Overdue

You know that feeling when you were supposed to do something a month ago and you haven't got around to it yet? Well that's how I feel about this blog. I have a small problem. My girlfriend calls it the P-word. Yes, I'm Mr Procrastination. It's the story of my life I'm afraid. If something needs to be done but the consequences of not doing it right this minute are not severe, in other words, if I can get away with it, I will invariably put it on the long finger. It's a character flaw that I've come to recognise. We all have them. I'm sure back in my parents' house there are a couple of library books (I think they're Franny and Zooey and Bonfire of the Vanities) that were supposed to be returned some time in the early 90s. That's what happens when the P-word gets out of hand.

So what can I do about it? A while ago I came upon some sites about personal organisation and time management, some of which are kind of interesting, and I even bought a book that's supposed to be the bible for this sort of thing. Guess how much of the book I've read. Well actually yes I did read (some of) it, and I started making a few lists and ticking boxes. You'd think being a geek would help me with this kind of thing. But no, it didn't last. Still, it's coming up to a new year and that's the traditional time for making resolutions. So one of mine will be to finish that book and start fighting the P-word. I'm not sure about those library books though.

Watch the dosage

I suppose I should take this as a warning: a teenage girl was hospitalised after drinking seven double espressos straight. Mind you I don't work on an espresso counter so I'm not in as much danger. What I especially like about this is that we now know what the effects of caffeine poisoning are:

"She apparently started laughing and crying for no reason while serving."

So I'll be sure to warn those around me if I start doing this (more than is usual).

Normal life has resumed after the holidays. We're back to looking for apartments without any luck so far. But I was lucky enough to score tickets for Arcade Fire in the Phoenix Park in October - this time they took 5 minutes to sell out instead of 5 seconds, which I can only take to mean that this time next year they'll be all washed up and performing on celebrity You're a Star. (Or the non-union Canadian equivalent of same). As I write I'm sure unscrupulous people are auctioning their tickets for ridiculous amounts on eBay. Cue Homer voice: "Damn you eBay!"

Back again

Been a busy old month and a bit what with starting a new job and all. I'll be back with something more in depth at a later stage but for now check out this.

Nearly there

Well somehow I managed to let all of April go by without posting. Shame on me. Wish I could say major things have happened but it's not the case. 21 working days to go before I get the boot and things are awful quiet around here. Canteen is down to soup and sandwiches and the weather is warm and sunny so the temptation is always there to knock off early and sit on the grass for the afternoon. After this week I'll be almost on my own on the corridor.

Things to look forward to: new Dinosaur Jr. album; holidays in Germany; Bank holiday weekend ahead. It ain't all doom and gloom.

It's official

I've got it in writing - I'm being shown the door on 31 May. Most of the building will have finished by then so it'll be a quiet old place to work in. That's if I'm still doing any work.

So after 8 and a half years that's that. I really don't know what I'll be doing next. Could be still in Cork, could be elsewhere in Ireland, maybe travelling for a bit. It's a bit scary but (cue Ned Flanders voice) gosh darn it, it'll be a lot of fun too!

Stay tuned is all I can say right now...

Another chance to hear

I mentioned that Bradley's Almanac was the first place I heard of Arcade Fire - well the original live set of mp3s that sparked my interest is now available again. So if you missed these the first time now's your chance to hear them - I'm sure they are for a limited time only.

The new album is out now - I haven't got it yet and to be honest I'm still too sore about not being able to get tickets for the Olympia gigs to want to hear it just yet. It would just remind me of the pain. There's still Oxegen though.

Well that wasn't so bad

Did the interview. I thought it went OK but I'm usually not good at gauging these things. Nervous at first and it took a while to settle down. It was a technical interview so I was able to talk a bit about, well, techie stuff. So that helped my nerves. There were none of those "what are your strengths and weaknesses" and "give us an example of how you worked in a team" type questions, although I'm sure those will come in the next stage, if I get that far.

What worries me now is what if I get offered the job... I haven't even done an interview in Cork yet so it would feel a bit weird to take one that required a move at this stage... Well let's not jump the gun I suppose.

At least I didn't have to wear a suit - but I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea to get it out of the mothballs and have a few clean shirts handy...

Belated shout

Oh yes, thanks to Will for the mention. Got to go and do interview prep now...

Things are moving fast

Phone interview on Friday. First one for an outside job in 8 years... so that should be fun. The first time I haven't done one face to face - not sure if this makes it easier or harder. Also the job isn't in Cork - I didn't expect that for my first interview. Anyway we'll see what happens. Feels good to be actually pusuing something rather than sitting on my hands waiting.

Crying into your beer

Went to see Richmond Fontaine on Saturday night in Cyprus Avenue. Always good to see a band in an intimate setting like that. And they were superb - the singer's voice has a real crying into your beer quality, and they sounded a lot bigger than they do on The Fitzgerald (the only album of theirs I have, but that will soon change). The sound was rounded out by pedal steel and trumpet which added a real spaghetti western flavour to some of the songs.

The only gripes I had are no fault of the band - the crowd seemed a bit unexcited, which was odd considering the number of requests shouted out. And the door to the toilets next to us could be heard bashing open and closed every minute or so which was kind of distracting. Surely this is something that can be fixed though?

Staples

Hey, it looks as if Bradley's Almanac is still up and running. I hadn't checked it out in quite a while - I think he must have changed his RSS feed or something nerdy like that so I wasn't getting any updates. Anyway it seems Buffalo Tom have a new album coming out. I should probably be more excited but for me Buffalo Tom will always evoke college days and hearing new stuff from them now will probably never have the same impact it did back the the 90s. Or something. This is the album I always remember listening to at the time:


Anyway the site is worth keeping an eye on for the live mp3s he often puts up. It was on the very same blog that I first discovered this band.

People are blogging

Yes it's strange all right.

tuff wha?

Yes the title is a bit random - it comes from here. I was just listening to it at the time.