Archive for October, 2007

Spotted today on Norwood High Street: “Polish Express”. Either my shoes get a speedy shine there or it’s a reflection of how our population is changing. Judging from bags and bags of what appeared to be sausage flavoured hoses displayed in the window, I’m assuming the latter.

London is a strange place. I’ve been living here for nearly five months now and still am struggling to adjust. It’s big, noisy, dirty, green, spectacular, aloof, lonely, entertaining and exciting. But above all it’s overcrowded. Large overcrowded cities need good transport. London has a pretty good network of trains, tubes, trams and buses, though you would be forgiven for thinking it’s awful if you ever get stuck in a rush-hour tube dash during a signal failure. But recently I have become aware of a new hatred spreading throughout the town. Metropolitan commuters have something else to complain about: the bendy bus. Read more »

The other day on the way to the ICA, I walked passed a young Daniel Radcliffe clone: about 13 years old, short brown mop of hair, small round glasses and that particular cheeky grin. He was ambling past me with something written on his black t-shirt in bright white type. Closer inspection revealed a phrase, something like “I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not Harry Potter.”

It raised a smile on me that in turn received a big smile from Potter #2 as he wandered by. It’s a cute self-knowing bit of personal propaganda which I’ve taken to heart. I will soon take delivery of my own anti-promo: “I am not the milky bar kid.”

It’s done. I have moved house. Again.

This is the third time I have moved in just over a year and I sincerely hope that it’s the last for at least a couple of years. I am so tired with moving and feeling unsettled. At least now I have a plan: I am now working for myself as a freelance web designer and I have decided to concentrate on that for the next couple of years. The intention is to clear outstanding debts and save some money so that I can finally go and do some travelling before I get to the big four-oh. Read more »

I’ve never been very organised. Keeping abreast of my appointments and daily tasks has always been a hit and miss affair. Methods include writing notes on instantly lost receipts or beer mats, ineffectually using my Outlook ‘To do’ list, arranging magnetic letters on the fridge, or simply feigning ignorance when people irately call me to ask why I’m late.

Now that I’m working for myself, I need to be better organised, so I’ve started to use a diary. A paper based diary. It requires a pen. I prefer this low-tech solution as it feels more real than a virtual calendar or reminder system.

But being so very disorganised, I never actually write anything in the diary until after the event has happened. Thus it has become more of a guide for tracking what I’ve done, rather than as a reminder of tasks to undertake. This of course is the entire point of a daily personal journal, but mostly useless in managing professional appointments.

So all I need now is a system that reminds me to use my diary properly. Perfect.