The new year will see another big change for me work wise.
For the past 4 months I’ve been working away from home Monday – Friday in London. Actually this has been 2 engagements, the first was through a small consultancy into British Telecom and the second was for ITV.com . Both were interesting projects, but for different reasons, however Non Disclosure Agreements prevent me from saying much. I can say that ITV.com have some great plans for the future and it could become a great website, with a host of cool features.
Commuting down to London on a Monday morning and coming home on a Friday may seem like a drag, but it’s actually not been that bad. Virgin trains run a twice hourly service, which is about to change to a thrice hourly service, taking less than 2 hours Stockport – Euston. I also got a great flat through MondaytoFriday.com which is walking distance to work and of course have benefited from the world class weight lifting coaching at Bethnal Green.
All this is going to change however, as I’m just about to accept an offer to work on a government project in Newport, Wales. Starting Jan, I’ll be commuting instead to Newport near Cardiff on a Monday to Friday basis and now have the arduous task of once again finding a gym and a flat. I’ve already determined that the #30 bus runs 3 times an hour from Newport to Cardiff, which runs past the new office, so I can get a place anywhere on that route, but I don’t yet know where is good.
Also I’ve currently struggled to find a Crossfit friendly gym in the area. There is allegedly a Crossfit Cardiff, but the website appears down and I didn’t get a reply to my emailed enquiry. There’s also a Crossfit Bristol, which is a bit out of the way, however they don’t appear to have any kit as it appears to be a Krav Maga place that uses Crossfit style fitness. No bad thing as Krav Maga is on my list of stuff to do, but I need to find an Olympic Weightlifting gym if I’m going to have any chances of qualifying in February for the BWLA British championships.
So if anyone knows of a good place to stay (estate or specific house / flat share) and/or a decent gym in Cardiff or Newport, where I can do some oly lifting, do let me know.
Having said I don’t mind the commute, occasionally things don’t quite go according to plan. I had a bit of a ‘mare this morning for example. For reasons that escape me, the train ticket machine asked for the ticket booking confirmation code (it doesn’t normally bother). Fortunately I always write this down on the Outlook appointment I make for the train times. However, for more reasons that escape me, despite plugging my phone in last night the appointment didn’t sync to my phone. So I had to pull the laptop out and look up the code, before I could get the ticket. Just like a watched kettle never seems to boil, nor does a watched laptop boot. Still as I had 15 minutes spare, there was little risk of missing the train, but it was more drama than I need at 6:10 in the morning!
Then I discovered why the train ticket was £50 cheaper than normal: it’s a slow train to London, stopping at 10 stops on the way (instead of the normal 2) and taking 3hr 20mins to get to Euston (instead of the normal 2hr 10mins). Gah. At least it was quiet getting on (there was a faster train 15 minutes before). That didn’t last long however as due to the many stops, many people were using it as a short haul commuter train. Between Birmingham and Birmingham New Street for example, it was standing room only, down the aisles, all down the length of the carriage.
The annoying thing is though, that even knowing that, I’d still probably get the same train and save the £50. An extra hours sleep and less hassle, isn’t worth the money… either that, or I’m just tight. 😉
