Life From A Window - July 18 2002

6.43am This morning I had another go at getting the digital camera I
broke last night working, but as far as the Vaio is concerned it doesnt
exist. The camera knows when it has been plugged in but the Vaio
insists there is nothing there at all. Then the DVD drive refused to
read the driver disk so I gave it a slap. Not that it matters, the
camera is fubar anyway.

I got the train to work yesterday (17) and was on time again, for some
reason the train got into the station before 9.05 am which is unheard
of, usually it sits there waiting for five minutes for a free platform,
while we all sit in the garage looking increasingly annoyed about the
delay.

So I spent the morning writing up a review of the Intranet site that
has been running since Christmas and making sure that all the reports
do as they are told. I had to fix a couple as well. I got an email, in
fact two from ... which brightened the day. I rang them at lunchtime
from underneath the Lloyd's Building. I have this idea of ringing ...
from different places about the city where I work and shop and taking
possession of them in my mind for us to share. We had a long chat. I
still havent got the Reading tickets either, I hope they turn up soon.
Then I got my lunch.

I had a coupon for a free coffee in Coffee Express and it was vile. The
coffee had no flavour, it left a bitter aftertaste in the mouth and I
much prefer Starbucks coffee. The panini was not much better. One day
these places will realise you cannot get away with any old rubbish,
even if the coffee was free.

Spent the afternoon working on the report I was writing about the web
site we have at work. Then I got my usual train home and read and
finished "Guns Of Avalon" which had a very neat twist in the end.

I got home, and played my guitar for a while, trying to put a song I
had worked on the train into a proper song, but I wasnt happy with the
results. At one stage it sounded a bit Richard Ashcroft but I had
blisters on my fingers and the chords didn't quite fit.

Later I had my tea which I had bought from the newsagent. It was a can
of Full Monty and four toast with a coffee (I like Nescafe) and then
went online. I chatted to ... fro a long time and they sent me their
pic, even though when it arrived I had no way to look at it, until I
had downloaded a viewer from the internet. I finally whacked Paperport
on my other laptop and then used my USB stick to copy the file across
to the other latop and it came up halfway through the song Heroin by
the Velvet Underground, so I am sitting there talking to them on chat
with their pic open while Lou Reed is singing almost dementedly in the
background.

So i thought i would send my pic and it was then that I broke the
camera. Short of hurling the thing across the room I was seriously
aggravated. I hadnt even had time to use it and I broke it. I will sort
something out.

I rang ... on the phone, and we were sitting there at our respective
PCs in chat, on the phone and I could hear ... tapping away. I think a
phone call is more direct anyway. And soon when we have always on
connections you can leave the phone all the time and only be charged
for traffic rather than the amount of time you are connected.

I am listening to the Jam collection at present. Think how many songs
remind you of someone you know. I think I may start writing letters
again. I think its way of writing that more of us should do.

The song I worked on the train I sent via chat to ... and although they
talk to other people we always say goodbye. I think its good to
talk.