Sunday MBK

After suffering from a stiff back all week I finally figured I might be able to loosen it up with some exercise.  So, I strapped my Marin on and went for a short 6.5mile yomp around Knebworth Estate.  It was actually quite nice - sun was out - not too warm - perfect riding weather.  Oh, and back appears better for it too :)

Work Found Out

So the blog is out at work - and making its way around finance apparently (hi guys!).  They've declared interest in shirts/vacuum cleaner updates (yes, we know they mean Roomba) and pictures of work nights out.  So, I aim to continue pleasing them, along with you Dear Reader, with these exciting updates to my fun-filled, fast-paced lifestyle!  Let's hope they don't abuse the comment functionality - Hitesh, I know where you sit!!!

Money Marketing Awards

Last night was the 2010 Money Marketing Awards at the Grosvner.  Unfortunately it broke our 6 year streak and we didn't win anything - but we had a great time anyway.  Home and bed for 03:30 - shattered!  Pics linked in title...

Woburn Safari Park

K and I were bored - so we drove to Woburn Safari Park to have a play with the monkeys.  We also saw lions, tigers, rhino, giraffe, penguins, elephants and others.  Bit of a laugh for a Sunday afternoon :)  Highlights included two monkeys climbing on our car, seeing a Wallaby with a joey sleeping in its pouch and a small squirrel monkey trying to rifle through my pockets for treats!

Al leaving drinks

J and I joined A for his leaving drinks.  We started in a traditional old pub near his (old) workplace.  Shortly after we left for Dirty Dick's where we listened to a weird blue-grass swamp band until it was time to head home.  Most amusing :)

Unisys Reunion

A few of the old Hermes Publishing Team met up for drinks after work tonight.  Good to see them and catch up.  The surprise guest was R - who I haven't seen since I left, some 7 years ago!

Master....

Look what came though the post today - my MSc at last :) :) :)  I am now a Master.... bwahahahahahahahaha!  Have to go and get a frame now...  Hang on, does this mean I am no longer a student and should stop using my student-card for all those discounts :(

Thomsons Awards 2010

Last night was our internal awards ceremony congratulating those people who delivered above and beyond the expected.  It was held at the Royal Horseguards Hotel in London in a room overlooking the river and London Eye.  Luckily for me (4am finish) I had a room so not far to go for bed.  It was a fantastic night with lots of laughs and beer - these guys really are crazy :)  More pics linked in title...

Weekend Office

It's weird coming into the office on Sat.  For starters the trains and tube are almost empty - no one pushing - not too warm - it's almost.... pleasant!  The next strangest thing is an empty office - suddenly it seems a lot bigger and less hectic.  In fact, it is actually quite nice being here - added to that Starbucks sent me some free coffee in the post this morning and I am catching up on all those little things I couldn't get done during the week.  All I need is to figure out how to get some music playing and it'll be perfect :)

Roomba is back!

Roomba is back and working as good as new.  So glad - the carpets were starting to look a bit uncared for.  They replaced his CHM (cleaning head module) for a green one which has slightly different bearing faces - we'll see if this works better with the cat hair???

More shirts

Decided to add a few more colours to my wardrobe so stopped by my favourite shirt makers and bought a few more.  As a bonus they allowed me to exchange a single-cuffed shirt I bought by accident for a double-cuffed equivalent.  They also had some black label shirts on sale again :)

Smart Sold

With a week left on insurance and tax we sold K's Smart. K was very upset and even cried a little when it left. It was such a cool car to drive - it'll definitely be missed.

Roomba Broken

So, sad news, my robot vacuum cleaner broke. The somewhat too common problem of the gearbox becoming full of hairs. Not all bad though - still under warranty so UPS picked it up today for a trip to Germany to be fixed. Hope it is back soon!

Mud and Cold

Brrr - went out for a ride today around the woods of Hertfordshire and boy was it cold!  Managed about 11 miles of sticky, sodden ground including the largest hill in the area.  Was quite surprised I didn't fall off once :)

Tiki Bar

It seems like our house move is one stage nearer completion having agreed terms based on the surveys.  As such it seemed a good time to open the Tiki Bar for a cocktail or two after hours.  J and A recently bought some strange exotic liquor back from Hungary (Unicum) which seemed like a good idea - until you tasted it.  Amazingly bitter and the sort of aftertaste you just cannot get rid of.  Seriously - it is now some 8 hours later and I can still taste it - uck!

SatMap 1.42

There's a new firmware version for the SatMap and an upgrade to SatSync.  They fix some small bugs and add a few new features - the best of which is the ability to recognise newly imported routes without a restart - nothing major though.  Link in the title...

New Job - Week 3

So, I am in week three of my new job - just starting to find my feet - and loving every minute of it.  I have a team of 8 in the UK and 3 in Singapore split between new client projects, enhancements/fixes and QA.  They are all dedicated, professional and fun to work with - qualities which run through the rest of the organisation also.  What I am most happy about though is the refreshing change of moving from an industry in decline to one that is growing.  Photo is the one sent around company-wide to introduce me - oh dear :)

FS: Smart Roadster Brabus Xclusive

Kris has decided to sell her Smart Roadster - so, if you know anyone that would like it pass this on to them.  It's black/black with ALL the usual Smart toys (flappy-paddle gear box, auto roof, air-con, elec everything...).  It's a 55 plate, MOT Sep, Tax Feb, full Smart service history (last in Nov) and has all keys, receipts, etc.  There's more info on Pistonheads (link in title).

Snowed in

Got to the train station this morning to find it all snowed in.  Eventually a train turned up (30 mins late) but was so full no one else could get on.  They then started canceling other services.  So, I went home and dialed in to the office for the day instead.  Turns out to be a good choice - we've had much more snow since and it looks like all trains might be canceled coming back out of London!  Here's a pic from my front door webcam.

English Xmas

Happy Xmas everyone - we woke up fairly early (for us), had some champagne in bed before opening presents.  K got a Kindle, I got a guitar fx pedal and we both got Band Hero :).  We then ate breakfast and playing Band Hero for 2 hours before going to the Station pub for lunch (which was very nice).  In the afternoon we played some more and then watched films.... perfect!

Swedish Xmas

Today is Xmas Eve - or Swedish Xmas in our house.  K prepared the traditional smörgåsbord including xmas ham, eggs, fish, sausages and meatballs.  There may also have been a few bottles of champagne :)  I am now incredibly full and trying to make room for porridge later.  We also did some last minute xmas shopping although I am not allowed to open ANY of my presents until tomorrow.

New Job: Thomsons Online Benefits

It's official - I have *just* been told that I passed the security vetting and as such have been offered a new job to start in January.  I will be the Implementation Team Leader for UK and Asia looking after a team of around 10, based in Victoria (London).  So, if you cannot get hold of me next year it will be because I have a new mobile number and email - IM me for my new details.

Girls from Uni

K and I had the girls from Uni over for a party on Sat night.  Also a chance to meet R (L's boyfriend from the States).  Thanks to the snow we had plenty of outdoor fridge space for the crate of champagne K bought.  Party was fun - introduced B to Guitar-Hero and was told to turn it down at 23:30 (sorry!).

Snow

I chose a good day to take from work - we had 6 to 8 inches of snow overnight!  Traffic came to a halt this morning all over the county and trains were cancelled.  Meanwhile I was warm in bed watching Discovery :)

I did venture out later in the day to pick up some presents - but had to wait for A and his large, knobbly-tyred jeep.  Perfect vehicle for this weather!

Leaving Tera

It was a difficult decision but I have decided to leave my current employer and seek new challenges elsewhere. I've been with Tera for six and a half years and enjoyed pretty much all of it. In this time I've gotten to know a load of people and I hope many of those will stay in touch. As for what's next - there are a couple of ideas in my head but a lot depends on the next few weeks - watch this space!