Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

Beware the casual rail traveller. The everyday commuters I don't mind quite so much. Obviously, I'd prefer to have the train to myself. Actually, I'd prefer to be in a car, but that's not really an option. Anyhow, the people who get the train day in, day out - I don't mind them so much. They get on the train, sit down, and either put their earphones in their ears* or go to sleep. Personally, I fall into the latter category in the morning, and the former category on the return journey. If I have to get out of bed an hour or more before I'm ready to, I figure 45 minutes shut-eye on the train shouldn't be too much to ask.

And on a good day, I'd get it. On a good day when everyone in the carriage knows the rules. You get on the train. You shut the hell up. You do not sit right next to people** who are trying to get some much-needed sleep, and talk in the loudest possible voice for the whole frickin' journey about a whole lot of crap that no-one else is even vaguely interested in.

Sorry to sound grouchy. I'm just not a morning person.

* Best place for them, really.
** i.e. me

Mr Mercury

It's hard to believe that it's fifteen years since you left us. We think about you all the time. We miss you. Rock on.

Ramblin' Man

I'm slipping badly. It's been over two weeks since I last posted anything here. To be fair, though, I have been quite busy.

Yet another hospital appointment yesterday, but a very encouraging one. It was the first time I'd been back since the frame was removed from my leg, and the x-rays are looking good. There's a little bit of movement in my ankle, which is also a good sign. The swelling in my leg has gone down a lot too - also good. I've to keep wearing the boot for a while longer - at least until mid-January, but that's hardly a problem.

Something happened at work that I wasn't expecting. Bear in mind that I went back to work in mid-September. And before that, the last time I set foot in the office was March 2004. And that, between those dates the company moved offices. So I wasn't really expecting any of my old stuff to still be around. But, whilst clearing out some old crap that was lying around the office, someone found a bunch of stuff that used to live on my desk. Mostly irrelevant now - some client files that are well out of date and other assorted odds and ends. A pair of earphones I bought about a week before the accident. I was just slightly amazed that none of the stuff had been tossed out, and had instead been carted halfway across town to wait for me to come back to it. Weird.

Rambling again, I think.

Work Is A Four-Letter Word

I have to do something about my working hours. Starting at 10am seemed, at first, like a great idea. The trains would be quieter at that time of day, I thought. No fighting over seats, I thought. Well, for the most part I was right. And not having to be up at some ridiculous time of the morning is also quite appealing.

Less appealing, though, is hanging around the office until 6:30pm, when most sensible people are at home watching the end credits on The Simpsons (and changing channel rapidly before Hollyoaks starts). Most people leave at 5:30, a few at 5:00, others at 4:30, and even a couple at 4:00.

If I got up a bit earlier, I guess I could the 7:55am train, which would mean (on a good day) getting into Glasgow at about 8:40, starting work at 9, finishing at 5:30, getting the 6:00 train home, and being home at about 6:50pm. I'd still have missed The Simpsons, but it's an improvement all the same.

Good Riddance

Today I officially escaped the evil clutches of the World's Worst ISP, and switched over to what appears to be one of the best. It's still early days, but I'm already noticing the difference. Massively improved download speeds, helpful customer support and no need to stay offline during 'peak hours' for fear of overstepping the miserly download limit imposed by that other bunch of shysters with their draconian 'Fair Use' policy.

OK, it's quite a bit more expensive, but I have a habit to feed here. So it's worth it.

Happy November

On account of my having been back at work for just over a month, this week I'm due for my one-month appraisal. Joy. Not too big a deal, though - the one-month appraisal is usually a fairly informal chat. After all, a month in a new job* isn't really long enough to have seriously screwed anything up.

The timing could have been better, though. My previous line manager is in the process of moving to another team within the company, and another guy from the project development team (i.e. my lot) is taking her place as team leader. This means that the next few weeks will be a sort of handover period from one to the other. Which, in turn, means that they'll both be doing my appraisal. Sigh.

I bet it's the usual questions though. Where do you see you yourself in the next 3, 6, 12 months? "Uh, how the bleedin' hell should I know" being the obvious riposte to that one. If I've learned anything** over the last few years, it's that things rarely work out the way you plan.

Am I rambling?

*OK, it's technically not a new job, but when you've been away from it for this long it might as well be.
**And I couldn't guarantee that I have.