Writing for life

"Working it" column published in the Career Moves section of The Evening Echo on 26/11/2007

Ah, Christmas… deck the halls, feel the joy and hit the shops. This is, obviously, the retail sector’s most important time of the year. Every year Irish consumers seem to break all records when it comes to the amount of money they spend over the Christmas period. If you listen very carefully, beneath the irritating background carol music cascading from the shopping centre’s tinny speaker system, you’ll hear a curious, almost imperceptible rumble: the sound of thousands of credit cards groaning softly under the strain!

As we pump our credit to the max again this Christmas, overindulging in the shops, the pubs, the restaurants and the bars, most of the time we’ll be blissfully unaware of who, in fact, is serving us. Suddenly there are lots of new faces manning the tills and counters, as an army of teenagers take on seasonal jobs to earn a bit of cash over the holidays.

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Published in the WOW! supplement of the Evening Echo 21/11/2007

When you’re seven, thirty Euro must seem like a small fortune. It was certainly burning a hole in the twins’ pockets. Most of the young guests at their birthday party had brought them small gifts – but some had given money, and the twins had been planning how they were going to spend it ever since.

I’d suggested that they get something useful with it, something that would last them a while. Like a decent torch for example. They love torches, but the two or three Euro plastic varieties never seemed to last very long. They always ended up purloining my old Maglite – which is older than they are and still going strong – to illuminate their night-time antics. Here was a perfect opportunity for them to get one of their own, and have enough money left for a toy.

They were having none of it. Top of their respective lists instead were Mr Potato Head and a Bratz Kids doll. The following weekend we were heading up to the city. The nagging started even before we got in the car.

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iPod Touch

Apple’s new iPod Touch is a phenomenal piece of design. Sleek, sexy and so cool it hurts, this is perhaps the most desirable tech gadget on the market in Ireland this Christmas (with the possible exception of its feature rich sibling, the much-hyped iPhone), and by and large it delivers in spades.

The iPod Touch — has a digital media player revolution begun?

That said, I have several issues with the iPod — not least of which is the fact that you’re tied in to proprietary media formats, and are forced to download Apple’s proprietary software before you can even use the device. Despite a few shortcomings, however, the Touch is a remarkably accomplished piece of kit.

The worst thing about the one I’m reviewing is the fact that I have to give it back to Apple when I’m done!

Review Summary

Product Reviewed: Apple iPod Touch 16GB

Also Available: Apple iPod Touch 8GB

Feature	Rating
Music	8/10
Video	8/10
Navigation/Controls	10/10
Features	7/10
Software (PC)	5/10 (not bundled)
Ease of use	10/10
Overall	8/10 — Highly Recommended

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Rated 4/5 on Nov 21 2007

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LouderVoice review tags: ipod, itunes, apple, iPod Touch, MP3, digital media player

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"Working it" column published in the Career Moves section of The Evening Echo on 19/11/2007

When people ask what I do, and I tell them that I’m a writer, the reaction is almost always the same. There’s that flicker of bewilderment that flashes across their face as they attempt the mental somersaults required to reconcile the word “writer” with the word “work”. Their expression invariably betrays their unspoken words: “no, I mean what do you really do”?

Most recover quickly and carry on with the conversation – a few may actually voice those words – but the underlying perception in general is that what I do for a living can’t be considered a “real” job. Writing is a curious profession of perceived extremes: people see either an image of a best-selling authors raking in millions in royalties and licensing fees, or the starving artist struggling to make a crust, wondering whether to pay that utility bill or buy this week’s groceries. The reality of course is that most writers fall somewhere in between.

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Published in the WOW! supplement of the Evening Echo 14/11/2007

The sun was shining, the sky was blue, it was a fine late-autumn day. We hadn’t been on a real family day out for some time, so on the spur of the moment we decided to head over to Killarney for the day. That is to say, as “on the spur of the moment” as you can with three children in tow. It took about two hours before we were all sitting in the car ready for the off.

Getting into the car is never as straightforward as simply getting into the car. We always have to endure the hokey-kokey “in-out-in-out-and shake it all about” version. First one girl needs the toilet, then the other, and then someone’s forgotten her favourite blanket, or a bag of crayons or any of the suite of accessories they insist on bringing on any excursion. Finally we were ready, and hit the road in high spirits.

As we drove I could see the clouds gathering on the horizon, and when we reached about the halfway mark the rain started. This wasn’t drizzle either – it was great globs of water dropping from the sky in torrents. Not the ideal weather for a family day out. But hey, we were having fun….

Whenever I drive into Kerry I’m always struck by the stark difference in the quality of the road surface. Crossing the county bounds is like making the transition from white-water kayaking to gliding across a tropical lagoon by hovercraft. It’s uncanny. I know Kerry must have its fair share of potholes, but the difference on that particular stretch of road always seems to stand out. Good old Cork County Council!

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"Working it" column published in the Career Moves section of The Evening Echo on 12/11/2007

A couple of months ago I wrote a column about a report that showed how Irish workers are dissatisfied with their paid holiday entitlement – and how other nations in Europe have much more generous levels of statutory leave. But despite that apparent dissatisfaction, a surprising 20% of Irish workers don’t even take the meagre holidays they already have.

While browsing the recruitment web sites recently I came across a report from May by RecruitIreland.com. They’d surveyed 500 workers, and found that 1 in 5 did not take their full holiday entitlement in any given year.

Come on people…. Why on earth wouldn’t you take time off that you’re a) entitled to and b) paid for?

Many claimed they were simply too busy at work to take the time off – which is of course nonsense. I don’t care who you are, work will carry on perfectly well without you for a couple of weeks. Trust me, you’re not indispensable. If you were hit by a bus tomorrow (perish the thought) your company might, if you are really popular, send a get-well card to the hospital. Then they’d get on with business as usual. If they can do without you in a medical emergency, they can do without you for a two week holiday!

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Published in the WOW! supplement of the Evening Echo 07/11/2007

Children and parents view birthday parties very differently. The twins had been looking forward to their birthday for weeks. We, on the other hand, while not exactly dreading it, had been viewing its approach with something akin to mild apprehension.

From a parent’s perspective a children’s birthday party, while admittedly great fun, heralds a disproportionate amount of hard work. If parenthood was a business you’d take one look at the potential return on your investment and scrap the project before it even got started. But it’s not, and so we go through the rigmarole year in, year out.

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"Working it" column published in the Career Moves section of The Evening Echo on 05/11/2007

Proponents of the fight to save our planet from the impending doom of global warming tell us that using our cars less is one of the main things we can do to help reduce our carbon emissions and do our bit towards saving the existence of mankind. I’ve embraced this concept wholeheartedly.

I work in an office in the back garden, and every morning face an arduous 20 second commute out the back door, up five steps and across the lawn. The only carbon I’m emitting en-route is the regular human respiratory variety… and I assume that’s all right.

Okay, I’ll admit it… my decision to work from home wasn’t driven by an altruistic desire to preserve the planet. It was a purely selfish decision based on criteria like spending more time with my young family and being master of my own destiny rather than at somebody else’s beck and call. But avoiding the commute was another very big plus.

Last week I got a taste of what I was missing when I had to travel up to the city for a training seminar. Coffee and registration was scheduled to begin at 08:30, with the seminar kicking off at 9am sharp. No problem, I thought. Allowing time for traffic, I left home at 06:30 on a trip that, under normal circumstances, would take me exactly an hour. Two hours later I was sitting in a queue near city hall, wondering if I was going to make the start of the seminar at all.

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Creative Zen Media Player

Creative Labs’ brand new ZEN player is stylish, functional and packs quite a punch for such a small player. It offers real competition to Apple’s much hyped new iPod Nano — and with a bigger, better screen and more features it’s certainly one to consider as an alternative.

Creative Zen: a feature-rich media player that offers phenomenal all-round multimedia performance in an incredibly compact package.

Review Summary

Product Reviewed: Creative Zen 4GB

Also Available: Creative Zen 8GB, Creative Zen 16GB

Feature	Rating
Music	9/10
Video	9/10
Navigation/Controls	8/10
Features	9/10
Software (PC)	7/10
Ease of use	8/10
Overall	9/10 — Highly Recommended

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Rated 5/5 on Nov 5 2007

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LouderVoice review tags: Creative, Zen, MP3, Digital Media Player

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Published in the WOW! supplement of the Evening Echo 01/11/2007

Pumpkins, witches, ghouls and goblins…!

It’s that time of year again, and the kids’ thoughts are turning to all things creepy. For a few weeks now Halloween related junk… I mean art… has been accumulating in the house. Dangly spiders to hang from the ceiling, creepy ghosts, scary pumpkin cutouts, jack-o-lanterns… the list goes on.

Today was the last day before the mid-term break, and the twins went off to school in fancy dress – one as a devil (how appropriate) and the other as… a cowgirl. We suggested witches, goblins, vampires, ghosts and all the usual suspects, but she was adamant she wanted to be a cowgirl – so a cowgirl she became. Terrifying!

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