Boredom at 4pm

This afternoon, I am so unbelievably bored at work. 

My  inbox and other mail folders have been cleaned up, my to do list is up to date and I have no end of day meetings to look forward to or prepare for. There are a few emails I could fire off, but I really can’t find the motivation.

Nothing urgent mind, so no real harm done – and to be frank, if I did do it, it would take me a grand total of 10 minutes which would still leave me 50 minutes before the final bell goes – I’ll write them in 5 minutes tomorrow morning.

That’s the nature of my job… if I’m doing it correctly, I don’t have an awful lot of constant work to do and I tend to have to depend on other people to influence my workload. Now, in most of my other jobs, during these few down times, I could have a surf, play a quick flash game (in one case, I am proud to say I even watched a whole season of Lost, with the sound on and no headphones! – come to think of it, I wasn’t the only one watching.)

It distracts me but allows me to be on hand as soon as anyone needs my input.

However at this precise point in my career, not only is my PC very selective in what it allows me to view, but more annoyingly, my back (and therefore my screen) is facing the whole office, so anyone walking anywhere can see my screen.

I do manage some harmless bbc.co.uk pages but if it’s anything else, it is so obvious that I’m “taking a break” that there’s no hope at all!

Updating this blog would be easy enough… a little email window in Outlook and off I go.

But even that hasn’t been working as I’ve been less than inspired recently and I’m really finding it hard to get back into writing. Although there has been no lack of discussions about blogs over the last few weeks to help me kick start.

J mentioned listening to podcasts and online seminars (these have the added value of notes in a pdf that can actually look like real work!) and I’ve done a bit of that. This afternoon, I’ve been finding out about Cooking the Perfect… by listening to a podcast from BBC radio 4. Quite interesting actually, just wish there was more of it. I’m still new to podcasts, so I guess it will take me a bit to find regular casts I like…

Yay, my water bottle is empty... I think I'll go down to the canteen and fill it! ;)

 

The paper clip thieves

This was the title of an article on yesterday's BBC news website, which looks at middle-class criminals in England.

(...) Subjects were given a list of 10 petty crimes to choose from, including paying in cash to avoid tax, taking something from work, and exaggerating an insurance claim.

Presumably, that 61% would be higher still if the list had included a wider range of crimes, such as downloading music and copying software illegally. (...)

Some of you will be amused that for once it's the middle-class that is targeted...

(...) "It's no surprise to see that these crimes are widespread in the middle class - we ought to know that having more money doesn't make you more moral," says Mr Northcott.

"In fact, the crimes are largely about hanging on to money, and the middle classes are better at that. That's what makes them middle class." (...)
source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6238090.stm
(Love it!)

It goes on to talk about employees that help themselves to office supplies (I remember a certain conversation with friends on this subject not too long ago).
Now this must happen in EVERY office, using photocopiers for personal stuff, printing out a cv on the colour printer, and taking the occasional sugar lump home because you didn't make it to the GB last night and you need your cuppa in the morning. (ok, that's just me then, but it's not stealing, it's a good investment, ensuring I'm in a half decent state and mood when I turn up to work - and trust me that's worth a lot more than some sugar!!!)

At the end of the article, there are four what-would-you-do? questions. If you vote, you get the results. just a bit of fun.

Anyone feeling they want to fess up ?
The confessional is now open...

The swallows

Nifty little feature that's just come out on Blogger. Turns out I'm an early adopter!!
A draft version gives us access to posting videos. (Ok, so i know that's non news to most of you, but I'm still new to all this and beyond my expectations I'm still here keeping you vastly entertained!)

Anyway, I was thinking of a way to show the beautiful sunset scene on my balcony - wouldn't work in a photo. If I get a chance, I'll film the swallows and post the result.

Ceramics for Breakfast

OK, I know a few of you have been on at me for a post, so here it is!

And... I've finally figured out how to use links here without having to delve into the depths of my brain and remember my basic HTML knowledge. (Once again, being a Mac and Safari user, the direct and easy option was not available to me - However I have found that it does on Firefox.)

I will get around to posting pics of newly installed kitchen but here's something very cool to distract you in the mean time. This toaster is stunning!

It's from www.designboom.com and for those interested in design, it's pretty amazing the stuff that can come out of people's brains.

Here's are a couple more not so shabby ideas I came across...
A very nifty Daisy vase made out of a biro
A stunning Astor phone which I would find hard to put down.

For the Artemide fans among you - maybe a few you haven't seen before.

And a small PS. to those who, like me, like the occasional RC. Thank god for safety regulations nowadays!!!

Ikea kitchens - The revenge of the cupboard.

The kitchen is now half up.
The build started yesterday morning and ended around 11pm.
I had gone to buy the stuff on Thursday afternoon - and I have to say, it's an absolute pleasure to visit the Swedish Emporium on a weekday afternoon. I came home with 128kg worth of boxes.

I had some help putting this kitchen together and thank God
(in this case S) for this.

We quickly realised that while we thought we had it all, a mandatory visit to Brico was in order. This seems to be an absolute Must when doing any kind of DIY and it's something that slows down the process considerably. For some reason after the spilt paint and white jean lady incident, I took us to another Brico.
With Jigsaw, silicon, drill heads and pipes for sink in hand, we make it back to the flat and get to it.

Now I always think these kind of jobs will be straightforward and relatively easy to handle.... And it NEVER turns out this way.

















I realise quickly that someone in the packing warehouse at Ikea must have had a spaz moment when they packed my drawer elements... 2 left handed pieces!!! So I bravely soldiered on figuring out why I have soo many pieces that don't seem to get used. It take a while to finally realise that the flat packs for drawers are basically the same for all Ikea elements and they sell you the specific bits for your cabinet in a different box. All very confusing if you ask me.

Then a while later, we realise that there are no legs holes for the cabinet we have just built, and with further inspection of the packaging and floor plan of kitchen, I have been given a wall cupboard and not a floor one. I am told by Ikea that I do not have to pull it apart and I can just bring it is as is.
Lovely, just what I wanted, an afternoon sitting at customer service. Another thing on the list of stuff to do for the next couple of weeks.

Jigsawing and flat pack building continues and before you know it, it's 7pm, the old sink is now on my balcony, it's putrid and it strikes me a new sink is in order. Wohoo for Ikea closing at 8pm on a Saturday.
That was the fastest trip to Ikea ever and we arrive home with new sink (lovely) and a mountain of plumbing stuff.

We struggle to finish all the jigsawing before 10pm but I'm sure there must have been a better way to introduce myself to the neighbours!

The way it stands today: the sink cabinet (what is left of it), the sink worktop (what is left of it) and the drawers next to the cooker are up, the worktops are cut to size and the kitchen looks so much better already. I'm starting to believe that this small and weird shaped space will actually look like a real kitchen soon.




































The metal structure on which the sink was on before is now happily squatting my new bedroom. There is Ikea furniture building stuff ALL over my sitting room and I'm sure I could make a tidy profit selling the sawdust that's all over my flat to Brico to mop up the occasional spilt paint.


















I'm fully aware of the magnitude of stuff still to be done (not just in the kitchen) and with the days flying past and shops being closed now until Tuesday, I'm slightly concerned.

It's hard work but it's good fun and there's a definite sense of achievement when you know you're doing it yourself.



Special P.S. to John who's running in the 20K today... Good luck mate, have a blast. I admire anyone who can run that far. :)

Ikea kitchens

This is my task this week.
To buy and fit my new ultra small but oh so charming kitchen.
Now I'm a big fan of puzzles of any kind, and for the last couple of weeks, i've been playing my very own game of Tetris. Adding to the challenge of a small and evil space to figure out, is the fact that I have to squeeze my washing machine in there too!!!

My job was made considerably easier by a friend who sells kitchens, coming over and measuring the space. He played a little tetris of his own (but he has little fridge, sink, cooker templates) and came up with the best possible solution.

So basically all I have to do now, is decide how much I'm willing to spend, what kind cabinets I want, and find an extra storage idea. Sounds simple.

Now I know can be a spaz sometimes, but I'm finding it really difficult to be sure of what I'm getting, enough to actually hand over the visa card.

So, despite wanting to handle this on my own, I think I will return to Ikea next week, measurements and Tetris drawing in hand. I will be forced to approach a yellow shirt, blue pants employee named Sven .... err no sorry Stefan.

(If the end result is half decent, I'll post an after photo.)

Can you name famous Belgians

I saw this ad all over Bristol this weekend and I thought it was brilliant.

Ok, people, Just for the fun of it - AND WITHOUT CHEATING - Name as many famous belgians as you can!!!

One, Two, and Three...

I've been a bit quiet this last week. Partly because I was away in Bristol visiting my sister, and also because I needed to clear my head and get my mind around the latest happenings in my life.

Turns out not only am I looking for another flat (yes, the slightly over budget place I had found is no longer an option) but I'm also looking for a new job!

Kind a sucks... but someone once wrote: "Life will only throw things at you that you can handle". So I'm gonna go with that and trust that it will work itself out.