Nick Jordan

It’s quite snowy here in London and the whole place has pretty much ground to a halt as a result. No buses and very few trains. As a result I’m stuck at home, which feels rather bad since I was off sick last Thursday and Friday. Still, there’s nothing I can do about it except check my work email periodically and deal with anything I’m able to, which isn’t likely to be much. Other than that, I shall try to catch up on some housework.

One upside is that the snow’s very pretty. As long as I don’t have to go out in it I shall be fine.

Yesterday I made the huge mistake of going to get my hair cut. I’ve been trying to grow it for quite some time, so all I really wanted was the ends trimming and tidying up a bit. What I got horrified me and made me very angry and upset. He’s taken a colossal and unnecessary amount off the length and, just to cap it all, it’s not even the same length on both sides. Fortunately the latter isn’t too noticeable but I’m still very unhappy. I’ve been going to that particular barber for several years but I sure as hell won’t be going back.

On a more positive note, good friends Steve and Jen came over for a meal last night, and we set about planning our forthcoming holiday in Scotland. I’ve only been to South West Scotland before and am really looking forward to seeing more of it. Anyway, good conversation and good food and drink were had, which ended the day on a much more enjoyable note.

This weekend Jenny and I headed off to Bath with Steve and Jen, where we met up with fellow SCA folks Kevin and Mary for a visit to the Fashion Museum and the Roman baths. Kevin and Mary very graciously put us up for the night in their splendidly comfortable home, where they fed and watered us splendidly.

I’d been to Bath before and, of course, had seen the baths themselves. They were well worth a second visit and the Fashion Museum, which was a first for me, was very interesting as well. Especially as we’re in the throes of planning a wedding. My current thinking revolves around leather jeans, a white shirt and a knee-length jacket of some sort. I have only the vaguest idea of what Jenny’s planning, which is only right and proper.

Anyway, we headed back to London just after midday. I found myself surprisingly tired, and my eyes were closing as I sat in the car on the M4. This evening has been spent doing some washing and trying to relax before another busy week.

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. I’m very pleased to announce that Jenny and I got engaged last night. And yes, I’m very very happy.

Yes, I’m going to bore you by talking about my Christmas, but I’ll keep it brief and spare you most of the details. Essentially, I had a very good time, marred only by the continued presence of the cold/flu thing I’ve had for the past couple of weeks. Yes, I’m feeling considerably better now, thanks for asking.

Anyway, I was away at Jenny’s parents’ place near Cambridge, where we were both liberally showered with presents, all of which are lovely and many of which will prove very useful. I even got a book on photography, so if I can find some time to read and digest it my crappy pictures might actually improve a bit.

It was really good to get home yesterday afternoon, though. Being away is great but there’s nothing quite like home, if you know what I mean. An evening spent lounging around in front of the TV and eating pizza was very much appreciated.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the gifts, cards and messages. Now, onwards towards the New Year!

Today was my first day back at work after a couple of days off sick with the cold/flu thing that’s been going around. The thing that made my weekend pretty unpleasant. Anyway, I arrived at work alarmingly short of breath, feeling pretty grim and wondering whether I’d made a mistake going back. My colleagues were ever so nice and I was told in no uncertain terms to go home if I felt I needed to.

Fortunately, after about an hour I was feeling able to cope so, although I still feel fairly grotty, I made it all the way through the day. Which is most definitely a good thing. Now if I can just be OK by the weekend, when I’m off to a friend’s wedding, I’ll be very happy indeed.

Paperwork error means Scotland has no legal motorways. If this is true it’s absolutely fantastic news. I’m planning a trip to Scotland with some friends next year and, while we’re not planning on spending too much time on fast roads, this still could lead to some real fun. I’d love to see someone testing an outrageously quick home-build vehicle of some kind up there. Jet-powered skateboard, anyone?

I tried to upgrade to the latest version of WordPress this morning and regretted it, since it screwed things up rather badly. Possibly it was the automatic upgrade plugin I was using. If you tried to view the site earlier today and couldn’t, that’s why. I’ll try again using the normal procedure when I get the time and see if I can get it to work.

Update: I have now tried the normal upgrade procedure and have run into the same problem, which is that when I try to load and page which is part of WordPress (other scripts elsewhere are fine) I’m offered the page as a download, as if the web server was no longer configured to process PHP scripts. I’ll see if I can find a solution to the problem (no luck so far) but if I can’t I shall either have to change hosting company or blogging software.

I saw Eddie Izzard last night, and what a throughly enjoyable night it was. All I can say is that I want a jazz chicken. Now.

Can anyone tell me why it is that even with the central heating going strong and the radiators good and hot, the only room in the flat that’s nice and warm is the one that’s not used, namely the spare bedroom? It really is most frustrating.

Today is the 1st of December. This means that it’s now OK with me for shops to put up their Christmas displays and decorations, play cheesy Christmas music and generally be Christmassy. I may be being a bit of a grump, but I really, really, really hate the general promotion of Christmas before December. It just feels wrong, and it means that by the time we get to the 24th I’m sick and tired of hearing about it.

I’m not trying to put the seasonal festivities down. I like them. I’m looking forward not just to the holiday but also to the whole jolly, overeating, overdrinking, completely overindulging celebration that is a modern Christmas. I also appreciate the whole peace and goodwill to all thing, although it seems a trifle odd to confine such a simple and worthwhile sentiment to just a few days out of the year.

Anyway, here we are. Stuff to buy, stuff to prepare, and a good time to anticipate. I’m not complaining. Much.

One of the pleasures of working in the City, as I now do, is that I’m within spitting distance of a lot of cool stuff. Since I have a nice new camera, and because I think it might be fun to do, I intend to spend some of my lunch hours having a good poke around and taking some pictures. I may well post some of them here.

I hope that I’ll be able to find some real gems down some of the little side streets, as well as on the larger roads. I’m not much of a photographer, as many of my friends can testify, but the practice can only improve things.

I checked my camera this morning, as I want to take some photos later today, and discovered that it was dead. I’ve had it for years, so it owes me nothing. Anyway, I popped out to the shops and picked up a rather nice Panasonic FX37, which is small enough that I’ll actually carry it with me and, hopefully, use it a lot.

I’m still charging the battery, so I haven’t had a chance to play with it yet, but I’ll be using it later and uploading the photos to Flickr at some point, so I’ll report back then.

Update: I have now had a chance to play and upload some photos and, overall, I’m very impressed. It’s going to take ages for me to get to grips with all the different modes and settings, though.

Yesterday I went with friends to the Original Reenactors Market, where I had a good look at all the shiny things, drooled over some exquisite but very expensive crossbows and bought myself the pocket watch that I saw last year but didn’t have the cash for at the time. Not really anything to do with re-enactment but it’s a nice thing and I’m very glad I bought it.

Afterwards we had a trip to a cool fabric store in Finchley, followed by a nice meal in good company, a cab ride home and much-needed sleep. All in all, a very successful and enjoyable day.

The first week in my new job (which has, overall, been pretty good) has had an unexpected side effect. For some reason, probably the change of routine and the stress of starting again somewhere new, I haven’t been sleeping very well. As a result I’ve cancelled the plans I had for this weekend and I’m spending it quietly at home, just resting and catching up on my sleep. It’s a bit of a shame not to be away and doing fun stuff with my friends but I really don’t think I’d have been good company anyway.

Today was my first day in my new job. I’ve spent the day trying to remember people’s names, re-familiarising myself with Windows (I haven’t used it for three years), doing some induction stuff and reading documentation. A pretty typical first day in a new company, basically, which has left my head going round and round.

The fun really started when I left the office. Some friends of mine were meeting in a pub nearby but I decided I’d rather just head home and crash, so I made my way to Liverpool Street station only to find that there was some sort of points problem just outside, which meant most of the trains were delayed. When my train finally deigned to put in an appearance so many people surged towards it that it was obvious I wasn’t likely to get on. Instead, I got home by tube and bus, which was pretty unpleasant on a drizzly November night.

So here I am, home rather later than usual and about to collapse in a heap in front of the TV. A good plan, I reckon.

I was just on my way out to a job interview this afternoon when my mobile rang and I received some great news. The long and short of it is that I have just accepted an excellent job offer, starting on Monday, 3rd November. I’m very pleased and excited, since the company concerned was my favourite of all the ones I interviewed with. The people, the place and the work all seem top-notch and I’m really looking forward to getting started.

I now have a week off to look forward to, with no interviews or other pressures, which’ll be great. The relief is just joyful.

I know it’s not uncommon for other people to share one’s name but I thought it might be fun to list a few that I’ve been aware of for a while, both real and fictional.

• A US Republican Senator (Kansas)
• An English guy living in Canada who also rides motorbikes
• An artist from Manchester, UK
• A surgeon in the BBC dramas Casualty and Holby City
• A French comic-book secret agent (how cool is that?)

I know there are others, but these are my favourites. Does anyone interesting share your name?

I had a fairly enjoyable job interview this afternoon with a company who do music downloads, but I’ve already heard that I didn’t get it. Fortunately I’m not too worried – I had a really good interview with a small web agency yesterday that I think I’d be a much better fit for. Not only that, but the people seemed nice, the work looked interesting and I liked the environment, so fingers crossed.

Anyway, in order to provide myself with the small amount of consolation that I need I’ve ordered myself a pizza and I intend to curl up on the sofa in front of Holby City (yes, I know!) later on with a beer. Tomorrow I have a day off from interviewing as I’m paying my Dad a visit while he’s over from the Isle of Man, which’ll provide me with a welcome break.

Along with most of the people I know I’m very keen on protecting our environment. Apart from the obvious element of self-interest, there’s the fact that the Earth and all the things, living and non-living, that make it up are beautiful and wonderful treasures. However, there is one thing that I consider to be more important, one thing in the pursuit of which I would, if it proved necessary, destroy the entire planet. Space travel.

It’s a matter of pure survival. Our planet, this wonderful home of ours, is doomed. Nothing lasts forever, and that includes the Earth, our solar system and, indeed, the entire galaxy. Even if it isn’t destroyed completely, there’s a chance of some sort of natural disaster wiping us all out, whether it’s a large meteor strike or something completely unforeseen. It could happen tomorrow. And that’s why space travel is the most important thing we can do. We currently have all our eggs in one basket by having all our people on one planet. We need the capability to leave, to spread ourselves out as much as possible. That way lies the best chance for the survival of our children and our children’s children.

If I had my way, as much of our resources, financial, mental, physical, whatever, would be devoted to this most important of causes. Feed the hungry by all means (it wouldn’t actually cost that much), heal the sick, all that stuff, but having an eye on the future of the species while we do those things would be rather handy, too.