Getting Straight In Many Ways

Went for a swim this morning to give Dylan some tips. After just a couple of minutes he was swimming strongly by himself. Just goes to show what a little one-on-one attention can achieve. Hopefully he'll show his new skills at next saturdays lesson and give Keith a suprise!
Chores around the house when we came home. Almost every room is straight now. Dylan is settling into his room fine. He wouldn't let us in yesterday while he was stretched out on the floor playing with his pirate ship. The downside of everywhere being tidy is the fact that our bedroom is completely crammed with stuff. But, better one room in total chaos rather than all rooms in slight turmoil. T'wife and I commented this afternoon on how well the house works for us. Domestic life seems much easier in this house. A bit more room and better layout seem to do the trick.
The christmas vibe is increasing. Crimbo CD's on heavy rotation on the hifi. Harriet practising her christmas play songs in the car. I think the tree will be coming out next week sometime. Must book my remaining holiday to extend the christmas break. Will be nice to really relax into the whole groove of yuletide inactivity. Must make a promise to myself to crank up the creative side of things soon. No reasons not to. No excuses anymore.

Christmas CDs, Swimming Lessons & Bouncy Castle

Yesterdays working from home was very productive for my workload and very good for my quality of life. So there's a positive work related statement on record. Went to the mall in the evening. Starting to get busy there in a Christmas-rush kind of style. As well as prezzies, we picked up some additions to the Christmas albums collection. A 3CD set of crooners, a Doris Day album I've long wanted and James Brown Funky Christmas. Listening to the Doris Day album, the warmth pours out of the speakers. Sublime.
Today was test day at swimming and Harriet did us proud by passing her level. Only two passed and she was the best. Her dolphin kick stroke made me say 'wow' it was that good. So now she'll be going up to the deep end for her lessons, it's a big step but I'm sure she's ready for it. Dylan didn't pass as he's simply nowhere near ready yet. He hasn't yet got the confidence without floats. I'm really glad he's got Keith as a teacher as he's very good.
Party in the afternoon, Bethanys 6th. Bouncy castle in church hall. Loads of kids from Beths class. The cousins were a bit non-plussed. Things relaxed towards the end when the cousins had the castle to themselves. Back to Lizzies after for opening of prezzies. SteveK was running through a bunch of mp3's most of which didn't do that much for me. I did like The Earlies single though so I may investigate them a bit further. Good Flickr related chats with SteveT.

Getting Back Some Perspective

Last nights post was a bit too down. This morning things are better. But then they would be, I'm working from home, the sun is shining in through the front room window and I had breakfast with my kids this morning who are now walking down to school. I think it really is that Coventry office, I've simply had my fill. I'm done. Tour of duty over. Time expired. Next please.

Sometimes It's Hard To Stay Positive

Although on the whole, an enjoyable day in the office, there was an undercurrent of despair which I can't ignore. Certain issues regarding the management and performance of the place are really eating away at me. I feel a real urge to distance myself from the whole sorry mess. I know this is a horribly negative post and totally bitching about work but this is the only place to express it right now. The recent dialogue has not helped me in any way and I don't believe that anything is going to be changing anytime soon so I can't see any future right now. I think my exit strategy needs to be implemented. And probably soon. I know it's a big step but I've got to DO something.

Another Busy Day Gone Past In A Blur

Dylan off school with cold. Jacq off school with bad back. I dropped Harriet off at school then carried on into the office. Never really got into my stride work-wise as I spent most of my time on the phone to my client. Problems could not be resolved over the phone so I wizzed over to site. By the time I got there everything was back online. Off site in time to pick up Harriet and we all went over to Jims. Tonight I'm working to prepare for a day on site tomorrow. Must get around to doing some fun things sometime...

Nearly Doing Something

Just settling down after chores and kids having trouble sleeping. Decided to do a bit of creative stuff on the pc. Plugged in my scanner and... nothing. Trawling through forums it appears that my scanner driver does not work with XP SP2. Absolutely no info on the companies website about this issue or any prediction of updated driver release. How poor is that? Oh well, just a bit of web browsing then...

Spooky Or Not? Probably Not

Just catching up with some of my regular sites. Noticed that Phil had posted a weekend roundup like myself and had also called his weekend roundup 'Weekend Roundup' the same as me! How spooky is that?! Well, OK not very spooky at all really I suppose. But it COULD have been. Couldn't it?

Weekend Roundup

Friday working from home with the Mobilis setup keeping me in touch with the office. Popped out midday for some retail opportunities. Got more pressies for the kids. Picked up Haunted Weather by David Toop on a tip from Fergus. Finally spending book tokens I'd had since Feb. Later I collected the kids and did the ballet run to Harborne. Parents came over in the evening and I discussed some DIY issues with Dad.
Saturday started with a visit from Paul. Early as usual. Swimming lessons went well with Dylan really trying this week. In recent lessons he has just been larking about in the water and not listening to Keith. This week he did much better and made some good progress. Dave and I had a good moan about jobs and money and stuff. Lent me a couple of DVDs that I must copy for the new office collective. Spent the afternoon storing more stuff up the loft. Need to get some more boarding and sort out the space properly.
Sunday morning at the cinema for a preview showing of The Incredibles. What an awesome movie! We all loved it. It was really superb on many, many levels. Dylan now wants to be known by his new name 'Dash'. He said I'm the Dad cos I'm tough. What a cutie! On the way back home we called into a few shops around the city looking for a bed for Harriet. Finally found one in a shop on the Bearwood High Street! More chores in the house rounded off a busy and enjoyable weekend.

Up Town In The Snow

Raining when I got home from work, not looking forward to going up town later. But that all changed when the rain turned to SNOW! Now I'm so looking forward to trudging my way up town. Just to see the heavy snowflakes falling through the light of a streetlamp was a joy. The journey to town was a breeze and soon I was on Broad Street outside the Figure Of Eight. Mike and Paul already there and on the San Miguel. Good chat was had. Good to see Mike seemed in fine spirits despite challenging financial situations. Many pints later we left the pub with a San Miguel glass each and piled onto the 140 out of town.

Virtual Lunchtime Walk

This was by far the coolest thing that's happened at work for a long time in my books. As Adrian was working down at Winchester and couldn't come on the lunchtime walk, Phil took some photos then posted them up on Flickr here for Adrian to enjoy. I hope he did.

Not Sure Of The Subject

Started this post not sure of the subject to be covered. Should it be the music I've been listening to in the car recently? Should it be the chores and tasks that occupy the few brief hours after work each night? Should it be the occasional highlights in the otherwise dreary office day? No I think I'll groan on about the fact that I'm tired because I stay up too late and the fact that my back is hurting because I've strained it and I'm out of shape. I'll be glad when todays office shift is done cos I'm going out for some beers with Paul and Mike tonight and then I'm working at home tomorrow.

Self Inflicted Demotion

Just went in to see my boss and reject a promotion which we had previously discussed. Have been musing on it a while and now I'm so glad I've done it. Everyone wants to 'get on' as they say, but you also have to recognise the things that bring satisfaction and cherish them. My new role seemed to reduce any creative activity I might be involved in. Now being a Software Engineer I'm not exactly 'creative' full time. I'm no artist! But the pleasure in designing a block of code IS a creative act of some description and it's by far my favourite part of the job. I don't want to lose that.

Flight

Monday morning drive to work. Sounds horrible doesn't it? Made easier with the iPod cranking out some good tunes. Bit of a Manchester theme this morning. A blast of 808 State followed by A Certain Ratio. Flight by ACR is such a massive track. It hits so many spots for me. It always lifts and inpsires. It's title is perfect. The guitars create noise and ambience and even a lick of funk. The bass is solid and the drums, don't get me started on the drums! Featuring the most exquisite bass drum work, I love the drum track so much. Every discreet fill and flourish is a beauty while the minimalist groove is never compromised. Awesome.

Eid

Another busy day around the house. Put up the bathroom cabinet bought last night from Ikea. Paul and Rachel came over in the afternoon. Possibly a drinkie with Paul and Mike next week. Sounds good. Other good news, the Gang Of Four are reforming and playing in Brum in January! I think I have to go to that one. Balti night tonight. Good chat with my man at the Raja. Happy Eid.

Winchester

Testing out software and panel for the Heathrow site. Up to the wire with some of the bits. Couldn't get the alarms working, although talking it though with tech support, it seems a re-install is on the cards. Stopped over in Winchester at the Giffard House Hotel. Nice place. Always a pleasure to stop there.
The new pc was delivered to home on Wednesday. Checked it out briefly when I got home Thursday night. Bit dissapointed at the noise level. Brought a Scenic T model home at the weekend to compare it. Put it in a bit more perspective.

Xrays & Eye Test

Last Tuesday spent the morning at the hospital getting my IVU xrays done. Seems the stone(s) is still in there but I await the consultants decision as to the next step. The injection was weird. The predicted symptoms were experienced. A hot feeling all over, a metallic taste in the mouth and the feeling that I'd pissed myself! As I said, weird.
Got an eye test done in the afternoon. Seems that my left eye is worst but in general my eyesight is not poor. The optician predicted I would need glasses for pc work in four years time. Apparently 44 is a classic statistic age for that.

Broadband, Wireless And Back Online

The pc restrictions are starting to be removed. New pc delivered on wednesday, adsl router & wireless point picked up this morning from delivery firm, I'm now online up in the kids bedroom with my new work laptop testing out the wireless range. It's good to be back online properly! There are a few things to note from the past week but I'll post them up later.

Working From Home

Boy working from home is tough! It's nearly 11PM now and I seriously haven't stopped all day. Got lots of tasks done and filled in all the time in between with work stuff. Unfortunately that leaves absolutely no space for arse-on-sofa time.
Jacq took the kids off to school and then spent the morning there helping out with various classes. I stayed home doing work stuff while the Sky installer did the business. Talked the Sky-man into NOT nailing his cables all around the skirting boards so I can take my time and do a proper install job with the cabling running under the floor. Jacq home lunchtime and talked me into a pizza session. So off out to lunch we went but also managed to squeeze in a trip to the dump and pick up a desk for the new computer. Picked the kids plus David coming back to play. Dylan and David had a blast. When David had gone I started building the desk but had to return some poor quality bits. Hassle. More chores after getting the kids to bed and then catching up with remaining work bits. Just got to finish off the desk now and then I'm done.

Review Of The Week

Haven't blogged for a week and there's not really much of a good reason for that. Back at work this week obviously dictates a certain structure to the days, and the pc lying in the corner just did not appeal. There's not really that much of note to record but a few things stick in the mind.
Initially the return to the office was flat because I was straight out to site. With that over, there were some good times in the office, mainly catching up with Phil who has had a busy one himself recently. Had an email dialogue with my IT dept that hopefully results in me getting a new pc next week to replace the useless lump I'd previously been issued with. More site on Thursday, in a hut in a field with no facilities. Nice. Ended the week with my staff dialogue session. Got said everything I wanted to say. Emphasised over and over my negative feelings and low morale. My boss simply agreed with everything I said so no real arguments developed. I've applied for another session with the next boss up the chain.
Saturday swimming then Molly with us all afternoon. Got a bit of DIY done. One uplighter fitted in the front room, hopefully do the other one today. Watched a John Peel tribute thing on telly. Lots of good people saying nice things about him. I think Phil Jupitus was right when he said that we don't yet know how much we will miss him. What Peelie did was simply essential to the development of so much new music and there is nothing that can replace that.

Happy Halloween

Up nice and early (putting the clocks back an hour helps) and a treat of breakfast at McDonalds. Egg Muffins rock!. Took our old computer cupboard over to Annas as it's too big for the alcoves in our rooms now. Spent an a couple of hours putting it back together again for her. Glad to have it out of the way and put to good use. Jacq made a top Sunday lunch. And not long after it was time to get ready to go over to Marys. Dug out the kids dressing-up clothes and got them ready for some Halloween party action. They've been looking forward to trick-or-treating for a couple of days now. When we got there all the kids were dressed up and got some good shots hopefully. Party food was had then straight into some party games before they headed out to trick-or-treat. They all looked so cute in their outfits. They came back with their buckets filled and smiles on their faces. I spent a while staring at bonfires with the Steves. Then it was fireworks time. This year there were more combined fireworks which meant less fiddling with endless small things. But even so, we were flagging by the end. There's always just a few too many. All in all a good show though. The kids all had a great time.