A mountain to climb

If a long inactive RSS feed has just pinged to life it’s not a fake, I’m actually going to start writing this thing again.

The reasons for reactivating the blog are many and complex. I dropped it primarily because there was just too much work. For the last three years I’ve been doing four stories a day, and around 3,000 words of Top 10 lists on Fridays. It’s work I love and do gladly, but it takes time. Coming home and writing up the day became less important, and there was a city and its people to explore.

That said, looking back over past posts, my interest in the blog declined rapidly after getting into a relationship. I didn’t write about it initially, because it’s a private matter. I may be a full disclosure person in much of life but some things are not for discussion without consent. That’s not in any way to blame M, but let’s be honest – faced with the choice of hammering a keyboard or snuggling up on a sofa which would you choose?

Why then is it restarting? Well, the primary driver was the so-called Hurricane Irene. A good friend, and former editor of the year (she knows who she is) has been prodding me to get this done. Certain relatives too have complained at being out of touch. But there was also the slightly annoying feeling of knowing something would make a good blog, and not doing it was grating.

So, it's time to get this thing back online. Two years of backdated stuff to fill in and I’ve got the digital equivalent of a handful of Post-it notes to work from, so there will be huge gaps. Thankfully the last month has given me some time to get back into the swing of things, so this first batch will be 5,000 words - enough to be going along with.

Backdated posts will be added later headed BP, but there’s a lot of notes to write up, spread over four current and ex-computers and a bag full of USB sticks. I’ll post updates on those periodically as time allows, and when I find them.

The full story of the last couple of years involves a death, a marriage, two new jobs and a life turned upside down. Think of it as the Archer’s 60th anniversary edition, without an agricultural story editor.

Everybody panic!

A very strange non-day really, we were in hunker-down mode - not that travel was much of an option. The subway was being shut down at midday and power could go as well in lower Manhattan and be off for days.

First things first, get supplies - both internal and external. Brunch at a local place on Long Island City was essential survival food - meaty corned beef hash, with eggs, toast and jam, with a Bloody Mary because who knew when we might taste uncontaminated tomato juice again. As good an excuse as any.

The off to the local health food shop for some supplies. The queue outside the local Trader Joe’s was two blocks long and the situation similar at the competition. While D&D have a week’s worth of food (and a fortnight’s of beer) in the fridge there was comfort food to buy. We decamped to the local health food store and stocked up on crisps, fruit and the occasional chocolaty morsel or five.

Business was brisk, but not insane - no fights over the last soy milk carton or handful of cilantro. M received a little taunting over a couple of tins of sardines, but I got the same for a highly nutritious, if massive, bag of BBQ crisps.

On the TV New Jersey’s governor and Mayor Bloomberg were now up to three press conferences a day. The eye of the storm is expected to pass a few miles east of New York at 8am Sunday, but it’s slow and carrying a lot of water. High tide is also around that time and the storm surge could be large. We’re in zone two of the flooding area, a couple of blocks clear of the mandatory evacuation zone.

Today the final Top 10 also got posted - end of an era for N and I. The Top 10 started as a vague idea and sort of grew out of control. I think we hit 6,000 words on one and the banter during the decision making process for the final list always made me grin. N has surprising reservoirs of knowledge in unlikely areas and argues his case well. It was a bit emotional to see the last one live.

The first bands of rain started to come in around 4pm and lasted for less than half an hour initially, but then increased in frequency. The wind started to really kick in around 7pm but the floor-to-ceiling windows were holding up fine. We had dinner and drinks, then played rummy while the TV was on silent in the background. At this point there was very little else to do. Shops were boarded up, and while a few bars were open, getting there would have required a soaking. The waves of rain were just pounding down at a 40 degree angle, but at least it was warm and didn’t feel too bad.

Much wine and beer was drunk, as M & D tussled for the lead, with myself bringing up the last place spot. Finally we called it a night around 11pm, filled the bath with water in case power went out so we could flush the loo, and retired to bed. The city was quiet, apart from the occasional car and the odd muted police siren telling people to get off the streets. We checked we knew where our documents were and went to sleep

Last day

A very weird day today, my last at my current employers. As is traditional on Fridays we did a Top 10, although for dating reasons it’s going to be published at the end of the month.

I don’t leave jobs often, and the last day is always awkward. Actually, my last couple have been very drunken affairs with very little work done, but as I’m the boss over here I have to set an example. Plus Friday is the busiest day of the week – those Top 10 lists don’t write themselves.

The Top 10s started as a bit of fun nearly three years ago, and were inspired by a night at the pub and bad film scripting. We were looking for some non-news content to write and had been discussing ideas. We decamped to a pub to discuss things further and left the matter unresolved, although my colleague did mention that a Top 10 could be fun.

That night I got home to find the house empty of both housemates and food, so ordered in a Hunan beef delivery and settled down to see what was on the TV. Very little as it turned out – it’s remarkable how anyone can produce 300 channels of unrelenting garbage. It’s not just a US thing, digital TV has bought the same delights to British shores.

There’s a fundamental limit to the amount of good programs out there in my opinion. There are only a few Dennis Potters in the world and much of the content of channels is either repeats or really duff stuff. But remote controls are built for this, and you can cycle easily through channels until you find something bearable.

That night it was Jurassic Park, which I caught half way through. It’s scary to think that at the time Jurassic Park was 16 years old. I went to see that on a date when it first came out and if I’d have got lucky (unlikely considering my choice of romantic film) and been careless the offspring could vote by now. Such glimpses of other lives are depressingly common these days.

As I munched through hot beef and rice the film got to my favourite line, the infamous UNIX quote. Synapses fired and the concept of a Top 10 worst technology snafus in film came to mind. The next day we did the first of what became a Friday ritual, and possibly the most popular stories on the site. They’ve grown from about 1,500 words to over 6,000 on occasion, and our arguments have drawn attention during the traditional pre-list meeting at Morty’s.

Now it’s over. M’s gone clubbing and I’m left with a bottle of good wine, Justin Currie playing in the background and an editing task to get done. It’s a bit different from this stage of the night at my last leaving do – back then I was staggering around Soho with a whiskey in hand, trying desperately not to make a final fling at a colleague. I suspect tonight is an improvement.