Stationery
Posted: Tue 7 January, 2014 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 1BEM, Domestic, Geeky, Getting Organised, Own Business, Stationery, Work-related, Writing | 3 Comments »One thing that I’m really bad for purchasing is stationery, and pens in particular. Thankfully nothing super-expensive (I’m too prone to lose them anyway – or get them ‘borrowed’) but still, sometimes I’ll see a pen or similar, and just want it. I also know I’m not alone, as several other people whose blogs I follow are similar stationery addicts, which is somewhat reassuring.
Over the last few years I’ve lost a couple of favourites – particularly fountain pens – which I still miss. But I don’t hand-write letters as much now, so it’s harder to justify the purchase of a new fountain pen. I bought a bundle of my (current) favourite rollerball pens last year, so I’m doing OK on them in general – and I do use them all the time for notes, plans, lists and the like.
Today though, Pixeldiva linked to this post about a favourite rollerball pen that uses ink cartridges rather than rollerball refills. And that desire for a new pen kicked in.
I’ve ordered it – it’s not extortionate by any stretch, and has cost me less than £20 including two pots of cartridges – but oh dear. I’ll write more about how I find the pen in time, and how it works with my Rhodia notepads…
CRB
Posted: Sun 5 January, 2014 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 1BEM, Business, Customer Services, Cynicism, Domestic, Work-related | 2 Comments »Back when I started the new contract, I had to fill in a form online to kick off getting my CRB Check done. (It’s a requirement of the industry for this particular type of contract, and not something I have a problem with) That was at the end of September.
It finally came through on Friday – a month after my initial contract was due to end, and a mere two weeks before my extended contract is due to end.
It’s taken three full months to come in. Imagine if I’d been waiting for that CRB before I could start work in a new job? I could’ve done a full three-month contract in the time it’s taken to appear.
There’s been no indication of what caused the delays, no apology, nothing. Just a final “All clear” half-sheet of A4.
(And on a tangent, who knew that the CRB no longer exists, and it’s now the “Disclosure and Barring Service“?)
The thing is – that CRB check is effectively already out of date, and inherently useless.
All it does is show that I’ve not been cautioned/charged/convicted with anything until now, which is somewhat reassuring to employers etc., but that’s as good as it gets.
I could be charged tomorrow with something relevant – and they’d never know. Indeed, in this case I could’ve been charged with something anytime from mid-December, and they wouldn’t know. So it’s effectively pointless by the time they’ve received it.
As such, for anything other than verifying that I’ve been honest (in saying that I’ve no convictions) it’s absolutely pointless.
Year End
Posted: Tue 31 December, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2012/13, Bankruptcy, Domestic, Finances, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Organised, Own Business, Resolutions, Thoughts, Web Development, Work-related, Writing | Leave a comment »Here we are, at the end of 2013. It’s been an eventful old year, what with one thing and another.
In no particular order – and probably leaving out a load of lesser stuff – my 2013 has consisted of…
- Having Mondeo kill itself in the outside lane of the M1 – always an interesting experience
- Renting a Renault Megane for two weeks – the shittest car it’s ever been my displeasure to drive
- Buying the Saab as a replacement for Mondeo, and it’s done well so far. Handing back the Megane was also an absolute joy
- Countless meetings all over the country
- Completing my bankruptcy period – it stays on the record for four more years, but it’s discharged now
- Being made redundant from the job I started the year with
- Going back to contracting and
- getting the first job I applied for – indeed, they offered it to me at the interview, and wanted me to start immediately
- And the second – although it turned out to be shit
- And indeed the third – on that one they offered after phone interview, without even meeting me
- Forming my new company, which will start trading from mid-January
- Sorting out an ISA savings account – which actually has some money in it!
- Continued writing, and getting some ideas out onto keyboard/paper – time will tell how successful that stays
- Been able to purchase some stuff I didn’t have in the new house – like a proper bed-frame, etc.
- Caught up with friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen in far too long
- Attended two weddings – and another one’s already booked for 2014
All told, it’s been pretty busy, somewhat hectic, highly changeable, and not a bad year at all. Sure, things could have been better/smoother, but when all things are considered, I’d say it’s been a positive year.
Back to Work
Posted: Mon 30 December, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Domestic, Insomnia, Sleep - or lack thereof, Weirdness, Work-related | Leave a comment »Today I’m back in the office. I’ve had the Christmas week off, and do feel (generally) better for it, although a lot of the time taken has been involved in doing other work and so on. But such is life.
I’ve caught up on some sleep – being able to sleep for what inevitably turn out to be my core hours is always a good thing.
I don’t know why it is, but my core hours for sleep (as I’m sure I’ve said before) are 7am to 9am. With usual work, I don’t get to have that sleep at all, and this year most of my weekends have also involved getting up rather than taking those couple of hours. This last week though, I’ve been sleeping through (pretty noteworthy in itself) and I do feel measurably better for it.
I don’t know why I sleep best in those two hours. General wisdom is that sleep is deepest at around 3am, but that’s usually one of my more disturbed periods of sleep. But those two hours, if I can get those then it’s a real difference to my mindset.
Errant
Posted: Sat 28 December, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Business, Central Bedfordshire Council, Own Business, Pedantry, Work-related | Leave a comment »Over Christmas, my local council provided a wonderful example of why you should always double-check things – preferably with someone literate.
Yep – errant apostrophes all over the Festering Season.
As always, it’s the result of letting their website be managed by individuals rather than a team who are actually capable of things like proof-reading, literacy and the like. But it’s not a good thing at all.
Extreme Commuting
Posted: Fri 27 December, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Commuting, Driving, News, Travel, Work-related | 2 Comments »The BBC today has an interesting piece about so-called ‘extreme commuters’ – those who travel more than three hours a day in order to get to/from work.
As regular readers know, I’ve been doing idiot commutes on-and-off for the last twelve years. I do have periods of commute sanity (the current phase has lasted most of the last two years) but I’ve also done plenty of long commutes. My own record has been a train commute on a daily basis from either Manchester to London (and back, of course) or Bath to London. The main section of that was roughly 1.5 hours for the Bath one, or 2ish for the Manchester one, and with additional time at each end for getting door-to-door.
More recently, the two long commutes have been from Suffolk to London, and Suffolk to Luton. The London one was two-and-a-bit hours door-to-door, and the Luton one about 90 mins each way.
What interested me the most (and to some degree defuddled me) was the person commuting by car and train from Trowbridge to Hook. According to the story, that takes 2.5 hours door to door. I’m bemused, because I know that just driving that route takes between 1.25 and 1.5 hours door to door. The train journey takes longer, and also includes two changes of train. Frankly, fuck that for a game of soldiers.
I know there is the minor advantage by train that you can get some stuff done. But for me, I’d rather get in and get the stuff done in the office.
Anyway, it’s an interesting article, but as always you kind of wonder about the decisions people make, and want to know more than is covered in the piece itself.
As for me, well, I’m quite sure that at some point in the coming year I’ll do some kind of daft commute again – although from where I am now, journeys to London etc. are nowhere near as much of a struggle as they were from Norfolk and Suffolk. But there’ll be something daft to do, I’m sure.
Blocked Up
Posted: Sun 22 December, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Domestic, Festering Season, Health, Work-related | 1 Comment »In what’s close to becoming a tradition now, once I’d finished work on Friday, I almost immediately started going down with a cold. It was pretty much expected, considering how crappy I’ve been feeling the last couple of weeks anyway, but still, it’s fairly crap.
It’s meant that this has been a quiet weekend – although that was also pretty much the intention anyway, with aiming to avoid any significant shopping etc. – which has been much needed.
With luck, the cold will ease off too in time for the Festering Season.