July Madness – And a new chapter in my life

Posted on by gizzajob

The Twelfth was last Friday – the day celebrating the Victory of William III over James II in 1690. As eggs are eggs, there are sectarian conflicts then. A Catholic man was savagely attacked in Kilkeel; while a Protestant Couple from Castledawson were chased out of their home by a Republican Mob. Most in Northern Ireland holiday away during then. I stayed at home. Although I bought groceries at Springisland Store that morning.

On Sunday, I went to People’s Park in Dun Laoghaire for a picnic with a Meetup group. The Meetup itself was run by an American woman who Lectures at a Protestant Theological College based in Carolina. (not sure which one, though) She said she has done missionary work in Africa and is in Ireland to do consultancy for the College.

Yesterday – Tuesday – I signed off the Condition Management Programme. I have now progressed to Antrim New Horizons. If I don’t start with them next Monday, it will be a few months later.

Last week, I was at the Apple Store in Belfast, as my MacBook Pro has a broken r key. Turned out that the MacBook Pro is too old to be fixed. However, I was advised to buy a remote keypad. Then, I ordered a Logitech keypad from Amazon. It arrived on Thursday. Then I had to use DuckDuckGo to learn how to open the battery latch. (Bluetooth didn’t work on my MacBook Pro)

Also, last week, I got to see my Cousin’s kids from Dubai. They were with the seven-year-old son of my other Cousin, and they were playing Minecraft on their Tablets. Being modern kids, the boy from Dubai called his Cousin a, “Douche!” while the girl said, “OMG!” I got some laughs out of that.

 

Tunes:

 

Sunday

Posted on by gizzajob

Today was good. I, my artist friend and my Meetup friend, went to Ballyronan Marina for a picnic, listening to a Silver Band and then go for a walk around the Nature Reserve. It was cloudy today. However, the rain stayed away. Plus, I saw a local man I know whose son has severe Autism and had a charity campaign in his name to receive specialist treatment. However, the crowdfunding campaign was closed on Friday. Perhaps, they have got enough.

I’m good to have kept the vibe going. The blessing of the graves went well, yesterday, and I have had quite a productive weekend. Although, it is sore on the pocket. My Condition Management Programme will end in three weeks. Once that is sorted, I will, hopefully, make a commitment to my future employability scheme. Though, all things being said, the European Social Fund regulations and Red Tape make me want to embrace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister with open arms. Even if he is a Buffoon. 😉

Tunes:

 

Bittersweet week

Posted on by gizzajob

On Tuesday morning, I received an email from Queen’s University in Belfast saying that they’re placing me on a twelve-month waiting list for available jobs. Not wholly there yet. But I’m within touching distance of work. 🙂

However, I found out yesterday from a friend in my art class that an old friend of mine; whom we both knew from the Beacon Centre in Cookstown, was found dead on Tuesday morning. Suspected suicide. That kinda knocked me off last night and I had a long sleep last night, until almost one this afternoon. Then I had to send a mass card to the Beacon Centre and they were away on a day out. I put it through the letterbox.

Also, I saw ‘The Meg’ on Tuesday evening in a Belfast Cinema with a Meetup group. Hooray for pippin. 🙂

Now, I have to feel my feelings. :S

Tunes:

 

 

Didn’t get the job

Posted on by gizzajob

I didn’t get the job with Deloitte. However, I am grateful that I have Specialisterne NI on my side. Later on today, I’m heading to a job club with them.

Last Friday night, I went to a Country Music Gig at Aughabrack. Turned out, that I had to wait so long for the act to appear I was exhausted and had to head back bang on Midnight. I was talking to a woman from Strabane at the event, but she is probably in a relationship; I think I saw an engagement ring on her. Just my luck. 😐

Country Music Gigs in Ireland are a parallel universe. There was a group of ones, probably in their early twenties, who brought a bottle of Buckfast with them – probably Townies from Strabane. The place was electric. There was even a Hen Party from ones from Claudy direction. Suffice to say, they weren’t lookers. :p

I also, now, have my photos on my portfolio site organised at https://desmonddevlin.myportfolio.com/photos  Didn’t take any photos of those jiving, didn’t have enough space to do so, the place was bunged up in the end.

Also, on Sunday, I went to Dublin for a ‘Coffee Crawl’ Meetup. Someone I knew was on the bus with me at Dungannon. Then I got the DART to Dalkey from Connolly and got directions to the place from a South African Lady who lives there; judging by her accent. It was good to do something more sedate after the madness of the Country Music gig.

Oh, and I got PIP awarded in the end. Not much, but at least it’s something. 🙂

Tunes:

 

Applying for PIP

Posted on by gizzajob

In a fortnight’s time, I will have an assessment for Personal Independence Payment in Dungannon at 8 am. My employment advisor will be coming with me. Personally, I would much rather be working. But I still need to resolve certain issues in my life.

My brother begins his Placement Year at Randox Laboratories in Antrim and will be on vacation in New York at the end of July. Suppose I shall have to be happy for him as I was the one that picked him up at his lowest ebb. It gives me some achievement.

These past few weeks, during Lent, I decided ‘No Meetups’. Next Tuesday I will be resuming Meetups and heading to Dublin for a Graphic Design Meetup. My two Adobe EdEx qualifications have helped build my portfolio.

Also, in a fortnight’s time, my Art Class in Moneymore resumes. Haven’t painted since January. I was busy as Hell then and had little Muse.

Tunes:

 

The connectivity of the world

Posted on by gizzajob

Last night I attended a Christmas Dinner run by a Social Meetup in Belfast at Crumlin Road Gaol – a former Prison turned tourist attraction run by two guys I know from my home village. They’re even married to two sisters from a nearby town; I know their mother-in-law.

I was glad to have attended the dinner especially as I was talking to a woman I sat beside on the bus over to Belfast who I found out, from speaking to her, is a relative of mine. And also, at the dinner, a woman sitting beside me was from a village in my neck of the woods; Bellaghy, the location of the Seamus Heaney Homeplace. (he was actually from Newbridge/Castledawson, to be pedantic) She became interested in me as I used the Mid Ulster idioms she never heard since she moved to Newtonabbey.

In the end, I had to leave early as the demon energy drink took over.

meetup_christmas_selfie

 

But, as you can see, I’m king of my castle.

Also, I have an Adobe Spark journal of creative ideas throughout this month;

 

https://spark.adobe.com/page/yYX2sdIjLjoMp/

 

Tunes:

Potential paid employment – plus other blessings

Posted on by gizzajob

My employment advisor is arranging for me to get a job through the workable program, at a new place opening in Toomebridge. Hopefully, that will provide me with much-needed income. It seems that those who want to work suffer, while those who don’t want to work profit. Bizarro World, indeed.

I need to spend as little time as possible on Facebook. It’s like a Vampire, sucking the lifeblood out of one. Fanboys see no other opinion other than their own. Don’t drink ANY political Kool-Aid; be it Tory or Labour.

Last Tuesday I attended a short guided tour of Monkstown Castle, as part of a Meetup. The Wednesday prior I had booked an online day return from Portadown to Dublin and back for £10 – Cheap as Chips – but I booked a taxi from outside Connolly Station and the car we were in kept dying out whenever we approached traffic lights. It was a fuel-efficient automatic. (thanks ever so much Al Bloody Gore) But I saw a burgundy Peugeot turning at a junction at Blackrock – unsure of the road – and nearly running straight into a cyclist in a yellow jacket. There, for the grace of God, go I.

The tour itself was dominated by the random musings of the organiser’s ten-year-old son. He probably has Asperger’s. But I chipped in with some tidbits of information. In the end, I really needed the loo and went to a Chinese Restaurant named Victoria – probably after the Capital of Hong Kong – Then I had just enough for a DART from Monkstown to Connolly and was able to board an earlier train back to Northern Ireland than planned. However, I didn’t have to pay extra thanks to me informing the conductor I was worried that the park where my car is might be locked at night.

My brother is back in Derry for his second year of University, he has placement year sorted as well, and now I have the place to myself. That both gladdens and saddens me. But I will soon be getting proper broadband, once I receive a 4G SIM from EE, and will hope to return to designing websites.

Tunes:

 

 

 

 

 

In Dublin yesterday

Posted on by gizzajob

Yesterday I got a bus from Cookstown to Dublin to head to Killiney for a walk organised by a Meetup group; see previous blog post of my experience in Haiku form. And, having experienced Dublin yesterday, our problems here in Northern Ireland are a drop in the Ocean compared to what’s going on down South.

First of all, there is an ongoing industrial dispute between the Government and Public Transport workers. The DART drivers were on strike on Friday, but at least they were in operation yesterday, so I could get to Killiney without needing a taxi. Though Dublin Bus services were also in operation. The Unions are holding the city to ransom. The money is no longer there to satisfy every whim in the land. There isn’t much reported on how Unions in America bankrupted Detroit. 🙂

Resentment aside, I was at Killiney DART station and there is a Café there run by a Dutch woman who is extremely friendly and well known. I had a cup of tea there and it was an experience witnessing the abundance in the area.

Then came the walk. It was meant to be for two and a half hours, but I only lasted half an hour. I’m THAT unfit. Plus I paid the price for being dehydrated yesterday this morning with the runs. (too much information) We passed through Bono’s house; how fitting since I had bordering vertigo looking down at the scenery from the station. My brother has worse vertigo than me, though. But he now works for M&S. :p

I did manage to walk to Dalkey to get the DART back to Connolly Station and I noticed the flags and bunting for Cuala, the club that won the All-Ireland Club Hurling title on St. Patrick’s Day. They beat Slaughtniel in the semi the afternoon I had planned to go to Belfast for a Meetup. It was good to know things I should have known much earlier.

Then when I got the bus back to Cookstown there was a huge backlog due the the numbers looking a bus from Dublin Airport. One guy wanted to pay for a ticket to Armagh by card, only to be told ‘cash only’. But there was one guy at the Airport who wanted to head to Castleblaney, County Monaghan, to go fishing. His day was ruined. Puts things into perspective for me.

Now I feel that I have to cut back on the excursions and focus on finding work. I’m spreading myself too thin now. 😐

Meetup went well, but the snow didn’t appear until last night

Posted on by gizzajob

My Meetup on Wednesday night went pretty well. I realise that I have a hell of a lot to learn if I wish to develop proper WordPress sites, but I have learned some useful sites to have and utilise a website speed test site on a website I helped modify last year. (the website even has US School grades, lol)

 

However, weather wise, the snow didn’t appear until I got back home again. Yesterday evening I drove to the shop to buy petrol and to the Chinese for a feed and I hearly couldn’t get up the hill on our untreated road and on the way back stalled when turning to our lane. But this morning I went the same route and handled it much better.

 

The thing about a manual car in comparison to an automatic is;

  1. You CAN apply the brake when driving in the ice/snow; but only in minuscule increments.
  2. You have to drive as slow as possible in as high a gear as possible; however I was only doing 10 mph yesterday evening in fourth gear and this morning I drove between 15 mph and 20 mph in fourth gear.

 

I have to overcome an awful lot of fear in order to drive safely.

Heading to Belfast for a WordPress Meetup this evening

Posted on by gizzajob

I am going to play it safe and I booked a taxi to a local park-and-ride to get a bus to Belfast and I booked a hotel for tonight using booking dot com at a hotel a few minutes walk from the bus station and Meetup location that I can pay for by cash. Smiles all round.

 

Apparently it’s going to snow this evening, so I’m taking no risks with my car. Especially after all the hareum scareum moments behind the wheel recently.

 

Hope that the Meetup will go well. 🙂