Oh, you know, stuff

Well, I'm stuck in waiting for a guy to fix the grill on the oven so I figured that I might as well write something. They're due between 2 and 4pm. Its gone 3.30 now and they're still a no show.

I actually applied for a job last week, so I guess the hunt is on. That said I haven't applied for anything else so the application count stays at a staggering one in four months (since I left work. It's only been two since I stopped getting paid. They paid me for 6 weeks after my last day. Quite frankly that's the least they could have done under the circumstances. I really deserved more given how badly they treated me.) I don't think I ever fully explained what happened. I will at some point, just not today. I'm a little fed up with talking about it to be quite honest.

Over the last few months (well, years, but especially in the last few months) I've been playing a lot of video games. Actually, that's not strictly true; I've only been playing Halo (PC) and Halo 2 (Xbox). I don't know why I was spending so much time playing games because I was getting virtually nothing from it. I'd get frustrated when I lost and an overwhelming of, well, nothing when I won. Plus I seemed to be playing so much that I was neglecting other, more important things (like applying for jobs and writing; why do you think I've posted so here so infrequently up until a few weeks ago.). In other words playing video games was having a detrimental effect on my life. It simply wasn't giving me the sense of having actually achieved something that I get from, for example, writing or applying for a job (though I'm still not sure if the later is futile. After all, I applied for literally hundreds of jobs after I left university and had no luck whatsoever). It was just monopolising my time and giving me nothing back. In fact, it almost took a sizeable chunk out of my finances. I was really close to asking for an Xbox 360 for my birthday, but that would have meant contributing at least £200 towards the cost, which is an awful lot. In the end I decided that it wasn't worth it. After all I'd just end up playing the same games I'd always played. In other words, it was pointless, but only a little more pointless than continuing to play as often as I did. Which is why I've pretty much stopped. Days go by without playing. I did have a go on a little Halo yesterday, but it was a totally unfulfilling experience.

Time will tell if I start playing again. I practically stopped before when I started university, only to start again towards the end of my undergraduate degree. In all fairness at that point I only played when I could play with other people. Well, I suppose that's why online gaming is so dangerous; there's always someone else out there who wants a game. By the way, the link at the side of the page for DVASquad.com takes you to the homepage of the Halo clan of which I am a member. See, I was so involved I was even a member of a clan.

I've just made the whole thing sound like some terrible addiction. It isn't of course. It was just a way of avoiding getting on with things. Or maybe it was just a way of avoiding the reality of my, fairly miserable situation at home. On that subject I just got a phone call from my mum. The oven repair guy still hasn't come and she's trying to say that I probably missed him because I took a shower at 1.30pm, about a half hour before the earliest time he was due to arrive. Let's not forget that when I've needed her to stay in when I've expected a package, she hasn't bothered. She's always blaming me for things though. Last night she (and my sister) had a go at me when the internet refused to work on my sisters PC. It turned out that my mum had damaged the network cable when she moved my sister’s bedroom around. So, I said that she could use a cable I had, but she'd have to get me a new one. All hell broke loose and the upshot was that I had to supply the cable and expect no replacement or everybody would stop contributing to the broadband bill. A little unreasonable don't you think.

And talking of being unreasonable, the guy arrived to fix the grill whilst I was writing. He promptly told me that it needed a new burner, the part that the previous guy said it didn’t need, despite the fact that the guy who came before him had said the contrary, and promptly sent back. So, now let’s hope that they get it fixed on their fourth visit. Once again, I’m not holding my breath. See what I mean about people being incompetent?

Anyway, I did actually men to write something a little more interesting this time round, and I've just ended up ranting again. Maybe next time I post I'll actually talk about some of the things on my mind.