Snapdragon

The Damon's plan is the final plan of the day to go out the window. Personally I feel no sense of loss the place strikes me as an upmarket burger joint. Meanwhile Monst has been surfing again and has a cunning plan to take us to France but not to Disney (Yay! you can tell how dreadful the place is they have Man Utd Soccer schools). What she forgot to mention is she also plans on having James the Ned decorate the house while we're away. Now I'm meant to go ape at this but the reality is I'm sat here thingking this saves me loads of hassle, A new plan is hatched involving pizza to be delivered and me going to the shop for a pud and coke. I head up to Sainsbury's and meet Val Vernon hunting down half bottles of champagne to celebrate the passing of CHI. As ever a delight to chat to Val, she tells it as it is with no messing round the side. CHI sounds like it's been nothing but a hassle.

Plan 9 from Outer Space

So the Scooby plan fell through too because Cal wanted to play with his pirates (check out this page for some pirate lunacy), which left Monst in a huff in the living room trying to get into a Margaret Rutherford Miss Marple DVD and me trying to catch some kip upstairs and when that failed as a result of child landing on my head I resorted to 'Be My Enemy'. So I'm now expecting to have to go out to fetch ingredients to cook tonight as everything else apart from the trip into town has failed to come to fruition. Gardenwargaming, madness nothing but, but did make me laugh like a drain.

Shaggy?

Ha! town and back sorted the stuff I needed to do in the space of half an hour ans was out again. Plan is to find a preview of Scooby Doo 2 the advent of which is heralded by the amount of Velma Dinkley Porn searches heading this way again. Meanwhile back home need to cook and feed the lot of us before we go out. Damons in Speke sent Monst a flyer and she wants to try there tonight. OK so that's the plan.

Best Laid Plans etc.

Cunning cataloguing plan is out the window, Cal's woken up and as no doubt Monst wishes to kip then I'd better keep him company until she surfaces. He's watching 'Peter Pan', me I vote Captain Hook. So gonna make some toast for the pair of us, a cup of tea for me and I'm laughing. Then off to town. Not overly upset to be honest, I'm a bit catalogued out.

Downer

Bit of a negative end to the day yesterday, Val and I had a bit of a bollocking from Adam, done in a very gentle and nice way though. He was concerned that the photo's Dan is taking of libraries aren't value for money. To be fair they are frighteningly expensive compared with the photoshoot for the LIS Magazine (mind you we aren't asking the libraries to dress up!). Val and I on a bit of a downer as a result. Still it was a learning experience and Adam was firm but fair and you can't ask for more from him. Another Jazz Butcher e-bay success, 'Condition Blue' will head my way for all of 50p. Not meant to be a classic but at that price who cares. I'm off into town later, might head now, see if I can get into Hammy House and wap out a couple of hours catalouing because I'm wide awake and nothing's doing here. Better do the washing up before I head though.

Things you can do in a week

In the whole heap of management shit I've been cataloguing recently have been a series of books out of the Chartered Management Institute that claim to teach you things in a week. Thought I'd road test it with 'Neuro-linguistic programming in a week' so come Sunday (the books start on a Sunday) we'll give it a whirl and see what happens. You never know I could end up talking like Keith Trickey. Not certain about any organisation that ascribes a leadership quote of the week to Walt Disney ('If you can dream it you can do it' in case it's gone next time I'm there, should be 'If you can find him, you can defrost him'). New game in the library called hunt the librarian's phone number in the purple book that is white. Might not make sense to anyone else but as the white purple book isn't in a logical order to us, it don't make much sense round here either. End of week and I'm tired, a touch fed up and got to go to Borders in hunt of Disney film for Monst and Cal on the way home. Brookmyre for me and a touch of nastiness then.

Cynical Boy

Cataloguing a load of material from the CIPD which seems to be a total variance with my experience of HR in this gaff. Oh, well it's nice to know what they thing they're up to even if they aren't. Cool chat with the ever lovely Rachel about her bid for one of the NeLH Specialist Libraries. Might be taking that abomination that is Heritage IV off our hands.... which makes me happy, a real use for the bloody thing and on patch too. Need to nip to the post office and bank for Monst at lunchtime, how exciting can life get?

Informatics....

Informatics event interesting. Got to meet a couple of useful people from NHSU and JMU. That's what I got out of it. General level of interest in NeLH was reasonable and the chocs certainly got a bunch of people that hadn't had enough pudding over. As ever our top tip, take the chocs.... Monitor clips as ever a fave with all, a fair few pencils shifted and the rest hung around. Need to do a bit of experimenting with the chocs, maltesers anecdotally go fastest, buttons and kitkats at a reasonable pace and mars and milkyway hang about. We need to do some more research into this phenomena....... Meanwhile back at work a quick catalogue pre-early dart. Needed to hit the post with a couple of things of Monst's. Phone home and sort a few things too.

Blinkered

Don't know if I was focussed on the job in hand, not awake or what but another book delivery hit last night and did I see it? Nope not til Tracy pointed it out. No sleep 'til it's catalogued...... Still it's all going well and the In a Week series gives me top make up tips..... Also told me that a survey in the States showed that women who wear make up earn 25% more. Tracy latched on to this immediately then needed taking through step by step the fact if I don't see a shed load of books am I going to notice make-up.

It took a dictionary for me to find out the meaning of unrequited

When will I learn, the Billy Bragg brings back sweet and sour memories as I listen to it while cataloguing. It's like a huge journey through your own life, one minute nothing and then whoosh, all of those failed relationships, the moments you fucked up with glorious success and the bits in between come back. Maybe that sounds to negative, but I always find the negative hits me first and then the positive washes it away. Maybe it isn't Bragg that does it for you but there is gonna be one musician or bunch of musicians that do it to you. So 1- 1 to the Arsenal last night then! Tense night due at Highbury then. As usual I now need coffee to kick start the day. Where are the library staff when you need them? Not making me coffee that's for sure. Plans for the day, ISG cancelled til the 8th April so just a trip to Haydock to man the NeLH stand at the informatics event up there. Need to get the chocs in still. Tracy's coming too because it sounds like quite a big gig, so that's gonna be fun. We'll sneak a little Fade in too on the quiet!

Day Summarised

Thank the lord for DAB as it allws me to listen to Arsenal - Chelsea in some degree of clarity. AM I drag Sally off to Cheshire and Mersey librarians meeting in sunny Warrington. Not the best of meetings if I'm honest. Bits were interestingr but then I have to write the minutes. Meanwhile back at Hammy House another bunch of books sneak in. So into a batch of cataloguing and we're away four about an hour before I head to see Jane Spicer, Modern Matron and general good guy who wants to set up a journal club. Need to chat to Bev Harrison bout it. Post meeting home. Thinking I had time to relax I chat with Cal only to find we were off to Speke. Monst off to the ELC then HMV as Cal and I hit Borders. He has a magazine I hit some Billy Bragg. Home via the chinese and a banquet at Ying Wah in Woolton. Then the footie that remains 0-0. Curses.

You don't look like a hero of the Soviet Union to me

Hit the road early and the now 24 hour Asda on Smithdown Road. What am I doing there at 5.30 on a Wednesday morning? Picking up the ugliest Fluorescent gel pens I can find and some other stuff I needed. Do I feel better for it, do I heck as like. My sleep pattern seems to be well screwed at the moment. Thank non-existent deities for caffiene. No new books ysesterday, this worries me are they going to arrive today while I'm up at this Mersey and Cheshire gig at Warrington. Need to chat to some soul from HCLU about an Aditus editors tutorial can I get the thing to publish the stuff I've put there? A big no, relieved it was just me though, Jim yesterday confessed to having similar problems. Also mentioned he was on the project board for the single search environment project which is interesting. Fed him my viewpoint on the basis I think he's one of the good guys. Wow how exciting can life get whe you hit Ken's Fluorescent Minerals (no not this Ken who for I know may have a stash of fluorescent minerals but he ain't flashing them about if he does)? See this is what happens if you stupidly use google to check a spelling because you can't be arsed looking at a proper dictionary or even typing in enough keystrokes to locate something. I check out Max Eider's site which is quite pretty, just need to check out his work some time. Need to get some energy together and get on with something, I've a few searches to run so that'll do as I'm as energetic as a sloth on Mogadon.

Shelved

Christina, bless her, processed the new stock (current calculations are that about half of it is with us) and we hit the shelves with it pm today. Top job. The management shelves are already full to bursting, help! Stockton Heath stole the desk race with Jim. Quick chat with him about Wiki's, I've played he wants to. As ever an interesting geezer to chat with. He's interested in Project Forum as an informal KM tool at around 5 ton for a 10 group license. Not really looked into it fully but wikis do interest me particularly for glossary production. Feel knackered but 'Brat Camp' and 'No Angels' beckon the former for pure shock value and the latter because it's crap and chewing gum for the eyes (and before you ask nurses uniforms do nothing for me I see Monst's too often). Met Adele wife of Laurence on the way home. She was telling me they've found a new house and she's just given up work as a result of a stalker who work wouldn't investigate because they were part of the place's establishment. That sucks. Hope she finds something soon because not only is she a lovely and pleasant person but she has a wicked sense of humour too. Cal has apparently been a little horror for Monst today. Another day at home tomorrow as well. Tears before bedtime then. England have won the cricket. What is going on here, two tests and two wins, madness pure madness, good though.

Memo to Self

When you catch the dawn of a sunny day through the bars of the library window and the Jazz Butcher sings sweet songs to you remember how much you think dawn is an over rated experience. Dawn chorus my backside, it's just a bunch of birds shouting 'Oi, you bugger off!' or 'Come and get me big boy'. So while dawn was quite pretty, must remember I'm tired, can't get the doc I want off of one PC to use elsewhere. I'm due at Stockton Heath and need to be out of here by 8 and it's not all coming together as it should. My tower of books fell today. Shame I'd got it almost as tall as Sally. Gone for 6 shorter but sturdier towers all catalogued just need processing and shelving. Bad nights sleep.

Making jokes and wearing black, And speaking English just like me;

'fess up I never got round to writing my paper on e-filing. Four more boxes of books arrived that clearly needed cataloguing there and then. Poor Christina is surrounded by bloody books at the moment. Me I'm chuffed I'm keeping up with the rate they're being delivered. Just need them processed and shelved. I reckon on the docs front I'm working on the last minute to get the buggers written. Interesting query from Jim about Wiki's. Guess it'll come as no suprise to him that we've dabbled.

What if there were angels? Oh, sometimes I swear that I can see them there

Early morning, still cursing the fact I didn't manage to stay awake through the Stella Street movie another DVD to purchase then. Go into cataloguing overdrive and manage to get on top of the white lit backlog. Then heap it all up for processing round Christina's desk. Cruel or what. First of the public health students through the door, preparing for their role as specialist practitioner mentors. Terrified of writing essays. We develop a basic essay plan. Chat through tone etc. and start to make sense of it all. Very time consuming but I hope ultimately rewarding for the pair of us. Take that you academic.......... Now to write my documents.....

International Caller On the Line, Tomorrow's Just Another Distance

Cal ends the afternoon writhing around groaning. We whip him up to see a gas man at Monst's work and she takes the night off to look after him. Me I'm relieved, I'd be lying if I didn't admit it. I don't do sick well when it's me, let alone anyone else. Meanwhile we learn the party in Scotland was a success and James the Ned received an anonymous note to tell him that former PC and friend of the Payton family Andy Thompson has been slipping her a length of the love policeman's truncheon and he might not have been alone in it. Luckily she's treating the thing as a huge joke but is not impressed. James the Ned isn't either because it does his Ned credentials no good. Meanwhile I still ahven't started writing this paper. Tracy make me write tomorrow pm or else.....

Bizarre Holiday Snaps Experience

The pics I got developed are here if you want to get bored by someone elses holiday snaps. A virtual experience for work colleagues....

Bad Medicine

Glad we didn't head for Scotland because Cal has stomach ache. Hyperchondriac nurse woman is dosing him with medicines from around the house and those scabbed off of neighbours. She seems to think he's constipated etc. Cal seems singularly unimpressed, don't blame him. There has to be a point at which the discussion of the state of your crap turns you off the rest of the planet. Need to start cooking dinner. Got that Sunday, haven't done the homework feeling because I should write a paper on e-filing today or early tomorrow. Can't be arsed but know I must do it. Early start tomorrow then! Feel knackered too. Want to read the paper but need to sort a few things in the kitchen first. Cricket is 109 for 2 and a gentle listen as I sort my way through the day.

Scotland 0

Scotland is officially cancelled. Suits me, less effort on my part and I think the chemical lager of yesterday is begining to fight back in my head as I think I feel the clouds of a headache forming. Nah, I'll just chase them away with a cup of tea or three (no coffee in the house need to shop....). Cal is watching Scooby Doo, I'm listening to the Jazz Butcher Tribute CD downloading other bits of it (it is pure and wonderfully odd in places) and generally mooching as usual. I have a date with the toilet pans in this gaff and a whole day to read 'Be My Enemy' and pre-purchase 'A Big Boy Did it and Ran Away' might go for a jazz form read and read them simoultaneously page at a time and mess up my head big style, nah, maybe not. Need to ring the old dear too.