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Jan. 14th, 2011 11:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
phantym_56I should go to bed because it's a little late and I'm about to be tired. I can feel it coming.
I don't know what's going on - I'm enjoying work! Well, not so much that I wouldn't stay home if I had the opportunity but I'm not getting up every day and going "Oh God, I can't face it today!" I'm busy, we've had visitors in all week so I've seen next-to-nothing of anyone with any authority, I've got loads of stuff done.
I went out today in the company car - only about a mile roundtrip but that was exciting. It's a big powerful car! You know on Top Gear when they're racing Ferraris and they spend five minutes before the race trying to set the launch controls? That was me trying to figure out the electronic handbrake today. Find where the key goes - not in a slot under my right hand. Start the engine. Put foot on clutch and start the engine again. Put the car in gear. Feel doubtful about it before realising this car has reverse in an odd place and I've put it in first and am therefore liable to drive into the wall. Take off electronic handbrake. Flick the switch in both directions several times. Put foot on footbrake, flick handbrake. Feel shudder of nervous anticipation as the car starts to move. Dear God, the torque on that thing feels amazing. It also feels weird to be sitting so low down in such a massive car. I have no idea where any of the corners are. I couldn't park that thing except in an empty car park. My car is tiny but it has an abnormally high driving position which makes you feel like you're in a 4x4. (My car is a Panda. We can agree this is a tiny car.) Much as I love the torque on the company car, overall I prefer the manageability of my own baby, plus the fact that I can operate the handbrake. (And both the price and the running costs. And the fact that I look like I could conceivably own my Panda whereas I look a little like I stole the company car. No one my age or size could own a car like that.) Also, I was praying the rain didn't get any worse while I was driving the company one because I had no idea how to work either the windscreen wipers or the lights.
I "fixed" Old Sage Boss's laptop. That was frustrating. Three times this thing was brought to me and I was told it had frozen, specifically that Outlook had frozen and wouldn't work. I opened Outlook. I opened IE. No problem. "Huh," Old Sage Boss said. "It wasn't working a moment ago." Well, computers are like that. He left it with me and first it needed his password when it fell asleep and then it needed recharging. "So it works for half an hour, then it goes off again." Well, yes. Lack of battery power. Not its fault. Nothing wrong with that.
So many times this damn laptop was passed to me because it had frozen and so many times - no, it hadn't. I was told to call the IT people if it wasn't working properly. I didn't. It was working fine. But I got sent to the bank in the afternoon and when I came back, he was on the phone to the IT people. Then he had to run off somewhere so he left it with me. They said they'd call me back in five minutes (Lovely as they are, they never ever phone back in five minutes. Generally you phone them two days later to enquire whether they're still alive). I fiddled with it, going "There's no fucking problem!". Old Sage Boss came past and showed me. Outlook won't do anything. He clicks send and receive. He clicks the red cross at the top. He clicks network connections at the bottom. Nothing. And it finally dawned on me what was going on. Control Panel, Mouse, Trackpad settings, tick the "Enable tapping" box. Problem solved. I'd been using the buttons under the trackpad, he'd been using the pad itself. As I'd seen immediately, nothing wrong with Outlook or the laptop itself, certainly no freezing problem.
I went snowboarding this evening! I haven't been since September and even that one doesn't really count. Hard to concentrate on snowboarding when you can hear your girls screaming on the slope behind you. So I was very nervous. I did a successful but terrified toe edge to heel edge turn. Then I tried heel-to-toe. Successful as ever, ie I can sort of do it but it petrifies me. I went back to toe-to-heel, practised that over and over again until I was regaining some confidence. I'll have to go back another night when it's quieter to practice heel-to-toe because I have to be over on the wrong side of the slope for that, starting at the bottom/on the edge of the bowl and on a busy night like this, you're in everyone's way and either at risk of causing injury or annoying people. So I'll give that a little practice sometime then go back to the middle station and try to link the two. And then I'll be back roughly at the level I was at last July. Snowboarding is all about confidence, I think. I lack it a little. Standing on a slope on a very slippery plank does not inspire confidence in me.
Most of the instructors have gone since I was last there. My favourite is still there, although not tonight. And the boy who did my first ever lesson nearly two years ago, an old faithful of the place, is still there. I like him, in that I recognise him, but I'm also a little nervous of him. The new boy who eventually sorted me out a new pass and seemed to psychically know that I was there for snowboarding rather than skiing seems nice. (I very quickly and very easily get attached to the snowboys. I think I'm going to become very fond of this one)
And it appears, from comments on Facebook, that my mate Silver is coming home from his war earlier than I was expecting. No idea exactly when. I was expecting late March but people keep saying "Not long now!" which seems not quite right when he's still got 2 out of 6 months to go.
Tomorrow I want to buy new shoes. I had some skater-like trainers I bought when I was fourteen. They've finally fallen to pieces. I know I can't get exact replacements, that style hasn't existed in ten years, but I'd like something similar even if I'm going to have to put up with laces rather than elastic hooks. Something proper chunky. I think skater-style are going to be my best bet but I'm terrified of going into shops like that. I could not feel like I belong in shops like that less if I was wearing a Victorian ballgown. Actually, I'm scared of going into most clothes/shoe shops. I feel like everyone's looking at me and thinking "This is quite clearly not your thing. Leave now and there will be no trouble." But if I'm wearing clothes from that shop then I feel like a fraud. There is something very unsettling about going into River Island wearing a River Island jumper that I can see on the rails. Then everyone's thinking "Nice disguise but we can still see this is quite clearly not your thing." I hate clothes shopping.
Aha. Here comes the impending tiredness. Time to brush my teeth and sort out my blankets. They seem to have had a party while I was out today. God knows how they've got in such a tangle. Have I mentioned recently? Blankets are awesome. Get rid of your convenient modern duvets. Blankets. They are the way forward.
I don't know what's going on - I'm enjoying work! Well, not so much that I wouldn't stay home if I had the opportunity but I'm not getting up every day and going "Oh God, I can't face it today!" I'm busy, we've had visitors in all week so I've seen next-to-nothing of anyone with any authority, I've got loads of stuff done.
I went out today in the company car - only about a mile roundtrip but that was exciting. It's a big powerful car! You know on Top Gear when they're racing Ferraris and they spend five minutes before the race trying to set the launch controls? That was me trying to figure out the electronic handbrake today. Find where the key goes - not in a slot under my right hand. Start the engine. Put foot on clutch and start the engine again. Put the car in gear. Feel doubtful about it before realising this car has reverse in an odd place and I've put it in first and am therefore liable to drive into the wall. Take off electronic handbrake. Flick the switch in both directions several times. Put foot on footbrake, flick handbrake. Feel shudder of nervous anticipation as the car starts to move. Dear God, the torque on that thing feels amazing. It also feels weird to be sitting so low down in such a massive car. I have no idea where any of the corners are. I couldn't park that thing except in an empty car park. My car is tiny but it has an abnormally high driving position which makes you feel like you're in a 4x4. (My car is a Panda. We can agree this is a tiny car.) Much as I love the torque on the company car, overall I prefer the manageability of my own baby, plus the fact that I can operate the handbrake. (And both the price and the running costs. And the fact that I look like I could conceivably own my Panda whereas I look a little like I stole the company car. No one my age or size could own a car like that.) Also, I was praying the rain didn't get any worse while I was driving the company one because I had no idea how to work either the windscreen wipers or the lights.
I "fixed" Old Sage Boss's laptop. That was frustrating. Three times this thing was brought to me and I was told it had frozen, specifically that Outlook had frozen and wouldn't work. I opened Outlook. I opened IE. No problem. "Huh," Old Sage Boss said. "It wasn't working a moment ago." Well, computers are like that. He left it with me and first it needed his password when it fell asleep and then it needed recharging. "So it works for half an hour, then it goes off again." Well, yes. Lack of battery power. Not its fault. Nothing wrong with that.
So many times this damn laptop was passed to me because it had frozen and so many times - no, it hadn't. I was told to call the IT people if it wasn't working properly. I didn't. It was working fine. But I got sent to the bank in the afternoon and when I came back, he was on the phone to the IT people. Then he had to run off somewhere so he left it with me. They said they'd call me back in five minutes (Lovely as they are, they never ever phone back in five minutes. Generally you phone them two days later to enquire whether they're still alive). I fiddled with it, going "There's no fucking problem!". Old Sage Boss came past and showed me. Outlook won't do anything. He clicks send and receive. He clicks the red cross at the top. He clicks network connections at the bottom. Nothing. And it finally dawned on me what was going on. Control Panel, Mouse, Trackpad settings, tick the "Enable tapping" box. Problem solved. I'd been using the buttons under the trackpad, he'd been using the pad itself. As I'd seen immediately, nothing wrong with Outlook or the laptop itself, certainly no freezing problem.
I went snowboarding this evening! I haven't been since September and even that one doesn't really count. Hard to concentrate on snowboarding when you can hear your girls screaming on the slope behind you. So I was very nervous. I did a successful but terrified toe edge to heel edge turn. Then I tried heel-to-toe. Successful as ever, ie I can sort of do it but it petrifies me. I went back to toe-to-heel, practised that over and over again until I was regaining some confidence. I'll have to go back another night when it's quieter to practice heel-to-toe because I have to be over on the wrong side of the slope for that, starting at the bottom/on the edge of the bowl and on a busy night like this, you're in everyone's way and either at risk of causing injury or annoying people. So I'll give that a little practice sometime then go back to the middle station and try to link the two. And then I'll be back roughly at the level I was at last July. Snowboarding is all about confidence, I think. I lack it a little. Standing on a slope on a very slippery plank does not inspire confidence in me.
Most of the instructors have gone since I was last there. My favourite is still there, although not tonight. And the boy who did my first ever lesson nearly two years ago, an old faithful of the place, is still there. I like him, in that I recognise him, but I'm also a little nervous of him. The new boy who eventually sorted me out a new pass and seemed to psychically know that I was there for snowboarding rather than skiing seems nice. (I very quickly and very easily get attached to the snowboys. I think I'm going to become very fond of this one)
And it appears, from comments on Facebook, that my mate Silver is coming home from his war earlier than I was expecting. No idea exactly when. I was expecting late March but people keep saying "Not long now!" which seems not quite right when he's still got 2 out of 6 months to go.
Tomorrow I want to buy new shoes. I had some skater-like trainers I bought when I was fourteen. They've finally fallen to pieces. I know I can't get exact replacements, that style hasn't existed in ten years, but I'd like something similar even if I'm going to have to put up with laces rather than elastic hooks. Something proper chunky. I think skater-style are going to be my best bet but I'm terrified of going into shops like that. I could not feel like I belong in shops like that less if I was wearing a Victorian ballgown. Actually, I'm scared of going into most clothes/shoe shops. I feel like everyone's looking at me and thinking "This is quite clearly not your thing. Leave now and there will be no trouble." But if I'm wearing clothes from that shop then I feel like a fraud. There is something very unsettling about going into River Island wearing a River Island jumper that I can see on the rails. Then everyone's thinking "Nice disguise but we can still see this is quite clearly not your thing." I hate clothes shopping.
Aha. Here comes the impending tiredness. Time to brush my teeth and sort out my blankets. They seem to have had a party while I was out today. God knows how they've got in such a tangle. Have I mentioned recently? Blankets are awesome. Get rid of your convenient modern duvets. Blankets. They are the way forward.
