago, while I was in Austria there were some storms. During these storms a number of roof tiles detached themselves from my roof and decided it would be warmer inside. Ignoring the glass in their way, they fell to the earth. Alas they did not carry the words of $deity, but rather they just left devastation in their wake.
Upon my return I phoned my insurance company, got their glaziers out (or rather had a survey and the work is being done tomorrow) and had a budget to sort out the roof. So, I phoned a handful of roofers. One actually picked up the phone, came out and spoke to me. £480 inc VAT he said to me, perhaps unsurprising when I said the insurance company had authorised £500. "Written quote please!" I say and off we go. No quote ever appeared, so on Monday I phoned some more roofers and arranged for them to visit tomorrow to quote (when there will be someone in to open for the glaziers - with me so far?!).
But then this evening I get a phone call - without sending a quote or arranging to do the work, the original roofers turned up first thing this morning, did the job, and presented an invoice for £480 + VAT. So tomorrow I get to call them and explain that I'm not going to pay for that work and really it would have been better if they had arranged something with me rather than turn up in the van.
Trading Standards - here I come!!!
In any case, deep breath, and here goes.
A couple of weekends ago I went to Oxford, and took some photos of lovely people doing silly things; and some twigs; and some flowers. The results I will bore you with later, when I get a chance to upload them properly. It might take some time though. Company was good, camera-pr0n was good, though I was mostly shattered.
Last week was my first full week then The New Job (TNJ). It involved a two day staff conference, a trip to Colchester (via London), a snowy drive to Nottingham and a day cowering at home from the white stuff falling from the sky. The staff conference was actually good fun. The novelty teambuilding exercise involved making a video, which I enjoyed more than I thought I might. Methinks there might be something to explore there in the future. Colchester was bloody miles away. I was also not impressed by the Holiday Inn. Snowy Thursday I made the trip because of another planning day. This is where my life started to unravel.
Well, not my life as such, but the stoic, professional face I'd been wearing for days. This is the face of a person who is quiet, considered, positive, professional, reasoned, respectable and well turned out. Unfortunately it slipped off and the real me poked through. Still, they haven't terminated my employment yet...
This last weekend I did very little. I stayed up too late doing a bit of work, playing The Lord of Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-King, which has probably the longest title of any game I own. I also watched some Oz (gritty!), some Battlestar Galactica (ok-good), some Heroes (wonderful fan heaven) and Lost (too predictable). I did find time to DJ at Malediction on Saturday and spent most of Sunday being slightly dead.
Apparently I need a silly DJ name - answers on a postcard...
My setlists were:
Laibach: Jesus Christ Superstar
Feindflug: Stromtod
KiEW: DcDisk
Vigilante: Survive
Skinny Puppy: I'mmortal
Front 242: Headhunter (Front Line Assembly Mix)
Oomph!: Gott ist ein Popstar
Suicide Commando: Godsend (Deceased pt II)
XPQ-21: White and Alive (Recover)
Tactical Sekt: Awaken the Ghost (Final Awakening)
Stromkern: Perfect Sunrise
God Module: Lucid
Icon of Coil: Remove/Replace
The first set went mostly to plan, despite the fact the night was in rather conservative Birmingham. The second set started along similar ideas, but then got a little bit more traditional as people were actually there by then and wanted to dance.
Front Line Assembly: Liquid Separation
Stromkern: Stand Up (Radio Edit)
Oomph!: Augen Auf
Icon of Coil: Shelter
Solitary Experiments: Homesick
Coreline: Organised Sound
Soman: Antique
Modulate: Skullfuck
CombiChrist: Sex, Drogen und Industrial (Soman remix)
Chameleons: Swamp Thing
New Model Army: Here Comes The War
Sisters of Mercy: 1969
VNV Nation: Electronaut
The big surprises were the number of people dancing to Modulate and someone saying to me it's the first time he'd heard Here Comes The War played out. I was shellshocked.
This week I have mostly been trying to convince myself that listening to the Today programme counts as work; enjoying the Archers and watching my Cthulhu investigator be murdered by a nasty piece of work with a .45. Poor Dr Kersh. He died a noble death during what was perhaps his most stupid and suicidal plan to date.
Finally I am nearly up to date, before jetting off again at the weekend. But there is time enough for one final story.
A couple of weeks ago, while I was in Austria there were some storms. During these storms a number of roof tiles detached themselves from my roof and decided it would be warmer inside. Ignoring the glass in their way, they fell to the earth. Alas they did not carry the words of $deity, but rather they just left devastation in their wake.
Upon my return I phoned my insurance company, got their glaziers out (or rather had a survey and the work is being done tomorrow) and had a budget to sort out the roof. So, I phoned a handful of roofers. One actually picked up the phone, came out and spoke to me. £480 inc VAT he said to me, perhaps unsurprising when I said the insurance company had authorised £500. "Written quote please!" I say and off we go. No quote ever appeared, so on Monday I phoned some more roofers and arranged for them to visit tomorrow to quote (when there will be someone in to open for the glaziers - with me so far?!).
But then this evening I get a phone call - without sending a quote or arranging to do the work, the original roofers turned up first thing this morning, did the job, and presented an invoice for £480 + VAT. So tomorrow I get to call them and explain that I'm not going to pay for that work and really it would have been better if they had arranged something with me rather than turn up in the van.
Trading Standards - here I come!!!