Having replaced the washing machine just after Christmas, in the last couple of weeks we have suffered from a dead dishwasher, dead telly and dead broadband and I've also had terrible toothache and lost the offending gnasher (first casualty in the war against empty gums which I talked about a couple of weeks ago).
Any one of these could have been coped with on its own, but arriving in close proximity was not fun on the old stress levels. And although replacing things (well, not the tooth!) has been expensive we did at least have cash in the bank so haven't got thoughts of repayments to dampen the future.
So, the old JVC 36 inch CRT has been replaced with a really rather nice Sharp 40" LED/LCD flat jobby. Having been generally unimpressed with "New" screens in shops and other people's homes I am pleased to say that with a bit of tweaking on the settings I have got this one to produce a nice, balanced picture with the colours at a suitable level of restraint. And as Mr Murdoch is now giving us a free box and free installation there is a man coming to upgrade us to Sky HD on Saturday. We decided after the trauma of having to upgrade the TV we may as well get the most out of it.
The dishwasher, hoever is more of a pain. After the old one died (taking our electricity with it, praise be for trip switches) we ordered a nice new one (Ariston, with a stonking great reduction on it from the same local firm as did us a good deal on the telly). They happily delivered but refused to install as it needed a hole cutting in the cupboard under the sink as this has larger connectors. When this was resolved and turned on the new one began chucking water all over the floor in minutes. Not good. nothing to do with loose pipes, this is a genuine fault with a brand new appliance. Fortunately they concur and are sending another one this week, but not quick enough for our liking. And the hardboard under the lino has warped with the soaking. Grrrr.
The tooth turned out to have shorter than average roots in a bit of bone that has eroded more than anywhere else in my mouth, so had to go. Annoying as it was otherwise perfectly healthy and unfilled. Still, pain all gone and I can eat crusty bread again.
Now the broadband signal has died. 20 minutes on the phone to India last night proved it is nothing to do with our router (or my reserve ADSL modem), micro filters, extension leads etc so definitely a BT problem. Wonder how long they will take to fix that.
And another funeral of a colleague tomorrow.
Not a happy bunny right now, so hopefully better news next time!
Showing posts with label Teeth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teeth. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
My disreputable jaws
Yup, that's a plaster cast of my lower jaw. Taken recently in order to make a custom gumshield to help prevent nocturnal tooth grinding which is making my already unhelpfully deep pockets deeper. That's pockets around the teeth you understand, where stuff can get trapped and erode away at the roots. Although as I seem to spend a fortune on dentists every year they must think I have deep pockets elsewhere too.
Back in the first wave of this blog (2003 late summer to autumn if anyone feels like looking back, I can't be bothered to dig out the entries!) I had my jawbone rebuilt (upper and lower) with bone grafts as I have naturally dissolving issues. It was not fun and set me back over a grand which we could ill afford, but decided to go for it. I was predicted to be full of gaps/false teeth by now otherwise so I think it was worth both the expense and the pain. (Some might say I would at least then end up with straight teeth, as these are a bit wonky!)
Anyway, I now get to see the hygenist every 3 months to be tortured and recently she noticed a new pocket developing which has been put down to pressure caused by teeth clenching and grinding at night. So now there is a plastic layer between my jaws as I snooze (click on the pic to go to flickr if you want to see that too!) which I am slowly getting used to.
Nothing thrilling to add to that, just a glimpse into my life and fulfilling the promise last time to talk about teeth! I hit 39 on Sunday so will no doubt think of something about age for a forthcoming post.
Back in the first wave of this blog (2003 late summer to autumn if anyone feels like looking back, I can't be bothered to dig out the entries!) I had my jawbone rebuilt (upper and lower) with bone grafts as I have naturally dissolving issues. It was not fun and set me back over a grand which we could ill afford, but decided to go for it. I was predicted to be full of gaps/false teeth by now otherwise so I think it was worth both the expense and the pain. (Some might say I would at least then end up with straight teeth, as these are a bit wonky!)
Anyway, I now get to see the hygenist every 3 months to be tortured and recently she noticed a new pocket developing which has been put down to pressure caused by teeth clenching and grinding at night. So now there is a plastic layer between my jaws as I snooze (click on the pic to go to flickr if you want to see that too!) which I am slowly getting used to.
Nothing thrilling to add to that, just a glimpse into my life and fulfilling the promise last time to talk about teeth! I hit 39 on Sunday so will no doubt think of something about age for a forthcoming post.
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Late start for me today (like, 12 noon arrival in the office) as I was at the dentist this morning. Saw both Kirstie for a scrape and poke about and Mr Norfolk for the usual everything looks fine but we'll take some X-rays to be certain about the bone loss. So I was fine but he is leaving. The swine. He's been there the longest of any dentist we have seen in Felixstowe and will be sorely missed. OK, so he has inflicted a reasonable amount of pain and suffering on us all but generally we have pretty healthy mouths as a result. The big problem now is that there is a real shortage of dentists doing NHS work at the moment and thus no guarantee that they will get anyone decent to replace him. Or indeed anyone at all. At least we will still be registered with the practice as no-one seems to be taking on patients anywhere at the moment and we can't afford to start going private for everything. But it would all appear to be down to many of the same reasons that Joan didn't go for the job there she could have walked in to with her eyes shut. That is the practice boss being a pain in the backside to work for. Oh well, we shall just have to see how things turn out.
Not much else to say today (I am working on thrilling procedures for how to do my job). We did watch a bit of the football last night (the European Championships are on right now and England are through to the quarter finals) but haven't looked at Wimbledon as yet this year. Maybe later in the week I will throw in a round up of recent films we have watched...
Not much else to say today (I am working on thrilling procedures for how to do my job). We did watch a bit of the football last night (the European Championships are on right now and England are through to the quarter finals) but haven't looked at Wimbledon as yet this year. Maybe later in the week I will throw in a round up of recent films we have watched...
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Got to feel ever so sorry for Joan right now. Having had the tooth/crown thingy fall off a couple of weeks ago, then get stuck on again, it decided to break off properly on Friday night. She finally got in to see the dentist about it yesterday (very inconsiderate of them not to work weekends!) and had what was left of the tooth pulled out to make way for a proper false one in replacement. Having been through three extractions last year I knew exactly how she felt and was very pleased that Marion saw fit to send her home from work for the rest of the day. Still a bit sore this morning but from what I could see it looks to be healing up OK. Poor thing. It would have to be an eye tooth too, to compound the pain with an obvious gap for a couple of weeks (he promises the replacement will be in place before she goes to Rome at the end of June). The only light at the end of the tunnel there is that hopefully it will ease up on the sinus problems she has suffered over the years that stem from the dodgy tooth. Fingers crossed.
Otherwise we had a pretty good weekend. Lawn-tested the new mower, watched the Grand Prix. That sort of thing. Also found the time to finish Stronghold and despite the second trilogy being more of a continuous tale (the first lot have several years between each book so stopping for a break is not so much of a cliff-hanger) I have indeed turned to non-fiction again. In this case One Hit Wonderland by comedian Tony Hawks. I've been aware of him on tv and radio for years (and generally find him to be pretty funny) and while I knew he had written three sort of travel books based on bets this is the first I've dipped in to. Actually the third he wrote, but as I got it free I'm not complaining about starting in the wrong place. And they are all independent of each other anyway so it makes no odds. In this case the tale of trying to get back in to the charts (anywhere in the world) nearly 20 years after reaching number four with the Stutter Rap by Morris Minor and the Majors. Proving good fun so far and I will no doubt obtain the other two at some point.
I think I may have set a new record on length of 1 to 1 this morning. Should have started at 10, finally kicked off at about 1030 and got back to desk at around 1320. Not bad going! Oh well, now to crack on with the jobs set during it...
Extra:
Another blast of nostalgia was caused by this hoary old email that seems to have surfaced again:
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's probably shouldn't have survived, because our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and licked.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans.
When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip flops and fluorescent 'spokey dokey's' on our wheels.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags - riding in the passenger seat was a treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and it tasted the same.
We ate chips, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.
We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and no-one actually died from this.
We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and could play all day, as long as we were back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us and no one minded.
We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet chat rooms. (Well, we did have the ZX81, Spectrum etc)
We had friends, we went outside and found them. We played elastics and street rounders, and sometimes that ball really hurt.
We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones but there were no law suits. We had full on fist fights but no prosecution followed from other parents.
We played knock-and-run and were actually afraid of the owners catching us.
We walked to friend's homes. We also, believe it or not, WALKED to school; we didn't rely on mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which was just round the corner. We made up games with sticks and tennis balls.
We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the hood.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law unheard of. They actually sided with the law.
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
This my friends, is surprisingly frightening, and it might put a smile on your face:
The majority of students in universities today were born in 1983. They are called youth. They have never heard of We are the World, We are the children, and the Uptown Girl they know is by Westlife not Billy Joel.
They have never heard of Rick Astley, Bananarama, Nena or Belinda Carlisle.
For them, there has always been only one Germany and one Vietnam. AIDS has existed since they were born. CD's have existed since they were born.
Michael Jackson has always been white. To them John Travolta has always been round in shape and they can't imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance.
They believe that Charlie's Angels and Mission Impossible are Films from last year.
They can never imagine life before computers.
They'll never have pretended to be the A Team, RedHand Gang or the Famous Five.
They'll never have applied to be on Jim'll Fix It or Why Don't You. They can't believe a black and white television ever existed and don't even know how to switch on a TV without a remote control. And they will never understand how we could leave the house without a mobile phone.
Otherwise we had a pretty good weekend. Lawn-tested the new mower, watched the Grand Prix. That sort of thing. Also found the time to finish Stronghold and despite the second trilogy being more of a continuous tale (the first lot have several years between each book so stopping for a break is not so much of a cliff-hanger) I have indeed turned to non-fiction again. In this case One Hit Wonderland by comedian Tony Hawks. I've been aware of him on tv and radio for years (and generally find him to be pretty funny) and while I knew he had written three sort of travel books based on bets this is the first I've dipped in to. Actually the third he wrote, but as I got it free I'm not complaining about starting in the wrong place. And they are all independent of each other anyway so it makes no odds. In this case the tale of trying to get back in to the charts (anywhere in the world) nearly 20 years after reaching number four with the Stutter Rap by Morris Minor and the Majors. Proving good fun so far and I will no doubt obtain the other two at some point.
I think I may have set a new record on length of 1 to 1 this morning. Should have started at 10, finally kicked off at about 1030 and got back to desk at around 1320. Not bad going! Oh well, now to crack on with the jobs set during it...
Extra:
Another blast of nostalgia was caused by this hoary old email that seems to have surfaced again:
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's probably shouldn't have survived, because our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and licked.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans.
When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip flops and fluorescent 'spokey dokey's' on our wheels.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags - riding in the passenger seat was a treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and it tasted the same.
We ate chips, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.
We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and no-one actually died from this.
We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and could play all day, as long as we were back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us and no one minded.
We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet chat rooms. (Well, we did have the ZX81, Spectrum etc)
We had friends, we went outside and found them. We played elastics and street rounders, and sometimes that ball really hurt.
We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones but there were no law suits. We had full on fist fights but no prosecution followed from other parents.
We played knock-and-run and were actually afraid of the owners catching us.
We walked to friend's homes. We also, believe it or not, WALKED to school; we didn't rely on mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which was just round the corner. We made up games with sticks and tennis balls.
We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the hood.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law unheard of. They actually sided with the law.
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
This my friends, is surprisingly frightening, and it might put a smile on your face:
The majority of students in universities today were born in 1983. They are called youth. They have never heard of We are the World, We are the children, and the Uptown Girl they know is by Westlife not Billy Joel.
They have never heard of Rick Astley, Bananarama, Nena or Belinda Carlisle.
For them, there has always been only one Germany and one Vietnam. AIDS has existed since they were born. CD's have existed since they were born.
Michael Jackson has always been white. To them John Travolta has always been round in shape and they can't imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance.
They believe that Charlie's Angels and Mission Impossible are Films from last year.
They can never imagine life before computers.
They'll never have pretended to be the A Team, RedHand Gang or the Famous Five.
They'll never have applied to be on Jim'll Fix It or Why Don't You. They can't believe a black and white television ever existed and don't even know how to switch on a TV without a remote control. And they will never understand how we could leave the house without a mobile phone.
Monday, October 13, 2003
I wish this building would make its mind up about what temperature it wants to be. Luckily I decided to bring an extra layer today as its been OK, too hot and now too cold. Most peculiar. Mind you, I was here at just after 7 today following the dropping off of Jerry at the hospital. He might well be under the knife or even out of theatre by now. If it all goes according to plan he should be allowed home again tomorrow but I think someone else will be picking him up.
So, we had a pretty good weekend all told.
Apart from Friday night – in celebration of having my teeth back we decided some nice crusty bread was in order. So naturally I sliced my left thumb open with the bread knife. Still painful and bruised now although the cut seems to be healing nicely. Putting a real cramp on my joypad skills!
Saturday Joan worked in the morning then when I went to pick her up I got notified of a change to the plans. Instead of going home we went to Puccinos for lunch with Lesley. Which was particularly tasty as always in there. I really must get round to trying something else rather than having the same filling all the time, but it is just so nice… We then managed to sleep through most of the afternoon, which was also nice. I think we are now finally caught up with the missing sleep caused by the alarm.
Yesterday we spent the morning wandering around the market – even managed to spend some money for a change. Although mainly what we came home with was fruit, veg and bird seed. Then while I did exciting grass cutting stuff Joan went mad in the kitchen. So we had a fabulous dinner with homemade pumpkin soup and wonderful turkey with lots of different roast veggies. Lip smacking stuff. Plus we re-watched Mission Impossible 2 which was pretty good too.
Today I have of course achieved loads through being here so early (and especially before the distractions of phones and other people arrived on the scene). I could almost bring myself to do it again if the situation arose. Tomorrow I am in Aldeburgh at the library it would seem, doing an exhibition for the P&R publicity plan. So definitely an early finish for me today is warranted. Which will be arranged by simply slipping off after lunch to re-distribute all the new P&R leaflets which have all been delivered to London Road.
So, we had a pretty good weekend all told.
Apart from Friday night – in celebration of having my teeth back we decided some nice crusty bread was in order. So naturally I sliced my left thumb open with the bread knife. Still painful and bruised now although the cut seems to be healing nicely. Putting a real cramp on my joypad skills!
Saturday Joan worked in the morning then when I went to pick her up I got notified of a change to the plans. Instead of going home we went to Puccinos for lunch with Lesley. Which was particularly tasty as always in there. I really must get round to trying something else rather than having the same filling all the time, but it is just so nice… We then managed to sleep through most of the afternoon, which was also nice. I think we are now finally caught up with the missing sleep caused by the alarm.
Yesterday we spent the morning wandering around the market – even managed to spend some money for a change. Although mainly what we came home with was fruit, veg and bird seed. Then while I did exciting grass cutting stuff Joan went mad in the kitchen. So we had a fabulous dinner with homemade pumpkin soup and wonderful turkey with lots of different roast veggies. Lip smacking stuff. Plus we re-watched Mission Impossible 2 which was pretty good too.
Today I have of course achieved loads through being here so early (and especially before the distractions of phones and other people arrived on the scene). I could almost bring myself to do it again if the situation arose. Tomorrow I am in Aldeburgh at the library it would seem, doing an exhibition for the P&R publicity plan. So definitely an early finish for me today is warranted. Which will be arranged by simply slipping off after lunch to re-distribute all the new P&R leaflets which have all been delivered to London Road.
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
Teeth and Travel
Oh how embarrassing - the inner gunge fell out of my mouth this morning just while I was in conversation with Dawn and Ian and Ray about our New Routes stuff. To make matters worse there is a really tight bit of thread exposed now - stretching across the gum which my tongue keeps wandering on to. And the whole jaw is still aching in a most unpleasant fashion. Still, only a few more days until they come out so I guess I will be OK.
Off to Brighton (& Hove) tomorrow for an ATCO publicity meeting. First one I've managed to get to since last year so hopefully all will go smoothly with the trains and so forth. Mind you it has been a scorcher again today so the chances are high for melting rails and sagging power cables to put a damper on things. Dawn is coming too though so at least we will be able to suffer together through any problems (and I will put up with the extra weight to take my book I think!).
Forgot to mention yesterday - after arriving at Gatwick at 1.30 pm for a 4.30 flight on Sunday Helen and co were told their tickets had been printed wrong and they weren't flying until 5.30 - and then other delays kept them on the ground until 8. Not the best way to start a holiday so I hope it doesn't prove to be an omen for us. Certainly there are no rumours of the French going on strike at the moment. Fingers are crossed.
Off to Brighton (& Hove) tomorrow for an ATCO publicity meeting. First one I've managed to get to since last year so hopefully all will go smoothly with the trains and so forth. Mind you it has been a scorcher again today so the chances are high for melting rails and sagging power cables to put a damper on things. Dawn is coming too though so at least we will be able to suffer together through any problems (and I will put up with the extra weight to take my book I think!).
Forgot to mention yesterday - after arriving at Gatwick at 1.30 pm for a 4.30 flight on Sunday Helen and co were told their tickets had been printed wrong and they weren't flying until 5.30 - and then other delays kept them on the ground until 8. Not the best way to start a holiday so I hope it doesn't prove to be an omen for us. Certainly there are no rumours of the French going on strike at the moment. Fingers are crossed.
Sunday, July 20, 2003
Oh bloody hell. Idiocy strikes back and I end up suffering again for a stupid, stupid mistake. Or in other words, on Wednesday afternoon I declined going up to Martlesham P&R for a photo shoot as Joan's meeting in Ipswich was due to finish before the shoot did. Turned out it didn't and those who went were back in the office before I left. Plus to make matters worse stupid Simon did a bit of web surfage that was spotted by Mitchell. He said nothing to me about it but did tell Sonic.
And of course on Thursday morning when I couldn't stay asleep any longer because of the heat and ended up at work early what was I doing again when Sonic arrived. Yup, browsing the Llamasoft forums. So of course he had a word. Nothing too drastic (hell, he even said I could keep browsing at lunchtimes and all that like before just not to get too carried away again) but I ended up feeling like shit. All day.
It didn't help that he wanted a meeting which didn't happen until nearly lunch time and I had planned to be out of the office all day delivering books. I spent most of the morning shaking with self-recrimination and feeling as sick as a dog before having the meeting (lots of which went over my head) not eating much of my lunch and heading out to try and catch up on the deliveries. I did manage to get some done in the afternoon but not as many as I'd hoped for, no new locations found to help with my targets and stuff like that. So when I got home I was not in much of a good and happy state. And of course neither was Joan after she'd had another counselling session which confirmed she needs to take more time for herself and didn't really need me phoning her in a panic of "what the fuck have I done this time" proportions. So we spent a good chunk of the evening looking for jobs on the internet and hopefully there will be some application forms with me soon (in fact one is here already but looks a right evil sod, with some of the old "how would you cope with X", "tell us how you have prioritised Y" and "give an example of dealing with Z" type of questions which are going to require a lot of thought.
Friday I was planning to go to work in the morning before heading off to Colchester for stitches out in the afternon (with deliveries on the way). Instead I woke up in a totally depressed state, tears and all and ended up taking Joan for her doctor's appointment (pre-booked but handily times as she ended up being signed off for two weeks so hopefully she can start sorting through the counselling stuff and get back to an even-keel without all the crap from work she is having to cope with) and then having one myself.
Not exactly back on the anti-depressants yet, but have got some nice other pills to calm me down (which are kind of working as I seem to have spent most of the time since then asleep!). I stil feel shaky as hell and nauseous when I think about what I'm going to have to face tomorrow but hopefully I will get through. I think it will be better after this week's one-to one as I have got the first draft of an action plan to meet my targets sorted out and we can use that to hopefully determine if they are realistic or not. I think Sonic will be understanding of the situation (he certainly was with the teeth issue) and I'm sure he doesn't want us all to fail as that would then look bad on him but if the worst comes I will just go straight to personnel for further guidance and help. Hell, I'll even go back for more counselling myself if that's what it takes - it helped before and I have no qualms in asking for more help again. And if I can get through this week there are then two weeks where Gary and Charles will be away and not spreading their own negativity which I really don't find helpful either. One way or another I plan to be either back on track with the current job or at the very least planning for an interview for something else by the time they get back to work.
After a lie in, shopping trip to town and sleeping most of the afternoon yesterday we had H, B & A along for a nice Chinese meal. Sat in the garden all evening and it went well - I even managed to stay calm for most of it, just needing a quick break to sort my racing heart out again at one point. Today has been more relaxing (I slept most of the morning after getting up for breakfast then going back to bed with another outpouring of tears for no valid reason) with a fair deal of sitting in the garden reading. Finished ...Nutmeg on Friday after the stitches did come out (no fuss there at all, again a quick in and out which cured a bit of the worry but glad Ma was free to drive me as I'm not sure if I'd have been up for that - even managed to stay awake on the A12 this time (Although I had just had 1½ hours before lunch of snoozing)). Overall a very interesting read, and almost impossible to imagine the hardships and deprevations the people suffered trying to import spices. Went on to Exile 2 - The Golden Torc which I finished this morning and indeed am now straight in to number 3 The Non-Born King. Both as good as I remembered them and indeed so gripped by getting re-acquainted with the story that I couldn't make myself take a non-fiction pause. So the next one of those will be after the Exile section of the whole saga I reckon.
So, I shall see how it goes tomorrow. One thing is for certain, I'm going to cut back on work webbing totally (other than for actual work stuff!) so entries here will be more sporadic, but probably longer when they do come along. Fingers crossed for a good outcome.
And of course on Thursday morning when I couldn't stay asleep any longer because of the heat and ended up at work early what was I doing again when Sonic arrived. Yup, browsing the Llamasoft forums. So of course he had a word. Nothing too drastic (hell, he even said I could keep browsing at lunchtimes and all that like before just not to get too carried away again) but I ended up feeling like shit. All day.
It didn't help that he wanted a meeting which didn't happen until nearly lunch time and I had planned to be out of the office all day delivering books. I spent most of the morning shaking with self-recrimination and feeling as sick as a dog before having the meeting (lots of which went over my head) not eating much of my lunch and heading out to try and catch up on the deliveries. I did manage to get some done in the afternoon but not as many as I'd hoped for, no new locations found to help with my targets and stuff like that. So when I got home I was not in much of a good and happy state. And of course neither was Joan after she'd had another counselling session which confirmed she needs to take more time for herself and didn't really need me phoning her in a panic of "what the fuck have I done this time" proportions. So we spent a good chunk of the evening looking for jobs on the internet and hopefully there will be some application forms with me soon (in fact one is here already but looks a right evil sod, with some of the old "how would you cope with X", "tell us how you have prioritised Y" and "give an example of dealing with Z" type of questions which are going to require a lot of thought.
Friday I was planning to go to work in the morning before heading off to Colchester for stitches out in the afternon (with deliveries on the way). Instead I woke up in a totally depressed state, tears and all and ended up taking Joan for her doctor's appointment (pre-booked but handily times as she ended up being signed off for two weeks so hopefully she can start sorting through the counselling stuff and get back to an even-keel without all the crap from work she is having to cope with) and then having one myself.
Not exactly back on the anti-depressants yet, but have got some nice other pills to calm me down (which are kind of working as I seem to have spent most of the time since then asleep!). I stil feel shaky as hell and nauseous when I think about what I'm going to have to face tomorrow but hopefully I will get through. I think it will be better after this week's one-to one as I have got the first draft of an action plan to meet my targets sorted out and we can use that to hopefully determine if they are realistic or not. I think Sonic will be understanding of the situation (he certainly was with the teeth issue) and I'm sure he doesn't want us all to fail as that would then look bad on him but if the worst comes I will just go straight to personnel for further guidance and help. Hell, I'll even go back for more counselling myself if that's what it takes - it helped before and I have no qualms in asking for more help again. And if I can get through this week there are then two weeks where Gary and Charles will be away and not spreading their own negativity which I really don't find helpful either. One way or another I plan to be either back on track with the current job or at the very least planning for an interview for something else by the time they get back to work.
After a lie in, shopping trip to town and sleeping most of the afternoon yesterday we had H, B & A along for a nice Chinese meal. Sat in the garden all evening and it went well - I even managed to stay calm for most of it, just needing a quick break to sort my racing heart out again at one point. Today has been more relaxing (I slept most of the morning after getting up for breakfast then going back to bed with another outpouring of tears for no valid reason) with a fair deal of sitting in the garden reading. Finished ...Nutmeg on Friday after the stitches did come out (no fuss there at all, again a quick in and out which cured a bit of the worry but glad Ma was free to drive me as I'm not sure if I'd have been up for that - even managed to stay awake on the A12 this time (Although I had just had 1½ hours before lunch of snoozing)). Overall a very interesting read, and almost impossible to imagine the hardships and deprevations the people suffered trying to import spices. Went on to Exile 2 - The Golden Torc which I finished this morning and indeed am now straight in to number 3 The Non-Born King. Both as good as I remembered them and indeed so gripped by getting re-acquainted with the story that I couldn't make myself take a non-fiction pause. So the next one of those will be after the Exile section of the whole saga I reckon.
So, I shall see how it goes tomorrow. One thing is for certain, I'm going to cut back on work webbing totally (other than for actual work stuff!) so entries here will be more sporadic, but probably longer when they do come along. Fingers crossed for a good outcome.
Wednesday, June 11, 2003
Well, for the first time ever as far as I can remember I actually had to get up in the night to knock back a hayfever tablet. Woke up at about 1.15 with nose absolutely streaming, sneezing like it was going out of fashion etc. Still feel a bit groggy this morning from it so have taken another one. Not the best way to start the day. And then after we were delayed leaving due to having to put the rubbish out (and there was an awful lot of garden stuff after last week's exploits!) I ended up sitting in traffic for ages on the way in. My own fault really - there are two routes for part of the journey I make and I thought I'd try the one I normally avoid for a change as it should bring me a fraction closer to the car park when they converge again. Wrong choice and it reminded me why I tend to avoid it. Just serious amounts of slow moving cars. Still, I am here in the end, only really a couple of minutes after normal but it feels like hours.
Mouth feeling a bit more normal again though, which is some consolation. Only another week now before the string can come out.
Sonic brought his pictures from Bob's retirement do in today which served mainly to convince me I was right not to invest in an APS camera when I was considering it a couple of years ago. I guess it could just be that he has one from the cheaper end of the range or the developer was not particularly good, but to me the prints looked really blocky. Like they came from a very low resolution digital. No smooth curves and patchyness in the areas of solid colour. I think I will stick with the digital for everyday snapping and dig out the old Olympus compact (that I was more than happy with) if I want a print of something.
Going off to a presentation about how to market public services now. Might be interesting but I'm not holding my breath.
Mouth feeling a bit more normal again though, which is some consolation. Only another week now before the string can come out.
Sonic brought his pictures from Bob's retirement do in today which served mainly to convince me I was right not to invest in an APS camera when I was considering it a couple of years ago. I guess it could just be that he has one from the cheaper end of the range or the developer was not particularly good, but to me the prints looked really blocky. Like they came from a very low resolution digital. No smooth curves and patchyness in the areas of solid colour. I think I will stick with the digital for everyday snapping and dig out the old Olympus compact (that I was more than happy with) if I want a print of something.
Going off to a presentation about how to market public services now. Might be interesting but I'm not holding my breath.
Friday, June 06, 2003
Hmmm. Still hurting quite a bit here. Plus hungry cos eating is not a fun experience right now. Oh well, perseverance will pay off I'm sure and maybe by September I'll be able to smile again and eat steaks and stuff.
Didn't go to the cinema in the end yesterday as I didn't feel up to it after all. Maybe today. However, we did watch The Wedding Planner on Sky which was a lot funnier than I was expecting.
Didn't go to the cinema in the end yesterday as I didn't feel up to it after all. Maybe today. However, we did watch The Wedding Planner on Sky which was a lot funnier than I was expecting.
Thursday, June 05, 2003
Well, that was a fun hour in Colchester this morning with the dentist from hell. OK, so actually it wasn't too bad (lots of pain killers and other drugs) and I now have a gob full of plasticine keeping the stitches free from roving tongues, teeth or other implements but I'm getting a bit ahead of things there. Let us rewind back to Saturday afternoon when I was last in a verbose state.
After a spot of shopping we called in at Helen's for a while then ended up going back there in the evening to play cards. Not my first choice of a fun time as I've never been a cardplayer but I surprised myself by enjoying it thoroughly. Still not 100% sure I see the point of card games, and definitely not sure I understood the rules of the one we were playing but there you go.
Sunday we woke up to nice weather so started off out in the garden. I managed to get the final (fourth!) coat of paint on the gate and a few fence panels done before the rain kicked in for the afternoon. Not to mention the thunder, lightning etc. So that was the end of that! In the evening we went along to Ma & Pa's for an early birthday dinner for the Mother. Her birthday is not actually until this Saturday but they are going out and we don't know what I'll be up to eating this weekend so all agreed it was better to go early. And very nice food and a good evening it turned out to be.
Monday was the complete opposite - woken up early by thunder and rain lashing against the windows. So after a lazy morning we watched The Others. Very good if a little slow moving film. Nicole Kidman was excellent and we were also pleased to be surprised and impressed by Eric Sykes playing it almost straight. A very good twist at the end too. If you don't want the film spoiled go ahead to the next paragraph now, otherwise read on as it bugged me slightly despite being good. As with The Sixth Sense what we seem to be dealing with here are ghosts who have little or no problem interacting with the physical world. I know the "they don't evem know they are dead" premise wouldn't work if they kept walking through doors and not being able to pick things up but it does strike me as being a bit odd. I guess I am just used to the idea of ghosts haunting people, rather than trying to carry on as if nothing had happened.
Anyway, after that the weather picked up again so I was able to colour in a few more panels while Joan did some serious weeding and pruning and even planting before exhaustion got the better of us.
Tuesday we went out for the day on the train. Walked up to the station here and with the iad of the Anglia Plus day ticket ended up in Ely. Had a nice walk up to and then around the cathedral (but nearly £5 each to get in - a bit steep really). I may have said before on here - I don't really know what I believe in religion-wise but the buildings that go with Christianity really are wonderful things. And not just the detail or vast scale of them, things like the simple smell of old stone or the knowledge of hundreds of years of history concentrated into the space really make me happy. After an hour or so we wandered on in to the town centre where we had a very nice lunch from a fish & chip shop while sheltering from the rain, looked round a few other shops and then headed back to the Cathedral for another look (well, we had to get our money's worth). Then, with no aim in mind wandered back to the station. As luck (bad) would have it we just missed a train to Norwich where we had thought of going on to and had an hour to wait for the next one. As there was one back to Ipswich a lot sooner we took that instead, but got off at Bury St. Edmunds for a further dose of wandering. Just stuck to the shops this time rather than going down to the Abbey (well, one ecclesiastical masterpiece a day is usually sufficient!). Of course that meant we ended up paying a visit to the Thorntons Cafe where seriously gooey cakes were consumed but you can't have everything. Then it was back on the train to Ipswich and on to home - which was the only train to have a real problem all day as we were stuck behind a freight train for the docks which was moving very slowly. Ended up getting home about half an hour late but worth it for the great time.
Yesterday we again started in the garden - more painting and pruning - before once again the rain drove us inside. So we watched The Matrix in order to remind ourselves of what was going on before we go to see part two - probably tonight.
Which brings us back to today. And now one quarter of my mouth has been sliced open, cleaned to within an inch of its life, re-built with artificial bone and sewn up again. I admit I had a few doubts and nearly just got up and walked out while I was waiting for him to start but persevered and went through with it. Hopefully I will be able to eat again fairly normally within a day or so though as I didn't do very well for lunch.
Rather than coming straight home we went to Colchester Zoo. Great fun, loads of fluffy things to go "Aaaah" at and indeed not so fluffy things too. Well, the baby elephant was definitely cute but in no way could you describe it as fluffy without problems from the trades description people. I think we saw pretty much everything, even had a ride on a little land train wotsit getting closer to some of the beasties. I definitely want a monkey or two, some red pandas and a tiger now though.
Oh, and started a new book too. As I don't want to wait too long before getting in to the final part of Otherland I have sneakily condensed the intervening first non-fiction and the fiction choice into one with The Samoln Of Doubt by Douglas Adams which collates the last few bits of Dirk Gently story he was working on with a whole bunch of other articles, essays and general stuff found on his hard disc after he died. All fascinating so far.
After a spot of shopping we called in at Helen's for a while then ended up going back there in the evening to play cards. Not my first choice of a fun time as I've never been a cardplayer but I surprised myself by enjoying it thoroughly. Still not 100% sure I see the point of card games, and definitely not sure I understood the rules of the one we were playing but there you go.
Sunday we woke up to nice weather so started off out in the garden. I managed to get the final (fourth!) coat of paint on the gate and a few fence panels done before the rain kicked in for the afternoon. Not to mention the thunder, lightning etc. So that was the end of that! In the evening we went along to Ma & Pa's for an early birthday dinner for the Mother. Her birthday is not actually until this Saturday but they are going out and we don't know what I'll be up to eating this weekend so all agreed it was better to go early. And very nice food and a good evening it turned out to be.
Monday was the complete opposite - woken up early by thunder and rain lashing against the windows. So after a lazy morning we watched The Others. Very good if a little slow moving film. Nicole Kidman was excellent and we were also pleased to be surprised and impressed by Eric Sykes playing it almost straight. A very good twist at the end too. If you don't want the film spoiled go ahead to the next paragraph now, otherwise read on as it bugged me slightly despite being good. As with The Sixth Sense what we seem to be dealing with here are ghosts who have little or no problem interacting with the physical world. I know the "they don't evem know they are dead" premise wouldn't work if they kept walking through doors and not being able to pick things up but it does strike me as being a bit odd. I guess I am just used to the idea of ghosts haunting people, rather than trying to carry on as if nothing had happened.
Anyway, after that the weather picked up again so I was able to colour in a few more panels while Joan did some serious weeding and pruning and even planting before exhaustion got the better of us.
Tuesday we went out for the day on the train. Walked up to the station here and with the iad of the Anglia Plus day ticket ended up in Ely. Had a nice walk up to and then around the cathedral (but nearly £5 each to get in - a bit steep really). I may have said before on here - I don't really know what I believe in religion-wise but the buildings that go with Christianity really are wonderful things. And not just the detail or vast scale of them, things like the simple smell of old stone or the knowledge of hundreds of years of history concentrated into the space really make me happy. After an hour or so we wandered on in to the town centre where we had a very nice lunch from a fish & chip shop while sheltering from the rain, looked round a few other shops and then headed back to the Cathedral for another look (well, we had to get our money's worth). Then, with no aim in mind wandered back to the station. As luck (bad) would have it we just missed a train to Norwich where we had thought of going on to and had an hour to wait for the next one. As there was one back to Ipswich a lot sooner we took that instead, but got off at Bury St. Edmunds for a further dose of wandering. Just stuck to the shops this time rather than going down to the Abbey (well, one ecclesiastical masterpiece a day is usually sufficient!). Of course that meant we ended up paying a visit to the Thorntons Cafe where seriously gooey cakes were consumed but you can't have everything. Then it was back on the train to Ipswich and on to home - which was the only train to have a real problem all day as we were stuck behind a freight train for the docks which was moving very slowly. Ended up getting home about half an hour late but worth it for the great time.
Yesterday we again started in the garden - more painting and pruning - before once again the rain drove us inside. So we watched The Matrix in order to remind ourselves of what was going on before we go to see part two - probably tonight.
Which brings us back to today. And now one quarter of my mouth has been sliced open, cleaned to within an inch of its life, re-built with artificial bone and sewn up again. I admit I had a few doubts and nearly just got up and walked out while I was waiting for him to start but persevered and went through with it. Hopefully I will be able to eat again fairly normally within a day or so though as I didn't do very well for lunch.
Rather than coming straight home we went to Colchester Zoo. Great fun, loads of fluffy things to go "Aaaah" at and indeed not so fluffy things too. Well, the baby elephant was definitely cute but in no way could you describe it as fluffy without problems from the trades description people. I think we saw pretty much everything, even had a ride on a little land train wotsit getting closer to some of the beasties. I definitely want a monkey or two, some red pandas and a tiger now though.
Oh, and started a new book too. As I don't want to wait too long before getting in to the final part of Otherland I have sneakily condensed the intervening first non-fiction and the fiction choice into one with The Samoln Of Doubt by Douglas Adams which collates the last few bits of Dirk Gently story he was working on with a whole bunch of other articles, essays and general stuff found on his hard disc after he died. All fascinating so far.
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
My mouth hurts again. Yup, another tooth out yesterday - that in itself is fine, it's the spot where he stuck the needle in to numb me up that hurts (as usual). The tooth actually came out easier than the first one and I didn't even have to stop him for a rest half way through the pulling process this time. I was about to when he stopped himself to change pliers or something and two seconds later it was out. And less blood than the other one too.
Otherwise yesterday is nothing much to write about. Having got up early ish for breakfast I then went back to sleep until nearly 11! And the afternoon was spent lazing about reading as well. So now I am at work again, clear in my head what to do with the area books (full scale delay, major checking and poking to ensure as good as we can get accuracy) and possibly even ready to do some of the work on them this afternoon.
OK, so as I type this I am waiting for 100 or so pages of book 5 to print out and if the speed doesn't pick up on the printer that's about all I will get done today! Mind you, I had a pretty good meeting this morning with a chap from the Ipswich hotels association about doing more to promote Park & Ride through them so I will still have managed something constructive today. And during that sentence my eagerly awaited reports on whether it is possible to change the layouts at the existing P&R sites has been delivered, so a little light reading there for me.
Speaking of light reading, I guess I should update that section of my musings while I am at it today. Finished off The Riddle And The Knight and enjoyed it thoroughly. Looking forward to reading the other two books I have by Giles Milton over the coming months. I have also started and finished volume two of the Otherland series by Tad Williams - River of Blue Fire. That was absolutely superb, moved the plot of the saga along nicely, introduced a whole load more in the way of subplots, motivations, group dynamics and the like. Really building nicely and I'm so glad I have parts 3 and 4 ready for when I want to read them rather than having to wait for them to be published. That got to be so frustrating a few years back I decided to just buy each book in sets from Authors I liked but wait for the whole lot to be owned before starting to read them. Am now reading What's In A Name? by Cyril M. Harris which is basically a descriptor of where all the names of the stations on the London Underground come from, what they mean etc. So more another book about London than one about trains as such, and again very interesting but also very short so I don't see it still being in active service at the end of the week.
I think that's all I'm going to say today. But still plan to add films watched over the last month at some point.
Otherwise yesterday is nothing much to write about. Having got up early ish for breakfast I then went back to sleep until nearly 11! And the afternoon was spent lazing about reading as well. So now I am at work again, clear in my head what to do with the area books (full scale delay, major checking and poking to ensure as good as we can get accuracy) and possibly even ready to do some of the work on them this afternoon.
OK, so as I type this I am waiting for 100 or so pages of book 5 to print out and if the speed doesn't pick up on the printer that's about all I will get done today! Mind you, I had a pretty good meeting this morning with a chap from the Ipswich hotels association about doing more to promote Park & Ride through them so I will still have managed something constructive today. And during that sentence my eagerly awaited reports on whether it is possible to change the layouts at the existing P&R sites has been delivered, so a little light reading there for me.
Speaking of light reading, I guess I should update that section of my musings while I am at it today. Finished off The Riddle And The Knight and enjoyed it thoroughly. Looking forward to reading the other two books I have by Giles Milton over the coming months. I have also started and finished volume two of the Otherland series by Tad Williams - River of Blue Fire. That was absolutely superb, moved the plot of the saga along nicely, introduced a whole load more in the way of subplots, motivations, group dynamics and the like. Really building nicely and I'm so glad I have parts 3 and 4 ready for when I want to read them rather than having to wait for them to be published. That got to be so frustrating a few years back I decided to just buy each book in sets from Authors I liked but wait for the whole lot to be owned before starting to read them. Am now reading What's In A Name? by Cyril M. Harris which is basically a descriptor of where all the names of the stations on the London Underground come from, what they mean etc. So more another book about London than one about trains as such, and again very interesting but also very short so I don't see it still being in active service at the end of the week.
I think that's all I'm going to say today. But still plan to add films watched over the last month at some point.
Monday, March 24, 2003
Well, that wasn't too bad as hygenist visits go. At least she thought my mouth was in pretty good shape and I don't need to go a few more times before it is safe to do the surgical bits. So that has saved a quid or two. And I've got lots of strange interdental brushes of assorted sizes to be playing with from now on. Groovy teeth a step closer.
Met Joan in town on my way back and we had another monday lunch in Puccinos (and I had another New Yorker!) and then came home to a nice surprise - a cheque from Ma & Pa which will cover about half the cost of the work. Nice. Any other contributions gratefully received.
As I write this the PC is approaching halfway in downloading the latest version of Norton Anti-Virus. Seems the version I have is no longer supported and I need a new one. Which would be OK if it wasn't a 35Meg download. Which is likely to take at least another hour yet. Why didn't I just go to PC world and by the latest edition? Will I ever learn? Still, this way should be cheaper (thank the Lord we don't pay per minute for internet calls) and anything is better than the worry I went through before when we did catch something nasty.
Have now started reading the first Darwin Awards book as compiled and annotated by Wendy Northcutt. Always good for a laugh at the stupidity of others. And it was cheap in the Waterstones sale.
We managed to watch two films last night, both of which made stunning use of computer graphics in their own way. First up was Stuart Little 2. I admit I was sceptical when we watched the first one, but find I can recommend them both highly. The characterisation is superb and the animation even better so you really can believe in the little fellow. And of course the sort of bubble the Little's inhabit just makes it all the more joyous an experience. Not that I want them to keep milking the bandwaggon (is that possible?) but I wouldn't say no to more if they can keep the quality up.
The other was Tron. The graphics there blew me away 20 odd years ago when I first saw them and in many ways still do. OK, so technology has moved on, but they just feel right for the period the film inhabits. And even the plot didn't seem as stupid as memory had painted it to be...
Of course neither of those explains why I then went on to dream about tracing the graves of long lost relatives, visiting a bunch of Libraries and taking photos of trains. But then should I expect them to?
Not much else to say other than I'm glad I'm not at work again. These four day weeks could get to be quite a bargain.
Met Joan in town on my way back and we had another monday lunch in Puccinos (and I had another New Yorker!) and then came home to a nice surprise - a cheque from Ma & Pa which will cover about half the cost of the work. Nice. Any other contributions gratefully received.
As I write this the PC is approaching halfway in downloading the latest version of Norton Anti-Virus. Seems the version I have is no longer supported and I need a new one. Which would be OK if it wasn't a 35Meg download. Which is likely to take at least another hour yet. Why didn't I just go to PC world and by the latest edition? Will I ever learn? Still, this way should be cheaper (thank the Lord we don't pay per minute for internet calls) and anything is better than the worry I went through before when we did catch something nasty.
Have now started reading the first Darwin Awards book as compiled and annotated by Wendy Northcutt. Always good for a laugh at the stupidity of others. And it was cheap in the Waterstones sale.
We managed to watch two films last night, both of which made stunning use of computer graphics in their own way. First up was Stuart Little 2. I admit I was sceptical when we watched the first one, but find I can recommend them both highly. The characterisation is superb and the animation even better so you really can believe in the little fellow. And of course the sort of bubble the Little's inhabit just makes it all the more joyous an experience. Not that I want them to keep milking the bandwaggon (is that possible?) but I wouldn't say no to more if they can keep the quality up.
The other was Tron. The graphics there blew me away 20 odd years ago when I first saw them and in many ways still do. OK, so technology has moved on, but they just feel right for the period the film inhabits. And even the plot didn't seem as stupid as memory had painted it to be...
Of course neither of those explains why I then went on to dream about tracing the graves of long lost relatives, visiting a bunch of Libraries and taking photos of trains. But then should I expect them to?
Not much else to say other than I'm glad I'm not at work again. These four day weeks could get to be quite a bargain.
Thursday, March 13, 2003
A good meeting with the current leader of the Ipswich Partnership helped to lift the mood somewhat yesterday. He seems a lot more on the ball than the previous head and wants to do lots to help promote Park & Ride. Obviously we shall see how it goes but any help with pulling in the punters is fine by me. For my part I merely have to look again at the concept and prospect of finding some sort of in town left luggage facility and produce a revised all in one idiots guide to using P&R type leaflet (which I was planning to do anyway). Easy life!
I was also fortified by a nice beef and egg on granary roll from Alberts for lunch which gave me the will to get through the afternoon and finish off the first draft New Routes booklet. Now all I need is a bit of help filling in a few blanks and we are probably ready to go to press. Except of course for the fact that Louise from personnel, who has been working on the project with us, is now going off for a six month secondment at St. Edmundsbury Borough Council and the person who will be taking her place on the team is on holiday until next Wednesday, which is also the day I am presenting it to the rest of the group. Stonkingly bad timing if you ask me.
That lead in to a nice relaxed evening and a pretty good sleep. Today however...
Got up fine (eventually after the alarm had gone off half a dozen times and Tawny had taken to attacking our feet) and got to work fine (even managed to clock in at the same time as yesterday despite leaving later). Logged in fine and started reading the emails and tinkering with graphics etc. Phoned Joan to make sure she was up in time for her dentist's appointment. Then from behind came "hello Simon, have you got a minute?"
It was Claire from IT. Richard's nerves had hit him again and it was big brother to the rescue. So he has now gone home (luckily he had a lift in from Mum again today and she was still in the vicinity as he had had trouble earlier in actually getting out of the car it seems). I really don't need to get involved with his hassles at the moment. I have enough of my own to be worrying about. Still, I will do what I can as he really does need to get back in to the swing of working and most of this job is really ideal for him. I know it took him a while to get in to routine when he started his last job, and has had recurring problems since, but there really is only so much I can do. Trouble is, I don't like leaving Ma & Pa with all the hard work of sorting him out, soft bugger that I am.
Anyway, the rest of the team have finally made some decisions on the tender front so I might just get some timetables today...
Joan's trip to the dentist sounds almost as yucky as mine is going to be. She is having a crown put in for a tooth that has shuffled off this mortal coil and today was all the preliminary work. I think she was expecting impressions only but ended up getting drilling and removal and a temporary fitting put in as well. She also made an appointment for me to have a chat about everything on Monday so that should at least put my mind to rest one way or the other.
I was also fortified by a nice beef and egg on granary roll from Alberts for lunch which gave me the will to get through the afternoon and finish off the first draft New Routes booklet. Now all I need is a bit of help filling in a few blanks and we are probably ready to go to press. Except of course for the fact that Louise from personnel, who has been working on the project with us, is now going off for a six month secondment at St. Edmundsbury Borough Council and the person who will be taking her place on the team is on holiday until next Wednesday, which is also the day I am presenting it to the rest of the group. Stonkingly bad timing if you ask me.
That lead in to a nice relaxed evening and a pretty good sleep. Today however...
Got up fine (eventually after the alarm had gone off half a dozen times and Tawny had taken to attacking our feet) and got to work fine (even managed to clock in at the same time as yesterday despite leaving later). Logged in fine and started reading the emails and tinkering with graphics etc. Phoned Joan to make sure she was up in time for her dentist's appointment. Then from behind came "hello Simon, have you got a minute?"
It was Claire from IT. Richard's nerves had hit him again and it was big brother to the rescue. So he has now gone home (luckily he had a lift in from Mum again today and she was still in the vicinity as he had had trouble earlier in actually getting out of the car it seems). I really don't need to get involved with his hassles at the moment. I have enough of my own to be worrying about. Still, I will do what I can as he really does need to get back in to the swing of working and most of this job is really ideal for him. I know it took him a while to get in to routine when he started his last job, and has had recurring problems since, but there really is only so much I can do. Trouble is, I don't like leaving Ma & Pa with all the hard work of sorting him out, soft bugger that I am.
Anyway, the rest of the team have finally made some decisions on the tender front so I might just get some timetables today...
Joan's trip to the dentist sounds almost as yucky as mine is going to be. She is having a crown put in for a tooth that has shuffled off this mortal coil and today was all the preliminary work. I think she was expecting impressions only but ended up getting drilling and removal and a temporary fitting put in as well. She also made an appointment for me to have a chat about everything on Monday so that should at least put my mind to rest one way or the other.
Wednesday, February 20, 2002
I was right, hurt like Hades. And no actual treatment carried out either - just measurements of how deep my pockets are (in both senses cos its going to cost nearly 80 quid by the end of the treatment) - little needles poked in six times around each tooth. OK to start with but got a bit tedious by the 30th tooth, and ached all day! Never mind.
Joan came into Ipswich to spend money on me today, so we met for lunch, which was nice. After I'd given her a few ideas for other things I'd quite like I had a major greed-related guilt trip and tried to get her to take them back. I don't think it worked but I've calmed down again so am not feeling so put-out now. Why can't I just accept that people like me? Especially my own wife.
Oh, and on the Martians front, have now decided that I wouldn't want to have read the stories as part of the main text as (a) they are not all from the same "reality" and (b) they feature other characters who have no other place in the main narrative which was spread over enough people as it was. Still very enjoyable though and giving a new slant on some aspects of the story.
Time to go home now, so next entry will be on my birthday....(that's tomorrow!)...
Joan came into Ipswich to spend money on me today, so we met for lunch, which was nice. After I'd given her a few ideas for other things I'd quite like I had a major greed-related guilt trip and tried to get her to take them back. I don't think it worked but I've calmed down again so am not feeling so put-out now. Why can't I just accept that people like me? Especially my own wife.
Oh, and on the Martians front, have now decided that I wouldn't want to have read the stories as part of the main text as (a) they are not all from the same "reality" and (b) they feature other characters who have no other place in the main narrative which was spread over enough people as it was. Still very enjoyable though and giving a new slant on some aspects of the story.
Time to go home now, so next entry will be on my birthday....(that's tomorrow!)...
Monday, February 18, 2002
Sure was nice out there in the sun. Pity the wind is still so cold when you move into the shade though. Still, spring must be coming soon.
Theoretically, we are being environmentally audited today to ensure we aren't doing nasty things to the outside world. Our section gets done this afternoon but as there are two scheduled interviews not due to finish until 5ish I reckon I could get away with my ignorance! How are we supposed to check that bus companies are disposing of waste oil responsibly or using the right cleaning materials anyway? Especially given that we are not being allocated any additional budget to do this with.
Now I've seen everything in this place. My colleague Danny has just produced a pair of wet trousers he washed at home this morning and is now attempting to hang them in the window to catch the sun and dry. Takes all sorts I suppose.
Anyway, I was talking about music earlier but didn't mention any band names, so I will now. Those I'd never heard of before getting the dish and now either have invested in or want to know more about include: Sum 41 (mentioned below somewhere), Lostprophets, Vex Red, Rival Schools, The Drowning Pool and several others the names of which escape me. Those I did know about but had never heard include Linkin Park and Marilyn Manson (whose cover of Tainted Love is possibly the most ridiculously brilliant thing I've heard for years). It hasn't all been gosh wow though. I have been reassured that my initial thoughts from reading about them only have not let me down when I reckoned that I wouldn't like Slipknot, Kid Rock or Limp Bizkit. So I guess I'm safe for now!
So we are now in the week containing my 31st birthday. I am definitely feeling a lot better about myself than I was at this time last year, when I came very close to the edge of sanity but that seems a long way off now. Not planning anything major this year (last year we had a reasonable sized party) although we are having a day in london at the weekend. Looking forward to that as it seems like ages since we last went down. Will just have to try not to go into too many shops as we really should be saving to get the new bedroom furniture we urgently need.
Joan is off this week but I'm too tied up with meetings to join her for more than tomorrow. And then I'm seeing the dentist (well, Kirstie the hygenist actually) whihc will no doubt be excrutatingly painful. Damn my insufficient bone growth and extra-deep pockets.
Theoretically, we are being environmentally audited today to ensure we aren't doing nasty things to the outside world. Our section gets done this afternoon but as there are two scheduled interviews not due to finish until 5ish I reckon I could get away with my ignorance! How are we supposed to check that bus companies are disposing of waste oil responsibly or using the right cleaning materials anyway? Especially given that we are not being allocated any additional budget to do this with.
Now I've seen everything in this place. My colleague Danny has just produced a pair of wet trousers he washed at home this morning and is now attempting to hang them in the window to catch the sun and dry. Takes all sorts I suppose.
Anyway, I was talking about music earlier but didn't mention any band names, so I will now. Those I'd never heard of before getting the dish and now either have invested in or want to know more about include: Sum 41 (mentioned below somewhere), Lostprophets, Vex Red, Rival Schools, The Drowning Pool and several others the names of which escape me. Those I did know about but had never heard include Linkin Park and Marilyn Manson (whose cover of Tainted Love is possibly the most ridiculously brilliant thing I've heard for years). It hasn't all been gosh wow though. I have been reassured that my initial thoughts from reading about them only have not let me down when I reckoned that I wouldn't like Slipknot, Kid Rock or Limp Bizkit. So I guess I'm safe for now!
So we are now in the week containing my 31st birthday. I am definitely feeling a lot better about myself than I was at this time last year, when I came very close to the edge of sanity but that seems a long way off now. Not planning anything major this year (last year we had a reasonable sized party) although we are having a day in london at the weekend. Looking forward to that as it seems like ages since we last went down. Will just have to try not to go into too many shops as we really should be saving to get the new bedroom furniture we urgently need.
Joan is off this week but I'm too tied up with meetings to join her for more than tomorrow. And then I'm seeing the dentist (well, Kirstie the hygenist actually) whihc will no doubt be excrutatingly painful. Damn my insufficient bone growth and extra-deep pockets.
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