I’ve been looking forward to the equipment trials for quite a while. As an engineer, I always enjoy testing my ideas with groups of end-users, as it’s by far the best way to make sure one is on the right track, and developing things that people actually want to use. Plus, I find that trials are always very interesting to be involved in. They are, however, extremely hard work and you have to be able to think on your feet and solve problems as they come up. I’m thinking of having T-shirts made for the next trial saying “Flexible, Dynamic & Responsive” as that was the catch-phrase my colleague and I were using all week as we moved fast to keep on top of an ever-changing situation……
I was rather concerned about how I’d cope with the full-on intensity of a trials week, as I’m still only working part-time and get tired far too easily. I promised my boss faithfully that I wouldn’t overdo it, and he stitched me up by nobbling my colleague, who was charged with sending me back to the hotel in a taxi if I started looking too exhausted. That was a right cheek! The colleague is in fact a subcontractor whom I’ve bought in from another member of the consortium I run, so I was the guy’s customer for goodness’ sake, yet he had been given a licence by my boss to bully me mercilessly! And he took that responsibility very seriously! In fact, although I was annoyed at the time when I was bundled into a taxi daily at 4pm with the trial still ongoing, with hindsight it was the right thing to do. I went back to Fawlty Towers and crashed out on my bed for a couple of hours before dinner, but was able to pace myself and got through the week fine.
It is really good to be back home again, with the trial successfully completed. I’m having a really quiet weekend, and will take tomorrow off work as time-off-in-lieu of having to work last Sunday. I’ll get my hair cut, do a big Waitrose shop to restock the larder, and generally just catch my breath again before heading into work on Tuesday and catching up on nearly two weeks’ worth of emails……
