painfully redundant

2006-11-17T10:49:00.000+01:00

Making the switch

Hi all,

I'm moving this blog to http://niggle.wordpress.com

so for all my future adventures, bookmark that page!!

2006-11-14T22:15:00.000+01:00

MONEY

"Money doesn't make you happy". That's what my late grandmother used to tell me.

Well... it doesn't make me miserable...

I think it's about time I find myself a good "get rich quick"-scheme...

If you guys want to help me out, feel free to do so! Maybe I'll cut you a deal!

Album I was listening to: Alkaline Trio - From Here To Infirmary

2006-11-14T16:34:00.000+01:00

Routine

Repetition, routine, ... does strange things with the human being... People who are accustomed to asking things from other people, will always close a conversation with something like: "okay? thanks". Even if it was you who asked the question in the first place!! So you can go into their office, asking a question. They will help you to the best of their capabilities (if you're lucky), and when you leave: "okay? thanks", as to say: "so you're taking care of this, subordinate?". Weird stuff...

Another short example... people tend to have a fixed way of ending a telephone call. It usually goes something like this: "yes (break) okay (break) bye". This is a very short example, and is very likely to be used by different people. The fun really starts when both telephone-call-participants start with the same closing sentence at the same time, leaving them both confused when hanging up the phone. Because I noticed that the short break in between words will often be the same length every time, with other people as well. Like there are rules or something.

You never caught yourself, while starting a private phone call, saying: "Hi, this is (insert name) from (insert company name)"? Well I did...

Album I was listening to while writing this entry: Sufjan Stevens - Come on! Feel the Illinoise!

2006-11-13T16:38:00.000+01:00

INBOX

Do you know the feeling... you go to work on Monday morning, try to ignore that feeling that the weekend is over again. Try to get yourself motivated for a new week. And eventually you even succeed!

But then, the moment you open your mailbox... and the vast number of unread emails in your inbox brings you down instantly! For a split second you think: "don't worry, it's probably all spam, let's see who's trying to sell me VIAdGRA this time", but with horror you have to conclude that the mailbots must have found out that you don't have Erectile Dysfunction, as there are only about 5 mails that you can delete instantly. Leaving you with an empty feeling at 8.30AM...

You drag yourself through the rest of the day, hoping to get your kicks elsewhere. But you soon realise that it's gonna be "one of those days" for the rest of the week... The restaurant menu is disappointing, you're agenda is full of "meetings" with people you'd rather avoid as they are the reason for the unread mails in your inbox, ...

*sigh*

album I was listening to while writing this entry: Sophia - Fixed Water

2006-11-10T18:18:00.000+01:00

Microsoft Vista

About time I do a new posting on here. Yesterday I went to the Microsoft Symposium where they announced the new Vista operating system. The new OS looked nice.

Funny how a lot of the 'technical professionals' just went there just to see Microsoft mess up. I would not like to be giving the demo of the new OS there... on the huge (very american-like) stage, in front of about 6000 people, just waiting for something to go wrong. You could just tell, that, even when the product managers giving the demo as much as just hesitated, some people in the audience where already laughing, grinning and not acting their age. Giving credits to Microsoft means an enourmous loss of credibility in the IT-scene I guess.

And mobile phones... some people don't know what the "silent" function is for I think... a guy, in the row in front of me, got called about five times I think... and didn't react. I know it was him, because his pocket lighted up every time. So about the fifth time, he lookes at his neighbour, surprised as to say: "well lardy-dah, I think it might bloody well be me who's phone is ringing, don't you look stupid not telling me!". So he takes his phone, stops the ringing, puts it back in his pocket. And about 5 minutes later, he gets called again! No, I am sorry, but I wanted to slap the back of his head. Of course I didn't, being raised well by my mother.

Well, I don't consider myself a "technical IT professional", or an "IT professional" for that matter, but I think the new OS looked nice. Some features might as well be coming in handy once you get used to them.

songs I was listening to while writing this blog: AC/DC - A whole lotta rosie; AC/DC - Rock 'n Roll Damnation

2006-11-07T15:47:00.000+01:00

Swimming

Tonight I'm going swimming with a colleague of mine. It fits perfectly in my plan called "let's make believe we're healthy!". Once a week, swimming for about 20 minutes, sitting in a jacuzzi for about 40 minutes, complaining about the office, and afterwards go and get some fast food "because we're worth it"! GREAT! No waste of money whatsoever! Because a good conscience is worth more than anything!

If we're lucky, there's a team of synchronise-swimmers practicing at the local pool. Always good for a laugh when they're trying out the moves out of the water!

song I was listening to while writing this entry: The Sedan Vault - Cynthia Ozick's Godawful City

2006-11-06T19:18:00.000+01:00

BACK

So today was my first day after my short one-week-and-a-day-holiday. And I was lucky enough to have a training in my schedule, that had me driving to the centre of Brussels... Well, the driving isn't the hard part. Finding a parking spot is much more of a pickle...

So I didn't really have to care about those 256 unread emails in my inbox, and those 589 spam mails... until tomorrow...

Oh yeah, Denmark was great! 9 people in a Land Rover Defender... cosy. Here's a short report.

We left on Friday-evening (10PM) with 7 guys in, as said before, a Land Rover Defender.

This car isn't made for long highway trips as it's maximum speed is about 110 km/h if you don't want to get yourself in a car crash.

So we drove to Aarhus. Where we arrived around 9AM Saturday morning. I didn't sleep for more than 1 hour in this freakin ship.

After we arrived and finally found Karoliens appartment, we had a small tour around the city. In the evening we all went to a party of interational students. Pity I don't have pictures about that, because it was a 'dress-up-for-haloween-party'. We brought a not so scary soccer team outfit with us. At the party they had KARAOKE!! And yes... let's just say we're now known as the belgian singing soccer team.

Next day plans suddenly changed and we took of to Göteborg, Sweden to visit a friend of Karolien. Nobody of us guys knew her, but she was quite excited having 7 total strangers sleep at her appartment, so of we went. To the north of Denmark, and with the ferry to Göteborg.

That evening we had a few drinks and in that night some more.

The next day we set off again to Lund. One of us knew a guy there that he had studied with in Wales. So we called him if we could put us up for the night... 9 people... of whom he only knew one... he was a bit less enthousiastic as the friend of Karolien, but eventually it worked out.

After Lund, we visited Malmö and crossed the bridges back to Denmark (yes... we drove a lot...) The weather was really bad now... and the wind was pushing us from side to side. Everybody was awake.

Later that day we visited the Guinness world records museum. The picture left is a real life statue of the tallest boy (he died age 22) ever alive. I don't remember just how tall he was, but let's just say he didn't have problems dunking (I'm almost 2m tall...). The museum was a bit of a disappointment... boring and out of date... we almost broke the world record drumming actually.

After a walk around Copenhagen, we set off again in the direction of Aarhus. It was now Tuesday, and a few of us had to go to work on Thursday. So we actually wanted to go to bed early, but ended up talking, drinking and having a laugh until 6AM.

The next day we left around 5PM, and so we were back in Achel (North of Limburg) around 3.30AM Thursday morning.

If I get some more pictures from my friends I'll try and upload them bit by bit.

album I was listening to while writing this entry: Pedro The Lion - Achilles Heel

2006-10-27T11:52:00.000+02:00

AARHUS

So tonight we're leaving for Denmark. A ride of about 10 hours... with 6 (or 7) guys in an old jeep with a maximum speed of 100 km/h...

which is nice...

and appearantly I have ultrasonic hearing...

see you all wednesday

song I was listening to, while writing this entry: Alkaline Trio - Blackout

2006-10-23T09:45:00.000+02:00

the weekend

"hi, who do we have here"
-"hi"
"how was your weekend"
-"too short"
"hahaha, aren't they always"
-".... appearantly"

Song I was listening to, while writing this entry: Bob Dylan - Visions of Johanna (live at the royal albert hall 1966)

2006-10-20T13:22:00.000+02:00

TGIF

It's Friday, about time. I'm joining the Friday revolution and am signing all my outgoing emails with TGIF (thank God it's Friday). Join us as well, and you'll be that much happier when you finally get to leave.

Friday is bar-day here at work. Which means, that the company bar is open from 5 PM untill some hours later. "Networking" as they call it here. "Drinking and driving" as the police calls it later on.

yeah, the networking thing... I joined Plaxo AND LinkedIn this week. But I don't feel any more "networked". What happens is, I will probably end up adding all the people I already know... so actually not expanding "my network". I'm not gonna look in other people's contacts, to see if there's somebody who's job I would like and ask him if he wants to give it to me. Chances are very slim he's gonna give it to me... So why bother!?

Anyway I'll go down to the bar around 5 anyway. Maybe I'll get to expand my network.

Song I was listening to, while writing this entry: The Mountain Goats - Best Ever Death Metal Band

2006-10-19T17:10:00.000+02:00

coffee

Coffee... the gasoline of every enterprise.

the coffee is always better on the other floor...

song I was listening to while writing this entry: Nikola Sarcevic - Tybble Skyline

2006-10-19T12:55:00.000+02:00

backup

I'm planning a 5-day trip to Denmark with a couple of friends of mine. Well, actually, they're planning it, and I'm just trottling along. My boss already okay'ed my absence, so now it's time to find my backup for the week...

what's hard about finding a backup, is that you actually have to find someone who is willing to do your work for a week. And not just that, he has to do his own work as well. So trying to sell that to your colleague, demands a whole lot of diplomacy.

Here are some failed efforts:

"Hi, I'm going away for a week and ..."
-"I'M NOT GONNA BE YOUR BACKUP!"

"Well hello, what are you doing on the week of the first?"
-"I know what I'm not doing... BEING YOUR BACKUP"

as you see, people can smell a backup request from miles away!

But god bless email aliases!!

"Hi, I am out of the office until november 3, without access to my emails. I have no mobile phone. For urgent requests, you can resend your email to all@myjob.com, and somebody will pick it up shortly"

downpart... nobody will pick it up... the only thing you can do is hope that the requestor will get impatient, starts calling around, and somebody gets a call from his boss telling him to deal with it.

Oh yeah, yesterday evening... I watched some episodes of "the young ones". Absolutely hysterical!!

songs I was listening to, while typing this entry:
Josh Ritter: Girl in the war
Josh Ritter: Wolves

2006-10-18T17:34:00.000+02:00

teaser

Only my first day, and I'm already starting with no less than 2 (read: two) blog-entries!! For those of you (HELLOOOOOOOOoooooooowwww...) already getting excited, I'm never going to be able to keep this up. Just to let you know.

I'm about to pack up and go home, with absolutely nothing to do this evening! NOT A SINGLE THING! "So what are you gonna do?" I hear some of you say (yes, I have a very vivid imagination, being raised by television and forest-creatures). Well, that's an easy question, with a not so easy answer. I'll let you know tomorrow.

song I was listening to when writing this entry: Johnny Cash - Southern Accents

2006-10-18T17:01:00.000+02:00

Oh happy day.

Today is the happy day I created my painfully redundant Weblog! I'm officially "one of them" now. One of them few people in Belgium who have their own blog. I know I've read it somewhere... just don't remember where... in the future I'm definitely gonna work on my sources! One that will probably come round here quite often is www.pixelpanic.be. It's the site of a personal friend of mine who's a webdeveloper. He's a bit more up to date about all this stuff than I am. When I say "a bit more", I actually mean something else.

back to work.

music I was listening to, when typing this entry: Johnny Cash - Desperado