It’s been a hectic few days with a trip to London, Christmas shopping and some house re-decoration thrown into the mix. Christmas lunch with MacUser was too short and then the trip back to Leeds too long. It’s really strange going back to Dennis HQ as so much has changed. People have moved on, floors have been re-arranged and the little things that change that you don’t really notice when you work there because they’re organic step by step changes jump out at you.
I miss working in an office the noise the people the personalities. It’s quite fun working for yourself in that you can get up whenever you want and work whatever hours you choose but there’s a stark loneliness that you can’t account for. The relationships you form when you work somewhere for a while can be strong. Lets face it you spend a massive chunk of your life with the people you work with. If you’re lucky you like them and in that respect I was very lucky. When you go back though, as an outsider, you’re no longer part of their lives. They’ve moved on while your memories and frames of reference stop at the day you left. You can’t blame them it’s inevitable. It’s a strange feeling though as they chart new goings on and events while you have only yourself and jokes about too much internet porn (yay for Fleshbot!) and free time to discuss.
At a large company things happen everyday that you can gossip about or discuss I could think of three things that had happened to me in the time I’d been away and one of those was hardly an entertaining topic of conversation. ‘Well we bought a house, work is a little thin on the ground and oh yeah my granddad died’.
I sat on the train feeling sorry for myself brooding all the way back to Leeds and contemplating how I missed it all and how I wish those relationships and the lifestyle that came with them were not affected by 200 miles of motorway. That I could somehow have a window on to that world and the people there, giving me a view of all that was happening. Alas, it was my decision to move and I’ll have to deal with that best I can.
It occurred to me earlier this evening that I’ve not seen a MacBook in the flesh yet. This is something that wouldn’t have been the case were I still in London. I’d have had a go with that insane new keyboard I’d have complained bitterly about the reflective screen and I’d have had conversations with at least three other people about it’s positive and negative aspects. All while holding one in my hands. A point of reference a review sample. We’d have discussed the pros and cons argued about them come to a consensus and then twenty minutes later somebody would have pointed out why a reflective screen is perfect for a certain type of person. A moron perhaps? But no that’s not possible when your office is six by twelve feet and you’ve only got the wall to converse with.
As it stands I saw one at a distance as I walked past the Apple Store in Meadowhall and I’ve seen various other reviews and pictures but that’s it. I’ve not had the chance to take the battery out and grin as I explore how easy it is to replace the internal hard drive or the RAM. I’m just a normal punter now. If I want to do any of the stuff I’d have done while working at MacUser I’d have to ask very nicely or buy one.
Buy one now there’s a good idea……..
The thing I miss most? That’s a secret.
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From the BBC
Sex theme park to open in London
A £7m sex theme park, which has no rides, is to open in London’s West End later this year.
Visitors to Amora - The Academy of Sex and Relationships at the Trocadero in Piccadilly, will pass through seven zones including Pleasure and Orgasm.
The 10,500sq-ft exhibit is designed to “separate fact from myth and educate everyone into being better lovers”.
You have to be aged 18 and over to get in and tickets will cost £15 for the attraction which opens on 7 September.
Organisers expect to attract more than 600,000 visitors within the first year.
The more sex we have the more we want and the less sex we have the more we want
Academy director Dr Sarah Brewer
The theme park will include life-sized silicone-made models which visitors can touch to discover erogenous zones.
People will also be able to build their ideal partner from a series of body parts and there will be instructions on how best to kiss and how to talk more sexily.
The seven zones will start with attraction, love and relationships and include a sexual well-being zone which looks at the dangers of unsafe sex.
The academy’s director of exhibits Dr Sarah Brewer said: “The more sex we have the more we want and the less sex we have the more we want.
“This academy does push boundaries back and whatever your prowess when you come in we will give you all the information you need to become a fantastic lover.”
I do like the first line of this report. It’s so very British. Desperate to be serious but can’t help the ‘rides’ joke. I’m not sure I’d want to go to London to learn how to be a better lover or to touch models with ‘discoverable’ erogenous zones.
Anyone who is British or knows someone British though will know this place is doomed to failure. Us Brits get embarrassed when a TV chef makes sausages can you imagine what the reaction to the 2pm lecture on clitoral stimulation might be? Also, Amora sounds more like a nightclub venue than a sex education theme park.
Yesterday was my last day working as a Staff Writer on MacUser magazine. The plan is to go freelance and see how that works out. Step one was, of course, to buy a new 20in Intel iMac. Step two is to try and get some work to pay for said iMac. I was amazed and humbled by the number of presents I received and the number of people who came out after work to help me celebrate my moving on. Working at Dennis was a real privilege and give or take a few days here or there it was really fun place to be. Three and a half yeas on it’s time to try something new and I’m really looking forward to the challenge.
We spent the best part of four hours at the Imperial War Museum Duxford, which is a really great place to spend some time. You can get really close to the planes and there are loads of them. If planes aren’t your thing there’s a whole hanger of tanks and artillery to see. They are currently building a hanger with a Concorde already in place, however as with all British museums they are begging at every junction for extra cash to help keep the place open, a bit of a impertinence when the entry fee is £13 per person. Still the place is still well worth the visit.
Today we took a flight on the London Eye. Luckily we had pre-booked our tickets on a Fast Track basis, as the queue was very, very long. The price isn’t that much more and you get to saunter past the rest of the people waiting for up to two hours with free guidebook and personal escort to the pod. Admittedly the personal escort to the pod isn’t much more than ’see that big wheel thingy over there? That’s what you’re after mate’ but still the whole experience is great. As you’d expect the view is good and you’re on for just about enough time to get a nose around at the cityscape. Somehow though it’s not as rewarding as the Empire State building or the Eiffel Tower as you can spend as much time as you want peering over the edge before deciding to move on. I’d certainly do it again though.
Here’s a pic of the London whale as it went steaming past our flat on the Thames. There were a number of people out watching from the banks and on their balconies. I think there were more people out than I’ve seen for anything else. But then again only the HMS Ark Royal had a police escort and even then they didn’t have blanket TV coverage from Sky News and BBC News 24.
