Friday, July 23, 2004
I-17
I'm back to not sleeping again - stress of moving, I suspect - hence this
entry at 2am. :) Still, it means I'm getting a bit of embroidery done again
between that and the packing. I've taken to bribing myself with embroidery
time. If I sort two or three boxes I can then embroidery a whole length of
thread. Given that I have finally found a design for something I've been
planning for ages I'm taking advantage of the enthusiasm.
The next two and a half weeks are going to be hectic. I'm off down to the
caravan for the weekend tomorrow, then down to Liverpool on Tuesday (where
I'll have email access again), to Belfast for the weekend on Thursday, back
to Liverpool Monday, Paddy & Jean's place Tuesday and then finally back up
here on Wednesday to finish the packing and sorting over the weekend before
I finally leave on the Monday.
On top of which I have to do three extra days in the office as there was a
cock-up on the holiday front and it turns out that I have three days less
holiday than I was originally told. So I'm getting my revenge by working
those days but phoning finance tomorrow to see if my redundancy pay is
tax-free. It seems that under the 2002 act I am entitled to redundancy pay
because the university can't renew my contract. I wonder what excuses
they're going to try to get out of it?
As part of my packing this evening I cam across a 007 magazine that I got
free with the Goldeneye video when it first came out. It explains why Sean
Bean got to play Sharpe. It seems that while at drama school he won prizes
for not only his graduation performance but also two awards for fencing. No
wonder he looks at home wielding that meat cleaver! Useful for playing
Boromir too.
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entry at 2am. :) Still, it means I'm getting a bit of embroidery done again
between that and the packing. I've taken to bribing myself with embroidery
time. If I sort two or three boxes I can then embroidery a whole length of
thread. Given that I have finally found a design for something I've been
planning for ages I'm taking advantage of the enthusiasm.
The next two and a half weeks are going to be hectic. I'm off down to the
caravan for the weekend tomorrow, then down to Liverpool on Tuesday (where
I'll have email access again), to Belfast for the weekend on Thursday, back
to Liverpool Monday, Paddy & Jean's place Tuesday and then finally back up
here on Wednesday to finish the packing and sorting over the weekend before
I finally leave on the Monday.
On top of which I have to do three extra days in the office as there was a
cock-up on the holiday front and it turns out that I have three days less
holiday than I was originally told. So I'm getting my revenge by working
those days but phoning finance tomorrow to see if my redundancy pay is
tax-free. It seems that under the 2002 act I am entitled to redundancy pay
because the university can't renew my contract. I wonder what excuses
they're going to try to get out of it?
As part of my packing this evening I cam across a 007 magazine that I got
free with the Goldeneye video when it first came out. It explains why Sean
Bean got to play Sharpe. It seems that while at drama school he won prizes
for not only his graduation performance but also two awards for fencing. No
wonder he looks at home wielding that meat cleaver! Useful for playing
Boromir too.
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Sunday, July 18, 2004
I-21
I-22 and I'm starting to get things organised. More specifically, Roger and
Alli came over today and gave me a hand with the packing. Or, to be more
precise, the selection of things to be packed, stored, given away, sent to
the charity shops or thrown away. We got a surprising amount done, although
I still don't want to think about how much stuff I have and will still have
once this process is complete.
Yesterday was quite hectic too. I went down to St. Andrews to visit Andrew
and the rest of the Fife gang, during which Toby phoned with the news that
Kate had given birth to a bouncing Elizabeth 'Beth' Rowena Aitkin-Wright.
It's quite scary when your friends start sprogging. But then again, someone
has to and rather them than me. Good luck to them anyway.
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Alli came over today and gave me a hand with the packing. Or, to be more
precise, the selection of things to be packed, stored, given away, sent to
the charity shops or thrown away. We got a surprising amount done, although
I still don't want to think about how much stuff I have and will still have
once this process is complete.
Yesterday was quite hectic too. I went down to St. Andrews to visit Andrew
and the rest of the Fife gang, during which Toby phoned with the news that
Kate had given birth to a bouncing Elizabeth 'Beth' Rowena Aitkin-Wright.
It's quite scary when your friends start sprogging. But then again, someone
has to and rather them than me. Good luck to them anyway.
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Friday, July 16, 2004
I-23
I have made progress with the packing. I have packed a box of embroidery and
other craft books. I found some really good patterns I'd entirely forgotten
about. Other than that, well, there are still a lot of boxes to go through.
Thankfully Roger and Alli are coming over on Sunday to inspire me to deal
with the boxes in the kitchen.
It was another late night last night, as I was up at Alli''s place starting
the fabric side of Roger's viking tent. It's going to be huge - three meters
or so long by about the same in height, with a wood frame and a canvas
cover. Now I'm no good with wood, but I do know how to handle a sewing
machine. Alli also has a really good old Jones machine that she was given
and I had a look at last night. It's one of those heavy blue industrial
1960s models that'll stitch anything and it's in great working condition.
Once I worked out how to thread it and so forth it worked like a dream.
Further investigation (talking to Mum on the phone) led me to discover that
it's the fore-runner to Mum's old Brother machine that I'm swapping for my
more lightweight Singer one. Mum's has embroidery cogs as well as having
more power, and the power would be useful for the heavy brocades and
canvasses that I'm now working with doing costuming and tent-making.
Not that I've done much costuming recently. I still have the beautiful brown
and gold brocade that I want to use to make a sleeveless surcoat, but I'm
not going to have time to do that before I-Day. All I have to do is work out
how to get all of my SCA stuff in the car to go with me. Alternatively I
might leave a box with Mum in the UK and be more selective about what I take
with me. Tough one that, but all part of the packing process, I suppose. I
just wish I was better at the process itself.
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Monday, July 12, 2004
I-27 days
Today is Monday, I-27. At this time, in four weeks time, I will be on a
ferry heading for Lerwick in the Shetlands on the first part of my journey
to Iceland. And I still have so much to do...
It has been a public holiday here in Aberdeen today, so I wasn't in the
office. Instead I've been tidying up and sorting out ready to move. Yeah,
pull the other one, it's got bells on! I've managed to put some craft stuff
into small boxes ready to go into bigger boxes, but that's about it. I did
manage to finish Eric Flint's 1632 though - a jolly good read.
It's really handy having a Palm Pilot that I can use as a book reader. OK,
so it's about a million models behind the current one - it's not even
colour, for goodness' sake - but it allows me to hold my address book and
half a dozen or so good thick science fiction / fantasy novels in a very
small piece of electronics. On top of which, it has a flip-top cover that
can be easily opened with a flick of the wrist. The same flick of the wrist
that I spent hours practising as a child because they were bound to give us
all communicators sooner or later and I wanted to be able to open it
properly. After all, if Captain Kirk could do it, so could I. The sad
trekkie is still within me after all this time.
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ferry heading for Lerwick in the Shetlands on the first part of my journey
to Iceland. And I still have so much to do...
It has been a public holiday here in Aberdeen today, so I wasn't in the
office. Instead I've been tidying up and sorting out ready to move. Yeah,
pull the other one, it's got bells on! I've managed to put some craft stuff
into small boxes ready to go into bigger boxes, but that's about it. I did
manage to finish Eric Flint's 1632 though - a jolly good read.
It's really handy having a Palm Pilot that I can use as a book reader. OK,
so it's about a million models behind the current one - it's not even
colour, for goodness' sake - but it allows me to hold my address book and
half a dozen or so good thick science fiction / fantasy novels in a very
small piece of electronics. On top of which, it has a flip-top cover that
can be easily opened with a flick of the wrist. The same flick of the wrist
that I spent hours practising as a child because they were bound to give us
all communicators sooner or later and I wanted to be able to open it
properly. After all, if Captain Kirk could do it, so could I. The sad
trekkie is still within me after all this time.
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Wednesday, July 07, 2004
I-Day is approaching...
Today is the 8th of July. I leave the country for Iceland in a month and a
day, on August the 9th. In keeping with the whole viking theme of the
adventure, I'm travelling to Iceland by ferry. It turns out that the
cheapest way to get me and more than a single suitcase to Iceland is to take
my car on the ferry from Aberdeen. Convenient, that. It also means I get to
take my car, which is a plus for several reasons - firstly I have my car to
travel about once I get there, and secondly that I can carry a lot more in
my car than I can in a suitcase.
Of course this means that I have to pack stuff into the car first, which
itself implies that I have to sort stuff first. This evening I went into the
kitchen, full of good intentions and carrying three newly-bought storage
boxes to start the main packing and sorting task, but stood there for ten
minutes looking at the pile of boxes I need to sort thinking 'where do I
start?'. Eventually I started putting embroidery kits and books into a box
and did some washing. It wasn't a very productive night in that respect. :(
Still, I did get some good work done yesterday. I not only got this website
started, I also got some real work done in the office and found out that
I've had a paper accepted for a research conference in November. I doubt
I'll be going to the conference unless we get the demo accepted as well (in
which case we'll need the bodies) but it's nice to have the publications.
Publications are like buses right now - I have nothing for eight years and
now two come along in the space of a month.
All I have to do is keep the publication rate up and I'll do just fine.
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day, on August the 9th. In keeping with the whole viking theme of the
adventure, I'm travelling to Iceland by ferry. It turns out that the
cheapest way to get me and more than a single suitcase to Iceland is to take
my car on the ferry from Aberdeen. Convenient, that. It also means I get to
take my car, which is a plus for several reasons - firstly I have my car to
travel about once I get there, and secondly that I can carry a lot more in
my car than I can in a suitcase.
Of course this means that I have to pack stuff into the car first, which
itself implies that I have to sort stuff first. This evening I went into the
kitchen, full of good intentions and carrying three newly-bought storage
boxes to start the main packing and sorting task, but stood there for ten
minutes looking at the pile of boxes I need to sort thinking 'where do I
start?'. Eventually I started putting embroidery kits and books into a box
and did some washing. It wasn't a very productive night in that respect. :(
Still, I did get some good work done yesterday. I not only got this website
started, I also got some real work done in the office and found out that
I've had a paper accepted for a research conference in November. I doubt
I'll be going to the conference unless we get the demo accepted as well (in
which case we'll need the bodies) but it's nice to have the publications.
Publications are like buses right now - I have nothing for eight years and
now two come along in the space of a month.
All I have to do is keep the publication rate up and I'll do just fine.
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Coming soon...
Nik's Saga - the adventures of a mad Englishwoman who's gone off to live and work in Akureyri, Iceland (as the UK university sector is so grossly underfunded that she can't get a permanent job at home).
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