Archive for July, 2009
The customer’s revenge
Jul 27th
Ever felt on the point of exploding with rage and frustration when a faceless bureaucracy keeps you hanging on the line listening to inane music, only to cut you off just before you get to the top of the queue, or refuses to deal with a minor request because ‘that’s not how the system works’?
Dave Carroll, a Canadian musician, didn’t just get mad, he got musical and wrote a catchy tune, accompanied by a comic video, when his guitar was broken by careless baggage handlers on a United Airlines flight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo
After a year of trying to get the airline to accept responsibility, he posted the film on Youtube and it’s now had over 4 million hits. And you know what? United have offered to pay for the repairs. Not only that, but the song is now one of the most downloaded iTunes in Canada. Internet revenge is sweet.
What do you think of ‘My Bank Took My Money and Left It in Limbo for More Than Two Weeks Before Paying It to Barclaycard Late’? Could do with a little more work perhaps.
On the rebound
Jul 22nd
I’m back on the rebounder after a break of over a year – despite the fact that as soon as I stood on it, a spring broke! For crying out loud, I’m not that heavy! Replacement spring now cunningly levered into place by A with a coat hanger, I’ve built up to 12 minutes running a day, which with a warm-up and cool-down period makes about 20 minutes in all.
Rebounders provide the ideal exercise for homeworkers. You get all the benefits of jogging without having to brave the weather and the traffic, buy expensive, ugly shoes and special clothes, or risk public humiliation. I’m actually enjoying it, especially with Radio 4 on to keep my mind occupied and my eyes off the clock while I pound away. In the last few days alone I have heard about Quentin Tarantino’s choice of music for his films, the tale of a North Yorkshire policeman chasing a hijacked caravan and, on a more downbeat note, the plight of Kashmiri refugees still living in camps 18 years after being driven out of their homes. Get a rebounder and a radio and you will not only become slim and fit, but well-informed into the bargain.
Inbox blindness
Jul 21st
As a minimalist by nature, I hate it when my inbox contains more emails than I can see all at once – when the dreaded scroll bar appears at the side. Although usually ruthless with the delete key, I like to keep messages there in full view until they have been dealt with, in the belief that seeing them there will remind me to do whatever’s required. But sometimes they build up and I somehow stop seeing the ones towards the bottom.
So my apologies if you’ve had a delayed response from me – it’s nothing personal, just a kind of inbox blindness. And yes, I know I give some cleverclogs advice in my book Work from Home about dealing efficiently with emails (page 89 if you’re interested), but it’s so much easier to give advice than to follow it, don’t you find?
Finding out where the fat lurks
Jul 20th
Reading the F2 Diet book has been a revelation, as I’ve never given any thought to calories or what kinds of food might make me fat. Running my cleaning business meant putting on weight was never an issue, what with all the dashing around and the stress of trying to keep both cleaners and clients happy. Not to mention living in dread of the afternoon phone call – ‘I won’t be coming in tonight…’
So I entered my forties in the misguided belief I could eat whatever I liked, despite the growing evidence to the contrary. The F2 book has a section on the fat content of various foods and I can tell you it’s been an eye-opener. I have become one of those people who reads labels like a hawk. I mean, how come plain chocolate has more fat than milk, when everybody knows plain is (sort of) good for you? And you know those teacakes, the kind with marshmallow on a biscuit base covered in microscopically thin chocolate you can bash with a spoon and peel like a boiled egg? 16g of fat per 100g when I could have sworn I was eating mainly air. I can see that to get and stay slim I need to wisen up.
Free novels up for grabs
Jul 10th
This blog seems to be in danger of becoming about books rather than working from home, but I just have to let you know about an opportunity to win a newly-published novel. A local free magazine, The Furball, has 5 signed copies of Pictures of You by Jane Elmor to give away if you know the answer to the following question:
What was the name of the farm where the legendary 1970 Isle of Wight festival took place?
Easy for anyone who can Google, so just email your answer to matt@thefurball.co.uk by 31July with ‘Book competition’ in the subject heading and you might have some lovely new reading material heading your way.
I met Jane when I moved to Frome a year ago and her first novel My Vintage Summer
Can’t wait? Then you can click and buy it here straightaway, you greedy booklover, you:
