Developments, New and Old

It would seem I have quite a lot to talk about, not least because I haven't updated over here in a fortnight.

For those of you who have been on edge since my last entry, you can relax now in the knowledge that we did get the hot water sorted out. Once again Alison's Dad got lots of brownie points for helping out - he should probably trade them in for some brownies at some point come to think of it.

The rest of that week passed by in a blur of frustrating and unfulfilling work, and there really wasn't anything that happened that's worth mentioning here - at least, there wasn't anything that I can remember that was worth mentioning.

At the weekend we decided to go and look at bathrooms, as one of our plans for later in the year is to rip out the old bathroom and put in a new one. We saw a toilet we liked (because when buying something you're going to shit in it's important to have a really nice one) and a bath we liked. The other thing we did was try and finish sorting out the construction aspects of the AV unit so that it would be ready to stain this weekend and then fit next weekend (which will be a long weekend because of the May Bank Holiday on Monday). However, Alison's involvement in the construction done then lead to a problem I'd missed being highlighted. The upshot of this was that we needed to buy some (preferably cheap) worktop to form the top of the unit.

At that point we were rudely interrupted by the start of a new working week, and so woodwork and the like had to be put aside for a while so that the more mundane could take place.

However, the working week did produce a couple of interesting developments.

Firstly, I got to visit one of MDE's other sites up near Solihull, a site practically on my doorstep that I've never had reason to visit in the past six and a half years, despite it being a thriving hip happening place (ok, maybe exaggerating just a little). I had a meeting about one of the 'small pieces of other work' that I've had knocking around since early on in the year. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to look up any of the people I know who worked on that site who I've not seen since the Graduate Training weeks, but I wouldn't think that'll be the last time I pop over there.

The other development was more important, and more interesting. A new job opportunity has come up. This is a more definite opportunity in that it's highly unlikely to be withdrawn as soon as I start to get my hopes up (tempting fate, I know), and it's also very local, and very much a good match for my skill set. Well, it's a good match for that part of my skill set that I want to use. There are many many skills in my skill set that are just baggage and I would probably be better off if they sank down my CV a little (yes, COBOL and all that). There may even be interviews for it, and that's scary. Anyway, I have been put forward for the job, and later on should find out if my CV has made it through the first hoop.

Then we come to this weekend. On Friday night, we tried out Alison's new tent. It did seem a bit strange sleeping in a tent in the back garden, but I think it was worth it. I did suffer a little on Saturday morning as a result of getting the maximum dose of early morning pollen, which is something that I guess hasn't really happened since a scout camp.

Saturday we went off in search of the cheap worktop, which meant heading to The Temple Of Cheap Yet High Quality Furnishings(TM), also known as IKEA. Given the proximity of IKEA to Merry Hill, we thought it would be rude not to point in there as well. And so Anne showed up as well, joining us in a hunt for new prescription sunglasses for Alison, and not surprisingly also joining us for Starbucks. When Alison decided to disappear into Dolland and Aitchison (handily placed next to Starbucks), it gave Anne and I the chance to have a good old gossip - and given the things we seem to end up talking about, 'old' is about right. We're both becoming far too domesticated, and its showing.

The trip to IKEA that followed was possibly the shortest visit to IKEA we've ever made, in that involved ordering exactly what we wanted, having a quick bite to eat, then collecting our stuff straight after. We didn't wander around looking at furniture we didn't need, and we didn't even do a full lap of the marketplace. Wasn't right. If you're going to visit IKEA you should be able to make the most of it.

Then yesterday I did myself a DIY nasty (see the LJ for details) as we continued to move towards finishing of the AV unit. In the afternoon we sat in the garden and stained all the wood for the unit, leaving very few things requiring my attention this week. Basically it's just sorting out the worktop and maybe a few extra bracing struts to strengthen the structure. Then we've just got to hope that the fucker actually fits in the space it's been made for when we come to fit it this coming weekend. It was all measured out, etc, but there is always the chance of one or two errors creeping in. Angst.

Last night I finished the missions on Grand Theft Auto III. Just got all the bonus bits to do now, wonder how long that will take me, LOL.

And so now it's another working week. Bah.