A little wandering does you good....

Sunday June 22nd. 2014. 20:35

Determined to make something of the summer sun, (now that it is officially summer) I have been out for a good ole walk today along to the top of the harbour, by Port Solent.

There I say, and ate some lunch, and read my kindle. Basking in the sunshine, and nearly dozing off like some old codger.

It's been a daughter free weekend, ever since we agreed that she would only see me once every other week I've been at a loss to make decent use of the extra me time that's given me. Me time is always something I've struggled to do something useful with. Normally, I'd either spend it in front of the Television, laptop or asleep.

The last time it happened, it was actually unplanned. My darling daughter decided that as I had pointed out to her that the following weekend was not only my birthday weekend but also Fathers' day that it wasn't worth coming up the weekend before. (Just too much effort I guess). I think the phrase she actually used to casually dismiss me by text message on the morning she was meant to come up was 'I want to come up, but... I'm coming up next week... so don't see why I should'. Made me feel great that one.

Don't worry Chloe, I want to get you an iphone for your birthday, but I don't see why I should.

Anyhow. That weekend, I'd commented on facebook about being stood up by my daughter and one of my friends Kat then got in contact and asked if I would join her and some other friends (people we both know from where I work) as they were going down Southsea. My usual crippling 'can't say yes to going out and enjoying yourself' reared its ugly head, but I made a point of stamping my feet and overriding the inner 'no' monster.

I went out with Kat, and Mark and Katie, and we also met up with another person we all know from work, Gabi. We had a great time, playing crazy golf (when I say playing.. I mean.. losing), and well, walking up and down the beach, enjoying the sunshine.. counting how many people form work we could spot. The others also went of fair ground rides. I stood and watched the bags, and read while they looked like they were enjoying themselves. I am sure that had I taken part as well they wouldn't have enjoyed quite so much me vomiting over them or losing control of other bodily functions.

Fairground rides are a no-go area for me. Dodgem cars are about my limit. We had a nice afternoon, and rounded the day off at Katie's flat, at which we stated till late evening.

I seem a bit old to be 'hanging out' with friends and going down the funfair, but I don't care. We all had a great time.

I have quietly skipped my birthday, which was last Friday. It was really good, went to the pub with some friends from work, and ended up at mine, after stopping to Tesco for some pizza. I seem to be a lot more social than I ever used to be before. I think I might actually crack this going out and having fun lark by the time I retire, or can't walk.

Still I hear these mobility scooters are really good these days.

Anyway. This weekend, I got up late on Saturday, which meant I broke my promise to go and help Lee move out of the room he was staying in. Thankfully he wasn't depending on only me to help him. Bad person that I am. Sucky friend.

I went for a nice walk yesterday into Hilsea Lines, and onto a park at the back of Anchorage Park. There I sat for a couple of hours, taking in the rays of the sun, and... well reading and having something to eat.

In the evening I was doing some overtime, manning the lines to help inform people that have a powercut. Six hours that doesn't really feel like work, because it's so different from what I normally do.

Then today, I shamefully got up around ten thirty.. and bummed around before deciding enough was enough. After putting out a first run of washing, putting the next lot in the machine, I grabbed my bag and headed off into the sun. Coming home about seven o'clock means I'm sitting here after vacuuming the flat, and washing the kitchen and ensuite floors in my camping chair enjoying a wind-down ice cold vodka.

Hardly rock and roll, but it's still better than sitting indoors all frigging weekend watching TV or playing Second Life, or endlessly looking for something interesting to read on either Facebook, BBC News, The Independant or The Guardian. (At least you can see I get my non newsworthy non-facts from a variety of sources).

Itchy feet

April 28th 2014. 01:15.

Awake. Alert. At home.

After my overtime shift, walking home in the peaceful clear midnight streets, I'm hardly tired, either mentally or physically.

It's been the first time in a couple of months that I've been and done some overtime. Always really easy to get back in the swing of it, and nice to be there to help and advise people.

What shall I do with the time that I've booked off so suddenly ? I'm thinking of going away. I'll have to speak to my parents, to see if they can look after the cats, but I really want to get away. Even if not for the whole time, even if I don't go very far.

I just need to be somewhere else. Not because I'm running, not because I'm hiding, but because it's a big planet and I've only seen a very, very, very small part of it.

Not so lazy Sunday after all

Sunday April 27th 2014 11:28

Chloe stayed overnight, it's nearly half past eleven and she's still not up. Not that I can criticise that much, I only raised myself from my pit about 10am.

Yesterday, amongst the many things that I did, I finally took 'writer' up on their offer to use their 'pro' version of online writing software. (Writer from big hugelabs )

This means that I can back it up on other cloud devices, and it also means that I can use it where no internet connection is present. This can be handy with my Chromebook when out and about. The internet isn't always present.

Clutter free no nonsense writing. Writer

Trying the Pro version for $5 a month (what's that about £3 ?) with no commitment is an easy way of figuring out if this is something I think is worth it. There's a life time version that costs $119, which will be worth it if I used the added features. It'd take just under two years for that to become cheaper than the monthly version (there's also a yearly subscription). Time will see. I have used the free version considerably. It was my software of choice when doing NaNoWriMo.

I suddenly discovered the other day at work that instead of having just under a week of holiday to use up by the end of May, I have just under three weeks !!!!

Slight panic as I try to find a way to get all that holiday in, before the end of the month, and in a month with two bank holidays in. Oooops.

The other slight panic of the day, was checking my calendar and finding out that I had signed up for a shift in the out of hours call centre for tonight. Again. Ooops.

Nice overtime, but really, after having what feels like a short weekend, interrupted by my teenage daughter, and being considerably shorter than last weekend..... Just makes me a bit grumpy. Not me, being grumpy. That never happens. Well, okay, maybe on occasion.

It seems then that my plans for the weekend of doing absolutely nothing, and then complaining about not doing anything have been disrupted on an epic scale.

So cute !!!

Why a picture of a bunny ? I'll explain later

Monday August 19th. 01:10.

So rather than enjoy, or dwell in the last evening of 'freedom' before I return from holiday tomorrow, I went and did six hours of overtime.

What the hell is wrong with you ? - I imagine you saying. Well, screaming actually.

Hold the fuck on. There's logic to my zany ways.

By sacrificing six hours of my last evening of freedom, (which lets face it, I was going to waste on Second Life or watching some shite on the telly) I get to achieve three very important things.

1) I get a attack the email mountain. When I opened my work email, I had 156 emails awaiting my attention. I now only have 24 - and those are the ones that I actually need to keep.

2) I get paid overtime. Money.

3) I get paid overtime.

4) Did I mention the money ?

Look, the company are happy, the callers are happy - well mostly, I'm happy, hell even the inland revenue are happy.

See. Everyone's a winner.

You might go so far as to say that Chloe and ebay are happy. Because somewhere along the line they figure into the 'dispersal' of the said earned overtime.

Seriously. I am now on a 'not' spending spree. Attack the credit hill. It's not large enough to be considered a mountain, and it's too big to realistically be defined as a 'mound'. Something about that word, I don't like it. Take it away.

MY boss must have known that I was reading her emails, because she sent me a text saying she wanted to catch up with me when she comes into the office Monday.

Oh shit. I thought. (although I did moderate my response when answering her). I've gotten so used to returning from holidays to find chaos or trouble or beatings lining up for me, that I still do expect them.

She literally told me not to be silly, and went on to be complimentary about my 'can do' attitude.

It's not always been that way, and it's good to see the difference. I'm getting used to it, but it is taking time for attitude, aptitude and experience to align.

Chromebook.

Google Chromebook.

Working straight out of the box. Check

Stupidly easy to use and set up. Check

Happy with the fact that it only cost me £120 in ebay. Check (no, I paid by card).

It seems odd to 'get used' to the idea of typing on something that rests on your lap again. After a couple of different keyboards used to work in conjunction with the iPad, it does rather take some getting used to, navigating without being able to touch the screen. How used to doing that on something so small and portable I have become. It's weird, because I never find myself trying to touch the screen of my desktop computer. I've never expected to.

The keyboard is taking a bit of getting used to, if anything, it actually feels roomier than the wireless keyboard I have on my iMac. (when placed over this keyboard, the iMac's keyboard area is pretty much the same size). The keys feel more spaced out, and at the moment, I'm feeling like I have to work harder to type, but the more I type the easier it gets.

The unit itself is lightweight. Having a laptop resting heavily on your lap being something that would annoy me in years gone by. I think how heavy laptops have been, how distinctly unportable they were. This is VERY portable.

It's a nice little device for knocking out some pages, and with very few distractions, sure I can load up facebook, sure I can check my emails.. but it does instantly feel easier to just connect with the writing.

'connect with the writing'. Would you like that statement with some sprinkles of added pretension. Haven't quite worked out how to right click or whatever I need to do to select alternative spellings yet. This does mean that currently, it's easier for me to just try different spellings myself than it is to select what may be the right one from a handy list. I'm not too bothered about that, I always considered it lazy that the computer does the spell checking thing for you.

You would have expected that Facebook, be in the dictionary though, (well it is, but it's a noun, so caps initial only please, if you want to avoid the red squiggly line of shame).

As it happens, the 'right click' functionality is served by a two fingered click of the touch-pad area. Fascinating.

So far, I really like it. The whole idea was that I wouldn't be lumbered (if it really can be considered lumbering) with ipad and separate keyboard. When I purchased the iPad I had considered buying an Asus Transformer instead, purely because of the detachable keyboard and the fantastic battery life that gave. I had decided against that for two reasons, the first being, that would require up front cost, money, which at the time I did not have. Two, I anticipated wanting to write scripts certainly with the screen in portrait mode, something I couldn't do with the Asus, but the ipad with a wirelessly connected keyboard could do.

love my Chromebook..

As luck would have it, I'm on standby this week, which means at a moments notice I am called in to the emergency call centre. I think they may be watching me, for just as I was about to settle down to an evening of 'getting know' my Chromebook, put the kettle on, and started making a sandwhich (Ham Salad and Brie), then the phone rings, calling me in.

Tired in body, but not so much in mind, some six hours later I come home, to find two rather bemused cats. Treating them to some midnight (okay, 1am) snacks, and grabbing my Chromebook it's a really easy thing to just pic it up and carry on from where I left off. Everything's saved exactly where it was.

If the machine reckons that at 58% battery left, it has four hours and twenty-nine minutes left - then I think either there's something wrong with their calculation there or Samsung have seriously undersold the batteries on this little beauty.

Last Blog of July ?

Well, I guess it would be, being as it's July 31st.

There's something really strange happening at the moment. I feel rather calm, and balanced, and well... like I know what to do. Sure that's me ? Lots of things to do at work, lots going on. But lots and lots getting done. I think I'm taking hold of the reigns more, and not shying away from the things that I need to do, or say. The unreleased frustrations aren't then able too build up and explode like some sort of petrol filled balloon being pricked by a lit match.

People seem to be responding better to that, they seem to know where they are more, and what it is that they have to do, and well, on the hole.. they do it.

I'm not getting everything right, but the things or times that I'm getting things wrong don't feel so overwhelming.

Maybe I feel better because I've got something to aim for (the flat). All the legal stuff is proceeding as much as it can until Taylor Wimpey send the legal pack to my solicitors - which isn't very much. They haven't exchanged contracts on my Mum & Dad's place, and they are due to be moving in October. Perhaps this will be delayed. So here I am, all mortgaged up and nowhere to go - just yet.

I really want to get started on the choosing things stage. The fun of decorating, without having to do the decorating. Fantastic.

The area of my life that is taking a knocking at the moment is the writing side. Haven't completed any new scripts for ages, and got seriously behind in needing to prepare scene-by-scenes for the new series of 'The Adventures Of Stephen Brown'. This was also not helped by the fact that in my head, I was only doing one story in the coming season, when actually, according to the email that was sent out - an email I WROTE ! I was doing two. Read your own emails. Note to self.

That's now changed a bit, so there is only one story this year, and mine is the end of season. Still. Need to get off my arse and write more, as can be seen by the not unusual lack of entries in the blog. I am also due to finish a story, which is 70% done for 'The Ninth Man' - another Beacon thing. I have been rather lazy of late on the creativity front. There is no denying it.

Time is precious, and I have been squandering it. I have been watching far too much television. To my eternal shame, I have been watching Big Brother this year, it being the last one I wanted to see what all the fuss is about before it disappears off our screens forever. (Only to be replaced by some other inane reality TV show). Just like in reality, people refer to how one years' BB is better than another, how one year was the best, or particular years were rubbish. Although there is a certain amount the tasks being set, or the house environment has to play in how interesting the show is, the greatest motivator and shaper of good vs bad television has to be the housemates themselves. If they are a boring bunch of bastards who don't say or do anything remotely interesting for 12 weeks people are going to turn off their TV sets in droves.

If however, like this year, they are a reasonably diverse mix of people, who after some fluctuations in who they do or don't get on with have all managed to pretty much get along. Fascinatingly enough though, there have been three people that have walked this year, which must be some sort of record, and one contestant that has been taken out of the house because they twisted their ankle in a task. I can see the adverts now..'Have you been injured whilst completing a task in a reality TV show..... then you should call BigLawyers4U...'

There is a core of people, the surviving members from the original crowd, but also there have been new housemates along the way. The dynamic of how the group has evolved is actually quite fascinating to watch. To see it change every time a new person enters the house is intriguing to watch. Some of the characters are interesting, lovable, fun and a pleasure to watch. The key thing, is that not one of them is absolutely marvellous, or perfect. They are humans after all, and everyone has their faults. They've all said things or done things at time that are either really stupid or very annoying, or both, but you can't help but love them all the same.

But this is the reality of human interaction isn't it. Everyone annoys or pisses off everyone else at some point or another. To think that you can remove that entirely, or that it's a disaster if people do get upset with each other is just plain unrealistic and stupid. I think I learn the most from other humans when either their or my boundaries are being pushed. People that you never disagree, row or fight with just don't teach you anything, because they are either so much like you it's like talking to yourself or looking in the mirror, or they are fundamentally uninteresting.

Was my Daughter's and my Mother's birthdays this week. We all went out for a family day out on Tuesday, which was lovely. Off to Staunton Country Park, to see the animals, spend money in the gift shop and then back here for some food. Quite amazed that the offered choice of salad with some cold meats and french stick was taken up on by the kids, had really expected them to want a McDonald's or at the very least something from the fish and chip shop. Very enjoyable day.

Time to get on with the day I think. The flat looks like some sort of mess making bomb has gone off... I guess that'll be the effect of having three kids around earlier in the week. I must keep better control over my time, I am going to have less free time now due to getting signed up for overtime so that I can have more money prepared for the move.

My daughter and I go away on holiday in two weeks time. Off to sunny Devon. I look forward to our time away every year, and have made sure for the last 4 years that we have been somewhere different each time. It's probably the only way I would get to see more of the country, not being one of those people with a car. I would like to go abroad at some more of the rest of the planet, there being of course so much of it to see. I like the idea of travelling, I do actually like travelling, but I'm not ever overly impressed with getting there. Like so many other things in life, it's about the journey not the destination.