So, it's my second day (third just beginning) of being back out of work after a two-month stint on a magazine that got closed just as my new colleagues were trying to get me on the payroll, and I'm already feeling crappy.
It wasn't even helped, yesterday, by a very pleasant - if brief and to-the-point - meeting with a former colleague whose new employers think they have a vacancy I can fill. While it's nice to have my skill-set recognised and appreciated, the more I think about it, the more I dread simply going to work with former colleagues.
It's not even necessarily the specific grouping of individuals... there's just a pervading sense of discomfort at the idea of being with (mostly) the same people in a new environment. How different is it really going to be? Part of it is the fear that my old Office Persona will reassert itself, when I've been enjoying its absence and being more like my real-world self while working as a Temp.
But, I have to admit, the specific grouping of individuals is a big sticking point. The guy that decided he wanted a manager is the guy that tried three times to get his manager sacked when we last worked together. The guy who runs the business is basically a crook, and has employed most of his old drinking buddies as Salespeople, pretty much ensuring poor sales (in terms of quantity and value). Some of these people didn't even start selling till press week (having had three weeks since the last press day), and even then could only close a deal by offering "late space rates", which basically translates as "whoops, there go my knickers!"
On a different note, I spent virtually the whole day today playing Xenoblade Cronicles... it's rather difficult to decide how far I've got in the narrative... based in certain requirements (specifically, the rebuilding of Colony 6) I'd suspect I'm about half- to about two-thirds-through. I'm around Level 65 on all my characters, but there are monsters in the 70s, 80s and above lurking in the earlier maps. Certain elements of combat have 'clicked' over the last couple of times I've played the game, so I'm able to be a bit more proactive with my action selections... and yet I'm still getting slaughtered (occasionally by lower-level Mechon) without really noticing how it happens. I suspect I'm not clearing my debuffs frequently enough...
Story-wise, not a massive amount has happened, really... I've met up with a new faced Mechon, met an important Machina, and got myself to the Machina Capital City inside Mechonis (well, I saved and stopped just before), but the cut-scenes have been fewer and further between. Some of the unique monsters have been an absolute pest, and some of the quests are thoroughly annoying, but I'm still getting more enjoyment out of Xenoblade than most RPGs, and certainly a lot of my other Wii games.
I've also been watching a bit more Torchwood... and finding it just as lacking as it was the first time round. The pilot was reasonably well done for British Sci-Fi (though, on a second viewing, it bugs me immensely that Jack mentions "contraceptives in the rain" only for the concept to be completely ignored thereafter - a true RTD hallmark - the smoking gun is nought but set-dressing) but most episodes after that are confused, wasteful and more than a little bit daft. The characters are inconsistent and behave very immaturely... but it was surprising to be reminded that Jack was portrayed as a bit of a dick from the very beginning.
The last episode I watched was Countrycide... which sets up it's horror fairly well, only to fluff it completely by having some of the main players behave utterly out of character (another true RTD hallmark - as long as the main character is reasonably consistent, everyone else can behave however-the-fuck-they-like), and the finale is deus ex machina of the most ridiculous kind. I mean, come on, where was Jack before his 'grand entrance'? The most disappointing thing is that the final conversation between Gwen and one of the monsters-du-jour should have been utterly chilling, and the actor delivers his line well enough... but something about the whole setting renders it flat.
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