... the IT man in LibraryLand
So I have ended up spending quite a large amount of my time last night and today awaiting the arrival of young miss Hulk.
It has been a bit of a strain on Salsa Girl and myself but we have been coping.
After a enough walking to make Kiwichick proud we retired to our rooms various to await further - well any really - movement from Hulk. My belove'd Salsa Girl in the living room and myself in the study/man-cave/change-room.
Still one shouldn't be too concerned as she is one's progeny and the scheduled arrival day is tomorrow, so if the genetic traits run true she is liable to be a tad late for the event.
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The Arrival of My Young Apprentice
Last week one had the fortune to be shadowed at one's workplace by My Young Apprentice who shall be covering for myself, should Hulk ever decide to make her appearance and kick off my six week holiday.
Yes that's right, Supervisor Grand Chief K, has finally, albeit indirectly, acknowledged the huge amount of work that one has to do.
It was an interesting week. Much of my time was spent educating My Young Apprentice on the ins and outs and other important parts of the job: computer systems, hardware, standing up to Big J, pleasing The Administrator, which branch has the best cakes and so forth.
The most important job however was getting him to understand the importance of not finishing all my long-standing projects in the first week lest one return to some awkward questions or - worse still - find that one has been usurped as the paragon of IT in the eyes of one's librarians.
Thankfully the IT department has seen fit to restrict his privileges in such a way that several things may well be impossible for him to achieve which means one will be able to sleep soundly for the duration of one's absence.
.
Yes that's right, Supervisor Grand Chief K, has finally, albeit indirectly, acknowledged the huge amount of work that one has to do.
It was an interesting week. Much of my time was spent educating My Young Apprentice on the ins and outs and other important parts of the job: computer systems, hardware, standing up to Big J, pleasing The Administrator, which branch has the best cakes and so forth.
The most important job however was getting him to understand the importance of not finishing all my long-standing projects in the first week lest one return to some awkward questions or - worse still - find that one has been usurped as the paragon of IT in the eyes of one's librarians.
Thankfully the IT department has seen fit to restrict his privileges in such a way that several things may well be impossible for him to achieve which means one will be able to sleep soundly for the duration of one's absence.
.
The Last Hurrah
This Sunday last one held the last of one's monthly Sunday gaming days for some time - with Hulk's arrival scheduled for the end of the month it was thought best to not try for one more at the end of the month as well.
We had a cast of thousands. If you round up. A lot.
Many games were played including a surprising slant towards one's favourites.
It was the sort of amazing never-to-be-repeated gaming event that the likes of, say, The Real Greg Dean, would be kicking themselves for missing merely for being interstate.
The mound of snacks was nearly legendary enough to satisfy the The Viking Hat GM (who is some sort of minor deity of snacktitude).
All in all it was a great send-off for the monthly gaming and if you didn't make it then you should begin preparing yourself for The New Beginning starting sometime in the future, taking some form, and being held in some place.
With advance warning like that there will be no excuse for non-attendance!
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We had a cast of thousands. If you round up. A lot.
- Legion2, Badger (regulars)
- Gavman, Elfboy (semi regulars)
- Young Jim (transitioning to regular)
- The Bastard (pretending to be both semi-regular and transitioning to regular)
- Judge Mingus, Ball Boy (first timers)
Many games were played including a surprising slant towards one's favourites.
It was the sort of amazing never-to-be-repeated gaming event that the likes of, say, The Real Greg Dean, would be kicking themselves for missing merely for being interstate.
The mound of snacks was nearly legendary enough to satisfy the The Viking Hat GM (who is some sort of minor deity of snacktitude).
All in all it was a great send-off for the monthly gaming and if you didn't make it then you should begin preparing yourself for The New Beginning starting sometime in the future, taking some form, and being held in some place.
With advance warning like that there will be no excuse for non-attendance!
.
Railsea by China Miéville
I finished this a scant few days ago during my morning commute and found it to be a welcome return to form from the author with enjoyable characters and plot.
It is a steampunkish tale that is written more in a teen fiction style - not that there's anything wrong with that - in fact it makes the story flow along at a satisfying pace.
There are a few thankfully brief interludes of author fascination with story structure but they are not too intrusive.
I give it a solid four stars.
.
It is a steampunkish tale that is written more in a teen fiction style - not that there's anything wrong with that - in fact it makes the story flow along at a satisfying pace.
There are a few thankfully brief interludes of author fascination with story structure but they are not too intrusive.
I give it a solid four stars.
.
Shelving Plans due to baby
So, with the nigh imminent arrival of our adorable Hulk, it was decided by Salsa Girl and oneself that we'd better start some of that preparing.
Therefore last weekend was given over to baby shopping in the morning followed by the execution of our most excellent plan for shelving installation to safe-terise our vast collection of laundry items.
We invited Handy Dad and Freeloading Mum around for afternoon tea, some footy watching, and a little bit of "some help putting these shelves up" - knowing that afternoon tea would ensure that Freeloading Mum would bring Handy Dad and tools.
Of course no plan can survive contact with the cunning of Handy Dad who promptly set about instructing me in what to do in order that I could do it all myself!
He then partook of conversation and afternoon tea in between bouts of advice before they headed home.
The last laugh is on him though as several hours later - once the shelves were finished - I sat down to enjoy the footy with all of the chips and drinks to myself.
.
Therefore last weekend was given over to baby shopping in the morning followed by the execution of our most excellent plan for shelving installation to safe-terise our vast collection of laundry items.
We invited Handy Dad and Freeloading Mum around for afternoon tea, some footy watching, and a little bit of "some help putting these shelves up" - knowing that afternoon tea would ensure that Freeloading Mum would bring Handy Dad and tools.
Of course no plan can survive contact with the cunning of Handy Dad who promptly set about instructing me in what to do in order that I could do it all myself!
He then partook of conversation and afternoon tea in between bouts of advice before they headed home.
The last laugh is on him though as several hours later - once the shelves were finished - I sat down to enjoy the footy with all of the chips and drinks to myself.
.
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