Trading Cards

First week done at new workplace. Friday night journey home not as bad as expected. Jacq went over to Carols for some cooking-slash-party thing. She found it boring and needed booze to get through it, ending up with the blokes in the kitchen.

Jacq and I went to see Hot Fuzz this afternoon while my parents looked after the kids and took the dog up the woods. Film was good, not as good as 'Shaun', but good.

Some post waiting when we got back home. Love getting post. Love getting post from US even more. I got trading cards. I love trading cards. I don't like buying trading cards by the individual packet, but buying them as a complete set rocks! Got myself a lovely set of Firefly cards which are a joy to flick through. Firefly is one of my most favourite TV shows ever.

Oh and Jacq is great. Great great great.

New Direction

This week has gone so quick, it's Thursday already and I've not yet blogged about starting at a new workplace this week. I'm over in Leicester now and there are a few friendly faces here. It's great to be working with Phil and Dan again. On the first lunchtime we took a stroll and it was just like old times, except with less to bitch about.

A more than usual amount of TV has been watched just recently. 24 and Lost are essential, but the highlight is Heroes which started on Monday night. I'm loving this. Took me until the second episode to get fully into it but I'm there now. Hiro is my fave character so far but I expect that will change as things develop. The fact that the actor that plays Hiro is also an oscar-winning ILM employee make me sick with envy.

Inspired by Phil and frankly using him as moral support, I've finally joined a gym. It feels like a big step for me and it's long overdue. I'm determined to get into the routine of going every lunchtime and really making this a 'lifestyle change' as my doctor calls it. I've only been twice so far and not attempting anything too ambitious until I've had my induction session next week.

Now I Can Love My Car

So glad to report that I've got the car back from the garage and it's running like shit off a shovel. What a relief that is, I can now allow myself to love my car. I'd been holding off getting too attached on the off-chance that I might have to return it should the lack of performance in the engine become too much to bear. But all is well, the car drives nice now and it's here to stay.

A Flickrmeet tomorrow with the Black Country group, having a walk around Walsall. Looking forward to this as I've never had a close look at the town. Jacq and the kids are coming too and they will mostly be hanging around the New Art Gallery which I hope to check out as well as it's been ages since we've been there. Hope they've still got Noddy Holder as the voice of the lift announcer. That's the best bit. An art installation in itself.

My Own Personal Flickrmeet

Dropped my new car into the garage this morning to check out the under-powered effect I've been noticing. I hope they can find something wrong to fix otherwise I'll have to swap the car and I don't want to do that. After the drop-off, I took a walk into town through the streets of Digbeth. The sun was shining strong and I enjoyed my own personal Flickrmeet.

I know that lots of people didn't much care for the first Fantastic Four film, but I liked it. I was glad to learn that a sequel had been sanctioned and now I've seen the trailer for it I'm stoked. Check it out here.

Another Last Day

I don't like last days. I hate feeling like I might be the focus of any kind of attention. That's a bit lame I'll admit, but there it is. I just wanted to get my work done, get my hours in, and get out of there with the minimum ammount of fuss. So just after lunch I made my backups, made my excuses and left. Thankfully no bridges were burnt and the door was left open to stay in contact, there's every possibilty I could work work for them again under the right circumstances. Can't ask for better than that I guess.

Last days, I hate 'em. I suppose I should get more used to them. They're a feature of the landscape.

The snow returned today. It was snowing as I left the office and the queues on the M6 south were horrendous, but nothing compared to the chaos I encountered on leaving the motorway. It must have took me almost an hour to travel the last couple of miles from the motorway exit to my house. I almost didn't make into my road. Much wheelspinning on the hill. But I made it glad to say. Sense of relief when I got into the house.

Jacq picked up a sledge on the high street so off we went to the woods. Much fun was had. Harriet and her friend Ellie were on the sledge, me and Dylan were rolling down the hill, Jac and Pebbles surveyed the scene.

Telly and wine were enjoyed later from the sofa. It's the start of a half-term holiday. Does it get any better than this?

The Woods Transformed

The snow stuck around yesterday and it was great to go out for a walk in it. Usually the evening walk of the dog involves walking along the edge of Warley Woods, but never IN the woods. That's because basically it is a dark and scarey place on a winters evening and I'm a scaredy-cat. But last night the woods were illuminated by the snowfall and filled with the sound of laughter. We ventured through the trees and came out in the open area to see hundreds of people enjoying the snowy slopes on a variety of sledge contraptions. Unfortunately we don't own a sledge, I don't even know where to but such an item. Hopefully some enterprising soul will sell sledges on the high street after this recent snow and we can pick one up then, ready for the next time.

A Taste Of Winter

It snowed this morning. It wasn't the storm the news had been in a panic about for the previous few days, but it was nice. Enough snow to get the schools closed, although that's not saying much. I travelled into work without any problems which is where I am right now. I hope the kids get to have a play in the snow before it melts. The dog saw it for the very first time this morning and she ran back into the house.

It was my birthday on Sunday just gone. Jacq got me an iPod Shuffle. That thing is small! Been listening to Boards Of Canada on the nightly dog walk. Should be a nice soundtrack to a walk in the snow tonight.

Finishing at my current workplace tomorrow and I'm taking a week off next week as the kids are on half-term break. Looking forward to the week off as it's arrived almost as a surprise. Looking forward also to starting at my new place of work the week after.

A Day Off

Too much stuff on today to possibly consider doing a days work at the office. So, no wages for me today. Set off this morning over to Leicester for an interview. The journey was as long as I had feared and motorway trouble meant that I had to phone ahead and warn of my late arrival, not a good start. The interview went fine and I reckoned that I pressed all the right buttons. It really helps in an interview situation to go into it NOT wanting the position. Following the two hour meeting, I caught up with my mate Phil and discussed things. My head was spinning with many questions and it helped enormously to bounce some ideas off him.

Headed back to Brum for a dental appointment. What fun. I hate the injections. Sitting in the waiting room my head felt like it was about to explode. Stressing about a possible new job and worrying about an injection, I was in a right state. Anyways, I survived of course. Managed to get back in time to pick up my little beauties from school. Discussed things further with Jacq and decided that I would indeed go for this new job. Soon after, the call came through from the agent that an offer had been made. So now it's real, I have a new position to go to if I want it. I've got this weekend to let things sink in and on Monday I'll be going into the office to drop the news. There will be an undeniable satisfaction in demonstrating to the guys who've been chuntering on about no work and moving on that yes, I'm moving on, and you lot can stay, chuntering on.

Spoke with Mike tonight and I hope we can get together soon. Although he's not been too well recently, I'm chuffed as fuck about some of the creative stuff he's been up to. You go Micky!

Should have gone out to see The Nightingales tonight but I wasn't feeling up to it. A mixture of the dental work and the stressing about work stuff meant that an evening on the sofa with the wife and a box of wine was far more appealing. The kids had a 'sleepover' tonight, which involves Dylan sleeping on the floor in Harriets room and the two of them having a great time playing with Gameboys and all-sorts, joking and giggling. I love it when they decide to do that. Good times.

Egg (Mc)Muffin

Well by now you'll have all seen the reports on all the major news channels, the shocking news of the rise in price of the McDonalds Egg McMuffin. It has risen from 99p to a whopping £1.49, a scandalous rise of 50p! Since when was inflation running at 50%? I'm truly shocked and outraged. As a mark of protest, this morning I cooked myself my very own Egg (Mc)Muffin made with finest ingredients procured from Sainsburys last night. It was, even if I say so myself, simply gorgeous.


Here's the cost breakdown:

• 1 x Muffin = 15p (Pack of 4 muffins 59p)
• 1 x Cheese Slice = 6p (Pack of 10 cheese singles 59p)
• 1 x Egg = 17p (Pack of 6 medium eggs (free range!) 99p)

Total cost of one homemade Egg (Mc)Muffin = 38p

And here's how to make one of these bad boys:

1. Fry yourself an egg in a little oil, trying to keep the egg white tucked in around the yoke. This was quite easy on my first attempt but if you've got one of them ring things that keep the egg contained them you're quids in. You can flip the egg to fry both sides as I did or not, your choice.
2. Cut the muffin in half and apply a small smear of margarine or butter to each half.
3. Pop your tidy little fried egg out onto the bottom half of the muffin. Place a single cheese slice on to the egg and then add the top half of the muffin.
4. Place the assembled beast into a microwave and give it a blast for 20 seconds to give the muffin a boost in fluffiness.
5. Enjoy with a back coffee (or other beverage of choice).

So, there you go, a delicious Egg (Mc)Muffin knocked out in the comfort of your own home for just 40p. A lot less than the scandalous £1.49 that McDonalds are asking for one, and arguably a better tasting beast to boot. Will it stop me eating Egg McMuffins at McDonalds for the occasional breakfast treat? Probably not.

Weekend Summary - Edited Highlights

Good weekend just gone. Highlights being, picking up our new car on Saturday morning and a Flickrmeet at Witley Court on Sunday. Not much more to be said really. Photos from Sunday are up on Flickr if your interested. That's it. Cheers.

A Grind At Times

There's a sense of relief as the week winds down. It's been a grind at times to get through it simply because of the attitude I've brought to it. I realise I've made it hard for myself and I need to sort that out. I'm grateful for the lifelines thrown from emails and phonecalls this week, thanks guys. I reckon that I'm missing having colleagues more than I realise. Maybe I've kept myself too isolated in my freelancer status. Plans are in hand and change will come, but I'll not say anymore about that until things are really happening.

I know that most of this ramble will make no sense to most. It's just work stuff after all. I don't want to create the impression that I'm stressing about stuff because I'm not. I'm just looking forward to my Friday night glass of wine a bit more than usual.

Touch

AWESOME post by Fergus on his blog A dorsal fin breaks the water, recalling the great work of the Touch label. Touch was an intoxicating source of inspiration and mystery to me back in the day. Their beautifully packaged cassettes blew my mind. I never collected the whole catalog, but the stuff I did get remains precious to me still. In fact, I've just been over to the TouchShop and ordered myself the latest compilation Touch 25.

Thanks for the memory jog Fergus.

We Bought A Car

Test drive was OK. The deal is sealed. We got ourselves a nice new-ish Citroen Picasso to look forward to next weekend. Hurrah. I'm excited.

New series of 24 started tonight and I enjoyed the double episode. It's good to have Jack back. In the break was an ad for the restart of Lost series 3. Seems like it will be 24 and Lost both on Sunday nights. My two fave programs on the same night. Can't decide if that's a good or bad thing. Certainly the only night I'll be watching telly for the next couple of months.

Here's a clip of some beatboxing that really made me chuckle. Checkout Beardyman.

Watch This Space

For some reason I've been finding it hard to muster the enthusiasm for a fresh blog post this week. Don't know why. Anyways, work stuff is under control, got a new project, just a tiddler but it'll do. Although change does not appear to be thrusting itself upon me in this new year, I've sort of talked myself into it I think. So we'll see what happens work-wise. I'm up for change. Watch this space.
Worked at home today cos I had a dentist appointment this morning. Ouch. Later in the afternoon we popped into the Citroën dealer and spotted a Picasso that we liked. Top end of our budget, but it's got all the bells and whistles on it. Having a test drive tomorrow to check it out some more. Watch this space.

Next Project Please

Finished the project at Manchester today. Glad to be finished, I've been stuck in Excel hell for months. It will be interesting to see what projects are available when I return to the office on Monday. I've done a little bit of groundwork to check out options if it's time to move on. The more I think about moving contracts the more exciting the prospect seems. Talking with Trapper this afternoon he talked about work down at Grain where the BIG money is, I doubt whether the opportunity will arise or if I have the commitment to go for it.

iPhone

Followed the Macworld Expo keynote by Steve Jobs live this afternoon by constantly refreshing the live blog page on Endgadget. It was quite exciting watching the event unfold piece by piece with every new press of the F5 key. So it turned out that the iPhone DID exist and wow, it looks so sweet. The way it brings together all the things you could want in a portable device is just so cool. Apple really know just how to do things RIGHT. It seems so obvious when Apple show their stuff but how come no-one else can get anywhere near them? It just makes other devices look DUMB. Seems that Europe will get the phone at the back-end of the year, I wonder in what form that will appear and on what networks. I know which phone I'll be getting when my current contract runs out.

Happy New GTD

Spotted in Merlins del.icio.us links, an interview with him in which the New Year is mentioned as a popular time for adopting the old GTD. You could say this is obvious, but it was news to me (duh). I think I should take a return visit to GTD-land this week and try and get my act together. Check out the interview/podcast here.

Computer Down, We Have A Computer Down

Urgh. Our main PC 'Pooter' has died. Hard disk boot failure. I can fix it, in fact I've still got some warranty cover on the damn thing, but part of me doesn't even want it fixed (even though I have to rescue a whole bunch of photos and mp3's). Why don't I just go and get myself a shiny new iMac instead? Maybe later in the year I guess. Let's see what is announced at MacWorld next week. I'm really looking forward to hearing the news. It's interesting to note how my media landscape has changed over the last year or so in that it's podcasts like MacBreak Weekly that I'm looking to for my informed opinions. Go Leo!

The Old School

Yesterday I took trip to see the Smethwick Photographic Society in Oldbury and came away unimpressed. There's a thread on flickr where I discussed this so I won't duplicate, but suffice to say, it re-enforced my rejection of the 'old school' of photography I remember from the eighties. And it seems a couple of people in the Birmingham group have had a similar relationship with photography to me, being re-inspired by the arrival of digital and the very wonderful world of flickr.

Nice Timing For A New Year

Back at work and hearing stories of possible slow times at the company I'm working for. Thoughts immediately turned to my options and I called up Phil for his always positive advice (thanks friend). Of course I'm slightly over-reacting, but that's deliberate. If this does turn out to be the moment to change contracts (and I'm not completely sure that it is), then it's good to be prepared and have all avenues explored.

So time to do some networking and see what's out there. I must admit that the prospect of some sort of change is quite invigorating. Nice timing for a new year.