7^th February 1999

I finished my contract last Friday at NPI.  It was a bit of a blue day in ways because I enjoyed the people I worked with and working in the offices down there.   But, when the person behind the ticket counter at the train station gives you the correct  tickets without having to ask for them and when the lady at the French bakery has your drink poured before you're halfway through the door in the morning it is probably time to move on!  We went to the Cross Keys Pub in Southborough for lunch - I got a leaving card and some record tokens so I was stoked.  Thanks guys.  If you're ever in Southborough, this nice little pub serves the best Scampi and Fish so cheaply, it is well worth a visit.  The upside of the contract finishing is I won't be spending four hours a day travelling.  This really was wearing me down.

My cold of four weeks finally started to leave about this time as well so I was very grateful for that.  Somehow, Louise had managed to avoid it for all of that time.   We had a lazy weekend catching up on our sleep.

Last week was spent studying for my TCP / IP exam which I had booked for Saturday.   It was a bit of a disruptive week study wise.  I had enquired about a job the week before through an agency.  On Tuesday I found out that PSION wanted to do a phone interview with me... then on Wednesday they wanted to interview me face to face.  I found it a bit hard to focus on my study over those two days.  However, the upshot of it all is that I have a new Job with PSION starting Monday.  I will be working just off of Oxford Street and Park Street (just down the road from where Louise works) so it will be great to be able to get to work in 40 minutes or so.  The contract will go till May 14^th when we will be going to Italy for three weeks.  We are really looking forward to that.

I sat my exam yesterday morning.  It was a little different to the last two I had sat.  It was what they call an adaptive exam where the next question you get asked depends on how well you answer the previous question - you can get asked between 25 and 35 questions.  I got stung with heaps of questions on RAS which wasn't an area I was strong in or had really studied for.  I think the computer seemed to pick up on that!   Eventually after about ten questions things seemed to get a bit easier and I was back into territory I knew well and could answer easily.  When I clicked NEXT after the 25^th question I was so relieved to see the exam finish.  The computer must have had enough of me.  I'd had enough of it!  I passed with a mark of 71%.   Not quite the 80% I was hoping to get, but a pass is a pass and I'll take it.   Three down, three to go... (How is your man going Pip?)

Saturday night we met Kathy, Wendy, Steve, Dave, & Claire on the Princess Mary which is a boat moored on the Thames for a couple of drinks, tea and then an evening in the night club there.  As you could imagine, I was right at home at the club!   Louise tried to teach a few of her moves to a guy there that was totally on something before he decided they were too hard and went back to dancing with himself with the most incredible smile on his face and never ending energy!  We all caught the last trains home.

Sunday saw us at Ellerslie Road near Shepards Bush  to see Wasps Vs Bath.   Bath (playing in blue) got dealt a terrible hiding... 35 - 0.  At one point during the game, a McDonalds fillet packet took to the field and made a dash from halfway for the Bath try line.  As Mathew pointed out, "That's the only blue thing going forward!".  At least half of each side were international players.  If the level of rugby that these players showed was anything to go by then I think England are going to be in a lot of trouble in this years rugby world cup.  I have seen better Rugby from Taranaki when they were a second division team.  After the game, we reconvened at the 'Slug and Lettuce' for a couple of drinks to try and restore the lost feeling in all our limbs from the freezing sit in the stands!

So, that's about it for now.  I might finish up on Friday - so until then, take care...