mbernardi: (WeeMee)
2014-10-05 03:23 pm

September 2014

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.
mbernardi: (WeeMee)
2013-12-22 03:25 pm

September 2013

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.