Don't take away my take away.

Saturday 14th September. 2013.

Well, aren't I awful ? It's been a whole ten days since I last wrote anything in the blog. A whole ten days where the rest of the world - or at least the fifteen or so people that stumbled across my page - could rest in peace without my opinion chucking, boredom logging drivel.

Anyway, for anyone that was actually missing my documentary upon the life of the fallible fella, then I guess here's what you've been waiting for.

Last week I got the wrong night for when Steve, Helen and some others were going to come round mine to do some filming. This actually took place on Tuesday, September 10th. It was the first time in about six months since I've seen Helen. We started about an hour later than planned, because I was delayed leaving work, and Steve was later getting here than he'd anticipated - having held off on his earlier plans because I had let him know that I was working late.

As it happens, I got a taxi from work. First time I've ever had to rush AWAY from work like that, only to wait here an hour for everyone else to turn up. Still, When they did arrive, it was a very good evening, with a not unexpected level of laughter and mucking about from some people.

It was really nice to see Helen again. I was worried that things between us would be really strained, but actually when she turned up, it was rather easily as if she had not been absent from my life for such a period of time.

She really isn't having a good time of it, with the problems that's she having in her family. After the filming was done, we sat and talked and caught up, until about half past midnight.

I was so glad that I had arranged for the filming to take place on an evening before my day off.

So I had a day off. What did I do on my day off ? Well apart from lots of not very much, I did actually sit down with my Chromebook for an hour or two and designed a process chat for the guys at work to follow on some stuff we're working on right now.

That's right, my life is so fucking sad. Hardly rock and roll.

As the being late getting out of work on Tuesday indicated, it's been a tense few days. So much to do, and so little time to do it in.

Tonight, I went out for a lovely meal with Paula and Tony and Steve. We'd originally planned to go for an Indian, but I had asked if anyone else minded we have Chinese food instead, as I had ended up eating two lots of Indian take-away last week. (long story that I will make short, or at least a little interesting later on).

Fantastic evening at the L'Orient in Fareham. It's just so nice to make the effort and go out of an evening and spend time with people, having nice conversations... we had a ranging spectrum of subjects though.

I am going to have to talk more about the events of the week, including an update on teenage terror, but right now, I want to get some sleep. Catch ya later.

Ooops. Calendar malfunction

Tuesday September 3rd. 22:58

Okay, so I messed that up. I thought it was tonight that the guys from Beacon, including my near estranged friend Helen were coming over. I was wrong. Not for the first time lately, I got the wrong week.

Oh well. Glad that I call Stephen and checked when I got home. The conversation went something like...

Me '.... so Steve, when are you guys thinking of getting here for the filming...'

Steve ' Errr. Next Tuesday. Like I said in my email.'

Me 'Bollox'.

I have not heard anything from my temperamental teenage daughter. Nothing since the outbursts /  chaos of the weekend. At least I know she is alive and well. Well enough to be posting things of facebook at any rate.

Having suddenly found my evening a lot more empty than I had expected, I finally pried my sorry ass off the sofa around 21:34 to have a crack at the editing I have promised to do for Steve. I was just getting into my stride, trying to find all the files concerned, chose between doing the edit (or at least initially) in iMovie or in Final Cut Express, when the batteries in my 'magic mouse' announced that they were about to die.

Not that fucking magical of them then.

I took this as a foretelling that it was time to give up, pack up, and go to bed. By go to bed, I mean get into bed, and write a blog entry (this one) on my Chromebook.

The shenanigans with meetings and stuff at work meant I could not keep to my normal routine of going to lunch at 1pm. This meant that I didn't get to share it with my friend, which I find sad, as it certainly gives the day a nice break and she provides a nice distraction.

Coming round then ?

Monday 2nd September. 23:39

It was hardly any surprise that after that sort of day, that my exit from the building was executed with expediency.

Tomorrow Steve is coming over to do some filming at the flat. This is filming for the 'Doorstops', series. One of the people coming over to do this is my friend Helen. The one that I haven't seen in about six months.

It's been sad that our relationship as friends has suffered over the past year, but there have been several things brewing along to contribute to that. Some things I guess will seem in the light of day to be rather pathetic.

People that stay in your life stay in it for a reason. She and I have been friends for over twenty years and it would be a shame really to lose her as a friend, although I am aware that people grow and change and that things don't stay the same. Things move on. People move on.

I also need this week to get started on the editing for Steve that I have volunteered to do. This, like everything else will be harder to start than it will be to actually do. Just the motivation to not turn on the bloody TV of an evening and crack an hour or two's work on the footage he's sent me.

Day Off

No lazing in the sunshine for me. No sleeping in.

Not even considering that I'd been up till about 3am, reading. I did however get to lay in until about 9am. Although I had left my normal alarms in place (for 6:30am). This frustrated the cats a bit, as they were, no doubt hoping that I would get up at the normal time to feed them. 

They were mistaken, hungry and disappointed.

I did, however, get up at 9am and got myself ready for the day. I had previously arranged with Steve Launay to come down so that he could bring the files of footage and sound, that hopefully I am going to be able to edit into an episode of The Adventures Of Stephen Brown. 

Because I knew he was coming down around 10:30, I got my 'wiggle' on and got up, got washed and dressed, and went into Cosham. (funnily enough they don't react too well if I go the shops naked -No. I haven't tried it, but I'm pretty certain it wouldn't go well). 

I popped into the bank, to cash a cheque from my parents (toward Chloe's birthday present), brought a fleece, and then went and sat in Costa Coffee, writing - or more precisely editing my NaNoWriMo novel. Lately I have been moved by the content of some of the books I've read on my kindle, and the realisation that the only thing holding me back from self publishing on Kindle (as it's free) is myself, and the fact that I haven't finished editing the damn thing. 

Just pecking away at it, bit by bit each day means that I make sure and steady progress. Some days quite a lot, some not very much, but still a great deal more progress than I would have been making otherwise. 

The Chromebook comes into its own here. Enabling me to continue this editing process pretty much anywhere and to update the file on the 'cloud' which means I only have one version knocking about, and I can access that on my iMac, my ipad and of course the Chromebook. 

There's something more serious and focused about writing or editing on the Chromebook. I do still find myself trying to touch the screen in order to navigate on websites or the select a word or phrase. I still feel that for the £120 I spent buying it off Ebay, I got a really useful tool that's easy to use and super efficient. 

I have now found that I am leaving the ipad at home, and making sure that I always take the Chromebook. If it weren't for the contract that I have for the iPad, I would be thinking about getting rid of it, and considering a 7inch tablet (what you mean like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 that I donated to my Mum and Dad ?) for those moments when a tablet's portability and interface comes into its own. This does not need to be a £400 plus device. 

Helpful Youtube Video

Anyway, the workers in Costa, filtered the coffee, I filtered the noise, and there was a lot of it, in order to write / edit. I still got a fair bit of work done, and was interrupted, not by the rowdy people around me, but by Steve arriving. 

After downing my second unnecessarily huge coffee, we set off for mine, to complete the file transfer.

I also treated Steve to some lunch. 

The power units that enable me to use the power sockets to connect the iMac to the router, without resorting to wifi (because it's slower). These had ceased to work. So important is it to me that I have a hard wired internet connection for the iMac, that I'd stated to think about how I could reorganise the room, rearrange things in order to preserve that connection.

After struggling to get them to work, and being initially really angry that they had failed I turned, of course to the internet. 

On youtube I found a very useful video that showed me how to reconfigure them to work correctly. 

Beam me up