... but I am.
It's Friday evening and I should be in my real home with my wife, kids and pets. But I'm not. I'm still in Reading because my job demands it. The website navigation that my team works on must be complete and running at a usable speed by Monday 9:00am (and miscellaneous other bugs fixed).
If it's not then 5 months work (mostly mine) gets thrown out the window.
Interesting to be in on this actually as I've never really been in this sort of situation before: I've run businesses, been part of businesses, but nothing bigger than, say, 50 people. And the ones I ran never exceeded 10 employees, usually just 3.
More to the point of writing: Stuart Perry has been blogging about 5 inspirations to who he is as a writer. It wasn't a meme but he suggested that other bloggers might like to take up the baton. As I'm still waiting for feedback on "Une Nuit a Paris" I shall take up this challenge. Starting in the next blog which I will write directly.
What's on the turntable? "One More Kiss, Dear" by Vangelis from "Bladerunner soundtrack"
Showing posts with label stuart perry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stuart perry. Show all posts
Friday, September 26, 2008
Friday, July 04, 2008
Fiesta! Bonus Pics #2
You may wonder why I keep posting the pictures a day later.
Then again, you may not. Is it because I need to get the digital pictures developed first? Strangely, no. It's because I can only think about one thing at a time, being male, and when I'm writing my day report I just can't think about incorporating pictures.
Picture #1 is very important. This is a picture of Stuart Perry having lost his voice. Oh yes. He's the chap in the middle, in case you don't know. Note clearly how he is not speaking.
On his left from our viewpoint is James Moran, writer of Severance and of Spooks, Dr Who and Torchwood episodes. While on his right is someone who's name I forget but he was a very nice chap. The table is littered with lunch.
Next up we have an image of the majestic Nigel Planer standing in the food queue with no one talking to him. Apparently something is happening to the left of picture but I don't recall what that was.
Why is no one talking to him? Because they're too embarrassed because he's just so big, and tall as well. It's difficult being famous.
The red-head just right of centre is Joanne Leigh, winner of the Red Planet competition 2007.
I thought I'd throw in this picture of the happy crowds of writers talking and chatting with all the news friends they've made over the last few days.
Most, like me, would not really have known anyone else and came, heart in hand, in the hope of meeting like-minded folks, the chance to learn some things about their trade and perhaps even make contact with a producer interested in their work. At the very least, you will make friends.
This is my final image. It sums up the weekend. A game of croquet being played by Stuart Perry, Piers Beckley and friends. Life is like a game of croquet, on the surface it is a civilised activity involving balls and hoops; in truth it is a cut-throat endeavour with the participant's armed to the teeth with hammers.
What's on the turntable? "White Man" by Queen from "A Day at the Races"
Then again, you may not. Is it because I need to get the digital pictures developed first? Strangely, no. It's because I can only think about one thing at a time, being male, and when I'm writing my day report I just can't think about incorporating pictures.
Picture #1 is very important. This is a picture of Stuart Perry having lost his voice. Oh yes. He's the chap in the middle, in case you don't know. Note clearly how he is not speaking.On his left from our viewpoint is James Moran, writer of Severance and of Spooks, Dr Who and Torchwood episodes. While on his right is someone who's name I forget but he was a very nice chap. The table is littered with lunch.
Next up we have an image of the majestic Nigel Planer standing in the food queue with no one talking to him. Apparently something is happening to the left of picture but I don't recall what that was.Why is no one talking to him? Because they're too embarrassed because he's just so big, and tall as well. It's difficult being famous.
The red-head just right of centre is Joanne Leigh, winner of the Red Planet competition 2007.
I thought I'd throw in this picture of the happy crowds of writers talking and chatting with all the news friends they've made over the last few days.Most, like me, would not really have known anyone else and came, heart in hand, in the hope of meeting like-minded folks, the chance to learn some things about their trade and perhaps even make contact with a producer interested in their work. At the very least, you will make friends.
This is my final image. It sums up the weekend. A game of croquet being played by Stuart Perry, Piers Beckley and friends. Life is like a game of croquet, on the surface it is a civilised activity involving balls and hoops; in truth it is a cut-throat endeavour with the participant's armed to the teeth with hammers.What's on the turntable? "White Man" by Queen from "A Day at the Races"
Monday, June 30, 2008
First night nerves
I arrived about 2:58pm and checked in, apparently 2 minutes early was okay. Travelodge is basic but hey, it's a cheap hotel.
I spent some time dealing with a problem at work, they apologised for contacting me but as I'm the only one who knows how the core code works I can't really be upset. (I spent some time last week getting someone studying what I'd done, hopefully he can make the changes.)
I was too tired to do any serious writing, I'd spent a couple of hours on the train working on my changes to Monsters, so instead I did some programming. I know, sounds pathetic and sad, the thing is, I like it. For me, programming is relaxation. And I get paid for it. How cool is that?
So come 6:00pm I was hungry and the informal Scribomeet was due to start. So I prevaricated. Of course I did. I'm not a natural mingler, in the terribly misunderstood words of Chase from "Being There": I like to watch. But networking is a necessity in this biz.
So I scrunched up my courage, and my hunger, and headed down.
There's a lot I don't know about this event. Some of it I got sorted this evening. My biggest issue was food. Well, there's the Harvester Inn right next door to the Travelodge (who don't really do food). Which is good. There's also a Kentucky Fried Rat.
And apparently there's an on-site caterer, who does breakfasts. This is important.
(Once upon a time I used to assist in the organisation of events of all sorts, including massive outdoor events for 5000+ people lasting several days. Food and toilets.)
What's also important, and awkward, is that there is no cashpoint nearby. A quick trip to multimap shows that the nearest one is as far away as the station (a trip will probably be required tomorrow). Maybe there's a supermarket closer that does cash-back. Interrogation of the locals is required.
So, this picture is early on, probably about 7:00pm. Far left side-on is Stuart Perry then comes Piers Beckley then, with their backs to us from the left Tony Keetch (who's a Pitch in Time finalist, with an advantage over the common writing folk ... he's also an actor). The one in red is Jason Arnopp.
As for everyone else in the picture, and those who arrived later, sorry I have a poor memory for names and faces. (And the camera was unable to shoot the future - now there's an idea.)
And much merriment was had by all, alcohol consumed (though not by me) and many were the secrets revealed. Fear not, my lips are sealed, and will remain so until I am offered the right price.
Suffering from extreme tiredness I excused myself early and trekked with leaden feet back to my domicile. Where I wasted time dealing with e-mails (more excellent responses to the enquiries I sent out), researching parkour on YouTube and reading other people's blogs until I decided to do this. And then I did. And now I've finished.
What's on the turntable? "Pluto" by Bjork from "Homogenic"
I spent some time dealing with a problem at work, they apologised for contacting me but as I'm the only one who knows how the core code works I can't really be upset. (I spent some time last week getting someone studying what I'd done, hopefully he can make the changes.)
I was too tired to do any serious writing, I'd spent a couple of hours on the train working on my changes to Monsters, so instead I did some programming. I know, sounds pathetic and sad, the thing is, I like it. For me, programming is relaxation. And I get paid for it. How cool is that?
So come 6:00pm I was hungry and the informal Scribomeet was due to start. So I prevaricated. Of course I did. I'm not a natural mingler, in the terribly misunderstood words of Chase from "Being There": I like to watch. But networking is a necessity in this biz.
So I scrunched up my courage, and my hunger, and headed down.
There's a lot I don't know about this event. Some of it I got sorted this evening. My biggest issue was food. Well, there's the Harvester Inn right next door to the Travelodge (who don't really do food). Which is good. There's also a Kentucky Fried Rat.
And apparently there's an on-site caterer, who does breakfasts. This is important.
(Once upon a time I used to assist in the organisation of events of all sorts, including massive outdoor events for 5000+ people lasting several days. Food and toilets.)
What's also important, and awkward, is that there is no cashpoint nearby. A quick trip to multimap shows that the nearest one is as far away as the station (a trip will probably be required tomorrow). Maybe there's a supermarket closer that does cash-back. Interrogation of the locals is required.
So, this picture is early on, probably about 7:00pm. Far left side-on is Stuart Perry then comes Piers Beckley then, with their backs to us from the left Tony Keetch (who's a Pitch in Time finalist, with an advantage over the common writing folk ... he's also an actor). The one in red is Jason Arnopp.As for everyone else in the picture, and those who arrived later, sorry I have a poor memory for names and faces. (And the camera was unable to shoot the future - now there's an idea.)
And much merriment was had by all, alcohol consumed (though not by me) and many were the secrets revealed. Fear not, my lips are sealed, and will remain so until I am offered the right price.
Suffering from extreme tiredness I excused myself early and trekked with leaden feet back to my domicile. Where I wasted time dealing with e-mails (more excellent responses to the enquiries I sent out), researching parkour on YouTube and reading other people's blogs until I decided to do this. And then I did. And now I've finished.
What's on the turntable? "Pluto" by Bjork from "Homogenic"
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