Jazz an all dat

Ok, so it's been however long and a day since I posted anything.  It's not that things haven't been happening - they certainly have.  As with pretty much every other pressure that I have to deal with, it's all about time.  How I choose to prioritise it and how I choose to use the little that I have.

Progress with the flat continues apace.  I have now redecorated the kitchen and it look a whole lot better.  The only project left on the to-do list is to put down laminate flooring in the kitchen.  It seems easier than I think it will actually be.  Obviously I can put down basic planks and join them together, what I think I may have more issue with is going to be things like cutting the planks to fit around the door frame with all it's intricacies.  I need to decide whether I am going to bite this one off and try to chew it or whether DIY might be better served as GSI!

In either case, that might have to wait a month or two... the macbook had to go in to be fixed the other day and what I thought would be a simple replacement of the airport card - a £50 part at the most, turned out to be a royally fucked logic board - basically I had cooked it.  Too many Logic sessions I guess, combined with the fact that nVidia managed to ship apple a shit batch of graphics card (again) that seem to overheat.  In either case, the logic board was declared as toast.  Typically the machine was just out of Applecare.

Apple customer service has totally changed, I can remember not that long ago that they would have offered me an exception to get it covered without any real fuss.  Like hell did that happen this time!  Basically I had to use the workshop to sue them under European law.  At which point the folded like a piece of paper. - So why not just raise an exception in the forst place and keep the good will?

Any how, my mac was repaired.  It works OK now but still seems to run on the hot side.  In either case, it is worth nothing to me if it goes wrong again, so I find myself parting company with a faithful friend that has been my shotgun for the last three years, been the platform upon which some of my post successful musical works have been started and served me so well.  I can only hope that they will find a good home... and a decent price so that I don't have to pay too much towards the upgrade!

It's obviously the time for various pieces of shit to hit the fan; The car has the rust issue with the widinscreen surround reappearing.  Looks like I will have to fork out for it to be looked at again in the spring - if I'm doing that, I want it sorted for good this time, rather than just patching it up - so that's a few hundred at least sometime into the new year.  Looks like I should have a little help towards it hout anyway, the dole-bludging benefits leech that life has landed upon the family as a step sister has had a hand out to fix her car, so fairness says that Dad will bankroll me the same.  I don't need it - I could cope on my own, but none the less it will be useful.

Then there are my long term finances - some good fortune and some less good fortune.  I was able to get some Royal Mail shares in the recent issue and that has made me a few quid, with the prospect of a reasonable future of dividends to come.  On the down side, my IFA is in the process of sorting out income protection for the mortgage, critical illness cover and a couple of other bits - all through Aviva.  It looks like they are quoting one price to get his recommendation and then trying to fuck me over on the premium.  The mortgage cover they added to the initial premium, without reason or explanation.  Now they are demanding a fucking medical for the critical illness cover.  I don't have the will for this right now, and as Christmas approaches I certainly don't have the time either.  Yet in the same breath, I think I do need to get something sorted out.  In either case, with a medical approaching, I need to go completely clean and sober from now until it is over, just to make sure that I get a genuine result.  So tonight was the last bottle of wine for the time being.  No more caffeine, taurine or the like.  Its going to be bland foods, no stimulants or depressants and so on.  Anything that might help lower the premiums.  Still feel like I'm being ripped off though.

I haven't seen a doctor for years, I haven't had a day off sick school, college, uni or work since 1991!  As far as I'm concerned it's corporate wank at it's worst.

Christmas seems to be here already at work.  The business is already picking up and the amount of money floating around is up.  We are doing more money than last year so far so that looks to be a good sign.  I've just taken on a new Christmas temp to help keep us above the water line.  So far so good, not that I've had the time that I want ot spend to help her get up to speed.

One little downer, turns out that she's just found out that she's pregnant.  Sucks a bit in terms of trying to brow beat head office into let me keep her on.  Also means that I have to just keep an eye out and make sure that she's alright.  It's strange how people that need looking in after in some way are guided to cross paths with those who hold a moral value to protect those who are within their care in some way.

Oh man, I'm tired - and we're nowhere near Christmas right now.  Lord knows how I'm going to find the strength to keep this going right now.  Still, I am off tomorrow and therefore I can have abot of a lie in and come up to speed at a leisurely pace.