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May 2007 |
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May 2007
Tue 1 May
We walked together to the IBM office, Ness seeing me off on my first day. The rest of the day was a series of sessions to welcome people to IBM – there were another 10-15 starters along with me and there was a good atmosphere of camaraderie among us. It felt good, but I was also rapidly coming to the conclusion that this would be no different from the Deloitte environment, with lots of emphasis being placed on “networking” and so on. Anyway, it was a great day, and everyone was friendly. Finished around 5.30pm and then I headed over to the City to meet Ness at the Pitcher and Piano on Cornhill where Ness had met up with Barry and Rob and Alison. We had some drinks and then went for dinner, except Barry, at a nearby spot suggested by Alison. Again, I grumped a little as it wasn’t quite to my liking (even though it was just fine and actually very tasty). We walked to Liverpool Street with Rob and Alison afterwards and then made our way back to the hotel.
Wed 2 May
Second day of induction at IBM for me. Got issued with my laptop and mobile phone, so now it’s official, I’m “Blue”, as my manager put it – my “PeM” (aka Counsellor) in Ibmese. After the day I grabbed a coffee with Amer, who is a Bosnian Dutchman, or Dutch Bosnian, and then returned to the hotel where Ness had already checked us out. Quick change of clothes and then we made our way back to Gatwick for our flight back home to North Berwick. We got back late, tired and headed for bed.
Thu 3 May
Caught the train into Edinburgh for my first day at the office here. A nice building on St Andrew Square, although inside of course rather less grand and more ordinary. At first a bit lost and disappointed but as the day wore on I managed to get more stuff done, found a better area to sit, and so on. In the evening we went for a beach walk, to Tea Rock and back. Ness worried about house and money, understandably, and compounded by the fact that I’m now busy with my new stuff. I have my new job and my sailing interest and contacts outside work but Ness is beginning to question what it has all been for, not having either of these things.
Fri 4 May
More of the same really, except that I had a short-term lease car delivered and ended up driving back in a crappy new Mondeo.
Sat 5 May
Niall had asked if I could be “AOOD” today with him and so I spent most of the day in the race hut with Niall and his wife/girlfriend Sarah, watching the dinghy races. Before I went out we had an argument – the strain of being unsettled and worries about not finding a house. When I came back at 5pm Ness was still out, gone to the cinema. I cleaned the bathroom (finally) and generally tried to sort stuff out around the flat. We sort of patched up by the end of the day.
Sun 6 May
Day didn’t start very well, and before I headed out for my first dinghy sailing lesson we had another argument. The stress of not being settled, of not having our own pad, is beginning to tell and with such a small housing market we don’t know when, or even whether, we’ll ever find something. I left Ness in the flat and headed for the yacht club. Glorious bright but very windy weather. A stunner of a day, but totally unsuitable for dinghy sailing, even for experienced hands, never mind first-timers! So instead they day was spent covering theory, from basic weather and points of sail to actually getting in a dinghy in the car park and trying out the manoeuvres to tack and gibe. Lots of people on the course. We were split up into smaller groups, each covering a separate topic as we circulated. A friendly atmosphere with many club members pitching in to teach the course. Good fun. It finished at 3pm and I headed back to the flat, and then back out again to meet Ness at the Seabird Centre. We set off to go for a beach walk but it started to rain and instead we returned to the flat.
Mon 7 May
Difficult day, at odds with each other, up and down. At lunchtime we drove to Gullane and had lunch at the Old Club House, a nice Sunday-lunch pub in the old golf club house by the green in the centre of Gullane. Would be perfect to come here with friends/family for a bite out. Despite best intentions not to be a “GOM”, I managed to find fault with the dinner (it was rather bland) but the atmosphere was convivial and we were on much better terms with each other at last. After lunch we took a look at the beach in Gullane and watched a couple of hardy kite-surfers, but as it had started to rain rather heavily we didn’t stay long. We still needed cheering up a bit at the end of the day and drove to Fort Kinnaird and splashed out on a pile of DVD’s. At home we stuck on X Men 3 and had a tasty bitsa dinner.
Tue 8 May
As we had a last chance to do house-viewings together, before I end up f/t in Epsom, I “worked from home” for the day, now that I had figured out how to get into the IBM intranet and pick up mail over our own internet connection. Work, well – I spent time trying to figure out more IBM admin but most of the time was taken up with house viewing. First one was Westgate, on the High Street. We liked it but it wasn’t 100%. Next we went to “the Commodore’s House”, Eric & Jane’s house just down the road from us on Forth Street. Loved it, but no garden and right next to the local curry house, no parking, and very pricey, but tastefully quirky inside, and character and history to boot. Later we viewed another flat, but that was a definite no due to the poky rooms on the upper floor. We pondered matters over, I booked flight, hotel and car for tomorrow, and we made appointments to go and see Westgate and Commodore’s House again later in the day. We had a glass of wine with Eric and Jane and tried to find out how much they want and whether we might be in a position to buy. We needed time to ponder it all over and in the rain headed down to the rocks at the front of the harbour to sit in our fave thinking spot. Ian, from Seaskills, and a couple of others were in the race hut keeping an eye on a dinghy race, they were coming back in while we were sat there. Back at the flat we whizzed around, Ness first helping me to pack for tomorrow and then we had a tasty dinner of lamb and butternut squash stew with spicy cous-cous, yummmmm, and watched (me nodding off) one of the new DVD’s we bought yesterday.
Wed 9 May
Early start as I had to head for the airport to catch my new “commute” flight to Gatwick. Usual faff getting stuff together but Ness was on the ball and got me out of the door on time. As Ness is insured to drive the crappy Mondeo short-term lease car I took Eddie to drive to the airport. Parked, checked in, queued, quick coffee and croissant, hop on the plane. Nice views at take-off of the Forth bridges and the bright yellow fields (rapeseed?) dotted around. At Gatwick collected hire car – a plasticky Fiat Punto – to drive to the client's office in the leafy bits of Epsom. Not a bad site actually, smart, modern, rather like Sun’s offices in Farnborough. Rest of the day spent with Tom and Adrian, my IBM colleagues here. It’s back to business as usual for me. Meanwhile Ness sent me the odd text about the house-hunt etc. Mixed feelings about being here – good to be on a project, good to be back at work, doing the work I want to do, for the company I want to work for, etc. but it all just feels so … hum-drum, “Average Joe”, boring – it’s going to take time to settle back in. Long chat with Ness at the end of the day re. house choices. Ness had spent a long time chatting with Ruth and Val, the two ladies running a card shop in North Berwick, and they have come up with some fresh perspectives on which house to go for. At the end of the day I headed over the Croydon Hilton and settled in, went for a quick bite downstairs and then back to my room – to catch up on my diary!
Thu 10 May
Day at the office, at client in Epsom. What else is there to say?! Ok, to put it into perspective – so, it’s “work”, which is never a good thing in my book (always the dreamer), but I’m finally, doing the job I have aspired to, well, really since I joined Digital back in 1995 and came across Jon Buxton, the first “solutions architect” I had met, and I’m working for “Big Blue”, another long-standing aspiration. I’m “billable”, another good thing and vastly preferable to “bid work” which is always the danger of not being on a project, and the Toyota office is a fantastic work environment, surrounded by greenery, with my own good-sized desk, connectivity, and excellent coffee and even a proper canteen. To top it all, it’s close-ish to London should there be a need/desire to meet up with friends or work colleagues. Finally, there is even the possibility of doing part of the work from home or wherever I choose to be. I have definitely “fallen with my nose in the butter”, even though it might not seem that way at first sight.
Fri 11 May
Most of the day at client office in Epsom, left around 4.30pm to drive to Gatwick and catch flight back to Edinburgh. All in all quite late by the time I got back to North Berwick, but very glad to be home for the weekend. Looking out of the plane as it approach Edinburgh, flying over the Borders, Glasgow and Lothian, I was surprised at how fond I have started to become of this part of the world. It really is beginning to feel like home now, and I love the green scenery with its bleak empty bits. Ness had prepared pasta for dinner and we had a quick meal, and tazzed around emptying and repacking, in preparation for another flight tomorrow morning, to go to Manchester. Whilst waiting at Gatwick airport for my flight I called Mama, again, having done so a couple of times already during the week. Mama has a pain in her right leg and finds it difficult to get around. Dr De Ruyck has been and prescribed some pills, painkillers presumably, and rest. Mama says she has enough of everything in the house and no need to go out shopping. I’m worried and feel useless at not being able to do something to help, other than make regular calls, “to say hello”. Mama is planning to go over to stay with Mischa, Greg and Woody for a week from Saturday 26 May, but I wonder how she might manage that with the pain in her leg. It has also prompted thoughts that we all really need to give some serious though to how best to arrange things for Mama to live independently at home.
Sat 12 May
Up early, headed back to the airport. The queues at security were much shorter now than during the week. Bite of brekkie from the Paul patisserie, board plane, flying with Flybe on this route. At Manchester airport we had a long way to walk to the train station, caught the train into the centre and found our hotel, the tall tower of the swanky Hilton. The top half of the tall hotel was wider than the lower half, looking as if it could be toppled over. Very striking, if rather boxy and angular. Friendly Portuguese chap at the Hhonors check-in. Turned out that Bernard Manning, a coarse British entertainer (?) was holding his “wake” at the hotel this weekend, i.e. before he had actually died, so he could enjoy his wake too. Odd mixture of guests checking in, hen parties of the more mature variety, along with trendy young things, not quite the most refined or elegant people but then this is northern England we’re talking about! And plenty of older men I can’t quite typify. All in all, a “footballer’s wives” crowd. We dumped our bits in our thirteenth floor room, very modern and with a wide view (but of what?) Beccie, John x 2 and Frankie arrived a bit later and we had more coffees, served by the friendly chuckling waiter. We headed over to the theatre in good time, allowing plenty of time for Nessie’s dad to slowly walk the short walk to the theatre. We went to see The Producers, with Peter Kay as guest star. Besides Kay there were other familiar faces, in particular James Gordon Sinclair (familiar face, unfamiliar name) in the role of the accountant-turned-producer. It was actually a lot better than I had anticipated and had me laughing most of the way through. The impromptu (?) jokes and improvisations, such as a bit of Human League from Kay when he was in his Hitler outfit, all added up to a wonderful bit of entertainment we all enjoyed. Afterwards we returned to the hotel and booked a table there for dinner in the large modern dining room, which despite its cavernous size still retained a feeling of hushed comfort, and despite the groups of hen parties with balloons. Excellent meal too, and I finished it with a nice glass of desert wine. We also managed to have a drink at the swanky bar on the twenty third floor (which was only halfway up the building as the top half consists of private apartments), with great cocktails and views. As hotel guests we managed to jump the queue and didn’t need to make a booking. Great day out!
Sun 13 May
Didn’t manage to get the swim/steam in, but after a tasty breakfast and slightly lazy start we headed for The Lowry, a museum/arts complex focused around the works of the artist by the same name, of “stick men” fame (although I had heard the name I couldn’t picture a particular style). Cabs to The Lowry, which was in another reinvented part of Manchester, with modern apartments and builldings, etc. The Lowry itself had a great video about the artist’s life and work, there was a separate photo exhibition (Ian Berry?), and then the works themselves, representing the industrial background of Manchester during the middle of the twentieth century. Excellent museum. Enjoyed taking the time to appreciate the various works. Also made me wonder what kind of art, what kind of perspective, this man, Lowry, would have developed had he been in a different environment, say, Holland of the 1950’s. We took a cab back to the hotel. Outside it was raining, quite heavily at times. Lots of traffic and pedestrians rushing about, trying to get to “the match” in footie-mad Manchester. In the hotel we plonked in the comfy bar (Plume or something like that), and again, no-one made moves to order some lunch, so I did, leaving it rather late. I tucked into my club sandwich and then it was time for Ness and me to catch our cab to the airport. A smooth flight back and we got back to North Berwick early enough to enjoy the last bit of overcast daylight and go for a beach walk. Lovely cold fresh air, just what we needed. We walked to Tea Rock and back, talking. The beach and sky give you the room and space to think and speak in, it’s as if your mind needs all that space around it to see things more clearly, to be more at ease, to be able to reflect. I just love this stretch and it’s one of the frustrations of the business travel that we don’t get this opportunity to walk together along the beach during the week. I just hope Ness at least takes advantage of it even if I can’t. Anyway, the Manchester weekend was a success, really enjoyed it – it all came together so easily and effortlessly (thanks to John).
Mon 14 May
Early start, travel to Epsom, now already feeling a bit like a routine. I’m conscious that I need to show what I’m made of here – if I can hit it off with Tom and Adrian I will have acquired two very useful contacts in my IBM “network”, who will hopefully then recommend me, give me a good appraisal, etc. But it seems like quite a steep climb ahead, and I’m a bit daunted by the whole thing. Managed to get through the day quite easily though, looking intelligent enough while trying to absorb all the new stuff. Back at the Hilton at the end of the day, and cuddled up with little Jasper at night.
Tue 15 May
“Day at the office” and dinner with Tom at the hotel at the end of the day. He has a bad cough and is very softly spoken, making conversation a little awkward, but he seems a decent and intelligent guy.
Wed 16 May
No hot water in the morning, grrr. Another day at the office. Went for a sauna, steam, swim and whirl at the end of the day, excellent, very relaxing.
Thu 17 May
Last “day at the office” of the week, and more stuff is beginning to fall into place. I’m trying not to look “light” in front of the others but very conscious that I’m having to catch up. Also want to make sure that no-one has to ask me for my work but that I’m getting drafts and content out early, keen to impress. But the day passed so quickly, and I’m not sure what I accomplished at the end of it. Left around 4.30pm to head for the airport, calling Ness on my way to the car. At Gatwick I had something to eat at Yo! Sushi, called Mama, and caught my flight to Edinburgh, and then sat at the arrivals waiting for Mark, Margaret, Rob and Alison to arrive – they’re coming to visit us for the weekend. Quite happily settled in Costa’s with my IBM laptop while waiting. It was late by the time we got back to North Berwick.
Fri 18 May
I worked in the Edinburgh office today. Train back to North Berwick. Turned out that Ness with M, M, R & A had had a rather quiet day. Alison’s sister Eilidh came over with her son (?) and sounds like they had a quiet day strolling around North Berwick. Mark & Eliza also came over in the evening. Ness had prepared a sumptuous feast, delicious dishes – beef tagine (?), cous-cous, roasted veggies, etc. All piled in, and it was good fun to have our friends over. I called it a night around 1-2am but the others carried on for a while.
Sat 19 May
Slow start in the morning, after a late night. Some people made themselves breakfast, Alison had cooked the croissants (never heard of that one before), and so on. We got everyone ready, Ness made a packed lunch to take, and we drove out to do the Hailes Castle + Traprain Law walk. Alison’s shoe came apart but Mark did a quick on-the-spot repair. Not the most scenic walk, I had forgotten about the unscenic first bit. Chatted lots with one of our friends who seems to be having a bit of a mid-life crisis, well, not so much a crisis but reached an impasse, not really enjoying what he’s doing, not sure what he would like to do otherwise, etc. Mark and Rob were adamant about getting back before 3pm so they could catch the FA Cup Final on tv. The rest of us cared very little for that. At Traprain Law Ness tripped and sprained her ankle, so didn’t get to the top. Mark B and I did (Margaret stayed with Alison and Ness out of solidarity), and had superb views from the top while we sat in the small stone enclosure at the top and had some twixes. Wonderful up here. Back down. I walked back to the car with Margaret and Mark, and we found Ness in the Drover’s pub in East Linton (Rob, Alison and Mark D had carried on to North Berwick for the footie), where we had a drink before continuing to Ravensheugh for another walk. Had the kite with us also, and had a successful play with it near St Baldred’s Chair as the beach itself was covered by the high tide. Then we returned to North Berwick. In the evening Ness prepared another feast, and this time we engineered it so that Margaret got a fair share of the dish that had been prepared for her, and she managed to stop people from tucking in before Ness sat down, and it all went rather more smoothly this evening. Mark and Eliza headed back to Bathgate at the end of the evening, and we got the triv board out again, and my collection of hats came out – some great pictures!
Sun 20 May
After everyone had got themselves up, showered and dressed, we headed for Gullane, and went for a short walk along the beach before going for lunch at the Old Golf Club. Food and service turned out to be terrible – food was bland and unimaginative, service took ages, and it was over-priced to boot. Shame as it has such potential to be a smart place, perfect for a Sunday lunch. I then drove our friends over to the airport and then drove back. Meanwhile Ness had cleared up most of the flat already, and we had a nice relaxing Sunday evening together.
Mon 21 May
Day at the office. Commute in on the train, watch the Forth on my right on the way into town, trundle through the station – I quite like the commute like this, feeling like I “belong” in this city. Pick up a coffee from Costa’s, and settle into a free desk at St Andrew Square. Quite like it like this. And back at the end of the day.
Tue 22 May
Day at the office. Steam and swim at the McDonald, or was that tomorrow? Whatever, it was lovely to steam away, and sit in the half-in/half-outside jacuzzi. Damn civilised! Got a brainwave and thought of calling Niall re. possible contacts for views on feasibility for adding an extension to Westgate.
Wed 23 May
Day at the office, ditto. Drove in and swapped for the new car, a massive Passat (rather than the Jetta they ha |