Posted: Tue 5 December, 2006 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Getting Organised, Travel, Work-related |
Well, all is back to normal. I’m back in work, having done the commute from Attleborough for the first time.
It’s an hour long, but it’s not too bad, and gives me plenty of time to geek out on the laptop, or read a book. There’s There are worse ways to wake up…
Posted: Mon 27 November, 2006 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Cynicism, Sweary, Travel, Work-related |
Yes, I knew I was cursing it by banging on about it being the last time I had to do that fucking train journey.
Life, you utter, utter bastard.
I got up at the usual time, did all the normal domestic gubbins – preparing breakfast, letting Hound out into the back garden, blah blah – then checked the local news for travel. Uh-oh. “Severe problems on the Reading – Waterloo route, due to over-running engineering works”. Arses. Check the train times on the XDA (I love useful little services like the train times via Kizoom) and yep, my normal train isn’t just delayed, it’s fucking cancelled.
As are lots of others from earlier in the morning. So I could get the (still delayed) 8:02, but that’ll be rigid with epically pissed-off people, and I just can’t be bothered. So I leave the house at 8:10, get the 8:30 train instead, which was (initially) a bloody good plan. You see, the 8:02 had actually been delayed by twenty minutes, so it was absolutely stuffed with people. Thankfully, not one of them had the brains to say “Hang on, there’s another one in ten minutes, and that’ll be just about empty, as everyone and his Uncle’s on this one” So the 8:30 was pretty quiet for the most part.
However. The engineering works were still over-running, so we ended up fucking about, getting to Twickenham, then re-rerouting through Kingston (wherever the shit that is) and Wimbledon in order to get to Clapham Junction – and because everything was going that route, we travelled at a snail’s pace.
Eventually, at 10:30 we got to Clapham Junction. At which point the service was cancelled, because someone had collapsed on the train, and needed medical attention. Now, I’m not a ghoul, and it was obviously pretty severe – put it this way, it’s the first time I’ve ever heard the guard put a call out for “any medical personnel on the train”. I just can’t believe the number of self-centred smug fuckers who just tutted and sighed at this news, like whoever had collapsed had done it just to spite them, you know, because the train was already late, so why not collapse, and put their day right in the shitter? Cunts.
Anyway, eventually got to Kings Cross, and a quiet train direct to Cambridge. Four and a quarter hours for a journey that normally takes two and a half at worst.
Posted: Mon 27 November, 2006 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Getting Organised, Travel, Work-related |
I’m pleased to say, I’m now on my final train journey between Bracknell and Cambridge. While next Monday is still going to be manic with moving, and travelling, this is the last time I do the journey on the train.
And I have to say, I was right a while back, when the old company moved to London, that I couldn’t handle doing the daily journey to London on these trains to get you into London for 9am. Getting on at Bracknell is OK, there’s normally seats, anyway. A couple of stops down the line, though, and there’s no seats left, and the train is just getting more and more packed.
I hate it.
The one between London and Cambridge, by contrast, is at least always fairly empty, and there’s always lots of seats, which is no bad thing.
But I’d hate to have to do that journey on a daily basis.
Posted: Sun 26 November, 2006 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Cynicism, Getting Organised, Work-related |
I forgot to say, what with the server move and so on taking precedence in my brain, but I didn’t get the permanent job with the place I’m currently working.
I wish I could say I was depressed by that, or that it seemed weird to be deemed as fine for bailing them out of the shit, and providing technical/techie consultancy stuff, but that I’m not deemed as suitable for the permanent position. But, if I’m being utterly honest, I really can’t say that at all.
I know I could do the job standing on my head, but equally that means it doesn’t provide me with any real challenge. And as such, I’d be bored of it within the year, and be back at square one. Yes, it’d make life a lot easier when it comes to shit like mortgage applications and the like, but well, we’ll live.
As it is, I’m starting to sound out various agencies etc., and I’m getting some interesting stuff in return. So we’ll just have to see what comes up – but at least I’ve got some time to get everything sorted, which is always a bonus too.
Posted: Fri 24 November, 2006 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Travel, Work-related |
So yes, this will be (hopefully) my final journey back from Cambridge to Bracknell by train.
This is, without a doubt, a Very Very Good Thing.
I don’t mind the travelling itself – but I find that it does knacker me, and I’m just really looking forward to not having to do it any more. I don’t mind the bit where I’m on a normal train (well, not too much, anyway) but it’s the underground bit I hate. Even though I’m fairly careful/lucky and haven’t had to deal with many packed carriages, it’s still not something I enjoy. Yes, it gets me through London quite quickly, but all the same, I’m just as happy to be not having to do that again after today…
Posted: Wed 22 November, 2006 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Domestic, General, Travel, Work-related |
I was thinking today, I’ve only got one more week after this of staying in the B&B, and of generally being away from home. And after two months of this, that is definitely a Good Thing.
In all it’s been OK, and I could (and would) do it again if I had to, but I’m definitely looking forward to a) not having to do that 7am train from Bracknell to London any more (well, after next Monday, anyway) and b) being able to go home in the evening.
In some ways I’m actually quite annoyed with myself, because I haven’t taken as much of an advantage with my time in the B&B as I could have done. There’s been a lot of work (and resolution) bits I could’ve done in this time, but I just haven’t for one reason or another. I’ve mislaid a lot of my motivation in the second half of this year – although that seems to be coming back, slowly but surely.
It’s looking like 2007 will be an interesting year, and now we’ve only a month of ’06 left, things are perking up a bit. So it’s all coming together again, thankfully.
But I’ll still be happy to not be in B&Bs all the time…
Posted: Sun 19 November, 2006 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Geeky, Getting Organised, Own Business |
Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be doing a fair amount of work on my various sites.
I’ve recently (i.e. in the last week) moved over to 34sp‘s reseller account, which basically means that all the sites I run will move to one server (when I move them, rather than when someone else tells me to) and all be able to be managed and maintained with one log-in rather than the 15 I currently have.
It also means I have 750Mb of webspace and 15Gb of monthly bandwidth to play with, which I can spread around the 15 sites. Some sites I handle need more bandwidth than others, but all the same, it should keep me going for a while.
At the same time, I get to save some money, and move some sites around from where they’ve been costing me more than they should. In fact, in the course of the first year, I stand to save more than I’ve actually paid out, due to getting refunded any remaining time on the existing hosting agreements, and also to save myself on one particular piece of hosting that’s proved to be remarkably optimistic – and thus unnecessary right at this moment.
So all told it’s going to be an interesting little project, and I’m quite looking forward to it, actually.