Puzzler

hi..

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:55:22 GMT

So, yes.. Still alive, nothing new to report. Very boring. Still have house + car + job so I guess all must be ok.

Today I...

Sat, 09 Jun 2007 22:00:06 GMT

Finished my OU assignment (woo!)
Optimised some DB views
Added a tyre and a whole load of compost to the potatos in my veg patch
Did laundry (meh)

All in all, a productive day! Tomorrow I might even make a start on decorating the spare room..

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:38:50 GMT

So I finally got round to going to see the new pirates movie last night, I wish I hadnt. I had low expectations going as I didnt enjoy the 2nd movie and felt that it couldnt be much worse than that. It wasnt *much* worse to be fair but given the starting point it was all I could do not to get up and leave when my backside started to ache about half and hour before the end. It felt very patchy and there were a few times where it seemed like they were just trying to make us accept some plot elements as fact without qualifying them in any way (if you get what I mean?).

I dont know, perhaps it'd all make more sense if I was actually thinking about the dialog? But these days I dont want to go to a movie which is so obviously billed as an action flick and have to think too hard. Given my state of mind at the time I think that Muppets Treasure Island would have been a more appropriate pirate movie of me to see (at least I can hum the songs..). Maybe I'll give it another go when the dvd comes out.. At least it saved me from a night of boredom sat in a grotty hotel room somewhere outside of Birmingham.

Home again now at least. Yay!

Voting

Fri, 04 May 2007 13:27:55 GMT

Went to do my bit for democracy and vote the other day and for once, I was happy to see a BNP candidate on the list... At least this time I was able to make a conscious decision not to vote for them rather than having the decision made for me by default (no BNP where I used to live..)

There was also a Monster Raving Loony party candidate on the ballot paper, it was tempting but I decided that I didnt need to go skiing down the European butter mountains.

Have borrowed what in is, in essence, a flame thrower. I intend to sort out the weeds which insist on defiling my patio once and for all *evil laugh*. With a little bit of luck I wont burn my toes off...

!

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 19:59:26 GMT

So, I was sat here minding my own business, doing some revision for this exam I have next week when a beetle the size of a *house* dropped off the ceiling onto my *head*.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, "some thing has just fallen onto my head and seems to be making an attempt at falling down my back." I then calmly got up, removed said beetle gently with a glass jar and placed it outside.

** Please note events following beetle / head interaction may be fictional and in reality may include jumping and arm flailing.

*** Beetle was removed outside intact though as, well, it'd make one hell of a mess..

Weekendings

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 07:57:16 GMT

So, went to see 300 this weekend. Quite enjoyed it, you have to see it for the battle sequences (80% of the movie) and also (if you are into that sort of thing) the stunning cg work that contained within.

I also decided that I wanted a new phone so I went and got myself a LG Prada and its really, really, really! sweet. I'm seriously in love with this phone. Sure, its got a few niggly things and it takes a little longer to send a text these days but I definatly think touchscreen is the way to go and I'm probably going to be a candidate for an iPhone..... when and if they are eventually launched in the UK..

Right, back to the grindstone. Interesting week planned this week!

Bleh

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 09:47:04 GMT

Feeling really lousy today, think its a combination of the clocks changing and general stress realted stuff.

Seriously though, i have to wonder what the current thinking behind changing the clock is. Is it just because "thats how it is"? Or is there actually a sensible reason behind it?

Normally I'd go google up some info but at the moment I really dont have the energy. Wonder if anyone would notice me asleep under the desk..

Wondering..

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 21:03:58 GMT

Wondering if the HR people read my blog as it seems they have found a likely candidate for us. Though, I do think our HR department are on crack as he is based about 75 miles away and, unless the guy is prepared to have one hell of a daily commute or move, I dont think he'll take it especially as teleworking is damn near impossible too

We aren't very big on teleworking here. Our internal IT department is on crack too. What else can you say about a group of people who are still insistent on using a version of lotus notes that went out with the dinosaurs! oh well..

I should go and do this assignment now, coming on here is pure and simple procrastination.

zzz

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 09:31:39 GMT

Hi strangers!

I havent posted in a while, mainly because I dont seem to be doing anything of note at the moment. Mostly I seem to be working stupid hours because the HR people cant seem to find us a graduate to come and take up some of spade work that needs doing! Oh well.

For those of you that dont know, work are paying for me to do an accountancy course with the OU. Its booorrringgg... the management accountancy & business stuff that we are going to be coming to next seems a bit more interesting but this book keeping & audit stuff is dull dull dull. I've got an assignment due on Friday, but at least my P&L seems to be ok and my balance sheet does (balance) so I should be ok.

Until next time!

House Time..

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 14:02:52 GMT

Finally moved in at the house... I never realised I had so much junk! I think I'll have to get a skip or have a bonfire or something.. and there's still a load of stuff at my dad's yet to make the move!

At least I have the internet again though so all is well.

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 12:26:31 GMT

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

This year I've been busy!

Last Sunday on a flight to Colorado Springs, I stole the emergency flight information card (-40 points). In June venerable and I robbed a bank (-50 points). Last Wednesday I put money in miz_anneliese's expired parking meter (14 points). Last Tuesday I donated bone marrow to oolite in a life-saving procedure (300 points). Last Saturday I set zimi's puppy on fire (-66 points).

Overall, I've been nice (158 points). For Christmas I deserve a shiny red ball!

Sincerely,
bepuzzled

House again

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 12:09:38 GMT

2 new carpets, a huge bucket of paint and a whole lot of elbow grease and we are finally getting somewhere with the house!

The lounge and main bedroom are done so now we are tackling the kitchen. Yuck is all I have to say on that front. I mean, did these people *ever* clean?? we cleaned the filthy kitchens a couple of days after I got the keys but we are finding grease and general yuck all over the place. Going to chuck the light fittings and get some nice new ones as the ones there a yellow and there doesnt seem to be any way of getting it off.

oh well, at least my bed has arrived! going to get curtains and junk this weekend and maybe I'll move in next week. The most troubling thing is that I may have to face up to 5 days without an internet connection!

Works going well, busy as hell and I'm on the road a lot which is fun but bloody tiring.

Thats all for now.

House Time

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 22:12:51 GMT

Right then.. I have my keys! Woo!

Well, got them on Friday at 4pm. Good job I didnt have a van sat outside all day!

Been cleaning and getting ready to decorate this weekend, the place was pretty filthy and smelt bad too.. its going to take a while to get the nasty smell of dogs, birds and god only knows what else out of the place. We'll get there though!

Bed time now, I'm tired and sore.. zzzz

Yuck

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 21:25:15 GMT

Transferred what seems like an insanely large amount of money to my solicitors today as a house deposit, hopefully I should have a completion date soon. Still some issues relation to the garage to sort out though, apparently they can't find any documentation for it - this is going to hold things up for a while I think :/

I have plans for the garden though.. will post some kind of photo plan when I get moved in.

House

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 12:39:54 GMT

House is still rumbling along, not sure when I'll be in there but I'm guessing at some point this month. Bed is sorted, king size bed + interest free credit = woohoo! I still dont have a sofa and junk yet but I will sort that out when I get moved in, as long as I have somewhere to sleep then I'm sorted.

Somewhat annoyingly the sellers have decided to leave the dishwasher + washing machine (which I dont want) and take the cooker (which I do). They are also going to leave a huge ass aviary thing in the back garden which I would rather they took with them as I want to use the patio at the end of the garden for erm.. well.. patio type things.

Does anyone want an aviary?

And no, before you ask, I have no intention of keeping birds.

Work is going well too, I seem to be going here there and everywhere at the moment. I'm enjoying it and its better than real work any day ;)

Houses again

Sat, 22 Jul 2006 10:09:49 GMT

It takes way too long to buy a house over here! But at least things seem to be progressing. The survey should be happening next week (£400!) and the solicitors keep asking me for money for this that and the other so I assume they must be doing *something*..

I was my grandmas funeral yesterday.. thats all I can really say about that without welling up at the moment. Its been an emotional couple of weeks. Miss you grandma...

Rant time..

Thu, 29 Jun 2006 20:46:26 GMT

First off.. what on earth is going on big brother?? zzzz city or what? All I can hope is that the new house / 5 housemates going in tomorrow will liven things up.

Secondly, I'd like to rant about mortgage advisors. So I'm borrowing a lot of money and naturally I want to get the best deal so I decided to get advice from 2 mortgage people, because I'm borrowing more than 4 times my salary the choice of deals for me is fairly limited. Anyway, after much too-ing and fro-ing between the in house (where I work) guy and the money supermarket guy they eventually - after they both gave me duff information and have raised and dashed my hopes on more than one occasion - came out with 2 deals for me to choose from (one recommendation from each). A 5 year fixed rate deal at £685 a month (5.99% interest) and a 2 year tracker deal at £655 a month (~5.5% interest).

Now, to be honest I wasnt very happy with either of them as the arrangement fees etc on both were insane and would leave me with very little cash at the end of it. But, both advisors said that they were the absolute best deals they could find and that there was nothing else that I could do.

This morning I was preparing to call the estate agents and call the whole thing off as I didnt want to do either. You see, to me, the 2 year deal is risky as I dont think my circumstances will change a vast amount in that time and Im worried about rate rises leaving me in trouble. Also the the prospect of paying a whole load of fees again doesnt really leave me feeling good about.

As a last ditch effort I decided to call a couple of mortgage companies off my own back and see if they could do any better. So, off I went to money supermarket and did a quick search for places to call. First company I called I spoke to a lovely young lady called Sam who took me through all the stuff and offered to lend me all the money I need for £614 a month (5.14% interest) on a 5 year fixed deal!! I love you Sam! And thats with all the fees etc added to the damn mortgage! So I dont have to pay them up front.

A lesson for everyone: dont trust mortgage advisors 100%, do your own research!

Ok so.. Mortgage... check... Solicitors... check... next stop my own house (hopefully).. WOOooo!

Ooops

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 09:32:51 GMT

Oh man... I just bought a house!!!!!!!!

I must be mental...

This is definatly going to be an expensive couple of months...

Photos sometime when I get them.

Exam Update

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 21:48:47 GMT

After a fairly stressful day I finally got this course over and done with. Got the train to Leeds about 1 and went to find the exam centre, had a little wander around Leeds in the process, stupid place to leave an exam centre!

Once I got there, there was a group of 3 rowdy men in the corner of room which was pretty annoying to say the least. Apparently Paul is going to win The Apprentice because the boss of friend of one of these guys plays at the same golf club as him and he found out that way. But dont tell anyone, its top secret.... noisy sods!

The exam went ok, Im fairly certain that I've done enough to pass which is the main thing. Wasnt as scary as I was expecting and I was pretty happy with the way I coped with it.

All in all, not a bad day. I'm shattered now - because I woke up early this morning - and off to bed.

Night all.

gulp

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 21:33:58 GMT

Its my the exam for my project management course tomorrow!

Been cramming information into my head all day, still not 100% happy but I think I'll be ok. Cant read any more tonight, its just not sinking in.

Oh well, wish me luck people. I'll see you on the other side!

They're out again!

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 13:29:43 GMT

Driving to work this morning I saw one of those England flags that you trap in the window of your car. Last time they were around was because of the football a couple of years ago, this time I guess its because of 1) St Georges Day and 2) the world cup coming up soon.

When Connie was over here we used to play a game and count them on the way home from work, it was fun.

Ok, so now I've gone and made myself sad.. damnit..

Sat, 01 Apr 2006 21:08:55 GMT

The house was quite nice. A little on the small side but, hey, beggers cant be choosers and in this arena I am definatly a begger!

It basically needs a lot of work, there is horrible artex stuff all over the walls that'll be a sod to remove and the kitchen needs replacing. It's about liveable though.

There are two sticking points though, one is that there is no central heating installed, just a gas fire in the lounge and a heater at the top of the stairs. Thats not such a big problem now its getting warmer but I wouldnt want to go around decorating only to have the plumbers come in and mess the place up again. The other is the tree. Its a very big tree. A very big half dead tree. A very big half dead tree in a small back garden. It'll have to go, all the paving in the back garden is all uneven because of its roots and there are signs that its had some major work done to fairly recently.

Soo.. lets do the sums

house = £125000
heating = £3000
removing tree = £500

total = £128500

Which is stretching it a little too far really, considering that it needs new carpets throughout and a new kitchen too! Im thinking about putting in a bit of a cheeky offer just to see what happens. If I could get the house for £115000 then I'd be chuffed to bits, its not likely though.. I guess we'll see..

Anyone want to come and help me decorate a house?? :/

Long time no update #2

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 20:07:38 GMT

Ok, So I think I broke my back :/

Woke up the other day and I was fine, by the time I got to work it hurt like hell. Not sure what I did but I dont think my body appreciated it. I have elephant strength ibuprofen though and it does the trick, I nearly overdosed on it when I first got it as I didnt read the label. Its one pill every 8 hours, not 2 pills every 4! Good job I actually thought to read the label after downing the first one.

House hunting at the moment. York, where I live, is insanely expensive to buy in (but so is most of this country) so its going to be a stretch whatever I do. But, as I dont have anyone to buy or live with with me I guess I'll just have to manage. Going to see this one tomorrow and have a few more places lined up for next week. I kind of have my heart set on that one though. I dont know why but it just seems like its a place I want to live, and its not in a bad area either. Will have to wait and see I guess.

I'm supposed to be doing my Open Uni assignment at the moment, last one before the exam *looks worried*. The last couple of assignments have come back with a score of > 70% so I'm fairly happy with my progress so far. I'm going to take a break after this one though, until next year most likely. I've got a band to gig with and biiiiggg amplifier to turn up loud. I just hope I dont have to sell it to finance the house....

Anyway, until next time.

Tue, 31 Jan 2006 21:06:53 GMT

Ok, so today I was in Milton Keynes (dont ask..) and I was wandering around the shopping centre in the middle of the city and I spotted a Quiznos Sub shop!!!! I was amazed, I didnt think that they existed in this country, the last time I saw one was in Canada.

So, naturally I bought myself one and stuffed myself full to the gills. Mmmm thats some good sub!

According to the website there are a few of them in this country now, mostly down south thought :/

Oh well, at least I now have a tenuous reason for looking forward to going to the Milton Keynes office from now on.

Long time no update

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 13:43:14 GMT

So, after several months of not doing anything I'm back!

Where have I been for all this time? Nowhere really, just not on the internet all that much.

Single once again, but I guess these things happen :/

And I've just started my masters degree, in fact, thats what I *should* be doing now! But I do like to procrastinate...

See you soon folks!