Michael's Meanderings

Unfortunately my bathroom has been out of action all month (or at least the bath part). Fortunately I have been able to use a shower after work. I haven't been able to trim my beard and it has grown very bushy! I'm not sure how much I will trim it down one the bath is installe (it arrived at the end of the month).
My printed A5 diary also arrived and I was most impress at how cool it looked.
My new Nook Simple Touch arrived, unfortunately after the fist day I was unable to use it and I have been trying to return it for replacement / refund.
New cleaning crew have cleaned the house so that it tidier than it's been since I moved in!
First week end was the mini maker faire at the Brighton Dome. Large number of children and more crafty making including (knitting and felting)
Finally got to watch Dr Who live at home, and the Extra broadcast on iplayer.
Strictly Come Dancing started with a new crop of 15 celebrities and 3 new professional dancers.
Discussed "The Dispossessed" at the monthly Brighton SF Discussion group on the first Monday of the month.
Dancing every Tue for class, with the normal end of the month social dance on the last Saturday. However J & I also went to the "Strictly dance magic" evening at the Martlets in Burgess Hill the week before. (they are usually held on the same night but this month the BH event had to move)
On Thursday 11th J & I went to the WB Studio to enjoy the Harry Potter Experience! J drove up up arriving at eleven
We checked out the shop which was awesome, the variety of stuff - and the prices!
We then had lunch (sausages and mash) before starting the tour at one o'clock (a bit earlier than scheduled, but as not very busy it was OK)
I took dozens of photos, until the battery died and have to say that it was one of the most interesting and fun day I've had in quite a while. It was a sort of cross between a museum and a theme park - but in a good way.
If anyone has a chance to go, do take it it's well worth it (and now with a new Death Eater section arriving after our visit). Everyone I have talked to, who have been have enjoyed it, if a HP or not.
Also I have been playing on pottermore.com, I was sorted into Ravenclaw (not surprisingly) and have progressed to the end of the chamber of secrets.
D has made som major improvements to the garden, including a lean to for his bike and additional paving slab to provide space to walk around it.
I planted and additional pear tree, to add to the apple tree and grape vine.
D also painted his room walls, so had to finally say goodby to purple paint, it did make the room more cheerful!
Brighton & Hove libraries have started improving their ebook collections and I have borrowed my fist ebook using OverDrive.
Went to visit family to celebrate my nieces birthday on Sun 20th (birthday was Sat) her fiance took me nearly to work on Monday morning (but the wait for a train for over half an hour was not fun in my shirt sleeves!)
At the end of the month I finally got to the dentist to discover I had a loose filling (which he removed with little effort) ball bearing sized. Got a temporary filling to last until the whole thing can be replaced.
Purchased my season ticket for October, which will be the start of my second year at NHS Sussex.
On the last sunday of the month a select group of 20 people from Crawley Dance Academy were invited to " West End Heroes" at the Dominion Theatre in London.
Train's to Three Bridges were replaced by busses so took longer to get there. Group train tickets meant the price was half the normal cost and we shared taxis and dined at Garfunkel's
The tickets had a nominal price of £175 each! But the total cost for the night out was only £31.45 to me.
Got back to Three Bridges at 00:00 and replacement busses not running to reliably so J gave me a lift home.
Also paid the remaining amount for the New Years Eve dance, and collected the ticket.

My Kobo eReader had it's ups and downs this month. The operating system / interface was upgraded to make it work more like the iOS app. Unfortunately the micro USB, used to recharge and copy files to it, got damaged do it's now unusable. In addition it appears Kobo have decided not to continue making it so a replacement is not available.
Dancing with C & J on Tuesday of every week and the social dance on the last Saturday. J arrived early but in general the number of attendees was low. Gave J a copy of Firefly (the series) for her birthday. Also booked to see the HP Experience next month with her. Paid £5 deposit for New Years party.
Weather has been warm and sunny for most of the month, so I have been wearing short sleeve shirts to work. Dress code requires a collar so T-shirts are out.
I got a discount ticket (from work) to see Billy Smart's Circus at Lancing. The seat and program together only cost £5, this may have been the first time I've seen this particular circus.
Went to see my chiropractor, and he also tried my first acupuncture on my left leg. not sure if it made any difference, did feel odd though!
Renovating my garage and back garden. CS has emptied it of his stuff and installed a back door leading to a new path in the garden. He has also installed a hefty new gate and new fencing (on the right side looking from my back door). Attempted to buy replacement front garage door but no luck.
D took me in "his" taxi to the post office to collect a package from amazon. First time he's taken me anywhere!
Bought a new watch strap, to replace the broken original one, and saw "How to Train Your Dragon 2 - 3D"
Mowed the front and back lawns (in different days).
First Monday in the month I was at the Earth and Stars in Brighton for our Science Fiction Discussion Group to talk about Device Endurance. We were relegated to a table in the main back as the upper room had been book by another function.
Had to visit the dentist to get a filling in my upper left. I arrived much too early but is was raining and I didn't want to get wet wandering around town.
Mum phoned to say that she kept getting popup adverts on her laptop, so I went to visit and sorted it out. Had to de-install a load of Adware, and a couple of apparent trojans. Started accessing pottermore.com site - eats time! but fun.
Had a cough for the end of the month, finished bottle of cough mixture.
Walk to the Post Office Delivery Office, took just over an hour and a half there and back! Collected amazon package.
Saw Monty Python Live (Mostly): One Down, Five to Go [Live at the O2] on the Gold TV channel. It was of more interest as a event than the content.
Renewed my train season ticket. Got my London hotel booking extended to a day before and after Loncon3, Mobile version of program now live.
Bought 2 pairs of shorts and 2 short sleeved shirts. Returned 2 audible books for credit.
Have had blisters on right toes, but as the first two weeks in August dancing is off, I should recover.
Last Monday of the month had a major thunderstorm. Lightning strike on electric substation at Hove station; meant no trains on South West line from Brighton. So couldn't get in to work (did get to Brighton) so went home for the day.
Sent in my Hugo and Retro Hugo votes online. Alarm clock batteries expired.
Started setup for LFS101x - Introduction to Linux at courses.edx.org/courses/LinuxFoundationX/LFS101x. Created Ubuntu 14.04.1 install on USB Disc
Also started editing my electronic diary for last year prior to printing it out.

Completed all the elearning requirements for working in NHS for this year.
Also finished off the "Sharing Knife" I have been making, with a leather sheath and handle
Had a Private dance lesson with J to learn the Viennese Waltz, bought replacement dance shoes (1/2 size larger than previous pairs)
Saw The Lego Movie - better than the title would let you believe but...
Had a number of blood tests, mostly OK but low in Calcium, so now taking supplements. Also had asthma review (must remember to use inhaler in the evening as well as the morning during summer (pollen), prescriptions now cost £8.05 per item.
Continued Ballroom Dancing on Tuesday with C & J and started going to Subway rather than Burger King (lower cost meal deal and bonus points)
Now regularly mowing lawn again! Got Mary Kowal's latest as an audio book (Valour and Vanity) a series I will always buy and listen too as Mary reads her own work to perfection.
SF Book Club was delayed due to bank holiday, The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson, was of such length few finished it! (inc me).
Reserved 2 Orbit Hugo nominees (already bought Mira Grant one).
Went to the Moscow State Circus at Preston Park. Some of the best jugglers I've ever seen, cool flyers, and a few novelty items. (whip & roller skates)
Walked around the Swiss Rock Garden afterwards for over 20min before getting train home.
Went to visit family for Mum's birthday on last bank holiday weekend (two bank holidays in a month is too much). Dad was also celebrating being priest for 55 years!
Left my bottle of calcium supplements at my parents! Fortunately they don't expire quickly and aren't expensive, so got replacements.
Saw Maleficent at a Worthing cinema / theatre. Had a unscheduled pause in the middle where the digital film looped repeatedly (She's coming). At first we thought it part of the movie but after 6 repetitions...
Bought ticket to see Dave Gorman's - Work in Progress (Modern Life is Goodish) for next week.
Now working on 2 Coursera classes, "Programming for Everybody" in Python and "Understanding Europe: Why It Matters and What It Can Offer You" I'm not going to add any more until I finish both.
Last Saturday in the month was our Grand Ballroom Dance Social, with Lecture, Professional Demonstration and "high tea" (sandwiches and scones with clotted cream and jam with tea) It was an excellent evening!

First weekend I was still visiting family. Saturday am sis pulled me out of bed to go for a walk with the dogs and BiL. More fun than I thought it would be though the mud, and tree devastation was unpleasant.
First Monday was the SF Book Reading meeting at the Earth and Stars in Brighton. This month's book was Ubik by Philip K Dick (didn't finish this one)
Been ballroom dancing with C & J every Tuesday this month.
Last Saturday of the month was the social dance and danced all the dances with J even the recently (still learning) Tango.
I've been to the chiropractors (on Saturday) and I'm fairly certain that the results are due to the Placebo Effect, but still it works.
Got a MyWaitrose card which gives me a free coffee every day, and discounts on some purchases.
Continued to update GoodReads, though my main book database is still LibraryThing. I've been uploading local photos there.
Got the code for a streamed version of the Veronica Mars Movie, but the original HD version wouldn't play on my PC and none of my other devices would either. Eventually a SD release appeared and this would play (but I haven't finished it yet!)
I started taking e-learning courses at work (these are apparently mandatory if you work in NHS) but it's a good thing to be able to do during down time between phone calls (especially on Fridays)
Got confirmation that my contract had been extended to the end of April.
Went to London on the last Wednesday of the month. Mostly so I could go to the Science Museum Lates, and visit the CERN/Collider exhibition (half price). I went first to the British Library and also popped in to Forbidden Planet and got 3 books!
Finally took a short walk around Bedelands (first time in over a year), must get back into the habit when the weather improves.
Manage to break one of my two cereal bowls, fist such breakage in years so not a major issue.
Saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier (didn't have much of the winter soldier in it).
Finally got around to sending in my Hugo Nomination on the last day. I really need to be more organised a) about remembering what to nominate during the year and b) actually nominating well in advance.

So a new year and a resolution to update my LJ more regularly than last year, so here is my first months worth.
I stayed at J's flat (in Crawley) after the New Years Eve dance.
We had full English breakfasts (at her insistence) checked out here genre photo collection, chatted generally, left in mid afternoon. raining and trains not going north of TB so train was waiting for me to board.
The main news of the month is that it has been very wet! I don't think there has been a dry day since Christmas, though we have been luckier than some as we haven't experienced flooding. According to the papers is the wettest since records began in 1910 (in the SE 200% normal levels).
I have been listening to audio books from audible, every day on my train journey. I may even get through my back catalogue of purchases (one a month for the last 2 years) though a have listened to a large number of them. Audio books are slower going than word on a page, though you can listen walking through the rain.
I finally was able to send off my hotel booking for SemiBreve (filkcon) in February, and upgraded Loncon3 (Worldcon) membership to attending
Started watching the last series of Dancing on Ice (with Torvill & Dean)
Lost a button from my overcoat, purchased replacements and re-sew on all the buttons that were loose.
First Monday in the month was the SF reading group meeting in the Earth and Stars Brighton to discuss Altered Carbon, managed to find the next 3 months books at the various libraries I visit.
Still dancing on Tuesday, with C & J learnt Balmoral Blues with J, revised Square Tango with C
Revised my LibraryThing collection in particular group edited the "from where" setting.
SugarSync account closed and synced DW and LJ so have both backed up, updated goodreads.com with books I've actually read.
Re-read The Sharing Knife quartet by LMB
D cooked a splendid xmas/new year feast of "Greek Pastitsio - revised by D" which was a w/e eating, and the left overs lasted most of the following week.
Had a couple of power cut at work, the first was just IT, but the second was the whole building.
Friday before the last Saturday in the month was practice dance night, and was also the day the Balcome Tunnel flooded causing train delays. Got to Crawley just after 7:00 and got lift from J to St W by 7:10. Practiced all te dances we knew.
Leading to Social Dance night on the last Saturday. We danced all the dances at least once. We even did a bit of teaching/learning. Bought ticket for social dance / lecture on May 31
I got my hair cut (clipper No4)
Was unable to renew one of my books in a timely manner, and had to pay 60p fine ;(
Finally upload a FAQ to the dendarii.com website sent to my by NB last year!
Season ticket is now over £200 a month but I also go a minor increase in pay so I'm marginally better off (and I don't have to buy a ticket to Crawley either so....)
Bought train tickets to Grantham (for Filkcon) and London (for Picocon).

Nearly up to date! Discovery of the month was that my return tickets to Durrington-on-Sea from Wivelsfield is the same as from Three Bridges, which mean travel to Crawley was reduced in cost.

Saw Thor: The Dark World and later in the month Gravity (really good) both at the Orion Cinema
First Monday in the month at the Earth & Stars pub for the Brighton SF Reading Group, where we discussed Man Plus. I only finished it just before the meeting.

Visited Sussex Oakleaf @ 54 Leylands Rd to discuss their needs for a spreadsheet, and provided help creating labels.

BTC had a presentation with food and drink in their new premises. I collected all my certificates (English Functional Skills still outstanding) It was good seeing my classmates some of whom had also got jobs (as had some who didn't make it).
Went to dentist again for a temp filling, proper filling next month.

Strictly Come Dancing was in Blackpool (a milestone event) during the month.

T-Shirt from Veronica Mars kickstarter arrived. Waiting for the movie with bated breath.

Visited parents, upgraded new laptop from Win 8.0 to Win 8.1, ensured MS Anti Virus was installed and running.

Bought my first season ticket TB to Durrington. This allows me to travel anywhere on permitted routes between these two stations (so I can go to Brighton, Haywards Heath and Three Bridges at no extra cost.)

Saw Dr Who: The Day of the Doctor (50th Anniversary edition) was very good, very timey wimey looking forward to the Christmas Special.

J got back from China, and we continued learning Samba, with a private lesson (at Copthorne Village Hall - J collected me at TB) to allow her to catch up on what she missed. This included Saunter Together, Samba and Jive.

Went to Strictly Social Dancing with Ian Waite at the Hawth which started at 8pm. Small dance floor but danced a bit did Ian Waite's Cha cha and jive Fit Steps routines (don't remember them now) and listened to Ian's Q&A until 10:20 for last waltz.
The following night was last end of month Saturday Social Dance at Crawley (New Years Eve being on Tue). We were able to do a bit of jive and a bit of Samba but need practice.

LoneStar 3 (the worldcon) took place at the end of August and beginning of September (I didn't make it). The Hugo Awards were streamed live and I stayed up to watch most of them (service was interrupted occasionally - particularly at the beginning).

Wednesday Dance classes merged with the Tuesday ones so I'm now only dancing for 2 hours every Tuesday (which saves on train fare!)
In the later class we started to work on a new Samba routine. (which we finished in December).

Library Book Club on the 1st Wednesday only 4 of us there. Continued to Volunteer at Sussex Oakleaf, visited project in Crawley.

First Saturday was a mini-maker faire in Brighton, held in the Dome and the old library. Lots of cool projects especially an animatronic knitting machine. There were also a number of talks on 3D printing and the Raspberry Pi

My dendarii.co.uk website was switched off due to exxcessive downloads, and then got it re-instated.

On the fist Monday of the month I went to Brighton Jubilee library and joined the Brighton & Hove library system. Then went to the Brighton SF Reading Group at the Earth & Stars pub, they serve a very nice stout. Lively discussion of Paul's book, even though I didn't finish it, gave my copy back.

Saw a doctor about my knee and got it X-rayed at the Princess Royal the next day. Lost part of lower left tooth and had to get it repaired at the dentist.

Started new course at Crawley College "Technical Certificate in Principles of Business and Administration" Level 3 there were five on the course. Asked f I could work on some course material on my own (as the last time I was to start the admin L3 course I got a job and couldn't do it)

Went to Sainsburys for ANOTHER TravelEx interview and once again I didn't get the job!

Caught the train to Horsham and then the bus to Southwater to visit my parents. Mum had been seeing various medical people due to a clouding in her left eye.

Got a call from Tate Recruitment offering an interview with Sussex NHS IT in Durrington. Caught the train there, the office is 30 seconds walk from the station. Interviewed with BH, went OK but I didn't think I was great, so was surprised to be offered a job starting on the last Monday of the month.
I also visited Clever with Leather in Brighton (on the way back from the interview) and ordered a leather Kobo case for £10.

I was able to take 2 modules tests, of the Business Admin course, before I started work, passing both, and booked to take the final 2 in the evening after work.

Strictly Come Dancing started this month, this was it's eleventh season and it's tenth year. I went Social Dancing in Crawley on the last Saturday so watched Strictly on the Sunday, before the results show.

Started working in IT support for the first time in over 3 years and on first line telephone answering in probably ten years.

Continued training at the Arora Hotel. Saw Despicable Me 2 at my local cinema.

A new / refurbished PC arrived. Dell box and HP monitor with Windows 7 and Office 2007 Basic installed.
As I was on Job Seekers Allowance I got it for less than £100

Had a mock interview which went quite well. Dancing classes continued on every Tue, Wed and Fri, my left knee started hurting (this is an ongoing issue.)

Had an interview with the travel bureau in Haywards Heath Sainsburys, was unsuccessful.

Saw Blue Umbrella / Monsters University also at the local cinema. Discovered that my new PC doesn't have a CDW installed.

Went to see the doctor regarding my knee, but not much can be done.

Registered for a smart railcard (The Key) then discovered I needed to add a photo for a monthly season ticket, then it didn't work and I had to get a replacement eventually getting 3 cards!

Job Centre sent me on another 4 week course, this time to Baldwins Training Centre in Eastbourne, had to buy a monthly season ticket, which the job centre refunded.
I initially couldn't find the training center, as I'd turned left when I should have turned right. Unfortunately the road numbering was such that there were two number 34-35 in the same street.
The first couple of days was spent sorting out classes. BTC didn't have any other info about the trainees but their names and that they had been sent because they were long term unemployed.
A nice thing about BTC (at least while we were there) was that lunch was provided every day! The original remet was to provide a Level 1 qualification, but since I had already done this the previous month they kindly agreed to let me work to level 2.
They also allowed me to take, at no additional cost, Functional Skills English and Mathematics which gave me an additional couple of qualifications and shows that my skills in these areas are still OK (despite O levels being 35 years ago).

Last Saturday was social dance night in Crawley. Danced all the dances we knew at least once and sometimes twice or more.

The last Sunday in the month was SofaCon 1, a virtual convention with GoH Lois McMaster Bujold. There were a few teething problems but it seemed to go quite well (no ability to chat in the bar though).

Went to Book Club supposed to read Pride and Prejudice but didn't finish, then to Dancing in Crawley. Went to dentist for filling including checkup cost £97!
Got a small tax refund, due to being out of work most of the year!
Continued dancing on Tuesday (1 hr), Wednesday (2hr) and Friday (1 hr) this latter with a different teacher and dancing with at 3-4 different partners a week.
Fictionwise.com finally closed down and I was able to get most of my books transfered to the Nook site (I also downloaded them to my hard disk)
Had a job interview for a non profit in Brighton. Didn't get the job!
Visited my parents for the week end on my younger sisters birthday.
Rewards moved from Haywards Heath to Crawley (merging two offices into a new office in the same building as CDG). Job Club with CDG ongoing.
Saw Star Trek: Heart of Darkness at the local cinema.
Open evening at Central Sussex College in Crawley. Was able to sign up for the Business Admin with funding via the Reach program (and therefore free) however doesn't start for months.
Went shopping with Mum for a new laptop for her to use (her current one is being returned to the charity she borrowed it from) Got a Toshiba with Windows 8 on it. cleared stuff from old PC and transferred it to the new one.
Started cutting the lawn myself. First time I had done so in years, it's actually quite therapeutic!
Installed a newer version of Mint Debian - Cinnamon onto my old laptop.
Downloaded the Hugo Packet and copied the epub stories to my Kobo
Bought ticked for the Juggling Convention held at the Hawth in August. This was also an open day for the Crawley signal box so I had a visit, with a view up and down the line for miles.
Visited parents again, a Talis Kimberly concert was streamed live from the mill house on ustream, which I was able to watch.
Went out for dinner at the Toby Carvery Worthing with all the family
I was offered Bank Work with Sussex Oakleaf (though this didn't come to anything)
Went to CDG one to one meeting had to take a new course from Elmfield Training, a four week all day course starting the first week of June!
Went to see Billy Smarts Circus in Preston Park.

Still going to Job Club at CDG in Crawley and bi-weekly visits to the Job Centre.
Finally took my ECDL Advanced test, actually continued from the crash last week and passed with 75%.
My website www.dendarii.co.uk was restored, but I had to manually upload all the files which had been wiped.
Went to Book Club on the first Wednesday in the month (as usual) and continued dancing on Wednesday evenings in Crawley with K
I've been listening to audible.co.uk audio books and also taking a few Coursera classes online, the current one was on Internet History
On Sun 10th I went to the Hawth to see Moscow State Circus with K, we had a good time, I introduced her to circus. Best juggling I'd ever seen!
Remembered to nominate for Hugo awards, just before the deadline.
Started snowing again. Managed to fall and stress my wrist, continued volunteering with Sussex Oakleaf.
Saw Wreck it Ralph at the Crawley multiplex before going dancing.
Due to my wrist hurting, over a week later I saw my GP and was sent to Princess Royal Hospital to get it x-rayed, there was a very fine fracture, which didn't need any further attention.
End of month social dance with K. danced all the dances was held a week early.
The following week I collected my ECDL Advanced Certificate (spreadsheet) from Rewards in Crawley.
After last dance class of the month on Tuesday went for a drink with K at Goffs Park Manor and talked.
However K emailed me before the "Strictly Dance Magic - Easter Dance" at the Martlets, to say she was giving up dancing ;-( so I had to go on my own.
Due to lack of funds I did not make it to EasterCon this year.