Nomadic Thoughts

Employed! w00t!

2006-03-16T16:59:00.000Z

Well!

Long time no post, naughty me. It's been over a month since I last posted, but during that time I have been very busy.

I've filled in about 20 application forms, and up until yesterday, had zero interviews. I've got 20 rejection letters crammed into my waste paper bin.

But it's over now! Yesterday I went for an assessment and an interview with Client Logic, a call centre/customer relations contractor, and landed myself a job. Call Centre work isn't great, but it's work, it pays, and at the moment that's all I care about.

More later!

Ultimate Destruction! The Potato of DOOOOOM

2006-02-01T18:11:00.000Z

I consider myself to be a good cook. I can bake, roast, fry and grill perfectly well.

But give me a microwave, and I'm a one-man human disaster zone.

So went my attempt to bake a potato in the microwave.

Pierce large potato four times
Wrap in multi-purpose Clingfilm
Put in the centre of the microwave for 15-20 minutes. (I opted for 20 because I hate crunchy spuds)
Absolute destruction, house filled with acrid smoke, microwave base dish ruined.

See the results of my microwave destruction! Mwaahahahaha!!

The glossy sheen on the surface isn't, in fact, healthy goodness. It's DIY Laminate via nuked Clingfilm. I spent all night feeling hungry and glancing at the thing... it kept making weird popping and crackling noises!

The thing, as it is now called, will make a nice ornament on my desk.

Change

2006-01-30T00:53:00.000Z

Change is something that everybody has to accept. It's something we all experience, all of the time.

But some changes can be harder than others. Those changes that alter your way of life, such as personal changes, changes of thought and attitude, are the hardest of all.

I need to change, I know I do. I need to change my outlook on life and on myself, I need to stop wasting time and holding back, I need to make my life better by figuring out what needs changing and then making the changes.

A friend of mine knows this, and for the third time he has offered me a proverbial helping hand, a helping hand to help me change everything I need to change in a short period of time, so that I can "start the rest of my life" right now.

Before I go any further I should make it very clear that I truly appreciate my friend's helping hand, I'm very thankful for the offer he has made and this is not a post of complaint or anger.

As I was saying... he's offered me a shortcut to the life I could be leading. A way to make my life better now so that I don't have to spend, and perhaps waste, lots of years making the changes I need to make.

But it's really not that easy. For a start, change at that kind of pace is utterly terrifying to me. I fully admit that I'm not ready to face up to some of the things that hold me back. It may sound silly or weak to some, but there are some things that I just can’t do, yet. To coin the expression, I need to walk before I can run.
On that point, I think that maybe change and growth needs to happen at each person's own individual pace. People might need to take change one step at a time, without rushing or forcing it. Because perhaps, to do so would be to loose the value of that change, perhaps it would become superficial.

Maybe there are no shortcuts through the course of growth and change. Perhaps it's only the people who are ready to change that can do so. Getting to that stage took my friend 15 years. I don't know how long it's going to take me, but I feel that I have no choice but to walk the course at my own pace.

There are a lot of maybes and ifs and perhapses in this post, because I'm not really sure about everything I've said. I'm just using my judgement as best as I can and what I say may only apply to me, if it applies to me at all. I'm still not exactly sure.

Growth

2006-01-25T17:23:00.000Z

I'm sure everyone experiences it, now and again. The feeling of achivement that comes when you descover that you've grown somehow.

It could be physical, mental, spiritual or material growth. It doesn't matter, but at that point of realisation when you say to yourself... 'Hey, I can do this now, I've grown!' is wonderfull.

Just now, I've had one of those realisations.

A while ago, I suppose about a year ago, I attempted to start a blog. It was going to be a record of my experiences and journey while I was in Korea. Needless to say, it failed.

I think it failed because I got too mixed up in the functionality an design of the thing, and ended up forgetting about the posting bit. When I did get round to posting I could never think of anything to write, I'd sit and stare at the screen for five minutes, then give up.
I wasn't at a stage where I could sit down and sort my thoughts out in my head, chose a topic, decided what I want to say, and do it.

Now I can, I can sit down at the computer and find something meaningful to write about. It might not be important or useful to anybody, it might not be well written and it might not interest anybody. But the fact that I can do it, and the act of actually getting my thoughts out in words where everyone can see them, pleases me.

I've grown, through experience and with a little guidance from a friend, and for the first time I can see, clearly, that I'm going to grow more. I'm going to get better at this and I think I know how to do it.

I'm utterly amazed.

RSS Feeds

2006-01-25T12:23:00.000Z

This post is a spin-off from a post over on Alan Howard's Blog, Life Through My Eyes It is, frankly, an unorganised mess, because I'm just putting my thoughts down as they come out. (And editing when I think of a catchy line)

RSS Feeds. I have one. I'm syndicated. Nomadic Thoughts is plugged into the network of fast moving, easy to get, easy to find, easy to read information.

They certainly provide the reader with everything he or she needs in an easy to read and simple format. Like a meal on a plate, all the latest news, hot topics and information sits in front of the user, ready for him or her to consume at will... it's information fast-food.

I'm not sure I like that idea... this might just be me being old fashioned, but I think there's something special about browsing through websites and looking for what you want. Actually spending five minutes taking the trouble to visit the blog or website, I feel, is more enjoyable and more satisfying than visiting a single site and getting what you need.

Drawing on the comparison with food, again... I suppose you could trace the feelings I have back to instincts long unused in the urban man. I like to hunt for my information, I like to actually go out and get it myself, because it's much more satisfying. For me, part of my day is surfing the Internet, visiting blogs and websites... if I could read everything in one place at one time, I'd be bored within 10 minutes!

In conclusion then, RSS Feeds are simply the next stage in man's constant drive to do less work and get more return.
First we couldn't be bothered going out and hunting for our information. Getting a book, reading a newspaper or actually talking to people became the old way.
So we stayed indoors in our comfy chairs and surfed the internet for what we needed, visiting websites and harvesting information at will, the world opened up to us and we knew more than every before.
But now it seems we can't even be bothered to do that, we want our information gathered for us. We want it neatly packaged, stacked, labelled, organised and all in once place.

It's natural I suppose, for people to want everything in once place, for things to become easier. And there's always going to be people like me who object, and cling to the old ways because of values, or sheer stubbornness, or whatever.

It all depends on your point of view.

ESL Teaching

2006-01-23T18:36:00.000Z

After spending 5 months back in the UK, I'm seriously considering going abroad again.

For those that don't know me personally, I spent 18 months in South Korea teaching english. They were a real rollercoaster 18 months but for the most part, I have good memories.

I'd really like to go back to Asia, but the trouble is the cost. Schools will normally pay your air fare, but if things go belly up it's very expensive to get home again.

I actually just caught myself considering going back to Korea... which is what prompted this blog post... should I go back to Korea? Is it worth it? Is it even a good idea?

Should I stick to the plan and go to Eastern Europe? I think so, I think it would be better, safer and easier in the long run. Although I'd like to go to Asia I've got to be practical.

Who knows, in a few years time anything could happen.

Broadband

2006-01-23T15:55:00.000Z

I'm back to being a broadband user.

After 5 months of 33.6kbps Dialup, I've returned to using broadband, it's not the same as the 8Mb VDSL I had in Korea, it's only 512kb ADSL, but it is definately better than dialup.

In the almost half-year of living without broadband I've missed a lot of Anime, namely Naruto and Gundam Seed Destiny. I've had broadband enabled for about 10 minutes and I'm already downloading the first two ep's that I missed, of Naruto. (and keeping note of the amounts I'm downloading, since I've got a pithy 6gb per month download limit :( )

But at this stage in the game, I don't care. Any broadband is better than no broadband, and I dont intend to be stay here for very much longer, anyway. Plus, I'm not the person paying for it, so I've got no right to complain anyway.

~owari.

Smoking

2006-01-22T22:27:00.000Z

In Scotland, as of spring this year smoking is to be banned in public places, and for the most part, I'm in agreement with the ban. If people don't want to breathe smoke, they shouldn't have to. Passive smoking, dangerous or not, isn't pleasant for non-smokers and I totally understand why it should be stopped.

However, it's conducive to the attitude spreading across the UK, and most of the world, that smoking is a bad, dirty, disgusting, unhealthy habit. I agree with that too, smoking IS dirty, disgusting and unhealthy.

But, and it's a big but, I enjoy smoking. Although I'm actually trying to stop, I really do enjoy it. I'm not even sure that I want to stop at all, but I keep trying at it anyway.

It seems hypocritical, and from a certain point of view, rather vain, to stop doing something I enjoy just because it's frowned upon by other people, or because it's bad for my health. You only live once, right? But from a common sense point of view, stopping is a good thing. I'll extend my life expectancy by a few years, remove the expense and generally improve my health.

That doesn't stop me from drinking beer, or eating junk food. So why does it stop me from smoking? Is it peer pressure? Image? Taste? Vanity? All of the above?

I suspect some of it is peer pressure, I'm currently (much to my dismay and frustration) living with my parents, and every time I smoke I get my ear chewed off. Plus I have to go outside and it's pretty unpleasant at this time of year.

Vanity, Taste, Image. They've never been priorities to me, not to say that they don't matter, because they do, but I'd rather be comfortable and happy, than hip and trendy.

Actually, in my case the biggest contributors to my stopping aren’t patches or gum or any of that stuff. It's that,
a. I simply cant afford to buy cigarettes, even if I'm scratching at the walls, craving so bad that I cant concentrate on anything else (yes, it happens), I cant go out and buy a pack, and;
b. The nearest store that sells them is an 8-mile walk away, because I cant afford diesel to put in the car to drive there.

SO, when I start working again, once I have some spare cash, will I start smoking again?

Probably.