thebitchtroll

Here fishy fishy fishy!

Despite having a lot of worked planed for today, the were a few things that scuppered my work through the entire day plan, though I did get a substantial amount done on my research project despite the interruptions.

First off was a phone call from the fridge repair company saying that they were 40 minutes away and will someone be home. News to me as I've got them in my diary for visiting on Thursday, not today, but since I'm at home working it isn't really a problem. Besides, it'd be nice to have the fridge dispensing ice and water as soon as possible again.

Next I get a surprise email from my friend Nic who is going through a bit of a time of it a work who was wondering if I could do a late lunch at The Fishes @ Hinksey this afternoon. It'll be nice to see her since she's either holed up at home working or stuck in Birmingham or Banbury depending on where her current project takes her so I jump at the chance to have a catch up and see that she's doing ok.

So whilst the fridge man is tinkering and for the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon I knuckled down to do some serious work so that I can escape later on for my lunch date. The hard work pays off and by the time I'm due to leave the house I'm at a point where I've got lots of information and have started to document it all in a cohesive manner. Not that it's rocket science to understand what is the most popular device in use at the moment, take a bow Apple, your iPhone is streets ahead of the competition by all accounts.

I have a very lovely lunch with Nic and manage to "put myself back in my box" (it's a SMINDE thing) when it comes to deciding what to order, though I think I spent the entire time staring at Nic's chips longingly which may have freaked her out a bit :) We also had a long chat about most things, but in particular the freedom the contracting offers and how permanent positions get less and less attractive the more you work for yourself. Its true of course, but there are downsides to contracting as anyone who's done it before will know.

Interestingly the waiter was chatting to us and asking what we did for a living. I explained my occupation and he asked for my details as he may have some work to put my way. I REALLY REALLY need to get my business cards sorted out as a priority next week, writing details on the back of a receipt isn't kosher.

When I get back home I do more work on the project which takes me right into the evening but I do manage to sneak an hour or so to myself to watch some TV and eat dinner.

It's been a busy day for sure, but busy is good!

Posted by tBt on January 26, 2010 9:28 PM  Post a comment (0 people have already!)

O Now Glow, fly out the door...

First thing this morning it looked like it was shaping up to be a quiet enough day so I decided to sort out these elusive long reach hot glow plugs that Phil needed for his plane to keep the engine ticking over nicely. The place that we've discovered in Oxford that furnishes such items has been closed for a week or so and then after that I've not had time to go and visit, but since today is looking peachy my mission is to get what we need so the bloody plane can finally take flight.

So, not to be disappointed I ring the shop first to a) make sure they're open and b) make sure they've got what we need. Positive results on both counts luckily. The only downside is that I had to endure a 30 minutes conversation to establish fact A and fact B. It wasn't even a particularly constructive conversation either for that matter, because I don't know anything about why the plane engine is running lean nor do I know the reason why a hot glow plug might be the resolution. And no, I'm not sure why the plane came with the engine it did, or indeed that the engine we have might have a carburettor issue or the dynamics of engine size to wing span etc etc. Groan. Finally I gave up and said I'd ask our neighbour who's fixing the plane for Phil to ring the shop owner to ensure what I'm going to his shop for is in fact the right thing for the job.

I do that, and not long after Chris pops back around and said he's sorted it and yes it is definitely the hot glow plugs we need if I'd be so good to go pick them up.

Off I go then in the grasps of the Oxford ring road and down to Cowley where I'm fighting against the ensuing lunch hour traffic and possibility of the shop being shut for lunch, but I make it in time after a short jog down the high street. That was quite cool in fact as it was the first time in many years that I've been able to jog anywhere because of my knee - so 1 point to the Nuffield for that achievement.

Whilst I'm in the shop I also get the elastic bands need to attach the wings to the plane, several of the hot glow plugs and a pat on the back for being the dutiful lady providing for her husband *scowl* that comment didn't go down well as you can imagine!

On the way home I nip to the supermarket and get a super deal on some whole chickens, 3 for 10 quid. Not bad and cheap for a good couple of meals for sure.

Back at the residence and I drop off my goodies next door and then get down to doing some work I've been tasked to do by one of my clients - this particular piece is to do with researching mobile website and mobile device compatibility, and it'll be interesting since I've not looked at mobile development for close to 8 years when WAP was still in it's infancy.

I can only imagine things have moved on somewhat...

Posted by tBt on January 25, 2010 6:01 PM  Post a comment (0 people have already!)

I've tasted heaven...

... and it tastes like Fudge!

No, seriously it does. And the angels that have bought this little slice of the good life to our miserable existence on the mortal plane? The Fudge Kitchen.

And how have I stumbled upon this divine delicacy? Well, Phil and I headed into Oxford today after a long discussion last night about the advantages of buying a mac mini to do iPhone application development on, the conclusion of which was to go ahead and get one and see what we can come up with.

That decision involved us going into town to purchase said mac product, which also involved us walking past this tiny window in Oxford which when glancing through was like Willy Wonka had set up shop. Big copper pans everywhere, bubbling pots and layers of lavish fudge being gently manipulated into very fine fudge rolls ready to slice up and purchase.

So what are you suppose to do? Easy. Spend 600 quid on an apple and then spend another 10 on fudge. It's a food fest I tell you!

Seriously though, I am NOT a fudge fan in the slightest, all the fudge I've ever eaten has been nasty congealed grimness but this stuff is like velvet on your tongue, it melts away in your mouth leaving you more contented that the best Belgium chocolate you can think of, so much so you'll want more and more and more. But you can eat as much as you like because although it's rich it is not at all heavy. I can't recommend it enough, you simply must try it to believe it.

Back home and Phil sets about setting up the mac which is surprisingly painless. He's struggling a bit with the UI but that's to be expected after years of windows usage, just got to download the SDK pack now and I'll be sorted.

Whilst Phil is doing that I play some Fable 2 and download the See the Future pack which is pretty cool, even though it did take 2 hours to download.

Posted by tBt on January 24, 2010 9:26 PM  Post a comment (0 people have already!)

Day Tripping

So, I had a call from Cara yesterday wondering if today would be a good day to do that day out after we had to abandon our arrangements earlier in the week. As it happens, Phil is working so I've little to do so I think that yes, in fact today would be a good day to go out and get an airing.

First things first though and in the morning I have some work to be getting on with but after I've done that I've just enough time to go to the gym, get back home and have some lunch and a bath before Cara arrives with Charlie and we head off into Oxford.

The prime intention is to have a wander around the covered market as it's full of nice stuff and we manage that too. Charlie it seems though wasn't so happy about the idea. It appears that at 5 years old he has reached the point that all men get to when shopping with women in that it just isn't fun any more, even more so if it doesn't involve cinnamon apple candies! Nonetheless we soldiered on amidst much protesting and I did pick up a few of Ben's Cookies for Phil along with a new t-shirt from a cool little shop called next to nothing. I avoided the one that said "sex, drugs and sausage rolls" on it, though that did make me laugh and opted for a much more sedate one that had a spectrum zx keyboard plastered all over the front. Probably more fitting for someone as interested in computers as Phil :)

We then make our way back home (much to Charlies relief!) and after a quick stop Cara and Charlie head back to theirs and I get on with nipping to the supermarket for a few things I need for tea. Tonight's delicacy is lamb marinated in yoghurt and garlic served with aubergine bake. Very nice too!

Posted by tBt on January 23, 2010 10:07 PM  Post a comment (0 people have already!)

Luncheon

A very busy day today, not nearly made busier by the fact that I had a hasty call from my neighbour who has yet another staffing issue and required assitance from me first thing this morning. Oh well. Wouldn't ordinarily be an issue but I had plans for today which I then had to re-arrange to a degree so I could fit everything in.

I did however manage to keep to my lunch meet up with ex-work friends which was very nice indeed. Probably shouldn't have eaten the nachos, but you know what I made a concious decision to eat them so that's ok. I also made another decision at the same time to go to the gym this weekend to burn them off, so that is also ok, but not nearly as pleasurable.

Back at home in the afternoon and I've plenty of work to keep me busy, including the challenge of explaining resolution (display, digital and print) to someone. It's not an easy concept to grasp so I can see why people get so confused with it, but I tried my best.

I also had some harassing to do in terms of the fridge repair people. I can see this whole thing becoming a saga so I've started logging down everything I do in relation to the whole charade in case I have to get really shitting with LG.

Round 2 of low carb dinners tonight and I opt for king prawn stir fry. It seems that those south beach cook books I bought several years ago are being useful again. I am still however unconvinced that what I'm being asked to do is just a form of calorie reduction which in itself will result in weight loss, rather than the type and time of food being consumed acting as the catalyst losing weight. I'm not particularly numerate, but the argument for just eating less than you burn still seems to be the simplest solution so far... You'll have to excuse the scepticism here, but as somewhat of a diet tart I've yet to find any solution that works LONGTERM other than eating less and exercising more (and that includes low carb diets).

Posted by tBt on January 22, 2010 10:17 AM  Post a comment (0 people have already!)

Stood Up!

Well, only a tiny bit :) I was suppose to be going to visit Cara today and we were going to have a girly trip to Cirencester, but just as I was getting my crap together and heading out of the door I got a phone call to take a rain check.. booo! Not to worry though, it was for a valid reason as they'd been offered a house viewing that they'd been waiting to go and see and thought it'd be a good time to do it whilst Charlie was at school.

So that left my day a little bit blank. I did however manage to parcel up one of our gadgets which is going back to the manufacturer as its apparently got an unfixable problem and they want to give it a post mortem to see where it all went wrong. That's fine, except the bloody thing has an inbuilt battery to keep it going and so kept making odd noises and talking to itself all the way to the post office. I did have to assure the woman at the desk that it wasn't in fact a bomb or anything, but that it was probably going to annoy her all day - how nice I am!

After doing that job I went down to the gym and got sweaty. Not a bad way to waste an hour and I also included some more work on my withering knee muscles.

When I got back I decided to luxuriate in a nice hot bath with considering it was early afternoon was quite flamboyant for me, but very relaxing all the same :)

Not quite sure what I did for the rest of the day, but it did involve cooking my first "no rice, pasta, bread or potatoes" dinner as according to SMINDE. Got to admit, I ate it and was promptly hungry thereafter, but had some fruit for dessert and a big drink which got me through it. I also finished off my sampler square of four stitch check, so that's 3 squares done, just another 100 or so to go :)

Posted by tBt on January 21, 2010 9:59 PM  Post a comment (0 people have already!)

Snow Go... Now!

Woke up this morning, got out of bed, peeked out of the window. Snow? No. Thank goodness. Went for a pee. Peeked out of the window, thwump... the clouds just did the dirty on us and deposited a healthy smattering of snow all over the place. Great. And its not easing up in the slightest.

Ordinarily I wouldn't mind, but today I've offered to help out my neighbour delivering sandwiches to local businesses as she's got personal stuff to get done which is important and she's short staffed and I volunteered. Meh. And now it's snowing. The thrill of standing out in the snow pimping bread and meat isn't enthralling me in the slightest, but you know I said I'd do it, so I'll just get on with it. If anything it'll give me something to complain about later.

And it did. It was cold and wet (yes wet because the snow was wet, not fluffy like you'd see on an idyllic Christmas card) and the punters weren't all that interested. Also, interestingly and not surprisingly the smell of hot bacon rolls does little when one is trying to be virtuous and sticking to not gorging out when the mood takes.

Wet and sodden I came home, had some lunch and thought better of going to the gym since I thought it'd be nice for my knee to recover a bit more, after all I have just got in and out of a car 20 times which as you can imagine doesn't do wonders for a dodgy right leg with no cartilage on the outside of it (don't forget, I'm british, we drive on the right!). Besides, I'm going to the gym later on today for my SMINDE meeting, I don't want to appear to be over-enthusiastic.

Talking of which, the meeting itself was hmm, well I'm going to reserve judgement for now. I will produce a full summary at the end of the 12 week course. Plus points however is the challenge of a weekly weigh in. Negatives, I was easily the fattest person there with I would guess a good 6 stone on each and every other participant. That in itself is demoralizing.

Anyway, onwards and upwards (or preferably downwards if you relate this to weight).

Posted by tBt on January 20, 2010 3:36 PM  Post a comment (0 people have already!)

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