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Brassey's Blog-Oh!comment-me-do August 01 Career I goI've been doing this blog for over 6 months now. I never expected to stick with it for this long at the beginning, but I started to enjoy it and have witten some guff or other most days recently. Quite a lot seems to have happened during the time, too. There have been loads of trips abroad and even more exams. I've been to gigs, footy, golf and nearly cricket. I've also found myself a job.
The job, starting tomorrow, marks a new chapter in my life, the start of what will hopefully be a long and happy career. It's a little daunting after 2 years without a full-time, permanent job but it's also pretty exciting. It means that I am going to become a professional, or at least train to be one. For this reason, among others, I've decided to finish with this blog.
I feel that it could be inappropriate for me to be writing stuff openly on here, it's not what I want. Maybe I'll get a new, anonymous one but I think it's time to put this particular Blog-Oh! to bed.
I'm not going to delete it, I'll probably use the links on it to read what you lovely people are writing. It'll also be used for me to look back on at some point in the future, the idea of it all along as far as I've been concerned. Feel free to drop comments off whenever you like, I'll look out for them.
So that's it. Cheers for stopping by, it's been a joy.
Chris. July 31 Sort out that damn websiteAnd so, for the final time, I wait for the college of law web site to load up exam results and realise that it can't cope with many people looking at the same time. It really does my head in that I have paid them in the region of £14,000 over the last 2 years and yet they can't handle publishing results.
But wait, what's this? Why, it's the ever reliable Royal Mail postman with my results. And......?
Another commendation for me.
Now last time I was over the moon with that, it was completely unexpected. This time I'm really proud of it but at the same time there is a tinge of disappointment. One mark which I thought might be pretty high was my lowest, preventing me from being in with a chance of the top level of award, a distinction.
What I needed overall from the 6 topics were 4 or more marks of 70% or over and an average of 70% or more. I ended up with 3 at 70% and an average of just under 67%. Close, but no cigar.
But anyway, it's all over with at last. 2 years, 2 commendations and college is over. Now comes what it's all been about: a career in law. The job is starting on Wednesday - come back tomorrow for a bit more about that..... and maybe even a shocking revelation which will change your world*.
*Unlikely to happen July 30 stumpedSo the cricket ended yesterday, an easy victory for England on the 3rd of 5 scheduled days play meaning that my plans to watch day 4 have gone down the toilet. It was a slight relief not to have to get up early, because I was out for a few drinks last night. We ended up in a "club" called M-Bar-Go, a hideous name for a shocking place. Still, it was open til 2 and we could sit down (which I believe is standard behaviour for such an establishment). Anyway, I've decided not to go out this afternoon with no cricket and so am currently on the train home. It's a very dirty train, they should have a cleaning person. Some bloke's got a thundercats t-shirt on - ace! Another fella is rummaging through a black bin bag. He's pulled out a trouser. Something seriously smells all of a sudden and I can't help but blame bag man and his trousers. I think it's wee. God, I hope I've not much further to go. Right, that's enough. I decided to do this blog because I needed to stop looking at the internet. I was reading Biffovision (don't know how I'd link to it on the train, but there's one in my list of blogs) and started giggling uncontrolably, if that's even a word. Go there now for laugh out loud funnies. After you've left a comment, you sweaty beast. July 29 the weekendI'm smack bang in the middle of a very busy weekend, so I thought I'd use this train journey as an opportunity to do a quick blog about it. Yesterday, I went to a wedding - congratulations to Neil and Karen! It was a speedy ceremony, in and out in about 15 minutes, job done. Then there was a 4 hour gap until the meal so, as is tradition, I drank too much. Champagne, lager, wine, I wasn't fussy. Pour it and I'll drink it. Off to the meal, and more drink and that was yesterday. I woke today feeling better than expected but not really relishing the prospect of 2 more days of drinking. Still, I'm no quitter, I'll give it a go. Actually, I was convinced that it was Sunday, which led to me missing Saturday Cooks. Nightmare. I travelled home before going for the train to Manchester, where I'm out for the evening. No idea what the plan is, but I expect more beer. Tomorrow I'm going to the cricket.... if it's not already finished. England are firmly in control at the moment and we might need this rain to stop play to make sure the match actually makes it to day 4. If not, I'm sure we can find other forms of entertainment. So there you go, a quick update. Not a very interesting one, I'm afraid. You get a flavour of my boredom on the train though. I'll see if I can post a picture of my depressing view. It might work, it might not. July 27 School's out foreverI found out recently that my secondary school, Ainsdale High, was closing down. Strangely, for somewhere I spent 5 years between the ages of 11 and 16, I wasn't bothered by the news at all.
I didn't have an unhappy time at school, it was...... fine. I've a couple of good mates who I met there and, in terms of qualifications, I did well. 6 Bs and 3 As at a time when that actually meant something. You kids and your A*s, you don't know the meaning of hard work! Also, I was at school before mobile phones, knives and teenage pregnancy.
But anyway, they weren't the best days of my life - people are lying when they say that. The news of the closure did make me think back to the place, the pupils and the teachers though. The school itself was unusual in that it was built on stilts. Seriously. Look closely at the pic.
It was something to do with methane emissions.
Under the building, pupils spent break times smoking, hitting each other, kicking balls against the walls and all the other school break time thimgs that happen everywhere else. That and running up walls and touching the base of the building. I think it was fun at the time.
The teachers were the usual mixed bunch. There were
I don't have all that many stand out memories of the place other than playing a crazy amount of football in my leisure time. I'd get in early (after a journey consisting of a 10 minute bus, 5 minute walk to the train station, 10 minute train and 10 minute walk from the station) and have half an hour kickabout. Then there were 2 break times and lunchtime. Bags for goalposts ("GOAL!" "No, it went over the post!"), school shoes for boots and very muddy trousers. Good times. The rest is a bit of a blur now. It was a decent school, but one which was clearly going downhill before I left. The policy of accepting a bunch of kids who'd been expelled from other schools was dubious and teachers told us that, after our year, they didn't know if they wanted to stay. It looks like it's gone on for too long. Even an effort to rebrand it as a C of E school (Ainsdale Hope) didn't work and now they're not accepting new pupils. So that's that, the end of an era, but not one that many people will care too much about. It'll be knocked down in a few years and I guess that a few more generic housing estates will crop up. If they put the houses on stilts, maybe I'll buy one for old times' sake.... July 26 You have to be kidding?I've just lost a whole blog entry and am a tad annoyed. AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!
Anyway, I suppose I'll just have to retype it. Not that it was any good. In fact, it was probably a bit dull. Basically, I'm a bit bored. The longer I sit around all day, the more appealing the prospect of work becomes. All I seem to be doing of a day is sitting around, sweating and watching 24. I love 24, but it'll be over soon. Then what will I do?!
I did manage to get out of the house last night and had a nice family meal. I was undecided on what I'd have to eat up until I came to order and plumped for black pudding and poached egg followed by prime beef fillet with goat's cheese. Very nice it was too, although my medium-rare steak was overcooked. I should've asked for rare.
And that's about that. Nothing much to report. I did carry on in my original blog, but I can't be bothered doing it all again now because there were a load of links and stuff which will take too long to find. What, you want some linkage? Oh, go on then. This has nothing to do with anything but I found it surreal and quite menacing.
I appear to still be here. Why? Because lovely MSN Spaces is being a spacker and claiming that this space is temporarily unavailable. Great. Please try again later. I am doing! So maybe I'll lose this blog too. That would make me super happy! I hope they've got a bloody good reason. Not that we'll ever find out.
Right, time to click "publish" again. This might be the end of the blog.
July 25 Rooney has a sulkI don't want to spend much time on this ugly fat arse, but Rooney has been talking about Everton manager Davie Moyes:
What, he wanted to manage his players ? What was he playing at? Well it's good to see that Sir Alex has stepped back from controlling you, Wayne. It's clearly worked, what with you now stamping on groins, losing England the World Cup, paying old ladies to "entertain" you and spouting abuse at anyone who crosses your path. And congratulations on all those trophies you've managed to win. July 24 Butterflies So this is (hopefully) my last week of not having a job. I'm returning the slip that came with my job offer and asking that I start next Tuesday. It makes me nervous just writing that. Also making me nervous is the reason why I'm saying next Tuesday rather than next Monday - final exam results. Two years of college and next Monday will be the day when I finally find out how it all went.
I suppose that I should be less nervous about the outcome now that I've got a training contract sorted out - as long as I pass, it doesn't really matter. Still, I really want to at least match the commendation I got in the first year so I'll be pretty nervy when I open that envelope.
I've a busy week before all that. I need to make sure I'm all set for work, which means getting a few shirt / tie combos and maybe another suit. Tomorow night I'm going out for a family meal and then there's loads going on over the weekend - a wedding on Friday, a day / night out in Manchester on Saturday and a day at Old Trafford for the cricket on Sunday. It's a good job I'm going to be earning again soon. July 22 Yobo signs......at last. It's been a long time coming, but Joey Yobo has signed a new 4 year contract with Everton and so tied himself to the club until he's 29. Well, theoretically. In practice, it just means we can ask for more money if we sell him.
Still, it's great news, a very important signing. The optimism for the new season is still there and I'll be watching the friendly v Celtic tomorrow live on channel Five to see how we're shaping up. COYB!  An Open discussionI went to watch the first day of the Open Golf at Hoylake on Thursday. My plan to get a concession ticket for under half the price of a standard one worked a treat and me and my mate were on the course by about half 9. For some reason, cameras weren't allowed. However, technically, I used my phone to take pictures, not a camera, so have a look at a couple in the photo album. You know, if you want to.
After all the sunshine leading up to the day, it was a bit of a shock to wake to the aftermath of a thunderstorm. This lead to the day's first problem - shorts or jeans? It looked miserable, so I chose jeans. But then I realised it was still warm and saw some other spectators on the telly wearing shorts, so I made a last minute change. I was so glad that I did, it had cleared up by 11 and was another lovely day.
The golf itself was alright. It's strange to watch because, unless you follow one group of players through their whole round (which means a lot of walking and some good planning) then you just se bits and pieces. So I saw Monty play a few holes with John Daly, a couple of putts from Vijay Singh, some approach shots from Ernie Els and a bit of Tiger, among others.
It's an enjoyable way to spend the day, especially when you can stop for a Kronenbourg every now and then. And then. And then again. £3.30 a pint was a bit steep though.
Highlight of the day came when my mate dropped his mobile in his pint, displacing the beer so that it spilled onto his light coloured trousers in an area you really wouldn't want to look wet. It was textbook. Also funny was when he risked the wrath of Monty by using his phone to take a picture of him, only for it to make a very audible clicking noise when everyone else was silent. His plan of staring straight ahead seemed to work though and no one hurt him.
A good day out, then. I found out that it's at Royal Birkdale (down the road from my house) in 2008, so not long to wait until next time. Next up for me - test match cricket at Old Trafford a week tomorrow. If I played half as much sport as I watched, I'd be half the weight I am now....... July 21 Woohoo!I've been offered the training contract that I was interviewed for on Tuesday! Unbelievable, I only applied just over a week ago! They're sending me confirmation tonight and want me to start a.s.a.p. How scared am I all of a sudden?!
So, all being well, I should be qualified in a couple of years. My career in law starts here. Wish me luck..... July 19 Hot shotsCrikey, it's hot at the moment. Hot is, admittedly, an overused word in Britain. Get a shadow and someone somwhere will claim that it's hot. At the moment, however, it actually is HOT.
I'm hoping that it will stay lovely and sunny and hot tomorrow because I'm going to the Open Golf at Hoylake. It's the first day and all the golfers that I've heard of will be there, along with loads more.
Just looking at the tee times and, man, they have some good names. Top 10 names of golfers who are playing tomorrow, in no particular order:
Anyway, I'm going. I hope. I'm unsure because I've ordered an under 21 ticket for me and a mate and we're both 26. Come on though, the under 21 tickets are £20 and the full price ones are a mammoth £50! How can they possibly justify that? So I'm banking on a shave, my boyish good looks (shut up) and my student card (and, failing that, a kick in the balls to sort out the voice) to carry it off. If I do, I've a day of golf, sun and beer to look forward to. If not, it's a day of sun and beer with £20 extra. Actually, I don't think I will shave, after all. July 18 My worst nightmareI think I might cry. My Playstation 2 isn't working. This is terrible. I've had it since the day it was released in Britain (November 24 2000, according to Wikipedia) and it's never gone wrong before, other than the dreadful dvd playback. Now it's not turning on. Or ejecting.
My mate's just popped home and is going to lend me his for a while. The problem is that Pro Evo 5, pretty much the only game I play, is stuck inside the machine. I can't possibly cope without Pro Evo 5. Somebody please help!
***EDIT - I've taken it apart and managed to get the disc out.
I don't know if I'm going to be able to get it fixed, but at least Pro is safe and playable on the borrowed PS2.*** It's too hot for a suit...I've just had my second interview in a few days, this time for the position of trainee solicitor. I know, get me. It went ok, I think. It only lasted half an hour and I didn't seem to get asked all that many questions, it was mainly going through my cv and explaining the position and what the firm specialises in.
I was told towards the end that good points in favour of me getting the job were good recent academic results and personality(!), bad points were a lack of relevant experience and being an Evertonian. Damn that careers woman for telling me to put down which team I supported!
Hopefully I'll hear something in the next week or so. It seems like a decent place, friendly people from what I could tell. Above all though, once I do 2 years in a trainee position I qualify as a solicitor and then, hopefully, I can start my career.
During the drive home, I amused myself with another feature on the mobile phone. I vaguely remembered that there was some kind of voice command function, so I tried to launch an application. "Calendar". It didn't open the calendar though, it started dialling someone in my phone book. I didn't know it could do that! It basically reads the names of your contacts, synthasizes them and matches your voice to that tag. The idea, obviously, is that if you say "Home" it calls Home. Very handy in the car.
It doesn't seem to work very well though. I tried out a few names.
Damn. I went through the same with a few other people, getting a successful result about 1 in 10 times. I decided to shout some swear words at it, and it brought up some funny results. I couldn't possibly tell you who was matched to what words though. July 16 N80 updateI know everyone is aching to know how my fancy new phone is going, so here's the latest! It's a geeky blog, you've been warned. Firstly, the downsides. The camera is a little bit disappointing because most of the pictures I've taken inside have turned out a bit blurry. I'm hoping I'll figure out the right settings etc soon to improve things. Also, it's a good job there's a nice power button, because it seems to crash a fair bit. This might be due to all the software I've been trying, we'll have to see. Lastly, the battery doesn't seem great, but I'll wait till I've stopped using it constantly before deciding how bad it actually is. So a couple of niggles, but I still love it. I'm currently sitting in the garden in the sun and have been listening to the radio, chatting on messenger and surfing the web using my phone. At the same time. And it's not costing me anything because I'm connected to my wireless broadband. Genius. I've also discovered MobiPocket, which lets me read e-books, document and, best of all, rss feeds. My plan is to download the latest news and sport in the morning from my network and then read them during the day at my leisure. This will be especially useful when/if I ever get a job and have to get the train. Add to all that an ever-increasing number of games and applications (Tiger Woods Golf, Google Maps, a brilliant business search tool) and you could say I'm pretty happy with it. If only it could bring me out a cold beer. July 15 TrippyAccording to this report on the BBC website, "gadgets which transmit MP3 players' output so they can be heard on FM radios may become legal in the UK".
Well, it's great news that people who may have bought an iTrip from the US won't be committing the heinous crime of listening to their music in the car anymore. Of course, being squeaky clean, I would never buy an illegal item such as this. For £19.99 plus shipping. From Amazon. July 14 Blog a job weekIt was my first interview of the summer today and I think it went quite well. As ever, it's not easy to say with confidence, but I don't think I did too badly. It'll go to a second interview, so I'll find out if I've got one sometime next week.
However, in an exciting twist, I was contacted this morning and offered an interview for a training contract position. It's on Tuesday, the firm seems to specialise in PI (although hopefully I'd also be able to get my teeth into some other work) and it's situated on the Wirral, right on the waterfront. The cheap suit will get another run out. The strangest thing about this offer is that I only sent the application by email at 9pm last night. That's some quick work!
So yeah, things are picking up on the employment front. It's amazing what happens when you actually start applying. July 13 Sod's lawI've been sitting around for getting on for 2 weeks now, but I've actually made plans for tomorrow. Nothing major, but it would have been a nice day. Would you believe it, I've just got an interview for 4pm tomorrow. Typical.
Still, it's good news. The position is Trainee Law Costs Drafts Person, so it's very relevant and potentially pretty good. It's also quite local, less than a 20 minute drive. If I had my own car, that'd be great! I'll be able to borrow Mum's in the short term, but I don't think I can put off buying one for much longer now. Anyway, that's all a bit premature. I don't know if they'll think I'm suitable, but hopefully the interview will go ok. Fingers crossed.... July 12 N80 review. Kind of.My lovely new phone came yesterday and today I sorted out free broadband as part of the deal. Good eh?
The phone itself is a bit chunky-looking, but pretty small. It's got a 3 megapixel camera, which sounds good, and it does all 3g things like video calling. My last one did that too but I didn't do a single video call. However, my little sis also got a new phone yesterday so today I spoke to and saw her for a minute or so before - clever stuff. Other things on it that I'm happy with are a radio and an adapter to attach proper headphones - about time too.
Anyway, by far the stand out things about the N80 so far have to be:
So that's my new toy. I could do with a few new games and apps to stick on it (I had loads on my last one) so again, if you've any useful links, tell me. July 10 Thank god I don't pay for a TV Licence*Monday 10th July 2006, 21.00hrs, British tv schedule:
BBC1 - Only Fools on Horses - celebs ride horses
ITV - Love Island - celebs are on an island
C4 - Big Brother - people are in a house
Seriously, what is going on? There is blanket coverage of:
Why? Is anyone actually interested? Sure, the first series of BB was intriguing because it was new and different. Now it's the norm. Does no one else find it incredibly boring? Oh my god, so-and-so's just cried! Get a grip.
*Legal disclaimer - the household does have a licence!
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