March recap

 

Well, so far I’m still on track. In fact I am already ¼ of the way there. I have to admit, I am still enjoying the reading. Actually, I think I am in probably more in danger of becoming resentful of anything that interrupts my reading than of the reading itself. With that in mind I have tried to be careful about some of my reading choices. I got completely sucked into the Dresden chronicles, and I devoured the Hunger Games trilogy, but other than that I’ve been fairly good.

I did manage to see around 15 films @ MQFF. I would have liked to see more but it was never going to happen. Miss R & I both picked some interesting one, but we went to a few separately. Hopefully next year we'll have time to see more.

Uni is keeping things interesting. Major academic projects are not my idea of a good time, but unfortunately I'm doing ‘Electronic Publishing’ so there’s no avoiding it this semester. My initial proposal fell through, so now I’m scrambling to find something else so I can get my plan in on time. It does not look good.

The photobooks class went really well, and head of the training team was very happy with it. She is still talking about having me join the team, but needs to convince her managers to find the funding in the budgets. It’s nice to feel wanted, but I’m not holding my breath.

I am looking forward to catching up with the girls in a few weeks. Between work, uni, and the reading, I haven’t been very social. I’ll have to work on that … in my copious free time.

Books read in March:

64: Sybil Exposed, the extraordinary story behind the famous multiple-personality case by Debbie Nathan

65: Claymore vol 7 by Norihiro Yagi

66: Claymore vol 8 by Norihiro Yagi

67: Claymore vol 9 by Norihiro Yagi

68: Claymore vol 10 by Norihiro Yagi

69: iD_entity vol 5 by Son Hee-joon

70: Storm Front by Jim Butcher

71: Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

72: Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

73: Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

74: Death Masks by Jim Butcher

75: Blood Rites by Jim Butcher

76: Dead Beat by Jim Butcher

77: Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher

78: White Night by Jim Butcher

79: Small Favor by Jim Butcher

80: Turn Coat by Jim Butcher

81: Changes by Jim Butcher

82: Ghost Story by Jim Butcher

83: The other Tudors; Henry VIII's mistresses and bastards by Philippa Jones

84: Kurogane vol 1 by Kei Toume

85: Kurogane vol 2 by Kei Toume

86: The kingdoms of dust by Amanda Downum

87: Kurogane vol 3 by Kei Toume

88: Kurogane vol 4 by Kei Toume

89: Kurogane vol 5 by Kei Toume

90: Terminate with extreme prejudice: an expose of the assassination game, its killers and their paymasters by Richard Belfield

91: Hunger games by Suzanne Collins

92: Catching fire by Suzanne Collins

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.