A Week And A Half

Well I feel like it was a week and a half all packed into one. Managed to do two photo jobs as well as go to the usual two Salsa lessons.

Monday was meant to be the start of our training at work on a new product. Originally we were led to believe it would be a week long. We found out that the 'official' training is only a day. They then put that back to next Wednesday rather than the one thats just gone. This meant that I had to carry the banner and train the 5 new guys on our standard helpdesk procedures. You can imagine that that wasn't going to last forever and yesterday I was struggling to keep the lads busy. With the help of a work colleague I managed to cobble some stuff together. As for Monday...

Wednesday saw me travelling to Deptford in SE London to photograph a brand new act/band. They are going to do old songs in the veign of Liza Minnelli and such.


The Band Practicing





I'll post details of the bands website when its live. They are really good together. Sam, the vocalist, seen in the pic on the right, can hit the high notes!

I also photographed the Salsa evening as it was a Halloween night. This coming Monday is also the same so I'll be photographing that too.

Stay Safe

Get down to it.

Well, I'm finally settling in to my new place. Having got rid of loads of boxes, tidied up a little and arranged things. It's tough starting afresh! The reality of housework bites too! Still, I've discovered I can iron shirts at least.

At work, I've been delivering training. Purely off the cuff. I'm involved in a new part of the helpdesk supporting a specialised product. There will be 5 dedicated staff, 2 of us CSTs (Customer service technicians) and a supervisor. The supervisor and I have been preparing the 'newbies' and tomorrow we get official training from the company in question.

I'm trying to stay focussed at work 'till the end of the year when hopefully things will start moving. If not, I'll have to investigate other options. I really need to progress in my newly found career or change direction again.

On the Salsa front: Last week, the teacher had me in the middle of the circle to demonstrate moves for the whole lesson. It also balanced the numbers out (for a change!) so every lady had a man to partner up with. This week, she intends to do the same thing and has also asked the owner if she'd like me to teach. Apparently the answer was positive. So I might become a Salsa instructor yet :-)

Stay Safe

Gill & John

My good friend got hitched!

Haven't spoken to John in a while and in the mean time he's married the lovely Gill. It's great to be in contact with him and his new wife.

New Beginnings

Isn't getting a new flat sorted out fun? I'm gradually nibbling away at boxes I moved in with. Getting stuff on shelves etc. Looking to get a couple of book cases from a work pal this week. Hopefully I can loose the boxes filled with books and get them out on display where they're needed!

I logged into my ISP PlusNet today. After successfully getting a phone line installed last week, I'm now transferring my account over to the new premises. Hopefully, I should be back online this Friday. That will mean I can avoid logging in from work for just a few spare moments and get down to some decent catching up!

One thing I must do is catch up with a all the Salsa notes. I have 3 pending and a 4th one will be noted tonight.

Oh well, back to the grind.

I'm IN!

The wait finally over. I'm now in my new studio/flat. The move went smoothly with my pals Danny (Driving) and Nick (Graftin') and Rob, Jen and Kids helping out at base camp.

Sorting out all the bits and pieces is fun (kinda). Phoneline to be processed. Apparently theres a fault on the line so I have to take half a day off work to accomodate an engineer to check it out. Electricity supply sorted. Mentioned a few things to the landlord too.

Having no internet access is awful. Hopefully (everything crossed) it shouldn't be too long 'till I get back online and catch up with everything properly.

Right, off to get a TV licence now!

Stay Safe

Ever closer

The time moves ever closer. 2 days to go before I'm off to pastures new. A little daunted, a little excited. I moved a few other boxes with Jerome tonight (Cheers Matey!). The real bulk will be on Saturday. Gotta chat with DB tomorrow.

I have a training session at work tomorrow. Its a company thing called 'Sense & Respond' a method of anticipating a client's needs and offering extra service and value. It's gonna be another string in my bow and another profile building exercise. It starts at 9:30 so at least I get a lay in too! :-)

My article was published in the company news letter today. Looks grand. I got some brilliant feedback about it too. I have a feeling I may be called upon to do a similar thing in the future. Not bad considering I flunked English at school :-)

I also have Salsa tomorrow. Not only is Clare going, but I have another guest, Matt going too! Maybe I will be able to get the desk dancing ;-) Go on Nick, you know you want to LOL

Stay Safe

Movin' On

My inpending move grows ever closer. Today, I'm awaiting my good friend Jerome who is going to help me move some pre-packed boxes to the new flat. I have a load more good to go. Last week, Michael T helped me do the same. It will then be a case of grabbing the last remaining stuff next Saturday when I hire a van for Danny B to drive.

It will be good to get into my own space and also be a change to have total control. I think it will be quite liberating. I have a rake of things to get hold of. Various home making type things. Would be nice to have a TV as well!

I updated my Flickr page last night (link on the right hand column). I had a great time at Katie and Jame's birthday party. Took lots of pictures for them. I also met Ron who owns and trains a beautiful Harris Hawk. Previous to the party, I visited Greenwich again and took some shots of the Cutty Sark and the Maritime buildings.

Interesting week coming up...

RSS Feeds

RSS

Due to the fact that my K800i can recieve RSS news feeds, I discovered an extra bit to add on here. If you now view down the right hand side bar, you will see the BBC Science/Nature news, NASAs breaking news and NASAs picture of the day. These automatically update whenever you view my blog :-) Pretty neat huh?

Flat

My studio flat waits for me. I'm going to be finalising the agreement and picking up the keys on Tuesday with a bit of luck and a following wind. Just as well because my parents are moving on the 30th! Some kind friends from work are going to lend a hand in the week moving small stuff for me.

Article@Work

The interview for the works article never came off. The chap in question was very busy. He later apologised. Despite it's missing interview, the article was a hit with the management. All of them complimented it. As a knock on from that, I've also been asked to be a 'Comms Champion' and also to stand in for supervisors for hour slots on the late shift. Finally things are happening at work!

A Place To Be

Finally I've found a flat!

Its in a place called Crayford. I used to work there a couple of years ago in a small computer shop that is no longer there. I know the place, the people and my daughter lives with her mother within walking distance.

I had to laugh, the door No. is 13 :-) The estate agent, a really helpful chap by the name of Mustafa, showed me 4 apartments but I really got a good feeling in No. 13. I've put the deposit down and I'm doing the rest of the paperwork tomorrow. Should be a nice place to live for a time. Hopefully I'll be able to see my daughter a bit more regularly too.

In other news: I was asked to write an article at work today. Its for the main company newsletter. Tomorrow I'm scheduled to interview one of the service delivery managers for an additional part of writing. Should be interesting because I will need to do it over the phone. I've had a phone interview myself but never given one. Stay tuned...

Note: Photo courtesy Charles Conran Group PLC

Thursdays Salsa

OK Here's last Thursdays Salsa routine.

Footscray Rugby Club - 07/09/2006 - Janet

123 567 - Basic
123 567 - X-Body LT
123 567 - M '6-Pack' Left Turn with swap r>r
123 567 - LFST and turn 180 (Facing away with hand over right shoulder)
123 567 - Overcoat High (LFST on 5)
123 567 - Overcoat Low (Bring Lady round on r with LT)
123 567 - Haircomb X-Body
123 567 - Half Titanic
123 567 - Dip and turn Lady out
123 567 - Copa + LT
123 567 - X-Body to closed

Key:

LFST - Ladies Forward Step Turn (Cuban Turn)
LSSS - Ladies Side Step Spin
MSSS - Mens Side Step Spin
X-Body - Cross Body

Quite nice. I like those overcoat moves but the copa I can never get in the beat.

Close To The Chapel

Close To The Chapel
Originally uploaded by Destinys Agent.

This is a closer view of the lovely chapel that lies at the foot of the hill at Mwnt in Wales. This image was captured on my Canon EOS 20D and hence is far better quality than my K800i phone could ever manage.

Nikki Demonstrates

Showing us round

So, 4 days after starting my First Aid Course, I've completed it. I take great pleasure in reporting I passed which makes me a qualified first aider. Quite an eye-opening excercise to do the course and be assessed on performance. Nikki, seen above showing us around the St. John Ambulance in the location the course was held, did an exemplary job in training me and 9 others. The test 'casualty' was made to remark after our assessments that our group was the best in over a year of her experience.

At least I can go back to work tomorrow and be a little more regarded. I'll also be checking the office first aid kit!

Thanks go to Margaret who looked after us at the venue with Teas/Coffees/Buscuits and of course to Nikki for training us and also to Richard, Fred our assessors and Jan our test casualty.

Side of the van

All white

Ambulance

Opening the van

Monday's Salsa

Hi Guys,

Been a bit busy this week as you have no doubt read, so It's taken me a while to catch up with doing this. I missed a routine before I went to Wales. When I find it I'll post it up:

Lee (Baldon Sports Center) - 04/09/2006 - Janet

123 567 - Basic
123 567 - X-Body LT
123 567 - X-Body OT
123 - Back break to...
567 - Closed and both wiggle
123 - Back break to...
567 123 567 - Rope Turn
123 567 - Cuban turn swap
123 567 - Titanic
123 567 - Dip & Turn lady out to closed

Key:

LFST - Ladies Forward Step Turn
LSSS - Ladies Side Step Spin
MSSS - Mens Side Step Spin
X-Body - Cross Body
X-Body LT - Cross Body Late Turn
X-Body OT - Cross Body Outside Turn

Enjoy :-)

Steve

Intense

I've been proper busy today. Very intensive learning about lots of things I really don't want to know! Eeeesh, I'm squeemish. It's very hard to learn how to deal with a medical emergency when having difficulty staying concious! :-) Did loads of stuff today. Burns, Fractures, Head Injuries. A short test too.

Thursday will be the biggie. External staff come in to assess us. I'm going to run a basic Salsa lesson concurrently to relieve the nerves that we will all be feeling. Great thing is, theres more blokes than ladies for a change! Don't see that many times at lessons.

I'm gonna type up last nights Salsa routine later on. Nice short and sweet one this time.

First Time First Aid

I started my St. John Ambulance First Aid course today. I must say, I'm impressed with the level of tuition and the wonderful info pack supplied. Very good quality all round. It's a 4 day course so is quite intensive and paced reasonably fast. It's OK though cos thats how my mind takes in data best.

I've met a great trainer in the shape of Nikki and a bunch of 9 really interesting people from various works of life. We all had fun today. I'll keep you posted.

In other news, I'm still looking for a flat/share/room. Thought I'd found one yesterday but contacting the estate agent seems to be difficult. I've tried several times today with no luck. I'm gonna have another go tomorrow.

I'm going Salsa tonight at Lee (Baldon Sports Center) I'll try and get round to posting the routine up tomorrow or whenever I can.

Cardiff Central

Slight detour on the way home...

Sadly its time to come home. After arrival in Swansea I was promptly told that there were no trains to London and that I had to go to Cardiff and change there. This I did and had a lovely journey back to London (Paddington) then had to catch 4 tubes home! All I want to do is turn back and go back to an amazing place called Cardigan.

Water Bufflo

In Wales? :-)

What an odd thing to find in the wilds of Wales. However, it was in a wildlife reserve. A wonderful place full of green and Dragonflies.

Pentre Ifan

Just how did they do that?

This was an entrance to a burial chamber, long since eroded away or removed. The main stone is held up in 3 places.

Butterfly Farm

How cool are these!

Cilgeren Castle

You can almost hear the armour clanking.

Family Ties

1 & 3 of 5

Clockwise from the top left we have the star of the show, Jacqui then supporting cast - Arran, Josh and Ryan. I have met one of the other two sons and will the last tomorrow. These are the amazing family I'm staying with here in Wales. I couldn't feel any more invited, pampered and comfortable! Thanks guys *HUGs* :-)

Cenarth Falls

Beautiful place.

Really idillic place this. Although it was quite busy being a very pleasent day. Got several shots of a red dragonfly too but that was on my SLR Camera so you have to wait to see them :-)

Chapel

A very serene place.

This was a lovely place with a definite quiet atmosphere enveloping it. The hill behind is the one I shot the previous picture from. Although it looks quite tame in this shot, I can assure you that its a steep climb! Worth every step though. The chapel dates from the 15th century.

Mwnt

What a view and how far up was I?

What an incredible view. My friend Jacqui is down there in the crowds. Just to the left of the hill is a chapel which will be the next pic.

Aberporth

One side of the bay.

What a lovely place. Bit higbrow though. Saw 3 classic cars (Austin, MG and E-Type Jag) and a Ferrari. Had a cracking good pint on the local called The Ship We also bought a wacking great crab which we intend to devour soon :D

The River Aberteifi

The river runs through Cardigan.

This is just up the road from where I'm staying. I've crossed it a number of times in daylight and evening.

Paddington Station

I'd forgotten how busy stations get!

Got here with way too much time to spare (Isn't THAT unusual for me! :-) Over an hour, but it did give me time to do a bit of people watching. You get some interesting types at stations. I also managed to get a few Bluejacks in :-)

The Place That Was Home

Another week in the can. I'm a little unsettled at the moment. Like something important is about to happen. And, of course, it is. I'm in the throws of moving, or at least will be when I return from my week holiday in Wales. That, I'm looking forward to. Getting my brain round all that will need doing is telling on me a bit. I'm going to write a list soon to rationalise it. Then I can at least shelve it and deal with all the issues when I get back.

This is where I've lived for a big chunk of my life:

Foster House

Soon I will have somewhere new to get used to. Luckily, the new place is really convienient for work, being ony a few hundred yards away. Theres a few local shops and pubs ;-) and theres bus stops outside. I've no idea what the locals are like yet, that will be interesting. Of course, the household is gonna take a while to get up and running so familirisation will have to wait. Its going to be fun packing again!

End of an Era

Probably the last time I'll see my parents next to this sign. We'll all be moving soon. Them to Cambridge and me to Sidcup. In total, on and off I've lived there for over 28 years. I did all my growing up years in New Cross. Funny thing is, I'm not going to miss it.

Main Man

Just wanted to mention the picture I've used for my profile. It was taken by a young lad I know (8yrs old) who has been learning how to use a 35mm SLR. I think you'll agree that its a cracking shot - Well done.

Salsa

I thought of another use for the Blog. I'm going to document the Salsa routines I'm taught. I've been dancing Salsa for over 2 years but had a 1 year break due to work shift patterns. I'm back now though and catching up to the point I left off. I go dancing locally, in Lee and New Eltham. I'm hoping to find another venue soon, or take up Tango as well.

The first routine is from last Monday's lesson.

Lee (Baldon Sports Center) - 14/08/2006 - Janet

123 567 - Basic
123 567 - MLeft Tummy Turn
123 567 - Haircomb X-Body LT lead with right over head
123 567 123 567 - Double Titanic Collect r>r under on 1 and
123 567 - Dip and Slow turn Lady out to 90 deg prepare for>>>
123 567 - X-Body LT
123 567 - Basic
123 567 - I go You go
123 567 123 567 - Rotating X-Body LT into closed

Key:
LFST = Ladies Forward Step Turn
LSSS = Ladies Side Step Spin
MSSS = Mens Side Step Spin
X-Body = Cross Body
LT = Late Turn
r>r = Right hand to right hand
for >>> = Move follows on

Not quite worked out the formatting on here so it will have to stand like that until I do. Then I can come back and edit.

That was a really nice routine. I love the two new moves, the Double Titanic and the Rotating Cross Body Lead. I'm going to build both into my repertoire. Thanks for another good one Janet :-)

Sony Ericsson K800i

The Sony Ericsson K800i will be arriving in a few days. It has a 3.2M camera which is why I chose it. I have an XDA for e-mailing and an iPod for music so the other SE phones didn't particularly attract me. I was tempted by a Blackberry but I decided that a traditional sized phone with a decent camera built in would be fine.

It also has 64Mb of RAM built in. Not nearly enough for me. Both my K750i and XDA have 1Gb memory cards each. The K800i supports Micro Memory Sticks what ever they are. I'll have to investigate. I would imagine I'll be buying yet another memory card soon.

Another reason I chose an SE phone is that I'm used to the interface. The K800i's interface is layed out in a very similar way to the K750i's but its a bit swisher. Like Apple.

I'm looking forward to exploring a new phone. I'll keep you posted.

New Beginnings

Well here we go...

I'm not sure if I'll continue with this but I'm receiving a Sony Ericsson K800i in the next few days and you can send pictures to your blog directly from it so I thought I'd at least investigate. Blogging has been around for so long and I did look into doing it before. I was a different person then though. I have been through a lot.

I'm hoping this will be a useful tool to work through problems, document my life and receive helpful comments.