February recap

Well, I survived. It was one hell of a month but I think by and large it was a good effort. My month long secondment to the training team certainly kept me busy. I can however now say with complete confidence that when I run the photo-books class this month I will not need to refer to my notes at any point. Which, when you think about it, is a shame because I’ve worked bloody hard on them. But, such is life.

The ongoing drama with the training computers not letting me save any of the work has meant that every time I use the photo-books software I’ve had to start from scratch. Mostly because the way council has set up the training and public PCs, there are so many restrictions that you can’t get into even the most basic program files, and anything that might have been saved by a user is wiped every time the machine is turned off. I understand the reasoning behind it, but still it made my job harder.

Other than that, my month at the higher banding wasn’t all that different from what I was doing before. I was just “officially” supposed to do it, as opposed to just doing it because it needed doing. There has been some talk from the head of the training team about keeping me permanently, but no details on what that would actually mean. More hours? Permanent higher banding? Who knows? Miss R thinks I should be more excited about the idea. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be thrilled if it became permanent. I’m also aware that no matter how much someone wants me, if there’s no money in the budget it’s not going to happen. Still it was fun, and it’s something else to put on the resume.

Now that the month is over I’m back to my regular hours, and of course uni has started. I’ve put all the important dates in my calendar and asked for two weeks off before each major assessment is due. I was too late for the assessments due this month, but not the others. The first lot of leave has been approved, but no word on the second lot yet. 

MQFF starts this week, and I’ve got tickets for about 10 movies. With that, uni assessments, and work, I’m not likely to get much reading done this month. Unless of course I’m procrastinating. 

Maybe just one game of bubbles before I start ...

Books read in February:

41        50 people who buggered up Britain by Quentin Letts

42        Storm from the shadows by David Weber

43        Torch of freedom by David Weber & Eric Flint

44        Mission of Honor by David Weber

45        Hellsing vol 8 by Kouta Hirano

46        Hellsing vol 9 by Kouta Hirano

47        Hellsing vol 10 by Kouta Hirano

48       A crown imperilled by Raymond E Feist

49        After school charisma Vol 2 by Kumiko Suekane

50       After school charisma Vol 3 by Kumiko Suekane

51        Rapture for the geeks by Richard Dooling

52        Shadow prowler by Alexey Pehov

53        Shadow chaser by Alexey Pehov

54        iD_entity vol 1 by Son Hee-joon

55        iD_entity vol 2 by Son Hee-joon

56        iD_entity vol 3 by Son Hee-joon

57        iD_entity vol 4 by Son Hee-joon

58       Claymore vol 1 by Norihiro Yagi

59        Claymore vol 2 by Norihiro Yagi

60       Claymore vol 3 by Norihiro Yagi

61        Claymore vol 4 by Norihiro Yagi

62        Claymore vol 5 by Norihiro Yagi

63        Claymore vol 6 by Norihiro Yagi

January recap

Obviously I haven’t had a great deal of time for blogging. In truth I haven’t had time for much outside of work and reading (and chores, always find time for the chores). I have managed to catch a few movies, and am working my way through a few dvds, but other than that it has been all about the reading. This month will be different.

With people going on leave I have been asked to work fulltime in February. I’d be happy with this just for the extra hours, but I’ll also be working at a higher banding as part of the training team. This is a good thing. I met with Ms E (the head of the training team) yesterday to have a brief chat about what we’ll be doing, and it all sounding interesting. She is also interested in keeping me permanently. Not sure what that’ll mean when the month is over, but for now it’s nice to feel wanted.

The National Year of Reading is being officially launched this month. I’m 40 books in to my challenge. I’m not following any particular strategy, just reading whatever grabs my attention. I know working is likely to have a serious impact this month, and uni will definitely eat into in come March, but I’m not too worried. If I hit the target I’ll be happy, but mostly I’m just doing it for the reading.

Books read in January:

1. Savage City, Sophia McDougall
2. The Elements; a visual representation of every known atom in the universe, Theodore Gray
3. Sex Pistols Vol 1, Tarako Kotobuki
4. Sex Pistols Vol 2, Tarako Kotobuki
5. Sex Pistols Vol 3, Tarako Kotobuki
6. Sex Pistols Vol 4, Tarako Kotobuki
7. Sex Pistols Vol 5, Tarako Kotobuki
8. Sex Pistols Vol 6, Tarako Kotobuki
9. More than Honor, David Weber
10. On Basalisk Station, David Weber
11. The Honor of the Queen, David Weber
12. The short victorious war, David Weber
13. Field of dishonor, David Weber
14. Flag in exile, David Weber
15. Honor among enemies, David Weber
16. In enemy hands, David Weber
17. Echoes of Honor, David Weber
18. Ashes of victory, David Weber
19. In fire forged, David Weber et al
20. Changer of Worlds, David Weber et al
21. Worlds of Honor, David Weber et al
22. The service of the sword, David Weber et al
23. War of Honor, David Weber
24. Crown of slaves, David Weber & Eric Flint
25. The shadow of Saganami, David Weber
26. At all costs, David Weber
27. Clone: the life and legacy of Al Parker, gay superstar, Roger Edmonson
28. ES Vol 1, Fuyumi Soryo
29. After school charisma Vol 1, Kumiko Suekane
30. Return of the Black Death, Susan Scott & Christopher Duncan
31. The Subject Tonight Is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz, Hafiz, translated Daniel Ladinsky
32. Hellsing Vol 1, Kouta Hirano
33. Hellsing Vol 2, Kouta Hirano
34. Hellsing Vol 3, Kouta Hirano
35. Hellsing Vol 4, Kouta Hirano
36. Hellsing Vol 5, Kouta Hirano
37. Shattered silence: the untold story of a serial killer's daughter, Melissa Moore & M. Bridget Cook
38. Hellsing Vol 6 Kouta Hirano
39. Hellsing Vol 7, Kouta Hirano
40. The World of Downton Abbey, Jessica Fellows

 Miss R and I are off to RedHill for her birthday (and the market) so I imagine I won't get much in the way of reading done. But there will be cake.

2012: the year of reading

I know I haven’t posted for a while. December is usually busy, and with half of the family descending it was even more hectic than usual. But that’s all last year’s news now, so I won’t bother to recap. We survived, that’s all that matters.

What is important in that this year is the Year of Reading. Librarians (and librarians in training) are all geared up for a year that we’re made for. So, what better way to celebrate that to read as many book as possible this year?

So far I have read one book this year. Started, and finished today. Not half started sometime last year and finished today, but read in its entirety. Naturally this got me thinking about just how many books I could/should try and read this year.

Now as there are 366 days in this year (yes, it’s a leap year) I thought maybe that should be my target. I should point out that while some think this is completely unrealistic, there are others who are confident that I will surpass that target. However, once uni goes back, I think I’d struggle to find the time. So would 52 be more practical? A book a week doesn’t seem like much of a stretch for me.

It was about this point that I remembered that I’m reading for pleasure, so it doesn’t really matter how many I read. For my own interest I’m going to try to remember to make a note of every book I read this year. I may even put it in a spread sheet with a breakdown of the details, like if it is a first read or a re-read, fiction or non-fiction, print or e-book, just too see how pretty the pie charts are by the end. Yes I’m a geek, but I’m a book geek.

And this year is mine.

A year to the day …

Given my busy schedule, with the baking/shopping/working, and of course Skyrim, it’s hard to believe that I actually had time to notice that a year has passed since that fateful afternoon I spent with Ms L. But I did. In truth it’s hard not remember, given that it coincided with my brother’s birthday. Well technically it was the day before. The fallout started on his birthday. 

So, a year on, where are we? Nowhere.

Whatever friendship there might have been is long since dead. Sad, but such is life. I’ll be honest, part of me is still disappointed at how things turned out. I extended the olive branch more than once, but got nothing back. Given that we are in the same profession, and in the same city, I had hoped we could at least have parted amicably. Nothing makes a conference or industry event more awkward than being introduced to someone who would quite happily scratch your eyes out (I know this from experience, but that’s a story for another time). While the situation hasn’t presented itself yet, I am aware of the possibility, and have prepared a response accordingly.

Long ago I mastered the ancient art of civility. I don’t often practice it outside of work, mostly because my friends accept me for the cranky bastard that I am, but it is a skill I possess. I harbour Ms L no ill will. So if our paths cross, I will smile and nod, engage in polite conversation (if the situation calls for it), and then be on my way.

But I won’t be offering gingerbread. That’s only for my peoples.

Getting sorted

I am amazed that I can even move after this last weekend. I have eaten a lot or food. Well, when I say food, I mean cake. There was certainly more than one point that my body was at least 50% sugar. Luckily I don’t tend to suffer from the usually inevitable sugar crash that claims so many others. I did however have great difficulty getting out of bed yesterday morning. But, as we all know, I’m not much of a morning person.

At this exact moment I am task avoiding. Miss R has left me a list of chores to get through this week. The biggest of these is to file all my uni stuff, and clean my desk. I’d like to state for the record that my desk is not that bad. It may look like chaos, but I know where everything is. Miss R remains unimpressed. So once I’m finished blogging I’m going to have to make a start on it. I should point out that I have no issue with putting everything away, I would just rather do it without the nagging.

Realistically, this burst of chores is my own fault. Miss R is not prepared to have people over unless the house is spotless. Hence the cleaning frenzy. The fact there are still 11 days before the birds is beside the point. I have done the most important stuff. I’ve ordered the bird, and told all the test subjects volunteers where and when. Really it’ll be fine.

With all the food I can’t imagine anyone will be looking at anything else.