The funny thing about Temping is that I'm beginning to get the impression that there are a lot of people out there, Temping in my field, without really knowing the first fucking thing about it.
I got my first inkling towards the end of last year, when I did a couple of stints with a company one of my former colleagues (specifically, my counterpart) worked for before changing his career entirely. It was reported to me that he described it at the time as "a bit much to take in", and yet I breezed through it... I ended up twiddling my thumbs and begging for more to do.
This week, I'm working at another company producing a similar kind of product, but for an entirely different market (and I learned today that the similarities could be down to the fact that half the staff at that company originated at this company!), and with a slightly heavier workload - several weeklies, supplements and specials, rather than just the one weekly (or was it two? I only dealt with one) and occasional supplements and specials. I'm tackling one all on my lonesome, and helping out my boss - Deputy Manager - with bits and bobs of hers, with the occasional screwball job coming along for extra fun.
So far, nothing unusual... Except I'm clearly far better than they were expecting - even after they interviewed me - and I'm being praised to the Salespeople on my second day there. Since my CV lists certain other of my internet-based projects, they had a quick gander at some of my art, and I was told today that their Art Department were very impressed. "Why's he working in Production?" they asked, apparently quite incredulous.
My answer (not to them - I'm not sure which one said it) was "Because it's more fun!"
I've always said I'm more of a techy than an artist/designer. I can do art, I can do design... but, really, my strengths are in ensuring it works properly.
And that seems to be what's lacking in others.
I suspect I mentioned at the time how galling it was when a former subordinate came back in as a Temp to assist on Copy Control, way back in my last job, and claimed that he'd done my boss's job. Turned out he hadn't. He always liked to talk himself up, but he'd only ever been a Senior Copy Controller. Problem is, he was also an arrogant twat, and seems to have bluffed his way into a couple of jobs since.
(As an aside, I probably should have seen the potential for this when he first joined the company - when my boss had a word with him about his attitude during his trial period, he told him "Look, I know you're going to hire me, you know you're going to hire me. Because I'm fucking good. That's all you need to know." And he was fucking good, comparatively... he just grew to believe his own hype, that he was better than everyone else.)
To be honest, I've always held it as true that Designers are ten a penny. Good Designers are gold dust. My former boss tends to add that good Designers who know how to artwork are rarer still.
So there's me... whose role it has been, for many, many years, to take apart what Designers put together, and put it back together so that it works properly. Templates are my thing. If I build a template, it's rock solid, and will work for as long as it'd used. Give me low res crap and, frequently, I can hand you back something printable.
And yet, I'm not an easy sell because I don't have a portfolio... Just a long history of getting things to press on time, and with the barest minimum of preventable errors.
Weird, innit?
Wednesday 28 March 2012
Friday 23 March 2012
Everything Happens For A Reason
Amongst my many previously mentioned superstitions is the one where I often firmly believe, against all logic, that everything in life happens for a reason. I picked this one up - as one might a virus, I suppose - from a friend with a very Zen outlook on life. Her vibe was that souls, like every single iota of energy in this universe of ours, get recycled - the concept commonly referred to as 'reincarnation'. However, where most proponents of reincarnation would start spouting forth about being one of Cleopatra's handmaidens or Napoleon, someone of historical significance, she preferred to think we just come back in whatever form is best to learn the lessons we need to learn... and that we keep coming back until all those lessons are learned.
It is with this in mind that I feel the truth of the idea that 'everything happens for a reason'.
So, after my visit to the GP, where my workaholism was confirmed, I followed her advice and got in touch with a 'work club' run by my local council. On Tuesday, I set my alarm clock to ensure I'd wake up in time to pop over and join the club, feeling that I should, at least, show some willing and that, if nothing else, it would get me out of the flat, and interacting with new people - the main lure in those ghastly periods where I feel desperate to return to the full office environment.
I've gone on record - somewhere, not necessarily here - as saying that I find the average office environment dangerously toxic - full of untrustworthy, frequently slothful, backstabbing monsters, with an over-active sense of entitlement - but I genuinely value the opportunity to interact with them... even if it does leave me feeling polluted. Believe it or not, that sense of defilement is preferable to being left alone with my own thoughts.
And I'm not even talking about the dirty ones.
But I digress.
Whatever I may have expected from something called a 'Work Club', what I got was surprising. For one thing, it was actually fun. Part of me had dreaded the experience, even while on my way there, I was still trying to talk myself out of it... what use could it really be, as something run by the council? Surely it would just be doing the bidding of the Job Centre? Surely it would be for lesser mortals than I?
OK, I'm not really that pompous... But I didn't expect much, so the lesson in Presentation I got was both interesting and very useful. Eye-opening, even. And meeting such a varied bunch of people was a true pleasure. I will all-too-easily slip into reclusive ways, and lose my confidence in interacting with people - particularly if I don't feel that I 'fit in' anyway, so jumping into that environment was beneficial, even before having to do any of the exercises.
The weirdest thing, though, was that I bumped into a former colleague on the way home afterward... And the timing of it was so very delicate.
After the Club, I popped into a local (large) branch of Tesco, browsed a couple of sections only, and selected two products to buy, vacillating over a couple of others. My decisions made, I went to one of the self-service check-outs. Since I had a backpack with me, I didn't need a bag, so I put each item onto the checkout bed after scanning the barcode, paid with cash (two £10 notes, fed into the machine), picked up my change (the £5 note had to be pointed out to me - I knew it came out somewhere different to the coins, but didn't immediately see where), then struggled to stuff my purchases into my backpack. Then I shouldered the bag, and left by the same route I'd entered. I bumped into my former colleague at the corner of the outside of the car park.
If anything in that sequence of events had been any different - if I'd not bothered going into Tesco, if I'd been quicker to make my selections, or not browsed all of those sections, or browsed other sections - I would not have met up with him...
...And so we would not have exchanged employment updates and telephone numbers...
...And so I wouldn't know that his employers might be needing someone like me...
And then, today, I went back to the Club for a lesson in CV- and Application Letter-writing, application form protocols, and suchlike. Some of it doesn't quite fit my industry, and what employers would tend to require from a CV, but it did prompt me to re-evaluate my current CV... again...
Now, I'm not saying that meeting up with this guy and reworking my CV is going to suddenly get me a job (though the workshop tutor believed I was likely to find work soon), but it just goes to show how a string of events can lead to something... or nothing...
It's almost like something out of a Dirk Gently story, at least according to the TV series (see what I did there?). After the third and final episode, I'm not quite sure what to make of it... other than that it really should never have been made. My assessment of Stephen Mangan's Alan Patridge impression will stand, though Darren Boyd's portrayal of Richard Macduff improved somewhat for the last episode. The biggest problem seems to be that the writer(s) cannot decide if Dirk is truly a genius detective, or just a self-absorbed and very fortunate charlatan. The only episode that really impressed me in any way was the second, and so much of that was far too obvious and clichéd. OK, fine, in both of the (completed) novels, the 'mystery' is played out fully in the narrative, so the book is about the investigative process, rather than a means of actually unravelling the mystery for the reader, but I'm now reading The Long, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul a second (third?) time, just to reassure myself that Dirk isn't the selfish, inept tosspot shown in the TV series.
Being Human, too, continues to confound me. This last weekend's episode seemed to be a hastily rewritten scenario that would have originally featured Mitchell and George, but ended up being Hal and Tom thanks to the departures of Aiden Turner and Russell Tovey. Some aspects of it were brilliant... but the overarching theme of the arrival of the Old Ones, and the plans that have been set in motion around that, lack the sparkle of the earlier series. Then again, after reading The Delicate Dependency, I'm finding it even harder to believe the concept of a hostile world takeover by vampires...
It is with this in mind that I feel the truth of the idea that 'everything happens for a reason'.
So, after my visit to the GP, where my workaholism was confirmed, I followed her advice and got in touch with a 'work club' run by my local council. On Tuesday, I set my alarm clock to ensure I'd wake up in time to pop over and join the club, feeling that I should, at least, show some willing and that, if nothing else, it would get me out of the flat, and interacting with new people - the main lure in those ghastly periods where I feel desperate to return to the full office environment.
I've gone on record - somewhere, not necessarily here - as saying that I find the average office environment dangerously toxic - full of untrustworthy, frequently slothful, backstabbing monsters, with an over-active sense of entitlement - but I genuinely value the opportunity to interact with them... even if it does leave me feeling polluted. Believe it or not, that sense of defilement is preferable to being left alone with my own thoughts.
And I'm not even talking about the dirty ones.
But I digress.
Whatever I may have expected from something called a 'Work Club', what I got was surprising. For one thing, it was actually fun. Part of me had dreaded the experience, even while on my way there, I was still trying to talk myself out of it... what use could it really be, as something run by the council? Surely it would just be doing the bidding of the Job Centre? Surely it would be for lesser mortals than I?
OK, I'm not really that pompous... But I didn't expect much, so the lesson in Presentation I got was both interesting and very useful. Eye-opening, even. And meeting such a varied bunch of people was a true pleasure. I will all-too-easily slip into reclusive ways, and lose my confidence in interacting with people - particularly if I don't feel that I 'fit in' anyway, so jumping into that environment was beneficial, even before having to do any of the exercises.
The weirdest thing, though, was that I bumped into a former colleague on the way home afterward... And the timing of it was so very delicate.
After the Club, I popped into a local (large) branch of Tesco, browsed a couple of sections only, and selected two products to buy, vacillating over a couple of others. My decisions made, I went to one of the self-service check-outs. Since I had a backpack with me, I didn't need a bag, so I put each item onto the checkout bed after scanning the barcode, paid with cash (two £10 notes, fed into the machine), picked up my change (the £5 note had to be pointed out to me - I knew it came out somewhere different to the coins, but didn't immediately see where), then struggled to stuff my purchases into my backpack. Then I shouldered the bag, and left by the same route I'd entered. I bumped into my former colleague at the corner of the outside of the car park.
If anything in that sequence of events had been any different - if I'd not bothered going into Tesco, if I'd been quicker to make my selections, or not browsed all of those sections, or browsed other sections - I would not have met up with him...
...And so we would not have exchanged employment updates and telephone numbers...
...And so I wouldn't know that his employers might be needing someone like me...
And then, today, I went back to the Club for a lesson in CV- and Application Letter-writing, application form protocols, and suchlike. Some of it doesn't quite fit my industry, and what employers would tend to require from a CV, but it did prompt me to re-evaluate my current CV... again...
Now, I'm not saying that meeting up with this guy and reworking my CV is going to suddenly get me a job (though the workshop tutor believed I was likely to find work soon), but it just goes to show how a string of events can lead to something... or nothing...
It's almost like something out of a Dirk Gently story, at least according to the TV series (see what I did there?). After the third and final episode, I'm not quite sure what to make of it... other than that it really should never have been made. My assessment of Stephen Mangan's Alan Patridge impression will stand, though Darren Boyd's portrayal of Richard Macduff improved somewhat for the last episode. The biggest problem seems to be that the writer(s) cannot decide if Dirk is truly a genius detective, or just a self-absorbed and very fortunate charlatan. The only episode that really impressed me in any way was the second, and so much of that was far too obvious and clichéd. OK, fine, in both of the (completed) novels, the 'mystery' is played out fully in the narrative, so the book is about the investigative process, rather than a means of actually unravelling the mystery for the reader, but I'm now reading The Long, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul a second (third?) time, just to reassure myself that Dirk isn't the selfish, inept tosspot shown in the TV series.
Being Human, too, continues to confound me. This last weekend's episode seemed to be a hastily rewritten scenario that would have originally featured Mitchell and George, but ended up being Hal and Tom thanks to the departures of Aiden Turner and Russell Tovey. Some aspects of it were brilliant... but the overarching theme of the arrival of the Old Ones, and the plans that have been set in motion around that, lack the sparkle of the earlier series. Then again, after reading The Delicate Dependency, I'm finding it even harder to believe the concept of a hostile world takeover by vampires...
Thursday 15 March 2012
I'm Not Suffering From Depression...
...I'm just an Unemployed, Workaholic, Creative Personality.
Depression is a tricky thing to adequately diagnose, because it comes with a shopping list of symptoms, any of which could point to other causes. I barely slept on Tuesday night due to anxiety about a job interview I was attending on Wednesday (for a temping job - I'm not kidding, I was interviewed for a week-long temporary work placement). My feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness and apathy are because I'm used to an active, high-stress environment, and I'm currently free to do everything at my own pace (which, almost inevitably, is glacial). Thoughts of self-harm are bad, yes... but I'm still capable of putting it into perspective, and seeing the potential repercussions (that is, how it will affect everyone else). Are my mood swings, bouts of indolence and bursts of frenetic activity a sign of some kind of Bipolar Disorder, or is that simply a typical feature of an artistic personality?
But then, is that not splitting hairs?
Simply Googling doesn't offer much help or comfort, despite - and in some cases because of - the vast array of questionnaires available. Out of my strange blend of curiosity and pig-headedness, I filled out a selection of such forms last night. Several pointed to Depression (capital D), one suggested an 'Extremely High' possibility of Bipolar Disorder (curiously only a 'High-Moderate' rating for Cyclothymia, a 'mild form of Bipolar Disorder'). These tests are "for entertainment/education purposes only and do not represent a professional diagnosis". At best, they exist only to give you an indication of whether you should speak to a GP.
The question of Bipolar Disorder versus Artistic Personality muddies the water still further. In many ways, it comes across as a question of "Poh-Tay-Toh, Poh-Tah-Toh". And, on the one hand, BD can be treated chemically... but that tends to just even out the peaks and troughs. On the other hand, if my mind works the way it does because of my creative nature, it surely becomes of question of "would I be willing to sacrifice the peaks to mitigate the troughs?" The possible side-effects of any medication are the basis of my resistance toward any diagnosis of Depression.
My GP presented a very compelling case for my UWCP, and I have to say that just having had the conversation with her has made me feel somewhat better. I was particularly amused by her comment that she was glad to speak to me on this subject because it's very rare that she sees men who think they may be Depressed. I responded that "I am not encumbered with that level of stupid pride."
I left with lots of advice - some, like "try to keep active, try to ensure you do something you can be proud of every day", I'm already very aware of, and have tried to action... but apathy always gets in the way. I can wake up in the morning, make a detailed plan of action, and then completely ignore it. Suddenly it's night time again, and I haven't accomplished anything. Some of the advice - bizarrely - was on the jobhunting front. So I can now honestly say that I've had more useful jobhunting advice from my GP than from a representative of the government's Job Centres.
...And that surely says something about the Job Centres.
Friday 9 March 2012
One Rule For The Rich, One Rule For The Poor
Literally just seen on the news that a Labour MP has been spared prison time after a drunken brawl in which he attacked four other MPs. Apparently his early Guilty plea was taken into account. His punishment is a 12-month community order (including a curfew), a ban on entering pubs for a mere 3 months and a fine for £3,000 plus £1,400 in compensation to his victims. That's in total, not each.
The Labour Party has suspended him, 'pending an enquiry', but he apparently expects to remain the MP for his home constituency until 2015, and will not then seek re-election.
This is absolutely fucking insane, considering any normal person would be sent straight to prison, guilty plea or not. That was FOUR people he assaulted, one was headbutted. And it's not even his first drink-related offense.
Worse still, he's a former soldier - a former Major, no less - so his self-discipline should be far better.
Suspension from the party goes without saying, but he should really have been expelled on the spot. If the enquiry doesn't expel him, the Labour Party stands to lose a heck of a lot of credibility.
The Labour Party has suspended him, 'pending an enquiry', but he apparently expects to remain the MP for his home constituency until 2015, and will not then seek re-election.
This is absolutely fucking insane, considering any normal person would be sent straight to prison, guilty plea or not. That was FOUR people he assaulted, one was headbutted. And it's not even his first drink-related offense.
Worse still, he's a former soldier - a former Major, no less - so his self-discipline should be far better.
Suspension from the party goes without saying, but he should really have been expelled on the spot. If the enquiry doesn't expel him, the Labour Party stands to lose a heck of a lot of credibility.
Tuesday 6 March 2012
Last Story, First Impressions
I was very, very excited about the release of The Last Story. This excitement was not dulled by the cancellation of my pre-order. Quite the opposite - the possibility of losing out on the Limited Edition entirely made the anticipation all the keener.
Having collected the box from my folks' house at the weekend, I've put a little over 10 hours into the game (I think...), and had a good rummage through the Limited Edition's extras. I haven't yet listened to the soundtrack CD, but I've leafed through the artbook (rather small, in terms of both physical size and content), examined the metal case that can be used to accommodate both the game disc and the soundtrack, and flipped the game case's insert round to display the nice bit of artwork on the back. It may not be the most lavish Limited Edition I've ever bought, but at least it doesn't come with yet another controller!
But on to the game.
It's a curious little thing. The weirdest part is that I seem to recall that the Final Fantasy series has drawn criticism for its most recent entries for being not so much roleplaying games in the style of the earlier entries into the franchise, as they are interactive movies with a few battle scenes... And that's precisely what The Last Story appears to be, at this point.
I'm through to Chapter 10 or 11 - whichever one is set on a boat - and several of the 'chapters' have involved nothing more than a few minutes spent running around and exploring sandwiched between some very beige cutscenes. Each chapter begins (and possibly ends) with a short piece of narration - not quite Bastion, but it gives the game a similar storybook feel. In at least one chapter, I thought the game was building towards something only for the chapter to end... and it felt as though nothing had actually happened in that chapter - a new location, a bit of exploration, lots of chat... and then on to the next chapter.
As I've mentioned before, RPGs often leave me frustrated. I don't think I've ever played one that left me bored.
Thing is, when the battles happen, they are presented as third-person action with RPG elements. Much like Xenoblade, there's an auto-attack function and the other members of your party will make their moves independently of your input unless you issue specific commands. Unlike Xenoblade, however, all this third person action presentation is smoke and mirrors - what you really have is the kind of tactical strategy game that always gives me a hard time. Even when the game is telling you how to win the battle - via spoken dialogue - I, personally, found that the winning tactics weren't always clear.
Actually, I'm speaking of the first big tactical battle - again, on the boat - where a large creature has an attack that can hit - and dizzy - everyone in the party simultaneously. One of my party has a certain spell which, when interrupted by one of the player character's special moves, creates shields to protect everyone. With the shields active, the monster's attack only ends up dizzying itself, allowing the party to get in more attacks and the player to jump on its tummy for a quick game of stick the piggy.
Sounds like a winning plan, yes?
Well... it would be if I could tell whose spell, and which spell.
I know it's one of the girls, and I think it's Mirania, but I'm not familiar enough with their voices to be certain... there are only two possible spells in her arsenal at this point. Trouble is, neither of the spells list anything about shields either before or after being broken. Trial and error got me my first 'Game Over' (actually my third or fourth - the 'evading the guards' part in an earlier chapter was exceptionally troublesome... or should that be tiresome? - but my first from a battle), with all my party losing their five 'lives'.
It's not as if I'm just going to give up on the game, but I'm certainly not feeling compelled to return, however interesting the story is, and however funny, cheeky and well-delivered some of the dialogue can be. The British voice cast probably have a lot more to do in this than in Xenoblade - where they just recycle generic soundbites in the battles, rather than carry on detailed strategy discussions - and I still get a kick out of British accents in my fantasy RPGs, but some of it does feel a little stilted, and Zael's voice actor is sometimes a little lifeless compared to Shulk. It's not as bad as the average (read: narcoleptic) American voice cast, but some of it misses the mark.
Also, I can only hope that later chapters vary the colour palette - everything thusfar has been very, very beige...
Having collected the box from my folks' house at the weekend, I've put a little over 10 hours into the game (I think...), and had a good rummage through the Limited Edition's extras. I haven't yet listened to the soundtrack CD, but I've leafed through the artbook (rather small, in terms of both physical size and content), examined the metal case that can be used to accommodate both the game disc and the soundtrack, and flipped the game case's insert round to display the nice bit of artwork on the back. It may not be the most lavish Limited Edition I've ever bought, but at least it doesn't come with yet another controller!
But on to the game.
It's a curious little thing. The weirdest part is that I seem to recall that the Final Fantasy series has drawn criticism for its most recent entries for being not so much roleplaying games in the style of the earlier entries into the franchise, as they are interactive movies with a few battle scenes... And that's precisely what The Last Story appears to be, at this point.
I'm through to Chapter 10 or 11 - whichever one is set on a boat - and several of the 'chapters' have involved nothing more than a few minutes spent running around and exploring sandwiched between some very beige cutscenes. Each chapter begins (and possibly ends) with a short piece of narration - not quite Bastion, but it gives the game a similar storybook feel. In at least one chapter, I thought the game was building towards something only for the chapter to end... and it felt as though nothing had actually happened in that chapter - a new location, a bit of exploration, lots of chat... and then on to the next chapter.
As I've mentioned before, RPGs often leave me frustrated. I don't think I've ever played one that left me bored.
Thing is, when the battles happen, they are presented as third-person action with RPG elements. Much like Xenoblade, there's an auto-attack function and the other members of your party will make their moves independently of your input unless you issue specific commands. Unlike Xenoblade, however, all this third person action presentation is smoke and mirrors - what you really have is the kind of tactical strategy game that always gives me a hard time. Even when the game is telling you how to win the battle - via spoken dialogue - I, personally, found that the winning tactics weren't always clear.
Actually, I'm speaking of the first big tactical battle - again, on the boat - where a large creature has an attack that can hit - and dizzy - everyone in the party simultaneously. One of my party has a certain spell which, when interrupted by one of the player character's special moves, creates shields to protect everyone. With the shields active, the monster's attack only ends up dizzying itself, allowing the party to get in more attacks and the player to jump on its tummy for a quick game of stick the piggy.
Sounds like a winning plan, yes?
Well... it would be if I could tell whose spell, and which spell.
I know it's one of the girls, and I think it's Mirania, but I'm not familiar enough with their voices to be certain... there are only two possible spells in her arsenal at this point. Trouble is, neither of the spells list anything about shields either before or after being broken. Trial and error got me my first 'Game Over' (actually my third or fourth - the 'evading the guards' part in an earlier chapter was exceptionally troublesome... or should that be tiresome? - but my first from a battle), with all my party losing their five 'lives'.
It's not as if I'm just going to give up on the game, but I'm certainly not feeling compelled to return, however interesting the story is, and however funny, cheeky and well-delivered some of the dialogue can be. The British voice cast probably have a lot more to do in this than in Xenoblade - where they just recycle generic soundbites in the battles, rather than carry on detailed strategy discussions - and I still get a kick out of British accents in my fantasy RPGs, but some of it does feel a little stilted, and Zael's voice actor is sometimes a little lifeless compared to Shulk. It's not as bad as the average (read: narcoleptic) American voice cast, but some of it misses the mark.
Also, I can only hope that later chapters vary the colour palette - everything thusfar has been very, very beige...
Gently Does It...
So, after a mediocre TV movie very loosely based upon Douglas Adams' book Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (minus the electric monk), we now have a three-episode miniseries of 'original' stories. How this got the go-ahead is a mystery worthy of Mr Svlad Cjelli, though I suspect DVD sales are a contributing factor.
My main problem with this series - aside from its only tenuous connection to the characters and the books - is that the two main characters feel even more hopelessly miscast this time round. I think I'll have to re-read the books, but Stephen Mangan seems to be channelling Alan Partridge as the titular detective, while Darren Boyd - who seemed decent enough as Richard Macduff in the one-off - will now forever be 'the dopey guy with the irritatingly shrill girlfriend from the Direct Line advertisements' due to their saturation of the ad breaks.
All the more weird because, while I may not have had Jason Watkins in mind when I read Adams' books, he fits the character of DI Gilks very well. Sure, it's yet another police officer after being Herrick in Being Human (and probably countless other police characters, were I to investigate his résumé), but he's got the self-assured closed-mindedness of a terrible police inspector down perfectly.
There were moments of brilliance in the show - those occasions where the fundamental interconnectedness of all things was cleverly woven into the story - but some of it was all too obvious (the dart rebounding from its intended target and embedding itself in the accounts ledger which Dirk then chose to ignore), some of it was mishandled (if you watched closely, you will have seen that Dirk followed the second car to pass the scene of the crime, and yet still ended up on the right path), and some of it just wasn't interconnected enough (can I be the only one who though the software prototype was going to be the horoscope software?).
On balance, I have to admit that I enjoyed the show, and was genuinely surprised by how much they managed to squeeze into a one-hour episode. Not only was there the original case of the murdered conspiracy theorist, but there was a side case of infidelity which, in turn, led to an investigation of an astrologer, the murder of a woman impersonating someone who was already dead (I liked that scene... I'm just not sure it was Adams), the beginnings of a complicated situation with Dirk's PA and, eventually, back to the solution to the original case. I'll certainly be watching again next week, but how long will I be able to stand a second-hand Steve Coogan impersonation and his dopey partner?
And what is it with the BBC and it's three-episode miniseries format?
Sunday's Being Human was an interesting diversion. Bringing back the 47-year-old teenage vampire, Adam, was fun, and pairing him with an older woman was - possibly - a clever stab at the teen angst/vampire romance genre of fiction... But it was just a diversion. It introduced a new form of supernatural being (and the overarching concept of demons) which may never be revisited, but nevertheless opens the floodgates for more, similar additions. It also seemed undecided on the nature of the dreams experienced by Tom and Hal - were they or were they not wholly from the individuals' subconscious? If so, why was one of the new arrivals such a prominent part? If not, why manipulate Hal in that specific way... and how could the perpetrator appear so innocent?
The series also seems to have tied itself in several complicated knots over certain aspects of vampire mythology. Everyone knows the 'no reflection' part... but this stuff about not appearing on cameras - photographic and video - seems to be more trouble that it's worth, since it adds nothing but puzzling convolutions in the storytelling. Also, am I wrong in thinking that Herrick had appeared in a TV interview? Adding to that is the sudden development of vampires' aversion to crosses. I'm pretty sure that was thoroughly debunked in earlier series, but here it became integral to a particular point, only for Hal to brush it off because he's an 'Old One'.
It's a difficult thing, to like the quality of the show, its players and its writing, while simultaneously disliking the direction the whole thing is taking. The first three series set up Mitchell, George and Annie as a unique 'family' of supernatural beings in a world where they were uncommon - they were playing at 'being human' to fit in with that world. Now, a picture has been painted where there may be any number of other similar groupings (and, yes, I'm aware that Becoming Human was the first step in this trend). If this is the case, how can it be certain the George and Nina's baby is the child of the prophesy?
And aren't doom prophesies rather passé anyway?
In other news, and following on from my 'copy-and-paste alien invasion' rant, a trailer for Men In Black 3 has surfaced... and - wouldn't you know it? - there's a big alien invasion involved. It looks... familiar...
My main problem with this series - aside from its only tenuous connection to the characters and the books - is that the two main characters feel even more hopelessly miscast this time round. I think I'll have to re-read the books, but Stephen Mangan seems to be channelling Alan Partridge as the titular detective, while Darren Boyd - who seemed decent enough as Richard Macduff in the one-off - will now forever be 'the dopey guy with the irritatingly shrill girlfriend from the Direct Line advertisements' due to their saturation of the ad breaks.
All the more weird because, while I may not have had Jason Watkins in mind when I read Adams' books, he fits the character of DI Gilks very well. Sure, it's yet another police officer after being Herrick in Being Human (and probably countless other police characters, were I to investigate his résumé), but he's got the self-assured closed-mindedness of a terrible police inspector down perfectly.
There were moments of brilliance in the show - those occasions where the fundamental interconnectedness of all things was cleverly woven into the story - but some of it was all too obvious (the dart rebounding from its intended target and embedding itself in the accounts ledger which Dirk then chose to ignore), some of it was mishandled (if you watched closely, you will have seen that Dirk followed the second car to pass the scene of the crime, and yet still ended up on the right path), and some of it just wasn't interconnected enough (can I be the only one who though the software prototype was going to be the horoscope software?).
On balance, I have to admit that I enjoyed the show, and was genuinely surprised by how much they managed to squeeze into a one-hour episode. Not only was there the original case of the murdered conspiracy theorist, but there was a side case of infidelity which, in turn, led to an investigation of an astrologer, the murder of a woman impersonating someone who was already dead (I liked that scene... I'm just not sure it was Adams), the beginnings of a complicated situation with Dirk's PA and, eventually, back to the solution to the original case. I'll certainly be watching again next week, but how long will I be able to stand a second-hand Steve Coogan impersonation and his dopey partner?
And what is it with the BBC and it's three-episode miniseries format?
Sunday's Being Human was an interesting diversion. Bringing back the 47-year-old teenage vampire, Adam, was fun, and pairing him with an older woman was - possibly - a clever stab at the teen angst/vampire romance genre of fiction... But it was just a diversion. It introduced a new form of supernatural being (and the overarching concept of demons) which may never be revisited, but nevertheless opens the floodgates for more, similar additions. It also seemed undecided on the nature of the dreams experienced by Tom and Hal - were they or were they not wholly from the individuals' subconscious? If so, why was one of the new arrivals such a prominent part? If not, why manipulate Hal in that specific way... and how could the perpetrator appear so innocent?
The series also seems to have tied itself in several complicated knots over certain aspects of vampire mythology. Everyone knows the 'no reflection' part... but this stuff about not appearing on cameras - photographic and video - seems to be more trouble that it's worth, since it adds nothing but puzzling convolutions in the storytelling. Also, am I wrong in thinking that Herrick had appeared in a TV interview? Adding to that is the sudden development of vampires' aversion to crosses. I'm pretty sure that was thoroughly debunked in earlier series, but here it became integral to a particular point, only for Hal to brush it off because he's an 'Old One'.
It's a difficult thing, to like the quality of the show, its players and its writing, while simultaneously disliking the direction the whole thing is taking. The first three series set up Mitchell, George and Annie as a unique 'family' of supernatural beings in a world where they were uncommon - they were playing at 'being human' to fit in with that world. Now, a picture has been painted where there may be any number of other similar groupings (and, yes, I'm aware that Becoming Human was the first step in this trend). If this is the case, how can it be certain the George and Nina's baby is the child of the prophesy?
And aren't doom prophesies rather passé anyway?
In other news, and following on from my 'copy-and-paste alien invasion' rant, a trailer for Men In Black 3 has surfaced... and - wouldn't you know it? - there's a big alien invasion involved. It looks... familiar...
Sunday 4 March 2012
A Busy Time of Year for Hospitals
Yesterday's visit to my folks wasn't as happy as it could have been. With my grandmother in hospital, my mother was off visiting most of the time I was there, and my sister was well and truly distracted by her daughter - currently exemplifying the 'Terrible Twos', perfectly understandable considering she's going back to hospital today for a check-up and is likely to be readmitted - so I ended up doing all-day breakfasts for everyone's lunch (with the occasional moment of help from my sister), mistiming it slightly.
The niece was perfectly pleasant most of the time but, at the drop of a hat, would burst into tearful litanies of "I don't want..." including, but not limited to "I don't want you to sit there", "I don't want [toy that someone had just moved from floor to table] on the table" and "I don't want my dinner". The weirdest one was throwing away her dummy, then almost instantly complaining "I want my dummy."
Most of it, particularly the attack later in the day, was due to having gone off to sleep in the afternoon only for my sister to wake her up for dinner in an attempt to ensure she got to sleep at a reasonable hour that night. Eventually, she was coaxed to eat a little of her dinner, though she did spit out one partially-chewed chunk of meat because it was too big (blimey, I could see that before she stuck it in her mouth - it really should have been chopped up a bit more). Even so, a good part of it is going to be down to all the hospital time and the heart monitor.
Still more, I suspect, is learned behaviour from her parents. She has developed a little 'game' whereby she crosses her arms, turns away from everyone and says nothing but 'Humph'. This strikes me as mimmicking adult behaviour of the "I'm not talking to you" variety. It didn't take me long to figure out that she can be coaxed out of this mood by playing a variation of that very game right back at her. For every 'Humph', I'd respond with either a deeper or higher-pitched 'Humph', then move on to animal noises. Normally, by 'Woof', she'd be giggling.
Somehow, I doubt the same would be true of either of her parents...
Still, we did get a couple of turns around the garden - I discovered a dead frog on the lawn the first time round - with exploration coupled with fun and games. Despite being quite a bright day, it turned quite chilly fairly early in the afternoon, so the second outing didn't last quite so long.
When my mother returned - after we'd had dinner - the news wasn't good. Grandmother seemed OK early on but, after a visit from one of her neighbours and yet another move to yet another new ward, her condition seemed much worse. It can't have helped that she's clearly been skipping doses of her medicine, but we still don't know what has caused her degeneration. My mother is keen to find her nursing home, rather than let her return to her flat, so as to give her as little upset as possible once she's ready to leave the hospital.
During the evening, my sister got a call from her mother-in-law (later wondering if she'd misdialled though, considering her son is away with his scout group, it may just be that he was unavailable) with news on father-in-law. Now, he's basically infirm at the best of times - some kind of back injury has left him permanently leaning backwards and shuffling around uncomfortably. Apparently he's now had a fall and broken his hip, so he's in hospital as well.
On the upside, at least some of my post had arrived, so the limited edition of The Last Story is in my possession... Haven't tried it yet, but I'm really looking forward to it.
The niece was perfectly pleasant most of the time but, at the drop of a hat, would burst into tearful litanies of "I don't want..." including, but not limited to "I don't want you to sit there", "I don't want [toy that someone had just moved from floor to table] on the table" and "I don't want my dinner". The weirdest one was throwing away her dummy, then almost instantly complaining "I want my dummy."
Most of it, particularly the attack later in the day, was due to having gone off to sleep in the afternoon only for my sister to wake her up for dinner in an attempt to ensure she got to sleep at a reasonable hour that night. Eventually, she was coaxed to eat a little of her dinner, though she did spit out one partially-chewed chunk of meat because it was too big (blimey, I could see that before she stuck it in her mouth - it really should have been chopped up a bit more). Even so, a good part of it is going to be down to all the hospital time and the heart monitor.
Still more, I suspect, is learned behaviour from her parents. She has developed a little 'game' whereby she crosses her arms, turns away from everyone and says nothing but 'Humph'. This strikes me as mimmicking adult behaviour of the "I'm not talking to you" variety. It didn't take me long to figure out that she can be coaxed out of this mood by playing a variation of that very game right back at her. For every 'Humph', I'd respond with either a deeper or higher-pitched 'Humph', then move on to animal noises. Normally, by 'Woof', she'd be giggling.
Somehow, I doubt the same would be true of either of her parents...
Still, we did get a couple of turns around the garden - I discovered a dead frog on the lawn the first time round - with exploration coupled with fun and games. Despite being quite a bright day, it turned quite chilly fairly early in the afternoon, so the second outing didn't last quite so long.
When my mother returned - after we'd had dinner - the news wasn't good. Grandmother seemed OK early on but, after a visit from one of her neighbours and yet another move to yet another new ward, her condition seemed much worse. It can't have helped that she's clearly been skipping doses of her medicine, but we still don't know what has caused her degeneration. My mother is keen to find her nursing home, rather than let her return to her flat, so as to give her as little upset as possible once she's ready to leave the hospital.
During the evening, my sister got a call from her mother-in-law (later wondering if she'd misdialled though, considering her son is away with his scout group, it may just be that he was unavailable) with news on father-in-law. Now, he's basically infirm at the best of times - some kind of back injury has left him permanently leaning backwards and shuffling around uncomfortably. Apparently he's now had a fall and broken his hip, so he's in hospital as well.
On the upside, at least some of my post had arrived, so the limited edition of The Last Story is in my possession... Haven't tried it yet, but I'm really looking forward to it.
Friday 2 March 2012
What The Hell, Xenoblade?
The thing with computer/console-based RPGs - what almost puts me off them entirely - is that success in battles has little to do with the skill of the player, and a lot to do with luck, based on the background number-crunching of the game. Certainly, there comes a time when you've got your character(s) upgraded to a point where they hit more than they miss, and hit powerfully enough to do the job, but there's still something frustrating about choosing your actions and hoping for success, rather than controlling your actions directly, and living or dying based on the accuracy of your control. And that's ignoring the whole 'action button sensitivity' issue.
A prime example is the part I reached in Xenoblade recently. I mentioned in a previous post that I'd read about an alleged 'difficulty spike' around the time the party reaches Level 50 (which is actually more to do with location and the associated enemy types, and whether or not the correct path is followed). At the very end of the first area on Mechonis, there's a battle where, even well above Level 50, I found myself hopelessly outclassed by a group of enemies that, technically, weren't that much more powerful than me.
My usual response to this is to find some Let's Play videos and observe other folks playing - maybe pick up a few tricks. There still aren't that many Let's Plays of Xenoblade, owing to the fact that the English language version hasn't been released in the States yet, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm beginning to find a lot of the American Let's Players kind of irritating in their attempts to be 'humorous' (great if you can do it, but if it doesn't come naturally, then what makes one Let's Player funny isn't necessarily going to work for someone else), and frequently end up screaming at my screen as they somehow miss something as the player that's obvious to me as the viewer. It increases the length of the Let's Play, and gives rise to the question of whether it's better to present an authentic Let's Play with all the mistakes, or whether it's better for everyone to edit out the half hour of backtracking and running around in circles because they didn't notice that a door opened right next to them when they threw that switch.
I think you can guess which I'd vote for.
But I digress. I dug up a Let's Play of Xenoblade that had already covered the part I've reached. Annoyingly, the player was at a lower level than me, and yet seemed to be more successful in his battles despite employing much the same mash tactics as me, except that he virtually never uses the Monado's powers (other than Enchant) or any chain attacks (even going to far as to mention he'd only used a chain attack on one specific enemy).
And, aside from dodging a couple of battles, he actually did better than me - completing the battle that had been giving me trouble on his first attempt.
It would have been nice to have picked up a winning strategy... but there really wasn't one, apart from picking away at one enemy at a time, which is what I'd tried to do anyway.
I'd tried the same team as him - Shulk, Dunban and Riki - and failed miserably. Even my first attempt with the normally-winning team of Shulk, Reyn and Sharla resulted in a wholesale slaughter.
So, I thought, I might as well just keep trying. One important point I did pick up from the video was that the enemies don't respawn if you die, so you only have to pick up the fight with whoever you didn't kill the last time round.
I copped out, and when back to Shulk, Reyn and Sharla...
...and I aced it.
All I can say is that I made sure everyone was focussed on the same enemy- issuing the 'Focus' command every so often - and had actually gone up a level just before the fight after a bit more grinding. I supposed I'd also played about with my selection of special moves and their individual levels... but, by and large, I was playing the same way with the same characters, but it was much easier.
So... Progress. And, after a good few cutscenes, I decided to stop for the day at a suitably dramatic juncture. Looking forward to more, but not sure when it'll happen - probably not before Sunday, since I'm off to my folks tomorrow.
There's further drama with my grandmother - when she was finally seen by a doctor, it became clear that there was something wrong. Her speech is apparently rather off - she knows what she's saying (or trying to say), but what comes out of her mouth ain't makin' sense. She had an appointment for an X-Ray, and I haven't heard any more - I guess I'll get the whole story tomorrow, though my mother warned that she might be back and forth between home and the hospital - but, at my grandmother's age, the problem could be anything from concussion to brain damage from the fall, or it could have been a stroke that caused the fall.
Watch this space...
A prime example is the part I reached in Xenoblade recently. I mentioned in a previous post that I'd read about an alleged 'difficulty spike' around the time the party reaches Level 50 (which is actually more to do with location and the associated enemy types, and whether or not the correct path is followed). At the very end of the first area on Mechonis, there's a battle where, even well above Level 50, I found myself hopelessly outclassed by a group of enemies that, technically, weren't that much more powerful than me.
My usual response to this is to find some Let's Play videos and observe other folks playing - maybe pick up a few tricks. There still aren't that many Let's Plays of Xenoblade, owing to the fact that the English language version hasn't been released in the States yet, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm beginning to find a lot of the American Let's Players kind of irritating in their attempts to be 'humorous' (great if you can do it, but if it doesn't come naturally, then what makes one Let's Player funny isn't necessarily going to work for someone else), and frequently end up screaming at my screen as they somehow miss something as the player that's obvious to me as the viewer. It increases the length of the Let's Play, and gives rise to the question of whether it's better to present an authentic Let's Play with all the mistakes, or whether it's better for everyone to edit out the half hour of backtracking and running around in circles because they didn't notice that a door opened right next to them when they threw that switch.
I think you can guess which I'd vote for.
But I digress. I dug up a Let's Play of Xenoblade that had already covered the part I've reached. Annoyingly, the player was at a lower level than me, and yet seemed to be more successful in his battles despite employing much the same mash tactics as me, except that he virtually never uses the Monado's powers (other than Enchant) or any chain attacks (even going to far as to mention he'd only used a chain attack on one specific enemy).
And, aside from dodging a couple of battles, he actually did better than me - completing the battle that had been giving me trouble on his first attempt.
It would have been nice to have picked up a winning strategy... but there really wasn't one, apart from picking away at one enemy at a time, which is what I'd tried to do anyway.
I'd tried the same team as him - Shulk, Dunban and Riki - and failed miserably. Even my first attempt with the normally-winning team of Shulk, Reyn and Sharla resulted in a wholesale slaughter.
So, I thought, I might as well just keep trying. One important point I did pick up from the video was that the enemies don't respawn if you die, so you only have to pick up the fight with whoever you didn't kill the last time round.
I copped out, and when back to Shulk, Reyn and Sharla...
...and I aced it.
All I can say is that I made sure everyone was focussed on the same enemy- issuing the 'Focus' command every so often - and had actually gone up a level just before the fight after a bit more grinding. I supposed I'd also played about with my selection of special moves and their individual levels... but, by and large, I was playing the same way with the same characters, but it was much easier.
So... Progress. And, after a good few cutscenes, I decided to stop for the day at a suitably dramatic juncture. Looking forward to more, but not sure when it'll happen - probably not before Sunday, since I'm off to my folks tomorrow.
There's further drama with my grandmother - when she was finally seen by a doctor, it became clear that there was something wrong. Her speech is apparently rather off - she knows what she's saying (or trying to say), but what comes out of her mouth ain't makin' sense. She had an appointment for an X-Ray, and I haven't heard any more - I guess I'll get the whole story tomorrow, though my mother warned that she might be back and forth between home and the hospital - but, at my grandmother's age, the problem could be anything from concussion to brain damage from the fall, or it could have been a stroke that caused the fall.
Watch this space...
Attack of the Clones
I guess you could trace it back to all the old Sci-Fi B-Movies of yesteryear, where the military were hopelessly outnumbered or outgunned or all-round-outclassed by invading aliens, but this whole 'invasion' schtick is rapidly becoming quite boring.
Not too long ago, there was Spielberg's pretty decent adaptation of HG Wells' The War of the Worlds, where gigantic tripod mecha - piloted by three-limbed alien things - cut a swathe across America (oh, and the rest of the world... probably) only to be felled by the common cold. More recently, we had Skyline and Battle: Los Angeles, where basically the same bunch of aliens made two different attempts at conquering our world. One involved turning people into blue-light-zombies, removing their brains and using them to pilot a vast range of seemingly unstoppable, brightly glowing, insectoid biomechanical things, while the other dispensed with all that blue light and just fried anything that moved with superior weaponry. Both had 'motherships' and 'fighter planes' that looked alarmingly similar.
Then, breaking with his own established continuity, Michael Bay decided that the transforming alien robots in Dark of the Moon would, after all, pilot spacecraft and other vehicles... which looked somewhat familiar. Add some blue light and lensflares, and you've got the rejects from Skyline and Battle: LA.
And now the completed first trailer for Avengers Assemble (or is it just called 'Avengers'?) turns up, and Loki appears to be making his bid for world domination on the back of an alien assault force that wouldn't have looked out of place in any of the previously mentioned films. In particular, there's a flying mechanical dragon thing that could easily be related to Shockwave's pet, Driller. Maybe it's the bastard offspring of Driller and Laserbeak. Wow... there's a mental image I can live without.
I guess we've all moved beyond the point where flying saucers made out of foil-covered paper plates are the height of sophistication but, really, why do all these alien assault forces look the same? The CGI designers must surely be paid to be somewhat original? Most of the craft I've seen might as well be forged from a template. Cut and paste a few bumps and panel lines from various sources, change the textures, and sell to the highest bidder.
I had high hopes for a movie that unites some of Marvel's most enduring Superheroes, not least with Joss Whedon at the helm, but 'Massive Alien Invasion' is a cliché that is well and truly played out. I can only hope that the big special effects battle is only a small part of the story, or this will be another disappointing effort from Marvel, that could have been so much better.
Not too long ago, there was Spielberg's pretty decent adaptation of HG Wells' The War of the Worlds, where gigantic tripod mecha - piloted by three-limbed alien things - cut a swathe across America (oh, and the rest of the world... probably) only to be felled by the common cold. More recently, we had Skyline and Battle: Los Angeles, where basically the same bunch of aliens made two different attempts at conquering our world. One involved turning people into blue-light-zombies, removing their brains and using them to pilot a vast range of seemingly unstoppable, brightly glowing, insectoid biomechanical things, while the other dispensed with all that blue light and just fried anything that moved with superior weaponry. Both had 'motherships' and 'fighter planes' that looked alarmingly similar.
Then, breaking with his own established continuity, Michael Bay decided that the transforming alien robots in Dark of the Moon would, after all, pilot spacecraft and other vehicles... which looked somewhat familiar. Add some blue light and lensflares, and you've got the rejects from Skyline and Battle: LA.
And now the completed first trailer for Avengers Assemble (or is it just called 'Avengers'?) turns up, and Loki appears to be making his bid for world domination on the back of an alien assault force that wouldn't have looked out of place in any of the previously mentioned films. In particular, there's a flying mechanical dragon thing that could easily be related to Shockwave's pet, Driller. Maybe it's the bastard offspring of Driller and Laserbeak. Wow... there's a mental image I can live without.
I guess we've all moved beyond the point where flying saucers made out of foil-covered paper plates are the height of sophistication but, really, why do all these alien assault forces look the same? The CGI designers must surely be paid to be somewhat original? Most of the craft I've seen might as well be forged from a template. Cut and paste a few bumps and panel lines from various sources, change the textures, and sell to the highest bidder.
I had high hopes for a movie that unites some of Marvel's most enduring Superheroes, not least with Joss Whedon at the helm, but 'Massive Alien Invasion' is a cliché that is well and truly played out. I can only hope that the big special effects battle is only a small part of the story, or this will be another disappointing effort from Marvel, that could have been so much better.
Thursday 1 March 2012
It Never Rains, But It Pours
Of course, I'm being almost ironic here, because the weather's fine... Lovely, in fact. I have windows open all over the flat and, while the sky is a little hazy in places, it's shaping up to be a bright, sunny day.
The problems are everywhere else.
When I went to bed last night, my front teeth were feeling a bit odd. Well, I say 'my front teeth', but I mean the gums they're set into. Slightly achy, but not terrible. That is, until about 5-5.30 this morning, when the pain woke me up, and was severe enough to warrant a dose of ibuprofen. At that point, I'd probably only been asleep for two hours at most, because I had another of my bordering-on-insomniac nights.
Cut to about 10.30, when I'm woken up by my phone. Nothing new there - it's normally a recorded message about Payment Protection Insurance. Not this time, though.
My grandmother has had a fall - sometime on Tuesday, it later transpired - and has been in hospital. She still hadn't been seen by a doctor when my mother phoned, but wasn't keen on staying in hospital and, it seems, had to be sedated last night because she had been found stalking the wards, trying to find her way out. After a rather longer conversation with my mother a short while ago, I have learned that my grandmother is in a far worse condition than my mother generally lets on - she can't hand-write, can't dress herself, and keeps putting things - clothes and groceries - in the wrong places. She probably should have been put into a nursing home years ago - my mother says - but was always very vocal in her desire to stay in her flat. Being in her own home made her happy... and you can't argue with that.
After the first chat with my mother, I got myself up, showered and dressed (she apologised for calling so early but, let's face it, 10.30 is pretty late to be waking up, so I should have apologised for being so lazy!) and phoned my dentist to arrange an appointment. "Can it wait till Monday?" I was asked. Since the pain has faded (not gone... I now feel that hollowness/absence of pain that says 'the problem is still there, but the pain killer is working') I agreed to that appointment... I hope I won't regret it. I do worry about my teeth - possibly more than I should, based on my dentist's assessments of their state of health, but I kind of prefer to stay paranoid.
The next order of business was taking meter readings for gas and electricity and, based on the results, phoning my utilities provider to discuss (a) altering my gas to quarterly billing, to match electricity and (b) reducing my monthly payments because - sweet Jesus - I'm over £200 in credit on my gas at the moment.
The operative I spoke to did some quick calculations and determined that I'm neither a heavy user of gas nor of electricity. Thankfully, though, I've not been heavily overcharged on both. For electricity, I'm paying less than £30 per month, and my average usage over the last year (while I've been unemployed, and on the computer almost all day, almost every day!) suggested that my payment could be taken below £25 per month.
Gas was a different story, however.
My payments were increased twice last year, effectively doubling my 'contribution' (as I've probably mentioned elsewhere). I'm currently paying over £60 a month for my gas. Now, based solely on the fact that gas prices are coming down next month, my own - admittedly shakey - mathematics told me I could afford to reduce my monthly payments by about £9. The operative's more detailed computations went a little further.
And by 'a little', I mean it turned out I'm paying about £30 too much.
Per month.
That'd be more than £300 over the course of a year.
Rather sensibly, though - considering the vagaries of British weather, and my instruction to switch to quarterly billing for gas - it was recommended that I wait till my next bill comes through to change my payment. I'd almost certainly get a refund - as I did on my last electricity bill - and that, coupled with the price reduction, would put me in a better position to make the call and them in a better position to advise me on how much of a cut to make to my monthly payments... But I'm guessing I can take about £30 off.
While I was on the phone, I was offered the opportunity of a free assessment for (and, potentially, free installation of) cavity wall insulation. I took up the offer, but have subsequently realised it might be more than a little pointless as my flat was built before cavity walls became the norm. Can't hurt to have someone out, though, and they may be able to advise me on alternatives which could help cut my bills further.
To finish on a further positive note, my niece was discharged and taken home earlier in the week, but will be returning to London tomorrow, in theory, to get her stitches removed. Of course, it wasn't all plain sailing - her father got sick at home while she was down here, so my sister decided to wait an extra day before heading back home from our parents' house. There had also been mention of an extra 24 hours in the hospital prior to discharge due to a possible irregularity in her heartbeat... but it sounds as though that was given the all-clear.
The problems are everywhere else.
When I went to bed last night, my front teeth were feeling a bit odd. Well, I say 'my front teeth', but I mean the gums they're set into. Slightly achy, but not terrible. That is, until about 5-5.30 this morning, when the pain woke me up, and was severe enough to warrant a dose of ibuprofen. At that point, I'd probably only been asleep for two hours at most, because I had another of my bordering-on-insomniac nights.
Cut to about 10.30, when I'm woken up by my phone. Nothing new there - it's normally a recorded message about Payment Protection Insurance. Not this time, though.
My grandmother has had a fall - sometime on Tuesday, it later transpired - and has been in hospital. She still hadn't been seen by a doctor when my mother phoned, but wasn't keen on staying in hospital and, it seems, had to be sedated last night because she had been found stalking the wards, trying to find her way out. After a rather longer conversation with my mother a short while ago, I have learned that my grandmother is in a far worse condition than my mother generally lets on - she can't hand-write, can't dress herself, and keeps putting things - clothes and groceries - in the wrong places. She probably should have been put into a nursing home years ago - my mother says - but was always very vocal in her desire to stay in her flat. Being in her own home made her happy... and you can't argue with that.
After the first chat with my mother, I got myself up, showered and dressed (she apologised for calling so early but, let's face it, 10.30 is pretty late to be waking up, so I should have apologised for being so lazy!) and phoned my dentist to arrange an appointment. "Can it wait till Monday?" I was asked. Since the pain has faded (not gone... I now feel that hollowness/absence of pain that says 'the problem is still there, but the pain killer is working') I agreed to that appointment... I hope I won't regret it. I do worry about my teeth - possibly more than I should, based on my dentist's assessments of their state of health, but I kind of prefer to stay paranoid.
The next order of business was taking meter readings for gas and electricity and, based on the results, phoning my utilities provider to discuss (a) altering my gas to quarterly billing, to match electricity and (b) reducing my monthly payments because - sweet Jesus - I'm over £200 in credit on my gas at the moment.
The operative I spoke to did some quick calculations and determined that I'm neither a heavy user of gas nor of electricity. Thankfully, though, I've not been heavily overcharged on both. For electricity, I'm paying less than £30 per month, and my average usage over the last year (while I've been unemployed, and on the computer almost all day, almost every day!) suggested that my payment could be taken below £25 per month.
Gas was a different story, however.
My payments were increased twice last year, effectively doubling my 'contribution' (as I've probably mentioned elsewhere). I'm currently paying over £60 a month for my gas. Now, based solely on the fact that gas prices are coming down next month, my own - admittedly shakey - mathematics told me I could afford to reduce my monthly payments by about £9. The operative's more detailed computations went a little further.
And by 'a little', I mean it turned out I'm paying about £30 too much.
Per month.
That'd be more than £300 over the course of a year.
Rather sensibly, though - considering the vagaries of British weather, and my instruction to switch to quarterly billing for gas - it was recommended that I wait till my next bill comes through to change my payment. I'd almost certainly get a refund - as I did on my last electricity bill - and that, coupled with the price reduction, would put me in a better position to make the call and them in a better position to advise me on how much of a cut to make to my monthly payments... But I'm guessing I can take about £30 off.
While I was on the phone, I was offered the opportunity of a free assessment for (and, potentially, free installation of) cavity wall insulation. I took up the offer, but have subsequently realised it might be more than a little pointless as my flat was built before cavity walls became the norm. Can't hurt to have someone out, though, and they may be able to advise me on alternatives which could help cut my bills further.
To finish on a further positive note, my niece was discharged and taken home earlier in the week, but will be returning to London tomorrow, in theory, to get her stitches removed. Of course, it wasn't all plain sailing - her father got sick at home while she was down here, so my sister decided to wait an extra day before heading back home from our parents' house. There had also been mention of an extra 24 hours in the hospital prior to discharge due to a possible irregularity in her heartbeat... but it sounds as though that was given the all-clear.
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