Pub

The Frog came to visit this weekend.

This entailed hurtling in Herman (q.v), drinking and and eating sausages (although no sausages for me ... being a poncey veggie I had frittata).

We had a fine time, visited a pub I'd not been to, visited a couple of pubs I had been to, was treated like a long lost friend in one of them (having not been in for ages due to my continuing work situation) and generally had a jolly spiffing time.

The next day was spent in quiet contemplation of the cosmos and muted conversation of many things (if you know what I mean). We also went on a walk and went past a pub, but not into it.

Soup was then consumed and we all went home for tea.

The futility cycle

Another week has dawned and I am still without gainful employment.

I have noticed a pattern in my job hunting over the past few weeks, it goes: Excitement, Impatience, Sinking and Resignation.

Each time I find an advert for a job which looks tailor-made for me it's all very exciting as I tweak my CV and send off my application.
The impatience kicks in when the agent inevitably doesn't get back to me, or there's a delay for some reason, or things are put on hold. This can last from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.
The sinking feeling comes when the overwhelming evidence finally hits me and I realise that I am either not going to be called for first interview, or subsequent interview or not given the job.
I usually managed to keep in the sinking phase for a couple of days by telling myself it's not over til it's over, but the inevitable phone call usually kicks me onto the final phase.
Resignation that yet another job has slipped through my clutches is the last phase. This is especially bad when there are few other prospects around. The phase is usually characterised by stomping, muttering and use of excessive pressure on the keyboard. This phase continues until another tailor-made job is advertised at which point the cycle starts all over again.

To be honest, the situation is made worse by an increasing number of agents who choose to be very aloof and only ever communicate with you on their terms and by companies who place adverts either for non-existent jobs, or for jobs that are later withdrawn with little or no warning. Having looked for work many times in my career, I have to say that the process is far more painful at the moment than it's ever been.

So, in order to break out of this cycle, I've taken the hard decision to invest some of my dwindling funds in some training so I can plaster some shiny new qualifications on my CV. Employing the MacDonald's gold star approach, I'm going for the least effort, maximum shinyness route of PRINCE2 and ITIL certification, possibly followed by some nasty Microsoft ones. This is based on what I've seen employers asking for, what is cheap enough and what won't take me too long to do.

I shall now see if training also has a futility cycle, because right now I'm at the excited bit and already planning how to emblazon my new qualifications across my CV.

FOOTNOTE: The two jobs that looked promising both fell through last week. Reasons were not exactly convincing.

Feature presentation

Just heard from the Apple announcement about the big iPhone software upgrade.

The big news for me is that it's getting MMS - something which drives me insane at the moment as I have several people who send me MMS all the time and it's not only laborious to pick up the messages from the dubious O2 site, but also embarassing to send emails in response.

There are a number of other neat things they announced, including copy and paste - which will be useful - and a push system that actually works (apparently) but the real test will be what the developers do with the new stuff they've been given as part of the upgrade. Certainly Sat-Nav functions look on the cards now, so that'll be handy - albeit annoying if you get a call in the middle of the tricky bit.

I shall be following developments until the upgrade is available in June - and perhaps I can bore you silly with them, just like I did with the iPhone 3G.

Weekend wanderings

The weekend saw us venture away from home for the first time in a while.

On Saturday, we were to be found in (Royal) Tunbridge Wells. Never been there before and other than a dreadful road system with no signs, it was rather pleasant - quite historic and surrounded by some lovely countryside. (I would tell you why it's called Royal, but you can look that up just as well as I can).

We went for a long walk on Saturday, punctuated by an inevitable trip to a fine pub, and it was most agreeable - especially as it was the first time this year we've been able to sit outside and enjoy a pint - Iron Horse in this case.

Sunday saw us visiting Sidcup. A somewhat different prospect and not quite so leafy and rural, but even there we managed to have a wander around quite a secluded wood at Scadbury Park.

All in all, very nice - got to see a few friends and also some new countryside. Shame about the trip home on the M25 which was a total 'mare, as usual on a Sunday evening.

The rollercoaster week

Another week has flown by and things haven't changed a great deal.

The job market is still sluggish, employers still seem very loathed to interview or make decisions and I still don't have a job.

I did, however, land an interview at another company - making a grand total of 2 this year - and have a second interview for the first company.

I think my interview yesterday went well, I said most of what I wanted to, they all peered at some documents I'd prepared in advance and generally I feel I answered the majority of questions well. I am waiting, with baited breath, to see if they are going to call me back. Yes, there is a thrid interview! Never come across this process before, but there we have it.

There are a few things about the job that concern me. Not least of them is the location - it's in a very out-of-the-way place and although it's not too difficult to get to, it involves travelling along some narrow, windy and poorly maintained roads. Not what you want when you've had a busy day and just want to be home.

The next job I'm going for is the opposite - straight down the motorway - very easy. But I have to wait and see what sort of a place it is and whether the people are OK. I generally get a feel for a place and its people quite quickly - years of honing this talent as a contractor.

So, I'm on quite a high at the moment. After starting to get very annoyed that we were now in March and I still didn't have a job, a couple of interviews make me feel closer to that than ever before. We're also managing our money very effectively and still haven't had to raid the savings, and my benefits pay for a few things as well.

I've spent the last week frantically reading about project management and development techniques and feel I've picked up a lot of valuable info, so I'm planning to keep up my research reading and read around a number of technologies and techniques that I've been putting off - it can't hurt. Of course, my progress in Lego Star Wars is going to suffer, but these are the crosses we have to bear.

Mini-film reviews

My sister came over for the weekend.

She brought some films with her, plus I watched another after she had gone, so it was a bit of a film-fest weekend, after a long absence of any films. Brief thoughts on the films follow.

The Illusionist
A film about magic in 19th Century Vienna sounded interesting rather than compelling. I feel the story starts in a rather clumsy way, but soon settles down. The magical interludes are charming, reasonable accurate, even if some are CGI, and very watchable.

It very quicky becomes apparent that this is a love story, set against the backdrop of the Austrian Empire, the class system and magic. The story is interesting enough, but nothing spectactuar, but it is nicely photographed, well scripted and engaging enough. However, this film has a sting in the tail in that things are not what they seem. All becomes clear right at the end with a magnificent twist. Depending on how quick you are, you probably worked it our at some point, but the full implications are more that you imagine. A very well crafted, well considered and enjoyable work.

7/10

The Prestige
Another magic film, but very different. This is a much darker, more psychological and sinister film. Rather than love, this is about rivalry, ego and pride. Some more magic sequences, but this time more grotesque, more base and more sensational.
The three act film is mirrored by the microcosm of a magic trick, also in three acts. This is explained very carefully at the start of the film but belies the film's highly complex and interwoven plot.

I would challenge anyone to fully appreciate this film at a single viewing, there is too much to take in and too much misdirection for you to follow the whole story. The more you consider it, the more possible realities spring up. The parallels between the main protagonists, their motivations, their troubles and their obsession is well realised. Tricks and misdirection rule and unfold as the story progresses to its, unexpected, conclusion. There are clues along the way to help unpick the truth, but this is a tough challenge as the pace is relentless.

This is not a thoroughly enjoyable as The Illusionist because it raises too many questions, but the scope of the film is fantastic and the amazing journey it takes you on is worth hanging on for, through all the twists and turns. It's also a film which, I believe would not only benefit from a second viewing, but demands it.

8/10

Hellboy II
A very slight change of pace from the other films.

I was pleasantly surprised by the first Hellboy film. I didn't expect much, but what I got was quite a good, straightforward film with a well paced plot, good characters and a sprinkling of humor.

Hellboy II fell into the typical sequal trap. We have all the same components as the original film but bigger and better with more effects, a broader plot, more characters and bigger threats. But right from the begining this was a film without a soul, something which was made to a checklist rather than being an artwork in its own right. Because of this, it ticks a lot of boxes, but it falls short of being engaging.

The all-too-familiar trap is to constantly think of the sequal in terms of the original film (i.e. bigger this and more that) rather than creating a film that stands on its own merits. Although enjoyable enough, it doesn't carve a niche for itself in your memory, doesn't have much to say about anything and doesn't really develop any of its characters. A missed opportunity to do something intelligent and clever with a seemingly crass and shallow franchise.

5/10