So this contract with Publicis is not working out as planned. I now have 3 unpaid timesheets, and despite numerous emails and phone calls I am getting absolutely nothing back from them. The level of communication is poor, and any sense of management is non-existant, and as of yesterday I have downed tools and stopped working until I receive some kind of response from my line manager. I’m pissed off and I’m looking for a new contract.
The bigger they are, the harder they fool?
Published September 7th, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments 565 ViewsSo yeah, life is a little on the busy side right now. I’ve just started contracting at Publicis, which is sufficiently challenging and hence I’m really enjoying it. I’m still in the process of delivering TotallyMoving (which is going, but slowly since I’m now doing the design work too), and I have my girls staying with me this weekend, so it’s a little bit of a juggle at the moment. I’m managing to push Ruby quite a lot now, the most recent achievement being a replacement of an incomplete ColdFusion application (not) built in 4 months with a Ruby on Rails version built in under a week. I just switched my Ruby deployment from FastCGI to Mongrel clusters too, which I’m liking a lot. And finally I sorted out my SVN server and now my clients have their own repositories and they’re all nice and separated from each other.
I love it when a plan comes together.
Well OK it rained on the first night I got back. But yes I’m back in Camden, trying to get used to the hustle and bustle again after a 2 month sabbatical in the United States. London is a far cry from the peaceful days and sleepy nights of Newton, KS. I’m already being offered work left, right and center and my productive head is beginning to kick in. I do wish I was still in Newton, though..
Just sitting here wasting time really, trying to find something productive to do. I’ve had flu for over 3 weeks now and I had to take the day off work. Slept most of the day now I’m feeling a little surreal. Athena’s stuck at home with nothing to do so she’s pretty bored too and there isn’t much we can do except babble to each other via sms and mms. For some reason she gets free mms so she sends me voice messages, but sometimes she can’t read my mms so I have to text her. It’s a pain in the butt, but it’s so much better than nothing.
Work is going well, but I’m being taxed to the max so I’m not really seeing any of the money I’m earning yet. Last week would have been ok if the rent on the Colchester house hadn’t come up. I’ve had 3 days off work too, which hits pretty hard. I’ve tried to pay off as much immediate debt as I can so I can start budgeting for everything, but somehow I keep picking up debts along the way. Fortunately I think I might be straight this week, and then next week I can start working out who else I owe, what else I need to pay for, and how much I need to put away, and start making some progress.
One sec, just got another message 
So I’m gonna stop babbling now and do something productive. But first I’ll sms Athena this story that I told her about. Awesome stuff.
Anyways, be well and love to all xx
Here I am, sitting on my Brother’s bed listening to Stereophonics with the sunlight from the solitary misty window in the corner of my eye reminding me that it’s actually daylight out there. Actually it’s nearly half two now and being out of bed is about the only thing im grateful for being out of today. I’m out of cash too, and credit. At least I still have some patience. Which surprises me, as somehow I managed to get into two arguments with two landlords this morning. Now I’m messing around trying to find some groovy web based accounts package that might help me organise my life a little.
You know. Life is tough, we all know that. And I like that, I’d bore too easily if life didn’t kick up a fuss every now and then, but what gets me is people who refuse to see that noone has it easy, that’s just not how it works. Life is a deceptively short road of complete and utter chaos. Who knows what the fuck will happen. Just remember how the people that make your life harder make you feel when you lean on somebody else.
Heh. And something else that bugs me. It seems every conflict I’ve been involved in I’ve been accused of not seeing things from someone elses perspective. That really pisses me off, because I think about people a hell of a lot more than they realise.
Anyway I’m done ranting. There’s just a lot going on and I wanted to read it back to myself.
I just got back from Kansas. Finally got to spend some quality time with Athena, and it was awesome.. She’s so amazing and I’m so deeply in love with her it makes me want to scream.. So now we just have to work out what our next step is. I have to go see this guy in Croydon to work out what our options are, but I think we have a solid plan forming. I don’t care what it takes, I just want to be with her and I’ll do anything. I’ll post more about our adventures later, I’m still really tired from near on 24 hours of flying (long story) and don’t really have the energy to think, let alone type.
Anyways, I just wanted to say.. Never be cynical of love.. You never know when it’s gonna hit you, just don’t miss your chance. There’s nothing that compares to finding your match.
Oh, and happy new year.. I have a feeling this is going to be a good one..
Well. Shit apparently happens. It’s a long story, but suffice to say that the British immigration system is fundamentally flawed, its staff are hostile and inadequate, and if you’re planning to emigrate to another country - you really need to be prepared. This was a bittersweet weekend, but we’ve come out of this so much closer, so much stronger, and having met each other face to face for the first time. Those of you who know the whole story will understand why I still feel bad about what happened, but ultimately nothing compares to the time we had to spend together. We’re both pretty well equipped when it comes to dealing with fucked up situations life can surprise you with, and believe me, fucked up it was.. but I fell in love with an amazing woman who I’ve been trying to get close to for what seems an eternity, and for just a few hours I was, and nothing else mattered.
P.S. Huge hugs and thanks to everyone’s support this weekend, we couldn’t have got through this without you all xx
Ok, so we’re getting close to wrapping up this year - so let’s talk about the next. I had a contact via my website from someone I worked with some time ago regarding some money I still owe them from an unfinished job, and irrespective of the icy tone of what was once a voice of understanding, it’s a good example of one of the many things that next year is all about - getting myself straight. I don’t owe a lot of money, in fact negligable compared to most people I know, but nonetheless my debts need to be repayed - and that’s what 2007 is all about.
Just got back, not even had a cup of tea yet and smoking my first cigarette. Ok I had one when I left the office, but that doesn’t count. Rawr and there’s Nat with the tea now. What a great day.. First day of being an employee in years and it was great. The people are very cool, the work is very interesting, and the company has a great attitude towards all the things I care about in my work. I’m so freakin’ happy about this..
No doubt I’ll post some more this evening, but for now.. Finish updating my website and move all my old files over.. Do a couple of tasks for the German dudes (more on that later!).. And hopefully spend some time with my honey. Perfect.
Well, the doomsday hath arriveth. Actually it’s not that bad at all, just a temporary loss of freedom I’ve tried to hold onto for a while now. And actually it’s a lot easier to lose it when you do so willingly. Despite the lack of sleep and general stress levels over the past month I’m actually feeling pretty good, and really looking forward to tomorrow. Strangely I’m not even slightly nervous, which is quite an achievement all things considered. She’ll play it down, but I owe so much of my state of mind to Athena. Without her I wouldn’t be as happy, clear headed and confident as I am now. Thankyou xx
