Here Be Dragons

So I have made it through most of my first day here at HBD/Canonical.

I left home at the crack of dawn, and after spending a solid hour in stop start traffic I finally made it to Durbanville (I am going to have to find a better route!). *yawn*

I have been given a very cool *new* laptop, with 1GB RAM and a 50GB HDD, DVD etc :)) That old piece of crap DELL I was using could not TOUCH this thing. It also has a wireless network card and leather carry bag etc. They asked if I minded having a pre-used mouse *bwahahahaha*

My desk phone is a siemens cordless number.

Anyway I have spent the day trying to figure stuff out and connect to the various people I am going to be working with. Much of the communication is done via IRC - very cool. So I have been 'pracitising' that - though not much work has been mentioned yet ;)

I'll have to be careful, that was how I met Richard...

To Infinity and Beyond

So I signed my initial 3-month contract with Canonical (Mark Shuttleworth's s/w development and distribution company) yesterday, and posted it off to the Isle of Man (where the company is registered, and administrated from).

I was then told, that by the way there is a 1-week conference in Sydney at the end of April, please make a plan to be there! So I have just booked a ticket and now have to make visa arrangements.

Things are moving pretty quick. Eeeek!

Beware Here Be Dragons...

Well as some of you know I had a job interview on Friday afternoon. I started job hunting in Dec when I wasn't sure if my contract was getting renewed, and when it was, (just a week before expiring!) I stopped looking.

I was phoned 2 weeks ago by one of the agencies saying that there was a prospect at one of Mark Shuttleworth's companies - was I interested? I thought it was certainly worth checking out, and so the interview was set up. I was told to ask for Karen Lamb. I checked out who she was, what she does etc, so I could be suitably knowledgeable when I arrived.

I rushed there and made it JUST in time on Friday. I dashed into reception, to find Karen standing there waiting. I tried to act casual and greeted her by name, saying I recognised her from the photo on the website... she seemed impressed - so far so good.Then she paused for a while and said, 'he's still busy, would you mind waiting...?'. I said no problem, and then asked, ' Who am I meeting with'. She said, 'Mark'.

MARK!? OMG. My interview was with MARK SHUTTLEWORTH.
I am not usually nervous for interviews, but this news did rattle me. I was thankful that I did have to wait, and it turned out to be quite a long wait, close to 45 minutes! I could hear the receptionist phoning the PA every few minutes saying how they must hurry him up and not keep *me* waiting. *LOL* It turned out he was luncheoning with a lady who had won lunch with him when he was auctioned off at a charity event. I had no other plans for the afternoon and the office park he has in Durbanville is stunning and I was enjoying being there and seeing the people coming and going. All very relaxed but very productive at the same time. The place has a lovely vibe. I also took the time to SMS friends and family asking for good luck. I got some good advice and encouragement and so by the time Mark himself arrived to greet me, and apologise for keeping me waiting I was feeling quite calm.

As I walked into the meeting room with him I said, ' I had NO idea I was meeting with you, I thought I was being interviewed by Karen, so I read up all about her - but luckily I know who you are too!" *LOL*

He is a very warm, and 'soft' man. He is gentle and soft spoken, and seems very unflappable. You can see he is intense and passionate about what he does, but that doesn't make him hyper in any way. I think the interview went well, although I am not sure if I sounded suitably excited about his job, as it's very unspecific right now. They need someone to make sure their 6-months Linux release happen successfully, but they are not sure how to achieve that, or what it means or entails. So it's quite intangible and fairly risky. But I do think it would be a good challenge.

Unfortunately it is quite a commute. About 35km from home, on the other side of Durbanville. Also, when he is around he likes the guys to work till about 10pm. Also to the job entails some international travel, 3-4 times per year at least. Which does sound great, but I am not sure if I can commit to all that right now. So I may not have been gushingly enthusiastic enough...

Well I guess it's up to fate (and Mark) now... When I left the receptionist said that I had been in for a long time. Longer than anyone else so far. So we'll see... ;)

J&B met 2005

We went to the J&B Met this year again. We have gone most years since 1998, including when Quinn was 3 weeks old and also when Griffin was 3 months old.

Shown here...
<-Quinn at the J&B Met at 3 weeks old in 2000 (the year of the big fire!)

Last year we even used to event to celebrate our combined milestone birthdays of 30 and 40 - it worked out well because the Met was postponed to April after an Equine Flu scare in January/February.

This year we weren't actually planning to go, but the day before the big day Richard was offered 2 tickets to attend in the HP VIP tent and with reserved parking, and well we couldn't say no to that... ;)

The 4 of us at the J&B met in 2002, Griffin at 3 months old, Quinn was 2 years old ->


So I rustled up an outfit - a dress I wore to a wedding a few years ago... and off we went. It was great fun, and having access to a VIP tent is definately the way to go. even though we normal book private picnic sites and are not part of the real student pleb crowd, being put up in an airconditioned marque with free drink on tap and being able to swan around with the rich and famous is something I could get used to.

We saw Gareth Cliff and Claudia Schenkle (or whatever Miss South Africa's name is), Kurt Schoenraad, Stuart Taylor, Colin Moss, Joanne Strauss and some other models and Miss SA's etc.

Also it turned out that some of the CSC directors were being wined and dined by HP, and so showed up in the tent too. It was a small victory to have cracked an invite as well and to be able to fraternise with the high and mighties...

We were also given some betting vouchers, and I made an effort this year to try to understand some of the betting intricasies. I have been ridiculously clueless up to now. So I played some horses and races, on my own and WON - and so did Richard. *grin* Now we are not big gamblers, but we walked a away from a day that didn't cost us a cent with a few hundred rand in our pockets - that's a good feeling. it was fun.

The lunch was delicious, the weather was perfect, and we had a stunning day.

We were slightly inebriated by this point - late afternoon...

Quinn can eat with chopsticks

I was taken out for a Chinese meal when I was 6, and have enjoyed it since. I think I learned to eat with chopsticks at my second visit, and still have that set of chopsticks - the waiter let me keep them.

Quinn became keen to try when I started using them to eat noodles and Chinese take aways before our Thailand trip, and I explained that that is how people in Thailand eat. I let him try, and he picked it up pretty quickly... considering most westerners in Thailand were amazed that I could
eat with chopsticks, I am impressed with him :)

We have moved....

The boys are LOVING their new school, especially Griffin. He shouts 'YAY! My NEW school' every time I mention it, or especially if I tell him we are about to go there. I am so pleased that it seems to have been a very good decision.

We visited their old school on Friday afternoon, to say hi to the children and teachers. It was nice and sweet, and teachers were so warm and loving with my boys. When we left Quinn said, ' This school is yucky, my new school is MUCH better'. I was partly pleased, because it shows he really does like the new school. But I explained that it's not yucky. It was a lovely school and they teachers really loved him, and he had loads of friends, but he was ready for a new school.

Anyway the move is done and we are already about 80% unpacked, all the main stuff (kitchen, clothes, linen, kid's room & bathrooms) is done. Now we need to do decorating and connect up the hi-fi etc, and unpack books etc.

I'm exhausted, and it still feel very strange, and I only got 4.5hours of restless sleep, but the house is great.

Pending Move and New School

Things are a bit hectic here with work, the kids starting their new school today, and packing for the move on Monday and sorting out the pool to be covered at the new house etc. Plus Richard had to fly up to JHB this morning. He'll be back for Sat, Sun & Monday but then has to go up again for at least 2 days next week, and then may have to go to France/Switzerland in the first week of Feb....

Also my project is in chaos. The solution does not work properly and we have had to uninstall it all and start again, so our contractual deadlines with our client are going to be missed. I was told by our senior management to send an official company letter to our vendor expressing dissatisfaction with their service etc.. So we are in the middle of a dispute with them now,
which I am mediating... It's a character building time for me ;)

Quinn was a bit nervous about starting the new school today, and although each time we visited he liked the look of the place, I think he is most nervous about the new children and not really knowing anyone. I am sure he will be fine though. Yesterday I said to them that something exciting is happening today - they are starting their new school, Quinn said, ' I don't think that's so exciting...'. Griffin was very excited, and kept shaking a fist and saying 'Yay, I'm going to a NEW school!' this morning. After I dropped them off I asked them both if they wanted me to stay with them for a bit, or if I could leave and go to work. Griffin immediately said I should leave, Quinn asked me to stay a little longer, which I did...

As school only starts officially next week, they will be together for the next few days, and will only separate into their classes next Wednesday, so they will have full access to each other for now, which is good....

I am glad they have managed to start there a few days before the move, because it would have been harder to take them for their first day on the day of the move, when I'm sure I'll be more stressed and hurried etc....

Richard's parents will be coming down from Durban and staying with us for 2 weeks from the middle of Feb, so I estimate I will be able to relax again sometime in March ;)

Christmas is over, another year starts and Quinn is 5...

It's hard to believe that Quinn is 5 now! He has really grown up so much, and is so observant. He is especially amazing at being able to recognise things and realise how things are the same or different and how they fit together. He spots people in magazines from movies and can tell that someone in one movie is the same as someone in another movie, even with different hair colour... He is especially good at spotting Jackie Chan... and while that might sound easy because he is distinctly oriental looking - he can spot Jet Li too now.

He also knows Parkinson!? He saw him in the Sunday Times Magazine and said ' That's Parkinson' when I asked how he knew he sassily replied, 'I've seen the adverts on TV!'...

One funny anecdote, on Christmas Day he said to me ' Mom I know why Father Christmas comes down the chimney...', when asked why, he replied ' Because if he opened any of the doors the alarms would go off...' I though that was quite a good reason actually ;)

Shame, the poor guy didn't have a wonderfully exciting birthday, except for 2 families popping by during the day, the rest of the day was spent packing some of his toys (for the move), counting out his money box money, and taking it to the bank, going to the doctor - to get his sore ear checked out , and shopping at Pick'n Pay... He did get a nice cake though, and R85 from his money boxes, which he is going to spend on pool accessories after we have moved .

He got a big metal digger truck and a hulk figurine for his birthday , and another 2 bionicles. So he now has 1 big one and 2 smaller ones. .

Our Christmas was also pretty hectic, with us hosting & catering Christmas Day for the first time - whew hard work! I'm not sure I'll volunteer again soon. I was actually quite glad when it was all over.We also did a lot of visiting, having people staying over and going out for meals etc.


We went to a friend's place in Imhoff (near Kometjie) for new year. They made mussel soup, and crayfish and water melon salad for dinner , which together with champagne made quite a feast! Yum. We also stayed over, which was a good thing because we only went to bed at 4am! It's taken days to recover, but sadly work is back in full swing. I never had much leave just the days around each week-end since the 16th, so I had 3 4-day week-ends in a row, and had to work the middle of each week.

It's now just under 2 weeks to our big move, I have started packing and already have quite a lot done, so the task doesn't seem quite so monumental anymore - yay...

Thankfully I was kept on here at work. I nearly lost my job due to retrenchments... as a contractor I would have just been told to go (and not even have got a package!). It boiled down to my manager's decision. His job became redundant. So they offered him a PM job - basically my job. If he took it I would have been gone, but he opted for the package, so I am still here. So my contract has been renewed for another year *sigh of relief* . I only got the final news on 24 Dec, and my contract was due to expire on Dec 31st, so they kept me on my nerves for a good few weeks! . I also got a nominal increase, but it's hardly worth mentioning. I was so happy to be kept that I didn't even think of negotiating! There's no guarantee that there won't be more cuts down the line, so I am staying on my toes...

I also finally managed to get my tax return submitted just before Christmas. I did have an extension to the end of the year, but after being audited this year I was quite nervous of doing another return. But I think it's going to be ok.