Suddenly he went crazy with the reviews

That was close. Just finished my Talecrafter reviews for February.

Just as well this month is a day longer this year, isn't it?

Later . . .

Suddenly he went to get his eyes done

Fuck Donald and Aitchison.

A week and a half ago:

'Hello, Mr Jones? I'm just calling to let you know that your lenses are ready.'
Excellent. Do I need to make an appointment?
'No, no. Just pop in and pick them up sometime.'

This morning:

'You need an appointment. I can fit you in on the 12th.'

Bastards.

Suddenly he went to 'arwell

The most striking thing about this place is how quiet is. Of course, in my last office the open plan seating facilitated a noisy environment. Here the offices are divided up in one of the refurbished buildings, but half of the offices are empty. The quiet is something else, and I find myself struggling not to fill the silence, be it through tapping, whistling or humming.

I'm reluctant to say too much about life out here. Security's high, thanks to the Anti-terrorism act, I guess, and I don't want to chance saying anything that might be seen as recklessly prejudicing the security of a nuclear site or nuclear material. Suffice it to say that there's police on the gates, passes, fences, and probably a load of other shit that I won't get to see because my clearance isn't high enough.

I'm pulling long days here, and I wonder how much my writing is going to suffer when all I want to do when I arrive home is get tea and go to bed. It should be worth it though; I get a 10% hike in my wages for working out of a site office, and Finish Early Friday means I get a longer weekend.

The prospects amongst the opposite sex look demoralising thus far. I've seen one young woman around the site, but that was a brief siting. There doesn't appear to be any near my offices.

Suddenly he went nowhere

Broke down on the way home from work last night. Two days I've been doing this commute, and we've already hit that barrier. So, the journey home took an extra two and a half hours.

The only annoying thing was it was nothing major; a broken windscreen wiper. The driver was unwilling to drive on the motorway without one, so we sat in the pub until the RAC pitched up, then felt fairly fucking useless when the repair work took him all of two minutes.

Later . . .

Suddenly he went over the morning's work

It's amazing how slowly time can fly when you have nothing to do.

It's my penultimate day in the office, and my bosses, normally allergic to any one booking time to the unproductive time codes, have no work for me. I wouldn't mind, but I've exhausted every other option open to me. I've caught up with my training and continuing professional development items. I've tidied my desk and packed away the things I'm taking with me tomorrow. I've even spent an hour trying to think of some funny things to post at Only Excellent.

I didn't want to have to review at work -- people wouldn't approve -- but they've left me no choice :)

Later . . .

The first thing I saw was a telltale

December the 31st has had five reviews. The responses are mixed so far. Jennifer Michaels (who published He Missed the Sea last year) liked it, but then others have said that it was incomplete and the ending felt a little rushed. I will keep it up at the workshop for a while longer, but I probably have enough to make some changes now.

Later . . .

The first thing I saw was this:

Dear MR JONES
Congratulations! You have passed the category Car driving theory test. Your certificate confirming the pass accompanies this letter.

It's a small thing, I realise, but I'm happy. This means that, providing I pass the practical in two years, I won't have to take that bloody test again.

The first thing I saw was a letter to Shameful

St. Valentine's Day sucks.

Later . . .

The first thing I saw was an excuse not to work

Went out on Fluffy's last minute leaving do last night. It was an impromptu night, but I think Gilly's old adage is true; the one's you don't plan are often the best. In the end only myself, Shameful and a couple of others that went out, but it was good for all that it wasn't busy.

It made me think though; when I hold my not-quite-leaving do in a couple of weeks I'm going to have to make an effort to get a few more people out. I'll be happy if one in particular comes out, but won't be complaining if a few others come along to see me off.

Later . . .

The first thing I saw was my story

I've posted December the 31st to the 'shop and put it up for the Talecrafters to crit. I'm hoping I can get it to a point where I can send it out, even though it was only done for a bit of fun really.

Later . . .

The first thing I saw was the night sky

My social fast is over. My ex and her mate organised a night out on Saturday and I went along. Not a bad night, although I did make a bit of a fool myself when, encouraged by thoughts of drunken athleticism, tried to jump a set of railings and totally sacked it. Ended up on my arse in the mud, with D-2 (luckily the only person there) laughing his head off.

Aside from that I didn't embarrass myself too much. More importantly I didn't embarrass myself in front of the girl I'm currently trying to charm, so all in all a good night.

Later . . .