Posted: Fri 20 December, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2013/14, Business, Domestic, Getting Organised, Health, Own Business, Project 42, Travel, Work-related, Writing |
From the end of today, I’m finished with work ’til a week on Monday. Ten whole days off.
Of course, being a contractor, it also means I don’t get paid for them – but that would’ve happened for the Wednesday and Thursday anyway.
Besides, for once I don’t mind. I’ve pretty much burned myself out this year – and the last couple of months in particular – so it’s going to be quite nice to have some downtime.
I’ve still got stuff that needs doing – Slab’s booked in for it’s 100,000 mile service on Monday, and Christmas Day on Wednesday with its associated travels – but for the most part it’s going to be time for relaxing a bit, catching up on sleep, and generally sorting my life out a bit.
Should be good – and right now it feels like it’s much needed, a battery recharge before the start of 2014.
Posted: Wed 11 December, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Organised, Own Business, Photography, Project 42, Thoughts, Work-related |
One thing I’ve stopped doing as much over the last couple of years is taking photos. I miss it, but more and more I’ve been finding that taking the SLR camera out with me is more hassle than it’s actually worth.
I’ve had the SLR for a long time now – since roughly this time in 2005, in fact – and it’s still a great camera. Worth fuck-all now, mind you, but that’s the way of the world. But it has issues that I hadn’t really considered when I bought the thing, and as time goes on I’ve found they’re becoming more of a hindrance.
In short…
- The SLR plus lenses is bloody heavy. It’s not something you can easily carry freehand all day, and that means it’s rarely actually available when I want it
- The SLR is slow. S-L-O-W. Not when it’s powered up, with the correct lens attached etc. – then it’s great. But for a quick shot of something fleeting? Bobbins.
- Unless you know you’re going out with one specific shot (or set of shots) in mind, you need all the lenses, and most of the kit.
- As a result, it’s a faff.
It’s a great camera, but with all those points in consideration, I’ve found this year that I just keep leaving it at home. I still love taking photos, but all that extra faff is becoming limiting, it’s making it so that taking photos becomes work, rather than fun.
I was talking about all this with a friend over the weekend, and as a result, I’m currently considering getting a smaller camera, of the sort I used to have in my bag all the time. Decent long zoom, good lens, good image quality, light(ish) weight. Everything that takes it back to being easy and fun again.
It won’t happen just yet, it’s most likely something for the new year.
Posted: Tue 10 December, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2013/14, Business, Domestic, Driving, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Organised, Gigs, Own Business, Project 42, Travel, Work-related |
Next year is already starting to look busy for me, which is quite fun (and somewhat back to ‘normal’ after a couple of much quieter years)
Right now I’m already booked in for :
- At least one meeting in Jan (as well as probably getting a new contract)
- Setting up new company / business
- Attending an exhibition/conference in Feb
- A wedding in Derbyshire in March (not mine, of course!)
- One concert in April in London
- Two concerts in May – one in London, one in Manchester
- A food festival in Manchester in June
- Another conference in November (although that’s not yet 100% confirmed)
Of course, that’s not including the usual sociable stuff which’ll definitely involve trips to Manchester, Bristol, Somerset, Kent and others. Plus the other business stuff, work, writing, and a bundle of other bits.
So 2014 is looking nice and quiet…
Posted: Fri 29 November, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2013/14, Business, D4D™, Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Organised, Health, Own Business, Project 42, Thoughts, Time, Weight Loss, Work-related, Writing |
Yes, this is the 6,500th post on D4D™, according to WordPress. So what better time to look at what may be happening here over 2014? (There’s no guarantees, it’s more about where my head’s at right now)
In just over a month, it’ll be 2014. As usual, I’m not making any resolutions for 2014 – that old ‘everyone else does it, so I’m not‘ thing kicking in again – although there is the stuff from Project 42 (i.e. what I want to do from November to November) to consider. Which all means I have to balance out time across a number of things – something I’m renownedly abysmal at doing.
So – what may happen is that D4D may step back a bit, maybe not have the daily updates. (Of course it might stay the same, too. It kind of depends on everything else) I’ve got some writing ideas – as well as some other things I’m not going to go into right now – and I need to make time for them. I’ll still be updating, it just might not be daily.
This coming year is going to be interesting. There’s a lot of potential ideas and plans, a lot of stuff I’d like to do, but I do need to figure things out in order to be somewhat realistic about it as well. I’m going to take time over December to get things in place, work out priorities, form that limited company that needs doing, and a bundle of other prep crap to let 2014 be as productive as possible.
As for D4D™, it’ll keep on going – on and on. I can’t guarantee another 6,500 posts (who could?) but it’s not being planned to die off anytime soon.
Posted: Fri 15 November, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 42-43, Bankruptcy, Depression, Domestic, Finances, News, Project 42, Thoughts |
Since declaring myself bankrupt in August 2013, I’ve noticed it a lot more in the news. That’s not to say it’s in the news more (or even less) often, merely that I notice it, having been through that process.
So I found the story yesterday about the suicide of Paul Bhattacharjee to be very sad. From the evidence, it looks like he had been declared bankrupt, and killed himself as a result.
Of course, that wasn’t the entire cause – his widow said he was a “proud” man who had a “darkness inside him that was irreparable”.
‘The bankruptcy was the final straw after a life of major highs and lows’
From a personal side, I can absolutely understand the perceived ‘shame’ of bankruptcy – and probably more so when someone else has declared you bankrupt rather than it being a decision made by yourself. It’s had a stigma for a very long time – and again, it’s an understandable stigma. It’s about saying ‘I can’t afford to pay my debts’, and should never be treated lightly.
However, from my own experience, I don’t think it is The End. In many ways it’s a new start, as I’ve said before. There is a shame, a pain to go with the process – and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone without knowing their entire situation, or as anything except a last resort. It is emphatically not a quick fix, or a “get out of jail free” card.
But shameful? In these days of debt, loans, finance and borrowing? I don’t know that it’s as bad as it was even fifty years ago. It’s more commonplace certainly – although at the moment it appears that personal insolvencies and bankruptcies are falling (and have been since 2009)
(That graph comes from the Insolvency service, and is copyrighted to them)
I completely understand why someone would feel the stigma and shame of being declared bankrupt and feel the need to kill themselves as a result – and probably even more so when that person also already has a history and core of depression – but in many cases it is not The End. It is the end of the stress, the pain of being chased from pillar to post by creditors, the hassles of interest, mounting charges, and juggling finances, knowing that it’ll only take one tiny change or event to push you off the edge of the cliff.
It’s not an easy process – I know I’ve no intention of ever going through it again, and (as I’ve said already) I wouldn’t recommend it to people except as a final option. It is the death of many things, of the life you know, and sometimes of the things you have. It’s a loss, and as such perhaps is a thing to grieve, to regret, to learn from.
But what it also is, though, is a relief. A new start. An ability to rebuild your life from a stable foundation, to build everything back in a better, more stable – and a debt-free – manner. It’s a struggle, but it’s also a new life, if you allow it to be.
Posted: Tue 12 November, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2013/14, Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Geeky, Getting Organised, Own Business, People, Project 42, Thoughts, Work-related |
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been working a bit more at getting organised, at knowing what needs to be done and getting it done. To this end, I’ve found myself making lists, and being able to cross things off once they’re done – and I’m finding it quite helpful.
Not in an OCD “Got to do it, it’s on the list” way or anything, but just so I’m not storing everything in my head. I’m not usually this organised, but at the moment my head’s full of umpteen bits of random crap, so I’m finding it easier to write down what needs doing, and go from there.
Interestingly (well, to me, anyway) I’m finding it’s actually quite a productive way of doing things, and it’s also quite satisfying to be able to cross through the things that’ve been done.
Whether this development will last or not, only time will tell. But for now it’s working for me, and in a way that to-do list apps and online methods don’t seem to. Weird, but true.
Posted: Fri 8 November, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2013/14, Business, Customer Services, Cynicism, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Own Business, Project 42, Work-related |
As part of Project 42, I’m looking at getting back to having a limited company, and as a result of that I’m doing some research (again) on company formation agents, business banking, accountants, other management services etc., and generally getting myself a bit swamped. And as always, it’s all a bit of a minefield, a crap-shoot of hoping to find a company that’s merely slightly less grim than the others.
Business banking is a major culprit on this one – all the business banking people seem to be just as shit as each other. There really are no redeeming factors – and indeed, there’s even less on offer for new accounts than there was a few years back when I did this last.
I’m still somewhat gunshy about using an account to keep track of the business again – after my last one went bankrupt just before time to do the Tax Return, having taken all the fees etc. in advance, and leaving me properly In The Shit.
There seem to be more companies doing on-line management services for limiteds now, although they’re certainly not cheap. (And in a couple of cases don’t appear to want any new business, as they haven’t bothered answering even basic questions)
There’s no real hurry for these decisions to be made, thankfully. It’s all just research, figuring out the best deals etc. before I take the leap.
In the meantime – if anyone has any recommendations on business banking accounts, I’ll be interested to know it.