Tuesday 12 April 2016

Tuesday

Lovely day today - bright sunshine and birds singing - blue sky and just the right temperature for the long walk to work.

Came in early, partly to get things done and partly to get away from a couple of rows I caused online. The internet was designed to allow people to be stupid on a global scale.

I submitted my tax returns yesterday - obviously, I already knew what all the numbers were and it didn't take any more than an hour to do - the good news is that I have no tax to pay next year and that I am due a £700 rebate - the bad news is that I still owe a lot of money from the year before. But - I suppose it's progress.

As yesterday was technically my first 2016/17 work day, completed a few very small and insignificant jobs and sent a couple of invoices - very SMALL invoices. Not much on the horizon at the moment - I'm due to talk a piece of work through with someone later today - but it's not looking very friendly out there.

As someone has pointed out on an earlier post - the communications and listings in Hastings are terrible - most people hear about things after they have happened. I've done quite a lot of work in this sector over the years and it's actually very difficult. A lot of people put all their eggs in the Facebook basket - but that means they are dependent on a 'curated ' audience - the only people they talk to already know. It's something I have brought up a few times with people who understand it's importance and what it could do for the town, but the down side is that it costs money and nobody will pay. (and it's an utterly thankless task).

The library next door to my studio is being renovated - we can hear constant banging and tapping, but on the plus side - we are getting superfast broadband fitted tomorrow.

They are regularly using a Haris's Hawk to clear pigeons from behind the studio now - which is better than the small explosive charges they used to use - but the seagulls become hysterical and scream for an hour afterward.

I'm having a conversation on facebook at the moment with a designer from Mexico who now lives and works in London, talking about The Face Magazine and our first experiences of popular culture. I've concluded now that because we have access to so much - we actually know nothing. I used to read every word of my copy (as a late teenager) and still remember everything now about the books, film, politics etc - today I just skim through endless posts and flick through images. Nothing has any value - that's probably the problem with my industry.

I'm feeling physically pretty good at the moment - I've decided to stop eating butter now so I finished the last bit off with a bit of toast earlier today - my last concessions to dairy will be milk and cheese. I could probably go without milk if I found a suitable substitute - but cheese is non-negotiable. It's quite literally my only vice. I can't really drink now because it gives me headaches and I never had a sweet tooth anyway. My memory is still terrible and I'm in a bubble most of the time - but I had a shave (after months of being bearded) and my face actually looks pretty good now, considering what they had to do - nobody is going to notice. I was going to go cycling on Sunday - but remembered (as I was getting ready and putting on my cycling stuff) that my bike was 2 miles away in the studio. Typical.

My rescued giant date palm is actually looking like it might thrive already - can't tell you how pleased I am about that. I really need to get the fences back up so I can leave the patio doors open and spend more time in the garden. More money etc.

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