Ohh reet busy today. I am covering my supervisor's job as well as my own.
Must be desperate asking me to cover !!!

so as well as managing what's left of the staff and liasing with other centers and co-ordinating staff effort. I am also running my tech support bit.

Now time for a bite to eat.

Yippee no time to feel wobbly today

I am just not feeling right at the moment.

I know it sounds silly and soft but.....

Over the last few days, possibly the last few weeks, I have gradually been feeling more and more ‘wobbly’. It’s a feeling that is hard to describe. It’s something that I have been fighting ever since I had my breakdown. I feel as though I have this shaking feeling inside, It starts in my hands and then travels up my arms into my body. I try to ignore it, but not always successfully. I think it has something to do with stress. Whenever I am in a stressful situation the wobbles hit me like a gigantic hammer! But then I am left with the feeling for days.
The trouble is it new seems to be there all the time. I don’t want to go to the quacks as they just seem to dose me up with drugs that make me feel even worse.

Just recently I am getting really pissed off with feeling like this. I tell myself to ignore it but it is really difficult.

I should be able to cope with day to day life.........wimp !

Below thanks to Elsie

Conscious self	Overall self

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test

Enneagram Test Results Type 1 Perfectionism |||||||||||||||||| 74% Type 2 Helpfulness |||||||||||||||| 66% Type 3 Ambition |||||||||||| 50% Type 4 Sensitivity |||||||||||||||| 62% Type 5 Detachment |||||||||||||| 54% Type 6 Anxiety |||||||||||||||||| 74% Type 7 Adventurousness |||||||||| 34% Type 8 Hostility |||||||||| 34% Type 9 Calmness |||||||||||||||| 62% Your Conscious-Surface type is 1w2 Your Unconscious-Overall type is 2w3

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test

Well the weekend away started with a disaster. When I arrived home from work on Friday. V. (the normally sensible half) had been shopping and prepared the caravan for the off. To get there we had to by-pass Chester. Not a good idea at 6pm on a Friday.
When we finally arrived on the site it was very dark. It is only a small CL and there was no lighting. I unhitched the caravan and we were dashing around to get set up. I was turning on the gas connecting the electricity etc whilst V. was winding down the corner steadies. In the dark she stood in a rabbit hole twisted her ankle and went down line a sack of spuds.

On Saturday she was hobbling around.

She’s not too bad today.

A very nice relaxing weekend. Hah.

Well the previous post went down like a lead balloon. Thanks for the reminder Roger.....Oh no prob it's OK.
The number of idiots I see driving around whilst speaking on a hand held mobile is beyond belief. The worst are the lorry drivers - a 16 wheeler 30 tons with a driver not concentrating.....Enough to scare the sh*t out of anyone.
Just self preservation.

Away in the caravan for the weekend - just feel like getting away from it all.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

Have you got you handsfree kit yet?

All drivers are reminded that from 1st Dec it will be an offence to use a hand-held mobile phone whilst driving or stationary, except when parked with the engine off. Initially, there will be a minimum £30 fine and 3 points on your licence. Drivers using a hand-held phone can still commit the more serious offences of careless and inconsiderate driving, dangerous driving or causing death by dangerous driving. Conviction for causing a death will almost invariably result in a prison sentence if a phone is being used.
In addition, driving without proper control of a vehicle will be strengthened to a £60 fine and endorsement. It will cover other distractions, including eating, drinking and smoking. Employers also face a "cause or permit" offence if they require employees to break the law.
About time too.

Another one of those days


I used to start work at 08.00 and I would leave home between 07.00 and 07.10 and still get to work with plenty of time to spare and very rarely be late. Two years ago the management decided to change my starting and finishing times as part of a “shorter working week” (note the inverted commas) agreement with the union. I now start at 08.30 and of course finish later as a consequence. Because the roads are now clogged up as I am now travelling much nearer peak times this has added about 20/30 minutes a day to my travelling time.
Now I leave the house about 07.20 to drive to Manchester to get to work for 08.30. Normally I just manage to get there on time, but now and then the roads can be very busy.
Normally they are just busy because it is raining, or it’s a bit colder, or for no apparent reason. Today the back of the queue started about fifteen miles from Manchester !! It did and it didn’t. There was a three-mile queue to an old banger of a transit van broken down on a very busy roundabout with traffic lights. (Maybe the government/police should revue policy on badly maintained vehicles braking down and blocking the road – it definitely adds to the chaos. It is a regular thing on my route to work)
After getting through the three mile queue another five miles up the road I hit the main queue into Manchester which is now twice as long as normal because I am now so behind. Etc. etc.
Of course this sort of thing happens on the way home as well.
So the result of years of negotiation between the management and the unions is that I now leave home 20 minutes later and get home 30 minutes later this is due to a “reduction” in hours with a change in my start/finish times so twisted by the management that I actually lose 1 ½ to 2 ½ hours a week !!

Use public transport I hear you say. I used to. Then I got fed up, and I now save myself time and money commuting in car. It’s the lesser of two evils.

When I arrive at work I spend all day sat at a PC in an office. I had a brilliant idea, as I work for a communications/IT company I asked the management if I could work from home. I would always be on time whatever the weather, I could work extra hours as required with no hardship, it would be better for the environment, I would get an extra 8 hours a week at home. I would have much lower stress levels. Unfortunately it is not convenient for the manager. It looks a lot tidier with us all sat in an office.

Of course this is something that has not developed overnight. When I first started working for the company I worked in my local town and I lived just ten minutes walk from where I worked. Then after a few years I changed my job within the company to work about fifteen minuses drive up the road. No problem. The department I worked for closed and I had to work at Stockport about 30 minutes drive. That closed and the job moved to Macclesfield, about 35 minutes away. That job closed and I moved to Manchester about an hour away. They changed my start/finsh times and now my travel time is even longer.

Yes I am looking for another job, but I am in my 50’s, looking to draw a company pension and retire from the rat race as soon as possible.

Yes I am pissed off, but I can’t find a job that pays better without working in another city, i.e. London. Out of the frying pan etc……..

wasting water, wasting energy

On Saturday I was in a café in the town. I went to use the toilet which is upstairs. As I ascended the stairs I could hear the sound of running water. Not a gentle trickle, but quite a loud roar. I got to the top and as I walked into the gents I found the source of the noise. Someone had turned the hot tap full on and the hot water was gushing down the drain like the clappers.
It was not as though someone has washed there hands and forgotten to turn the tap off. It was fully on as if deliberately done.

Why do people do such malicious things ??

Do they not realise that extra costs incurred through vandalism, theft and misuse are added to the cost of the product they buy ?

What kind of perverse pleasure do these people get from these senseless acts ??

I really just can’t get my head around this, and that bothers me.

......................................................................................................

My age group

Food for thought.

According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of YOU who were kids in the 50's, 60's, 70's probably shouldn't have survived, because......
Our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and licked.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans.
When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip flops and fluorescent clackers' on our wheels.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the passenger seat was a treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle - tasted the same.
We ate dripping sandwiches, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.
We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and no one actually died from this.
We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.
After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us all day and no one minded.
We did not have Playstations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet chat rooms. We had friends - we went outside and found them.
We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits. They were accidents. We learnt not to do the same thing again.
We had fights, punched each other hard and got black and blue - we learned to get over it.
We walked to friend's homes.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate live stuff, and although we were told it would happen, we did not have very many eyes out, nor did the live stuff live inside us forever.
We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the hood. Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of.
They actually sided with the law. Imagine that!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.

I was wondering what to write about today but after reading ian's comments on my last post/comment he has kicked me off in a strange direction.

Warning.the following was written in the raw. with no help from word or afterthought.

Thats the wonderful thing about blogging...speaking to someone you think you know with all the advantaged of speaking to a stranger.
I see my blog more as speaking to myself.
When I was a young lad if I was hurt or offended I would had this terrible habit of walking away muttering to myself. I think for me writing a post is a similar thing, venting my wrath in a blog on all in sundry, maybe hoping that someone wiser than me will put me right.
In a wierd sort of way it is like having a mate, a father confessor and a god all rolled into one, but in seperate parts. I am now babbling - yes !!! Roger talk sense!
I think I am a bit strange. My thoughts sometimes go of in a tangent that many other people find strange.

anyway congrats to ian on the anniversary of simeworld. I am sure it has taken a lot of dedication and hard work to make the site what it is today !! I do mean that in the nicest possible way. I do really.

Have a really good weekend everyone

Memory Man

Memory man I am not.
When I was young I would hide toys away when I was fed up with them. Mainly toy soldiers, but sometimes toy cars and other obscure things.
Months later when I was bored I would dig them out and play with them – it was like Christmas. Having new toys to play with.

People come up to me in the street “Hi Roger how are you” “Oh fine I reply, how are you etc, etc.”. If on my own I am mystified, or if with the wife I ask her who that was. Or she will look at me and say “You didn’t know who that was did you?” and she is right !

I once had a 30 minute conversation with a guy before I realised it was a wrong number and I was speaking to the wrong person !

The problem is the wife is aware of this and can take advantage.

..............................................

A bit limited today as I asked my teacher supervisor if I could leave work early to go to the hospital for a blood test. I even waved the slip from the doctor in fron of him because he always thinks I am skivving and lying.
I recieved ans e mail back from him, could I please have a short lunch break tyo make up the time. Cheeky ba*tard.

I have asked the union rep to investigate the lagality of this.

Things that make it difficult to write a post.

1. limited access to internet.
2. Insufficient time
3. Lack of a working brain
4. Too knackered to type the words
5. Blergggggggggggggggaaaaahhhhhh

Sometimes I write a post off line, either in word on the pc or on my PDA. I find writing on the PDA very slow. I have tried graffiti, the soft keypad and the FITALY soft keypad but they all seem very slow and cumbersome.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

Yesterday afternoon a starling flew into the kitchen window with a heck of a thump. It then managed to fly off squawking like mad, but all slimy stuff was running down the window where it struck. I wonder if it is the birds stomach contents or brain juice.

Yesterday I was really stressed and depressed. Can you be both at the same time??
I really didn't feel like writing. Today I am a lot better I talked out a lot of the issues bothering me with Mrs L. Isn't it wonderful to have someone to go home and talk to.
Anyway - today I have been away from my desk most of the morning - working in the electronics lab. So I have not had chance to compose a post.
I am currently in my lunch break. Eating and typing **!! Ouch I just but my tongue - really !!

I haven't had many suggestions for a new name - in fact none. Is that an omen. Should I keep to the same name ??

any input welcome

Spent the weekend looking at cars. The Old Granada we use for pulling the caravan it getting past its best and will soon need replacing.
Yes its brilliant looking at cars and deciding what to buy.
The painful bit is when it comes to financing the deal. When I start reviewing the money options I start panicking and maybe looking too far ahead.

Still needs must...no use having a caravan and nothing to tow it with.

I just had to laugh.
The advert on top was dental insurance (USA style). Something dear to the heart of Ron

On ron's blog he reckons there are about 2 million bloggers. I presume that is world wide. It would be interesting to see what the world distribution is, and maybe what the distribution is in the UK - or even the distribution in our little loose group.

Does that make sense ??

Yippee… at last its Friday………….weekend is just around the corner.

It’s a week since I have been restricting my internet activity to my personal time.
I still feel as if I have been cut off from the world. I suppose its like any habit like smoking, its just a case of getting used to it.

My blog name Loopydoop was composed whilst playing with Blogger. It was a hurriedly composed name and not my first choice. I feel as though it does not really reflect my character. It sounds a bit frivolous and childish , come to think of it I am sometimes just that.
I think I will have to give the matter some thought to come up with an alternative that sound better.

All serious suggestions welcome.
I wait with bated breath. (what exactly is ‘bated’ breath ?????)

Dental Saga …………continued

After lengthily discussions with Mr T. (the dentist) about his techniques I decided to opt for a minimum repair. Five gold crowns. Even though he was a bit cack handed .
Fine. Over a period of weeks the work was completed and for a short time I was happy.
Then one of the new crowns started with tooth ache. No problem. He whipped the gold cap off and did an x-ray checked it was ok below the gum level and did a root canal filling.
Now I am laughing.
I can now eat things I haven’t been able to eat in comfort for years. Ice cream. Steak and salad ( hot and cold)
That was nearly twelve months ago and now I am due for another checkup.
There may be another saga soon. :-(

Dental saga…….continued

After much deliberation I decided that probably the best thing was to look for private treatment. I shopped around for dental insurance. And the best one I could find was BUPA dental scheme.
If a BUPA accredited dentist is used then I can claim more back than if a normal dentist is used. I shopped around and found a BUBA dental practice that was local to where I live.
Wonderful…
OK wagons roll. So I rang to make an appointment. “Would you like to see Mr T”. the receptionist asked. Err yes I replied. My mind was working overtime….the dentist before Richard was a Mt T and he was a bit ham fisted to say the least. It was over ten tears ago – sureley it can’t be the same guy. Can it ?
My problem is I am like BW and my memory for faces and names is crap.
So I duly went along to see Mr T and he was the first dentists to be truthful with regard to my problems.
It appears that my back teeth have crumbled away and this is pushing my front teeth forwards and the whole thing is a mess. However we have the technology – we can re build you.
He was a very nice chap and we discussed all the options, from having the lop out to a full rebuild.
I went home to think about it and the wife asked is the same Mr T from ten years ago. I described him and she looked concerned….it sounds like the same man to me she said. Oh dear.

To be continued……………

Can anyone help

I know its a bit of a game thing but my lovely wife is playing Tombraider angel of darkness on PS2 and is stuck due to a lack of ammunition and weaponry.
Are there any gamers out there that may know any useful cheat codes to help as she is stuck.

apologies for the game thing but I do enjoy a good adventure game.

more on my dental exploits tomorrow.

Tuesday….3 days to the weekend

Over the past few years I have has a lot of problems with my teeth.
I had been going to the same dental practice for the last twenty years, and the same dentist for about the last ten.
Over that ten years my teeth seemed to just get worse and worse. I was having regular six monthly check-ups, but latterly it was rare to go six months without having toothache or a broken tooth and requiring some attention. Fortunately my treatment was on the NHS and the cost was minimal. Quite often Richard my dentist (we were now on first name terms) would waive any charges.
When I asked him why my teeth were so sensitive he would just shrug and say it was due to my hard bite, I had worn the enamel on my teeth down. When I asked what could be done he would dodge answering. He was good at that.
As time went on my teeth started to break more and more. I would be eating and suddenly crack – there goes another broken tooth.
The situation seem to be getting worse with no end in sight.
Then came the turning point.
I went for my 6 monthly check up and boy was I surprised when I arrived. The whole place had been well and truly modernised. It was all high tech, white gleaming with plasma screens in the ceiling etc. Richard had retired and sold out. The new guy had dragged the practice into the twenty first century.
As I walked into the consulting room he shook me warmly by the wallet. I had my check up, done with much tutting and muttering . Well to tell the truth roger, your teeth require a lot of work . You really need the work done privately as some of the procedures are not done under the NHS – it’s a pretty basic service on the NHS. Then came the computerised itemised statement of work required. I received two quotes, one for the basic NHS work and one for all the required work done privately. Both bills ran into four figures!!
I sort of wandered off in a state of shock.

To be continued …….

Monday again

Totally bored witless.
Boring
Boring
Depressed and downhearted
Boring
Boring

Not blogging from work
Only going on the net in my own time.
I feel isolated and cut off.
Sorry if I am only updating my site one a day or less but I currently so down and dejected.
I have been stopped in my tracks before I have even started. My hands have been chopped off. My eyes have been put out. My ears have been blocked.
I was just getting into blogging and now I have been severely restricted.
I suppose I will just have to get into a different rhythm.

*whinge whinge*

I think I have a virus sub infection again. I always get depressed when I have a virus.
When I say sub infection, I mean its one of those viruses where I feel a little bit of an ache, a bit lethargic. Not enough to say I am actually ill but enough to affect my performance. Enough to make me feel ten times worse when I am depressed.

Saturday BIG shop day

Up at 06.30. Showered, dressed and at the local Morrisons by 07.50. Fill up the car with petrol and at 08.00 in we go to do the weekly shop. Into the café, have breakfast. The coffee in Morrisons café tastes like TCP so I drink the hot chocolate, at first it was a bit odd but now I find it ok. A nice mug of hot chocolate with my bacon and eggs. Mmmm.
( I have never drunk tea. I was brought up to drink coffee and have never been able to drink tea. The one and only time I ever enjoyed a cup of tea was about ten minutes after my daughter was born and I was in a state of shock after being present at the birth.)
By 10.00 am we were back home, just time to dump the shopping, put the fresh stuff into the fridge then off out again to pick up the wife’s sis and off to Warrington for some serious shopping.
I think they just bring me along as the person to carry the money and the bags !!

We were slowed down by the wife’s sister J. who is partially sited. (the fact she is nearly blind didn’t slow us down as she has a guide dog and they bomb along like a rocket). But the guide dog association were having a find raising exercise and had collectors with guide dogs positioned strategically around the town. Every time we came across one it involved a lengthily chat, comparing notes etc. that’s why it became a mammoth shopping trip.

We finally got back home at about 6pm, dropped J off and then home. I was exhausted.

*phew*

feet up and watch telly for the rest of the evening after tea.

Good news
Just a quick update before bed.
Picked the car up from the Ford dealers tonight. This time they appeared to have mended it and surprisingly with no extra charge.
Apparently the EMS had to be reset and re-calibrated to the throttle position sensor.
Why didn't they do that the first time ?

I was unable to post earlier today due to a combination of events.
Firstly the internet server at work has been down most of the day but that is only tempary and not really a problem.
But I recieved an email from the management laying out in detail what we can and cannot do on the internet.

"To be clear 'the company' is not attempting to stop people accessing the Internet from work where there is a business need. Indeed, limited personal use is also allowed, providing that it is not excessive, it doesn't interfere with the performance of your duties and that the nature of the site accessed does not contravene policy."

Most of it pretty standard stuff. Do not download images, files,etc that may bring the company into disrepute or not work related.
It's very confusing because in one sentence they say any downloads must be work related and then they go on to say personal banking and personal emails are ok providing they do not use a lot of company time.
Blogging was not specifically mentioned but using chat was. The question is, are these two entirely different or are they the same?
They say employees have been sacked for misusing the internet using company servers, are these the ones downloading music, video and porn ?? I think so. But what of the occasional user?

Rang Fords this morning. They were very apologetic, can you bring the car in and we will have another look.
I asked him if they test drive the cars after a repair. He seemed to think so but I am not too sure.
Anyway am going to drop it off tonight. Will meet Mrs Ld. there after I finish work ( saves walking home). I think the best tactic is to have another go when I drop it off.
when I mentioned money they seemed quite clear that it is not a rip off ..We will see.

Bloody incompetent garages

Well I picked up the Fiesta after work. They were very pleasant. Had to change the throttle position sensor and a small wiring loom. Cost £120. (BW -I got my Nectar points, but not the old parts. I paid with my Halifax card.
by the time I get halfway home the thing was revving its f***ing arse off exactly the same as before.
Irangg the Ford Dealer at 18.05...."sorry you have just missed the service reception, the staff have all gone home". Bloody good job or I would have been in trouble for verbal assault I think !!!!!

I am now really pissed of as I wasted loads of time pissing about, spent £120 and am still no better off. At least the Lex garage did'nt charge me for not mending my car.
Then next thing is to stew all night and ring them in the morning for a repeat performance.

I will repeat my previous comment Aaaaaaaaaaaaaarrgh !!!!!!!!!

Currently no time to write a proper post. I am between meetings. Stuck in meetings all day.
I had a call from the Ford dealer..........Aaaaaaaaaaarrh !!

more details later