That is, respectively, the weather (cold) and work (busy). Really getting stuck in to my two main threads of work, and likely that one is going to encroach on the other from time to time. Keeping both humming along correctly is probably why I am paid the big bucks - if it was easy, anyone could do it.
So what has happened of note this week. Probably nothing really. The wider world is full of Trump and May, the new power-brokers of world politics. With the desire to avoid politics as much as possible, I think it is fair, and balanced, to say that we are in for some changes over the next few years. Some of it maybe I will support, some of it I will not.
We have a wine tasting evening tonight. It is at a local independant wine merchants, and I will be falling off my Dry January waggon for just tonight, since it seems to me to be a great waste to even consider spitting the wine out. I suspect, having not had a drink for twenty days now, it will go straight to my head. Should make for an interesting evening.
Otherwise, we have the usual Maggot sporting endeavours, Maggot 1 off to be assistant tennis coach and Maggot 2 to play more football. He has practice on both Tuesday and Wednesday in the week now, so his fitness should be improving, shaking off the lazy Christmas break, which itself was preceeded by a week or so of illness.
Otherwise, not much else on, which is just how I want it for this weekend.
I hope you all have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Friday, 13 January 2017
Things are hotting up
This week work has really started to pick up. I have travelled (three hour round trip) three times this week, and a number of my deals are actually going somewhere. In fact, I have even had to attend one of those "I cannot do all this" calls with various interested parties. This makes a difference from just before Christmas, and while my "get a lot of stuff done" muscles need a little working, it is good to be busy, and I now just need to ensure that I am also effective.
Our home life is extra busy as a result. This is OK, but it does mean that certain things are not getting done. Nothing life-threatening, but things like not putting out the rubbish last week, which was extra full from Christmas. Luckily, my parents, who did visit the UK over Christmas, had an empty bin, so it was a simple case of transferring the bags from our bin to theirs. Of course, when I say "simple", I mean messy and smelly and just a little bit squidgy, however the deed is done, the bin is empty (enough) and equilibrium has been re-established.
My dry January is continuing without any risk of failure, though we are at a party this Saturday. My intention is to drive and not drink, and that combination should be enough to ensure I succeed. I will probably drink G&T without the G, which should get me through the evening. It will be an interesting experience being the only sober person in the room.
On the home front, we have a football fiesta this weekend; the usual Maggot 2 practice Saturday and game Sunday, plus us three lads are off to the (soon to be) mighty Fratton Park for another dose of first class* football. Hopefully it will be third time lucky, and we win this game. It is going to be between four and six degrees, so we will be wrapping up warm, and my long johns may also get an airing, but don't tell anyone.
On that note, I would like to wish you a great weekend, and speak next week.
========================================
* ahem, FIRST class???
Our home life is extra busy as a result. This is OK, but it does mean that certain things are not getting done. Nothing life-threatening, but things like not putting out the rubbish last week, which was extra full from Christmas. Luckily, my parents, who did visit the UK over Christmas, had an empty bin, so it was a simple case of transferring the bags from our bin to theirs. Of course, when I say "simple", I mean messy and smelly and just a little bit squidgy, however the deed is done, the bin is empty (enough) and equilibrium has been re-established.
My dry January is continuing without any risk of failure, though we are at a party this Saturday. My intention is to drive and not drink, and that combination should be enough to ensure I succeed. I will probably drink G&T without the G, which should get me through the evening. It will be an interesting experience being the only sober person in the room.
On the home front, we have a football fiesta this weekend; the usual Maggot 2 practice Saturday and game Sunday, plus us three lads are off to the (soon to be) mighty Fratton Park for another dose of first class* football. Hopefully it will be third time lucky, and we win this game. It is going to be between four and six degrees, so we will be wrapping up warm, and my long johns may also get an airing, but don't tell anyone.
On that note, I would like to wish you a great weekend, and speak next week.
========================================
* ahem, FIRST class???
Friday, 6 January 2017
Well, that was fun
I am back at work, and the last few weeks are already feeling like a slightly hazy dream. Having said that, we did have a lot of fun, the Maggots really enjoyed the time off, and while we did a lot of events, we also had a couple of days to do nothing, collectively. This is an exercise that, on reflection, is very much more enjoying on reflection, than when actually in the doing. What I mean to say is that it just felt like another day when we were doing it, but looking back it was wonderful to get up when we wanted, have a massive brunch, then watch a film, taking in a bit of remixing, or just dozing, if the feeling took us. Lovely.
Oh well, no point griping, we have to pay for it all now, both financially and health-wise. I am doing another dry January, though will probably pause it half way through since we are invited to a wine tasting evening, and while I really enjoy the learning part of the event, it would be churlish of me not to mention that I am also not averse to the tasting part either.
We are also on diets, though this is as much about eating healthier, though as part of that also to eat less, both volume and calaries.
So, by the end of the month I should be practically perfect in every way. I even have a new smile, courtesy of a chain of events that started with a Christmas toffee, and ended with a trip to the dentist to replace a filling that was "painted" on one of my front incisers to replace some bad discolouration. This is actually either the second or third time the filling has been replaced, so I suspect that this new one will eventually fall off, but for now, I am beautiful* again, and my teeth are, if anything, straighter than ever**.
That is enough for now. I hope you all had a great break, and are back in the saddle, ready to either:
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
================================
* notwithstanding the raw materials at my disposal
** lest this give the wrong impression, they are not very straight, for reasons unknown, though probably due to braces not being invented when I were a lad
Oh well, no point griping, we have to pay for it all now, both financially and health-wise. I am doing another dry January, though will probably pause it half way through since we are invited to a wine tasting evening, and while I really enjoy the learning part of the event, it would be churlish of me not to mention that I am also not averse to the tasting part either.
We are also on diets, though this is as much about eating healthier, though as part of that also to eat less, both volume and calaries.
So, by the end of the month I should be practically perfect in every way. I even have a new smile, courtesy of a chain of events that started with a Christmas toffee, and ended with a trip to the dentist to replace a filling that was "painted" on one of my front incisers to replace some bad discolouration. This is actually either the second or third time the filling has been replaced, so I suspect that this new one will eventually fall off, but for now, I am beautiful* again, and my teeth are, if anything, straighter than ever**.
That is enough for now. I hope you all had a great break, and are back in the saddle, ready to either:
- find a new job
- carry on being retired
- keep on keeping on.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
================================
* notwithstanding the raw materials at my disposal
** lest this give the wrong impression, they are not very straight, for reasons unknown, though probably due to braces not being invented when I were a lad
Friday, 16 December 2016
Nine days to go
Another week over, another mince pie eaten . . .
Work has been steady as she goes, with some frantic activity followed by more sedate moments. This has allowed me to get some training done, on my chosen subject (which is Cloud, if you have not been paying attention).
We had a great weekend at Brad and Angelina's. Having become of late a G&T lover, I was able to avail myself of B&A's fairly extensive gin collection. In the words of LO, I "do not have a sophisticated palate". I think that is fair enough. Put simply, I did not like the newer brands, with their botanics and, undoubtedly, their beards and leather satchels and wotnot. Instead, I preferred the London Gin, the most ordinary of the batch. Oh well, if you like it, stick with it.
On the music front, I now have something like 8 tracks out there, in the wild. It was a productive summer for me, having so many tracks taken up for release. On Monday I had contact from a South American label, wanting to re-release a 3-track EP released last year, and asking for more tracks, so I am working on those as we speak, with a plan to send them something over the break.
It is the last day of school for the Maggots, with Maggot 1 finishing at lunchtime (and then off to play football with his mates), and Maggot 2 finishing normal time, but bringing home his best friend G, who is also the goalie in his football team. G is staying for a sleepover, and we are taking him to football tomorrow, from where his mum will collect him at the end of the game. It will be fun for them both, and he is a good lad who is a pleasure to host. Also, Maggot 2 has, for the very first time (we were able to deduce this from the loud shouting), won entry to the weekend FUT FIFA 16 championship. This is, apparently, where the creme de la creme of FIFA players meet to wage batter over forty games, starting Friday and ending Sunday, with prizes for those able to win twenty games or more. To say that Maggot 1 was, is, excited, is to say that Santa will be pretty busy over the next week. This will, undoubtedly, keep them both busy for the whole time they are awake - hopefully not too late, since they have an hour's training followed by a friendly match tomorrow morning.
Since I have next Thursday off - and with a recent management announcement that we can all take Thursday afternoon off to start our holiday early - I will probably actually look to finish on Wednesday lunchtime, so I will not blog again until the new year.
Therefore, all that remains for me to say is to wish you a Happy Christmas, a Merry New Year, and plenty of mince pies in between.
Work has been steady as she goes, with some frantic activity followed by more sedate moments. This has allowed me to get some training done, on my chosen subject (which is Cloud, if you have not been paying attention).
We had a great weekend at Brad and Angelina's. Having become of late a G&T lover, I was able to avail myself of B&A's fairly extensive gin collection. In the words of LO, I "do not have a sophisticated palate". I think that is fair enough. Put simply, I did not like the newer brands, with their botanics and, undoubtedly, their beards and leather satchels and wotnot. Instead, I preferred the London Gin, the most ordinary of the batch. Oh well, if you like it, stick with it.
On the music front, I now have something like 8 tracks out there, in the wild. It was a productive summer for me, having so many tracks taken up for release. On Monday I had contact from a South American label, wanting to re-release a 3-track EP released last year, and asking for more tracks, so I am working on those as we speak, with a plan to send them something over the break.
It is the last day of school for the Maggots, with Maggot 1 finishing at lunchtime (and then off to play football with his mates), and Maggot 2 finishing normal time, but bringing home his best friend G, who is also the goalie in his football team. G is staying for a sleepover, and we are taking him to football tomorrow, from where his mum will collect him at the end of the game. It will be fun for them both, and he is a good lad who is a pleasure to host. Also, Maggot 2 has, for the very first time (we were able to deduce this from the loud shouting), won entry to the weekend FUT FIFA 16 championship. This is, apparently, where the creme de la creme of FIFA players meet to wage batter over forty games, starting Friday and ending Sunday, with prizes for those able to win twenty games or more. To say that Maggot 1 was, is, excited, is to say that Santa will be pretty busy over the next week. This will, undoubtedly, keep them both busy for the whole time they are awake - hopefully not too late, since they have an hour's training followed by a friendly match tomorrow morning.
Since I have next Thursday off - and with a recent management announcement that we can all take Thursday afternoon off to start our holiday early - I will probably actually look to finish on Wednesday lunchtime, so I will not blog again until the new year.
Therefore, all that remains for me to say is to wish you a Happy Christmas, a Merry New Year, and plenty of mince pies in between.
Friday, 9 December 2016
Sixteen days to go
Christmas is coming folks. Many of you may not realise that, since there are hardly any adverts on the TV selling you a dream or a product.
Aside from that, life goes on at a pace. We are very much sorted for Christmas, which is nice, especially since the period leading up to the end of any term is always busy, and the one leading up to Christmas doubly so.
We are away this weekend, so we have football and tennis on Saturday, but nothing on Sunday.
We had our winter logs delivered today. They are piled up on the drive and will need moving round to the woodstore, which means I will have a very physical lunch time, me and my wheelbarrow.
Nothing else to report, so I will sign off and wish you a great weekend. Speak next week.
Aside from that, life goes on at a pace. We are very much sorted for Christmas, which is nice, especially since the period leading up to the end of any term is always busy, and the one leading up to Christmas doubly so.
We are away this weekend, so we have football and tennis on Saturday, but nothing on Sunday.
We had our winter logs delivered today. They are piled up on the drive and will need moving round to the woodstore, which means I will have a very physical lunch time, me and my wheelbarrow.
Nothing else to report, so I will sign off and wish you a great weekend. Speak next week.
Friday, 2 December 2016
Pinch, punch, first of the month
As I am writing this, two little doors on the advent calendars (for sure, there is more than one) have been opened, and the temperature is dropping like a stone. This means a bit of window scraping for most. For us, being able to park both cars on our drive means that they are partially protected from the worst of the weather, so that there is usually only the need to scrape the rear window of the rear car, and that can be done with the window heater if we have time. The big car has heated front and rear windows, something that is, without doubt, about as good as it gets this time of year.
Anyhow, enough about cars. At home, things are the same as always. LO is away tonight at her Christmas do, so us lads have packet pizzas and a quiet night in.
We have football at the weekend. Last week we had two matches, a replay on Saturday and our regular game on Sunday, against the two best teams in our league. The positive we can take from the games are that neither team are anything to fear; the negative is that we did not play our best. The first half of the Saturday game was as good as they can play, and we can in at half time 2-0. However, in the second half we reverted somewhat to the panicky kick and hope game that typifies the worst or our team performances. It is all part of the learning process, and I guess it is good for the boys to experience defeat, crushing unecessary defeat, since that will then set them up for a lifetime following the England team.
The Sunday game started poorly, and remained so.
We also went to watch Pompey play, which was a great afternoon out, but a disappointment since, once again, the team lost. There was an incident in the dressing room at half time where two of the better players got in to a fight, blood may or may not have been spilt, and neither play returned to the pitch for the second half. To be fair, their replacements did a fine job too, but we cannot help feeling that such a disruption half way through a game would not be improving the concentration of the team. It's a funny old game.
On other news, we have LO's family over tonight for a Strictly evening, sausages in baps for tea I believe.
That is all from me. Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Anyhow, enough about cars. At home, things are the same as always. LO is away tonight at her Christmas do, so us lads have packet pizzas and a quiet night in.
We have football at the weekend. Last week we had two matches, a replay on Saturday and our regular game on Sunday, against the two best teams in our league. The positive we can take from the games are that neither team are anything to fear; the negative is that we did not play our best. The first half of the Saturday game was as good as they can play, and we can in at half time 2-0. However, in the second half we reverted somewhat to the panicky kick and hope game that typifies the worst or our team performances. It is all part of the learning process, and I guess it is good for the boys to experience defeat, crushing unecessary defeat, since that will then set them up for a lifetime following the England team.
The Sunday game started poorly, and remained so.
We also went to watch Pompey play, which was a great afternoon out, but a disappointment since, once again, the team lost. There was an incident in the dressing room at half time where two of the better players got in to a fight, blood may or may not have been spilt, and neither play returned to the pitch for the second half. To be fair, their replacements did a fine job too, but we cannot help feeling that such a disruption half way through a game would not be improving the concentration of the team. It's a funny old game.
On other news, we have LO's family over tonight for a Strictly evening, sausages in baps for tea I believe.
That is all from me. Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Friday, 25 November 2016
A secure week
I cannot go in to too much detail, but as inferred in the title, security has been the main flavour this week. To be precise, or as precise as it is wise to be, I have been under an assessment regime for the last three months, the culmination of which was, on Tuesday, notification that I am a secure chap. Such an assertion is far from a formality, and I have had to go through several levels of assessment to reach this point, but reach it I have, and happy I am.
This means in practice two important things:
Us lads have a fairly fun weekend. Last Sunday's cancelled match for Maggot 2 has been rearranged for Saturday, against the best team in the league, and on Sunday he has another match against one of the top teams in the league. It will therefore be a testing time for the boys, who are definitely capable of winning both games, but likewise are also capable of losing both games - it is all in the mind, so will depend on which team turns up to play.
In between those two games, we are also off to see Pompey play at home, something to which I for one am very much looking forward. We will train it down, and the Maggots will get the promised burger off a van, and I will hopefully get myself a Pompey beanie hat.
Otherwise, we will not be doing too much. I really need to spend a bit of time clearing leaves from the garden. The wind last night has kindly made a couple of neat piles of leaves, and it would be a waste of mother nature's help not to get them bagged up before she changes her mind, and redistributes them all over the garden again.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
This means in practice two important things:
- I can now work on more confidential matters, thus opening up more opportunity
- I have a qualification that is fairly rare, and its rareness will, I hope, afford a small level of job security as we move towards the next phase of nn, a company which lives, like all others, in an ever changing world.
Us lads have a fairly fun weekend. Last Sunday's cancelled match for Maggot 2 has been rearranged for Saturday, against the best team in the league, and on Sunday he has another match against one of the top teams in the league. It will therefore be a testing time for the boys, who are definitely capable of winning both games, but likewise are also capable of losing both games - it is all in the mind, so will depend on which team turns up to play.
In between those two games, we are also off to see Pompey play at home, something to which I for one am very much looking forward. We will train it down, and the Maggots will get the promised burger off a van, and I will hopefully get myself a Pompey beanie hat.
Otherwise, we will not be doing too much. I really need to spend a bit of time clearing leaves from the garden. The wind last night has kindly made a couple of neat piles of leaves, and it would be a waste of mother nature's help not to get them bagged up before she changes her mind, and redistributes them all over the garden again.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Friday, 18 November 2016
I'm not a celebrity, and I am happy in here
Had a good week at work. More work coming my way, also got some clearance approved which makes me more valuable to the business, and will open up some new opportunities.
At home, we have had a steady week, which means moments of frantic busyness followed by moments of calm.
This weekend we have the usual football, and we have David and Samantha coming over to us Saturday night, which will be fun. In actual fact, the arrangements have changed and now we are going over to their house for the evening. Either way it will be fun.
Talking of football, we enjoyed the England vs Spain friendly (so called, though it had more yellow cards than your average competitive international), sullied only by their late equaliser. Being a "glass half full" kind of chap, I am happy to take the positives from the game - we played well, with purpose and with a fair amount of attacking threat and flair. I was also pleased for the boy Vardy who has exorcised his demons by ending a goal drought.
Nearer to home, and following a terrible game twelve days ago, the match last Sunday was very much better. The coach took them aside to the changing rooms for a long discussion at the start of training on Saturday, to spread the message that there was to be only short and tidy passing, no panicky hoofing of the ball, even from goal kicks. If they were to lose playing like that, then he would not shout at them, he would only shout if they kicked it long in a panic (though if that was a perfect ball to one of their own, the complaints may have been much quieter). He also talked about not having any fear of failure - something we thought was maybe creeping in to the team's psyche - and the results were astounding. They played a fantastic match, winning 3-2 against a team who, having heard about the score from the previous week, really expected to beat us easily. It was therefore very satisfying that we dominated the game. The cherry on the icing on the case, for me, was that Maggot 2 scored his first header in open play. A beautiful move sent our striker, and fastest forward player, down the wing, where he whipped in a perfect cross from the right, which Maggot 2 met with a perfect glancing header inside the left hand post. Nice.
I wish you a fantastic weekend, and speak again next week.
At home, we have had a steady week, which means moments of frantic busyness followed by moments of calm.
This weekend we have the usual football, and we have David and Samantha coming over to us Saturday night, which will be fun. In actual fact, the arrangements have changed and now we are going over to their house for the evening. Either way it will be fun.
Talking of football, we enjoyed the England vs Spain friendly (so called, though it had more yellow cards than your average competitive international), sullied only by their late equaliser. Being a "glass half full" kind of chap, I am happy to take the positives from the game - we played well, with purpose and with a fair amount of attacking threat and flair. I was also pleased for the boy Vardy who has exorcised his demons by ending a goal drought.
Nearer to home, and following a terrible game twelve days ago, the match last Sunday was very much better. The coach took them aside to the changing rooms for a long discussion at the start of training on Saturday, to spread the message that there was to be only short and tidy passing, no panicky hoofing of the ball, even from goal kicks. If they were to lose playing like that, then he would not shout at them, he would only shout if they kicked it long in a panic (though if that was a perfect ball to one of their own, the complaints may have been much quieter). He also talked about not having any fear of failure - something we thought was maybe creeping in to the team's psyche - and the results were astounding. They played a fantastic match, winning 3-2 against a team who, having heard about the score from the previous week, really expected to beat us easily. It was therefore very satisfying that we dominated the game. The cherry on the icing on the case, for me, was that Maggot 2 scored his first header in open play. A beautiful move sent our striker, and fastest forward player, down the wing, where he whipped in a perfect cross from the right, which Maggot 2 met with a perfect glancing header inside the left hand post. Nice.
I wish you a fantastic weekend, and speak again next week.
Friday, 11 November 2016
Very well thank you
Things are pretty good. The course I attended Wednesday to Friday last week is being put in to practice this week, and it is a very satisfying experience doing so. My current deal is so nicely shaped that it could easily be one of those test cases you use on such training courses. We just need to ensure that we cover the right bases with the process - ensuring it works for us, not becomes a burden - but we are in really good shape. The biggest challenge is that our client is so busy, it can be hard to get the time we need with them. This has resulted in a methodology, if that is not too grand a word, whereby we do all the legwork for them; need a session to bottom out their requirements, baselines and use cases, guess what, we are writing that ahead of time, and asking for correction of what is written, rather than giving them a blank piece of paper on which they have to try and map the same information.
Away from work, home is all working as it should. LO went away for a girls' weekend last weekend, so us lads had an equivalent lads' weekend. We went to watch Pompey play, unfortunately the worst game of the season, but fun nevertheless. So much fun in fact that we have booked to go again in a couple of weeks.
This weekend we are not doing very much. On Sunday, we planned to go for a family dinner out at a local pub, to say goodbye to Uncle No. 1, the same uncle who built our extension as it happens, who is going back to Thailand for six months. He splits his time between here and there, and was actually back in the UK to sort out some medical issues. Indeed, he was quizzed by the health police just to check that he was not getting free treatment to which he was not entitled; they were suspicious that he had been out in Thailand for too long on his previous visit. He now has a "note to self" to come back at least once a year, to avoid such issues in the future. It is fair enough that they checked, from where I am sitting, however most of the family were outraged, he having "paid his taxes for years".
That's all for now folks. Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Away from work, home is all working as it should. LO went away for a girls' weekend last weekend, so us lads had an equivalent lads' weekend. We went to watch Pompey play, unfortunately the worst game of the season, but fun nevertheless. So much fun in fact that we have booked to go again in a couple of weeks.
This weekend we are not doing very much. On Sunday, we planned to go for a family dinner out at a local pub, to say goodbye to Uncle No. 1, the same uncle who built our extension as it happens, who is going back to Thailand for six months. He splits his time between here and there, and was actually back in the UK to sort out some medical issues. Indeed, he was quizzed by the health police just to check that he was not getting free treatment to which he was not entitled; they were suspicious that he had been out in Thailand for too long on his previous visit. He now has a "note to self" to come back at least once a year, to avoid such issues in the future. It is fair enough that they checked, from where I am sitting, however most of the family were outraged, he having "paid his taxes for years".
That's all for now folks. Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Wednesday, 9 November 2016
What are the odds?
When it comes to democracy, naming a ship Boaty McBoatface should raise a smile for most, but Donald J Trump as the next President of the United States, hmm, not so sure.
At least during his nearly-an-acceptance-speach on the news this morning, he sounded statesman-like, calling for unity and wotnot. Let's hope that is the real DJT, and that he has left behind his more dubious personality characteristics as he takes on one of the, if not the, biggest political jobs in the world*.
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* My old boss used to say (and he was not the only one) that you should not write publicly anything bad about a person that you would not say to their face. That also goes for avoiding libellous content.
At least during his nearly-an-acceptance-speach on the news this morning, he sounded statesman-like, calling for unity and wotnot. Let's hope that is the real DJT, and that he has left behind his more dubious personality characteristics as he takes on one of the, if not the, biggest political jobs in the world*.
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* My old boss used to say (and he was not the only one) that you should not write publicly anything bad about a person that you would not say to their face. That also goes for avoiding libellous content.
Friday, 21 October 2016
Taking a break
Things are hotting up with my deal. We have a client meeting next week, when the new team (of which I am one) will meet the client, and we start to really refine (or in some cases define) the requirements for the deal. This may seem odd to the lay person, us having already released to them a rough order of magnitude proposal, aka a RoM, however the truth is that at nn we have a much more developed RoM process, and a different way of handling risk, than Starfleet. At Starfleet, in broad strokes, the approach was to avoid risk at all costs; they were a very risk-averse organisation. This means that a RoM can be as detailed as an open to acceptance proposal.
At nn, we embrace risk with caution and appropriate boundaries, which means that firstly that our clients are not bombared with all that we will not do, but also they are get what they want, and so do we. It also makes the RoM process a "that looks complex, call it half a million" type estimation process, rather than a "all the solutioning, but more relaxed coz it is not open to acceptance" approach of Starfleet.
It is all very interesting, and not a process I have been through fully too many times so far at nn, and with a new process introduced now also, it is harder (in that a process I did not know very well anyway has changed) and easier (a process I did not know has changed, so everyone is at broadly the same phase of understanding) for a relative newbie like me. Oh well, as the old saying goes, you cannot learn less (unless you are an American voter, it seems).
To be honest, I cannot wait, at long last, to get properly stuck in to a deal, meet the client, really start working my booty* and getting some experience and credibility under my belt.
The only issues is that I have taken next week off, since it is half term. I therefore plan to work on Wednesday, the day of the meeting, but have the rest of the week off. This is a good plan, made slightly dodgy only because on Tuesday night we are planning to attend a wine tasting evening. I suspect I shall be spitting rather than swallowing**.
We don't have any football this weekend, so will need to find useful, interesting, meaningful and "for all the family" things to do, which will be a challenge. Maggot 1 has a sleepover on Monday and Maggot 2 on Thursday, so the week will be puntuated by Maggots of various sizes invading our front room, but we don't mind, and the Maggots love it. Rather they were here, under our roof, than on a park bench in some dodgy part of town***.
We are at A&E on Saturday night for a Mexican-themed evening, complete, apparently, with sombreros and moustaches. Should be fun, and we will hopefully see a bunch of folks we have not seen for a while, including Brad and Angelina.
Have a great weekend****, and speak next week.
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* not sure that is the right term. Ed
** really? Ed
*** Yes, they really do exist, even here down south
**** Just a routine reminder for Gorse Fox that for most of us, weekends are those two days when you are not at work
At nn, we embrace risk with caution and appropriate boundaries, which means that firstly that our clients are not bombared with all that we will not do, but also they are get what they want, and so do we. It also makes the RoM process a "that looks complex, call it half a million" type estimation process, rather than a "all the solutioning, but more relaxed coz it is not open to acceptance" approach of Starfleet.
It is all very interesting, and not a process I have been through fully too many times so far at nn, and with a new process introduced now also, it is harder (in that a process I did not know very well anyway has changed) and easier (a process I did not know has changed, so everyone is at broadly the same phase of understanding) for a relative newbie like me. Oh well, as the old saying goes, you cannot learn less (unless you are an American voter, it seems).
To be honest, I cannot wait, at long last, to get properly stuck in to a deal, meet the client, really start working my booty* and getting some experience and credibility under my belt.
The only issues is that I have taken next week off, since it is half term. I therefore plan to work on Wednesday, the day of the meeting, but have the rest of the week off. This is a good plan, made slightly dodgy only because on Tuesday night we are planning to attend a wine tasting evening. I suspect I shall be spitting rather than swallowing**.
We don't have any football this weekend, so will need to find useful, interesting, meaningful and "for all the family" things to do, which will be a challenge. Maggot 1 has a sleepover on Monday and Maggot 2 on Thursday, so the week will be puntuated by Maggots of various sizes invading our front room, but we don't mind, and the Maggots love it. Rather they were here, under our roof, than on a park bench in some dodgy part of town***.
We are at A&E on Saturday night for a Mexican-themed evening, complete, apparently, with sombreros and moustaches. Should be fun, and we will hopefully see a bunch of folks we have not seen for a while, including Brad and Angelina.
Have a great weekend****, and speak next week.
=====================================
* not sure that is the right term. Ed
** really? Ed
*** Yes, they really do exist, even here down south
**** Just a routine reminder for Gorse Fox that for most of us, weekends are those two days when you are not at work
Monday, 17 October 2016
relaxing times
I am obviously so relaxed that I forgot to blog on Friday, so rather than tell you what I am going to be doing, I can tell you what I did.
Well, we had football training Saturday for Maggot 2, Maggot 1 doing his second weekend as an Assistant Tennis Coach (capitals are important, expecially for his developing CV).
On Saturday evening, David and Samantha and their two Maggotettes came over for a "holiday reunion" evening. It started with the Scobi clan, in their swimsuits, dancing to a tune that was part of our "water aerobics" routine whilst on holiday. You had to be there really. We looked at photos and had a lovely evening of food, chat, and a little drink. I was keeping it very light on the alcohol, since I am still in recovery, but I did have a couple of gin and tonics, a drink I found again whilst on holiday, and one that is just right when you want something, but not too much of it.
Sunday was a big day for Maggot 2. It was the last game in his mini-league, and a win would secure a cup. The team we were playing had, but their coach's own admission, been battered by every team in the league so far, so on paper it should have been an easy win. However, as any pundit worth their salt will tell you, football is played on grass, not on paper, and so it was that, slightly against the run of play, they were 1-0 up at half time. It was a fantastic counter-attack with their diminuative front man (he only reached the shoulders or our team) out-paced our fastest defender to slot home a nicely taken goal. To be fair, our team was not playing badly, but we were playing directly in to a strong wind that, in my view (but not those of some of my fellow parents) was the dominant factor in the game. So it was that in the second half, after a briefing from our coach along the lines of "you got yourselves in to this mess, you can get yourself out if it", they soon equalised, and then went on to win 4-1, with the wind, as already said, playing a major part in the game. We battered them, the ball rarely left their half, and their goal kicks became a chance for one of our team to have a long shot at goal, so predictably did possession fall to us, the poor keeper unable to kick it far enough with the wind against him. It was a good win, keeps our winning streak going, and gets us some more silverware. Maggot 2 also scored, which will help his confidence, which has been dipping a bit of late. He also had a very good game, working hard on and off the ball. Overall, a great result.
I hope you had a great weekend, speak Friday (if I can be bothered).
Well, we had football training Saturday for Maggot 2, Maggot 1 doing his second weekend as an Assistant Tennis Coach (capitals are important, expecially for his developing CV).
On Saturday evening, David and Samantha and their two Maggotettes came over for a "holiday reunion" evening. It started with the Scobi clan, in their swimsuits, dancing to a tune that was part of our "water aerobics" routine whilst on holiday. You had to be there really. We looked at photos and had a lovely evening of food, chat, and a little drink. I was keeping it very light on the alcohol, since I am still in recovery, but I did have a couple of gin and tonics, a drink I found again whilst on holiday, and one that is just right when you want something, but not too much of it.
Sunday was a big day for Maggot 2. It was the last game in his mini-league, and a win would secure a cup. The team we were playing had, but their coach's own admission, been battered by every team in the league so far, so on paper it should have been an easy win. However, as any pundit worth their salt will tell you, football is played on grass, not on paper, and so it was that, slightly against the run of play, they were 1-0 up at half time. It was a fantastic counter-attack with their diminuative front man (he only reached the shoulders or our team) out-paced our fastest defender to slot home a nicely taken goal. To be fair, our team was not playing badly, but we were playing directly in to a strong wind that, in my view (but not those of some of my fellow parents) was the dominant factor in the game. So it was that in the second half, after a briefing from our coach along the lines of "you got yourselves in to this mess, you can get yourself out if it", they soon equalised, and then went on to win 4-1, with the wind, as already said, playing a major part in the game. We battered them, the ball rarely left their half, and their goal kicks became a chance for one of our team to have a long shot at goal, so predictably did possession fall to us, the poor keeper unable to kick it far enough with the wind against him. It was a good win, keeps our winning streak going, and gets us some more silverware. Maggot 2 also scored, which will help his confidence, which has been dipping a bit of late. He also had a very good game, working hard on and off the ball. Overall, a great result.
I hope you had a great weekend, speak Friday (if I can be bothered).
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