Nick Jordan

I was made redundant just before Christmas. It wasn’t unexpected; in fact I had a couple of weeks’ garden leave before the redundancy was confirmed. I decided to take a couple more weeks over over the holiday period to relax and contemplate my future, which I think was a good idea. As of yesterday I’m actively seeking employment as a Web Developer, working primarily with PHP and MySQL, so if you know of anything or would like a copy of my CV, please get in touch.

Update: I have now found a job, which I start on Monday 18th January. I’m very glad to have found something so quickly and I’m looking forward to getting my teeth into it.

I hope everyone had as good a Christmas Day as I did. Good food, plenty of booze and great company – what more could you ask for? I also managed to get some lovely presents. Vally bought me something I’ve wanted for ages – an alarm clock from Voco, which features the voice of Stephen Fry and provides a lovely, gentle way to wake up in the morning. I tried it out today, of course. I have to play with my toys.

Today I may be having a wander around the shops before indulging in more nice food and drink. It’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it.

Last Friday Vally and I met up after work and went to the Natural History Museum for a mooch around and a glass of wine, after which we found a restaurant and had a bite to eat.

On Saturday I bought a webcam (well, it was about time, really), did a bit of shopping and spent some time at Vally’s house. The evening was spent relaxing and being generally lazy.

On Sunday my old friend Ellison, who I hadn’t seen for seven or eight years, came down with her partner Patrick, who I liked very much, and we went out for a meal. We had intended to go to the Turkish restaurant on the High Street but it turned out, much to my embarrassment, to be closed. Fortunately Vally knew a good South Indian restaurant so we went there instead. As it turned out, it was more than good; the food really was superb. It takes a lot for me to have a starter, main course and dessert, but I just couldn’t resist. Especially since they had pistachio kulfi, one of my all-time favourites. And as for the pancakes we had to start, all I can say is, “wow!”

I’m really not a computer games fan. I’ve tried them and, for the most part, I really don’t get on with them. The only games I can consistently tolerate are first-person shooters, driving games and Scrabble (and Wordscraper) on Facebook. The games I really can’t stand are the ‘management’ type things. I’ve tried the Sims and I’ve recently been playing Farm Town on Facebook. The problem with these games, I think, is that they quickly become more like work than a means of relaxation. If I don’t tend my crops they’ll die. If I don’t constantly pander to my Sim he/she will be unhappy and I couldn’t have the misery of a computer-generated person on my conscience.

I know that many people love these things. They lovingly tend their Sim, farm, city, amusement park or whatever and seem to derive real pleasure from them. That’s great and I wouldn’t for one moment wish to deny them that. But for me there’s no enjoyment whatsoever in slaving away at an essentially meaningless  and never-ending task. So I’ll stick to blowing stuff up and being beaten at word games. Now if someone could combine Unreal Tournament with Scrabble…

I always thought that for most people a dual monitor set-up was complete overkill, totally unnecessary. However, the other day I hooked up my monitor to my laptop so I could watch a DVD on it while lying in bed and discovered that, actually, it’s really handy to have that extra space. It’s great when I’m watching a film and want to surf the web or chat via instant messenger, or if I just want a larger browser area than is available on my laptop’s screen. I’m completely hooked and I freely admit that I was wrong. It’s only been a few days and already I’d find it unpleasant to go back to my old setup.

Being a complete idiot, I forgot about the overground strike last night until I arrived at Liverpool Street station as usual and remembered as I walked in. In my defence, I was pretty tired and on autopilot. Anyway, not much harm done – I just walked to Moorgate station and got the tube home from there. I shall try not to repeat the error tonight as Jenni and I have our final rehearsal before our gig in Stockwell on Sunday night. Who knows, I might even have all the songs committed to memory by then.

On Saturday afternoon my brother, Tim, and my nephew, Jacob, came up from Somerset to collect my bike. I gave it to Tim because I hadn’t ridden it since last October so there didn’t seem much point in keeping it and paying for insurance and tax. I was sorry to see it go but at least it’ll be used and appreciated, and Tim says he has another bike I can have if I ever need one.

The next stage is to learn to drive when I can afford to and, perhaps, obtain a cheap car.

After much to-ing and fro-ing I’m pretty much moved in to my new flat. There are still one or two small items plus my motorbike to sort out and then there’s some putting away of stuff at the new place to do, but I’m more or less there. I shall be popping back to the old place on Sunday to finish cleaning and tidying, and then that’s basically it.

I have to say that it feels pretty good. I’m looking forward to getting back to work on Monday and, therefore, back to some semblance of a normal life.

Yesterday I met up with my friend Paul at St. Pancras station for a day out. We decided to go to Barnet, where we both grew up, and take a look around. It had been years since I’d taken the tube to High Barnet, although not a lot had changed, or been back to my old haunts at all. We wandered up the High Street and stopped for lunch in the Black Horse pub before heading down Bells Hill, past our old homes, to our infant and junior school at Whitings Hill. Many of the old buildings are still there, including the swimming pool where I learnt to swim, and which had its cover put on while I was a pupil there. They’re in the process of knocking the place down and putting up swanky new buildings, which are clearly desperately needed and look very nice. The playing field is pretty much gone, replaced by a sea of mud and construction vehicles.

Having got all nostalgic, we wandered back towards the tube station, pausing for a quick look around Barnet Museum, which brought back a whole raft of old memories. Taking the tube back to London Bridge station, we had a very pleasant walk along the South Bank in the sunshine, crossed the Millennium Bridge and ambled around the City until we found ourselves at Old Street station, from where we caught the tube back to Kings Cross, where we parted company.

I got home very tired and with soreish feet but feeling pretty good. Plenty of exercise, great weather and good company saw to that.

Yesterday, accompanied by my friend Jenni who provided very helpful advice, I went to look at some flats. Originally I’d really wanted a separate bedroom but in the end I settled for a very nice and quite spacious studio flat as the location and the price were very good. Yes, there were some very beautiful places but they were in very inconvenient locations. Anyway, I handed over my deposit and this morning I dropped off all the paperwork that the letting agents require. I pick up the keys on July 4th, and I have to say I’m really looking forward to getting moved in and settled there.

I’ve come back today from a week’s holiday in Scotland (did you miss me?) with friends Steve and Jen. I’ve had a lovely time seeing all manner of castles and lochs (no sign of Nessie), but I really don’t think I need to go into detail. Suffice to say it was mostly fun, if a bit cold and wet at times. The places we stayed in were all very comfortable and, yes, I bought a bottle of decent whisky, which I shall enjoy at leisure.

I went to see the new X-Men film with Jenny, Jenni and Sophia last night at the Cineworld in Shaftesbury Avenue. The special effects were, as always these days, superb but the story fell flat as far as I was concerned. They’d tried to introduce some plot twists but they felt contrived and I didn’t care enough about the characters for it all to matter. Still, it was good fun and a very enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours.

Afterwards we popped into Ed’s for a bite to eat, although I’d eaten enough nachos in the cinema to stop me from being hungry. I nibbled the odd chip and had a milkshake while the others ate. Then home to bed. A good evening.

This afternoon Jenny, Jenni and I decided to take a trip to Hampton Court. We piled into Jenni’s car and set off not long after midday. It took a while to get there thanks to the traffic but we weren’t in a great hurry. When we got there we had a very enjoyable wander around in the sunshine, taking in the kitchens and tapestries in particular, as Jenny wanted to see them, and managing to fit in sandwiches and scones as well. It really was a very lovely day out, as the photo above will testify, so we also took a stroll around the grounds, stopping off for a game of Pooh Sticks. Jenni had never played before so it seems only right that she won.

We avoided the maze, which was probably wise. I remember getting quite lost in there as a child and I had no great wish to repeat the experience. When we decided we’d had enough we headed home for a meal and a rest. It wasn’t the Sunday we’d initially planned but it was none the worse for that.

Last night I brandished my new Unlimited Pass at the Cineworld cinema at Shaftesbury Avenue and saw ‘In the Loop’ with my friends Sophia and Paul. It’s rare for a film to make me laugh out loud but this one managed to do it all the way through. I noticed the others doing the same. If you’re not put off by a lot of swearing, go and see it.

Afterwards we had a very pleasant meal of pizza and wine. The wine wasn’t great but it was OK and it helped the evening along nicely. I really enjoy spending time with friends. After all, as we said last night, stuff can come and go but you don’t want your friends to.

Yesterday I moved this site to a new hosting company, which meant that this morning I have been able to upgrade to the latest version of Wordpress. At last! The relief is really quite amazing.

I was chatting with some people I met at a gig the other day and the subject of age came up. One of the other people said he reckoned he was easily the oldest person in the group and, when asked how old he was said he was 34. I’m 43. I love that man!

Back when I started this blog (in May 2000, I think) it was quite easy to see roughly how many people were reading it by simply looking at the site stats. In these days of RSS feeds and the like, though, it’s much more difficult. I know there aren’t as many people reading this as there used to be at one time, which is fine. I know it’s not that interesting. Besides, Facebook tends to be where links and other stuff are shared, at least for me and my friends.

As a result, I’ve been thinking about how this blog is used and what exactly it’s for. I haven’t come to any firm conclusions yet but I’d very much like to change the nature of what I post here. Facebook seems to me to be a better place for letting my friends know what I’ve been up to, so that type of post can probably go. I guess I’d like to reserve this space for when I have something a bit longer to write about, and which I feel might be of use or interest to the world at large. Expect, therefore, the frequency of posting to drop considerably.

If I know you and you’re not my friend on Facebook already, you’ll find a link to my profile in the sidebar.

Yesterday afternoon I re-dyed my hair. Not very interesting, except that I managed to get the dye all over the bath mat, prompting a remark this morning about the modern art I’ve created. Good job it was only a cheap mat and is easily replaceable. I’ll have a go at washing it but I don’t really hold out much hope. Maybe I should try flogging it as art – you never know.

This morning I woke up feeling much, much better and more awake than I have for some time. I really hope this is the beginning of the end of my recent bout of insomnia, with which I’ve been boring the pants off the world recently.

Another plus is that tonight I’m off to see my friends Lord Byron play at the launch of their single, which all of you will, of course, buy immediately. I know I may be viewed as just a tad biased but they really are very good indeed, as well as being genuinely nice people. If you want to support an up-and-coming band, this is the one. At least until Stealing Jenni get going properly!

As you know if you’re a regular reader of this blog, I’m suffering from insomnia at the moment. It was pointed out to me yesterday that I seem to have stopped reading. While the two aren’t directly connected, it occurs to me that getting stuck into a really good book might help me relax and sleep. Besides, I love reading more than almost anything.

I usually read fantasy, science fiction or humour, with occasional travel books but I’m willing to try anything suitably gripping, so if you have any recommendations I’d be very grateful for them.