And another week has passed...

Sorry about that.
Very awkward week - lots of work issues to deal with - non-stop really. Sadly - I earned almost nothing. I don't seem to get paid for project management, client management, crisis management or sorting out other people's problems. I did a day in-house and I've had a conversation with another client about 2 months work over December and January - but it was vague and not particularly secure. I often get people asking me to free up great tracts of time so that a 'phantom' project can be slotted into their timetable - they never come off. 'Checking My Availability' just wastes my time.

The main computer at work died a couple of weeks ago - I sold it for scrap but retained the hard drive as a spare - yesterday I received the replacement - a brand new, top of the range MacMini which is frankly a quite superb little machine. I couldn't actually afford it myself - I was lucky that my brother had a load of unused John Lewis e-vouchers that would cover it and he loaned them to me. The process of converting them into code numbers to use online and then inputting into their system was complex and unnecessarily convoluted - requiring several phone calls. But we got there in the end. I also needed several phone call to Apple to register it properly - and they were actually very helpful, and a protracted 'live talk' with someone in India working for Adobe who was totally out of his depth. Out of sheer kindness I have decided not to complete the 'customer satisfaction' survey they emailed later.

It's working now and I'm delighted with it. I need to get t least 5 years work out of it - It better not let me down. It's going to the studio on Monday Morning. I intend to create a couple of servers with the other hard drives I've retained and run the pretense of having an actual professional studio. Or something.

Cycling to work this week I have noticed that drivers are getting much worse. Also pedestrians. Every day gets worse.

The bar under my studio is now open. I have come to realise I now live in my own episode of Ally Macbeal. There is even a baby in the house.

Last week was overshadowed by the Bataclan tragedy - and the inevitable outpouring of stupidity and thoughtlessness on the internet, I've just had to pull back and not allow myself to get involved.

It's gone very cold. We had about 10 mins of snow yesterday. Later I have to climb up onto the kitchen roof and try and close the studio window that has rusted partly open - or I won't be able to use that room. It's that time of the year when it takes a week to dry socks, or wear them damp.

I seem to be getting a lot of people asking me professional advice at the moment. I should charge, they usually ignore me and go off and make terrible mistakes.

I have to do a lot of washing today - clean the house and deal with some money stuff - or I may do that at work tomorrow where it's warmer.