Apparently now I'm management

My job title has included the word "manager" for some time now.  I have, actually, previously had staff to manage, but they were start ups which means that it was slightly different.  I would appear that I am now to be given some staff in recongition of the amount of work I am doing and just how much is potentially falling through the cracks because of lack of "bandwidth".

Looks like I'll get somebody next year.

The spectre of Seattle full time looms larger.  We may be taking a view on that for Q1 2006.  If that happens, M will probably quit and move out with me.

Going Gold

As regular readers of this LJ will know, I have developed something of an obsession about getting a British Airways Gold Frequent Flyer card. Part of this is for the perks (first on the upgrade list, check in at the First Class desk, use of BA lounges even when not flying with BA, use of BA arrival lounges, use of the First Class Lounge etc...), the other part is I've flown so many f*cking miles with them and still haven't got a Gold card that is really hacks me off.

Ok, so the Upgrade fairy has been very good to me with the Silver Card, so I assume that she'll be even nicer with a Gold Card, but that's not the fraking point is it :)

As of today I have 1425 executive club points, out of the 1500 needed for the Gold card. I am booked to fly to Israel next week which will earn me 120 points. This takes me over the top.

Not sure if it will be on the system by the time I land in Heathrow, but I might try and use the arrivals lounge, just on principle.

Still it has taken a hell of a lot of flying.

In other news, we've got 150,000 airmiles again - which given we cleared them all out last November for our RSA holiday is pretty scary. We have until next September to get 320,000, which is the number needed to book 2 Business Class returns to Tokyo for the 2007 World Con. I think we should manage.

The Big Bucks

There's a lot of jokes that kind of end in "...that's why you earn the big bucks." Well, of course, generally people don't, which is part of the gag.

What never ceases to amaze me is the things that people are good at and are not good at in this context. I've been pretty much out of it, workwise, since about 11am on Monday morning. I got back into the office at around 2pm, to find that, well, while some techy things had been done on a bid we're responding to, that was pretty much it. The elephant in the room, as it were, the drafting of the framework proposal in the format of the RFP had not been done, or even started.

Well, 2 and half hours later we have a draft framework, a complete draft exec summary and a bushill of notes on the way I want this put together. And, if this comes off, yes, I will be earning some big bucks from it. But that's not the point, things are actually meant to happen when you're away. That's the whole point, nobody is indepensible.

Anyway, time to go home and, sadly, do some more work.

Calling Cat Owners...

We have a problem with a neighbour's rather mangy looking cat(*). Basically it has decided that our back garden makes a nice loo and is making it nearly unusable.

Any thoughts?

As M and I are alergic to cats, getting our own isn't an option unfortunately.

(*) - he's an old guy who lives alone with a LOT of cats, this is the one that actually leaves the house.