Application Of Energy

well, it's been two weeks since I became one of the great unemployed masses. So far I've spent much of the time relaxing, working the metaphysical kinks out of my system that three and a half years of work have left me. The rest of the time I've spent socialising and looking for a new job. Today it's the turn of the IT sector- I'm applying for jobs at the Uni and College in the hope that one of them will give me the time of day- I can't afford to be out of work for too long. I've got a meeting with the agency on Monday, so hopefully if I don't get anything else I should at least be able to temp somewhere to keep the finances balanced.

Socially Lufbra's fairly quiet ATM. A lot of people have gone home or are too busy working. There's normally food, a couple of drinks and a movie of an evening though, either here or at Vixel's (dependant on whose round of the great culinary crusade it is).

So life keeps plodding along. Not much to talk about, really. My parents are visiting next week, I'm possibly playing in the next instalment of Leo's SR game this weekend... Same old, same old. Looking forward even more to hitting NL in September- I'm reminded of all the time I spent in Holland waiting to move back to the UK; maybe the grass is always greener on the other side. ;)

Anyways, in closing here's another meme pulled off Vixel's LJ...

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- GENERAL -
Current mood: Lethargic
Current taste: Blackcurrant squash
Current music: The new Ayumi Hamasaki single
Current hair: Brown, long, straggly (needs washing and brushing)
Current clothes: Dressing gown. When I finally get dressed in a bit it'll be anime-print t-shirt and black combats as usual
Current annoyance: Being unemployed
Current smell: Rain
Current thing I ought to be doing: Applying for jobs
Current windows open: Three Notepad windows, Opera, TotalCommander, MSN and BitTorrent
Current desktop picture: Fred Gallagher's Broken Miho sketch recoloured into green-on-black
Current favourite band: Don't have one- whoever I happen to be enjoying at the time
Current cd in stereo: Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe
Current crush: Blackcurrant- or is this squash? ;)
Current favourite celeb: I don't like celebrities enough to have one
Current hate: My ex-area-manager, AFAIK the only person in my last job who didn't want me there.
Have a dream that keeps coming back?: I have variations on a theme...
Remember your first love?: Yep.
Read the newspaper?: Occasionally
Believe in miracles?: I believe miraculous things can and do happen, but I don't ascribe any divine intervention to them
Believe it's possible to remain faithful forever?: Yep.
Consider yourself tolerant of others?: Yep.
Consider love a mistake?: If it makes someone happy, it's not a mistake
Like the taste of alcohol?: As long as it's a component of another drink- going blind isn't one of my ambitions. ;)
Have a favourite candy?: Haagsche Hopjes, probably
Believe in astrology?: I used to, though it's been a number of years since I did my own readings
Believe in magic?: Vixel: That depends on your interpretation of the word - Ditto.
Have any pets: Just the cats at my parents' place. Does the chinchilla-on-speed count? ;)
Go to or plan to go to college: Been to Uni and graduated, thinking about going back at some point to do something more useful
Have any piercing?: Nope
Have any tattoos?: Nope
Hate yourself: I often get exasperated with myself- close enough?
Have an obsession: I'm naturally obsessive
Have a secret crush?: If I did and said so, it wouldn't be secret now would it? ;)
Do they know yet?: Who? ;)
Wish on stars?: Yep
Care about looks?: Mine or others'?

- LOVE LIFE -
First crush: Please see previous crush-related questions ;)
Single or attached?: (Perpetually) single
Do you believe in "the one?": I believe everyone has an ideal; however, few people can match up to any ideal


- LAST THING YOU -
Bought: Something green ;)
Ate & Drank: Chocolate covered strawberries (last night) and blackcurrant squash (just now)
Read: Vixel's responses to this meme
Watched on TV: On TV or on a TV? The former I can't remember, the latter Apollo 13

- EITHER / OR -
club or house party: House Party
cats or dogs: Cats
single or taken: Taken from what?
pen or pencil: Pen, though I'm picky about decent pens
gloves or mittens: Gloves, though it's rare I find a pair I really like
food or candy: Food
cassette or cd: CDs, especially with the advent of high-speed burners and CDRWs
Coke or Pepsi: I can't tell the difference most of the time

- WHO DO YOU WANT TO: -
look like: A stylised, colour-corrected, photoshopped version of myself
be like: Vixel: Myself, deep down I kinda like who I am - Yeah, I'd go with that :)
avoid: Most Americans

- LAST PERSON YOU -
talked to: Pete
hugged: Vixel
instant messaged: Vixel

- HAVE YOU EVER -
Dated one of your best friends?: Nope
Run away from home? Nope
Broken a bone? Nope
Played Truth or Dare? Yep
Been in a fight? Yep

- WHAT IS -
The most embarrassing CD in your collection?: Depends on your own tastes, I guess; probably the collection of Schwarzenegger movie theme tunes
Your bedroom like?: Squareish, most stuff around the side or in cupboards, big windows that are almost always obsured; this goes for NL home as much as Lufbra home
Your favorite thing for breakfast? Filled croissants- bacon & cheese, Boursin or apple & cinnamon

- RANDOM QUESTIONS -
What's on your bedside table?: Considering my bedside table is my desk: my PC, a few Gundam figures, a couple of glasses and a morass of papers, CDs, DVDs and bits of electronica
What do you eat when you raid the fridge late at night?: Anything edible, though I normally end up making toasties
What is your biggest fear?: Spiders and my own mortality
Do you ever have to beg?: For what?
Are you a pyromaniac?: Isn't everyone?
Do you have too many love interests?: Nope
Do you know anyone famous?: Not that I can remember
Describe your bed: Black pillows and duvet, Megatokyo blanket on top; the duvet rarely gets slept under
Spontaneous or Plain: Spontaneous
Do you know how to play poker?: Nope, and I have no intention of learning
What do you carry with you at all times?: Keys, wallet, phone, Swiss Army knife
How do you drive?: I don't
What do you miss most about being little?: Lack of pressure, not having to make consequential decisions, summer holidays that seemed to last forever
Are you happy with your given name?: It's a little boring, but it's served me well so far
How much money would it take to get you to give up the Internet for one year? £30,000, non-taxable
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Countdown: 44 days until next NL holiday. :D

Ask The Audience

Well, it's over a week since I updated this- last time I posted was from the office, now my office is my desk at home. ;)

However, this is not an update as such- I'll save that for later today after I've slept. Rather, this is to post an antiquiz pinched from Vixel's LJ; most quizzes get people to fill stuff in about themselves, this one gets you to fill stuff in about me. Answering of each individual question is at the poster's discretion. ;)

1. Who are you?
2. Are we friends?
3. When and how did we meet?
4. Do you have a crush on me?
5. Would you kiss me?
6. Describe me in one word.
7. What was your first impression?
8. Do you still think that way about me now?
9. What reminds you of me?
10. If you could give me anything what would it be?
11. How well do you know me?
12. When's the last time you saw me?
13. Ever wanted to tell me something but couldn't?
14. Are you going to put this on your LJ/Blog and see what I say about you?

Countdown: 50 days until next NL holiday. :D

Memetic Apathy

Yep, I've pretty much cleared my desk and the office is now completely empty. The staff gave me the usual card and VMS voucher as a going-away gift- probably the most useful thing to come out of this job aside from the pay.
In any case, here's a meme off Vicki's LJ that I was bored enough to do...

1. Your name spelled backwards---
Eoj- rather boring, no?

2. Where were your parents born?
Leicester and Chippenham for natural parents, stepfather was The Hague, IIRC.

3. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer?
Gundam Seed Destiny ep38- yep, I'm an otaku. ;)

4. What's your favourite restaurant?
Globally, probably Gauchos in The Hague- great steaks and fantastic salad bar. Locally I haven't eaten out enough to justify a favourite.

5. Last time you swam in the river?
I can't remember that I have...

6. Have you ever been in a school play?
Several- even directed and written a couple.

7. How many kids do you want?
It's not something I've considered much.

8. Type of music you dislike most?
Cheese.

9. Are you registered to vote?
Yep, and do when given the opportunity.

10. Do you have a pet?
Two cats back with the parents- Defur and Bethor. Nekoneko!

11. Have you ever ridden on a moped?
Nope.

12. Ever prank call anybody?
No, but I have been prank-called.

13. Ever get a parking ticket?
Nope. Got a ticket for not having the lights on my bike turned on once- does that count?

14. Would you go bungee jumping or skydiving?
I used to have a fear of heights/falling/hitting the ground, but I haven't had chance to test it for a while...

15. Furthest places you ever travelled?
Egypt- eighteen months out there.

16. Do you have a garden?
Yep, and it's occasionally usable too! :D

17. What's the size of your bed?
Single- no justification for a bigger one. ;)

18. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem?
Nope. I think I could manage the first verse with prompting...

19. Bath or Shower?
Shower regularly, bath on special occasions.

20. Best movie you've seen in the past 4 months?
Gladiator- gets better every time I see it.

21. What's the next movie you want to see?
War Of The Worlds, or maybe Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.

22. Chips or popcorn?
Chips. Popcorn gets stuck in my teeth.

23. Have you ever broken any hearts?
Only my own.

24. Premarital sex?
Asking yes or no to marriage would be a more telling question these days, wouldn't it?

26. Orange or Apple juice?
Apple juice- goes better in smoothies.

27. Who was the last person you went out to dinner with and where did you dine?
Vicki and Pete- The Slug in Birmingham.

28. Favorite drink?
Probably Dr. Pepper for soft drinks (mainly because I can't get Jolt), Kriekbier for alcofrolic ones.

29. Best thing in the world?
Friends.

30. Have you ever broken a bone?
Nope, and I don't intend to start now! ;)

31. Have you ever won a trophy?
I've won a few things in my time...

32. What is your favorite board game?
Chess, probably- it's the only one I tend to be any good at...

33. What is your dream car?
TVR, either Tuscan 2 or Typhon. Probably a good enough reason for me never to learn to drive... ;)

34. Ever order an article from an infomercial?
Nope! Heresy!

35. Coke or Pepsi?
I can rarely taste the difference.

36. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to work?
Nope.

37. Last thing you bought at a pharmacy?
Hayfever pills for Vicki and/or Pete- can't remember which.

38. Who are you going to marry?
Whoever they are, I pity them. ;)

39. Who would you like to meet?
Honestly couldn't say. I don't put stock in fame.

40. Do you believe in love at first sight?
I'd like to say yes but I've never experienced it. It takes more knowledge of another person to fall for them- anything other than that doesn't count as love.

41. What features do you find most attractive in the same/opposite sex?
Sparkling eyes, a sharp wit and a personality that reflects and gels with my own; legs up to the armpits and a cleavage you can stow a beer bottle in are only of worth when attached to a decent person. In the same sex I guess similar interests and a sense of humour are most important. In either case I'm not fond of self-centred extroverts- a little humility goes a long way.

42. Where would you go for a romantic evening?
I'd probably ask my partner where they wanted to go- the location's not as important as the company.

43. How many pairs of shoes do you own?
Four that I can remember- one pair of smart shoes, two pairs of Magnums and a pair of Lowa walking boots. I think I've got a pair of Docs somewhere, but I'm damned if I can remember where.

44. Last song stuck in your head?
Friday I'm In Love by The Cure- it was the only thing that would shift The Final out of there. (Damn thee, Vyxeltje! ;) )

45. Any phobias?
Very heavy arachnophobia. Most of my other fears are probably rational...

46. What's your all time favorite Saturday Night Live Character?
That would involve having watched it...

47. What is one thing you would like to learn to do?
Speak, read and write Japanese fluently.

48. What do you do when you are bored?
Surf the 'net, read, write and watch movies/anime. As long as there's no-one staring over my shoulder, it's hard to really get bored.

49. What is one thing you would want someone to appreciate about you?
I guess I find my selfless dedication to personally-important things and people most laudable about myself- I suppose that's good enough to be appreciated for.

50. What is one thing you are grateful for today?
Not having to come into this office tomorrow, or ever again! :D

They'll Never Take Our Freedom!

Well, it's my last day in this office: WOO-HOO! :D

Most people are out at a team meeting and I'm clearing off my desk and fileshare. It's quite amazing how much stuff is in here. For instance, bits and bobs jotted down after the Jovian Chronicles game I started running in Loughborough. Apologies to Graeme, Pete and Ed for this one...

-----------
...Smith's the last through the door, hollering in the direction of the bridge 'Agi, get us the fuck out of here!' as the airlock cycles closed. By the time he's made it into the captain's chair the Orpheus is moving clear of Slumbering Eidolon's dock. The sensors paint a bleak picture. Up ahead is the Jovian cruiser Constantine, her big-bore particle cannon coming to bear on the research platform. There's a flash from her deck as her fighter detachment launches.
'Pathfinders,' Triela breathes, staring at the sensors.
'Try not to salivate on the screen,' Smith retorts. 'Spider, what's the platform doing?'
Spider pushes his shades back onto his forehead and examines his display screen, one hand holding a headphone over his right ear. 'They're launching Exos. Looks like three... no, four Syreens. Main turrets on the platform going for the Constantine... oh shit, one of the Syreens is breaking this way. Looks like they're gonna hit us too.'
Triela's already out of the door and heading for the cargo bay as fast as she can in the microgravity. It takes her less than a minute to climb into and power up her tiny Falconer exo-suit, another fifteen seconds to cycle the pressure hatch to get her into space, ten to get a vector from Spider on the Syreen.
The hostile Exo is jet-black and pushing twenty metres across, coming straight for the Orpheus, bearing down on the Scout-ship from dead ahead. Smith grins horribly. 'Agi, Spider, slave firing control to me. When we fire we're going to be power-off for a good twenty seconds. When the power comes back online I want sixteen degrees to starboard, five degrees up, and a firing solution, in that order. Ready... Go.' He stabs the launch button.
The railgun round sears through the vacuum a scant couple of metres from Triela as she lines up her first shot. The Orpheus' secret weapon strikes true, going clean through the Syreen's right shoulder-pod and blowing one of its missile mounts clean off. Triela follows it up, jinking to the right to avoid an incandescant bolt of laser energy as she squeezes the trigger of her rifle down. The first burst catches the Syreen's head, shattering its primary sensor cluster. Her second burst takes off one of its remass tanks before the weapon runs dry.
In the pitch darkness of the Orpheus' bridge, Spider's frantically running calculations on his datapad. Smith's one good eye is closed, waiting for the railgun to finish charging.
Triela discards the empty rifle, burning her thrusters hard and spinning left to avoid another burst from the Syreen's ACLDS. She comes past it, deftly maneuvering around the torrent of laser-fire to slash across the huge Exo-Armour with her plasma lance. As she passes under its shattered arm she reaches up, grabbing onto the remnants of the right shoulder and using it to swing her momentum up. She comes down on its shoulders, stabbing down into the body with the lance.
The lights come back on in the bridge. Smith's eye snaps open as Agi re-angles the ship's bow and Spider punches equations into the fire-control system. 'Triela,' he says quietly, calmly, 'You may want to move a bit, girl.'
Triela brings the Falconer's legs under her, pushes off the stricken Exo with all her strength as she guns the engine. Below her, the Orpheus' second railgun shot hits the Syreen centre-mass, obliterating the crew compartment and blowing the Exo clean in half...
-----------

Chances are this Blog could get busy today as I find other random stuff to post about... ;)

Countdown: 58 days until next NL holiday. :D

Four Days Until Escape...

...And my job at the moment consists of doing as little as possible while relocating as much decent stationery and sundries as I can out of the building. I'm actually looking forward to leaving- working here is steadily becoming a frustrating, demoralising and generally unpleasant business, and I'll be glad for a change to, well, pretty much anything else.

In other news, NIN were absolutely amazing live- Pete, Vicki and I headed into Birmingham to see them last Friday. The original plan had been to get there early and start queuing for spots at the front, though a combination of a late night beforehand, Vicki coming down with 'flu and general laziness led us to having a leisurely day traipsing through the city centre before having a drink or two and heading into the venue- the Carling Academy, where we commandeered my usual gig spot of just behind the sound desk. Though the gig was amazing- easily one of the best I've seen- it was let down by the audience (who had a tendency to cheer like a festival crowd through even the quieter songs) and the venue itself (which had horribly overpriced drinks- over £3 a pint- and had a bottleneck on the way out that was scary even to a non-ill, non-claustrophobic person).

It was a good thing it was on the Friday night, however- apparently there were a number of bomb scares in Birmingham centre the next night, which resulted in the whole city centre being evacuated.

Song of the Day: Something I Can Never Have by NIN- I'd forgotten just how good that song was. Must re-listen to old NIN albums.

Countdown: 61 days until next NL holiday. :D

Being Right

Well, as expected I didn't get the job I went for. Then again, I knew I wouldn't from the off- up against someone already doing the job, I don't think I had much chance whatever I said. I hate being right all the time.

It gets a little disheartening. I've got a degree and over three years' experience of clerical and IT work, yet in this town it seems nigh-impossible to find a decent job, let alone get an interview for it. Without the ability and facility to drive my options are further limited. I don't want to end up working telephones or standing behind a shop counter- the money's crap and it's a waste of what talent I've got- but it's fast looking like that's the only sort of work that's available. I've been scouring agencies and frequently checking the vacancy pages of the town's main employers, but I've met nil-response on the few suitable jobs I've seen.

Come what may I need to have a decent job by the start of August, otherwise I'm going to start having financial concerns. I don't really want to have to start whittling away at the acorns in the tree, especially as the logic behind looking further afield is, at present, undisputable, and I may need startup funds. I really don't want to leave Loughborough at present, but if I can't afford to stay here then I'm short on options...

Gods, I'm depressing sometimes. Just as well there will be friends and port tonight, really. :)

Interviews = Evil

Another interview down, the last one I'm likely to have internally within this company. It didn't go quite as badly as I was expecting- I managed to put across that I wanted to do something with a varied scope, that I was good under pressure and that I was a minor IT god, all of which appeared to be plus-points in comparison to the role. However, as usual I think I failed to sell my personality and my drive sufficiently- not enough bullshit, to put it bluntly. I'm probably too self-effacing and understated for my own good. Combine that with the fact that the other candidate A) already does the job, B) has more experience and C) is more likely to tell them what they want to hear, and chances are I haven't got this one. Then again, I wasn't expecting to right from the off- the company almost never gives a position to someone outside the office in question. Ah well, at least I gave it a shot, and I should know the outcome by tomorrow at the latest.
I was once told: A pessimist is never disappointed, only pleasantly surprised. However, as my old boss once said: I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist. ;)

Food, Friends and Fanservice

Well, another weekend hath rolled around bringing with it another kaleidoscope of events. OK, who am I trying to kid? ;)
Wednesday evening saw Pete bac in Lufbra to aid in cleaning up for our house inspection, and I have to say that by the end of the day the place was spotless. I was impressed at the work Ed, Pete and Pete's mum had put in, and a little miffed that I knew it's be impossible to keep like that.

In planning for Charlie's surprise party on the Thursday, Vicki and I had decided to make a strawberry cake using a recipe she'd found on the 'net. That was probably our first mistake. The second was that the recipe used American measurements and terminology, so we were guessing with half the stuff. Thirdly, we omitted a key ingredient- a block of jelly- because Charlie's a veggie and thus can't eat gelatine. And fourthly, we didn't have the right tools for the job (including a cake tin, which involved me nipping home to grab my cheesecake tin and getting caught in a storm- thanks to Graeme's mum for giving me a lift back to Vicki's!). The cake itself worked OK (though in hindsight probably could have done with another twenty minutes in the oven to rise fully), though our attempt at strawberry cream cheese icing was laughable. ;) We didn't have any icing sugar and thus used caster sugar instead, meaning we ended up with a sort of pink creamy fondant that tasted divine but wasn't likely to set to icing-like consistencies in the next week. In the end I went into town the next day and picked up a block of Regalice, which we stuck to the cake using the strawberry goo, attached more strawberries to the top of and drizzled with more of the goo. At least we remembered to eat something other than sugar- I botched a bit of shoarma together for snackage.

Despite the chaos that was our attempt at patissery, the cake went down well at the party on Thursday, though when we left Charlie still had half of it (plus the base of the cheesecake tin and one of Vicki's plates). Most of the revellers headed off after that to a barbeque being run by one of Charlie's coursemates, while Vicki and I headed back to hers to scour recipe books for the banquet she'd planned for the next day. We'd planned on ordering out for pizza, but failed to do so.

Friday rolled in- my last Friday in this office- and with the close of the working day I gathered the bits and pieces we'd need from our (technically my place now as Ed had moved the last of his stuff out and headed to Derby) place and headed to Vicki's. However, in the time it took me to walk around the corner to hers, most of the people she'd invited had cancelled. By the time I arrived Vicki was considerably miffed and more than a little miserable, probably with good enough reason. She decided she was feeling unsociable, so I headed back home, commandeered the world's most comfortable chair, watched movies and drank half a bottle of Riesling before getting an early night in preparation for Graeme moving in bright and early the next day.

That was the plan, at least. Delays at his end meant their purported 0930 arrival was more like 1045, annoying his mum who wanted to watch the F1GP Qualifying at 11. We got the last of his stuff in in record time, letting his mum go while we organised the rest of his stuff. By 3 he was pretty much done bar the books, for which we need massive quantities of bookshelfage, most probably in the lounge- Gods, we're going to look sophisticated, especially once I put the Da Vinci print back up too...

A somewhat-happier-than-Friday Vicki turned up at about 3pm and we mounted an expedition into town to raid Tylers, Argos and Sainsburys for stuff we would all need. We ended up using up the last of the steak bought for last Tuesday in creating a teriyaki-gyudon-type meal, which was pretty damned tasty. :)

Graeme headed into Leicester a little after that for Charlie and Richy's birthday bash at Retribution (he was planning on meeting Giles there), to which Vicki and I decided we couldn't be hedgehogged to go to. Instead, we decided to drink saké and watch movies. Rather than movies, we settled on watching the anime series Chobits (which Graeme has a bootleg DVD set of) end-to-end. We probably should have thought that through slightly better- it's a twenty-six episode series, giving a running length of about eleven hours.

Graeme and Ed returned around 3am and hung about for cerca half an hour before crashing out- apparently they'd had a good night, Graeme proving in his choice of songs to dance to that he is indeed the Goth he has been labelled. ;)

We finished our anime marathon around quarter to six, though I think it's fair to say that as the end approached neither Vicki nor I was capable of paying much attention to the TV. Once it was donedone I escorted her and her shopping home (the bits I could remember- found her quiches and cheese in the fridge this morning) before returning to crash out. As one can guess, Sunday was rather subdued. ;) Graeme headed out to Beefest at the Three Nuns, while I alternated watching anime and reading webcomics and Ed watched Return Of The King and its extras followed by The Last Samurai (I don't get that- he knows he hates the film, yet he still puts it on through choice?). Managed to do the washing up as my good deed for the day, though that was before Ed cooked... ;)

And thus we're now in Monday. Pub tonight, eight days left in the office and four days until the NIN gig. I'm in something of a good mood, really. :D

Countdown: 68 days until next NL holiday. :D

*Ahem*

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!
Cough