Friday, February 05, 2010
Functional Specs
(backposting) Now, this may sound strange, but I rather enjoy writing specifications: functional or technical. It can be hard work, and there's usually a mix of dull boilerplate work and complex creative pieces, but I don't mind that. What writing a specification should be about is moving from something which is solely in one or more people's head to a document which shares that knowledge with anyone who reads it. There will be discussion and misunderstanding and rewriting, but I find it very interesting going through that process.Labels: work
Friday, January 29, 2010
Good news, but not yet
(backposting) Had a very good day today, workwise. Was in London, had a very good discussion with my boss, and got lots of other work done, too. Even back in time for the girls' bedtime, which was a bonus.Labels: work
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The job
Things are going very well at work, and I'm enjoying myself very much. Lots of interesting things, and good things career-wise, I think. Poor Moo's very busy, but I think things are going pretty well with her, too.Labels: work
Monday, January 25, 2010
Back to work
(backposting) And not feeling too guilty about not doing a full 8 hours, given the amount of work I've done over the past few days and weeks. Got into London and had a good meeting with a customer, though.Labels: work
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Communion, more sleep
(backposting) I got up in time for the 0800 Communion service - well deaconed by Sally - and breakfast. And then went back to bed - with permission from the organiser - and missed just the one session. One about power without authority: negotiated power, in fact, which is something I know all about. Some other good sessions. I also received a message from a colleague saying that our CTO, with whom I spent some time on Thursday, had given me a mention in his session in the quarterly meeting. Quite chuffed by this.Should probably have gone to bed before 0130, but at least I didn't drink too much of the neat gin (there was no bitter lemon, and you _know_ I have a bad reaction to tonic...).
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Post 1750
Ooh, that's an awfully big number.Spent much of today thinking. I did some billable work, too, but it was great to have an opportunity to do some unhindered thought, and I'm pretty pleased with what came out of it. I had a good meeting with some of the folks from Tech, which I think will yield fruit - some soon, some later. And I now have a couple of major things to present to two different people tomorrow. In fact, I'm also giving a presentation to all of Professional Services - and hopefully lots of Tech and Support, too - on security tomorrow. Rather looking forward to that, I have to say.
Today's been a gouty day. I had some on Monday through Wednesday, but not too bad. Last night I had some lovely rare steak, and the gout transferred to the other foot, with extreme vigour. Ow. So, I've drunk a lot of water today, and hobbled.
And this evening, I went to my first Stitch 'n' Bitch meeting. I was the only male knitter there (another guy turned up with someone, but wasn't a knitter, and left), and everyone was very welcoming. I have to say that if there are any single guys out there looking to meet women, then taking up knitting would be a great way to do so! It really wasn't bitchy at all: just lots of women (and me) talking about knitting and everything else besides (I managed to avoid hearing much of a conversation about genetic counselling which was going on near me). One of the women there was also using a drop spindle, and I took a video of her doing it, with commentary, to show Moo, as I gave her a drop spindle for Christmas, and I think it should help her get the most out of it.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
In HQ
Up at 0530, finished the Pynchon book (reminded me of the untamed half-dream/half-hallucinations I sometimes have when I'm running a fever), and finished off a bunch of work before getting into the office by 0800. Met Midge, who trained me in August, and spent the day meeting other colleagues and doing other work, too. Spoke to the girls around lunchtime, and later on, phoned Moo back, who managed to help me get email back up, which was a relief.A good day: new contacts, renewed previous friendships.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Only two days left
(background) Onsite, that is. In fact, today went very well. Was up early for a phone meeting which I took in London at 0800, so left at 0620. And back late, too. Discovered that my phone doesn't know the word "onsite", and suggests "morgue" instead. No comment.Labels: work
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Not the best of days
Started knitting on the train (I bought a first class weekly ticket, with Moo's blessing, and it's such a good decision!), and after a row, reached for the pattern, only to discover that I'd left it at home. A hard, hard day at work, got home early (it was snowing, and Moo warned me to head off in good time), put the girls to bed, then 2 calls for work and more work to do after that.And tomorrow I need to leave at 0630. And I won't be getting back before 2000, I suspect. Not really optimal.
Buying a tray of Krispy Kremes for the meeting this morning went down pretty well with most of the participants. A stroke of genius, I like to think.
Labels: work
Monday, January 11, 2010
A new week, a new customer
(backposting) So, into London for a week of workshops. Nice and close to Liverpool Street, which is good. I do enjoy the beginning of projects, where there's so much to learn, a new people to meet and get to know. I left this morning before girls were up, and thought I might not see them all day, but luckily made it back just in time to see them into bed, which was a real blessing.More yarn arrived today, and I started a new scarf. Had to restart it once, but now going OK.
Friday, December 04, 2009
A new machine
Well, it looked like that was what I'd need to do: build a new machine. Spent more time - in between doing rather pressing work - trying to get the old machine back and working, including recycling an old disk as a new OS disk. All to no avail, and other things seemed to be failing, so I decided that wouldn't work. Thought about getting a cheap replacement machine, but a quick trawl yielded nothing, so I decided to use my main desktop machine, and turn it into a server. It's powerful enough, and although it took some doing, it's (mostly) up and running. The main issue is email - the old machine provided mail for both me and Moo, and it all now seems to be doing the right things.On a rather more pertinent note, I managed to get a major piece of work done, and sent out, a day early. I'm also quite pleased with it, and it bodes well for the future. All good stuff.
Oh, and we're planning a video extravaganza tomorrow night. Children and their friend Sennen first, then put them to bed. After that, Victoria, Jack and Charles (Victoria's other son) for supper and more video time. And, I rather suspect, some drinky-poos. No services in the morning...
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Skype
A good day at work: we had two Reference Group meetings to discuss the work we've done so far - and next steps - and I think they both went very well. We're now talking about what we might be doing in August next year, which suggests that people are really buying into things.In the evening, after my usual sauna and swim combo, I had supper, and then talked to the girls on Skype, with video. It was lovely to see them (and talk to them), although Moo didn't look very comfortable at all, with the two of them climbing all over her.
My Dirk Bogarde season continued with the excellent The Blue Lamp, in which Jack Warner makes his debut as PC George Dixon (later to become Dixon of Dock Green). Good ending: using the tic tac at the greyhound track was a nice twist. The deprivation post-war (it was released in 1949) and the lack of cars on the street made it an interesting watch from a social point of view as well. More Bogarde to come!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Good book, and a good friend
(backposting) The plane was late, but that meant I had lots of time in the airport. Did some shopping, had some lunch, and read Charles Stross' The Atrocity Archives, which I enjoyed. Funny, clever, chilling at times, but a good read.And the other thing was that, via a chance Twitter from my old mate Mr Harkaway, I ended up having a very good chat with one of my ushers. With whom I'd not spoken for ages. Oh, we've corresponded on his blog, on Twitter and Facebook, but not on the phone. For ages. He's still very funny, and we really, really must try to get together at some point.
Got to the hotel late, and had a couple of beers with Phil, who's working with me for this customer. A good guy, and I think we'll have a good week.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Will it get done?
Woke up at 0555. Told my body not to be silly. Went back to sleep. Woke up at 0825. Too late for the 0800, obviously. So, I got up, and was at work by 0905. Did some work, and then, after some deliberation, decided to go to church. I ended up at St Gregory's, Sudbury. They'd advertised a 1000 service, which was changed to 1030, natch. Given that I'd said that I wouldn't be around this week, I'd chosen this church as somewhere out-of-area, where I could go incognito, and noone would know me. And, of course, there were two people from Halstead there: Val and her husband. This is just typical, and quite amusing. They'd come here because they're looking at houses in the area.There was a lovely welcome, and the church was pretty full. I liked the service, and they have two curates, too. I think we should arrange a social: the two churches/towns have lots in common, and Helen, the curate on placement who will later join the team, is at ERMC, as I was. Good folks, and it would be fun to compare notes.
Back home, and work, work, work. And around 1700, I managed to get the work finished, which means that the answer to the question in the header is "yes, it will."
Went round to Sam and John-Mark's for a drink, ended up staying for supper. And the girls just got back.
Labels: church, friends, girls, work
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Not the day I'd hoped
(backposting) I spent 6 hours or so working, while the girls played. Their cousins arrived after luch, and there was lots of playing. They've not seen them for several months, and they love them so.I headed back home around 1615, once the girls headed off to the Loughborough Fair. It was a difficult decision: I'd have loved to go with the girls, but I'm really worried that I'm going to miss the big deadline coming up. I had a horrible drive back: yes, the weather was awful, but I kept nearly turning back, because I was missing the Moo and the girls so much.
But I got home, and did a couple of hours' more work.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Remembrance Day
Our first parents' evening, more work, and preparing the prayers for Mo's funeral tomorrow. The latter went well, and I'm pleased with them. They raised a few tears, but it's better now than during the service. She specified that she wanted bright clothes, people are going to wear hats, and the bells will be rung out unmuffled. It should be a great occasion.The work went well again, so that's good.
The parents' day? Well, she's a very clever little thing, is our Jo, and her teacher is pleased with her progress. She can be a little silly - we've seen that, too - but she's made amazing progress since she started school about 8 weeks ago. We're very proud, and if I carry on, it'll just be boasting.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Success!
(backposting) Got a major piece of work completed today: we now have all of the data from the database available in the Process Model. Believe me, this does make sense, and is a very good thing. I'd been making slow, but incremental, progress, and it all came together this afternoon. Started looking at the next big task - a JSP, to which I'm very new - this evening, and I'll start work on it in earnest tomorrow morning.Labels: work
Monday, November 09, 2009
Deadline looming
(backposting) In London today, and the deadline for the work I'm involved with at the moment is approaching fast: Friday. I still think we have a good chance to hit it, but things keep turning out to be more difficult than originally expected, and therefore taking a great deal more time. Missed the girls' bedtime by a whisker, but back to work, anyway. It's going to be nice when I don't feel that I have to work every evening (and weekends). Hopefully soon.Labels: work
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Going out to lunch - properly
(backposting) It's been a while since we went there, but we had lunch with the girls at Scutchers in Long Melford. It wasn't cheap (not helped by the fact that we bought some of their award-winning smoked salmon for Christmas), but what food. The girls did pretty well, and, for a really good restaurant, it's brilliantly child-friendly. I don't think we've visited for maybe 2 or more years, but they were pleased to have us back, and it was a great call.Went round to see some friends in the afternoon, and went for a walk. We'd promised the girls that we'd go out in the evening to a see a bonfire and fireworks, and we were both 90% certain that they'd completely freak, and we'd have to head home early as soon as the bangs started. But they did really well. We stood a way back, but had a good view, and they loved all the colours, and even quite liked the noise. So, a real win.
Got home, worked. Things are very, very busy, and I need to get some bits and pieces completed as soon as possible.
Labels: food, girls, walk, work
Friday, November 06, 2009
London
Yes, in London today. Then home. Interesting legal goings-on which I'm not allowed to talk about, and which don't impact us directly. Kristy and Paul moved house, Mel helped them. I didn't work till midnight, but on the other hand, I had a great revelation whilst putting the girls to bed which should reduce the amount of work that a particular issue will cause me by a great deal.This is good.
It's hard, but I'm loving work at the moment.
Labels: work
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Late
(backposting) Worked till midnight. Then took 2 hours to get to sleep. Not perfect.Wednesday, November 04, 2009
What a day
Worked till 1030. Partly because things are very busy, partly because I had to take breaks during the day to: 1) let the electrician turn off all the power in order to finish off fitting the new radiators 2) deal with the fact that my main server died, loudly (*phzzzzzzzzzt* + ozone smell) when I turned it on, necessitating emergency DHCP procedures 3) pick up Jo from school, where she'd come down with severe stomach pains (fine by bedtime) 4) fail to have a haircut (see 3 above) 5) meet other members of the clergy and reader team for prayers, discussion and lunch (though I ended up using Sally's office for 45 minutes for a work call) 6) the realisation that I had a computer that I might be able to cannibalise for a new PSU, which just _might_ be all that had broken on my main server (and was). So, a busy day, and I'm not quite sure why I'm still awake. Time, in fact, for bed.Labels: clergy, geekery, illness, jojo, work
Friday, October 30, 2009
Week in review
Well, yet again, I've done less development work than I'd planned, but on the other hand, we're still on track, and, more importantly, we've been scoping out options for further projects, which is rather fun. That's all going very well, and hopefully my boss (and his boss) are happy with how it's all gone.It's not much fun being away from the girls, but on the plus side, I'm at home for the next two weeks, and I should see lots of them then. And I'm typing this in the airport, so I'll be on my way home soon, as well.
Notes to self for next trip:
- pack swimming trunks (whatever happened to them?)
- pack lots of warm things - it's going to be really quite cold by the next time I'm here
- no need to pack the extra keyboard and mouse (lose some weight from my bag)
- do we have a better suitcase that I can take?
Friday, October 23, 2009
Phew
Mainly because when I finished work at 1740, things were in a bad state. Things weren't running as expected, and I'd had to leave things far from fixed. But it was Moo's turn to put the girls to bed, and I spent 40 minutes or so sorting things out. And it's all much, much better now. It doesn't all work, but I hadn't expected it to yet.They didn't come to sort out the final radiators today. Grrr.
Labels: work
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Taking on more...
(backposting) Not much, and nothing worrying, but my boss has asked me to get a couple of up-coming projects moving along, which is very flattering. The only thing is that I've got quite a lot of development work to be doing at the same time on the main project I'm working on.Labels: work
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
In town
(backposting) You know: the big one with lots of railway stations and underground trains. That one. Good meetings, but spent several hours submitting nearly 3 grands' worth of expenses. Which got approved. Phew.Thursday, October 15, 2009
A new approach
(backposting) Had one of those, um, interesting conversations at breakfast with one of the folks from the customer and a colleague, and on the drive into the office, where a radically different approach to our major outstanding issue was presented. We spent some time on it, and then did the right thing: which was to run the numbers. And the numbers didn't work, so it was a no.But it did force us to re-evaluate the options, and to come up with a couple of new ones. So then I wrote a discussion paper. We hope to make a decision tomorrow.
Labels: work
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Knee - ow
(backposting) Woke up this morning, and my knee was really painful. I think I'd overdone it on the exercise bike, and then slept awkwardly on it. But it really hurt. Ow.A good day, but it's good to know that I'm heading back home tomorrow. We came up with quite a problem today, but I think we've found a way round it. Work can be fun.
Monday, October 05, 2009
Off to Finland
(backposting) I'd really hoped to finish (sorry - no pun intended) a piece of work this morning, before heading off, but it was not to be, so I left in rather a hurry for Heathrow, in the pouring rain. I was rather pleased with myself for booking some parking, so at least I didn't have to worry about that when I got there.I arrived in lots of time, and met Ryan (my boss) and Miguel (a colleague), and, at the gate, someone from the customer, called Mike. Had an OK flight (partly helping a woman from Nokia come up with a some questions and answers for a pub quiz), and arrived 3 hours later in Helsinki. Mike drove us to hotel, the Scandic Continental, where I checked in. Then bed, after setting the alarm.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Abigail's Party
(backposting) I've never seen the original "Abigail's Party", but Kate and Mac (with whom we're staying this weekend) have copy on DVD, so we watched it last night. Very funny - quite a twisted genius is Mike Leigh - and the ending was a real surprise. Moo had to go up to bed - Jo came down and was rather insistent - so she's not seen the ending yet: hopefully we can borrow it from them.I've tried to log on to the VPN of the customer that I'm working on at the moment, in order to finish something off before tomorrow, but it doesn't seem to be available at the weekend, which is a right pain.
Oh, and Jojo was very sad when she discovered that I won't be around next week, particularly as I won't be around to read her the Hobbit, so I've recorded some sections of it on my phone, which I must remember to put on a CD so that Moo can play it to Jo.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Plans for the future
Not the long-term future, but it looks like I'm going to be starting a project in Finland next week. It'll probably be for a month and a half, and I'm very pleased to discover that Miguel, a colleague, will be joining me. We'll probably do a week on site (in Finland), and then a week off, through the term of the project. It's going to be be interesting, and I'm glad it won't just be me on site.I discovered that St Mary Aldermary holds a Holy Communion service ("Mass") on Mondays, at lunchtime, and went along. It was a BCP service, with the priest (in dalmatic, rather than chasuble, I think), a sacristan/server (in cotta) at the front, and around 8 other people, including a nun. It was a lovely haven of quiet and peace in the middle of the day, and I'm very glad I made it. I'm usually in London on Mondays, and I'm going to try to make a habit of it.
Labels: communion, travel, work
Monday, September 14, 2009
London, school, and design
Starck - interesting guy, and amazing designer. There was a good programme on the TV this evening - Design School or similar - about a bunch of young designers battling for the chance to work with him. Very, very interesting. We caught it by accident, but we'll try to watch it again next week.I was in London today, and had a very good meeting with the rest of the team. I'm really, really enjoying the chance to think architecturally and to apply some of the skills and experience I've gained over the past 15 years of work. There's dull stuff, too, but also the opportunity to think and debate with clever colleagues. Good stuff.
And it was Jo's first day at school for an entire day. She loved it, and particularly having a school dinner. I'm very keen that she should do this: it will encourage her to eat a wider range of food, it will allow more pupils to eat better food, and I think it builds better social cohesion. So I'm very pleased that she enjoyed it.
Labels: jojo, school, television, work
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Haircut, and lots of hours, and Communion
You know when you just _have_ to get a set of work done? Well, that was today. Unluckily, it was for two different pieces of work. But they're both done, even if I wasn't finished before 2000. I also managed to get a haircut, which was useful (what with my hair being too long).And took part in a very interesting discussion on the Eucharist over at Sally's Journey. Feel free to pop over and join in.
Friday, September 04, 2009
More school, more work, family
(backposting) What a day! It started with Moo accompanying Jojo to school for her second day: the school likes parents to come in early on in term to get an idea of what it's like, which is an excellent idea. Moo was very impressed with the teacher, and amused by Jo, who wasn't always good at waiting to be called on when she knew the answer to a question - and even when she _did_ wait, would protest: "but I knew the answer, I really did." Best one, though was:- Teacher: "whose birthday do we celebrate on Christmas Day? Josephine?"
- Jojo: "Jesus'. And my friend Sennen's, of course."
At lunch, a friend of Moo's from college, Sophie, came with her two kids. I didn't get to spend much time with her, though, as work was very busy. Good, interesting, challenging stuff, though - the job's working well, I'm pleased to say.
Last thing to report on Jojo, a little before going to bed who was rhapsodising about one of her friends - a girl - and how much she loved her. She suddenly came out with "Daddy, girls _can_ marry girls, can't they?" I was really proud, "Yes, Jojo, they _can_." Good for her.
Moo and I watched Buffy episodes until Jim (my brother) and Nina (his wife) turned up with their two kids. We got the kids to sleep pretty quickly, and stayed up chatting, eating and drinking till - ooh, well after 11. Really good to see them.
Labels: friends, homosexuality, Jo, work
Thursday, August 27, 2009
LDAP
A day of scary LDAP stuff. It went pretty well, though there's further to go. A long day, anyway, but at least it was at home, so I got to see the girls and Moo.Labels: work
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Getting interesting
Started playing with LDAP today, for work. Not something I've really been involved with before, and the set-up for OpenLDAP is _not_ simple, particularly with the "new style" configuration, but I've got it working, I can now connect to it, and I'm going to start seeing if I can connect it to our product. Good stuff, and interesting to be learning new things. As I did yesterday, actually - new architectural insights on the Appian product, which I'll be spending lots of time on in the future.Monday, August 24, 2009
In the office
I've been with the company for 4 whole weeks, now, and it was my first trip to the office in London. Busy, and I only managed to leave after 1830, but I got lots done, and met some of the other folks. Had a good chat with my boss over a pint before heading home, too. Things are looking good. The only sad thing is that I didn't see Miri today, as she didn't get up until after 0650 (when I left), and was in bed well before I got back. But I'll be working at home tomorrow, which will make up for it somewhat.Labels: work
Friday, August 21, 2009
Migration
A big day today, as we needed to migrate to a production server. Despite some set-backs, we got it sorted, which means that I should be in the office for the first time on Monday. Despite having worked for Appian for four weeks now, I've not made it into the office, and wasn't even interviewed there, so it'll be weird. There should even be some other folks from Appian EMEA in, which would also be good, as I've only met 3 of the others so far.Moo's off to Kate & Mac's tomorrow, but I can't go, as I'm taking services on Sunday. But it'll give me time to get some rest, which I really need.
Oh, and I now have Windows working under Linux. What a huge relief. Needs some tweaking, but getting there.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Very tired
My boss was up in Huntingdon today. It was good to see him - he was away on honeymoon for the past two weeks - and to have a good chat. I'm tired, tired, though, particularly as the drive home was quite long. I had planned to go to a wedding rehearsal in St Andrew's, Halstead, but was just too tired, so stayed at home and did some geekery - some work, some not.Monday, August 17, 2009
Planning migration
Work today working on system migration and deployment. Did some work on the Wii Fitness, and really enjoy the Zazen balance game. I'm pretty good at it, too: breathe, and breathe...Monday, August 10, 2009
First day
My first day in the new job, and I was in Huntingdon. It all went very well indeed, and I even got home in time for the girls' bath and bedtime. A good start.Labels: work
Sunday, August 09, 2009
39 today!
Yes, it's my birthday today, and I'm 39 years old. I woke up too late to make it to the 8 o'clock service, and decided that spending time with family was more important that the canon law requirement to receive Communion every Sunday. So, we headed off for brunch (I'd had pirate cake for breakfast, and had a knickerbocker glory. We then headed off to Freeport where I bought more shirts and a pair of trousers for work. The girls started to lose it, and Miri slept all the way home, and for 20-30 minutes even after we got back.And then, a birthday party. It turns ot that one of Jojo's pre-school friends, Amber, shares my birthday, so we went there for a children's party. I took the pirate cake (I'd just have ended up eating it all over the week), and everyone had a great time. However, towards the end, Miri put her elbow out again. It was pretty obvious, and _this_ time, I managed to put it back in, which was an enormous relief.
The girls just about managed to stay awake until bedtime, and then Moo and I did more Wii Fit work. It's really impressive, I have to say, and I'm really getting into it. I did some ironing as Moo did her work-out, and then barbecued some lovely steak with a lovely bottle of red wine from James and Ruth (thanks!).
Tomorrow, I start my first day in the new job on a customer site - in Huntingdon, as it happens. Exciting, with some trepidation. It'll be good, I think.
I've had a good birthday, even if Moo's not finished knitting my present (a pair of lovely socks)...
Labels: birthday, drink, food, knitting, party, work
Friday, August 07, 2009
Project, and off home
The day of the great project presentation. We'd been asked to present to the company, and anyone who wanted to do so could turn up. This included some pretty senior people, some very bright technical folks, some sales folks with serious experience, and one of the founders of the company. And it went really, really well. We rocked: we really, really did. And this despite our team song ending up being MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This."
Lunch - another milkshake! - and then to the airport. I'm sitting in an airport lounge, finally getting up to date with the blog, and looking forward to heading home. The only concern is that I'm so tired that I might fall asleep here, and miss my flight, so that's why I'm keeping myself busy and typing away. I feel that I've made the right move, that I known what I'm doing, that I'm going to enjoy my job, and that this is a goer. Thank God.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
We'll be ready
(backposting) The project presentation is due tomorrow, and we _will_ be ready. I left the office before 1830 today, which is pretty much unheard of, and had a good meal before heading back to the hotel bar, where I met an interesting guy and had a good chat. Dan - one of the other guys on the course, and a Brit like me - turned up after a while, and we had a beer. And then to bed. I'm off home tomorrow.Labels: work
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Time sheet
(backposting) Given that I'm working as a consultant, we keep track of all our work hours. Over the past five days, I've logged 51 hours: and two of those days were the weekend. And I'm not even the one working the longest hours on the project. I don't think I could sensibly do more, however: I'm getting to be really shattered.I'd rather hoped to be able to spend a few days next week at home, but it seems that I'm going to be thrown in at the deep end, and will be with a customer in Huntingdon for 0900 on Monday morning. And probably for the rest of the month. But that's kind of fine, and I'm glad that they're happy to use me immediately.
Labels: work
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
No let-up
(backposting) Other than to say that it's still "go, go, go", there's not much else to say. Work, work, work.Labels: work
Monday, August 03, 2009
Finding focus
(backposting) I've spent too much time looking at issues around installation, and have fallen out of the project groove, so today I took some advice from the trainer, and after spending some time with our PM, Christine, settled down to do some more relevant tasks. The trainer suggested that I settle down on my own, and try to filter out all the things going on: she'd noticed that I like to know what's going on in all the conversations around - either to learn, or to offer to help - and that this was distracting me. Good advice, and from now on, I'll try to ensure that I've got some space. Headphones are very useful for this, too.Things are beginning to come together, and I'm feeling much, much happier than I was in the middle of last week, when I was honestly beginning to wonder if I'd made a terrible move.
Labels: work
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Church (and work)
(backposting) Well, it's Sunday. I went back to the lovely St Anne's, Reston, for their fantastic 1000 service. Great welcome, fun music, lots of people, and a baptism to boot. One thing that I really enjoyed was that once Jim (who was presiding) had baptised the baby, he walked around the church, telling him how this was his new family, and showing him all the people. It felt like an excellent introduction, and I think I'll emulate the practice. A few of the congregation invited me out to brunch in a restaurant nearby, which was really kind and, well, Christian. What a lovely church.I had an idea about how to sort a sort out a problem that we'd been having at work, so went round to try to sort it out quickly. Unluckily, there were emails from a senior person that I ended up responding to, and so he came out to the office and I spent rather more time their than I'd intended: 5 hours...
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Saturday - a day off, right?
(backposting) Wrong. Slept in to 0845 or so, but still did 7 hours on the project. Not so good.Labels: work
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wednesday already
(backposting) We're all losing track of the time somewhat, given all the hard work, and the amount we're learning. I'm pleased to discover that I'm not going to have to be the project lead: Christine, who's been with the company for a while, has taken on that role. It's serious stuff, though.Found a couple of very nice suits which I'm considering buying. They'll be on sale tomorrow...
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Pink shirt
(backposting) Yes, I've bought myself a pink shirt. I shall wear it at some point this week, but not yet. I discovered that the dress code is rather more formal than I'd expected, so I need some new shirts - but they'll come in handy anyway.Towards the end of the day, I got really grumpy and quite down, but then realised this was partly the jet-lag and a sugar low, and once I'd dealt with the latter, felt somewhat better. The trainer, Midge, is giving us lots of homework, and we've got a major project we need to get sorted by the end of next week, too, which is rather scary.
Labels: work
Monday, July 27, 2009
New job
(backposting) The next two weeks are training. And they're going to be very, very hard. Both in terms of time, but also in terms of being challenging, which is good. Struggling a bit with the jet-lag and missing Moo, but am trying to do the gym thing, which is going well so far.Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Job time!
(backposting) After a morning visiting the beach (of course!), we headed off to the National Trust's Felbrigg Hall, although it took us rather a while to get there because Moo's phone satnav insisted that there was no main road between the cottage and Cromer, and that we had to take the back roads. So, we walked around the hall and went to see the donkeys. And there wasn't much reception. But just as we were about to visit the walled garden, I saw that I had a missed call. From the guy who, if they wanted me, would be my boss. So, I found a place with some reception, and phoned him. And they want me! What an enormous, enormous relief.Once we got back home, I managed to get in touch with the HR person, and we sorted out the details. And then I had to find a flight, etc., etc..
I'm starting on Monday (next Monday!), and will be there for 2 weeks' training. Hard to be away for that long, but Moo understands completely, and at least we'll just have had a holiday. The name of the company of Appian, and they're based in Reston, Virginia. They do BPM (Business Process Management), which is pretty new to me, but they want me for my consulting and architecture skills and experience, which is great.
Labels: happiness, holiday, job, travel, work
Monday, July 13, 2009
Moo away
(backposting) Moo's Nan was in hospital overnight, and coming back today, so after a meeting in Peterborough, Moo headed up to her parents for the night. So it was me and the girls tonight, and they did really well. Until around 2155, when Miri woke up, just as I was about to blog, which is why today was a backpost. I managed to get her back to sleep after a couple of attempts, but it was getting late by then, so I headed to bed.Friday, July 10, 2009
And now ...
... I'm unemployed. Today was my last day with Certicom. We've parted on good terms, which is excellent, and I have some possible irons in the fire, so all is not lost.Labels: work
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Not a new job
I'd hoped to hear today that someone was going to offer me a new job, but it turns out that they're not. Not desperately happy, obviously. Went for a knickerbocker glory with Moo, at a favourite café in Clare. She had a bacon and egg butty. This certainly helped.Spent a good deal of the day configuring a desktop machine that's been around for a while, but I'd not had the chance to set up. It's pretty much ready, and working well. Nice (though I'd prefer an nVidia card to an ATI one, as I can't get the dual head stuff to work properly with it).
Had a funeral visit this evening, which was just what I needed, to be honest. A chance to care for other people, rather than myself. And some humour, too.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Packing up
(backposting) Spent much of the day sorting out old equipment for Certicom and sending it back to them, as Friday will be my last day with them. Well, that's it.Labels: work
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Hmm - one of those days
A good day, and lots of things to say, but I really can't. Not for now.In the morning, Moo and I visited the school that Jojo will be attending next term, and a meeting about the form of phonics that the school uses to teach the children to read. It was interesting, and pulled together what we're doing anyway with a few extra bits and pieces.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Slowing down
Most important was a 2 hour sleep in the morning. Poor Moo had a long drive to Peterborough, but I made the most of the morning, and it really helped. I had a work call around redundancy issues in the afternoon which went as well as could have been expected, and when Moo came back, we put the girls to bed and then barbecued. Since then I've been getting up to date with the blog entries, wrapping up a day of catching up with post, email photo-posting and the rest.It still feels strange, and a bit different, but it feels right.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Work and walk
(backposting) Doing lots of walking at the moment - I've done about 14 miles (20km+) over the past 3 days, and I'm loving it. I've started using AFTrack for S60v3 to record my walks, and I'm hoping to use the tracks it to update data in OpenStreetmap. Tried doing it this evening, but it was hard work getting into it. I _could_ have read some more of the manual, I guess...Work's been busier than late: a possible customer with lots of questions. Keeps me on my toes, I guess.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
A poor show
(backposting) Not the curate's meeting - although only 4 of the 6 of us were there, the others had good reasons - but the Mobile & Wireless Show in Olympia 2. It was pretty poor, and I left after a short time. Noone interesting there, nothing interesting to see.The good news, however is that my new phone should arrive tomorrow! It's the lovely Samsung i8910 HD. It has an 8 mega-pixel camera will record HD video. This would be more useful if we even had an HD television.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Baptism
I really do like baptising people. Children only, so far, though I hope we get the chance to baptise an adult soon. I hadn't expected to be around at home this weekend, but when I discovered that we would be, I offered to take the baptism, as I'd done the preparation for the parents a couple of weeks ago. It was also my first chance to take a baptism within a service, which was also good.What else? Had a fun early morning with the girls - both of whom slept all night in their own beds! Moo got some more sleep, and then we had a sleepy cuddle while the girls ran riot, sat on our heads, all that sort of thing. Unluckily, Jo spent too much of the rest of the day just failing to listen, which made for some interesting parts to the day, but all-in-all, we've had a pretty good weekend.
Next week, I have to decide whether to go "contract" or not, rather than permanent. An important decision: I'm awaiting some information from one particular source - and this all assumes, of course, that the redundancy proceedings go as expected.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Frustration
(backposting) For reasons which I can't go into at this point, this has been a day of ups and downs - and ending on a down. I'm not down myself, particularly - and a good session with other curates from the diocese helped - but rather cross, and certainly frustrated.On a positive note, however, Jim and Nina had an offer accepted on a house today: they hope to move around August time. Great news, as they need to be moving out of rented accommodation and settling down: this is their chance.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
A new employer
Today we had confirmation that Certicom, the company for whom I work, had been acquired by Research In Motion. I was in two minds about this when things started, but I'm feeling more and more happy about the move, and we had an all-hands meeting/presentation with some of their execs tonight (though I missed some of it as I had to take a baptism preparation), and I was pretty impressed. Some of my initial reservations were around the old Blackberry I had about 3 years ago, but I'm hearing good things about their recent products and I like what I'm hearing about the company. It certainly remains to be seen where I fit into things, but we'll see.Labels: work
Friday, March 20, 2009
6 and a half hours - and a Blackberry
I spent about 6 and a half hours in the car today, driving to Basingstoke and back. It was pretty quick on the way there, but the M3 and the M25 were both terrible on the way back. Gave me plenty of opportunity to make some calls (on the hands-free, though I was actually at a standstill for annoyingly large amounts of time). The meeting was a good one, however, and worth the trip, so that's good.The other piece of news is that I've heard that RIM, whose acquisition of us is due to get final approval on Monday, have announced that they're going to give everyone a Blackberry. I see this is as very good news, as it suggests that they're not intending to do an immediate and wholesale "asset strip" (e.g. sacking lots of people). And I know, now, that they're aware of my existence, as well, as they offered me the option of keeping my current number or getting a new one. I don't yet know what phone it will be, and have received lots and lots of differing advice from friends.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
rsync
I got a decent sized external hard drive for Christmas, but never got around to setting up backup to it. I had some time today, and finally got round to setting up rsync and crontab. Two very useful apps that I should have got round to nailing a long time ago: sensible additions to my armoury.Oh, and it's official: we got acquired, subject to the court's approval. Who knows what this means jobwise: we'll just have to see.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Conference
(backposting) I went to London to an (ISC)2 conference on content security. It was interesting, and there was some good discussion, too. Did some good networking, too, with some useful people.Tried calling HQ as I was heading back - difficult to raise people at the moment. But I heard that things are moving.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Taking leave of friends
I finished off most of the work I'd planned to do, and had a - at times heated - wrap-up meeting. It was then time to bid goodbye to colleagues and friends that I've got to know over the past two - nearly three - years, with nary a clue as to whether I'll ever see them again. Quite a few of us will certainly keep in touch, but it's quite possible that I'll never come over to Toronto again on business, even if we do get taken over by Verisign, and they decide to keep me. It's very odd, and rather unsettling. There are quite a few people I'll really miss if that's the case.I'm currently sitting in the Air Canada lounge, bringing my blog entries up-to-date, and wishing that I'd been around to help Moo, who's had a terrible week of it: the girls have been ill, she's had little sleep, and her work has been, well, difficult. I'll be back tomorrow, and hope to pick up some of the slack.
Labels: family, home, travel, work
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Snow. Snow. And more snow.
(backposting) It snowed overnight. Proper snow. There had been snow on the ground - mostly piled out of the way - when I arrived on Monday, but there were several centimetres deposited - and in places drifted - overnight, and it snowed pretty much all day. I _did_ take my coat, and drove very carefully to the office, which is only a mile or so from the hotel, there to find only about half of the people having made it in, for which I really couldn't blame them.Given the uncertainty about the future, it's amusing to see how many of my colleagues are suddenly very active on LinkedIn, and the number of recommendations and cross-recommendations that are taking place. I had supper with some friends from work, and we spent lots of time discussing what might happen. Upshot? We have no clue. It could be bad, but it could be OK. People are polishing their CVs anyway, and yesterday I turned down a 3rd interview because I couldn't face driving 2 hours each way a minimum of 4 days a week. I'm not that desperate, and don't expect to be in the near future. Was offered some possible contract work in Europe, though...
Monday, January 26, 2009
To Canada - one last time?
(backposting) I took an earlier plane than usual, to maximise the time I'd have in the office in Mississauga, but that meant getting up at 0550. Luckily (or not), Jo was already in with me by then, so no matter. It was sad saying goodbye to Moo and the girls, and weird knowing that this may be my last time to our HQ in Canada, as it really looks like work is going to be acquired in a friendly take-over by Verisign. That's OK, but it's completely impossible to know if they're going to want me afterwards. Wasn't feeling great, but took something, and felt OK by the time I got to Heathrow: a sleep in the car helped (I wasn't driving).An OK flight (I watched Ghost Town, which was funny and sentimental in about equal measure), and got in a little before 1500. Picked up a car, and was at the office by 1530.
There's lots of work to be done, and some politics to negotiate, but that's all part of the fun. I got done for the day around 1730, and headed to the hotel, and then on to Square One, where I managed to buy some clothes for the girls as presents. Back to the hotel, which was heaving, so I went and had food at a local Kelsey's. Not great cuisine, but it filled the gaping hole in my stomach. And then to bed.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
History
I was going to blog about my trip to Canada next month, or about being in Eindhoven today, or how work has suddenly got a _lot_ more interesting. But today is a day of history, and, like most of the blogosphere, I suspect, I can't avoid talking about that.Hopefully, my two daughters watched at least some of the inauguration. Jo, at nearly 4, is too young to realise the importance of what has happened today, and Miri, at nearly 2, will have to be told that she was sat in front of it. What's more, I didn't want to explain to Jo why having a black man as President of the United States is such an important thing: she has maybe a few more months or years without understanding prejudice, and I'd like her to have those while she can. But it _is_ a big day, and I know I wasn't alone in wondering if Obama would survive to be sworn in. He has been, and he now faces one of the greatest challenges any American has ever faced. God be with him.
Labels: girls, history, travel, work
Monday, January 19, 2009
Work...
So, I spent 6-9 weeks working on something, and most of it wasn't included in the final product. I'm kind of resigned to this, but other people are _not_ happy...Labels: work
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Work
(backposting) Lots of work today. Lots of it. Yes, I'm still working. Everyone else went to Steam with Santa, which they enjoyed, and I didn't, but that was fine. Had a call at 1600 where I discovered that the project's on hold till we have an update next week, so that's that for now!Speaking of updates, started an update of Kate's computer around 1700. It's _slow_, and I had to go back to it a few times for prompts, but around 2330, I decided it had really hung, and turned it off.
Labels: work
Monday, December 22, 2008
To the in-laws
(backposting) After breakfast, we headed off to Kate and Mac's. In the afternoon, they all went out shopping, etc., and I worked. Hmm. Not a big fan of all of this work around Christmas, but didn't take the holiday, so hey.Thursday, December 18, 2008
initrd
Today I've mostly been working on init ram disks, or initrd. This is how you boot up Linux machines, and usually you get it all sorted from whoever makes your distribution. Why would you want to make your own? Well, if you wanted to use capabilities of a system which aren't usually available at boot time, like some of the clever crypto stuff.It turns out to be more difficult to get it all sorted than you might think. And then you think you have, and you haven't. It has, however, been a voyage of discovery, and worth a _great_ deal of geek points, particularly given what I'm trying to do with it, so I'm pleased. It's been slow steps throughout the day, but I got to the stage around 9pm when I was beginning to delete important files by accident, so decided that I'd better stop.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
New York
So, it looks like I may be going back to New York next month. And possibly twice. The customer thinks I might be helpful, and is willing to pay, so... Moo seems happy enough, so that's probably what I'll do.Jo was up a 0500 this morning, which is somewhat better, but far from perfect. I'm very tired at the moment, and think I need to accept that I'm still not very well, and that it's not just the remains of the cold. Glandular fever 14 years ago still seems to hit me very hard when I get properly ill, and slows my recovery, and I'm so tired so much of the time. St John's Wort and walks in the country-side help, but I need to look after myself.
Not that Moo's not tired as well, but she's being lovely and supportive
Labels: illness, sleep, travel, work
Monday, December 15, 2008
Back to morning
(backposting) I was looking forward to getting back into work, and a particular project I'm working on. Why, oh why does it takes so long to go through all the old email and get it sorted?Went for a much needed walk in the afternoon.
Labels: work
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Off sick
Today I took the day off sick, which I really needed. 3 hours+ of sleep this morning and a quiet afternoon in front of the TV were just what I needed. The antibiotics are still making me a bit tearful ("It's a miracle" TV shows seem to be good tear-fodder, as do random moments in West Wing re-runs), but I'm feeling much better than I was.I've been enjoying some good banter with a good friend, Nick Harkaway, on Facebook. I know I keep saying it, but you should really read his book, The Gone-Away World. You'll like it.
Labels: books, friends, illness, work
Friday, December 05, 2008
And ... home
Slept for four hours on the plane, which made all the difference. And we landed about 45 minutes early, which meant that I got home nice and early. And Moo _did_ like the yarn, so I did well.The other interesting piece of news during the trip to New York is that RIM is looking at buying Certicom, for whom I work. If they manage it, what will it mean to me? I don't know.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
03/12/2008
Originally uploaded by MikeCamel
(backposting) We had meetings all day in an office in the Woolworth Tower in Manhattan, which had this great view. A good set of meetings, too.
Oh, and I also went and spent rather more than I meant to on some rather nice hand-dyed knitting for Moo, which I'm sure she'll like. There was a "Yarn Riot" in my hotel which people on Ravelry had told her about. Think I'll be popular.Labels: knitting, meeting, travel, work
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Mel's still ill
Poor thing. Moo was supposed to be at her charity's AGM today, and I had a major customer meeting. She stayed away, and went. My wife is lovely.Thursday, November 13, 2008
Travelling
(backposting) On my home this afternoon, after a useful day of meetings, though I made little of the advertised programme. I'm really enjoying the PS (Professional Services) work that I'm doing. Still unclear whether I'm going be be off to New York in early December: it's up to the customer, really.I also had an idea about how to sort out an architectural problem that's arisen in one of our other projects, which is rather pleasing. It came up yesterday, and we had a party at which I sought out the relevant people, and it looks like it's worth a try.
Sat next to Lee on the plane back, and after some time sketching out an architecture and some business plans for a particular prospective customer in the UK, we settled down into the flight. Air Transat (hmmm) don't have a particularly good selection of films, and it's not helped because there are shared screens, even in "business" (and I use the quotes advisedly), which means that you can't choose what you watch. So it was the (frankly terrible) Meet Dave, followed (luckily) by the rather amusing, if ridiculous, Get Smart. Then some sleep.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Confidences
(backposting) Today a colleague asked me for spiritual guidance with a personal issue. They were concerned about some very negative emotions they have, and how to deal with them. I gave what perspectives I could, and it seems to have helped, at least a bit.I am always astonished and humbled when people seek to confide in me, and ask for guidance: particularly at work. But it does highlight how my ministry _does_ extend beyond the obvious church-based work I do, and how people are aware of my ministry within the work context. It's so buoying up, and shows how the SSM ministry model can work, even when - as in my case - my work is not officially classed as part of my ministry. I'll be praying for this person, but also for my ministry.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Mentoring
(backposting) So, this evening I had a mentoring session with my boss. It's the first such session that I've had for, say, 9 years, which is pretty scary. He asked me when my last performance review was: that was about the same length of time ago (he was horrified!). We started work on a skills matrix - management, rather than the technical kind. Quite a lot of focus on people's perception of me, and how to be more aware of that. It's not the first time, won't be the last: one of the prime issues, I think, is that I tend to default to a position of expecting _other_ people's preferred mode of interaction to be the same as mine. And that tends to be fast engagement, rattling back and forth, a style which many see as aggressive, arrogant and also as not paying attention to other people's views. I think the danger is that I don't give people who aren't happy with that style the _chance_ to express their views enough. And just polling them for their views later in the conversation doesn't cut it.Labels: work
Monday, November 10, 2008
Travel
(backposting) Up early - I heard children's voices outside the door, and did one of those bolt-up-right-in-bed-where-am-I things before realising I was in a hotel and the neighbouring room's kids were in the corridor. Got up anyway, and before long Lee (a colleague) and I were off to Gatwick. Air Transat wasn't too bad, watched Hancock (ridiculous, fairly amusing) and The Incredible Hulk, (just plain silly). Managed not to watch "PS, I love you", which I'm not even going to grace with a link.After a stop-over in Montreal (grrr), when we didn't even get off the plane, on to Toronto. We arrived a little early, so I managed some meetings, which was very useful. I really miss the opportunity to stand in front of a white board with someone else, designing stuff on the fly: it's one of the kicks of the job. Anyway, got the chance to do that today.
Back to the hotel, drinks and round-table discussion with our CEO, then Brian drove me, Dan and Craig (whose first day it was, though Brian and I knew him from his previous job) to Brian's place. I beat Mackenzie, Rachel and Brian's 7-year-old, at Wii tennis, which is a relief, because he beat me rather convincingly last time I was over.
We then had a lovely meal - just the adults - and Rachel and I drank the nice bottle of Pouilly-Fumé that I'd brought along, as Brian would be driving, and the other two didn't want to drink. Yay! Then, whilst Brian, Dan and Craig had a dull chat about work, Rachel and I had a great long natter about stuff. Ranging through child sex education, faith, preaching, jobs, virtualisation, etc., etc.. It was great to catch up, as although we Facebook each other quite often, we've only met once before, but get on very well.
Then Brian drove us back to the hotel, I managed a single Lagavulin, and hit the sack around 2300.
Friday, October 31, 2008
A hard day
A hard day working - three meetings round Cambridge - and then back home. Jo was sick again - in Waitrose this time.Monday, October 27, 2008
I'm a sad geek
(backposting) This means that I really enjoyed a day of research into hardening. Of doing adversary characterisation (a phrase I use as often as I can, 'cos it's cool), and work on secure booting: all that sort of thing. I really enjoy my work, sometimes, and today was one of those days.Wednesday, October 22, 2008
New project
(backposting) Started an interesting new project for work today. Hardening, secure boot, that sort of thing. Already interesting.Monday, October 13, 2008
Supervision, and back to work: and an anniversary
(backposting) Spent most of the morning going through emails and getting pretty much up-to-date again. The afternoon was taken up mainly writing up a report on an audit I've recently done. Or getting most of it done, anyway.I also had a supervision with John. We worked on preparing for the confirmation on Sunday (I'll be the Bishop's Chaplain), then on my first baptism (my first sacrament!) next month. And also about the past two weeks, when I've been without Communion or any other church interaction. This is common for many, and rare for clergy, and it's been an interesting and useful experience. I've found the Daily Offices (morning and evening prayer) very important during this time, and have found it tough. Something I'll be reflecting on.
On another topic, Moo came up to my office around 0930, and mentioned the fact that today is our engagement anniversary. 16 years, we decided. Luckily, she'd forgotten, too. But we managed to get Mel to baby-sit, and arranged to go out for a curry in Clare. It was only around 1715 that we remembered that it wasn't our engagement anniversary (which as we both knew very well is on the 13th Feb., not October). But we went out anyway. We're rubbish.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
My own fault
(backposting) It's probably kind of OK to have a beer and then some wine with my meal, but it was definitely a mistake to go back to my room and unpack the bottle of Ardbeg. Kudos to Cady, who put up with my ramblings. So, that was last night, and so I took things easy today.Had a very good meeting with the CEO, and talked about future directions for the company in Europe, which was very positive. I also had a good meeting with my (temporary) boss over dinner, where he probed me really quite hard to find out what I'm looking to do in the short, medium and long term, and how we might get there. Very cheering indeed. Our CTO turned up while we were in the bar, and we stayed chatting to him. My boss left after a while, and the two of us who remained chatted some more. I do like Certicom: I think we're a good company, and there are opportunities to make a difference, doing stuff that I enjoy and I'm good at, and that's excellent.
Monday, October 06, 2008
HQ
At our HQ in Mississauga, and very, very busy. Everyone seems to have things for me to do, which is cheering at one level, if worrying at another.Labels: work
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Next stop Toronto
I've finished my course, so it's next stop Toronto for four days in the office. Missing the girls, tired, but it's been very useful, and I also expect to get lots done next week.Tuesday, September 30, 2008
SANS Day 1
I'm taking a course on UNIX and Linux security in Las Vegas, which is very interesting. It's also hard work, and would be even if I weren't somewhat jet-lagged. 9-5, with things to do in lunchtimes and evenings, so we're keeping pretty busy. And then there's checking work emails, etc.Friday, September 26, 2008
Clearing the decks
I'm off travelling for two weeks from Sunday - more to come on that - and so I tried to clear the decks so that I could get nice and ready. It wasn't to be. Stuff just turned up. The customer visit I'd planned (well, yesterday, anyway), but there were emails, calls, more calls, and more emails. But it's done now, and bar the packing, I'm pretty ready.Labels: work
24/09/2008
Originally uploaded by MikeCamel This is young Johan, after a beer or two, and in sepia. The lovely hotel is the Gothia Towers, in Gothenburg.
Labels: work
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Planning a trip
(backposting) Just a short trip - a day and a half. Gothenberg next week: should be interesting. More discussions about what I'm going to be doing in the medium term. Lots of sales stuff. And I cycled to Stambourne to catch some of Jo's swimming lesson, which was both appreciated and good for my health. And Jo had a set of vaccinations today. I took her, and she cried, 'cos it really hurt. But she was very good, poor little thing.We've got my mum here helping looking after the girls this week as Mel's still on holiday after her wedding. Lovely to have her around, and the girls aren't behaving _too_ badly. The fact that Jo's back at pre-school, and now 5 mornings a week, is helping.
Labels: family, pre-school, work
Monday, September 15, 2008
Job
Hmmm. The job's very busy at the moment, and I'm being pulled in at least two directions. One is a more sales-oriented pre-sales technical support role, and the other is the more purely development-led role. A careful balance to strike: recently there's been less of the former (holidays throughout Europe), and I've concentrated on the latter, but things are hotting up on the sales front (which I'm very pleased about, because that's good for the company). Hmm again.Had a good chat with Nick (Harkaway/Cornwell) about his book today. It's really very good. People who've read it will recognise the reference in my introduction (at the top of the blog page).
Friday, September 05, 2008
Tomorrow's the day
The only reason that Mel's wedding is important is, basically, that Jo gets to be a bridesmaid. We've been looking forward to this for months, and I really can't tell you how excited she is about it. If you ask her what her dress colour is, she'll say "burgundy". Actually, it's white with burgundy roses, but it sounds good, doesn't it?Work's getting madly busy. Which is interesting and good, but still.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Busy
Things are really hotting up at work. Lots of sales stuff coming along, but more and more non-sales stuff, too. I need to work out how this is all going to work together. Or not. We'll see.I forgot to blog about an incident on Sunday. At Ickworth Park there was a small zip wire for kids, and Jo had some gos on it. There was a boy of at least 2 years older than her, whose parents were being, shall we say, somewhat more protective than we are. When he was called away, he had a complete hissy fit. We just wouldn't put up with it, and as they went out of earshot, one father said to his kids: "if you acted like that, I'd throw your bike in the river. And if you didn't have a bike, I'd buy you one specially." We laughed. A lot.
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