Sleeping Monkey

Sleeping Monkey Presents...

Busy time of year

Dec 23 2008

I haven’t written a proper blog in a long time! The last proper one was probably either on the 22^nd or 16^th of October! Ages ago. I think it’s because I was starting to think that the only things I was blogging about were boring, similar to what I had written before and not really anything anyone else wanted to read.

But then, it’s my blog, I can put on here what I like – people don’t have to read it if it bores them do they??

So yeah – what’s new? As a previous post said, I have a Canon EOS 350D, and I’ve been having great fun taking photos of all and sundy. I think I’ll soon use up all my harddrive space with useless photos that are actually pretty rubbish – but I won’t get good at photography unless I try. Speaking of which, I’ve set up a Photoblog part of my site, where you can see a few select shots and information about them.

The problem with photography is that it’s expensive. The camera wasn’t cheap – cheaper than I could have got it new and from someone I didn’t know – but still not as cheap as a compact, or as cheap as just being happy with the one I had before (albeit not an SLR)! With it came the kit lens – an 18-55mm standard lens. This is a good lens – and can get some great shots – but one of the points of SLRs is the ability to change lenses for different circumstances. What I’d really like is a nice telephoto lens, and possibly a macro lens (though I know you can get lenses that do both). When I go to New York in March, a really wide angle lens would be awesome to capture the spirit of the city, but Canon only really make one (a 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5) that retails as £550 – slightly out of any price range I may have! So we’ll see – perhaps I should just try getting good with the one lens I have before blowing money on any others??

I know I keep going on about this, but you can see some of my photos a my Flickr photostream. Comments / critique / advice is gladly welcomed!

So what else? Work is going good. I enjoy it at Cisco – I thought I’d get bored going to the same place day after day, seeing the same people, doing the same stuff. But so far I haven’t. It’s really good. I’m doing a lot of work on a project that can be used as my final year project, which means a lot of programming in new languages such as TCL and Expect, as well as my old favourite, PHP. I didn’t realise I’d get to do so much programming, and I’m enjoying it. Hopefully it’ll all work out well and get me a really good mark in my final year! I’ll get some cool-looking screenshots of funky graphs and neat effects that I’ve coded later.

Whoever came to our Christmas party and left the After Eights in my room – stupid move, but thanks so much! On the other hand though, I’m just sat munching them, so perhaps it wasn’t such a good thing…

It’s Christmas Eve Eve. Two days until Christmas. I know people say this every year, but this year it really doesn’t feel like it’s Christmas yet. Yeah, we have a tree, we have lights, I’ve been wrapping presents – but I’m not at home. What’s going on there?? Every year before, I’ve been at home for at least a week or two before Christmas Day. This year, I’m in Reading all the way up until Christmas Eve (yup, that’s right – I’m working tomorrow as well! Hurrah…) It’s not long until I do get to go home, and be with my family again… but it feels like forever.

Christmas and New Year is going to be really good this year. Christmas Day with the immediate family (plus Grandma, Nan and Don). Then, a few days later, up to my Aunt’s and Uncle’s, where there will be a rather large number of us! 22 I believe at last count. And Annie’s coming to! It’s the next time I’ll see her, so really looking forward to that day. Annie – thank you so much for braving the ‘family get-together’! It’ll also be really good to see all my cousins and people, especially as it has been ages since I last saw Sarah, as she was off around the world last year, I believe.

After the massive family to-do, I’m staying at Annie’s place until the New Year, which will be really good. Seeing in the New Year with my beautiful girl, and spending time with her family, getting to know them etc… it’ll be good.

It’s all happening this year, it really is. All the above events, and then a few weeks later on, I turn 21! Hopefully organising a meal with some friends from Portsmouth, I’d like to go out for a meal with my family as well, and probably go out for a few drinks some day during the week with my work colleagues, particularly as it’s also Nick’s birthday the week after. He should have passed his CCIE by then, too!

So, yeah – Christmas, Birthday, nothing particular happening in February, but then New York in March! Can’t wait, really can’t.

Loving it.

I’ve said enough now, enough to keep you going ’til Easter at least! So Happy Christmas everyone, hope you have a great one. I really do.