Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
Good opportunities in the workplace can be few and far between. Don't get me wrong I mostly love my work and am fairly well respected for it, but, the chances to really make an impact or get noticed in the corporate world are few and far between. Long story short a project has been bubbling away which finally fell with a thud into my lap, right project (designing a new pilot-plant), right time, right place and it was the 11th hour and they needed a minor miracle ....
This was Wednesday 4pm.
I pulled the stops out that evening, had an inspiration (amazing what you can do with Excel) and worked like a demon through the evening into the small hours for my boss's 10am deadline meeting. All were mightily impressed and I was instantly co-opted onto the team. More beavering to mod the plan during the day, another conf. call, more changes and another evening's work into the small hours. I was now a key driver in the team, invited to the meeting to present to the mega bosses this morning and next stop (hopefully) was a place on the junket to visit our USA project team. I was starting to walk tall.
But ....
I hadn't planned to go to Bristol today, the small car was going for a service (already rescheduled twice due to work), Mrs FF had the day off and we needed to get 5 kids to Panto rehearsals at 4.30. Bugger. Ah, no probs, borrow the work pool car, get-up early to deliver the C1 to the garage, Mrs FF does the school run and I get-off down the M4 to prepare for my audience, after the meeting at 2, drive home, collect C1, take kids to rehearsals.
Hurrah! A plan!
At 6.45 this morning, at the end of my street the pool Passat of 145k miles emited a mild thunk as I pulled out of my road when the gearbox severed its longstanding relationship with the engine. A boxful of neutrals. Bugger. Pushed it across the road and managed to park it. Back down the road to get the C8 and off to the garage. Now thankfully somebody was there early. Result! Got Mrs FF home, got the myself sorted, took the kids to school, dropped the buggered Passat keys off at the Abingdon office and left Mrs FF carless. The mention of her getting a Taxi to collect the C1 was met at 7.15 in the garage with the look of somebody just asked to eat more than 1 turd that morning. Great start to the day.
Anyhow, I was eventually on my way to what I hoped would be a pretty good meeting, and to be fair it was, everybody liked my proposal, got a lot of exec. Brownie points for effort and result and was left with some minor mods to do by this evening and then submit for the USA team and Architects discussions. Wahaay! I didn't get on the USA vist though
, too many going already this time, but deffo on the next ....
Anyhow, beavered away, Mrs FF calls me at 2.15 asking if I'd hit the road yet just as I was packing. No probs, 2 hours for a 1hr 15 journey with a spring in my step I hit the M5 at Portbury and zoomed north where unknown to me sometime before a lorry had overturned on the M5/M4 slip road, and completely blocked it ... but the travel report said a 15 min delay, so I'll still make it home in time. Well 90 mins later I'd gone maybe 10 miles
to just north of the M4 and was running low on Diesel, furthermore the next exit was crammed to do a U-turn and head south again to rejoin the M4. Mrs FF was working on plans B and C enlisting neigbourly favours and buses (in praise of park and ride) So I crawled to the services and decided to cut cross country via Stroud, Cirencester, Faringdon, to home, scenic if nothing else. Stroud needs a bypass, for sure, 30 mins wasted getting through there and on and on went the journey. It's taken 3.5 hours to do a 1hr 15 trip.
Mrs FF is camped-out in a coffee shop writing letters until the kids finish.
AAaaarrrggghghhhhhhhhhhh.
Fcuk work and ambition. Beer and an artery clogging dose of Jalfrazi washed down with more Affligem than is good for a chap almost beckons ... except I have to collect my daughter from Oxford at 9.30 ....
Must not go postal quite yet.
This was Wednesday 4pm.
I pulled the stops out that evening, had an inspiration (amazing what you can do with Excel) and worked like a demon through the evening into the small hours for my boss's 10am deadline meeting. All were mightily impressed and I was instantly co-opted onto the team. More beavering to mod the plan during the day, another conf. call, more changes and another evening's work into the small hours. I was now a key driver in the team, invited to the meeting to present to the mega bosses this morning and next stop (hopefully) was a place on the junket to visit our USA project team. I was starting to walk tall.
But ....
I hadn't planned to go to Bristol today, the small car was going for a service (already rescheduled twice due to work), Mrs FF had the day off and we needed to get 5 kids to Panto rehearsals at 4.30. Bugger. Ah, no probs, borrow the work pool car, get-up early to deliver the C1 to the garage, Mrs FF does the school run and I get-off down the M4 to prepare for my audience, after the meeting at 2, drive home, collect C1, take kids to rehearsals.
Hurrah! A plan!
At 6.45 this morning, at the end of my street the pool Passat of 145k miles emited a mild thunk as I pulled out of my road when the gearbox severed its longstanding relationship with the engine. A boxful of neutrals. Bugger. Pushed it across the road and managed to park it. Back down the road to get the C8 and off to the garage. Now thankfully somebody was there early. Result! Got Mrs FF home, got the myself sorted, took the kids to school, dropped the buggered Passat keys off at the Abingdon office and left Mrs FF carless. The mention of her getting a Taxi to collect the C1 was met at 7.15 in the garage with the look of somebody just asked to eat more than 1 turd that morning. Great start to the day.
Anyhow, I was eventually on my way to what I hoped would be a pretty good meeting, and to be fair it was, everybody liked my proposal, got a lot of exec. Brownie points for effort and result and was left with some minor mods to do by this evening and then submit for the USA team and Architects discussions. Wahaay! I didn't get on the USA vist though
, too many going already this time, but deffo on the next ....Anyhow, beavered away, Mrs FF calls me at 2.15 asking if I'd hit the road yet just as I was packing. No probs, 2 hours for a 1hr 15 journey with a spring in my step I hit the M5 at Portbury and zoomed north where unknown to me sometime before a lorry had overturned on the M5/M4 slip road, and completely blocked it ... but the travel report said a 15 min delay, so I'll still make it home in time. Well 90 mins later I'd gone maybe 10 miles
to just north of the M4 and was running low on Diesel, furthermore the next exit was crammed to do a U-turn and head south again to rejoin the M4. Mrs FF was working on plans B and C enlisting neigbourly favours and buses (in praise of park and ride) So I crawled to the services and decided to cut cross country via Stroud, Cirencester, Faringdon, to home, scenic if nothing else. Stroud needs a bypass, for sure, 30 mins wasted getting through there and on and on went the journey. It's taken 3.5 hours to do a 1hr 15 trip.Mrs FF is camped-out in a coffee shop writing letters until the kids finish.
AAaaarrrggghghhhhhhhhhhh.
Fcuk work and ambition. Beer and an artery clogging dose of Jalfrazi washed down with more Affligem than is good for a chap almost beckons ... except I have to collect my daughter from Oxford at 9.30 ....
Must not go postal quite yet.
