Well. That was quite a number of months wandering around in the wild.
It seems that I was a lot more depressed than I thought I was, looking back. But when you're there, you're kind of numb to it all. That's one of the reasons I haven't Blogged for so long.
Work was drying up, me and the lady had split up, and I was caught up in that horrible "don't want to see anyone but why doesn't anyone ask me out for a drink" Catch 22 situation. I was seriously considering being "yeller", packing my bags and moving back to ol' Blighty.
Then at the end of June, I got a job. A proper, paid, regular 9-to-5 job as a programmer.
Things have definitely changed in the month or so. I see my colleagues every day - human contact at last! Working for yourself - especially in the kind of job I had - tends to make you stir crazy, which in my state a while back compounded the problem. I've also just enrolled for Swedish lessons, something I should have done a long time ago. But in September, I start learning the lingo. It's an intensive 6-week, 2 lessons a week course, held at folkuniversetet. All being well, after the course I'll take a little break, then sign up for the follow-on intermediate course.
Oh, and me and the lady are dating again. No rushing, just taking it nice and slow.
Yep, it was pretty bad, looking back. But now I'm looking forward again.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Huzzah!
Well, it took 'em almost 5 months in total, but I finally have a telephone line and ADSL!
I received a call on my mobile yesterday afternoon at 15:00 from the engineer, saying that he had fixed the ADSL. Apparently he had been there since 9:00 in the morning trying to fix it. Whoever had been appointed to switch my line on in the first place had botched the job up so much, that this engineer was a little surprised that I actually had a phone line at all!
I celebrated this fact by sitting on Slaygon's sofa and carrying on working, not wanting to come home and find that said engineer was actually lying -- not that he would want to, just that I have become cynical about this whole sorry situation. But as soon as I finally plucked up the courage to come back here (about 18:00), I found that he was in fact telling the truth, and I celebrated by broadcasting an impromptu show on SLAY Radio!
So I'm sitting here in my robe, looking out of my own window and noticing that it's snowing here in Gothenburg again. I have to visit Slaygon's flat with by backpack, to bring my laptop back... but I think it can wait a few hours!
I received a call on my mobile yesterday afternoon at 15:00 from the engineer, saying that he had fixed the ADSL. Apparently he had been there since 9:00 in the morning trying to fix it. Whoever had been appointed to switch my line on in the first place had botched the job up so much, that this engineer was a little surprised that I actually had a phone line at all!
I celebrated this fact by sitting on Slaygon's sofa and carrying on working, not wanting to come home and find that said engineer was actually lying -- not that he would want to, just that I have become cynical about this whole sorry situation. But as soon as I finally plucked up the courage to come back here (about 18:00), I found that he was in fact telling the truth, and I celebrated by broadcasting an impromptu show on SLAY Radio!
So I'm sitting here in my robe, looking out of my own window and noticing that it's snowing here in Gothenburg again. I have to visit Slaygon's flat with by backpack, to bring my laptop back... but I think it can wait a few hours!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
+++NO CARRIER
My ADSL connection was due to be switched on last Tuesday (13th). But, as you have probably guessed, it wasn't. The line has been connected, but they have neglected to "sync the modem", whatever the hell that means. I've been phoning them since that day, and basically they were saying that we have to wait for Telia's engineers to do it (Telia "own" the phonelines themselves).
But thankfully, something positive is being done now. I got through to a guy who was just as annoyed as I was, and promised to raise a Support Ticket. "Unfortunately," he said, "it looks like it is definitely a problem at the local exchange station, which means you'll have to wait another few days while we assign a local engineer". But at least he was being honest with me. We tried a few things that I could try with my modem, but to no avail. What gave me the positive vibe was that he actually phoned me back about 15 minutes after our initial conversation, to confirm that he had assigned a Support Ticket for me, and gave me the reference number so I can track it.
So, I'm still hot-footing it to Slaygon's every day while we wait another few days. Still, onwards and upwards eh?!
But thankfully, something positive is being done now. I got through to a guy who was just as annoyed as I was, and promised to raise a Support Ticket. "Unfortunately," he said, "it looks like it is definitely a problem at the local exchange station, which means you'll have to wait another few days while we assign a local engineer". But at least he was being honest with me. We tried a few things that I could try with my modem, but to no avail. What gave me the positive vibe was that he actually phoned me back about 15 minutes after our initial conversation, to confirm that he had assigned a Support Ticket for me, and gave me the reference number so I can track it.
So, I'm still hot-footing it to Slaygon's every day while we wait another few days. Still, onwards and upwards eh?!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Treading Water
It was time for me to host another DJ session at the Kville Biljard last Saturday (27th), running from 21:00 through to closing time at 01:00 in the morning. It was a bit weird this time, though. Firstly, it was a different crowd. When I last played there, we had people of all ages in; so I was able to do a great mix of stuff right from the 1970s up to present time. This time, however, it was mainly people with an oldest age of mid-twenties. Therefore I had to resort to "Plan B". This involves me screwing up my "fall-back playlist" and making everything up, mainly present-day stuff which -- in my ever so humble opinion -- doesn't work in a biljard. They're repetitive and boring - great for a dance hall but not for people playing pool.
The aforementioned "fall-back playlist" is just a piece of paper with some "classics" on it, so if my brain has a "dunno what to play" moment, I can just play something from the paper. Not so this time!
The second problem was that I'm suffering from DMF at the moment. If you don't know what that is, it's "Deadly Man Flu", which is the male version of the common cold. Most men collapse into a gibbering wreck when they catch it and become convinced that they're about to die. Actually, I usually try and ignore it. This is actually too far in the other extreme, because if you just try and work through it, it will actually get worse. Anyway, I'm taking it easy now, but having to work through it while DJing is actually very weird; I was having an "out of body" experience for most of the time. But, I got through it, so no worries.
I treated myself to a Bolognese last night, to help me through my DMF (bolognese actually being a "ragu" as the Italians would call it). I cheat by using a jar of Dolmio, but then I add my own onion, red pepper and garlic. I also added chilli to the whole thing, making it a sort of Chili Ragu Con Carne or something! But I made it nice and hot to clear my airwaves. It did the trick a little too well though. I like my food hot (spice-wise), and I overdid it slightly. My nose was certainly running afterwards; but unfortunately something else was running too
. Cue appropriate "Ring of Fire" song by Johnny Cash! The rest of the night saw me desparately trying to avoid sneezing!
I'll be doing my usual SLAY Radio show tomorrow evening, even if the cold hasn't gone away. I'm a consummate professional y'know! (read: Idiot.)
The aforementioned "fall-back playlist" is just a piece of paper with some "classics" on it, so if my brain has a "dunno what to play" moment, I can just play something from the paper. Not so this time!
The second problem was that I'm suffering from DMF at the moment. If you don't know what that is, it's "Deadly Man Flu", which is the male version of the common cold. Most men collapse into a gibbering wreck when they catch it and become convinced that they're about to die. Actually, I usually try and ignore it. This is actually too far in the other extreme, because if you just try and work through it, it will actually get worse. Anyway, I'm taking it easy now, but having to work through it while DJing is actually very weird; I was having an "out of body" experience for most of the time. But, I got through it, so no worries.
I treated myself to a Bolognese last night, to help me through my DMF (bolognese actually being a "ragu" as the Italians would call it). I cheat by using a jar of Dolmio, but then I add my own onion, red pepper and garlic. I also added chilli to the whole thing, making it a sort of Chili Ragu Con Carne or something! But I made it nice and hot to clear my airwaves. It did the trick a little too well though. I like my food hot (spice-wise), and I overdid it slightly. My nose was certainly running afterwards; but unfortunately something else was running too
. Cue appropriate "Ring of Fire" song by Johnny Cash! The rest of the night saw me desparately trying to avoid sneezing!I'll be doing my usual SLAY Radio show tomorrow evening, even if the cold hasn't gone away. I'm a consummate professional y'know! (read: Idiot.)
Monday, January 22, 2007
Snö, w00t!
It finally happened on Saturday - we had snow in Gothenbug! Yay! I say "yay" because we actually need it here. Instead of snowing, it's been raining a lot since winter crept in; because of this, there have been lots of floods where rivers have been bursting their banks. Snow is the lesser of the two evils.Plus, snow has a psychological side, too, as Martin (one of the bar staff at Kville Biljard) reminded me: winter is always a dismal month, and when it's dull and wet, it compounds the miserable feeling that everyone has. When there's snow on the ground, however, it brightens the evenings up and lifts peoples' spirits.
Unfortunately, it only lasted about five hours. Snow turned to hail which turned to rain, and melted all the snow again. But today (Monday), it's seriously trying to snow again - the flakes are very small, there's not many of them and they're fluttering down very slowly, but it's trying at least. Let's hope it settles soon. Or, let's just skip winter and get to Spring
The ADSL saga continues, but in a positive way - sort of! I've finally got my phone line! Unfortunately I had to wait while the ADSL department's database "synched up" with the telephone department, so that was a week's worth of thumb-twiddling. Then I finally placed my order for ADSL last Thursday. Now, thanks to their stupid automated system (and the fact that they don't want to help me out, even after all the problem's I've had), I now have to wait "4-6 weeks" before I get the connection. Poo! But at least it's on it's way, I suppose.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Ups and Downs
t's been exactly a month since I last wrote an entry, such is my "habit" of writing a blog! What's been happening? Well, instead of trying to do it chronologically, I'll just do it by topic.
The Christmas period has come and gone, and plans changed at the last minute for various reasons. Instead of me spending Christmas in England and Linda spending it with her maternal grandparents in Norway, we decided to have a quiet Christmas together. So, I went over to England a week early instead. But because of having to see lots of family, I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to, so Linda and I will be going over to England around March time. But it was all good. I got to see my grandmother who is now 90 years old, bless her. And Linda and I had a lovely time. For New Year, we were in Gothenburg with some friends. It was quiet and grown up - well, until we drank a lot of beer, champagne, G&T and wine!
The Tele2 story continues, but has taken a significant step forward - earlier today, in fact. An engineer came round and fixed the line. There was a fault (which had actually started going wrong when Linda had the flat), and because it's owned by Telia, Tele2 were waiting for them (Telia are the BT of Sweden - I rest my case). BUT, now I have a working telephone line! Tomorrow Tele2 should be phoning me about the ADSL - but I can see myself having to phone them. After all, the engineer was supposed to phone me last Friday to confirm the time of the appointment, but didn't. He phoned me at 9:00 this morning saying he was outside my door. "That's a shame," I said, "I'm in Trollhättan. You were supposed to phone me on Friday," I added, pointedly.
"Oh." said the engineer. "When will you be back?"
"Two o'clock," I said.
"Oh. I'll come then."
"Do that," I said. Thankfully he kept his promise and fixed the line within 20 minutes.
Expanding on that note, I was in Trollhättan this weekend. I was supposed to be in Gothenburg doing a DJ set at the biljard, but Linda had a bit of a fever so I cancelled and went over there. She could have survived without me, really, but several things happened to me since the new year, including something that happened on Saturday morning. It just made it easier for me to run off.
There is a preamble I wanted to add to this blog, but for legal reasons, I'll keep it out for now.
On Saturday morning at 7:30am, I was woken up by some bloke visiting my next door neighbour, and being none-too-quiet about it. Next door neighbour had already left at around 5am (I know because I heard the noisy bastard). After a couple of minutes of banging on the door, he walked off. However, after about 10 minutes, I was dropping off to sleep, and was suddenly woken up again by a few big bangs and clattering. Then the bloke came storming up the stairs again with one or two of his friends, banged on the door again, shouting through his letterbox. Then banging MY door and shouting through MY letterbox again to see if he was here. After another 5 or so minutes of that, they went downstairs again, shouting loudly in frustration.
When I went downstairs later in the day, I found that the banging was that they had tipped all the bins over, and smashed the window to the door that served our stairwell. That was it for me. After consultation with Linda, we phoned the landlord up and told him that said neighbour has to go. At which point I also went to Trollhättan to get away from it all and have a quiet weekend with Linda.
When I came back today, it's all very quiet in the neighbour's place. I'm assuming he's laying low for a bit.
Anyway, that's the main points of my life over the past month. Let's see what happens next, eh?!
The Christmas period has come and gone, and plans changed at the last minute for various reasons. Instead of me spending Christmas in England and Linda spending it with her maternal grandparents in Norway, we decided to have a quiet Christmas together. So, I went over to England a week early instead. But because of having to see lots of family, I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to, so Linda and I will be going over to England around March time. But it was all good. I got to see my grandmother who is now 90 years old, bless her. And Linda and I had a lovely time. For New Year, we were in Gothenburg with some friends. It was quiet and grown up - well, until we drank a lot of beer, champagne, G&T and wine!
The Tele2 story continues, but has taken a significant step forward - earlier today, in fact. An engineer came round and fixed the line. There was a fault (which had actually started going wrong when Linda had the flat), and because it's owned by Telia, Tele2 were waiting for them (Telia are the BT of Sweden - I rest my case). BUT, now I have a working telephone line! Tomorrow Tele2 should be phoning me about the ADSL - but I can see myself having to phone them. After all, the engineer was supposed to phone me last Friday to confirm the time of the appointment, but didn't. He phoned me at 9:00 this morning saying he was outside my door. "That's a shame," I said, "I'm in Trollhättan. You were supposed to phone me on Friday," I added, pointedly.
"Oh." said the engineer. "When will you be back?"
"Two o'clock," I said.
"Oh. I'll come then."
"Do that," I said. Thankfully he kept his promise and fixed the line within 20 minutes.
Expanding on that note, I was in Trollhättan this weekend. I was supposed to be in Gothenburg doing a DJ set at the biljard, but Linda had a bit of a fever so I cancelled and went over there. She could have survived without me, really, but several things happened to me since the new year, including something that happened on Saturday morning. It just made it easier for me to run off.
There is a preamble I wanted to add to this blog, but for legal reasons, I'll keep it out for now.
On Saturday morning at 7:30am, I was woken up by some bloke visiting my next door neighbour, and being none-too-quiet about it. Next door neighbour had already left at around 5am (I know because I heard the noisy bastard). After a couple of minutes of banging on the door, he walked off. However, after about 10 minutes, I was dropping off to sleep, and was suddenly woken up again by a few big bangs and clattering. Then the bloke came storming up the stairs again with one or two of his friends, banged on the door again, shouting through his letterbox. Then banging MY door and shouting through MY letterbox again to see if he was here. After another 5 or so minutes of that, they went downstairs again, shouting loudly in frustration.
When I went downstairs later in the day, I found that the banging was that they had tipped all the bins over, and smashed the window to the door that served our stairwell. That was it for me. After consultation with Linda, we phoned the landlord up and told him that said neighbour has to go. At which point I also went to Trollhättan to get away from it all and have a quiet weekend with Linda.
When I came back today, it's all very quiet in the neighbour's place. I'm assuming he's laying low for a bit.
Anyway, that's the main points of my life over the past month. Let's see what happens next, eh?!
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Almost finished...
Well, what a time I've had recently!
I've been in Linda's old flat for a few weeks now, and up until last week it was still looking like a bomb had dropped on it. I had set up some of the living room, but going to Slaygon's to work and then coming back home to the mess, I just couldn't be bothered to do anything with it. Linda came to the rescue though.
Last week I was suddenly immersed in a project, for the Swedish Idol 2006, to allow users to download the wallpapers and ringtones of the finalists. It was a normal web site, with accompanying WAP site. Now, I've never really done any WAP sites before; so I had to learn to technologies as well as design the sites - all in one week! So it was a bit of a rush-job, but I managed to get it done in time, thankfully.
Linda was in Stockholm for a few days for some lectures, and she came back to mine on Wednesday evening. On Thursday, I had to take some time out with her to do the last-minute cleaning up at fnord's old flat, as the inspection was on the next day. And then on Friday, Linda had set my phone alarm for 7:30, whereupon she said "right; go have a shower and get to Slaygon's, then don't come back until 6!" So, off I went, and I got an SMS at 5:50 asking me to come home. Linda had cleaned the whole place up from top to toe! She'd evening got some candles going for some added romance. She'd done a brilliant job, and now the flat feels nice to come home to.
This week has been weird - The stress from the week before finally caught up with me and I've been very tired. My BBB show suffered from it as well. Noir (who is in Gothenburg visiting friends and family), Hayley and Defiance joined me and Slaygon; so having people in the room kept me going, but I think that if I was on my own, I would have cancelled the show.
So, I decided on the night that I will do one last show this year, next Wednesday. I'm looking forward to doing a good show to end on, and then I'll recharge my batteries for a few weeks and come back alive 'n kicking!
The plans for Christmas have changed, but that's after Linda and I had a chat about it all. Normally Linda would go to her grandparents, and I would go home. But we decided we wanted to spend Christmas together at her flat in Trollhättan. So she's going to inform her grandparents, and I'm going to England next week, for only a week. It means I'm not going to see everyone I wanted to, but I really need this vacation to wind-down, rather than zoom around the whole of England trying to see as many people as possible. Linda and I have decided to go to England next year anyway; so this vacation will be to visit family.
I'll try and fit in another Blog before the end of the year; but if not, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and I hope 2007 brings you all that you wish for.
I've been in Linda's old flat for a few weeks now, and up until last week it was still looking like a bomb had dropped on it. I had set up some of the living room, but going to Slaygon's to work and then coming back home to the mess, I just couldn't be bothered to do anything with it. Linda came to the rescue though.
Last week I was suddenly immersed in a project, for the Swedish Idol 2006, to allow users to download the wallpapers and ringtones of the finalists. It was a normal web site, with accompanying WAP site. Now, I've never really done any WAP sites before; so I had to learn to technologies as well as design the sites - all in one week! So it was a bit of a rush-job, but I managed to get it done in time, thankfully.
Linda was in Stockholm for a few days for some lectures, and she came back to mine on Wednesday evening. On Thursday, I had to take some time out with her to do the last-minute cleaning up at fnord's old flat, as the inspection was on the next day. And then on Friday, Linda had set my phone alarm for 7:30, whereupon she said "right; go have a shower and get to Slaygon's, then don't come back until 6!" So, off I went, and I got an SMS at 5:50 asking me to come home. Linda had cleaned the whole place up from top to toe! She'd evening got some candles going for some added romance. She'd done a brilliant job, and now the flat feels nice to come home to.
This week has been weird - The stress from the week before finally caught up with me and I've been very tired. My BBB show suffered from it as well. Noir (who is in Gothenburg visiting friends and family), Hayley and Defiance joined me and Slaygon; so having people in the room kept me going, but I think that if I was on my own, I would have cancelled the show.
So, I decided on the night that I will do one last show this year, next Wednesday. I'm looking forward to doing a good show to end on, and then I'll recharge my batteries for a few weeks and come back alive 'n kicking!
The plans for Christmas have changed, but that's after Linda and I had a chat about it all. Normally Linda would go to her grandparents, and I would go home. But we decided we wanted to spend Christmas together at her flat in Trollhättan. So she's going to inform her grandparents, and I'm going to England next week, for only a week. It means I'm not going to see everyone I wanted to, but I really need this vacation to wind-down, rather than zoom around the whole of England trying to see as many people as possible. Linda and I have decided to go to England next year anyway; so this vacation will be to visit family.
I'll try and fit in another Blog before the end of the year; but if not, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and I hope 2007 brings you all that you wish for.
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