C&L's Wedding

Am currently recovering from yesterday - C&L got married at the Priory Barns in Little Wymondley - and we went along to be part of their special day.  Highlights include the band, the food, the drinks and of course, the company :)  We finally made it home around 00:30 and J finally left for his home at around 04:30 ;)  Pics linked in title...

Tiki on 2

Last night we officially celebrated the opening of the second floor at work.  V and I organised a TIKI themed house-warming party and invited the company along for cocktails.  I made a margarita and a daiquiri despite my sugar syrup, lime and triple-sec order being cancelled.  It was a good night - pics linked in title...

Lightroom3

Adobe Lightroom 3 is out - it offers some nice extras such as improved noise filters, flickr integration and lens correction.  I hope to get it installed over the weekend: http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/photoshoplightroom/

Update: it came, installed with no problems and auto updated the LR2 catalog.  I then uninstalled LR2 with no issues.  LR3 seems much faster (especially to start).

Still Painting...

We've been here nearly two months now - and the house is starting to come together.  There's still a lot of work to do though (I've just finished a 08:30 to 19:30 painting stint!).  I do however have my study in place at last with a nice shiny new black desk.  Only problem is that my brown leather chair no longer fits :(

UE46C8000

Another busy weekend of housework.  We painted the lounge, the study and half the upstairs floors.  I also moved all the audio equipment to the server room into a rack.  We had a few luxuries though - firstly we ordered our new firelpace and secondly we got this 46" monster :)  It has skype, can be controlled from an iPod and looks gorgeous!

iPad 64GB

I knew it - we went to have a look and walked away having bought one.  We got the dock and case too  - along with AppleCare.  It's downstairs sync'ing and charging as we speak.... more photos linked in title.

Singapore - Day 5

My last day in Singapore - and a national holiday.  Woke up late - 11ish - after getting back form last night's awards at 04:00 (thanks Martin!).  Packed and checked out.  Spent the rest of the afternoon with Jus being shown around Arab Street, Little India and various other places.  Did some shopping including gifts and an iron (don't ask).  Flight was at 23:30 so lots of time to kill - went gadget browsing (saw the New Sony Vaio P-Series - WANT) and had Thai for dinner.  Long flight back next to most fidgety girl in the world - paid her back by snoring.  Back in the UK at 06:00 Sat morning.... am now quite tired but what a brilliant trip - can't wait to return.

Singapore - Day 4

Woke up today and made my way into the office for 08:30.  A busy day ticking off as many tasks as I could, followed by a 2 hour meeting to discuss Implementation and then a VC back to the UK.  Left work at 18:30 and headed back to the hotel for a shower.  At 19:00 I made my way to the top floor (Equinox) where the company had booked a private dining room for the first Singapore Annual Awards.  There was a massive buffet waiting with some fantastic food - followed by speeches and awards.  Afterwards we went to the New Asia bar and drank champaign until midnight.  A few of us then sauntered off to some of Singapore's bars and clubs for a few more before bed.

Singapore - Day 3

My third day in Singapore started with breakfast in the hotel.  Work was fairly busy culminating in a 3 hour QA meetings to discuss their processes.  Lunch was spent in a restaurant that hosted many smaller food suppliers.  I chose to eat a chili and ginger chicken with rice dish from the aptly named 'economical rice' store.  It was lovely - right up to the point where I ate one of the chilis - crikey - they were hot.  So, for the first time in Singapore it was not the heat and humidity making me perspire!  Work finished around 19:00 and I returned to the hotel to change and get ready for the evening.  Whilst there I was captivated by the massive thunder storm crossing the north of the island.  The lightning was fantastic - mostly air-to-air in great sky-filling forks and occasionally crashing down to the ground in massive, bright-orange streaks.  It turns out that this is very hard to photograph!  I then spent a very entertaining evening with the manager of the Singapore office at a wonderful Chinese restaurant where we dined on crab and I ate my first every bird's nest - for real!

Singapore - Day 2

Breakfast at the hotel and into work.  A full day of communications to the rest of the team out here - and some time with the Dev guys to see what they do.  Lunch was at a local favourite - 'Chicken and Rice' with deserts at a Bean Curd shop (thankfully air conditioned - the midday heat is overwhelming in a shirt and trousers).  I left the office around 19:30 and headed North to Singapore's Night Safari.  Here I spent nearly 3 hours walking around thick jungle looking at all sorts of fantastic animals (more pics linked in title - although difficult to get as no flash allowed and it was really dark).  On many occasions I found myself alone, in the dark with only the noise of the jungle around me - just brilliant!  I then jumped in a taxi and headed to the Raffles Hotel - to the Long Bar - for a Singapore Sling at its birthplace.  Expensive at S$29.75 (around £15).  After this I met up with a college and we went to a local bar to drink some cold beer and watch a rock covers band.  An awesome day!

Singapore - Day 1

Left London on Sunday night around 22:00.  The A380 flight over was fantastic - very quiet and plenty of room.  Managed a couple of hours sleep too.  Singapore is HOT - very HOT - and HUMID - very HUMID!  Checked into the hotel and was upgraded to a suite - on the top floor - very nice!  There are some great views over the city (the one here is sunrise this morning).  Popped into the office for a few hours to check emails and catch up and then went for some food and beers with M - culminating with a drink on the 71st floor overlooking the city at night.  A great way to be introduced to Singapore!

Roomba 580

My (just under year old) iRobot Roomba 560 went back for repairs a couple of months ago due to a failed gearbox.  It was fixed but came back not quite right.  So - off it went to Germany again for investigation.  This time it didn't return - instead, in its place, iRobot sent me a top-of-the-range 580 :)  I was sooo happy :)

Super-Scanner gadget cat-flap!

New house - new doors - new cat flap needed.  Now, you know me, wanted something different and gadgety.  Well the 'SureFlap Microchip Cat Flap' is just that sort of thing.  I know what you are thinking - nothing new - cat has chip in collar, gets let through door.  Well - NO - this *IS* different.  It uses the RFID chip already embedded in the cats (the ones we had surgically implanted when they were young) so they cannot lose them - awesome!  Link in title...

Upstairs - clean!

Another hard weekend of housework.  We manage to clean and paint the walls of the spare room, clean the study and paint the floor.  I also got around to laying some Cat5 to start to network the house.  This now means that after a month of living here the upstiars is completely clean!  This is not becuase we have been lazy but should give you an idea of how filthy the house was when we moved in,

We also let the cats out for the first time today - they've been in for 4 weeks.  Max took ages to venture out - Rasmus not so.  Sat went well, but on Sun they both dissapeared for hours - making it back just before dark!  At least they seem to know where they live though so all in all it was a success.

House Warming

We finally managed to get sorted enough to invite the neighbours and friends over for a welcome drink.  In then end we had quite a crowd inlcuding the guys that bought our old house down the street.  Finally made it to bed at 01:30 after drinking some beers.  Made a nice change from working/painting/building all night!

IKEA's biggest wardrobe - installed :)

We spent much of this Sat collecting, transporting, building and filling a new wardrobe.  The 300x240cm monster is the biggest IKEA does, fits perfectly at the end of our bedroom and just about gives K enough room for her clothes :)  You can chose your own internal design from all sorts of drawers, baskets, shelves and accessories.  Her favourite part is the dedicated shoe draw.  It took several hours to build - those glass doors weigh a tonne!

Darwin Launch Day

Today we launch our new product to the marketplace.  As part of the 'hype' for the day we came into work to find a load of animals strewn around the office - Lions, Rhinos, Zebra and a few of these Monkeys.  One was quite near me - so, of course, I've had fun dressing it up :)

Webcam Working

Got the webcam working - although not sure K will be happy about all the wires over the kitchen :(  Might have to relocate it to the study (once it is unpacked).

Moved!

We're in - well, we turned up on Mon but the internet only came today.  It has been an exhausting week.  The house was far from perfect when we turned up - we've filled a skip with left over rubbish and spent 4 days straight cleaning!!!  The cigarette ash, tar and general grime on just about everything had to be seen to be believed.  I took 5 aierials, and empty water tank and 6 bags of loose rubbish out of the attic yesterday not to mention the numerous bits of glass, brick and sludge from the gardens.  To top it off the drains blocked on Wed with one being beyond repair and the toilet is leaking.  HUFF.  Good news is that we finished one of the bedrooms, the kitchen is usable and I have my own server room under the stairs :)  I have lots of photos but no easy way to upload atm so they'll come later....

Moving

Today is the last full day that we'll spend in our current home.  We've spent the last 3 days packing and cleaning and are exhausted.  Tomorrow, early, a lorry is coming and we have to move all this stuff into it - presuming it will fit.  This is also the last day for a week I'll be connected to the net :(

Samsung UE55C8000

New house means new gadgets - except the one I want isn't released yet.  55" LCD, 3D ready but more importantly built in BBC iPlayer and Skype.  Will have to start saving as I reckon it won't be cheap...

Exchange???

So, today is the day the house should exchange... I am waiting with frayed nerves and much anticipation.  It has been a four and a half month nightmare to get to this point and I am still not willing to believe it will happen until the solicitor rings to tell me it's done.  Last time I was this stressed was my general flight test!!!  Anyway, nerves aside it does mean I can start planning the move - although with only a week to go it is not that much time.  I've petitioned the locals to see if anyone will be around to help and included this VERY detailed plan to assist them in visualising the complexity of this move...

UPDATE: Exchanged at 16:27 - IT'S ON!

MBK 17 Miles

With the Lytton Beer festival in full swing I needed to burn off some of those calories.  So, a 17 mile cross-country ride ought to do it :)  Took just over 2 hours and was surprisingly muddy - the horses really churn the tracks up.  Can now relax for the rest of the day - which is good as A is making a roast later :)

The House Move Begins...

So, we heard the last person in the chain finally got their mortgage offer and are ready to go - we should exchange early next week.  At last!  So, this weekend we started to think about how we are going to pack everything up - a not so small undertaking!  Part of the clear-out that ensued involved deciding to get rid of a few bits and pieces.  Most will find the charity store but if you fancy a 15 draw CD unit in handmade reclaimed teak - then head to ebay (link in title) now where it's just gone on at 99p, local pickup only!

Easter Has Arrived

The Easter Bunny came to work this morning and left a whole pile of eggs under the stairs.  The resulting mass rush for chocolate shows just how concentrated the average employee can be if motivated properly :)  Happy Easter everyone!