Making Connections (Caution! Involves Rambling!)

Checking Phils blog I was once again struck by the connections he makes out to other blogs and sites. I decided to follow through a bunch of blog links and found myself back at two sites I had checked on the very first day that I set about blogging. They were Memoria Technica and Gaping Void. On the Gaping Void site I was drawn to an old post called 'How To Be Creative'. In the post I found point three hit home very hard.

"3. Put the hours in.

Doing anything worthwhile takes forever. 90% of what seperates successful people and failed people is time and stamina."

I know that I've said this line before to myself and others but tonight it struck me hard, almost like I'd never realised it before. If it's true (and I know that it is), where does that leave me? Because I know that time is the one currency I don't have much to spend. It's an obvious truth that greatness cannot be achieved in a lunchbreak but believing that it can gives some small comfort to me. I'll never shake off the dreams of doing something that outlasts me. Something that can impact on others that I don't know. I HAVE to believe that I can attempt stuff even on a very small scale otherwise it all looks a bit hopeless. Creativity, expression, call it whatever is good for mental health. To feel that you're making some sort of mark gives a kind of validity that helps negate the final truth that in the end it's all meaningless.

This could of course all be wine fuelled rambling. But wouldn't that make it even more valid in an uninhibited kind of way? I don't know. YOU DECIDE.

Sunny And Dull At The Same Time

Work involved a drive to Hemel for a meeting about snags. Planned site work for 3 days next week. At least that means Jacq can plan on some car usage next week. The driving was tough due to loads of traffic. Made bearable only buy air conditioning and general bantering with Stuart.

Props to Phil for ordering his iPod today with the proceeds of his brouchure design work for the Staffordshire Creative County Guide. Nice work.

More motorway chaos on the way home. A cool bath soothed and refreshed. Bit of telly. Bit of puter. Half a day tomorrow then hurrah, it's the weekend.

Hellboy

Picked up Jacq and the kids from Marys on my way home from the office. All the cousins were there running wild around the place. Apparently Jimi is working for Sony now. Wonder if his employee discount rate is any better than Andys was. That reminds to drop Andy a line. It's been ages.

Steve next door passed me a copy of Hellboy on DVD. Top quality rip version. Watched the movie late into the night. Doesn't maintain the excitement level that the trailers suggested but then what movie ever does? Not many. The Matrix maybe. Anyway, enjoyed Hellboy, good fun, cool characters.

Egghead Is Dead

I really meant to blog this last night but was up till past midnight packing away the last of the CD's into boxes. Dad phoned to tell me an old school friend had died. I wasn't suprised that I felt nothing. I haven't seen the guy for 20 years. A wasted life. I watched from quite close up as he seemed to deliberately choose a different path through our school years. We had been good friends for ages. He was really smart. Then one day on the way to school he said, "I think it's time I started having some fights". I'll always remember that phrase. Completely unnecessary. From that point he was on a slippery slope down into the abyss. Violence, thieving, glue, homelessness, chaos. I haven't given it any thought over the years but now I do, I can't see why it happened that way. Oh well. His choice. See ya Eugene.

Post-Holiday Monday Morning Office Blues

Back in the office. Phil not in (bummer). Beard not in (hurrah!). No news reported as predicted. No sign of the new laptops (was I really expecting any?). MUST try to get back into the work groove.

Tested out email text from phone into the blog. Worked OK but the post title is just a default that can be editied later. Hopefully phone blog will be useful in the future when out on site.

Suppose I should read some more emails.

MMail Message

test blog entry by phone.

The Return Of Tingy

Last night I checked out my old domain name at lowcostnames and found to my suprise that the domain was available once more! The previous arrangement between freenetname and nominet had obviously expired. So I grabbed my Switch card and signed up for a 2 year registration for just seven quid plus vat. Bargain.

This morning I uploaded a quick page of text as a statement of intent. I've not managed to grab enough time throughout the rest of today to develop a new home page yet but the thoughts have been swirling around the brain and I'm confident that a new design will form over the coming week via scribbled sketches and Photoshop dabblings.

So, watch out! Tingy's back! CLICK!

Not exactly looking forward to returning to the office tomorrow. Being away for a week feels like a long time and I always expect great changes. But of course, nothing ever does.

Just before bed tonight I told Dylan that I was going back to work in the morning. He whispered in my ear, "Will you miss me?". He has no idea how much!

...And We're Back

Back today from a week in Pembrokeshire. A great holiday which could have been even better if the weather had let us play on the beach as much as I'd hoped. Yes, the good old British summertime really did not deliver for us this time. Still, much fun was had by all. The kids got their first taste of a caravan holiday and I was reminded why I had a gut-instinct aversion to the whole idea! Maybe that's a bit unfair, but my god! I had to back out of the toliet into the hallway to get enough room to pull my kecks up! The caravan site was nice. Better than I remember them. It had a nice little indoor swimming pool which the kids loved and we made full use of. I also enjoyed the steam room. Tried the sauna but didn't like it as much.

Saundersfoot was a really nice little place with a cute harbour and beach. Tenby didn't do that much for me but was ok. Narberth was a groovy little town with lots of nice arty shops. Bought myself a sculpture of a head which I'm going to call 'Head'. Here is a picture of him. I don't know the name of the artist but the woman in the shop Jellyegg said that he is an Irish bloke who lives in Kent.

We didn't explore Pembrokeshire completely but we really liked it and definitely intend to return for another holiday in that area. Just probably in a cottage next time!

We're All Going On A...

Friday night at the start of a holiday is a nice place to be. Looking forward to being away, playing on the beach, reading the last part of Harry Potter 5 which I've been saving, taking some photographs, looking at the world around me, thinking creative thoughts, relaxing.

Got Organic Art Deluxe in post today. Cool eBay purchase. 99P plus postage. Top bargain. Boxed and shrink-wrapped. I've always wanted to have a play with it. Even though it's not exactly cutting edge anymore it was still lots of fun.

I'm enjoying the Firefox browser experience. It's very quick and efficient. I think I'm sold. Try it at http://getfirefox.com

In a meeting this afternoon, the concept of Siemens installed ADSL line for engineers who wish to would like to work at home part-time was floated and met with much agreement around the office. I've registered my interest and we'll see what happens. I won't start to nag until we've moved house.

Lots of Spidey ads on the telly tonight. Both Jacq and me saying how much we want to see it again. Roll on the DVD. Hopefully before christmas?

Loaded up the GBA with a couple of games for the holiday. Wario Ware, Pokemon Pinball and Harvest Moon. I actually played the pinball game for 20 minutes. The longest I've ever held a GBA. Made my thumbs ache. Fun though.

Campaign To Get Mike Blogging

Another good laptop session with Mike last night. Again it was felt by both of us that 'the process' works very well and holds many possibilities. I should have had more samples to throw into the mix. Must rectify that for the next session.
 
Showed Mike the blog. Tried convincing him to start one up. I'm sure it would be a superb platform for his outpourings. I think I'll try spamming him with blogger links for a while to nag him into it.
 
Back in the office. Grey morning. Breaking up this afternoon. Hope the weather turns.

Things To Do On A Sickie

Went to Dylans school assembly today. They were all so sweet. Dylan was holding up the letter L of HOLIDAY. Just outside school we chatted with Carol who was fun but could have just talked FOREVER! Then back on our road we chatted with John and Joan but had to keep it quick cos we were on our way to see... Spiderman 2!

At last it's here! And my God! It ROCKED! I practically wept throughout the entre movie! So engaging, so moving, so pant-wettingly exciting! Loved every minute and I want to see it again. Right now!

Must also mention the three (yes, 3!) trailers for Hellboy that were shown. Saw more footage than I'd seen on the two internet trailers. Looked great. Cool attitude. A must-see.

Picked up some more boxes from Mary. Penguin book boxes Steve got from work. Just the right size for a liftable portion of CD's. Had a coffee and quick chat about general stuff.

Home for a sandwich and a web browse. Installed Firefox to cure the annoying pop-ups I was getting in IE. Initial impressions good.

Picked up the kids. Now it's... Bath. Mealtime. Grandparents. Bed. Mike. Laptop. Head nodding. Sorted. Should be a good evening.

The Inevitable Happens

So I really AM the Jonah! The move of the Worcester team to Coventry was announced as feared. I just knew that once I went to the place, the option would be removed. So it's Coventry or nowt for me? I guess it's me and the M6 forever!

Must rip a few last minute samples tonight in readiness for session tomorrow night. Also my parents tomorrow night, let's see if Dad managed to get his digi photos onto CD to bring over with him.

Spidey 2 opens tomorrow. Reviews have been mostly ecstatic. Can't wait. Actually I'm feeling a bit ill. I haven't had a sickie for ages...

Back In Coventry (Rumour Control)

Back at my normal desk. Rumours abound that this afternoons team brief at Worcester will announce their move over to Coventry. I knew that as soon as I worked over at Worcester I'd signal the kiss of death! Bummer if it's true. I await more news.

Working @ Worcester

So I FINALLY got myself down to our Worcester office for a day of work. A good start to the day with a MUCH easier journey to work. The office is very nice and given a desk in a good spot I think I could enjoy it here. But it's hard to get an objective view because it kind of feels like a 'first day' here today. I'm sitting at a 'hot desk' and mostly being ignored by people I don't know. That said, at least I'm getting a good ammount of work done. But given the choice I think I'd rather have the distraction of good mates around to shoot the breeze with. Still no idea if this is a viable long-term prospect for extending my tour of duty, but if it keeps me away from the M6 for a day then every day is a bonus.

Office Worker In Rasterbator Incident

Found the Rasterbator via Newstoday. I'd thought of producing some blow-up prints in a similar way a while back but as always, never got around to it. The output is very graphic but an alternative could be done long-hand by chopping up an image in Photoshop. Wish we had a colour laser in the office and I'd give it some right hammer!

Working from our Worcester office tomorrow for the first time. Looking forward to checking the place out. Will be glad to be away from the M6.

Mike in place for laptop session on Thursday. Pressure on to gather my thoughts and loops. Had a brief blast on Audiomulch over the weekend to get back into it. Superb program.

An Ordinary Sunday

Harriet woke me in the night. When I got to her bedside she said to me 'I can't decide what to dream about'! Had a lazy morning. I even went back into bed for a nap about 11.00AM. In the afternoon we went out for groceries. Later, I got some Land Registry paperwork signed and witnessed by Steve next door. He gave me some Spiderman 2 publicity stuff he'd been given. He said it was for Dylan. I said it was for me! I wonder when we will be moving? Mom phoned, back from holiday. I phoned Dad back later and we chatted about the state of the M6. I know it's boring but I maybe I AM boring. Drank wine and caught up with Big Brother this evening. The army task is SO twisted. If they pass the task then their reward is to be up for nomination. Time for bed. Time for work again in the morning. Time goes so quickly. NP: Supine - Weather Outlet

Saturday Grey But OK

Took Dylan for his first swimming lesson today. He did great and he said he enjoyed it. Must get him practising when we're on holiday. Spent the afternoon doing bits and pieces around the house. Weather was damp and grey which didn't inspire sorting out any big stuff and getting to the dump. See how tomorrow is, but as Jacq pointed out, it's only a week to the hols and we had the central heating on! Summer, where have you gone? Tasty balti session tonight yum. Now sorting out CDRoms into my big new storage case. Now Playing: Radiohead - Hail To The Theif

Finishing Off Friday

Todays management roadshow at our offices has turned around my negative attitude. The UK division manager came across much better than he did yesterday up at Manchester. I got to throw in a few questions and points which hopefully he and the management will respond to. I might even try to keep up the pressure with a few mails (he did invite them). We shall see.
Went over to site for a hour in the afternoon to clear a few bugs. Got home not long after the kids had got home. Dyl had fallen and scraped his knee on the run down our road to the house. When is he going to learn the little cutie?!
Anyways, we all went up to the 'Hill' for some retail therapy. Snacked at BK on our 'Web Fries'. Kids got some clothes and some beach toys ready for hols. The magazine run was performed and I ended up with a Computer Arts and Edge. Couldn't resist a peek at the HMV sale. Picked up a couple of Tears For Fears CD's so cheap I had no choice. OK, so I've already got 'Songs From The Big Chair' on CD but this new version had a bunch of extra tracks. I'll eBay the my old copy. Also got a compilation which had a track called 'Pharaohs' which I've only got on a 7" B-side. Listening to these tracks now. Great stuff. Time for another Speckled Hen.

Not With A Bang

Seems no-one else in the office was impressed by yesterdays conference either. There is a meeting this morning to follow on that I hope will be more focussed on our business. We shall see. At least it's Friday and Beard-free. Should be a pleasant morning in the office then over to Kingsbury site to tidy up some software issues. Hopefully home in time to get the kids again.

Only one more week of work before holidays. Probably need to do the 'magazine run' this weekend in preparation. Also must do some serious sorting out of the junk that's not coming with us to the new house. I think a trip to the dump will be needed.

Communication Backfires

Communic8 conference at SWSH was a real let down. Sales managers offering banal drones about stuff that meant nothing to me. I felt disconnected. At the end I found myself with no-one to talk to except my boss and I didn't fancy that so I slipped away through the crowds. On the drive home I couldn't work out why I felt so deflated, and I still can't. Strange that it should have such a negative effect when I guess it was meant to have exactly the opposite. Also, clocking the mileage at 160 round trip has shut the door on any pipe dreams I may have had of one day working there. So what's left? Am I driving to Coventry for the next 25 years?

On a positive note, I got home in time to collect the babes from school then we took Dylan to Davids party a the Wacky Warehouse. He didn't want to join in at first and found the noise intimidating, but settled at food time and in the end he enjoyed himself. Until he let his balloon float off into the sky as he got out of the car. More tears. Harriet too, upset by a painful loose tooth. Poor sweeties.

Sounds enjoyed in the car today from 2 eBay purchases that arrived yesterday. Fout Tet single (with DVD of video for 'She Moves She') and Fat-Cat Split compilation (some nicely mashed electronics on there). Both eBay wins were kind of accidental. I just threw in a few quid for fun, not minding if I won or not. I ended up with bargains for both. Nice.

Envy Or Inspiration? You Decide

So I'm just driving down to site this morning, cursing the closure of the spagetti junction exits on the M6, and I'm listening to this program on Radio 4. The guy being interviewed was a doctor. A specialist in cardio stuff who helped discover the 'fitness' gene. He is also a published author currently working on his first Hollywood screenplay. He also gets to the gym for an hour most nights and spends his spare time mountaineering around the world. AARRGGHH!!! How is all this possible? My first reaction was I suppose, pure envy. I listed out my own summary to myself. I've got a 'reasonably' 9 to 5 job, I have a family, I get my chores done and watch a bit of telly and that's the day done! Thinking about it later on today I've tried to take inspiration from the guy and so I now I see it as an example of how much it's possible for a person to do. So why don't I start doing some more stuff with my time?! Ummm. I'll have to sleep on this. But if I should suddenly become this mega-creative explosion of energy, then you'll know what started it all.

Hiccups In The House Chain

A pleasant weekend full of the usual activities plus a visit to Galton Road (hopefully our new house). The owners gave us the news that the house they were buying has been taken off the market. Disaster!
Although they gave us assurances that they were on the case looking for properties, the main thing we were thankful for was that they did not decide to break off the sale to us. That would have really screwed us. Apparently prices have moved on in the two months that we've been sold.
Later on in the afternoon we got a call to say they had put an offer in on a property they viewed earlier in the day. The offer was accepted and the upward chain is small and ready to go. So this is about the best news we could get following the previous collapse. Even though it means another six weeks wait, at least it should all complete this time. Hopefully before the end of the summer. Tried to call Ken and sell the concept to him but no answer. Try him again tonight.