Almost a disaster. I got to the dreaded Bridge road and it was two lanes full of the dreaded white plague of the south west, leaving me no chance to filter, you couldn't get a fag paper between them. So I had to be a traffic muppet for a bit. Still, tonight I didn't have to take part in the silly posturing race home my boss likes to insist on when he brings his trick Golf into work. Funny that, he's got nearly 100bhp on the FireBlade but he just wasn't interested tonight. Still, G&T in hand and a fish and chip tea. Luverley.
Chippy tea, now that’s an idea, I was thinking of a ruby but that sounds nice. It sounds like your boss has studied Sun Tzu and only fights the battles he thinks he can win. Have you seen the news tonight about that idiot Andrew Mitchell giving a mouthful to the police? How funny is that, doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that he had popped into The Commons Strangers bar for a swift one. I have been in there many times and never managed to leave sober. Monday night is like Saturday night in Temple Bar.
My favourite and most used quote from the "Art of War" is 'no stratagem survives first contact with the enemy'. I employ it with every dealing I have with clients and the old dog is proved right time after time.
Like it, I had forgotten that one. The one I like to use in my mind when dealing with me director is 'pretend to be inferior and encourage arrogance' works every god damn time. The man was a genius. In my late teens my then boss brought the whole of his small team a copy of the Art of War and told us to read it, study it and apply the principles in business. The really sad thing is the man who brought that book was by far the best boss I have ever had, he taught me so much that at the time I didn’t even realise I was learning, he gained total respect by leading from the front, defending us until his nose bleed in front of others regardless of whether we were right or wrong, but above all was totally honest, straight talking and fair. I went to talk to him one evening as I had a better offer from another company in the same industry. He looked at the offer, said it a good company and a good offer. I have plans for you but if you still want to leave "you have six months, if it doesn’t work out, I will bring you back in" I didn’t go back but we kept in touch every couple of months by phone and later by email after he transferred to Indonesia then Korea, Singapore with responsibility for the whole of the pacific rim and then to a big corporate job in Sweden. Then I had a phone call early on a Monday morning from one of my old colleges who incidentally now works with me again, to say that the guy had been found dead in his company apartment. Turned out he had taken an over dose, this was a man that never drank, smoked or took painkillers. Very strange, and to this day now one knows why he did it. His funeral was in Glasgow (his home town) and people from all over the world had spent their own money to attend. It was really nice that his widow remembered me after all those years. It was the first and last time I have ever cried at a funeral. That was some years ago but. Raise a glass fella’s. To Norman one of the best human beings I have ever had the pleasure to have known. Right time for a refill.
Just got the Mediterranean Chicken with chillies in the oven, made a salad with carrots, lettuce, grapes, olives and strawberries to go with it, and opened my Merlot.... just a glass or maybe 2 small ones tonight.... laaaaaaverly.
Well after a long day out tinkering with bikes, I've just sat down to a fine chilled bottle of wine. Oh yes Ken it's that very Devon fruity delicious wine.
Ah the tankers are winding their way north up the A38 just for you Col'. David, you'll likely not believe this, but, in a previous work incarnation I had, very briefly, a district manager above me who was promoted from shop managership to the role and Did it bloody well. He was ex army and he honestly tried to let his team do their jobs and took on the actual management for himself. Obviously this was when the word 'management' was a job description not a pension bump. The first thing he did was to provide all his district team with a pocket copy of 'Art of War'. This was before the red braces brigade snatched it for a bible. I still struggle to comprehend that the book is two and a half thousand years old. The axioms and tenets within it could have been written yesterday.
Gourmet bacon & cheese Burger with home made fries for dinner and a cheeky alcoholic root ale even though I shouldn't as I'm on call but walking distance into work. Now to chill out and watch some bad film whilst waiting for the phone to ring because some little oink from camp has got arrested or something similar!
You have got to be kidding me!! This is getting very very spooky. Norman. The mentor that he was had cartoon drawings done each of the team, mine was with striped shirt, red braces (not that I ever wore them, but that’s how London was seen in those days) a bus in the background and a copy of the Art of war in my hand. You are beginning to seriously freak me out. If I could, I would ask my dad if he ever had an affair on holiday in Devon.
I have got work tomorrow, but after today I'm still considering it. No, bollocks! Blood doners...Arse!
I got bat-faced last night with some of the guys I've just started working with, I only nipped downstairs to our 'in house' bar for the football and to get to know a few faces and the next thing i new i was playing daft drinking games, mixing the drinks (red wine & champaign doesn't go well together in one glass). I lost my phone (but found it later) and woke up with a massive bruise on my arm and a bruised (possibly a little broken) nose. A good night from what i remember but I've been feeling the pain today, the only condolence is that others are far far worse than me.
Who needs booze, lack of sleep, stress over load, plus dropped one too many pain killers yesterday, couple of glasses of wine when I got home….Job done. I just read through a text I sent before going to bed and quite frankly a 3 year old with turrets (not sure if that’s how you spell it) could have strung a better sentence together. I have got a head like a clubbed seal this morning with an important conference call fast approaching. Ling, Ling, more strong coffee please.
Thank god for that. I thought the screen on my phone was failing. And it's not Tourettes you're suffering from, it's dyslexia.
I've taken the day off work today and am waiting for my mate to pop up so we can head out for a few drinks around Poulton or Blackpool.
Such a hangover this morning , I'm glad I booked the morning shift off work today. Had went to help a mate at an Arthur's day gig he was djing at and ended the night With a VIP party with free Guinness ......and to make it better tiny tempah showed up and done a set. Result
That was another bollox yesterday. I had a chilled tin of the black stuff waiting for one minute to six and remembered I had a blood donors appointment at quarter past.
