Assortedpixels's Weblog

Four week update.
It’s been almost four weeks now since I started my new job here in the wilds of Hampshire and I think it’s all gone pretty well. I’ve had a week of finding my feet and reading all the company procedures and handbooks etc. I’ve had a weeks training on the tester that I’ll be using the most, followed by a couple of weeks of programming new devices, all of which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. The team here are friendly, the office atmosphere is nice and relaxed and overall it feels good. I think I’m going to enjoy working here.

It’s that time of year when the schools are finishing, swallows are screaming and zipping around and massive rain clouds are starting to gather on the horizon and when everyones thoughts turn to taking a holiday to escape the British summer. Yes, it’s time once again for yours truly and family to head West to visit the Colonies !! As we all enjoyed ourselves so much in California last year, we’ve decided to return again this year to explore it a little more.
Our agenda for this year is…
Spend a few days in L.A. seeing some of the bits we didn’t get to see last year, like taking in Disney Land to keep my 22 year old daughter happy. She LOVES ‘Finding Nemo’ and they have a new underwater ride there. Also we managed to get tickets to see Diana Ross at the Hollywood Bowl !!
We will then take a couple of days to drive up the coast, maybe stopping in Carmel or Big Sur on the way towards our final destination, San Francisco. I think we will have to be a little flexible in where we stop on the way though as California is experiencing yet more raging forest fires and parts of our preferred route have recently been closed because of them.
In San Francisco we’ll be doing the Golden Gate Bridge and of course paying a visit to Alcatraz. Maybe we’ll take a look at Fishermans Wharf too, Golden Gate Park and hopefully the site of the old Sutro Baths.
After gorging ourselves on the delights that California has to offer, we then head back East to our time-share in the North Georgia Mountains, Helen for two weeks of sunshine and peace. The thought of waking up each day with nothing much to do and not having to think about what to wear to keep warm or if I should maybe pack a cardigan or sou’wester just in case it rains is heavenly. Afternoons sat by the pool listening to nothing more than the trees rustling, the birds singing in the woods and the gentle lapping of the water in the pool is a pure delight and it fills my soul to bursting with joy with the very thought of it.

That about wraps it up for today.

I’ll see you all again in about three weeks….

Back in about 35,000 minutes

My desk is now totally cleared, yup, it’s a first for me I must say !!! Feels kind of odd though having a completely clear desk, bare walls and totally empty drawers.  All my personal ‘data’ has been removed from my PC too, being carefully backed up on various CD’s, USB drives and an online data storage site, so my PC now appears to be running a lot quicker than it ever did ??? (Was I abusing it THAT much??) Now it’s just a case of turning up at work and burning up the hours until I leave. Feels like a waste of time. It’s certainly a waste of petrol !!! So, I’m almost out of here. ALMOST !!!

Tonight though, we’re off out.

First we’re eating out at Las Iguanas. They’ve recently opened a place in Gun Wharf Quays near us and are doing a 2-for-1 offer in conjunction with the local newspaper. So tea tonight will be ever so slightly Latin !! Following that we’re off up the road to the theater to see “The Now Show” being taped for BBC Radio 4 !! Tickets were free, which was a bonus. We all love listening to radio comedy at home, so it’ll be a treat to actually be a part of the audience for once. We’ve been in a couple of radio audiences before, once at the Drill Hall in London to see “The Hudson and Pepperdine Show” which is sadly no longer running, and also for “Just A Minute” with Nicholas Parsons, both of which were so funny to see live. So it should be good and I’m quite looking forward to it.

I’ll report back tomorrow on the dinner AND the show !!!

TTFN… BP.

One thing about moving on is starting to get to me. It’s not just the fact I’ll be sad at leaving some good friends and colleagues behind. That goes without saying. But the fact I’ve got to empty my desk out !!!! What a task !!! With nearly six years of accumulated ‘stuff’ to sift through and decide whether it’s going to make the journey to my new desk it’s a daunting task.

One of the things I like about going to the Isle of Wight Festival is not just being able to enjoy the music, but it’s about enjoying the whole atmosphere. Everyone, well, about 99.99% of them, are there to have a good time and almost everyone you bump into during the festival is smiling, happy and friendly. Obviously, with drink available 24/7 over the three days there are a lot of ‘happy’ people around but it’s rare that you see any bad behavior because of it.

So while your there you sort of leave the ‘real’ world behind.

Personally I find that I don’t really think about anything at all while I’m there apart from “Who’s on next?” “Have we got time to grab a coffee?” and “What shall I have for dinner/tea/supper?”

On Saturday afternoon the sun was shining, I was laying on my back having just eaten a scrumptious falafel wrap and became aware that I was just looking at the clouds and I began seeing all kinds of funny shapes in them. Bunnies. Snails. Dogs. All sorts of ‘animals’ just floated by to a gentle background of music and crowd noise. It was delightful.

Hi fellow bloggers, it’s Blue Pixel once again. I was getting a little lonely over on Blogger.com so I thought I’d hop over the fence and set up shop over here in WordPress land. It seems to be a little busier over here. And I must say it looks rather nice too… lots of lovely layouts to choose from and a lot more customisable too.

More later…

BP