This be a holding post…be ye warned

Waterford

I popped across the Irish Sea to do some work in Waterford last weekend. The flight was delayed and we ended up being the airport stragglers, left stranded almost an hour after the rest of the occupants had vacated. It isn’t the most comfortable place to be stuck, but I was well prepared with the latest Washington Poe book (a series worth checking out if you’re interested in the detective/thriller genre).

The approach to work is a little different in Ireland. A tad more relaxed than I’m used to, which paradoxically is quite anxiety inducing when you have to plan these things in advance. It was a great experience overall, and I’m looking forward to a return visit. It was a great opportunity to catch up with friends in the area and do a bit of exploration in a part of Ireland I am not overly familiar with.

The Phoenix (2)

This time my laptop didn’t rise from the ashes so much as return from the skies. Well, the runway. In my haste to get off the plane in Bristol I left my laptop behind. I had been working in the cramped confines of the prop plane and the limited space to manouvre led to me setting the laptop down by the side of my leg instead of struggling to get the bag out and replace it during the flight. I don’t typically work on flights nor do I carry my laptop routinely so a break in the normal procedures is always a risk. I realised as I pulled into the drive in Plymouth that it wasn’t with me. My heart sank. What were the odds that someone would find it? Pretty good as it’s not the smallest piece of kit and was in a relatively visible location. But what are the chances it would make it back to me? And would it still be in one piece?

Bristol Airport use Smarte Carte to manage their lost property, and after frantically refreshing the page, a non-descript “laptop” listing appeared on Wednesday. I tried claiming through the online form to no avail. I ended up calling the 7p per minute phone line and talking to a human who was extremely helpful, and immediately confirmed that it was my laptop. I was ready to launch into “if you turn to the underside you will see two long thin slots missing the rubber feet”. I really didn’t have much identifiable otherwise. The battery hasn’t been great on the laptop recently either, so my fear was that they wouldn’t be able to open it to confirm my details. Flight mode was my saviour. The battery would’ve been dead ordinarily, but without WiFi it was still going. Barely. Once I had confirmed a few details she gave me an email to contact, then I arranged shipping and got it back safely.

These services don’t come for free, of course. An administrative fee of £25 applies whether you pick it up in person or have it posted, and a courier was £20. All in all, it was a lot less than a new laptop, and I happily paid up. Speaking of new laptops…

The Little Things

I’ve done quite a lot inside and outside work. This is not a boast in particular (I know plenty of people far more accomplished than I am), but I am proud of what I have achieved so far. Even with all of that, I still get immense pleasure out of helping people indirectly through Ordinary Decent Gamer. A post will lay dormant for years, then I’ll see a comment appear.

These little things really brighten my day. It can be easy to focus on the big things, but it’s important to sit back and enjoy the little wins every so often.