Im sure everybody missed me
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// WORK STUFF
Pretty much stopped posting on 2+2 for a month or so because work was crazy. Didnt pick up my writing when I was back so here we go again. Have mostly been working on a public tender that was going awry which was especially stressful since my company decided to use a rather new method of specifying whatever kind of software we were looking for. Loads of text coming up because rant.
I'm used to setting up some requirements and just having that delivered to your doorstep but this method says that the provider is probably best at knowing what you want. So if Im some government agency doing loads of administrative work Ill put out a public tender with some broad description of what we're doing and have companies proficient in administrative systems enroll into the public tender and they will tell you what the best way to do it is and how you should do it.
Its a method that has yielded a lot of good project results but unfortunately it kinda went wrong for us due to the provider just messing up big time in all kind of ways. This specific method also says that since the provider is the expert you should let him steer the project to whatever he is comfortable with. We had expressed our doubts at his solution and the way they went about it several times but not much changed and after approximately twelve weeks we pulled the plug because the solution they were offering couldn't pass the criteria of acceptance we had set for the proof of concept. Its unclear whether they will be suing our asses or not but luckily for me, thats not my line of work. We'll start working on the project with the organization that ended up being number 2 in the public tender.
// WORK STUFF
It all (re)started with this post after someone complained the OOT LC was slow again, I sometimes use it as my personal diary because Im annoying like that. This actually resulted in some very solid advice, anyone going through something similar should read the replies. It weren't huge eye openers but more like things I basically already knew being confirmed by others I respected and shaking me up to get my head out of my ass and start doing stuff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yakmelk
My life is extremely boring right now, I feel like I've settled in and am slowly dying. Its pretty sad and Im pretty depressed right now.
The only thing shaking me up from time to time is work and you KNOW it is wrong when your work is more interesting then the rest of your life (or maybe not but it feels like that).
My friends all started breeding last year and are either pregnant or already pushed their first one out and going for number two, that's probably not the most constructive/interesting/motivating bunch to have around at times.
I love my gf and Im in a better place now but at least when I was single and bored I could just go out and do nasty stuff to random girls (which was a terrible lifestyle but at least not boring).
I stopped drinking and smoking weed for about a month now and even though I feel better in a way it also made me more conscious of how little Im doing to further myself in life. Some evenings/nights are spend exclusively on trolling 2+2, I thought I was better than that. I need to restart my blog in HOB, at least that gave me some kind of sense of direction.
/rant, the OOT LC is my blog once a month (at least its better then making one of the ol' what to do with my life threads so bear with me)
I've requested budget for a few courses I want to take which should be fine as long as I do them before the end of this year (its more of a relocation thing). I will be trying to at least get my IPMA certification, an international organization that regulates part of project management certification. This will allow me to grow into larger projects and take on more responsibilities. Yay me right.
Some random updates;
I've stopped smoking weed (completely for just over a month now) and stopped drinking on week days! That sounds pretty sad but it wasn't easy and still isn't some days. Woo me.
I've done some home improvement, I bought this and it kept me hard for at least a day or two;
Its full now so Im trying to wait at least a month before I buy a second one.
I went to Hungary (Budapest) with my gf so we could see the F1 Gran Prix. Im not a fan but it was pretty awesome. Our main man Max Verstappen got his best finish so far and ended up in 4th place (yay dutchies). We ran into some drivers including Mr. Hamilton. Now I dont care much for F1 and the gf is the actual fan but I still enjoyed all the glamour and running into famous people and whatnot. I flew for the first time in a while in this thing which I was sure was going to fall out of the sky at some point;
Gardening stuff;
The plants that started out like this;
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yakmelk
Are now in full glory and looking more or less like this;
There are +-12/14 in total in my backyard, gave a few away to my mom to put in her own garden.
Im getting between 10 and 20 tomatoes a day off them and pretty much no diseases at all which is a success in my book. Will certainly do this again next year, have opted to not put them in my growing tent though.
I also suddenly found this carrot in my garden which was odd and resulted in a flushed GF;
All those tomatoes have resulted in several of these ...
Called a caprese quiche. Its pretty good and mostly has eggs/creme fraiche/mozarella.
The vinegar experiment was pretty successful as well, we taste it and it actually tastes fine! Im going out to buy a few bottles this week so we can bottle it and make some more. Will update.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yakmelk
To top it off I also got a vinegar jar, a traditional French clay jar to make my own vinegar. I haven't delved in to the subject of doing that too much yet though.
You throw in an existing 'mother' or just add the bacteria needed yourself, a mother is like the yeast in bread, it looks like a jellyfish and is to be found at the bottom of your vinegar. Its a living organism and normally if I put a mother in that jar and add wine/cider it should become vinegar. I guess I'll report back.
My financial situation is great, who would have thought that saving money actually works! (It does). I bought my apartment in Amsterdam to rent it out but it caused me quite some headaches as I was just spending everything that came in after paying all my fixed monthly costs.
You're billed for taxes 3 times a year though, once 300 euro's around new years and twice for around 1k in April and October. I had to seriously twist and turn a few times to come up with the taxes but now Im just withholding it from the income. Its almost rocket science like (except for that it isnt).
My life is much better since I've started doing that. Several studio's seem to have been appraised around 30k above the original buying price and mine is in the top range wrt exclusivity (nice kitchen, top floor) but I kind of vowed to keep it for at least a few years since the area is being developed into a hipster area where it used to be more old skool industrial.
Ill try and get back to updating this somewhat regularly, thats one of my biggest goals right now I guess. Documenting things kind of work for me.