Posted: Fri 20 February, 2015 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Health, Introspective, Own Business, Weigh Less, Weight Loss, Weirdness, Work-related |
As I’ve said before, I’m inherently lazy – but in some ways my laziness makes me put in more effort. Weird, but true.
My new office is up on the fourth floor. The building has both lifts and stairs to get there – and that’s where my laziness kicks in.
You see, the lift takes ages – and I’m too lazy to wait for it, and then dawdle up to the fourth floor. So I slam up eight flights of stairs – eighty steps, all told – and always get to my floor before the lift does.
I know that’s no-one else’s version of laziness, the whole “can’t be arsed to wait” thing. It just always strikes me as somewhat amusing that my version of laziness expends more effort than anyone else’s. It probably says something about my brain, but well, the fact my brain works in strange ways (or possibly in Strangeways) has never been in any doubt at all.
Posted: Thu 19 February, 2015 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2015 vs 2014, Cynicism, Domestic, Looking Back, Own Business, Weirdness, Work-related |
I’ve been thinking a lot about the contrast between 2014 and 2015 (to date, of course) and realised that I couldn’t easily list the jobs/contracts I’d had last year.
2014 was a crap year for me in many ways, and the contracts and work I took on were definitely part of that. There were a couple of spectacularly bad choices – both contracts and permanent roles – and one of those didn’t even last a month. I stuck the other one for three months (balance, and all that) but yes, not good.
Looking back and doing the figures, I actually had eight roles in 2014. Bear in mind that three of them lasted three months each. Which means somewhere in there, there’s five jobs in three months. (They’re spread out, it wasn’t just a three-month period of abysmality) Oops.
With luck – and without tempting fate too much – 2015’s going to be a big improvement on all that. It’s started well, so let’s hope it can maintain that achievement through the year…
Posted: Wed 18 February, 2015 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2015 vs 2014, Change, Domestic, Getting Organised, Looking Back, Thoughts, Time, Weirdness, Work-related |
One thing I’ve noticed this year is that so many people who had an absolutely rotten 2014 seem to be doing much better in 2015 – myself included. (And yes yes, all hail the gods of Fate, and do not tempt them to be bastards)
It’s not any “new year new you” type bullshit – several times I’ve had conversations where friends have observed just how much easier this year has been than the last one was. There’s no viable logic for it, but it’s what seems to have happened. Friends who fought bureaucracy and uncaring jobsworths for all of 2014 have suddenly found doors opening in ’15, with additional “Oh, you should also contact [x]” type referrals that add extra beneficial factors.
From my side, the seven weeks (so far) of 2015 have been infinitely more positive than the same time last year. Still chaotic and hyper-busy, but in far more positive ways than I’d have expected.
I’m hoping that the rest of the year maintains this initial attitude. Even if it does get a bit tougher further down the line, all I would ask for (and hope) is that it doesn’t end up as shitty as any of 2014 was.
And no, Gods of Fate, that is not a challenge being issued.
Posted: Sat 14 February, 2015 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 1BEM, Customer Services, Domestic, Finances, nPower, Stupidity, Thoughts, Utilities, Weirdness |
Since moving to the new (current) place, I’ve had an ongoing (and too depressing for words) set of issues and disputes with nPower. These have included, but not limited to
- Not having the correct name on the account for eighteen months, despite repeated requests to change it
- Losing documentary proof (including my tenancy agreement) of my address. Originals were insisted upon, sent recorded delivery, signed for, and then lost. Hard to place blame anywhere except nPower
- Billing issues – my bills went up, down, sideways, and every way except correctly
- Misrepresentation – sending a meter reader into my house under the guise of being someone to do ‘legal gas meter checks’. (This was also while the bill/account was in the wrong name, so there was also some issues legally around that)
- A meter reading done by a representative of nPower, who then managed to register that reading to a completely different address, and denied ever having done one for this house. (Despite his having done readings/visits recorded to every other house in my block at the same time)
So it’s fair to say that I regard nPower as incompetent useless dickwhistles at the best of times.
Today, though, has taken it to a whole new level.
Things have settled down somewhat, and on Tuesday I gave them a meter reading directly through the website. At that point, my account was £1.62 in credit. Happy day, all well and good.
Today I logged in for a quick check. £595.82 in credit. Um, what? So I look, and it’s got four cancelled bills, adding up to the amount in credit. Four bills I’ve received, and paid. Now cancelled. File under “Fuck, What The”
So I gave them a call. The first incompetent managed to put the phone down on me. So I called back, and finally got through to one of the (few) efficient and competent individuals who work at nPower. (I’m quite sure she won’t last long, having been actually pleasant and competent)
It turns out that – once in receipt of a valid meter reading – nPower cancel out all the estimated bills back to the previous correct reading. They then recalculate all those bills with the correct figures (although technically they must still be estimates of what was used, averaging out the figures over the number of bills) to bring everything back up to date. So for however far back, the bills get cancelled – despite having been printed, posted and paid – and then recreated. Then I’ll know what I need to pay to be up to date.
Except of course that they’ve also got to send out all those new bills. So next week I’m going to get five bills from nPower – the four reconstructed ones – as well as the one to bring me up to date.
Now, I realise that this is something that’s required by the energy regulator – but does it strike anyone else as a completely fucking barking way to run a business?
Posted: Wed 11 February, 2015 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Domestic, Weirdness |
I don’t know why, but my village this week is utterly quiet in the evenings. It looks like I’m the only person in my block of houses – the parking spaces outside are all empty, and there’s no lights on anywhere in the block.
Walking round the village, I’m lucky if I see two people. Even the pub is closing early.
All told, it’s just a bit odd. It’s not half-term or anything, but it feels like a ghost-town of an evening…
Posted: Thu 29 January, 2015 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: BMW Drivers, Commuting, Domestic, Driving, M1, People, Thoughts, Weirdness |
At the moment, I’m doing regular drives on the Northbound M1, which is currently subject to no less than 15 miles (Fifteen Miles! For fuck’s sake!) of roadworks in one stretch replacing the central barrier, and another stretch installing ‘smart motorways’, in a similar way to how the Southbound M1 was screwed over a couple of years back.
Through both of these stretches, we’ve got the 50mph speed limit and ‘average speed cameras’, which seem to also contain some kind of mind-control that turns the majority of drivers into zombies who can’t see an empty lane, but can see a speed camera and slow down for it. (The phrase ‘average speed’ is utterly beyond them, of course)
It amazes me how bad the driving standards are in these roadworks zones – it’s as though people stick to the lane they were in when they entered the roadworks, and aren’t able to move from it. They don’t move in (or even pull out to overtake) despite any available space, or someone else driving even slower ahead.
I don’t know what can be done to change it – it’s just a human nature thing, I guess – but dear God, it’s bloody annoying to be surrounded by that many dickwhistles.
Posted: Wed 10 December, 2014 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Business, Domestic, Getting Organised, Weirdness, Work-related |
For the first time in a very long time, I seem to be pretty organised work-wise and well into 2015. It’s quite a scary concept.
My current contract runs through ’til Friday January 9th, which is all well and good. I’ve got a lot still to do, but it’ll keep me out of trouble for the foreseeable.
And now as of today, I’ve got a new contract that starts on Monday January 12th – still a month away! I honestly don’t think I’ve ever secured a contract this far in advance before – it’s all a bit weird.
Basically, I got contacted about this new one by an agency, and it sounded ideal. I let them know my timescales – normally, waiting five weeks for a contractor is a definite no-no. But in this case it looks like that worked out fine for them.
I had the phone interview on Monday, and all went well. Heard back today, and the paperwork is all coming through. Based up in Leicestershire, but (as with the current one) it’s going to involve primarily working from home, so that’s not too bad.
Of course, if the current contract wants to extend then it’s going to get awkward/interesting, but I’m sure I’ll find a way to sort things out in that eventuality.
Anyway, it’s all a bit weird, and a bit organised. I’m taking that (for the moment) as a positive indicator for the coming year…