Yesterday evening I stayed late to help fire-fight in the go-live of the project I have been working on for the last six months. I finally found myself wandering back towards Liverpool Street station a little after 9pm. “Go Live’s” are always fun, because you cannot bring the system down while the business is using it, and woe betide you if the system isn’t back up the next morning.
While problem solving, a hundred or so miles away my brother in law and wife were heading out to the local pub to have dinner and take part in the weekly pub quiz. Inbetween writing emails, reading and commenting on blog posts, and listening to iTunes on the way home, I clock-watched.
Could I make it home before the pub closed?
After enduring a strangely quiet train journey home, and the witless conversation of a taxi driver from Maidenhead (who chose me to pour his troubles about non paying customers out to), I called W en-route.
Me - “Hello - I’m on my way - should be with you in ten minutes!”
W - “That was good timing - I’m at the bar - would you like a drink?”
Me - “Pint of cider please!”
Minutes later I made my way into the pub - the only person there in a shirt and tie. I must have been quite a sight - bedecked in scarf, woolen hat, thick duffel coat, and messenger bag.
I drank the first pint in minutes, and bought another one. By the time we left the pub half an hour later I had drunk three pints of cider, and the world had calmed down rather a lot. My brief visit to the pub also allowed me to take part in the end of the pub quiz. I knew the answer to none of the questions, but like to think my presence was useful in some way (it wasn’t).
Pub quizzes have been ruined by mobile phones with internet access. We came about fourth having looked up one of the answers on a mobile phone (out of about 50 questions). The paper we marked - for the eventual winners - had benefitted from almost every answer being looked up. They got all of the difficult questions right, and “too” correct in every case. We didn’t complain.
I finally rolled in to bed at 1:30am, and then back out of it again at 6:30am this morning.
I am asleep at my desk. I could really do with a sausage sandwich or something. Might have to pop out for a few minutes.
How is your Friday panning out?