Another week passes me by. Work is very busy, but very interesting actually as I am working on a large piece of work that is complex, confusing, urgent and multi-facetted (how many different ways can I find to say its a stonker), and actually rather a lot of fun as a result.
The only fly in the ointment is my day job, which is slipping as a result, and for which I am getting a bit of heat. Oh well, never mind.
Home is good. I am working on a couple of new original mixes which are fun. We have a lot of football at the weekend, and I have a list of DIY chores that is growing daily.
Happy days.
I hope you have a great weekend, speak next week.
Friday, 20 November 2015
Looking forward . . .
. . . to the weekend.
. . . to starting my new job, probably in February.
. . . to going out with a flourish at Starfleet.
Yes, dear reader, I handed my notice in on Monday, first a call to my Manager, let's call him Mr Angry, followed up by a letter. So far nothing from Mr A, but that may not be such a surprise for two reasons:
I have also started to tell my work colleagues, who have, pretty much unanimously, been very supportive and congratulatory.
I am now wanting to keep my end up at Starfleet whilst also keeping one eye on my new role, doing all I can to prepare for it, so hoping to get hold of lots of reading material.
On the home front, we have a lads' weekend, since LO is away for 3 nights meeting her friend from Cornwall half way, in Bristol. It will be 3 days of retail therapy and three nights of cocktails for her I suspect.
For us lads, it will be relaxing, going to get Maggot 1's bike, a Christmas present that is obviously not such a surprise, and doing the usual sporting endeavours in between.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
. . . to starting my new job, probably in February.
. . . to going out with a flourish at Starfleet.
Yes, dear reader, I handed my notice in on Monday, first a call to my Manager, let's call him Mr Angry, followed up by a letter. So far nothing from Mr A, but that may not be such a surprise for two reasons:
- He is very busy
- He did not seem to take it very well.
I have also started to tell my work colleagues, who have, pretty much unanimously, been very supportive and congratulatory.
I am now wanting to keep my end up at Starfleet whilst also keeping one eye on my new role, doing all I can to prepare for it, so hoping to get hold of lots of reading material.
On the home front, we have a lads' weekend, since LO is away for 3 nights meeting her friend from Cornwall half way, in Bristol. It will be 3 days of retail therapy and three nights of cocktails for her I suspect.
For us lads, it will be relaxing, going to get Maggot 1's bike, a Christmas present that is obviously not such a surprise, and doing the usual sporting endeavours in between.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Thursday, 12 November 2015
Nearly time to relax
I finally have my formal job offer from Nnn. Now it really is "pi$$ or get off the pot" time.
The delay between the elation of verbally being offered it, and this formal step, has caused me to start asking myself some long hard questions. This is the fluttering of a cautious man's heart rather than any fundamental issues. Distilling it all down, it is really the fact that I do want a new challenge, but I am concerned what it is going to do to my home life, for my work/life balance, and the knock-on effect on the rest of the family.
In truth, I want change, and any change, even within Starfleet, is likely to disrupt this some. However, sometimes our childcare challenges are on a knife edge. Maggot 2 was ill, again, this week, and how would we manage looking after him if my new role requires me to be elsewhere, and I need to be in the office coz I am the new boy, and I also have less "in the bank" with my team and manager to do the "dodgy stuff" like that?
The delay between the elation of verbally being offered it, and this formal step, has caused me to start asking myself some long hard questions. This is the fluttering of a cautious man's heart rather than any fundamental issues. Distilling it all down, it is really the fact that I do want a new challenge, but I am concerned what it is going to do to my home life, for my work/life balance, and the knock-on effect on the rest of the family.
In truth, I want change, and any change, even within Starfleet, is likely to disrupt this some. However, sometimes our childcare challenges are on a knife edge. Maggot 2 was ill, again, this week, and how would we manage looking after him if my new role requires me to be elsewhere, and I need to be in the office coz I am the new boy, and I also have less "in the bank" with my team and manager to do the "dodgy stuff" like that?
Friday, 6 November 2015
And . . . relax
Another week over. Potential new job not yet sent out a formal offer, so I am in a holding pattern waiting for it to come through. In the meantime, there has been an internal article on NN painting it not in the best of lights, which, I have to say, put the willies up me slightly. I have since had a chat with an ex colleague who works at NN, to find out what it is really like, and he was able to confirm that it is a "nicer" place, that it is not so different from Starfleet, and that the work/life balance challenge is probably about the same there as here.
So not totally one thing or another really. I also touched on job security, and again, NN is not so different to Starfleet, with routine announcements of job cuts happening alongside recruitment drives. In truth, this is about (to quote a rather hideous phrase presumably thought up in the HR dungeons) "de-layering", or to be less euphemistic, getting rid of the commoditised roles and dead wood, and adding to the fine young men and women further up the tree. So, not sure that I am really any further forward in my overall assessment except that, there as here, the trick is to be climbing up the slippery pole quicker than the redundancy water is rising.
At home, we have the cup final on Sunday. The team have not had training for a week and a half, so very much need it tomorrow, in readiness for the game, which is midday on Sunday. Weather permitting, should be fun.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
So not totally one thing or another really. I also touched on job security, and again, NN is not so different to Starfleet, with routine announcements of job cuts happening alongside recruitment drives. In truth, this is about (to quote a rather hideous phrase presumably thought up in the HR dungeons) "de-layering", or to be less euphemistic, getting rid of the commoditised roles and dead wood, and adding to the fine young men and women further up the tree. So, not sure that I am really any further forward in my overall assessment except that, there as here, the trick is to be climbing up the slippery pole quicker than the redundancy water is rising.
At home, we have the cup final on Sunday. The team have not had training for a week and a half, so very much need it tomorrow, in readiness for the game, which is midday on Sunday. Weather permitting, should be fun.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Friday, 30 October 2015
Saving money
I have just rung my broadband provider, since they have put my bill up mid-contract, and the rules dictate that this allows me to cancel if I am not happy. Today, therefore, I rang to "cancel". I would have done it actually, since another provider can do a better deal, however the nice lady on the phone was in a benevolent mood and she was able to give me a sizeable discount on my current bill to stay with them, this one including free* calls to mobiles too, which will contain our costs nicely.
Sorted.
We are also "saving it large" (as I think the young people like to say on the corners of the streets on which they like to meet to sing songs and swap football cards) with our new Sparks card. Oh yes, we know how to live.
We have a fab day in London on Wednesday, meeting up with Brad and Angelina. We went up the eye, ate food and visited the market at Covent Garden, stopping only to watch a very entertaining magician.
=======================================
* I know, there is nothing for free in this world.
Sorted.
We are also "saving it large" (as I think the young people like to say on the corners of the streets on which they like to meet to sing songs and swap football cards) with our new Sparks card. Oh yes, we know how to live.
We have a fab day in London on Wednesday, meeting up with Brad and Angelina. We went up the eye, ate food and visited the market at Covent Garden, stopping only to watch a very entertaining magician.
=======================================
* I know, there is nothing for free in this world.
Friday, 23 October 2015
And . . . definitely time to relax
Another busy week at work. We are due a big decision next week about my day job, not for me personally, but for the team, and I guess for Starfleet. Will they, won't they?
On a personal-business level, I have only been and gone and done it. I have verbally accepted an offer, which needs to be put in writing both ways before I can raise it with my manager, a process that I am, quite naturally I think, itching to start. Then there will be the mandatory three months of notice to work, for which I have decided that, to quote an old cliche, as life is handing me some lemons, I plan to make lemonade, so my approach is going to be to go out with a bang (you never know what I might need in the future), and spend this time as three months of concerted and diverse personal education. It will be tough; there will be tears, but it will be worth it.
I should therefore hopefully be starting at NeverNever early February.
After a hectic month or two, I have also decided to try stay off the beer until Christmas. I could do with a break, and goodness knows I could do with the calorie reduction to kick start my weight loss campaign (which, not to tell tales, was meant to start when I got back from holiday in the Summer). Time will tell quite how successful I have been, but I would like to try. We all love a trier.
I now start nine days away work, having all next week off. There is no sport this weekend for the Maggots, so it is likely to be off to the car showrooms to start planning for a car purchase, for what will be the first car I have ever actually owned. I know, fifty-one, and never owned a car. All rather exciting, but also rather nerve-racking, since I now not only need to do water for the washers, oil if I remember and that diesel thing, I will now have to contend with tax, insurance and servicing. I am looking at it as all part of the growing process. Others have been less kind.
I hope you have a good weekend, and speak next week.
On a personal-business level, I have only been and gone and done it. I have verbally accepted an offer, which needs to be put in writing both ways before I can raise it with my manager, a process that I am, quite naturally I think, itching to start. Then there will be the mandatory three months of notice to work, for which I have decided that, to quote an old cliche, as life is handing me some lemons, I plan to make lemonade, so my approach is going to be to go out with a bang (you never know what I might need in the future), and spend this time as three months of concerted and diverse personal education. It will be tough; there will be tears, but it will be worth it.
I should therefore hopefully be starting at NeverNever early February.
After a hectic month or two, I have also decided to try stay off the beer until Christmas. I could do with a break, and goodness knows I could do with the calorie reduction to kick start my weight loss campaign (which, not to tell tales, was meant to start when I got back from holiday in the Summer). Time will tell quite how successful I have been, but I would like to try. We all love a trier.
I now start nine days away work, having all next week off. There is no sport this weekend for the Maggots, so it is likely to be off to the car showrooms to start planning for a car purchase, for what will be the first car I have ever actually owned. I know, fifty-one, and never owned a car. All rather exciting, but also rather nerve-racking, since I now not only need to do water for the washers, oil if I remember and that diesel thing, I will now have to contend with tax, insurance and servicing. I am looking at it as all part of the growing process. Others have been less kind.
I hope you have a good weekend, and speak next week.
Friday, 16 October 2015
And . . . relax
Fairly busy week. Second interview on Tuesday. Was not sure how well it went overall; he did a lot of talking, which saves me having to do it, but the little he did ask of me, I was not sure that I actually gave the best of answers to his questions. I have learnt that such a reaction to an interview can be either really good, or really bad. In this case, it was really good, because the HR person, who I met after my interview and seemed like a very nice chap, rang me the next day to make me an offer.
This offer was not what it needed to be, so I made a counter-offer, and I am just waiting for him to come back to me. I probably need to consider my BATNA too.
At home, we have our usual sport-filled weekend, but with a meal at ours for our friends Saturday night, which should be great fun. Sammy has a cup game Sunday, which I rather enjoy, so other than having to get up too early, that will also be fun.
Have a great weekend, speak next week.
This offer was not what it needed to be, so I made a counter-offer, and I am just waiting for him to come back to me. I probably need to consider my BATNA too.
At home, we have our usual sport-filled weekend, but with a meal at ours for our friends Saturday night, which should be great fun. Sammy has a cup game Sunday, which I rather enjoy, so other than having to get up too early, that will also be fun.
Have a great weekend, speak next week.
Friday, 9 October 2015
And . . . relax
Work has been fairly steady. As I said previously, I have just migrated to Starfleet's new web-based email system, which is meant to "reinvent the inbox", and I have to say that, for me, it really has. I am liking it very much and continuing to be more organised and have less stuff queued up in my inbox.
I am also having a second interview for an external role. The first interview was by phone, and it went very well I thought, and I think the other side must have thought something similar to call me back to a face-to-face second interview, where I need to take all manner of documentation and proofs (hmm, is that a word?) of identify, which may be standard practice, but certainly feels encouraging.
The question will be whether I actually want the role. All I can say is that my gut feeling so far is good, and that the prospect of leaving my current employer after 13 years of service (17 with my TUPE entitlement) does not fill me with any fear, in fact it rather excites me, so if you should go on such things, all is positive. The real sticking point may well be the spondoolicks. Can they make it financially appealing enough to entice me out of my slippers? Time will tell.
On the home front, we celebrate Maggot 2's tenth birthday. This is some achievement, not for him, but rather for us putting up with him. Only joking*, he has been a pleasure to get to know, and his drive to independence and self-reliance is ahead of schedule in some areas (he acts like he is twenty), and perhaps a little behind in others (he is a lazy tike who likes to be waited on and to have as many strokes as we are prepared to give him), but I guess it is all our fault, and he has a few years yet to iron out the wrinkles.
We have a family party tonight, having had the friend party last week (four hours of football, FIFA15 and climbing our trees), and the rest of the weekend is the usual sport-packed two days, with an evening and David and Samantha's on Saturday, which is well overdue and much looked forward to.
I hope you have a fantastic weekend. Speak next week. Probably.
==========================
* as I have often said, never let the truth stand in the way of a good story
I am also having a second interview for an external role. The first interview was by phone, and it went very well I thought, and I think the other side must have thought something similar to call me back to a face-to-face second interview, where I need to take all manner of documentation and proofs (hmm, is that a word?) of identify, which may be standard practice, but certainly feels encouraging.
The question will be whether I actually want the role. All I can say is that my gut feeling so far is good, and that the prospect of leaving my current employer after 13 years of service (17 with my TUPE entitlement) does not fill me with any fear, in fact it rather excites me, so if you should go on such things, all is positive. The real sticking point may well be the spondoolicks. Can they make it financially appealing enough to entice me out of my slippers? Time will tell.
On the home front, we celebrate Maggot 2's tenth birthday. This is some achievement, not for him, but rather for us putting up with him. Only joking*, he has been a pleasure to get to know, and his drive to independence and self-reliance is ahead of schedule in some areas (he acts like he is twenty), and perhaps a little behind in others (he is a lazy tike who likes to be waited on and to have as many strokes as we are prepared to give him), but I guess it is all our fault, and he has a few years yet to iron out the wrinkles.
We have a family party tonight, having had the friend party last week (four hours of football, FIFA15 and climbing our trees), and the rest of the weekend is the usual sport-packed two days, with an evening and David and Samantha's on Saturday, which is well overdue and much looked forward to.
I hope you have a fantastic weekend. Speak next week. Probably.
==========================
* as I have often said, never let the truth stand in the way of a good story
Friday, 25 September 2015
And . . . relax
Another week over. Not that much to report. I have a new email system. Not such astounding news I hear you cry, and you are right, and wrong. This is "email reinvented", and it really is changing the way I work, for the better. I am basically aiming for "inbox zero", and am using the various workflow and task management features to achieve this. It is bizarre, but I am really enjoying using it to manage my work.
At home, we are wresting with a much more serious problem, that we are invited out on Saturday night, when ENGLAND PLAY WALES IN THE WORLD CUP. Do people not know there is rugby on.
I think I am going to start to rub down the woodwork in the utility room in preparation for glossing. That will start in the afternoon, with the mornings taken up with the usual sporting obligations, with the addition of drumming lessons for Maggot 1. LO is also away for a few hours, visiting the site that will host her school's Year 6 away-day trip, so it will just be us lads until mid-afternoon.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
At home, we are wresting with a much more serious problem, that we are invited out on Saturday night, when ENGLAND PLAY WALES IN THE WORLD CUP. Do people not know there is rugby on.
I think I am going to start to rub down the woodwork in the utility room in preparation for glossing. That will start in the afternoon, with the mornings taken up with the usual sporting obligations, with the addition of drumming lessons for Maggot 1. LO is also away for a few hours, visiting the site that will host her school's Year 6 away-day trip, so it will just be us lads until mid-afternoon.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Monday, 21 September 2015
Better late then never
I just plain forgot. To blog, that is. It may be seen is a sign. Or it may just be something else altogether.
We had a good weekend. Maggot 2's team won 4-2 against a local team who, in the closed season, beat us 4-0, so it was with some satisfaction that the final whistle blew. And when it did blow, I got a further small insight in to the machinations of junior football. The ref was provided, as is standard protocol, by the home team, and he managed to make 3 minutes at the end of the match last for 9 minutes, presumably in the hope his team could close the gap. Our dads, certainly those who have been on the scene for a while, were very vocal, since apparently this particular ref has defied the space-time continuum in the past. Anyway, we won, after a shaky start, and the victory was very much enjoyed by all. The opposition team, according to Maggot 2, were not so sporting during the post-match handshakes, employing all sorts of "intimidating" actions, such as sqeezing hard, banging shoulders, and for three of the team, crying a lot. It is going to be a long season.
Otherwise, we did not do much. We had A&E over for dinner Saturday night, and as is often the case with our sociable friends, we perhaps over-indulged in the social juice, so Sunday was, after football, a bit of a washout.
I did manage to watch some rugby over the weekend, and now am definitely a Japan supporter. What a magnificent game. With time over at the end of the match, and a penalty awarded to Japan, they could have kicked, and drawn the game, but oh no, they chose to scrum, twice I think, before then ran in a try to win the game. Such audacity, such sound belief in their abilities, and a great never-say-die attitude. Can't wait to see more of that. It is going to be a long, but very enjoyable, six weeks.
I hope you had a good weekend, and have a great week.
We had a good weekend. Maggot 2's team won 4-2 against a local team who, in the closed season, beat us 4-0, so it was with some satisfaction that the final whistle blew. And when it did blow, I got a further small insight in to the machinations of junior football. The ref was provided, as is standard protocol, by the home team, and he managed to make 3 minutes at the end of the match last for 9 minutes, presumably in the hope his team could close the gap. Our dads, certainly those who have been on the scene for a while, were very vocal, since apparently this particular ref has defied the space-time continuum in the past. Anyway, we won, after a shaky start, and the victory was very much enjoyed by all. The opposition team, according to Maggot 2, were not so sporting during the post-match handshakes, employing all sorts of "intimidating" actions, such as sqeezing hard, banging shoulders, and for three of the team, crying a lot. It is going to be a long season.
Otherwise, we did not do much. We had A&E over for dinner Saturday night, and as is often the case with our sociable friends, we perhaps over-indulged in the social juice, so Sunday was, after football, a bit of a washout.
I did manage to watch some rugby over the weekend, and now am definitely a Japan supporter. What a magnificent game. With time over at the end of the match, and a penalty awarded to Japan, they could have kicked, and drawn the game, but oh no, they chose to scrum, twice I think, before then ran in a try to win the game. Such audacity, such sound belief in their abilities, and a great never-say-die attitude. Can't wait to see more of that. It is going to be a long, but very enjoyable, six weeks.
I hope you had a good weekend, and have a great week.
Friday, 11 September 2015
The sun is still shining . . .
I am very much enjoying what is probably now officially Autumn sunshine. I suspect it will not last, so all we can do is enjoy it while it does.
On the work front, nearly all my team are back from holiday, so that means that we are at the start of getting back in control of our group's workstack. There is always a bit of a lag while the bronzed returners pickup their work and make progress, but we are getting there.
My potential new job seems to be fading in to the sunset. Or so I thought. It started with a conversation with my manager, a person who does not really manage me*, suggested that these are "tough times" and he would resist any departures from his area. It ended with me having a chat with "my new boss", and he was a bit more chipper on the whole subject. I learnt from other sources that one of my colleagues, someone who I worked with when I first started my role, someone who works in the same office area as "my new boss" and knows him well. It seems she may have been offered one of the roles, which makes sense since she is more of a known entity. I happen to know she is caught up in the same "no departures" issue.
Knowing she has been offered a role gives me hope, that there is something tangible out there, and also slightly concerns me, someone else already has the role I want. As always, things move mysteriously as well as slowly, and if I have learnt anything, and the jury may well be out on that, it is that you cannot force the rhythm of someone else's process, least of all in a large corporation that exists in its own space-time continuum.
At home, we are trying to get used to normal life. This weekend is a fairly normal one, football, tennis, football, but with the addition of a family party for my father-in-law, who is seventy.
Maggot 2 is loving his new room. I am likely to be given my Autumn Schedule of tasks, which will include, amongst other things, replacing the silk with gloss in the utility room, which equates to three doors, my favourite, although one is a sliding door, and not quite worked out how I will paint the hidden bit yet. I suspect getting it off its rail is the only option, but time will tell. I will also do the skirting and two windowsills as well, just so the whole lot is done.
Anyway, that is me. Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
===================
* Google "matrix management" to get a view on what this means
On the work front, nearly all my team are back from holiday, so that means that we are at the start of getting back in control of our group's workstack. There is always a bit of a lag while the bronzed returners pickup their work and make progress, but we are getting there.
My potential new job seems to be fading in to the sunset. Or so I thought. It started with a conversation with my manager, a person who does not really manage me*, suggested that these are "tough times" and he would resist any departures from his area. It ended with me having a chat with "my new boss", and he was a bit more chipper on the whole subject. I learnt from other sources that one of my colleagues, someone who I worked with when I first started my role, someone who works in the same office area as "my new boss" and knows him well. It seems she may have been offered one of the roles, which makes sense since she is more of a known entity. I happen to know she is caught up in the same "no departures" issue.
Knowing she has been offered a role gives me hope, that there is something tangible out there, and also slightly concerns me, someone else already has the role I want. As always, things move mysteriously as well as slowly, and if I have learnt anything, and the jury may well be out on that, it is that you cannot force the rhythm of someone else's process, least of all in a large corporation that exists in its own space-time continuum.
At home, we are trying to get used to normal life. This weekend is a fairly normal one, football, tennis, football, but with the addition of a family party for my father-in-law, who is seventy.
Maggot 2 is loving his new room. I am likely to be given my Autumn Schedule of tasks, which will include, amongst other things, replacing the silk with gloss in the utility room, which equates to three doors, my favourite, although one is a sliding door, and not quite worked out how I will paint the hidden bit yet. I suspect getting it off its rail is the only option, but time will tell. I will also do the skirting and two windowsills as well, just so the whole lot is done.
Anyway, that is me. Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
===================
* Google "matrix management" to get a view on what this means
Friday, 4 September 2015
And . . . relax
I have had some fun at work, and son anti-fun. These have appeared at each end of my week, separated by a Wednesday, because as any physicist worth her salt knows, if you mix fun and anti-fun you end up in Scunthorpe.
That reminds my of the old "Acrington Stanley, who are they?" advert.
At home, we have finished decorating Maggot 2's bedroom, which is looking lovely, so lovely in fact that a smile almost broke out on Maggot 2's face, something the teen police are investigating as a potential case of excessive exposure of teenage joy.
We have a wedding this weekend, just for adults, starting with a "quiet" couple of beers and a curry tonight, and all day tomorrow from 2pm. I am even wearing a tie, which does not sit well with me, but a necessary evil to gain access to all the free drink.
Maggot 2 has football training Saturday and a "friendly" match on Sunday, against the team now named as our number one nemesis. Let's call them The Team Who Cannot be Named. We are due a win, and after last week's positive showing (by effort if not score) against the team who will likely be top, or near the top, of the league this coming season, we hope to give The Team Who Cannot be Named a right tonking.
If the weather stays fine, I may even cut the grass.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
That reminds my of the old "Acrington Stanley, who are they?" advert.
At home, we have finished decorating Maggot 2's bedroom, which is looking lovely, so lovely in fact that a smile almost broke out on Maggot 2's face, something the teen police are investigating as a potential case of excessive exposure of teenage joy.
We have a wedding this weekend, just for adults, starting with a "quiet" couple of beers and a curry tonight, and all day tomorrow from 2pm. I am even wearing a tie, which does not sit well with me, but a necessary evil to gain access to all the free drink.
Maggot 2 has football training Saturday and a "friendly" match on Sunday, against the team now named as our number one nemesis. Let's call them The Team Who Cannot be Named. We are due a win, and after last week's positive showing (by effort if not score) against the team who will likely be top, or near the top, of the league this coming season, we hope to give The Team Who Cannot be Named a right tonking.
If the weather stays fine, I may even cut the grass.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
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