Category: General

Honestly… it really did – you believe me, don’t you?

Ok Ok so I don’t have a dog and it’d be hard for the dog to eat them anyway so it doesn’t really wash as an excuse. Was worth a try anyway.

In all fairness, I *do* have a blog post drafted on my work laptop but I’ve been having a few issues since my websites were moved to a new server (typical that the fault only seemed to affect me but such is sods law eh?)

6 months… that’s how long I’ve now been up to my ears in spuds (well, not quite but you know what I mean) – yup, half a year has now passed already at my new job. Maybe somewhat surprisingly, I’m still enjoying myself.

Don’t get me wrong – it’s not all roses and sunshine, but the job itself is highly enjoyable and I am still loving it.

I’m currently stuck in loads of meetings (3 last Thursday alone and more scheduled in this week!) and buried in 4 major, business-critical, projects and I’m having to learn a lot at high speeds. But it’s making life fun, and means there is never a dull moment.

So, what else has been happening…

We managed to get away on holiday last month – visited the lake district (first time for me) and had a really nice time. Loads of great places to visit for the kids (Beatrix Potter exhibition) and for us (Motor Museum) and plenty of really good roads for driving on.

The holiday also gave me a chance to crack on with reading – life had been so chaotic that books were taking sooooo long to read – and since then I must have read about 8 novels and I am hoping to get some reviews posted as I’ve now started reading some different authors.

Other exciting happenings include my sons first school sports day – his team came first so he was well chuffed. We’ve also started to witness the end of many TV series for the summer, entering that dull period when not much is on except fluff programs to fill the time. Dr Who has ended, CSI Vegas and NY have ended (although Miami is returning!), Boston Legal and Jericho end this week… and no doubt more will finish soon (house, cold case, criminal minds to name but three)

I’m about the get my hands on a BT Vision box – moved away from PlusNet a short while ago as I wanted to play with a few new bits that PN weren’t offering. Looking forward to playing with Video On Demand and enjoying the fact that we get a 100% perfect freeview signal (thanks to our aerial upgrade last year)

Anyway – that’ll do for now… have fun!

WOWZERS! 3 Months since my last post

Sorry folks, things have been totally chaotic of late and, to be quite honest, I kept forgetting about the blog.

So…. February to May (well, June I suppose really) – where to begin.

F1 kicked off again, so did most other motorsports. We went to watch the BTCC at Rockingham. My daughter hit the big 10. I survived my probation period at my new job with no worries. We got a new Kitchen. I got a shiny new 19″ TFT and have setup a nice smart dual monitor rig for watching media and working on. I have started exercising and dieting. Forest crashed and burned in the play-offs. Stargate SG-1 finished for good. Dr Who is back.

Phew… and….. breathe!

Following nearly 3 years of long-hours, I left my “second-job” last week.

I decided a while ago that I would step down as a member of the PlusNet UserGroup – not because of PlusNet or the group, but primarily because of petty-minded in-duh-viduals who decided that personal attacks on people were perfectly acceptable and that volunteers should slave away for people who weren’t even customers, when customers were asking about different things.

Last week, I did it. I gave the group 2 weeks warning to give a chance to get some final bits sorted and then finally removed my own forum admin rights and became a normal member.

Boy was it weird the first time I saw the forums without the NDA sections and found myself wondering what was happening in the discussions I left behind… the first few days I came close to PM’ing people to say “LET ME BACK IN” but I’m kinda glad I’ve stuck it out as it will give me time to devote to other things and life is likely to be busy this year anyway.

Have to admit that I was slightly miffed (yeah, conceited I know) that it never got a mention anywhere – but in some ways it’s been nice not to deal with the vultures and snide gits that are out there (and yes, I know they are likely to comment on this elsewhere but I can always respond now without it being perceived as an official remark from PUG)

And so, I move into a new phase – developing new sites, new areas of interest and focus and maybe finally managing to get around to doing some decent coding again 😉

UPDATE – Sunday 25/02/07 – Turns out that the UserGroup were in the process of writing an article but were waiting for me to announce that I’d left rather than announce it for me…. still finding it weird being on the outside, but I’m also finding I have a lot more time now when I’m on my PC – just need to start using it for something other than work!

I can hardly believe it, but it’s now over a month since I started my new job!

I have got to say that I am *really* enjoying it. The job itself isn’t to different, in many ways, to my old job but the atmosphere and attitudes are completely different. There are a lot of things to adjust to and adapt to – but I’m finding the transition surprisingly easy, and even-more-surprisingly comfortable.

The 2 guys I’ve got working for me are really good and so enthusiastic it’s really encouraging. Both are older than me, but I’m sure they are teenagers trapped in those bodies. There’s a lot of work to do, and we have to make sure things are working as it’s a 24/7 business, but despite any pressures or problems no-one get’s stressed in the department and we all get on with the job whilst keeping a smile on our faces and a laugh at the ready (along with a regular dose of tea or coffee!)

Working out priorities and direction for the department this coming year is proving to be a fun task as there is sooooo much scope and potential. My boss seems a really good bloke, although he’s been off ill for a while, so I’m hoping to share my thoughts and “vision” for the coming year to see where we can go and how we can work things for the future.

The drive each way is really enjoyable. It’s about an hours trip each way but I find that the hour in the morning gives me a good chance to wake up and pick up any thoughts or plans from the day before, whilst the trip home allows me time to wind down so I can be chilled when I get home to the wife and kiddies. Of course, having decent presenters on Radio 1 at both times is really good and helps the miles fly by as well!

Anyway, that’s my update one month in to the new life – and it’s looking good 🙂

Well, I have now started my new job! The nickname of Mr Potato Head has been firmly applied to me and I am definitely facing a new set of circumstances.

The first couple of weeks in a new post are always a time of learning and picking things up – and that’s definitely going to be true here. However, I was very pleased that in my first two days I have actually proved useful on both days at various points – not something you always expect to be right at the start.

There is definitely a good feeling for me at this job – there’s a new set of challenges and plenty of scope to grow and develop things…. obviously there is always the internal politics to be aware of but so far things look pretty good.

I’ve got a site visit on Friday, and another at a different site next week, which should be good – I was grateful as it is my sons 5th birthday on Friday and my boss immediately approved of my request to hold my site meeting at 10am rather than 9am so I could see my lad open his presents… something I am very happy about as I will be missing his party 🙁

I have got an hours commute in each direction – but I have to say that I am enjoying that. Yeah OK, I love driving full stop but the drive into work allows me time to wake up and get my mind buzzing… the drive home gives me a good chance to wind down and think about the day but also get to a point where work isn’t at the forefront of my mind when I walk through the door.

Before you all think that I am wearing rose-tinted specs – I know this is still the “honeymoon” period – but things do look promising and I have a good feeling about this. It’s been a long time since I felt this kind of anticipation and excitement (and yes, nerves as well!) about work – but I am enjoying that feeling…