on comms

i had to wake up early again this morning because my alternative ride doesn't believe in answering calls from unrecognized numbers, and my sat-phone's battery was dead.
of course, nobody whose number i don't have stored in my phone could possibly have something important to tell me.

i almost missed the train this morning - luckily a conductor saw me and held the door after the first one closed on me :/
at least today, unlike yesterday, the first bus arrived on time and we didn't have to fight to get on board.

the doughnut ceremony this morning was full of amusement: in addition to jokes about our SC walking into his office to find his desk covered in frosted sugar - immediately shutting the door, pulling down the blinds and making loud sniffing noises - it was suggested that half-portion (the ass from this incident*) be renamed "achmed" in light of yesterday's instruction :P

* what an interesting coincidence! nystire had us all discussing a very strange plan of his involving two girls one cup, and the incident occurred on the same day that i saw it. that's just weird.

speaking of nystire, he and my TL had a communication breakdown that got me totally riled - it appears to be the topic of the week. when two people are culturally opposed and their native tongues are completely different, both of them need to be flexible in both speaking and understanding, both of them need to be extra-careful that the message was received in a similar fashion to the way it was sent. this is not something to be taken lightly, especially in a work environment where communication is key (isn't that most work environments?).

the thought occurred to me that maybe i should run a list of don't-see movies in addition to the must-sees. another just hit me now - maybe i should publish a page here on my blog too...

the guy whose code i'm reviewing got stuck with something i asked him to do, and then i got stuck trying to help him out. some things flow much easier in one's head than they do in writing, and the two of us sat together on it and eventually came up with something manageable. i felt good about the fact that i didn't have the answer immediately at hand, because for once he didn't end up feeling like i was flaunting my english superiority.
i hate the fact that people think that i *like* knowing more than they do. i mean, i do - but i'd rather they knew as much as me and that *i* knew even more :)

i began working on a new side project this morning: playing danny gilboa's new single as close to once hourly as possible, in an attempt to duplicate the results of radio overplay - people who don't give a damn about music don't listen to it, until it's played enough that it sinks in subconsciously regardless of its quality.

that's me being cynical for you.

i began a work-related side project as well, a fun one involving pictures. pun for the day - they're called picChars :P \
it would've been more fun if i hadn't had so much trouble with microsoft standard software grief. the visual studio environment is just pathetic when it comes to gui stuff (how much processing and memory does it need to move a picture on the form?!), and the combination of locked resource files and microsoft paint's lack of a proper undo facility led me to accidentally destroy about twenty minutes of painstaking pixel editing.

so yeah, i remembered today that i hate computers in general, and microsoft in particular.

i did it - i arranged an appointment with the physio for next week, and i remember to talk to the techie about my pc. apparently the situation's not as dire as it looked, but i'll only be able to find out for sure on friday**.

i don't think the exercise i did this afternoon really counts, but at least i didn't do nothing at all.

the bus ride back was pleasant until nystire instigated an argument with idiot-girl, leading to my heightened blood pressure levels and intense desire to smash things. it took a while to calm down, but the problem is that our entire unit runs on similar lines... at least my countdown to getting out is underway.

** of course, friday will be pressured because i'll be sorting out the final episode of the current electrical works. the electrician and i just spent over an hour planning not only the last day, but phase two, which should commence around february and will include all the things that we missed due to my inexperience.

urchin's just arrived, it's time for a beer.

[post delayed on account of beer, lack of a title and a surprising outburst that got me into the role of therapist...]