Online
Posted: Mon 3 October, 2022 Filed under: Domestic, Getting Organised, Thoughts Leave a comment »Happily, I’m now back to being connected to t’internet at the new house. It’s taken far longer than I’d have liked, and been expensive on mobile data – turns out, I use a lot more than I thought I did.
Even so, I’ve mitigated the mobile data use as much as possible, and I’m also making changes for the future, but yeah, not been cheap. Although the reality-check it provided has also proved useful, and will not be wasted.
It’s still going to be interesting though. I’ve stepped back from the “as much bandwidth as possible” option that was costing me a lot and was almost certainly not being used as much as it could/should have been. I’m looking forward to seeing whether I do notice the difference in the “downgrade” (honestly, I doubt I will) and of course I can always boost it up a level if I decide I need to.
But yes, anyway, back to a level of civilisation and connectivity. I’ve been OK with the mobile data, but it’s nice to be back to normality…
Offline (Kinda Sorta Ish)
Posted: Fri 16 September, 2022 Filed under: Business, Domestic, Getting Organised 2 Comments »So – I knew everything had gone too smoothly. Turns out my Sky internet connection won’t be activated for three [insert snarly sweary words here] weeks.
Now, before I go on, I have to emphasise – at least half of this is my fault. I didn’t read the “What’s Next” email completely, just looked at when the engineer would be out to fit the Sky stuff. I absolutely accept that I should’ve read it all through properly. But I didn’t.
On the other side of that, even the engineer didn’t see the information until I showed him where it was in the email – it is not evident that This Is Important – and also they didn’t send through any confirmation text messages which would’ve also made things clear.
Anyway, despite the new place already having in all the infrastructure necessary (access point, cabling etc.) it turns out that OpenReach “need to check everything” before they can allow the connection to be made. And that takes time, because OpenReach are a) a monopoly and b) fucking useless. I have to stay in on the day of the ‘installation’, even though they admit themselves that it is usually done remotely, and they won’t even book an appointment slot – I have to be inconvenienced all fucking day just in case there’s a problem. You can imagine exactly how impressed I am about that one!
As it is, I’m lucky. I’ve got a mobile-internet device (which is what I’m using now) so I’m not completely offline. I’ve also managed to sort out a desk at a local new co-working space for the month, so that I can carry things on without being too inconvenienced. It’s an absolute pain in the arse, and I’m really annoyed by it all (at least partly because I didn’t read that sodding email and try to push for an earlier connection) But it could’ve been so much worse.
As it is, I’ve got the SkyTV installed, set up, and pretty much sorted, I’ll have three or four weeks in which to learn more about the town’s facilities and centre, and… yeah, it could be worse. Plan C would’ve involved continuing to use my current office in Milton Keynes, and just swallowing that mileage for the month. Which would’ve been even more annoying!
Moved
Posted: Thu 15 September, 2022 Filed under: Customer Services, Domestic, Getting Organised 1 Comment »So, it’s finally happened – and all went really smoothly in the end.
I’m still not a fan of having a removals company doing the packing/driving/delivery – I don’t like telling people what to do, and feel uncomfortable just directing things to where they should be. But the guys on the day made everything easy and efficient. They turned up on time at 9am, and everything was loaded into their van by 10:15. They had a break and then drove up to the new house, whereas I just drove up, they arrived by 11:30/11:45, and it was again all unloaded and sorted by 13:30.
Obviously there’s now a lot of unpacking and organisation to do (as well as construction of things like wardrobe, bookcases, and office desk/chair) before I feel properly sorted, but it’s all gone well so far.
Today I’ve been out and on-site, so not much happened.
Tomorrow I get broadband and Sky installed, and various odds and sods will be delivered through the day.
Mostly though, I’m just happy that the move itself went OK, and that it’s all looking positive so far!
Limbo
Posted: Sun 4 September, 2022 Filed under: Domestic, Getting Organised 1 Comment »At the moment I’m in the midst of the part of the moving process that I hate the most – stasis. It drives me crackers.
For now, I’ve done everything I can. 85-90% of the house is packed up (probably more, thinking about it) other than stuff I use most days.
I’ve done all the financial bits – the deposit, the first month’s rent and so on – but still don’t have the keys (I collect those tomorrow) so until then I’m not entirely convinced it’ll happen. I know, it’s ridiculous, but until those keys are in my hand it doesn’t feel like it’s real.
Once I’ve got them then it’ll be full-speed ahead. (Although again, that’ll still involve some waiting) I can get utilities here cancelled, and others set up for the new place.And, of course, ordering some stuff I need (furniture and the like) to be delivered to the new place.
I’ve already got a moving date in place, and I need to do some admin around that, but it’ll be fine. Then it’ll be about making sure I get the current place cleaned up (which is also already booked in) and be done and out by the end of September.
But for now, it’s all in limbo, all on hold, and it’s idiotically frustrating. I just want to get on with it now.
Inconvenient Obsolescene
Posted: Tue 30 August, 2022 Filed under: Domestic, Getting Organised 2 Comments »On Friday, I started off a load of washing, same as I’ve done countless times before. Only this time, it started making some seriously bad noises mid-cycle – similar to what you’d expect from putting in just a pair of steel toe-capped boots and letting them bounce around inside the machine. (I’ve heard the noise a pair of trainers makes in this sort of situation, and it was worse than that, hence the “boots” analogy)
Once everything had finished, I checked it all out – the clothes hadn’t been properly cleaned, and the drum itself was making Very Bad Noises when rotated. Yes, it was entirely and comprehensively stuffed. Bugger.
Mind you, I can’t complain. It’s lasted me nearly 14 years, and done… 4 moves, I think. All told, it’s generally been excellent all the way through (And weirdly, it looks like the last one died in much the same way as this one) with the exception of the fact that when it kicked off at top-speed spin in this house, it would trip the fuse board. Turn it down by 200rpm and everything was fine from then on.
Anyway, it’s a bit inconvenient – I could’ve done without forking out for a new machine just when I’m about to move, but there we go, that’s Sod’s Law for you. But it’s still been fine. I ordered a replacement on Friday evening, to be delivered today (I could’ve had it quicker, but the delivery charge was ridiculous, so sod that, it’s only a couple of days)
It arrived this afternoon, in the planned delivery slot. The two guys came in, disconnected the old one, took that out, brought the new one in, connected it and tested it, all in far less than half an hour. And I know, it’s their job, they should be good at it – but it was nice, because they were good at it. Entirely pleasant, just got on with the job and did it.
And now it’s done its first full load, which has all gone through perfectly. And it is *so* bloody quiet (and energy efficient – an A rating these days makes for a really impressive bit of kit!) that I even had to nip out and check it was running, even the energy monitor I have wasn’t showing anywhere near the load of the old one. (And it turns out that ‘it’s so quiet I had to check it was working’ is also something I wrote about last time!)
If it lasts me as well as the one that’s just died did, I’ll be thoroughly happy with that.
Relocating
Posted: Wed 24 August, 2022 Filed under: Domestic, Getting Organised, M1, Thoughts 1 Comment »A while back I said about moving, and that I’d explain more about it – and then of course didn’t get round to it ’til now.
Basically, the current house is tiny – four rooms, and an outbuilding for utilities stuff. It’s suited me fine for a long time – far longer than I ever expected it to, to be honest.
But over the Pandemic (and I know it’s not over, but we’re in the “living with it” stage now) I realised that without my rented office, this place was just too small. If the lockdown had been tight, it would’ve driven me mad. (I could justify using the office I rent, as it was just me driving to an office that contained just me, in a building that was closed to the public. But still.)
Alongside that, I’ve just got more and more tired of the limitations and hassles of living in this area. I’m tired of listening to my newest neighbours argue (at great volume, and at weird times of day/night) through the walls. I’m tired of fighting to get a parking space outside my own house. (Pretty much every other house in this area has at least two vehicles, and parking spaces are… limited) I’m tired of all the bullshit, traffic and noise around school commute times, and also of the general noise and arseholiness of people coming out of the pub opposite on most weekends. And I’m tired of the ongoing dust and dirt from living with the windows open beside a busy road.
So, once things had settled post-Covid, I started thinking about Where Next. It was difficult because there was no-where that I really wanted to be, unlike most other times I’ve moved. (In fairness, this place wasn’t one that was calling my name either, it was a practical choice for the time) It’s taken me a fair while to figure things out on that score – and in the end I’ve stuck with practicality. This place has been tolerable primarily because I’ve hardly been here – it’s been easy to get to pretty much anywhere else, because of proximity to the M1 and A1 for north/south travel, as well as the A421 for east/west.
The new location will be similar, an hour further up the road, but just off Junction 22 of the M1. It’s a location that also connects to the M42 and M6, which gives me even greater flexibility. It doesn’t grab me as a location in itself, but it’ll do on the “Getting to anywhere else” front. It means that I’m (obviously) an hour closer to my friends up in Manchester and Newcastle, so it makes life easier on that score. Weirdly, it also means that seeing my friends down in North Somerset will also involve journeys an hour shorter (because I can cut across to the M5 and straight down, rather than dicking about with the M1, M25 and M4) So in those ways it’s actually more convenient than the current place!
The criteria for the new place are pretty easy to work out, given the things I’m tired of. A larger house, probably 3-bedroom, ideally with its own driveway and garden, on a quieter road, with no nearby pub or school. And ideally without paying a stupid level of rent – a house with that spec where I am currently would be at least triple my current rent, which is just insane.
Anyway, after some looking around, that’s what I’ve ended up with. A 3-bed semi in a small estate, with its own driveway, garage, and low-maintenance garden. No school, no pub. And for a rent that’s still a 50% hike over what I’m currently paying, but that’s expected – and infinitely better than a 300% hike!
I’ve done all the paperwork and finances, but don’t get the keys til the 5th of September, and then properly move mid-September. I’m really looking forward to it all.
Making More Work
Posted: Fri 12 August, 2022 Filed under: Customer Services, Domestic, Getting Organised, I Don't Understand, People, Thoughts, Weirdness 2 Comments »As part of my preparation for moving (about which another post sometime soon) this week I ordered some decent moving boxes from SafeStore. Yes, I’m sure there are other sources for them, and so on, but I was happy with the stuff on offer, and they’d deliver it, so *shrug*, it’ll do.
For cost-effectiveness (within the provisos of “I’m sure I could get it better somewhere else, but CBA to hunt”) I got one of their “kits” – 4 each of small, medium and large box sizes for considerably less than individual prices – and also added in some bubblewrap, tissue paper, and a mattress cover. All well and good.
It got delivered this morning, as expected and on-time. Two boxes – one the ‘kit’ box, and one for the bubblewrap roll etc. Except… there’s no mattress cover, no tissue paper. So I called them up to let them know, and the lady went off to check with the despatchers. And that was where it got weird.
“Have you checked in the Kit box? They say they might’ve put the extra things in there, to keep it all together“.
And it turned out that was exactly what had happened. But that boggles my mind.
Now, I assume (and I’m aware it’s an assumption and thus could be utterly flawed) that the kit boxes are exactly that – they come as a sealed box with the kit contents in. That makes sense to me. (Otherwise they’d be assembling the kit from box stocks for every order, which seems… odd)
So, if that’s the case, the despatchers opened a kit box, put the extra bits in, sealed it up, and then put it with the other box that already had bubblewrap etc. in it. Why go to that effort when there’s an unsealed box (with space in it) right there? Why make even more work for oneself?
I despair.
[Note : I actually did better than expected out of this deal – because they didn’t send me the kit box I’d ordered, and instead sent one that’s larger, and should’ve cost about £10 more!]