I've been writing this post since god know's when. It started out as an easy way for you guys to catch up with what I've been up to this fortnight. Unfortuantely I've yet to catch up with everything I've been up to. So I don't know how everyone else is supposed to! I really could do with some "Me time" but it doesn't look like I'll get anymore of that anytime soon.
Without further boring preamble here is a blog-lite version of the last fortnight.
Helen's Visit
Starting with my week off from work. Helen came up for a three day visit starting on the Monday. Unfortunately on the sunday night one of my water pipe joints burst and flooded the bathroom. It was one of those moments where you just think "Great" with as much sacasm as you can possibly imagine. Helen arrived before the plumber turned up, but it wasn't too long before it was fixed. Then we got down to some serious DVD watching, including Alias ,House and Battlestar Galactica.
I also introduced her to Wii sports playing Golf, Bowling, Baseball and Tennis. The overall score was 2-2 with Helen winning the Golf and the Bowling. I somehow managed to fluke a score on the Baseball to win.
Helen taught me how to cook Rissoto (if not how to spell it) so I've now been able to add that to my batchelor repatoire. If you've never tried it I can heartly recommend it. We also saw "The Good Shepard" at the cinema. That film is way to long and slow to recommend as a cinema experience. Best to wait for the DVD.
Unfortunately the visit was over all too soon by wednesday when I dropped Helen off at the airport. It was lovely to have the company for a few days ad breaks from the routine are always welcome.
Ashford
By sunday it was back to work time. I was due back at the plant in Ashford (Kent) first thing on Monday morning to finish what I started. So I drove back down on the Sunday afternoon just so I wasn't drving down at some ridiculously early time on the Monday morning. There was no snow this time and there was no drama either. Which makes a change.
Because I was sitting on the Channel tunnel there was a chance I would end up in Belgium later in the week (being the nearest engineer), however it never materialised.
Manchester
Which meant I could go visit the lads up in manchester the following weekend. Well that actually should of read "the lad" as bally didn't arrive until Saturday evening. But he had a good excuse so we forgave him. Of course there was football to be watched that weekend. Specifically Middlesbrough FC (my team) Vs Man Utd (Dave's team). It was 2-2 in the end with Man Utd getting a hotly contested penatly at the towards the end.
We lost the replay and I'm not bitter, honest!
Twelve of Twelve
New Toy
I won the weekly sweepstake at work twice in the same month. I'll tryand avoid the usual puns about buses. I've been part of the office sweepstake since I joined the company and statistically I should win once a year. But as we all know statistics like to lie. Anyway, With my winnings I decided to trawl ebay to see what bargins there were.
In the end I gazumped somebody and bought a PDA. I'd been looking to buy one for a while, but never really found one that I like (at the right price). The reason I wanted one was that now that I have a new PC at work I've been trying to organise my life using Outlook (including contacts, etc). I've been doing a pretty good job of it except that when I leave the office all the planning becomes useless. People ask - can I do this? Am I available to do that, but because I couldn't get at the PC, I couldn't give them an answer.
I hate written diaries and this way I let my PC rule even more of my life. How can I lose? ;-)
Eurovision
Oh my god! Okay, so it's typically Eurovision. The reason we don't win is that the people who voted for Scooch to represent us don't take it seriously. Okay I'll admit I think it's better than last years, but for the full on effect why don't we just enter some Butlins Redcoats?
Staff Development Course
After 5 days of work this is just what I needed. A full weekend of "death by powerpoint", but this is exactly what I had to do this past weekend. The staff development course is actually another hoop I have to jump through before I can apply to become a uniformed staff member with the ATC.
It was a residential course so I stayed the weekend at RAF Linton-On-Ouse. The course started at 7pm on the Friday and finished at 5pm on the Sunday. The days started at 9am and finished at 8pm (on the Saturday). A lot of it was "powerpoint" work, but there was the odd discussion and drill section to keep it intersting. The best bit was the bar prices in the Sergeants mess. I bought a round for everybody (10 of us) and it cost me £12 how cool is that.
Thankfully I passed the course so I can now apply to go into uniform. If I get though the application process it's back to polishing my shoes until I can see my face in them.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
12 of 12 March
It's 12th of March and that can only mean one thing. It's that time of the month where I avoid the censors and I'm let loose with my camera. At least until the men in white coats come along with the syringe nicknamed "Mr Happy".
I just wish a jacket with so many buckles was fashionable! So before I have to type this with my nose here we go again...
---
1. 07:30 Approx
By this time I'm awake, fed and ready for work. There is only one last thing I have to do before I leave - take my medication. I'm currently on 3 pills and a special orangr drink a day (+ a nasal spray for my sinus problems). The orange drink is the oddest thing. If I don't drink it as soon as it's made up then it turns to jelly and would require a Knife and Fork to drink.
---
2. 07:55 Approx
The traffic is backing up earlier on the commute than my previous 12 of 12. As always the matrix message signs (those displays above and beside the motorway) are right on the ball. Warning me of he possibilty of a queue and to drive at 40 mph. I'm desperately resisting the sarcasm at this moment.
---
3. 10:00 Approx
This is our testing panel at work. We use it to test any new equipment we plan to add to our standard systems. The display panels at the top are called HMI's (Human Machine Interface's) and the bottom electrical equipment are called PLC's (Programmable Logic Controller's). My working life is just full of TLA's (Three Letter Abbreviations), but we couldn't work without them.
---
4. 13:00 Approx
It's lunchtime and that's the time I can try and safetly get those jobs done during the day, that I can't do when I get back home in the evening. In this case try and sort out the mortgage on my house. I think they just make it this complicated on purpose to stop you switching and the fee's they charge are just horrendous. Power to the people obviously hasn't reach mortgage companies yet!
---
5. 14:57 Approx
A bigger picture of a TLA, sorry I mean a PLC. This is the device that control everything to do with the cremator (or incinerator). Each PLC has a software program running inside that takes information from a number of sources (including PC's) before deciding what to do. These little things take the place of huge panels that would take uo the space of a garden shed and make my life much easier than it was for some of my (older) colleagues.
---
6. 16:30 Approx
This is a machine that has just been finished in the workshop. What you are looking at is what is called the Primary Chamber. This is where the actual "Cremation" occurs, at temperatures of approximately 850 celcius (1562 Farenheit). We don't actually do any in the workshop, we just heat the machine up using the gas burners while testing. We only cremate when the machines are "on site" at the crematorium and running fully.
---
7. 18:30 Approx
The fridge of a single male in his mid 20's. It has just been restocked after a trip to the supermarket, from Top left to bottom right; Butter, Margarine, Mushrooms, Fruit Smoothy, Creme Freche, Spotted Dick, Cod Fillets, Pepsi Max (not mine, left by a friend 3 months ago). There is salad, corn on the cob and a potato in the trays at the bottom.
---
8. 18:45 Approx
But before I eat it's off on my trusty steed for some exercise. The bike is nothing to write home about as it is about 7 years old, but it is solid and everything still works well. I had to fit a new seat though as the old one could have been a cold war torture device invented by the KGB. Maybe the CIA has them as well, but they're not letting on. I like cycling it's helping me rebuild my leg strength afer I became rather inactive after an illness 3 1/2 years ago.
---
9. 19:20 Approx
Yep it's the obligatory dark picture (i'm doing it while I still can) and this one is very dark! On tonight's cycle route I passed a small track of which I've always wondered where it leads. I know curiosity killed the cat, but it always get's the better of me, so down I went. This is about halfway down the track. Although the photo's not brilliant, I felt like I was next in the "Blair Witch Project".
---
10. 19:22 Approx
The track didn't get very far and this is what greated me at it's finish. I'm in the middle of a pitch black wooded area and I've come across a sign that says "end". Needless to say you start to looking over your shoulder. I don't mind telling you I made it up the track faster than I went down it. As an aside for those of you who are unfamiliar with the British Highway code, the sign has nothing to do with "umbrella's required" (usually a necessity over here anyway) and is used to indicate roadworks.
---
11. 20:30 Approx
Food. I was so hungry when I got back from cycling. Do you remember that list from my fridge? Most of it ended up on this plate. I was so hungry that I ate half of it before I remembered to get a picture. Next time you might end up with an empty plate.
---
12. 21:45 Approx
Vanity, we all suffer from it and I am gulity as charged. I was looking at my passport with it's age old photo, before I happened to glance in the mirror. My hairline has defiantely gone backwards at a high rate of knots. However until eye's become detachable I've never known how bad it was "on top". The above photo confirms my worst fears. How I wish I hadn't given up the alcohol.
---
So there you have it. This puts 12 of 12, 25% of the way through this year and so far so good I'm still here. It's good job that this is all picture based, if I were let loose on my work stories I doubt you'd all be around next month.
If you have read all fo this and have no idea why I did this, then pop over here and read Chad's blog.
I just wish a jacket with so many buckles was fashionable! So before I have to type this with my nose here we go again...
---
1. 07:30 Approx
By this time I'm awake, fed and ready for work. There is only one last thing I have to do before I leave - take my medication. I'm currently on 3 pills and a special orangr drink a day (+ a nasal spray for my sinus problems). The orange drink is the oddest thing. If I don't drink it as soon as it's made up then it turns to jelly and would require a Knife and Fork to drink.
---
2. 07:55 Approx
The traffic is backing up earlier on the commute than my previous 12 of 12. As always the matrix message signs (those displays above and beside the motorway) are right on the ball. Warning me of he possibilty of a queue and to drive at 40 mph. I'm desperately resisting the sarcasm at this moment.
---
3. 10:00 Approx
This is our testing panel at work. We use it to test any new equipment we plan to add to our standard systems. The display panels at the top are called HMI's (Human Machine Interface's) and the bottom electrical equipment are called PLC's (Programmable Logic Controller's). My working life is just full of TLA's (Three Letter Abbreviations), but we couldn't work without them.
---
4. 13:00 Approx
It's lunchtime and that's the time I can try and safetly get those jobs done during the day, that I can't do when I get back home in the evening. In this case try and sort out the mortgage on my house. I think they just make it this complicated on purpose to stop you switching and the fee's they charge are just horrendous. Power to the people obviously hasn't reach mortgage companies yet!
---
5. 14:57 Approx
A bigger picture of a TLA, sorry I mean a PLC. This is the device that control everything to do with the cremator (or incinerator). Each PLC has a software program running inside that takes information from a number of sources (including PC's) before deciding what to do. These little things take the place of huge panels that would take uo the space of a garden shed and make my life much easier than it was for some of my (older) colleagues.
---
6. 16:30 Approx
This is a machine that has just been finished in the workshop. What you are looking at is what is called the Primary Chamber. This is where the actual "Cremation" occurs, at temperatures of approximately 850 celcius (1562 Farenheit). We don't actually do any in the workshop, we just heat the machine up using the gas burners while testing. We only cremate when the machines are "on site" at the crematorium and running fully.
---
7. 18:30 Approx
The fridge of a single male in his mid 20's. It has just been restocked after a trip to the supermarket, from Top left to bottom right; Butter, Margarine, Mushrooms, Fruit Smoothy, Creme Freche, Spotted Dick, Cod Fillets, Pepsi Max (not mine, left by a friend 3 months ago). There is salad, corn on the cob and a potato in the trays at the bottom.
---
8. 18:45 Approx
But before I eat it's off on my trusty steed for some exercise. The bike is nothing to write home about as it is about 7 years old, but it is solid and everything still works well. I had to fit a new seat though as the old one could have been a cold war torture device invented by the KGB. Maybe the CIA has them as well, but they're not letting on. I like cycling it's helping me rebuild my leg strength afer I became rather inactive after an illness 3 1/2 years ago.
---
9. 19:20 Approx
Yep it's the obligatory dark picture (i'm doing it while I still can) and this one is very dark! On tonight's cycle route I passed a small track of which I've always wondered where it leads. I know curiosity killed the cat, but it always get's the better of me, so down I went. This is about halfway down the track. Although the photo's not brilliant, I felt like I was next in the "Blair Witch Project".
---
10. 19:22 Approx
The track didn't get very far and this is what greated me at it's finish. I'm in the middle of a pitch black wooded area and I've come across a sign that says "end". Needless to say you start to looking over your shoulder. I don't mind telling you I made it up the track faster than I went down it. As an aside for those of you who are unfamiliar with the British Highway code, the sign has nothing to do with "umbrella's required" (usually a necessity over here anyway) and is used to indicate roadworks.
---
11. 20:30 Approx
Food. I was so hungry when I got back from cycling. Do you remember that list from my fridge? Most of it ended up on this plate. I was so hungry that I ate half of it before I remembered to get a picture. Next time you might end up with an empty plate.
---
12. 21:45 Approx
Vanity, we all suffer from it and I am gulity as charged. I was looking at my passport with it's age old photo, before I happened to glance in the mirror. My hairline has defiantely gone backwards at a high rate of knots. However until eye's become detachable I've never known how bad it was "on top". The above photo confirms my worst fears. How I wish I hadn't given up the alcohol.
---
So there you have it. This puts 12 of 12, 25% of the way through this year and so far so good I'm still here. It's good job that this is all picture based, if I were let loose on my work stories I doubt you'd all be around next month.
If you have read all fo this and have no idea why I did this, then pop over here and read Chad's blog.
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