today has been endless, and I need to aim for being IN the office by 8am tomorrow. yes, yes.
I fired up the machine just now to pay Boris £8 for the pleasure of having a second cup of coffee this morning and actually managed not to get lost finding the A4 to get to work this time. If they do rescind the western patch of congested extortion, I suppose the congestion will spread freely and make that option as long as the other one, but both of them shorter.
Update on the car business; I was right, 30 seconds to declare it an insurance write-off; an "uneconomic repair". I asked sweetly how much was uneconomic and triggered the script about how they can't tell me until they assess the damage. The irony escapes them. The write-off was declared by whoever fetched the car from Bermondsey to take it to a garage for damage assessment. The courtesy car is therefore only allowable for 48 hours; offered a week after the accident; I hadn't realised insurance companies offered stasis as part of their instant care package; obviously I didn't need to do anything or go anywhere until they got round to doing something about the claim
Birthday arranged and paid for; sales lead hook baited and bitten by supplier project manager who escaped having to buy me dinner as well as the drink after work ; I was TIRED!!! - but he knows he owes me two dinners now
This high-intensity Knowledge Transfer fornight has ratcheted up several gears now that squeaky is back (I should take up scrying) with most of my efforts to hand things off to other people so I can get on with my 'real' job circling back to my being the one who knows how to get things organised. Bah. ENTJ personality has its drawbacks
First out at poker last night, on a self-inflicted, had enough, stupid, all-in; but the compliment of the month prize goes to the man with the roving eye whose company I have been keeping for a while or more. He managed to lose his place in a conversation with friends outside the pub when he transferred full attention to a pair of lovely legs exiting from a scabby old Mondeo across the street. It took him several minutes to realise they were mine. You'd think he might recognise them by now.
Having been treated to a late night supper of super-light omelette; I decided I should have omelette for dinner tonight. Mine was rubbish in comparison, my culinary skills are obviously deteriorating, or maybe I just need a bigger frying pan
Bulletins over for the moment : the list of things I have crossed off the list of things to do NOW is quite impressive, unfortunately the clamour of other number one priorities is no shorter
I've started reading "I shall wear midnight'; but too tired even to stay awake long enough to finish it.
Roll on Friday and flying to Cyprus for some serious backing off and basking in hot sun - no whale jokes please!
all typos are my own work
Tuesday 21 September 2010
Monday 13 September 2010
ouch day 3
More 'mare today : the insurer blames the broker blames the insurer for cancelling the insurance policy on my car. After applying increasingly sarcastic conversation with both of them in a game of ping-pong. e.g. "and the renewal is due when?", "September THIS year, you mean?", "and the date today is? " they establish that the the terminology is "lapsed on renewal", as advised by the broker on August 25th. Faced with a robust sequence of "when did not wanting to renew my policy become a cancellation?" and "if it was cancelled then, what happened to my letter of confirmation and refund for the rest of the policy term?" and also, "so renewal is due when?" ; they are cornered into ~oh, ermmm, actually it's not due for renewal until September 29th.
I cannot resist checking with them if they are sure they mean THIS year.
The insurer says it will take two days to reinstate the policy; I ask them if they can tell me how long it took them to cancel it (they didn't like that question very much)
Everyone in the office now knows my full name, spelled out in full, my address, date of birth, postcode, car registration, and how viciously polite I can get when I start to lose it
Current status:
A garage in Bermondsey or somewhere equally esoteric has my car; charging an unknown amount per minute to store it.
I probably took the slowest train from Paddington to Slough, and the most expensive taxi from the station to the office, Speaking bus reasonably well in London does not translate to the local idiom of bus prevalent in Sloff.
My working day was trashed by bad temper and frequent calls on both mobiles with a backup work and personal emails. Who would have thought Tyla was a real name?
Finally, there IS a claim number, confirmation that my NCD covers it, and a promise that I will get the courtesy car the policy provides ~ once the policy is reinstated, and the assessor goes to look at the car, and they sort out a repairer, and the repair lot go to collect the car, and, undoubtedly, take 30 seconds to declare it an insurance writeoff.
So, tomorrow, listen out for "seconds away, round 3 - CLANG"
I cannot resist checking with them if they are sure they mean THIS year.
The insurer says it will take two days to reinstate the policy; I ask them if they can tell me how long it took them to cancel it (they didn't like that question very much)
Everyone in the office now knows my full name, spelled out in full, my address, date of birth, postcode, car registration, and how viciously polite I can get when I start to lose it
Current status:
A garage in Bermondsey or somewhere equally esoteric has my car; charging an unknown amount per minute to store it.
I probably took the slowest train from Paddington to Slough, and the most expensive taxi from the station to the office, Speaking bus reasonably well in London does not translate to the local idiom of bus prevalent in Sloff.
My working day was trashed by bad temper and frequent calls on both mobiles with a backup work and personal emails. Who would have thought Tyla was a real name?
Finally, there IS a claim number, confirmation that my NCD covers it, and a promise that I will get the courtesy car the policy provides ~ once the policy is reinstated, and the assessor goes to look at the car, and they sort out a repairer, and the repair lot go to collect the car, and, undoubtedly, take 30 seconds to declare it an insurance writeoff.
So, tomorrow, listen out for "seconds away, round 3 - CLANG"
Sunday 12 September 2010
ouch & cleaned up a bit
19:10
A40 Southbound 30 miles from Aylesbury, short lampposts bit before Western Avenue
visibility good
road conditions dry
traffic heavy, 3 lanes travelling c30mph(?) -relatively slowly anyway
looked away at something ?rearview?radio?
looked back again
Black Saab in front of me had stopped. I braked but went into the back of his car while he sailed into the back of the Range Rover in front of him.
The~ said “thanks a bunch” was edgy almost aggressive; quicker than quick to pick up whatever was on the road behind his car and throw it in the boot; also to clear up glass etc from the front of his car too – before I could take any photograph; I hit video not photo – eejit.
DAMAGE
my car :
front grille pushed back; radiator damaged enough to be leaking, front valance, bonnet & both wings damaged.
SAAB His rear number plate fell off. However, at the front, his headlights were broken and front grille pushed back
RANGE ROVER His rear numberplate fell off and there was a bit of a scuff on the bumper.
Paul info from home: your insurance is due to run out at end of this month (29th) customer ref : r0025825- policy number : a090000001n8nn
I cant find the number your meant to call to notify them. it says in the hand book the number is on the card you should carry with you.
The only number i could find was 08000353939
0800 Saturday: START
Renew Website check has a Claim Hotline number : 0800 035 4346: it just rang, and rang, and rang, and rang, and rang, and rang, and rang, and rang, and rang,
9am 0800 035 3939 worked, a girl took details, told me the policy is with Royal Sun Alliance, gave me their number 0870 380 3311, and told me they are not open till Monday.
Asked her to check if I have a courtesy car on my policy, and I do. Great! ~ from the repairers IF the car is repairable; scrap that then, I can't even put the claim in till Monday
Class; an accident out of office hours could have left me stranded at the side of the road for the entire weekend.
So much for their bold website claim
Renew car insurance excels in providing you with motor car insurance quotes that are value for money and provide reassurance that claims will be settled without fuss...because your safety matters.
Adrian Parry, Managing Director
Checked RSA website again
0800 300 252
Indian chap answers and asks for my policy number. A0~. “we don’t deal with those policy numbers; tried the customer reference number begins R “we only deal with policy numbers which begin with zero
He gives me a number 0870 165 0509
RSA website again: contact 01403 232 323
Which directs me to 0845 609 3300, their “emergency hotline”
The ‘emergency hotline gives me another number 0800 300 252 –
CIRCLE COMPLETE
RESTART
Indian woman answers and aks for my name, I give my name and the line goes dead.
I call back and get the Indian chap again; this time I give him the policy number without the ‘a’ prefix. He mishears 6 consecutive zeroes; mistakes six for 5 and gets the last number wrong too. It’s obviously my accent. He can’t find it.
He asks for the registration, I give it. I have to correct him to get it right.
He tells me this is a commercial policy (What?) and gives me another number 0870 165 0509
Mark gets up and tries the 0800 claim line again on his own phone; it just rings.
He calls the website number and gets a person somehow. (I discover later he called the quote line, who were keen to be keen and asked them what would happen if we had to make a claim. "No problem!" they said, "Good" he said " we already have a policy with you and would like to make a claim". Score one for the customer.
1100 -Robert- tells me he will get the claims people to call me
1138 –David- calls me “was the accident your fault”? : Well, probably since I went into the back of someone else. Later in the convo, after I point out that their website claims easy, fast, courtesy car stuff etc, he tells me they have a no-fault team which I can ’try’.
1148 ??? transfers me to –David- on the emergency helpline, who asks for Registration, Name, Address.
How MANY times do I have to give how many people the policy number, name, address, registration etc? None of them seem interested in logging any accident details since Julie at 8am or so who took some details but not of the other cars.
-David- eventually says he can organise for someone to collect and store the car until I can make a claim at 9am on Monday by calling 0845 071 0150. His extension xnnn Reference 0T2. . .
I’m not sure what time the wagon turned up to collect the car; it was unexpected anyway since they did just turn up when I’d expected them to call first. The chap was quite wonderful, he reminded me to take the tax disc, and spent ages dismantling half the car so I could have the CD changer from the boot, the stereo AND the lead from one to other.
Monday morning before I can move this any further; still not happy about it all at all.
I return to the pimlico penthouse with my hands covered in nasty greasy grunge and grime to find Mark has got ready and is dressed in white tie etc : his excuse being that he thought I was already dressed for us to go out. ziff; I wore that stunning outfit to dinner LAST night, I have another one for the Proms tonight.
Still, it was a huge relief to know the car is not going to be sitting in a residents parking bay in the congestion zone, and that whatever the insurance crew decide, it all starts from being able to tell them the car is at ....Cedars 304-312 Lynton Road, SE1 5DD. Insurance assessors can see it there, whichever repairers they demand can fetch and hopefully (fingers legs and eyes crossed) fix it from there, and I can collect it from wherever it might be in London. DV
A40 Southbound 30 miles from Aylesbury, short lampposts bit before Western Avenue
visibility good
road conditions dry
traffic heavy, 3 lanes travelling c30mph(?) -relatively slowly anyway
looked away at something ?rearview?radio?
looked back again
Black Saab in front of me had stopped. I braked but went into the back of his car while he sailed into the back of the Range Rover in front of him.
The~ said “thanks a bunch” was edgy almost aggressive; quicker than quick to pick up whatever was on the road behind his car and throw it in the boot; also to clear up glass etc from the front of his car too – before I could take any photograph; I hit video not photo – eejit.
DAMAGE
my car :
front grille pushed back; radiator damaged enough to be leaking, front valance, bonnet & both wings damaged.
SAAB His rear number plate fell off. However, at the front, his headlights were broken and front grille pushed back
RANGE ROVER His rear numberplate fell off and there was a bit of a scuff on the bumper.
Paul info from home: your insurance is due to run out at end of this month (29th) customer ref : r0025825- policy number : a090000001n8nn
I cant find the number your meant to call to notify them. it says in the hand book the number is on the card you should carry with you.
The only number i could find was 08000353939
0800 Saturday: START
Renew Website check has a Claim Hotline number : 0800 035 4346: it just rang, and rang, and rang, and rang, and rang, and rang, and rang, and rang, and rang,
9am 0800 035 3939 worked, a girl took details, told me the policy is with Royal Sun Alliance, gave me their number 0870 380 3311, and told me they are not open till Monday.
Asked her to check if I have a courtesy car on my policy, and I do. Great! ~ from the repairers IF the car is repairable; scrap that then, I can't even put the claim in till Monday
Class; an accident out of office hours could have left me stranded at the side of the road for the entire weekend.
So much for their bold website claim
Renew car insurance excels in providing you with motor car insurance quotes that are value for money and provide reassurance that claims will be settled without fuss...because your safety matters.
Adrian Parry, Managing Director
Checked RSA website again
0800 300 252
Indian chap answers and asks for my policy number. A0~. “we don’t deal with those policy numbers; tried the customer reference number begins R “we only deal with policy numbers which begin with zero
He gives me a number 0870 165 0509
RSA website again: contact 01403 232 323
Which directs me to 0845 609 3300, their “emergency hotline”
The ‘emergency hotline gives me another number 0800 300 252 –
CIRCLE COMPLETE
RESTART
Indian woman answers and aks for my name, I give my name and the line goes dead.
I call back and get the Indian chap again; this time I give him the policy number without the ‘a’ prefix. He mishears 6 consecutive zeroes; mistakes six for 5 and gets the last number wrong too. It’s obviously my accent. He can’t find it.
He asks for the registration, I give it. I have to correct him to get it right.
He tells me this is a commercial policy (What?) and gives me another number 0870 165 0509
Mark gets up and tries the 0800 claim line again on his own phone; it just rings.
He calls the website number and gets a person somehow. (I discover later he called the quote line, who were keen to be keen and asked them what would happen if we had to make a claim. "No problem!" they said, "Good" he said " we already have a policy with you and would like to make a claim". Score one for the customer.
1100 -Robert- tells me he will get the claims people to call me
1138 –David- calls me “was the accident your fault”? : Well, probably since I went into the back of someone else. Later in the convo, after I point out that their website claims easy, fast, courtesy car stuff etc, he tells me they have a no-fault team which I can ’try’.
1148 ??? transfers me to –David- on the emergency helpline, who asks for Registration, Name, Address.
How MANY times do I have to give how many people the policy number, name, address, registration etc? None of them seem interested in logging any accident details since Julie at 8am or so who took some details but not of the other cars.
-David- eventually says he can organise for someone to collect and store the car until I can make a claim at 9am on Monday by calling 0845 071 0150. His extension xnnn Reference 0T2. . .
I’m not sure what time the wagon turned up to collect the car; it was unexpected anyway since they did just turn up when I’d expected them to call first. The chap was quite wonderful, he reminded me to take the tax disc, and spent ages dismantling half the car so I could have the CD changer from the boot, the stereo AND the lead from one to other.
Monday morning before I can move this any further; still not happy about it all at all.
I return to the pimlico penthouse with my hands covered in nasty greasy grunge and grime to find Mark has got ready and is dressed in white tie etc : his excuse being that he thought I was already dressed for us to go out. ziff; I wore that stunning outfit to dinner LAST night, I have another one for the Proms tonight.
Still, it was a huge relief to know the car is not going to be sitting in a residents parking bay in the congestion zone, and that whatever the insurance crew decide, it all starts from being able to tell them the car is at ....Cedars 304-312 Lynton Road, SE1 5DD. Insurance assessors can see it there, whichever repairers they demand can fetch and hopefully (fingers legs and eyes crossed) fix it from there, and I can collect it from wherever it might be in London. DV
Saturday 4 September 2010
A real man....
A real man is a woman's best friend.
He will never stand her up and never let her down.
He will reassure her when she feels insecure, and comfort her after a bad day.
He will inspire her to do things she never thought she could; to live without fear and forget regret.
He will enable her to express her deepest emotions and give in to her most intimate desires.
He will make sure she always feels as though she's the most beautiful woman in the room and will enable her to be the most confident, sexy, seductive, and invincible.
No wait... sorry... I'm thinking of wine.
Never mind.
copywrong my m8 Shani -TQ
~ and according to Gareth Hunt on a radio show several years ago
- A real man wears waterproof mascara so it doesn't run when he cries -
and last Saturday ....
A real man accepts it when you say you want to eat in the kitchen (at the table). A few minutes later he declares the kitchen out of bounds until further notice; makes sure your drink is topped up, checks the level of lighting is perfect for reading your book, and disappears for a time.
A short whle later, he announces that dinner is imminent and leads you into the kitchen where the only lighting is provided by pure white candles in silver candlesticks on a perfectly set table with a tablecloth you didn't know he possessed. Flamboyant flambé follows before serving of the perfectly cooked steak, original recipe mushrooms in cream sauce and caramelised tomatoes. *deliciously happy sigh*
Conversation, compliments, and cabaret provided by the rubenesque woman across the road skipping playfully downstairs for something, having neglected to cover her curves on her way past the long staircase window. He missed it; but sat like a cat at a mousehole till she reappeared on the way back up.
He's working on the first definition.
He will never stand her up and never let her down.
He will reassure her when she feels insecure, and comfort her after a bad day.
He will inspire her to do things she never thought she could; to live without fear and forget regret.
He will enable her to express her deepest emotions and give in to her most intimate desires.
He will make sure she always feels as though she's the most beautiful woman in the room and will enable her to be the most confident, sexy, seductive, and invincible.
No wait... sorry... I'm thinking of wine.
Never mind.
copywrong my m8 Shani -TQ
~ and according to Gareth Hunt on a radio show several years ago
- A real man wears waterproof mascara so it doesn't run when he cries -
and last Saturday ....
A real man accepts it when you say you want to eat in the kitchen (at the table). A few minutes later he declares the kitchen out of bounds until further notice; makes sure your drink is topped up, checks the level of lighting is perfect for reading your book, and disappears for a time.
A short whle later, he announces that dinner is imminent and leads you into the kitchen where the only lighting is provided by pure white candles in silver candlesticks on a perfectly set table with a tablecloth you didn't know he possessed. Flamboyant flambé follows before serving of the perfectly cooked steak, original recipe mushrooms in cream sauce and caramelised tomatoes. *deliciously happy sigh*
Conversation, compliments, and cabaret provided by the rubenesque woman across the road skipping playfully downstairs for something, having neglected to cover her curves on her way past the long staircase window. He missed it; but sat like a cat at a mousehole till she reappeared on the way back up.
He's working on the first definition.
Wednesday 1 September 2010
Spider Solitaire
bloody addictive game - I've won the 2nd of the intermediate level _ at the 79th attempt - 1139 points 160+ moves
and now I'm getting competitive; what's your best?
I decided to skip the office today; the electronic communicator shows if I'm working or not so there's no real issue with that. Win situation managing to run a tough supplier interview with the new girl apprentice in attendance and withOUT the squeaky blonde screwing it up for me. Payoff in calling for reinforcements from the short boss when I hadn't an xing clue what was causing the nasty user problem, and discovered the user hadn't watched the the training vid or checked what content they need to put in the file *smothered laughter*
Paul has gone incommunicado and not responded to my phone calls, think it's because he knows I want the password to move the service contract onto my new 4G iphone toy; I'm also contemplating getting a kindle now they're so cheap. £100 for something that can hold 3000+ books and has a battery life of a month has to be tempting
and ~ surreal rides again; motored to Tesco to get cigs; spend a ton as usual (well, they have Nicholas Feuillate at a tenner off, and 18yo Highland Park at half-price) and came out to find a really lovely RED del sol parked next to mine. I took photographs! Mine's a japanese import and a year older; theirs doesn't have an horrendous ding in the wing and is cleaner but otherwise identical. I did buy some food as well
I'll post the pic eventually
not calling Mark cos the spiders stole my evening and he'll be mardy if he's having an early night : Dinner with Trish tomorrow evening and working from home again Friday. This working from home malarkey is all wrong, it's been screaming hot all day and my tan has another 24 hours of fade because I was indoors, working, all bloody day - PAH!
and now I'm getting competitive; what's your best?
I decided to skip the office today; the electronic communicator shows if I'm working or not so there's no real issue with that. Win situation managing to run a tough supplier interview with the new girl apprentice in attendance and withOUT the squeaky blonde screwing it up for me. Payoff in calling for reinforcements from the short boss when I hadn't an xing clue what was causing the nasty user problem, and discovered the user hadn't watched the the training vid or checked what content they need to put in the file *smothered laughter*
Paul has gone incommunicado and not responded to my phone calls, think it's because he knows I want the password to move the service contract onto my new 4G iphone toy; I'm also contemplating getting a kindle now they're so cheap. £100 for something that can hold 3000+ books and has a battery life of a month has to be tempting
and ~ surreal rides again; motored to Tesco to get cigs; spend a ton as usual (well, they have Nicholas Feuillate at a tenner off, and 18yo Highland Park at half-price) and came out to find a really lovely RED del sol parked next to mine. I took photographs! Mine's a japanese import and a year older; theirs doesn't have an horrendous ding in the wing and is cleaner but otherwise identical. I did buy some food as well
I'll post the pic eventually
not calling Mark cos the spiders stole my evening and he'll be mardy if he's having an early night : Dinner with Trish tomorrow evening and working from home again Friday. This working from home malarkey is all wrong, it's been screaming hot all day and my tan has another 24 hours of fade because I was indoors, working, all bloody day - PAH!
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