Pulling my finger out
Keen eyed readers may have noticed I haven't posted anything on here for almost three weeks. Obviously this is a far from ideal situation, unfortunately I was appraised in work and have been working my arse off ever since.

The reason for my increased zeal is that my appraisal went something along the lines of:

Them: "We like you"

Me: "Good"

Them: "We think the work you've done is good"

Me: "Good"

Them: "If things continue as they are we won't renew your contract because you haven't shown enough commitment"

Me: "Eh? – but you like me and the work I've done, why not?" (Well that's what I should have said, actually I just nodded and made some comments about trying to show my commitment better.)

To that end, I've been spending more time in the office, staying later etc, and also trying to shun the siren which summons me on to the rocks of unemployment that is the internet.

Needless to say I'm going to keep blogging, and try to update things as and when I can, but sadly can't risk spending ages reading other blogs or updating this one – which is a real arse, but nowhere near as big an arse as not being offered a new job next year.
- posted by Paul @ 8:58 am |

 
In my thoughts
Had planned to blog about loads of good stuff today – London winning the battle to stage the 2012 Olympics, seeing REM and the Zutons in concert last night (sadly I arrived too late to see any of Idlewild's set).

However events in London have rather taken the edge off things today, and I've been far more worried for the safety of everyone I know down there. Events have prompted me to send text messages galore to everyone I could think of who might be affected, including people I've not spoken to for several years, whose numbers were simply still in my phone.

Despite no longer being in London, I really feel quite shaken by the whole thing - I think knowing so many people in the vicinity of some of the explosions, and also regularly passing through some of the stations involved over the last few years, has really brought things home to me.

Needless to say, I'm not exactly being productive today. My thoughts being with everyone affected.
- posted by Paul @ 3:02 pm |

 
You can do a lot with 15 minutes
Andy Warhol famously commented that every person will enjoy 15 minutes of fame in their lifetime.

Looking back over my twenty something years, I appear to be accumulating my minutes in a piecemeal fashion, rather than the concentrated burst of a Big Brother evictee enjoying their week of fame before they are usurped by the next freak out of the house.

Tallying it up, I'm sure that for Warhol's theory to be born out, I've not finished with my brief brushes with the media.

So far:

Non-speaking appearances on Local News: 3 (1 as a toddler, 2 as a teenager)
Interviews on Local BBC Radio: 1
Starring in quizzes on Local Commercial Radio: 1 (although I was on it for 4 consecutive days)
Interviews on BBC2: 1
Appearances on Channel 4 Quiz Shows: 1
Conversations with Divas on Radio 1: 1 (Listen here – I'm on towards the end of the interview (about 2 hours into the show) and in no way sound pervy)
Appearances in Hello!: 1
Letters published in national newspapers: 2
Letters published in magazines: 1

I've left off the times I’ve appeared in any local free papers – cos quite frankly they'd print "Man Crosses Road" if they still had space to fill.

So that's it – no real burst of sustained exposure to the bright lights of fame, and bugger all to show for it in terms of financial reward….


…yet.
- posted by Paul @ 5:38 pm |

 
Pants to Poverty
Saturday, saw Live8 dominating the airwaves, and led to a small degree of tension in the 1000 Shades of Grey household, with my parents visiting and intent on watching the cricket on Sky, however we still managed to catch a large chunk of the action from Hyde Park.

Whetting my anticipation ahead of my trip to see them on Wednesday, I though REM were outstanding, although quite what possessed the BBC to cut to Fern Cotton interviewing the bloke from Razorlight midway through their set is beyond me. Why they couldn't have recorded the interview, or made the bloke wait, and then played it afterwards is a mystery to me, and left me ranting at the TV in frustration.

Other stand out performances for me included McCartney, Coldplay, Madonna, and Robbie Williams (I may not be his biggest fan, but you can't argue with his ability to command a gigantic crowd).

However, the big question in our house was: whether or not Mariah Carey was wearing anything under her dress? Surely she wouldn't have dared go commando in front of the millions watching on TV and the small kids in the African choir on stage with her, would she?

Well, in the quest for truth, I asked Mariah that very question this morning, and after a brief discussion about what I meant when I said the word "pants" she answered me…

…and if you want to know what she said, her response should be broadcast on the Radio 1 breakfast show tomorrow morning.
- posted by Paul @ 11:59 am |