Em's hen weekend

Emma is getting married in three weeks time - so a group of us descended on Cardiff for some general partying. Emma wore the traditional deely-boppers and sash, drank rather a lot of wine and had a good boogy on Saturday night. A good time was had by all - although the fire alarm which evacuated the hotel on Sunday morning wasn't part of the plan!

Meanwhile, I managed to find a reminder of my supervisor in one of the local pubs... if you can't read it, the slogan for this beer is 'a taste of the good life'!!

And talking of beer, Tim's new t-shirt has finally arrived - he drank ten bottles of tanglefoot to get it :-)

Across the atlantic

Oh the marvels of broadband... I'm sitting in front of our computer in Bedford listening to a local radio station in Seattle, USA. Will and his bluegrass band Captain Gravel are performing on a lunchtime radio show so I thought I'd have a listen. Will and I did our degrees together, and he's now studying for his PhD at the University of Washington - and playing his banjo!

one year on...

Tomorrow is the anniversary of our house purchase - one whole year of home ownership has sped by! It's quite nice to look back over what we've achieved: the fish tank is in situ and we haven't lost too many; the garden is no longer a weed patch and we've got lots of plans for spring/summer; we now own a dining table and chairs and a sofa, and have a guest bedroom we can actually put guests up in; and the fireplace is now black rather than turquoise!

Of course there's still a 'to do' list, but we're gradually getting there. I'm quite proud of my skill with an electric drill these days :-)

It's been lovely having a place we can call home, and we love having people to stay - I'm looking forward to inviting more people to visit over the next twelve months - feel free to invite yourselves over!

First signs of spring

The bulbs in our sitting room have burst into flower over the last couple of days and the first snowdrop is in bud in the garden. It's even almost light as we leave for work - looks like spring is on its way.

It's good to see these good omens as both Tim and I are a bit down at the moment. Tim is back into his studying for CFA part 2, which is in June. He's got lots to learn in a relatively short time and at the same time his work has got very busy. The contract he's been working on intensively for the past few months has just hit some difficulties with the client which, although not Tim's fault at all, made him understandably a bit down and a bit stressed over the last few days. To top it all off he twisted his ankle again at badminton last night so couldn't play!

Meanwhile we have come to the decision that I should seriously look for a new job. As most of you will know I've not been happy at work for a while, mainly due to the lack of pay rises but also because I've not ended up doing the job I wanted to do when I started three years ago. Over the last year I've ended up working full time on a specific contract which has required learning lots of new software packages. Unfortunately, none of these packages are of use in the wider world. The contract is expected to continue for another year, at the end of which time the whole system will probably be mothballed - leaving me with a load of skills in defunct software! Meanwhile, because I'll be working on it full time I won't build up any skills in the new, longer-term projects which are coming on board.

To top it all off, our Chief executive (not the greatest people manager in the world) has just decided that our entire department must work an average of 15% overtime - with no mention of when this will end. Over the last 6 months we've all been working 10-15% overtime and people are getting tired. We're happy to work overtime as the individual projects we're working on require it, but we're not keen on working even more just to jump through some hoop for our Chief exec and prevent the expense of him recruiting some more people. There has been a lot of muttering in the ranks over the last couple of days and the morale of the department has dropped significantly. I may not be the only one looking at the jobs pages...

The main problem is I have no idea what to look for. I've moved away from meteorology into aerodynamics, but there are no other jobs available in that field. I've got lots of strong transferrable skills, especially in presentations, training, problem solving and customer interaction, but very little project management experience. Where can I put those skills to good use - close to Bedford??!

Sorry for the general 'down' tone of this entry. We'll try to be sunnier soon. Any suggestions for me and general ecouragement for Tim and I would be good - February could be a tough month for both of us!

Being British

One of my officemates has just got back from a trip to Belgium. He brought back a very nice ginger cake, which we've all been tucking in to. Today, word has got round to the other offices and there has been a bit of a run on people coming along to try a slice. We're now starting to run out... one person came in, saw what was left and said 'ooh, I'll just have half of that'. Another person has just come in, seen the 'half' that was left and taken half of that! Will anyone have the nerve to actually take the last morsel of cake...?

Birthday boy

It was Andy's birthday yesterday, so seeing as he lives just round the corner we invited him over to dinner. We'd bought him a 'bobile' when we were in the States - a sort of balancing-mobile thingy. Much fun was had after dinner trying to create some sculptures with it.

Look at the concentration!

The finished sculpture!

And another more impressive one.

Happy birthday Andy!

Muchos Yayness

I quote:

"414696
Timothy James Mosedale
Level 1: Pass"

The global pass rate was 34%, so I'm quite chuffed.

Weekend news

All our friends seem to have gone very quiet on their blogs recently... maybe, like us, life has settled down after Christmas and there's not much to report!

We had a very nice weekend away, visiting Rachel, David and Samuel in Bristol then on to Marion in Exeter. It was good to catch up with Marion again and see her very nice flat - it's spurred us on to sort out the final odds and ends that need doing in our house! On Sunday we met up with Stuart, ben and Christine for a pub lunch and exchanged news about all our meteorology friends. I find it slightly bizarre that through my PhD there's this extended network of friends and contacts all over the world, and I'm still sort-of part of it, even though I'm no longer involved in meteorology. I haven't built up an equivalent network in aerodynamics yet, though I'm working on it!

This weekend is already starting to look rather full, though we're staying in Bedford. One of our new year's resolutions is to do more walking so we need to fit that in at some stage, along with some shopping for the house, Church and a trip to the garden centre/fish shop. I'm sure we'll tell you all about it afterwards!

Band events

Monday saw my first rehearsal of the new year. The band is now gearing up for the regionals contest in March, competing in the 2nd section for the first time in years (this will be the first time I've competed in the 2nd section) after being promoted following our dazzling 2nd place in the 3rd section last year.

The test piece is a suite from Images of the Millennium, by Howard Snell. It's been cut down from its original form which was considerably longer and was arranged for 2 full brass bands. I'd love to hear it! The result is, in my opinion, a good test piece - certainly a stern challenge, but with a wealth of interest for the players. Of course, this view is built entirely on a only a few rehearsals: whether it keeps my interest for the next 2 months is another question. The piece is certainly difficult, and will require some really good playing, and I think it will really improve the band while we work on it, which should be the point. There have been grumblings about it being too difficult for the 2nd section, so it should sort the brass from the, um, lesser brass.

Last year, I found the Gallimaufry Suite and, to a lesser extent, Tam O'Shanter's ride (the 3rd section nationals and regionals pieces), to be a bit disappointing in terms of providing a test to my personal playing. There was some interest in melding my part into the whole, but little to challenge me technically. The same definitely can't be said of Images of the Millenium... The top Eb bass part is particularly tricky, with some very very high notes (I've never even seen a top D in a band part before...), some tricky fingering, and some unusual intervals, particularly in the upper register. There are a few fun passages with little duets beween the Eb bass and, variously, the soprano cornet, flugel, and solo horn in the Scherzo. I've not really looked at the other 2 movements, but they look a bit lower and less technically difficult. I definitely need to work at it!

Also, it's kind of been decided now (in a show of typical ill grace by the other Eb player) that I'm the lead Eb bass. That'll hopefully reduce some of the tension and stress that accompanies rehearsals, although it will increase due to the responsibility of being #1!

Wish me luck!

Feeling a bit naive

Well we had a lovely Christmas and New year, and have lots of pictures of snowy Colorado and videos of our friends doing silly things in the snow. We may put them all up on our webspace, if we work out how to use it...

Tim is now back into the swing of things at work, but also seems to be spending his time MSN messaging Hannah and Chris. I, on the other hand, have only had one day at work - then I went into hospital and had all my wisdom teeth extracted. I spent the first day sleeping off the general anaesthetic they gave me, then the last couple of days dozing because of the strong painkillers I'm on. So my week is going rather quickly, but I'm very confused as to what day it is!

Reverse Psychology?

Posters have sprung up at work, as these things are wont to do on occasion, sporting slogans such as:

It's OK...
...To Leave Work On Time To Catch Your Train

It's OK...
...To Keep Personal Commitments

It's OK...
...To Meet A Friend For Lunch


I think the point of these are to convince us that we're working for a caring employer who actually knows what "Work-life balance" means, rather than just having heard of it. My problem is that I always thought it was ok to leave on time for your train, or to avoid working at weekends, or whatever. Now I'm thinking that maybe I'm the only one who was keeping such standards, and that everyone else is letting their trains go by below their windows, or sitting at their desks for 10 hour stretches. Maybe I should be giving up more of my life for my employer. Maybe that's precisely what they want us to think.

Best get on - 3.30 and if I'm not careful I'll miss my train.

Elspeth singing

This weekend is a weekend of singing for Elspeth, which is nice as I think she'd rather sing more than she does. Today she sang a duet with Margaret for Eileen and Alan's wedding at church. They sang 'Love Changes Everything' - maybe not my favourite piece, but it was very nice to hear Elspeth's lovely voice clearly again after many choral concerts where she's just one of a crowd. Tomorrow she has her choir christmas concert, where she will be one of said crowd. She hasn't lost her voice yet (which has sidelined her from each of the previous two years) so all should be well.

I'd just like to share with you a scene from today's wedding. We were sat at the back of one of the rooms in the church watching a (Powerpoint, no less) presentation of photos from Eileen and Alan's wedding. Sat next to us were two old ladies. Let's call them Old Lady 1 and Old Lady 2:



Old Lady 1 (sat 2 seats down from Elspeth): Do you know who that Elspeth was who did the singing?
Old Lady 2: No, I don't.

[pause]

Old Lady 1: Do you know her?
Old Lady 2: No.

[pause]

Old Lady 2: I think she comes to church, but I'm not sure.
Old Lady 1: Do you know who she is?
Old Lady 2: No, I don't think so.

[pause]

Old Lady 1: Shall we get that cup of tea?

Back to work

After 2 weeks away from the office I have been back in Southwark Towers this week. Admittedly the first 2 days of those 2 weeks I had a training course at a hotel in Victoria (London, not British Columbia), and for the fourth day I was ill with food poisoning from said course, and for the rest of the time I was studying, but 2 weeks away is still pleasant.

To quickly tie up loose ends: the exam went well. More guesswork than I would like, but not too much stabbing in the dark. No idea how I performed relative to a pass/fail decision, as we don't get told what the pass mark is, so we'll just have to wait until some time at the end of January (precisely when? We don't get told).

Anyway, it's been a tough week back. Monday was the team away day, a trip to Oxford for an overpriced treasure hunt. It was fairly fun though - deciphering clues, finding landmarks, harrassing tourists etc. The twist being that we had an 8 foot length of rope which we all (10 of use) had to keep hold of all the time. Yes. Quite. We then had some proper bonding in the minibus on the way home (i.e. drinking games, drinking from the bottle of gin or malibu) and a nice meal in a kosher restaurant. All in, a good day if rather alcohol-fuelled.

The other difficult day of work was yesterday, the combined team annual meeting/christmas lunch. Last year the traditional cambridge jolly was rather spoiled by my impending viva the next day, so I made the most of it this year. Plenty of drink all round, which led to some interesting moments and a true building of team spirit. Or rather more than team spirit in the case of two particular people. Hehehe. Gossip is fun. Discretion is overrated.

Can't work out how to finish this post. So I'll just stop.

A little bit of history

A photo of the latest addition to our dining room - a little bit of Crocker family history. The plaque on the front states that this clock was 'presented to Mr. H.G. Brazier on the occasion of his retirement from the Naval Ordinance Inspection Department on 20th February 1931'. H.G. Brazier was my Nan's father - my great-grandfather.

This clock hung in the hallway of my grandparents' house and I have always remembered its beautiful chime. After my grandparents had died, my sister and I both chose something to remember them by, and this was my choice. Since then it's been sitting in my parents attic waiting for me to own a house to put it in. Mum and Dad kindly took it to a local clock restorer and we brought it back last weekend, cleaned and oiled. Finally it's hanging on a wall again - I'm glad to have such a beautiful link to my past.

Exams

I wonder how long ago I took my first exam. It may well be measurable in decades rather than years now, but I'm still ploughing through them, the latest courtesy of the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) pofessional qualification that I am pursuing.

Tomorrow morning I need to be in East London at 8.00 for 6 hours of CFA level I exam, including such subjects as financial statement analysis, portfolio management, asset valuation, economics, and, um, well there are others which I have temporarily forgotten. Ooops. Revising again has been an interesting experience - the last time I did it in earnest being for my finals 4+ years ago. I've remembered why I dislike it so much, and have also realised the importance of practical use of the things in the syllabus and familiarity with the concepts. It may be an obvious statement, but the areas that I've struggled with are such as economics which I have never had cause to use in real life, rather than the quantitative analysis section (never really going to trouble me) or the bits on futures and options contracts and the debt investments, which I have experienced in the course of my work.

All in, I'm feeling confident (there's no point in approaching it any other way) but am aware that a lot of the material is on the edge of my consciousness if in my head at all, and I'd ideally be going in with stronger understanding of quite a large proportion of it. At least I feel pretty secure in the knowledge that having faced my third year cambridge maths exams and my PhD viva, exam experiences can't be any more daunting.

Well, I'd best go and limber up my brain. Wish me good memory for tomorrow.

Tim's view on veg

Despite doing my best to devegetarianise Elspeth, I too am enjoying our veg box of delights. As can be seen from the accompanying photo.



The obvious question is: What veg am I?

In work and not execting to be!

Life is very confusing at the moment... I was expecting to spend today in hospital having my wisdom teeth out (ouch). I'd spent the last week psyching myself up for this, making sure we had plenty of soup for me to eat and buying a selection of magazines to flick through while I spent the rest of the week recuperating. I'd also planned to do some Christmas shopping before visiting Mum and Dad this weekend.

However, at ten past seven this morning the hospital rang to cancel the op. So now I'm in work, when I was expecting a week off! While it's nice to still be in one piece I've now got the op hanging over me again...

I had a very musical weekend as it was my choir's concert on Sunday evening. We had a rehearsal on Friday night, then I went to see Cinderella by Rossini with some friends on Saturday, then spent Sunday afternoon rehearsing and Sunday evening performing. I think Tim was starting to forget what I looked like! Chris managed one of his grand plans and came to the concert, which he thoroughly enjoyed. I'm glad I haven't put him off choral music for life - at least not yet... We decided it was rather more mainstream than the sub-culture of banding, mainly because it wasn't a competition, but also because we had Brian Blessed there narrating, and anything with a 'celebrity' can't be too sub-culture-ish!

This weekend is suposed to be a trip to my parents. I'll try to get some nice snowy pictures of Yorkshire to put on here.

Veg

Much excitement in the Mosedale houshold last night with the delivery of our first organic veg box - supplied by a local firm and almost all grown on local farms. We've now got leeks, carrots, potatoes, very cute mushrooms and the world's biggest cabbage. And does anyone know a good recipe for swede?

Not only does the veg taste good it adds to my ethical smugness as well - and means I don't have to go to Sainsbury's as often. What more could you ask for?

A trip to London

We popped down to London on Saturday evening to go to Lucy's flat warming party. I found the train/tube trip very exciting - needless to say, Tim was slightly less bothered about it as he spends three hours a day commuting. The party was very good fun but due to my ineptness at reading the train timetables we missed the last fast train home and had to catch the Thameslink, which was standing room only and took over an hour to get to Bedford.

We made up for the late night by having a very lazy day today. The morning was spent lazing around with the Sunday papers, bacon sandwiches and fruit juice, while this afternoon has been spent doing nothing in particular. Bliss!

Dealgaeficationism

As Elspeth mentioned previously, we have the pleasure of having nothing specific to do this weekend. It is entirely welcome, as I'm having a frustrating week or two at work (more may follow on this, if venting is required). We;ve both been busy all day, but there's nothing we had to do, which makes a huge difference!

I have taken the opportunity today to have a good clean of the fish tank. The major contributor to its previous dirty look was algae: all over the rocks, wood, plants, and probably the slower moving fish. So I've taken all of the furniture out of the tank, given it a good scrub to get rid of the algae, cleaned up the gravel and plants, and rearranged it all to give a different feel to the tank. Think Changing Rooms without the power tools. I'm really happy with the result - the tank looks much cleaner and more interesting.



Taking pictures of shoals of fish is even harder than of single fish. These are 5 of my half dozen penguin tetras - resident since last weekend. These are one of the fish that I've always liked back in the days when I used to spend hours in fish shops dreaming of my own tank! I especially like the way the black stripe goes right down the bottom half of the fin, and their swimming position which is much more 'head up' than most other fishes. It makes them always seem inquisitive to me, which I like! We bought these fish from the garden centre which Elspeth and I frequent more and more regularly. Recently they've had some lovely fish in, including some torpedo barbs which Elspeth ahs her eye on (although these would be a more significant outlay than on any other fish to date - they're £10 each at the moment). They also have some upside down catfish which I've only seen once before, and are *very* tempting. One of the guys that we play badminton with happens to work in the aquatics department there, so it's nice to know one of my stockists quite well!




The new tank setup has more hiding places than the old setup, but at the same time these hiding places are more easily visible from outisde the tank. This is one of my female platies with the alpha male. They seemed to be having a nice intimate moment, and I confess that I felt a bit voyeuristic taking the photo. Maybe they're making some more babies. I realise I never really updated you on the story of the baby platies. I just found the picture of them when there were two and they were tiny. This isn't the case any more - there's only 1 left but he's really grown up. I always said I wouldn't be bothered, but there's something pleasing about knowing that this fish was born in my tank and doesn't know any other home. Bless. I'll try and get a photo for next time.

Oh, and that happened to be the 1000th picture with our digital camera. How have we found 1000 things to take photos of in the last 6 months?!



Mr rainbowfish. He was the only one not moving at the time, so you have a picture of him. He has settled a lot since last I blogged, when he was terrorising everyfish. I suspect this is with the influx of more fish so he doesn't feel quite confident enough to try and be king of the tank. This title could potentially belong to the sole remaining tiger barb (following a disease outbreak a few weeks ago which wiped the other 5 out - quite a sad occurrence as I really liked the barbs and I'm worried about getting any more). Anyway, he seems fine, is clearly a hard fish for surviving the illness, and was the only one not to run away and hide when I was chucking stuff about all over the tank.



One of the secondary reasons for the tank clean was to see how many corys I had left! They're very shy (at least during the day) and I can't remember the last time I could spot all four that I started out with. They are still all alive and kicking, and I hope I haven't scared them too much with today's activities - hey didn't seem happy about having their hiding places removed. Hopefully now they will feel safer with more spots to hide in and we will see more of them.

The census did reveal that an oto has gone missing, presumed eaten. Or it's exceptionally good at hiding.