Tag: DIY

bookmark_borderDIY Time?

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Hellooooo Oooo ooo

Blimey, isn’t the house big when you take down all the tat Christmas decorations.

As ever, with the house returned to a semblance of order (ohh I do like a bit of order) thoughts turn to DIY. Namely the funny patches of paint just inside the living room door where we’ve daubed various shades of blue and grey in an effort to see which colour is best.

I don’t mind painting, it’s fairly painless, it’s the preparation that is the hassle.

Choosing the paint, buying the paint, getting out the old paint brushes, realising the old paint brushes weren’t cleaned properly and having to go back to the DIY store to buy new ones.

Digging out the roll of edging tape, edging off the.. ohh balls we’ve run out.

Back to the DIY store.

Edges done, paint on walls, time to clean the brushes with the…

Back to the DIY store.

And so on and so forth.

And that’s all before someone decides we should really rejig the living room, wouldn’t the sofa be better there, or maybe there?

And so on and so forth.

Still, I do have one little DIY project which will bring a little bit of personal pride to our living room. The hang of some of my photos. Still sussing out how best to do it, but have the fishing line prepared and think, if I can get it right, it’ll look fab. Photos of the.. er.. photos.. will follow.

bookmark_borderThe festive period

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December the 24th is Christmas Eve. I mention this not as a startling revelation but because it’s the first of eleven days that I have off work. So if I discount the 25th and 26th of December, as well as the 1st of January as I’m Scottish and by law we are not allowed to go to sleep until at least 4am on New Year’s Day, I have approximately 8 days or so with nothing planned.

That will, of course, change.

I reckon, if I’m generous with my estimates, I’ll have five or six days to myself. I’ll say five just to be on the safe side.

That’s five whole days in which I can, within reason, do what I want. Watch some old movies, play some games, read a book, generally chill out. That kind of thing. Five days is a lot of time, so let’s presume I do some chores around the house as well, a little decorating or general DIY bodgery.

Yes, I could get a lot done in five days and I have to admit I’m looking forward to the time off as it’s been manic these past few weeks and whilst it’s probably partly because the holiday is getting closer, I’m definitely feeling a little ‘punchy’. Yes, five days is plenty to recharge the batteries all the better to start the new year afresh.

Except we all know what’ll happen.

Person X will decide to pop over and that’ll turn into dinner, which’ll turn into tidying up, shopping for food, preparation, entertaining and finally punting them out the door sometime before midnight.

Person Y will suggest that we could go out for a meal and a movie, which’ll turn into a late afternoon meal, a movie, then drinks and we’ll get home sometime after midnight.

Person Z will phone and ask us over for dinner, or just to see if we are going to visit and that’ll turn into “well if we are seeing Z, we could go and see Y and if we are seeing Y we are as well staying over with X” which means that we’ll need to prepare, pack an overnight bag and leave early morning, getting home sometime later the next day.

And before you know it it’s Sunday the 4th of January, 2009, I’m back to work the next day and I’ve not done anything that I’d hoped to do and I’m probably more stressed than I was on Christmas Eve.

It’s the same every year.

So, this year, I’m not planning to do nothing, and I’m not planning to do everything, instead I’m expecting to be busy most days and to make the most of the moments inbetween.

P.S. Persons X, Y and Z are interchangeable and do not, in any way, correlate with members of my family (immediate or otherwise) or any of my friends. Honest.

bookmark_borderHarissa Paste

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Picture the scene, if you will, of a dashing and debonair young man, slim of body with flowing locks of blonde hair framing his sculptured face as he lounges gracefully on a chaise lounge. Soft music plays in the background, whilst the delicate fragrances of dinner waft from the kitchen. A tranquil scene I’m sure you’ll agree.

Now picture the exact opposite, a slovenly baw-faced guy slouching in front of the TV, his belt undone, his thinning hair needing cut, his face unshaven.

That pretty much sums me up at the moment, but then it’s been a busy weekend.

Friday night found me dashing into Glasgow to catch Elbow at the ABC. Doors opened at 6pm the ticket said, something I only realised at 6.04pm when I lifted my ticket to put it in my jacket pocket for later. Of course, having jumped in the car and raced into Glasgow, I arrive at the venue to find a growing queue standing outside and received confirmation from the bouncers on the door that doors didn’t open until 7pm. And yeah, it didn’t matter what my ticket said, alright?!

Minor glitch over, the gig was pretty damn good. I was largely going on the strength of their last album, having not had much chance to hear their new one, nor having spent much time listening to any of the others. It didn’t matter though, as the band were pretty slick, and BOY can that man sing, what a voice (although I should mention the quality of the sound, it was spot on, you could pick out every instrument and voice). Top gig, and I got to meet Paul as well, bonus!

Saturday and we were up early, with the car filled with a variety of rubbish to be taken to the dump, then a quick bit of shopping and a few other chores before heading back home. Then, alas, it was off to work for a few hours before hooking up with my parents for dinner.

And today saw some DIY, the fitting of a new light in the kitchen and a few other tidy up tasks as we continue to return our house to some sort of order.

Ohh yes, the kitchen… it’s lovely, thanks (see for yourself)

Anyway, harissa chicken is cooking on the oven, some roast vegetables will be going on soon so I’d better get the table set and open a bottle of wine. Hope your weekend is ending as well as ours.

bookmark_borderBecause it's all that's in my head

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Don’t hate me.

Please.

I don’t do this kind of thing on purpose. Honest I don’t.

But it does seem to follow a pattern, doesn’t it.

Ohh wait, you don’t know what I’m talking about yet, do you.

Let’s start over.

Don’t hate me.

Please.

But I’m really REALLY busy and just want to jot down everything in my head so that I don’t forget. I COULD do that on a piece of paper of course but then that wouldn’t get posted and as I’m feeling that weird bloggers remorse thing of not posting regularly then.. well… ohh look. It’s my bloody blog. If you don’t want to read on, then don’t. Presuming anyone has gotten this far (I’m beginning to bore myself actually).

I’m still loving my job. It no longer feels like a new job so I’ve dropped that adjective, but it’s still good. Getting a little hectic though but nothing more than usual chaos that surrounds every product release I’ve ever been involved with, at every company I’ve ever worked at. Thankfully we don’t have project managers here, hovering over our desks with Gantt charts and cost-analysis sheets. It’s quite refreshing to be left with only your professional pride to keep you in check, it’s quite a powerful motivator as it turns out.

As well as product release stuff, I’m also looking ahead to early next year, planning what the team will be focussing on next time and that particular piece of thinking is growing wings everytime another thread is introduced.

Hang on, I just broke my own analogy. Put it this way, in a nutshell full of winged threads:

If we (the team) undertake long term project A, it will make short term project B easier for us, but likely kick off other short term projects (for other people) in which we’ll need to be involved as they’ll directly impact on B, with the knock-on effect of slowing down A. Considering A is all about being faster and more efficient.. well that’s not a good thing.

I realise that makes no sense to anyone but it’s the first time I’ve written it down and *ping* I think I understand it a little better now. It does make senses if you know what A, B and ‘other’ mean. Promise.

Elsewhere I’ve been slacking off. Almost a full month of not doing anything purely because no-one was chasing me. I feel a little guilty as I promised two freebies, so I’ll try and blast them out ASAP. Then I need to properly consider a new design template, and there is the not inconsiderable event that will see me stand in a room of my peers, and present my thoughts and experiences of using a Wiki in the workplace. Must make time to go over the presentation a couple more times I think..

I’m also still ripping CDs, they last batch (100 or so) are piled on my desk to try and force me to deal with them, but if I just shove them over to the wall a little then.. yeah, there is PLENTY of room to work, I’ll get to them later…

Photos will be next of course, and for that I really want to clear the space so I can get the scanner up on the desk, rather than tucked away on top of a set of drawers. But to do that, I’ll need to clear the desk… of CDs. Dammit.

Lastly there is a rather large occasion looming on the horizon. I’m doing my best to ignore it but, to be honest, we’ll need to make a start. Only a few weeks I’ll be lugging boxes of decorations and nonsense down from the loft and then there will be no escaping the fact, Christmas will have arrived.

I’m not moaning about any of this, far from it, it saves me from sitting watching crap TV (like that Strictly Come Saturday Factor thing that seems to be on every channel at the same time) and means that I’m saved of any DIY projects until at least February.

“Sorry darling but I’m just soooo very busy, and I promised I’d get it done, you wouldn’t want me to let people down, would you?”

Every cloud and all that.

bookmark_borderDecisions

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My life has been littered with decisions over the past week or so. None particularly major but each crucial in a small way.

The decision with the biggest impact is definitely whether I should pay the electricity bill, or purchase the Mac OSX upgrade. OK, not really a decision… (yes I’ll pay the bill… meh).

Overall, most of the decisions have been small and in the large scheme of things, inconsequential. They centre around the myriad of items I’ve been throwing away as I continue to declutter. Trips to the skip, trips to various DIY places to purchase storage, trips to charidee shops, all have been preceded by a quandary.

Louise and I are pretty good at getting rid of stuff we don’t need or use. Moving house several times in the first few years we were together, including down to England and back, meant that it was pretty easy to know what we had (pack your entire house 4 times in 3 years and you’ll know what I mean) and what we didn’t actually use.

However, we’ve been in this house for over 6 years now and as we are not likely to move for at least another 6, then it’s understandable that we’ve slowly been accumulating ‘stuff’. Personally my minimalist tendencies make it very easy for me to justify the removal of items from any room, but I am conscious that can leave things a little ‘cold’ and of course I’m not the only person who lives there. We are pretty good at compromising though, and it’s safe to say we both now tend to agree on what is acceptable and what isn’t.

Decluttering the house will take some time and, as I’ve mentioned, means that some hard decisions need taken. It’s easy to decide that I don’t really need 4 spare USB cables, or that having 2 spare keyboards is a necessity, so out they go. Similarly there are a lot of things which have slowly been added to various drawers and cubbyholes, none of which have much value other than pleasant curiosity (a champagne cork with a G initialed on it, for example). However there are some items which hold real value, and so I now have a small ‘sentiments’ box.

There isn’t that much in it at the moment, the nameplate from my Grans old house and a knocker from her old, huge, sideboard, alongside a pencil top Chewbacca from my childhood and a small plate with an Osprey on it which… well it came from my parents but not sure where they got it from.

And so, with bin bags filled, and memories safely stored away, I can now move onto the next room. Well I would if I had the space. There are now two large boxes full of CDs, ready to go into the loft. Alas, the loft is starting to reach the point that we consider it “full” (the point at which you can no longer navigate round the boxes and piles of … stuff).

Guess which area of the house we should’ve decluttered first…

bookmark_borderChange versus Routine

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As I’ve mentioned before, I enjoy change. I think most people do, as the dull and predictable, staid and static life soons becomes a ditch-water dull drag.

On the other hand, there is something to be said for routine. The familiar lends itself to easy comfort.

At the moment I’m trying to balance the two, change and routine, routine and change. My work routine of the past few years has changed and, as that has the largest bearing on my time, the rest of my daily/weekly routine is changing too. But that’s fine, it was expected. Anticipated change is a good thing.

The main stuff is first, when to leave the house in the morning, when best to leave the office at night, that kind of thing. Of course it has to be fitted into the ‘home’ routine; Monday and Tuesday nights Louise is out early, I’m out on Wednesday evenings. After that come the secondary activities, running and design work for me, then the daily tasks and finally the downtime for watching TV, reading books and so on.

Naturally that routine is up for change, but by and large it can be consider constant, within acceptable boundaries…

Of course what this doesn’t really factor in is those curveballs life enjoys pitching at you. That unexpected expenditure, the unplanned DIY (think broken fence post), and other less pleasant life events.

And that’s when stress becomes a factor. The unexpected change to routine hits hard and you start to fight back, desperate to keep your routine, to keep things normal, to stay in control as much as is possible.

But if you take a different viewpoint then, well, it’s just more change to deal with so I guess I need to clarify my position. I enjoy EXPECTED change.

Now, if you’ve read this far you are probably hoping I have some sort of point. Naturally I don’t. I’ll leave that up to you lot.

Which do you prefer? Change or routine? And are the two mutually exclusive?