The time is drawing on...

I've decided to existentially link my titles through Google to the rest of the interweb. Maybe it'll throw up the occasional irony. Enormous parallel search machines can do that, it's a sort of electronic serendipity.

The andorra sabbatical draws near, and so does preparation. We're moving house again, so it's time to start packing things up. I always get wistful when packing up the studio (although at the moment I need to keep some things available for 1) gigging and 2) trying to recording backing tracks with). Did the drumkit last night (yamaha electronic job, very portable). Hopefully that'll give me some room to stash boxes in the corner in!

Basically, we need to move to bring rent down anyway, but while I'm away Nic will have to cover things at this end (I will help out as much as possible!) so it's time to downsize a bit if possible. It also has the added bonus that we can try to move much closer to where Nic works. This will also mean that I escape from Thatcham, I suspect: we will see.

How to feel undervalued?
Did a presentation yesterday for the test system I've contributed one hell of a lot to. However, I felt compelled to jump in and start explaining things in more depth when the magic word "we" started being used too much and I felt a little undervalued: we've had a few people come through the team I work in, and believe me a lot of them just weren't up to the task. I've fixed problems in every piece of software in the system, and implemented most of the scripts. So what's this "we" business about? While I acknowledge I haven't done all the work (far from it), 2 of the systems wouldn't exist and nearly every cool aspect of the original one was implemented by me.

I have an insatiable appetite for being told I am responsible for success, but it never, ever happens enough. Bit self-evident that one. I think I'm basically socially maladjusted that way, which is probably why I'm crap in offices (I never want to lead teams, always want to beaver away at impressive solutions to problems people don't know how to tackle, etc) but great on stage with a Bass (love me, please, tell me I'm not utterly inadequate and basically shite at everything)

I think the bottom may be falling out of my belief system.

Colds. Gotta cave into 'em.

This one's nice, like having exploding sweets (pop rocks? can't remember) on your throat.

Central heating on - colds caught.

Sheesh modern living eh?

About to start packing up house again, every 12 months or less recently. Not fun.

Been trying to find the brass sound in "addicted to love", the cheesy palmer classic. Can't find it! Need to hook up the old midi module and see what it's got.

Satch on the ipod, "war" from crystal planet. A favourite of mine. Nice bass start too.

Stu rules! I met him once doing a jazz gig in a department store in SF. Him, not me!

Board board board - time to think about it again

Yes, it's time to think about the annual try-not-to-break-anything fest.

This year has a different twist though, which brings it more into the spirit of this haphazard blog.

I think I'll be in Andorra for 10 weeks playing in "Breeze", the covers band! Play at night, board in the day... and I've got a new Burton Custom X to try out!

Can't wait. This is the chance of a lifetime.

In between, just have to find somewhere new to live... the rent on our place is sooooo high it's mental, so it's time to save some cash, esp as the pay out in andorra is a lot less than I'm on at the moment! It is pretty good though, and board and lodging is more or less thrown in.

I'll go through a few strings playing 6 nights a week though and no mistake... eek

Nostalgia? Thing of the past.
Groan.
Sorry about that. I did get misty eyed earlier on though, found a really nice aerial view of where I "grew up". I say that in quotes as it was the place we lived the longest, although even then it wasn't that long. Local.live.com (which is actually a great site despite being microsoft's) has it [..:: HERE ::..] . It's the walled garden with the large house attached in the middle of the map, on the way out of town towards St Andrews.

I loved it there.

birthday stuff, the lads n haggis

What a wierd and cool weekend it was.

Friday night was an O'neills in oxford, first one with rich back from hols. Blinder, enjoyed it lots.

Saturday was in the crown and thistle in abingdon, and that was a wierd night.

The warwick ccl packed up - yet again, showing shite build quality, why do warwick insist on using pcb ribbon cables with no snaplock on the connectors? the pro ix head i bought kept shaking off the power amp connectors, then the combo's done the same, but it's royally shafted the poweramp, which is now permanently muted. Great.

Anyway, I used the trace V4 valve combo the lads have and plugged in the 2x10 trace cab. Sounded really good. That combo is spectacular, needs overhauling tho.

Wierd motorhead fan got me doubled up with mirth asking for ace of spades and making bad smell faces at me during the gig when we played other stuff hee hee!

And between sets Jamie and Steve nipped back to the van and got... a haggis! With 4 candles. Bless! they got me a jester hat as well, which is cool.

Then, after one of the most fun gigs I've had (big solo) Jamie got the whole pub to sing happy birthday to ME! Quite touched. I can see andorra is going to be a blast! Breeze even have positive review as part of a review of Soldeu on a ski site.

Phew, the P910 is smokin now!

Great gig at the Embassy in london last night Dan mate. Electric City rule! Celebs were in attendance... 2 pints, anyone? heh