This month I spent more time in work-related rabbit-holes than I wanted to, thanks to working on projects that were … confusingly managed. On the plus side, I enjoyed playing some new games and listening to new music, and I spent more time reading books again rather than just articles.
Fun
Music
As I had recently found a couple of corrupted/glitchy songs in my music library, I decided to re-digitise my CD collection using the incredibly nerdy software that is Exact Audio Copy. EAC is a CD audio grabber that focuses on getting the most accurate possible audio from the CD, even when there are errors or scratches on the disc. While I don’t need its more advanced options, I like using EAC because of its more old-school design; it feels very logical and like it will only change things when I ask them to be changed.
I considered getting a CD player but was unsure of whether to go with a portable player and deal with extra cables/batteries, or whether to find a small desktop player which would have to balance on top of/ underneath my speakers. I impulsively bid on a Fiio DM13 on eBay, but luckily didn’t win, as I haven’t decided what the best option for me would be yet.
Other
I had more Magic-with-friends sessions this month. Danny had bought all four of the Final Fantasy commander decks (before they dramatically rose in price, thankfully for him), so on one evening we abandoned our usual decks to test them out. I tried the Terra deck, which focused on sending creatures to my graveyard and bringing them back from both my and my opponents’ graveyards. I came second in both of our matches, which is better than usual. Given the cards I had, I could have won the first match, but I failed at tactically choosing where my attacks should go and so threw my lead away.
Games
I spent one afternoon playing the 20th Anniversary edition of Beyond Good and Evil. When I played the HD version years ago, I got completely stuck somewhere after defeating the first boss-type enemy and so gave up. However, I’ve had a much better experience this time! (From what I remember, I don’t think I found the room with the first electricity puzzle first time around, which explains why I wouldn’t have been able to progress.)
A bigger proportion of my gaming time was on Steam this month. I spotted that a game I had been curious about – Bio Inc Redemption – was on sale for just 99p, so tried it out. So far, I’ve only tried the “Life” mode, which focuses on harvesting resources from the patient then spending those resources to identify and then treat the patient’s many conditions. I’m not sure what to think about it yet, as I like the idea the game is going for but find it hard to match the game’s promises of being a “complex biomedical simulator” and “frighteningly realistic” with its actual gameplay. The combinations of health issues these patients have are definitely not realistic!
On a very different note, I also played Unpacking. I’m considering writing a review of Unpacking separately, because it got me thinking about and exploring a character’s mindset in a way that is rare for me.
In terms of gaming with friends, I’ve enjoyed Rematch more than I expected to, despite a few instances of a bug where on my screen I’ve successfully saved a shot on goal but the shot has actually phased through me and landed in the net anyway. Unfortunately, the friend I’ve played Rematch with most has already hit the point of being so good that teammates can’t meet his standards, which can get in the way of us enjoying matches.
Work
During the first two weeks of June, I was supposed to be taken off the rota for normal admin tasks so that I could work on (and be tech support for) our staffing audit, alongside a clinical member of staff.
However, I arrived in work on the 4th to find that both of us had instead been summoned to be part of a different project … which had a partial deadline of the 5th. This meant we both had to compromise on what we had planned to do for the audit that day, and push some tasks to later in the week, which was annoying. At least the pair of us make a good team, as our strengths and weaknesses work together well, so getting our part of the other project done went smoothly.
Once I got back to focusing on the staffing audit, new problems appeared. Those two weeks contained most of the parts I find difficult about working in an office: questions being responded to with vague corporate-ness rather than actual answers, deadlines being set arbitrarily and so needing to change at short notice, and confusing gaps between who is responsible for things “on paper” and who is actually responsible for them.
I lost my temper with the project leads twice during that time in response to some illogical answers and unclear decisions, so I needed to do some apologising afterwards! Luckily, my team are fairly forgiving of my blunt moments as they’re normally accompanied by getting so invested in whatever I’m doing that I over-deliver on it. They were also aware I was involved in two relatively large/important projects at the same time, which was definitely not optimal.
The silver lining of all of it is that I had planned how to do our staffing audit in a way that would cause as little extra work for the nursing staff as possible, based on my experience with doing them in 2023. That part of the plan succeeded; the clinical staff found their part was far simpler and quicker this year.
Three deadline-date-changes later, I got everything submitted for our teams a day ahead of schedule and so was able to close down that tab in my brain ahead of my annual leave.
Family
In January, I had referred my nan for a mobility assessment. Near the end of the June, she finally reached the top of the waiting list and so had her assessment. Then, within 48 hours, she had been supplied with equipment for the bathroom, had a visit to measure the stairs for a grab rail, and had a final visit to install both the stair rail and a front door rail.
I share an office with that team, so thanked the team’s lead for how efficiently everything was put in place. Her logic (to paraphrase) was that because the waiting list is so much longer than they would like, the team make sure that people get everything they need in one go so that they don’t have to go back onto the waiting list again. This way of thinking makes a lot of sense.
On the same day that the stair rail was installed, I also got the email confirmation that my nan had been approved for a Blue Badge. So it was a surprising couple of days for her!