After yesterday's posts about QC2 and CAB in Levi's, I've gone head and ordered myself a pair off Vinted. A black pair. Reliving my youth? Maybe, but with my recent weight loss, I want to find jeans that are a better fit than the ones I've been wearing for the past decade or so.
Why black? I don't know. It must be at least 20 years since I've owned a black pair of jeans. Possibly even one of the pairs that I mentioned yesterday that FA2 bought me.
As a gamer, I watch a few streams on Twitch. One of my more frequent watches has recently been sponsored by Levi's. Every time the ad pops up, she claims "it's the butt ad!". That reminds me of my appreciation of QC2 in her Levi's. I've probably posted about that before. I wasn't alone in my appreciation, I know that. But you know who else also wore 501s well? CAB.
I wore 501s myself around that time, and I got my fair share of compliments about my ass. QC2 herself admitted it was decent. FA2 loved my ass in 501s to the point where she bought me a couple of pairs when she was in the States one Christmas (to be fair, she owed me a pair because she got paint on mine). Wrong waist size, mind you, but still.
Sadly, I don't have that butt any more - I don't play sports and I'm pretty sedentary - a combination that doesn't really lead to having a nice butt. Back then, I played a lot of sport and I did a lot of walking, even if my job was sat at a desk all day long.
As part of the ongoing family stuff, I had to make another journey into the city centre this morning to pay some bills. Sigh.
However, on the way out of the city centre, a group of about 20 American people got on the bus. Two talking points: the girl who was leading the group looked like a cross between E and Quiet Girl or Kate Mara... so extremely cute. And secondly, the journey they took was like a 10 minute walk (6 minutes on the bus). It's not like it was a difficult trip - it was literally a straight line from the bus stop to their destination. And the weather's really pleasant, too.
So, yeah, very cute American woman made a portion of the journey quite pleasant.
I decided to get some groceries in, too. So while I was wandering around the local shopping centre, I decided to all KfW2. It was a short-ish call by our standards (10 mins) but we've tentatively agreed to meet for dinner and drinks at the end of the month. Yay!
There are a couple of social things happening this month plus an outside chance of a work event, too.
Those who are regular readers or those who know me IRL will realise that I'm often quite frustrated by two things: poor communication and a lack of consistency.
So, I've had all those things this week. My sister was meant to be in touch on Tuesday, and wasn't. I asked my brother-in-law for a favour today, texted him to confirm (I'd taken some time off work for it) and he replied saying that he'd injured his back and was immobile and had been for days. And today, I received a text message about some work I'm getting done to my house, explaining that I needed to pay the builders directly... this was completely opposite advice to what I'd gotten last week saying I could pay the company who would pay the workmen.
So, yeah, pretty pissed off that I had to chase up my sister (she is completely useless at proper communications, and it always feels like I'm chasing her up). I'm mildly annoyed at my brother-in-law for not letting me know earlier that he was out of action for the favour I asked. And I am very annoyed at the company I've contracted to do the work to the house because I had to run to the bank at the last minute on a Friday afternoon to withdraw several thousands of pounds in cash so I can pay the builders on Monday. Oh, and the stress of walking around the city centre with this amount of cash on me, too.
I was kinda lucky |I wasn't working this afternoon, otherwise getting the cash might have been tricky.
My sleep over the past few nights has been awful: waking numerous time a night and finding it difficult to get back to sleep. It got to the point where I was tired this morning with a massive headache. I decided that I'd take a last-minute day off and get some sleep. Or try to - I'm not big on sleeping during the day.
So I logged on to the work laptop and was greeted with three reminders about urgent meetings this morning. Fuck. I'd forgotten all about them.
I battled through the meetings and decided I'd still take some personal time this afternoon. I still have the headache, but I don't think I'm that sleepy any more. Tired, yes, sleepy, no.
I read something yesterday in Wired that suggested that the big tech CEOs like Elon Musk, that robot who runs Facebook and the rest of them are having a hard time with the fact that there seems to be major pushback by "ordinary" people around AI.
I use AI in work, so you can regard me as being a bit more tech-y that the average person, but even I have issues around the momentum regarding AI.
1. The data centre and environmental cost
There's obviously the data centre issue. As AI and LLMs become more widespread, we're going to need a growing number of enormous data centres to run them. These facilities consume huge amounts of electricity and water, and require significant physical infrastructure. So there's a legitimate question about what the environmental cost of the AI boom will ultimately be — particularly if we're deploying these systems at massive scale.
2. The hardware cost
Then there's the hardware. AI requires enormous amounts of computing power, memory and storage, and AI companies and data centres are hoovering up these resources at an unprecedented rate. That has knock-on effects for everyone else. If demand for computer chips, memory and storage increases dramatically, those components become more expensive — and ultimately so does everything that relies on them: phones, computers, tablets, servers and countless other products.
3. Is AI actually making our lives better?
I'm increasingly sceptical about the promises that AI is going to make people's lives better. How, exactly, is my life getting better because of AI? At work, I'm increasingly expected to produce more within the same amount of time because AI supposedly makes me more productive. But is it doing my chores? Is it giving me more free time? Is it making my life meaningfully better, or is it simply allowing employers to expect more from me?
4. The loss of jobs
Then there's the obvious concern about jobs. My industry has been decimated over the past few years. Some of that is undoubtedly a correction following the over-hiring that happened during Covid, but I also think some of it is driven by the belief among The Powers That Be that LLMs will allow one person to be as productive as two or three.
Don't get me wrong: I accept that the rise of AI will create new jobs — jobs that don't exist today, just as previous technological advances have created entirely new industries and professions. But I'm not convinced that the number of new jobs will make up for the number of jobs that disappear. I can see AI increasing productivity while simultaneously reducing the overall number of people needed to do the work.
5. We're moving too fast
Finally, I think we're moving far too quickly. Let's assume that LLMs are here to stay and that they're going to have a significant impact on employment. What exactly are our governments going to do about that?
It feels as though there should at least be serious discussion about things like Universal Basic Income (UBI), retraining and other ways of supporting people through a potentially enormous shift in the labour market. But I don't see much evidence from my own government that it's seriously preparing for that future. Instead, we're being sold the AI/LLM dream while the potentially enormous social and economic consequences are barely being addressed.
If the CEOs want me to buy in to AI, then it has to have as big an impact on my personal life: more time, money/spending power etc. and not just be a tool so I can be more productive for The Machine. Address that and I might be more sympathetic.
So what are your thoughts about the rise of AI?
Something I meant to mention in my last post is that on my way round to my Dad's house, I took a minor detour to walk past a couple of specific houses, namely those where BW and FA2 used to live. That's how they met: they were originally neighbours.
I only met FA2 a couple of times when she lived beside BW and I barely remember talking to her. So it was a surprise when BW told me that she had separated from her husband and that she had specifically told BW to tell me.
Our paths only really started to cross after she'd moved out of the marital home. But I'd always wondered when she'd started being interested in me, romantically. I think it was a lot earlier than she ever let on, even when we talked about it.
I managed to get some chores done today that I've been putting off all week. And why have I been putting them off? I didn't want to leave the house. That's what it boils down to. And it wasn't laziness, it was something more. Not a fear of going outside, but it was something more than just not being bothered about taking the 20 mins to walk to my parents' house or the 30 minutes to walk to my sister's.
Still, I managed to get around this mental block this morning and do both the things I needed to do, with a bonus 3 mile walk thrown in for good measure.
There are things left to do, but nothing that can be done until Tuesday, after the Bank Holiday.
A random thought popped into my head this afternoon in the middle of a work meeting. Well, not a thought per se, but a memory. It was from a time where E and I were doing some travelling. We'd gone on this course to do some black water rafting and this attractive Australian girl had joined us throughout the day.
I think she was interested in me. IIRC, E thought she was interested in me (I think she made a comment about body language). But the Australian woman was unconvinced when E (repeatedly) explained that we were mates, not romantically involved. I think I made a few tentative attempts to see if we could get physical, but she steadfastly refused to move away from the idea E and I were a couple. Oh, and the Australian girl was leaving town first thing the next morning. So a night out on the town followed by a night in bed isn't really what she wanted when she was getting up at like 5 AM.
I've no idea why that popped into my head at 1:30 PM this afternoon, in a boring meeting with my boss.
I finally got an install date for the work that I want to get done to the house. It was, in theory, meant to have been done by now, but it was always a rough kind of estimate "ten to twelve weeks". Twelve weeks from the order date was last week, so it's only a few weeks later than I'd hoped and a couple, of weeks before I needed the work done by.
I need to kick my ass into shape. I have three things I need to do now. One is buy a shed, the second is some building work and the last is a new kitchen.
The shed is important. I've got stuff in the house that needs to be stored elsewhere, so I do need the storage the shed would give. Once I've gotten the shed and moved all the stuff out of the house, then I can think about the other pieces.
It's started feeling autumn-y, Or, rather, it's been like that for the past few days. I'd hoped we might get some good weather into September, but the forecast for the next week or so is not great.
And the nights are getting darker, too. It was pretty dark last night by 8 PM.
I've said it before, and I'll repeat it again, I hate the winter months. I like daylight and warm, I dislike darkness and cold.
Summer has been decent this year - a spell of great weather in June and July and it's been warm otherwise. I think I used the weather quite well - took some personal time at just the right time - but I also feel I could have done more. Hosted some people for drinks in the garden, for example.
Maybe next year if I get the work done that I want to do.
Facebook threw up a memory of, you guessed it, a night out with KfW2. We were at one of my favourite city centre bars, and I ended up taking a photo of KfW2, at her request.
And I'm not gonna lie, it's an OK photo - slightly out of focus. But it's one of my favourites that I have of her, I think. She's wearing a black jumper and I think she had her hair dyed black at the time.
But it's not really about the photo and more about the memory, from 14 years ago, back when nights out with just KfW2 and I were a semi-regular thing. I still really miss those, from time to time.
I had half expected to hear from KfW2 this weekend, if not to suggest doing something, then to at least call after her comments from last weekend. But nothing so far. I've been super-busy all day long with family stuff that I think might be mostly sorted, at least for now.
And I need to think about taking some time off work. I have a lot still to take between now and the end of the year. I usually take a week off around now, but I'm due to move to a new team in work (to report to the tall drunk girl) and I don't want to do that the first week on the job, but I don't really have much choice. I'm also getting some work done to the house imminently that might require taking some time off, and it's entirely possible that it could be the first week of September, the same week I start the new job.
I heard a rumour a few days ago that we might actually have a company-wide Christmas party this year. it's been a while since we had one, since before Covid, and even longer since I last turned up to one.
In fact, I think the last one I was at, I left early due to a funk. The one before that, I turned down the tall women (who will be my new boss in a few weeks time), mainly because she was too drunk.
And it's 13 years since the "who knows" incident with CH. A night where I also, if I recall correctly, danced briefly with Quiet Girl after dragging her onto the dance floor.
Our Christmas parties used to be fun. The core team that I used to work with, that included KfW2, started to break up around 2016 which coincides with the parties becoming less fun but before that, we were a close-knit group (thanks to me).
I posted this rumour into a group chat, which includes Quiet Girl and Stalky Guy. QG seemed quite interested in attending if this all turned out to be true. I can't remember the last time I saw QG in anything other than jeans. It could have been that Christmas party in 2013.
I might even go this time, too. Now that I can fit into my old suit, and I actually think I look good in that suit, it'd be nice to have a reason to wear it that wasn't a funeral. I know that KfW2 thinks I look good in it (but then again, she was with me when I bought it, so it had her seal of approval from the start). But I also know that CH loves me in it. She's told me so, but she's also eye fucked me when I was wearing it (and she was sober). And USHW has also shared her appreciation, too.
Yup, I caved and rainchecked again on Nerdy Girl. I can barely keep my eyes open. When I sent the message an hour or so ago, I was actually planning on going to my sisters to try and solve some of the family stuff (paperwork), but I don't think I'm capable even of that.
I'm due to finish work early tomorrow, so I'll go to my sis's then and get that sorted. I need to do more family stuff on Saturday morning and maybe, just maybe that might remove some of the blockers to being able to manage this from home, online.
In my last post, I mentioned being out with work last night. It was a somewhat impromptu affair, kicked off by the sudden appearance of an American colleague. Well, I say "colleague" but she was a colleague's boss, so I don't really have any direct professional entanglement.
Still... free dinner and drinks is free dinner and drinks.
And it was fun. The American girl was quite nice, and despite the fact she was quite senior in the organisation, she was quite open with information and opinions, which was refreshing.
She also, physically, gave off big QC2 vibes.
QC2 vibes aside, I liked her. I don't say that about all my foreign co-workers, especially those in senior management. I guess it was her somewhat unguarded conversations that felt honest rather than those who just trot out the company line all the time. That was refreshing in itself.
I was meant to be meeting Nerdy Girl tonight, having rainchecked from Monday, but I'm tired: partly due to having a few drinks last night, being out for a work thing and waking this morning at 5:30 AM and not being able to get back to sleep.
So I'm not really feeling it for tonight, but I don't really want to postpone on her again.
The family stuff continues to be problematic, this time for different reasons and it's frustrating me and angering me because I feel like I've been wasting my time running around, completing paperwork for no reason.
I'll make more effort to resolve this because if it stays the way it currently is, I'll have much more running round to do instead of being to manage some stuff online, saving me time, money and effort.
I took a few hours off work earlier to do some family stuff, with my sister. It was a meeting that we'd requested and it had already been cancelled.
After an hour, my sister and I prepared to leave. before we left the building, I called the person we were meant to meet. She didn't answer. A co-worker picked up.
We swapped formalities. I stated that I was not happy that I've taken time off work, for that to be wasted, and for a meeting that had already been postponed at the last moment.
She apologised and said her boss would be in touch.
A few hours later, her boss was in touch.
I re-iterated my points from earlier.
"It says here that a message was left on Friday."
"Not to my phone. It's on me pretty much all the time. It could have gone to my sister, though she would have checked her phone even if she didn't pick up the call. Do you know what number was used?"
"I don't, but I can ask my boss to call you when she's next free? That might be a day or so, though."
"Yes, please."
I gave my sister this information.
"No-one left me a message."
"Well, someone might phone me back and we'll find out what number they used.
A few hours later, my sister calls me.
"That thing we wanted to happen? Well, it's going to happen."
That's good news, but there's also context.
Something changed mid-May, and as a direct result of that, there was a medical issue. And now, three months later, the thing that had changed is now being put back in place. So we're back where we started, except the medical thing has happened and is having a daily impact. And to say that I am furious is an understatement.
I know this is vague and might not make sense, but I wanted to get it out there, to vent a little.
A surprise phone call from KfW2 earlier. Unsurprisingly, she was in the car on her way back from the shops, cramming some last-minute chores into time she didn't have because she's off on a family weekend away for her mother-in-law's birthday.
The conversation was cut short because her husband was calling her and she promised to call back.
She didn't, of course. And I wasn't expecting her to: she had to go home, pack, sort our her three manic kids and leave for a 60 mile trip to the Air BnB.
But I sent her a message - Facebook reminded me of a visit to my house from KfW2 about ten years ago with her eldest daughter in tow, and I got a couple of really cute pics. I sent them on to KfW2. she replied quickly.
"I totally forgot to call you back! When are you free next?"
Free next for what? A phone call? Dinner and drinks? I was getting mixed vibes from the question.
"I'm free anytime"
That's true. After a busy-ish July, my diary is empty.
How long will it take KfW2 to reply?
