. . . and still only been in the office once. Planning a visit next week, to meet up with some new starters who are also ex Starfleet, and hopefully also to meet my buddy.
I have continued to educate myself. Passed the security exam, failed the managed workplace exam, and may try again if get the time. Only need to pass one major, and I did my Cloud exam successfully last week, so this is all gilding the lily, thought my buddy did mention that he had heard that the exces are considering making it a rule that we pass ALL the major exams, so maybe I do need to do it now, while I have the time.
Otherwise, not much to report. Maggot 2's team had a magnificent victory in the cup last Sunday, beating one of the best teams in the league on penalties. Our goalie has been making noises that he might not want to be a goalie any more, possibly due to the complete lack of action in the last few games when we have won with stupidly high scores. Having become the hero of the last game, I am hoping he may change his mind, especially as he is at the Brighton Academy as a keeper.
We have lunch for 21 on Sunday, as part of our social group's "monthly get togethers", and it will likely be fully of food, chat, and drink, and Sunday afternoon/evening and Monday may be pretty difficult for us all. Oh well, you are only young once, or so I seem to recall.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Friday, 19 February 2016
Another week under the belt
I am now a Spartan White Belt, and it happened by accident.
The online training I have been doing for just over a week was all leading up to me taking the core exam. This was as perplexing as the same questions at the end of each module, and I score 67% first time round, on a test where pass was 80%. With a bit more research and probably a little bit of luck, I then scored 87% second time round, and so had passed my core exam.
Next step was the to select a major - mine would be cloud of course - and with a couple of inquisitive mouse clicks, I found myself accidentally starting the exam. To be frank, I have clicked around so many sites and buttons and "go here for further information" links that I a bit punch drunk, so it was less surprising that you may first suspect that I was in the exam.
"Oh well," I thought, might as well at least have a go, to see what it is like, and where I would need to read up. Thirty minutes later and I had finished it, and with a score of eighty-something, which was a pass. So, as I said at the start, I am now accidentally a White Belt.
By way of penance, I am now wading through all the training that I only found after I had finished, which is training to prepare for this exam. It is long, but it is also useful, so I am not complaining.
On the home front, it is half-term this week, so picture caged tigers with too little to do, and you are close to the mark. We did take the Maggots to a Clip 'n' Climb" last night, and as they were the only two in their session, I decided to pay and join them. If you are not familiar, the picture below gives a sense (taken from the internet, not our actual one).
This included the "leap of faith", which on paper looked like a fairly innocuous jump from a platform a couple feet up on to a handle about a hands-breadth away.but in person it was, I don't know, two hundred feet up and requiring a fifty foot leap. Okay, so I am exaggerating, but it was one of those things that looked doable on the ground, but when I got up there, I just could not do it, and had to take the walk of shame back down again. Maggot 1 did the same, only to then do it when Maggot 2 had a successful go. I say "successful", when in fact they did not jump for the handle, just jumped off, but from my perspective, that is as near as damnit, and I take my mountaineering hard-hat off to them.
We have an Indian extravaganza on Saturday night. LO has been cooking for most of the day, and has, on casual observation, used every spice and ingredient that has ever been used to make such food.
On that note, I shall bid you farewell, and wish you a great weekend.
P.S. Had a chat with BM earlier. Great to hear from him, and to hear his news.
Friday, 12 February 2016
End of Week One
So I have come to the end of week one. So far so good.
I drove to Bracknell on Monday, getting there just after 10am, and maybe because I was a little later than a usual day, it took just over an hour. I met my boss, picked up all the required bits - phone, laptop, badge - and had a fairly good day overall getting setup to be able to connect remotely.
For the rest of the week, I have been at home wading through the induction and onboarding information. It is the usual mix of videos, speech and text that is online training, and I have to say, so far it is pretty good. One generic video about "my career in NN" is probably the best two minutes of inspirational (yes, I know, not a word that one often uses in a corporate setting) messaging I have experienced in a very long time.
I am now starting the proper education phase. They have a program of work with stages of qualification, and I am currently leading up to the White Belt phase. There is strong wish in the organisation, according to colleagues, for everyone to be white belt. This gives us a basic understanding of the NN approach and point of view about the key topics in IT, so that we all talk with one voice, and present the same message. Again, as far as online training goes, it is pretty good and I am learning stuff, rather than being distracted to file my nails or something.
I have started to get a bit restless to be honest. I would rather be driving somewhere every day and getting stuck in, but a conversation with a colleague, also ex-Starfleet and a month ahead of me, said he had had similar conversations with other recent starters, and everyone has the same feelings that they want to get stuck in and make a difference, but that the organisation, and our managers, understand and expect that we will first be tucked away, getting ourselves up to speed. The mantra is, know your company, know your business, know your role. I quite like that, and as long as my boss is happy, then I am fairly content to bide my time, and get this "basic training" out the way.
This weekend is fairly normal, though Maggot 2 is on a birthday sleepover at a friend who is also the captain of his team, so he will be off to training tomorrow with them, and then on to watch Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium as part of the birthday celebrations. It may be a match, Maggot 2 was typically vague on the matter, so I may go along anyway since I do enjoy watching them play a match. Last week the game was postponed because the manager of the other team refused to play us, and had written to the FA to say as much. It probably has something to do with the 13-1 drubbing of another Worthing team the week before, but not totally sure whether it gives the right message to the boys in either team. Hey ho, life in the junior ranks is, as I am finding, always eventful.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
I drove to Bracknell on Monday, getting there just after 10am, and maybe because I was a little later than a usual day, it took just over an hour. I met my boss, picked up all the required bits - phone, laptop, badge - and had a fairly good day overall getting setup to be able to connect remotely.
For the rest of the week, I have been at home wading through the induction and onboarding information. It is the usual mix of videos, speech and text that is online training, and I have to say, so far it is pretty good. One generic video about "my career in NN" is probably the best two minutes of inspirational (yes, I know, not a word that one often uses in a corporate setting) messaging I have experienced in a very long time.
I am now starting the proper education phase. They have a program of work with stages of qualification, and I am currently leading up to the White Belt phase. There is strong wish in the organisation, according to colleagues, for everyone to be white belt. This gives us a basic understanding of the NN approach and point of view about the key topics in IT, so that we all talk with one voice, and present the same message. Again, as far as online training goes, it is pretty good and I am learning stuff, rather than being distracted to file my nails or something.
I have started to get a bit restless to be honest. I would rather be driving somewhere every day and getting stuck in, but a conversation with a colleague, also ex-Starfleet and a month ahead of me, said he had had similar conversations with other recent starters, and everyone has the same feelings that they want to get stuck in and make a difference, but that the organisation, and our managers, understand and expect that we will first be tucked away, getting ourselves up to speed. The mantra is, know your company, know your business, know your role. I quite like that, and as long as my boss is happy, then I am fairly content to bide my time, and get this "basic training" out the way.
This weekend is fairly normal, though Maggot 2 is on a birthday sleepover at a friend who is also the captain of his team, so he will be off to training tomorrow with them, and then on to watch Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium as part of the birthday celebrations. It may be a match, Maggot 2 was typically vague on the matter, so I may go along anyway since I do enjoy watching them play a match. Last week the game was postponed because the manager of the other team refused to play us, and had written to the FA to say as much. It probably has something to do with the 13-1 drubbing of another Worthing team the week before, but not totally sure whether it gives the right message to the boys in either team. Hey ho, life in the junior ranks is, as I am finding, always eventful.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Tuesday, 9 February 2016
Day Two
I had my first day yesterday at NN Head Office. I was met by my new boss, who seems like a good egg - Welsh, ex-rugby player who now plays badminton because of his knees, so an almost doppelganger to me, an English ex-football player who now plays tennis because of his knees.
This re-birthing thing is pretty frustrating. I needed to get my photo done for a badge, and to register at the IT place for my laptop and headset. My boss was on calls, so showed me where to go and sent me on my way. Unknown to us both was that my visitor badge did not let me through any of the doors. Assuming it was a fault, he let me out of the one door needed to go down the stairs to get to reception, to get a card that worked. Of course, visitor cards are not meant to work, since we are meant to be accompanied at all times. In the end the reception woman let me through one door for my boss to meet me from the other way, except the place to meet was not fully or clearly communicated, and I was in one place while he was in another. Anyway, he did eventually find me and then he gave me his badge to get to all the places I needed to visit.
My laptop was pulled out of its box, and then needed a couple of hours to build, so I went off for some lunch, had a wander round the building to get a sense of the place, with my newly issued badge, and whilst doing this I innocently followed a person in to an area that I was not entitled to enter, and subsequently could not get out again until a nice lady let me follow her out. And she hardly knew me.
As those in my situation always chant, I cannot learn less.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I got all my logins sorted so that I could dial in from home, and I was handed the onboarding presentation with my two week schedule of stuff to read, complete, setup or otherwise interact with so that I get to know the place.
My learning curve just now is so vertical it may even be leaning back a bit. But I am loving it so far.
This re-birthing thing is pretty frustrating. I needed to get my photo done for a badge, and to register at the IT place for my laptop and headset. My boss was on calls, so showed me where to go and sent me on my way. Unknown to us both was that my visitor badge did not let me through any of the doors. Assuming it was a fault, he let me out of the one door needed to go down the stairs to get to reception, to get a card that worked. Of course, visitor cards are not meant to work, since we are meant to be accompanied at all times. In the end the reception woman let me through one door for my boss to meet me from the other way, except the place to meet was not fully or clearly communicated, and I was in one place while he was in another. Anyway, he did eventually find me and then he gave me his badge to get to all the places I needed to visit.
My laptop was pulled out of its box, and then needed a couple of hours to build, so I went off for some lunch, had a wander round the building to get a sense of the place, with my newly issued badge, and whilst doing this I innocently followed a person in to an area that I was not entitled to enter, and subsequently could not get out again until a nice lady let me follow her out. And she hardly knew me.
As those in my situation always chant, I cannot learn less.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I got all my logins sorted so that I could dial in from home, and I was handed the onboarding presentation with my two week schedule of stuff to read, complete, setup or otherwise interact with so that I get to know the place.
My learning curve just now is so vertical it may even be leaning back a bit. But I am loving it so far.
Saturday, 6 February 2016
. . . and it's goodbye from him
My final day was, as anticipated, a damp squib. I dropped off car, badge, laptop and phone SIM at Head Office, and then walked to the station for the train home. It was like being born again; no car, phone, job or anything else to do that day, going via the local suburb which is one of those "there but for the grace of god go I" type of grim places.
From this point, it is onward and upward.
Monday, I will start to plug in to my new organisation, going to Head Office to get all my acoutrements for working life. I cannot wait for it all to start. Had a nice LinkedIn email from an ex Starfleet colleague who now works at NN, telling me that both the organisation and our shared boss are excellent, which is just what I want to hear. He also said "to give him a ping when I get setup", which is nice, as much for the familiarity of the term "ping" as for the kind reaching out to a newbie.
The final few days at Starfleet were really pretty good. Relaxed (for which you can read "did not do a lot") and full of lots of nice words from various friends and colleagues. A bit like at funerals, you only really get to hear (obviously not personally in the case of the funeral, but others get to hear your amazing life) what everyone thinks after it is all over.
This weekend there is not much to be done. Today, Saturday, is the usual sport-fest for the junior male members of the Scobi clan. Tonight it is a quiet night in, a beer (for the older male member of the Scobi clan) - now that Dry January is over - and a film chosen by the Maggots.
I will update you next week with my first week at NN. Until then, have a great weekend.
From this point, it is onward and upward.
Monday, I will start to plug in to my new organisation, going to Head Office to get all my acoutrements for working life. I cannot wait for it all to start. Had a nice LinkedIn email from an ex Starfleet colleague who now works at NN, telling me that both the organisation and our shared boss are excellent, which is just what I want to hear. He also said "to give him a ping when I get setup", which is nice, as much for the familiarity of the term "ping" as for the kind reaching out to a newbie.
The final few days at Starfleet were really pretty good. Relaxed (for which you can read "did not do a lot") and full of lots of nice words from various friends and colleagues. A bit like at funerals, you only really get to hear (obviously not personally in the case of the funeral, but others get to hear your amazing life) what everyone thinks after it is all over.
This weekend there is not much to be done. Today, Saturday, is the usual sport-fest for the junior male members of the Scobi clan. Tonight it is a quiet night in, a beer (for the older male member of the Scobi clan) - now that Dry January is over - and a film chosen by the Maggots.
I will update you next week with my first week at NN. Until then, have a great weekend.
Friday, 29 January 2016
One more week to go
My work here is nearly done, and it feels good to be able to take my foot off the gas slightly. We are in that lull after the initial rush to release the proposal, but before the subsequent "how much?" fallout from the client once they have reviewed it.
We are quite looking forward to this fallout phase since it will different from what has gone before; what has gone before would be a discussion where the onus is on us to win their trust and understanding to "do the deal", so the power was more with them. This time, they really really need us, and so while they do not actually fully realise that yet, they will, and so the power in these discussions will be shifting more towards us. Rather than us turning up with our turnkey solution for doing the thing, like I think they are expecting, instead we are turning up asking them what their plans are, and what they will need for us to support such a plan. They have so far been unable to provide any detail on their approach, which means our proposal is highly assumptive based, which means it is commercially sound, but in any practical sense, not fit for purpose.
They have been a bit slow to share, and so should not be too surprised when we are unable to give them a viable response. The next month (after I have left) will therefore be a series of interactions to get the detail Starfleet require to be able to fully respond, and the longer the client plays silly buggers, the longer it will be before they have something that they are able to sign. As teacher often said, it is their time they are wasting.
At home, we have a fairly normal weekend. Sport features large, as does a likely Sunday dinner at my parents as a farewell meal, likely to include my sister and her family also. Now that my dad has the all-clear, they cannot wait to get back to Spain and away from this cold, damp weather. They fly next Thursday and we will miss them, but it will be good for their bodies and their souls to be back in to the bowling, the warm and the Mediterranean lifestyle.
I now have the plan to return my car, laptop and access badge on Friday morning at my local office, at 11am, so from around 11.15am, I will be faced with nothing more taxing that a walk to the station, a train trip home, and then the rest of the day and weekend to prepare for my first day at NN. I cannot wait.
I hope you have a great weekend, speak next week.
We are quite looking forward to this fallout phase since it will different from what has gone before; what has gone before would be a discussion where the onus is on us to win their trust and understanding to "do the deal", so the power was more with them. This time, they really really need us, and so while they do not actually fully realise that yet, they will, and so the power in these discussions will be shifting more towards us. Rather than us turning up with our turnkey solution for doing the thing, like I think they are expecting, instead we are turning up asking them what their plans are, and what they will need for us to support such a plan. They have so far been unable to provide any detail on their approach, which means our proposal is highly assumptive based, which means it is commercially sound, but in any practical sense, not fit for purpose.
They have been a bit slow to share, and so should not be too surprised when we are unable to give them a viable response. The next month (after I have left) will therefore be a series of interactions to get the detail Starfleet require to be able to fully respond, and the longer the client plays silly buggers, the longer it will be before they have something that they are able to sign. As teacher often said, it is their time they are wasting.
At home, we have a fairly normal weekend. Sport features large, as does a likely Sunday dinner at my parents as a farewell meal, likely to include my sister and her family also. Now that my dad has the all-clear, they cannot wait to get back to Spain and away from this cold, damp weather. They fly next Thursday and we will miss them, but it will be good for their bodies and their souls to be back in to the bowling, the warm and the Mediterranean lifestyle.
I now have the plan to return my car, laptop and access badge on Friday morning at my local office, at 11am, so from around 11.15am, I will be faced with nothing more taxing that a walk to the station, a train trip home, and then the rest of the day and weekend to prepare for my first day at NN. I cannot wait.
I hope you have a great weekend, speak next week.
Friday, 22 January 2016
There's something in the air
I am beginning to get excited. Earlier in the week I had a call with my new manager, planning my first week, which seems to be something like:
turn up, no earlier than 10.30am on first day, get all your stuff, then go home for rest of week to get all your induction training completed. In the meantime, within a couple of days I will get a mentor, one on an active deal, and if I understand it right, I will be bag-carrier for them by way or getting some exposure to the organisation and the processes.
Now, I am not making any grand assumptions or assertions over the differences between Starfleet and NN, though as a first impression, I am quite liking it. It is good that they do not adopt the "throw them in the deep end, and we will keep those who don't drown" approach of my incumbent, it is good that they will give me some induction, and finally, and most importantly, it is good that they will have me paired up with an experienced colleague within the week.
So, that seems to be shaping up nicely.
In my current role, I am nearing a turning point. My big deal is at a stage when the hard work has been done. We are polishing and buffing, trimming and adjusting, but all fairly controlled. I also now have someone to which I can handover the solution when I leave, which coincides with when the real negotiations will start. I plan to hand over to him early next week, and he will be in the saddle and I will be supporting as necessary. I am therefore taking a moment to catch up on reading, clearing my expenses, taking off any personal documents from my work laptop and generally getting myself in a good and clean place to sever my connections, and give up my assets.
This weekend, we are mostly doing our own thing. Football is off both days. We are also out to supper at A&E's on Saturday evening, and as I am still on a dry January, it will be an interesting evening, since E particularly likes a drink.
I hope you have a great weekend, and speak next week.
turn up, no earlier than 10.30am on first day, get all your stuff, then go home for rest of week to get all your induction training completed. In the meantime, within a couple of days I will get a mentor, one on an active deal, and if I understand it right, I will be bag-carrier for them by way or getting some exposure to the organisation and the processes.
Now, I am not making any grand assumptions or assertions over the differences between Starfleet and NN, though as a first impression, I am quite liking it. It is good that they do not adopt the "throw them in the deep end, and we will keep those who don't drown" approach of my incumbent, it is good that they will give me some induction, and finally, and most importantly, it is good that they will have me paired up with an experienced colleague within the week.
So, that seems to be shaping up nicely.
In my current role, I am nearing a turning point. My big deal is at a stage when the hard work has been done. We are polishing and buffing, trimming and adjusting, but all fairly controlled. I also now have someone to which I can handover the solution when I leave, which coincides with when the real negotiations will start. I plan to hand over to him early next week, and he will be in the saddle and I will be supporting as necessary. I am therefore taking a moment to catch up on reading, clearing my expenses, taking off any personal documents from my work laptop and generally getting myself in a good and clean place to sever my connections, and give up my assets.
This weekend, we are mostly doing our own thing. Football is off both days. We are also out to supper at A&E's on Saturday evening, and as I am still on a dry January, it will be an interesting evening, since E particularly likes a drink.
I hope you have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Friday, 15 January 2016
And . . . relax
Quick update on my week:
- Love the car still. In fact, if it is possible, love it even more
- Still dry (but may be celebrating tonight, so having 1 day off)
- Work is good fun, if hard work, but getting some great experience and now have a person to handover bid deal to, so that means I will slowly fade out over next couple of weeks
- Weekend is fairly standard: sport AM, chores (clear loft and shed, other dull bits if DIY) out in the evening. Not sure if Brad and Angelina are coming down for going out, contacting them tonight hopefully
- Dad has had his op, all is well, now they are wanting to know when they can fly, to get back to warmer weather
Friday, 8 January 2016
And . . . relax (or at least, try to relax)
We had a fantastic Christmas and New Year. Lots of family and parties and probably way too much drinking, and definitely too many mince pies. I am now on a Dry January, and very much cutting back on my food intake. Oh joy.
First week back. Starting to lose my interest in things, just at a time that things are hotter than ever. If I can get over a short-term congestion issue, hand over some of my day job to my very able deputy, then things will be a bit easier, and I will then simply be 100%, or as near as anyone can get to dedicated to a single task in the weird and wonderful world of Starfleet. In truth, aside from the need to be in the office more, and thus impacting my tight regime of late afternoon naps, it will be a fairly enjoyable task. The reason for this is that it is one large piece of work, rather than numerous (if there were such a thing as numerously numerous, I would wanting to be using it) pieces of small pieces. i.e. somewhat more like my new role will be.
It is, as said before, some good experience, since I have never been involved in something like it, so all good for the betterment of Scobi, it being the "Year of Me" this year, not in any self-aggrandising way, but more that I want to think about me in everything I do, so I am healthier, fitter, happier etc.
On the home front, the rest of the Scobi clan are slowly getting back to normal. This includes mealtimes, bedtimes, and the overall routine of normal life. Of course it sucks, but until we have some profound external influence (lottery win, say), it is all we have and we plan to make as best use of it as we can.
Finally, I should tell you about my new car. It is a Volvo XC60, something we have coveted for a long while, and so a great source of pleasure to us all that we have managed to bag one. It is a bit bigger than the X1, but still economical. It will be a great tower, and it is a great ride. It is very comfortable (now I have both automatic and cruise control), good looking and full of "boys' toys" gadgets. The include the normal such as leather, sat nav etc. but it also includes a TFT dashboard, which means that you can apply themes to the main controls (speed, revs, power, cruise control settings and the usual bits to show rear heaters etc). I am favouring the Sport mode for now, but sometimes slip to Elegance when I want a change. It also had an HDD on which we could load data files, which I think we will use when we plan a long drive, to take our stories and podcasts and all the other bits that used to go on a phone. It also has silly bits like when you go in to reverse, the nearside mirror dips down so you can see the curb.
I am very happy with the choice. The only cloud is a mental one really; to get a really good deal, we had to complete 31st December, so we have the car before the job, which feels like a risk to us. Just need to luge it through to the start of Feb, then we are on a sound footing.
I hope you have a great weekend, speak next week.
First week back. Starting to lose my interest in things, just at a time that things are hotter than ever. If I can get over a short-term congestion issue, hand over some of my day job to my very able deputy, then things will be a bit easier, and I will then simply be 100%, or as near as anyone can get to dedicated to a single task in the weird and wonderful world of Starfleet. In truth, aside from the need to be in the office more, and thus impacting my tight regime of late afternoon naps, it will be a fairly enjoyable task. The reason for this is that it is one large piece of work, rather than numerous (if there were such a thing as numerously numerous, I would wanting to be using it) pieces of small pieces. i.e. somewhat more like my new role will be.
It is, as said before, some good experience, since I have never been involved in something like it, so all good for the betterment of Scobi, it being the "Year of Me" this year, not in any self-aggrandising way, but more that I want to think about me in everything I do, so I am healthier, fitter, happier etc.
On the home front, the rest of the Scobi clan are slowly getting back to normal. This includes mealtimes, bedtimes, and the overall routine of normal life. Of course it sucks, but until we have some profound external influence (lottery win, say), it is all we have and we plan to make as best use of it as we can.
Finally, I should tell you about my new car. It is a Volvo XC60, something we have coveted for a long while, and so a great source of pleasure to us all that we have managed to bag one. It is a bit bigger than the X1, but still economical. It will be a great tower, and it is a great ride. It is very comfortable (now I have both automatic and cruise control), good looking and full of "boys' toys" gadgets. The include the normal such as leather, sat nav etc. but it also includes a TFT dashboard, which means that you can apply themes to the main controls (speed, revs, power, cruise control settings and the usual bits to show rear heaters etc). I am favouring the Sport mode for now, but sometimes slip to Elegance when I want a change. It also had an HDD on which we could load data files, which I think we will use when we plan a long drive, to take our stories and podcasts and all the other bits that used to go on a phone. It also has silly bits like when you go in to reverse, the nearside mirror dips down so you can see the curb.
I am very happy with the choice. The only cloud is a mental one really; to get a really good deal, we had to complete 31st December, so we have the car before the job, which feels like a risk to us. Just need to luge it through to the start of Feb, then we are on a sound footing.
I hope you have a great weekend, speak next week.
Saturday, 19 December 2015
And . . . relax
Work is hard. Losing interest, and people have annoyed me this week. Must be a sign.
XC60 ordered. Very excited, car of my dreams etc. Obviously cannot take the place of important stuff like family and football, but pretty close.
Got Strictly Sausage Saturday today. For those that don't know what this means, I pity you, and I am afraid that I am unable to divulge any more. Brad and Angelina, plus associated maggots, will be down too, so it should be fun.
My parents are home from Spain, looking very well, and complaining about the cold weather. Cold huh? Dad has an op lined up for mid January, and the outcome of that will determine the date they fly back. They have even contemplated a ferry-to-Bilbao-plus-one-way-car-hire option, so must be serious about getting back to the warmth, the bowling, the lazy lunches and rock bottom prices.
Got Maggot activities of football training, drumming and tennis this morning, then I may have a little nap prior to SSS, just so I am on top form. Plan to wear silly dance-inspired outfit tonight. I won't be taking any photos.
That is about it for today. Have a great weekend, speak next week.
XC60 ordered. Very excited, car of my dreams etc. Obviously cannot take the place of important stuff like family and football, but pretty close.
Got Strictly Sausage Saturday today. For those that don't know what this means, I pity you, and I am afraid that I am unable to divulge any more. Brad and Angelina, plus associated maggots, will be down too, so it should be fun.
My parents are home from Spain, looking very well, and complaining about the cold weather. Cold huh? Dad has an op lined up for mid January, and the outcome of that will determine the date they fly back. They have even contemplated a ferry-to-Bilbao-plus-one-way-car-hire option, so must be serious about getting back to the warmth, the bowling, the lazy lunches and rock bottom prices.
Got Maggot activities of football training, drumming and tennis this morning, then I may have a little nap prior to SSS, just so I am on top form. Plan to wear silly dance-inspired outfit tonight. I won't be taking any photos.
That is about it for today. Have a great weekend, speak next week.
Friday, 11 December 2015
And . . . relax
It has been a busy week. The large deal* that I am working on has been pretty intense, and doing it has meant I have been neglecting my day job. Luckily I have a good team, who have been picking up most of the slack, though I have to say that I do seem to be needed for an eye-watering amount of advice**.
I am all vetted and setup with the nn, so am ready to go. I also nearly have the car sorted out. I have a very specific car in mind, and have been shifting round the process trying to sort out how to afford it. I now believe that I have found a way. This will need to get the final approval from the boss, but if it all comes to pass then I should take possession of it by the end of this year***.
I am actually rather excited about the car, not that I am really a petrol head or anything, indeed it is going to be diesel, but mainly because it meets all my needs, and some, and it also satisfies the very exacting standards of LO, Maggot 1 and Maggot 2. The latter two of course are world experts of cars, being avid Top Gear fans. Want to know the top speed of some car I have never heard of? They are your men, or boys.
We are off to Brad and Angelina this weekend, which will be very nice. It is Angelina's birthday and we should have a dandy time. There is a bit of sport to fit in too each side.
That's about it from me. Have a great weekend, speak next week.
===========================
* I will probably be able to talk about this in a couple of weeks, without having to then kill myself
** Coz I know too much probably
*** All part of why I can afford it
I am all vetted and setup with the nn, so am ready to go. I also nearly have the car sorted out. I have a very specific car in mind, and have been shifting round the process trying to sort out how to afford it. I now believe that I have found a way. This will need to get the final approval from the boss, but if it all comes to pass then I should take possession of it by the end of this year***.
I am actually rather excited about the car, not that I am really a petrol head or anything, indeed it is going to be diesel, but mainly because it meets all my needs, and some, and it also satisfies the very exacting standards of LO, Maggot 1 and Maggot 2. The latter two of course are world experts of cars, being avid Top Gear fans. Want to know the top speed of some car I have never heard of? They are your men, or boys.
We are off to Brad and Angelina this weekend, which will be very nice. It is Angelina's birthday and we should have a dandy time. There is a bit of sport to fit in too each side.
That's about it from me. Have a great weekend, speak next week.
===========================
* I will probably be able to talk about this in a couple of weeks, without having to then kill myself
** Coz I know too much probably
*** All part of why I can afford it
Friday, 4 December 2015
And . . . relax
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.
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.
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