oj’s status update

In typical Friday-evening fashion, after a beverage or 3, I was blabbing on to J about my week at work. She remarked that it was a long way from lugging boxes for a giftware wholesaler.

The thing is that I can draw a direct line between lugging boxes and the sort of work I’m doing now, since it was the giftware wholesaler who let me say ‘yeah, sure I can develop a data-driven, interactive website for you. Shopping cart? No worries, let me have a crack at it…’

Which was kind of foolish, but at least it got me into a vaguely cerebral line of work.

Then I started thinking back to what led me to working for the giftware company. Working for the other giftware company next-door… which happened because I ran into Sean on the steps of West End markets and admired his shirt (it’s from my work, drop by, you might be able to get some work unloading containers)… which happened because I was in the Fire Event at Woodford Festival, which Sean was in… which I got into as a result of being in a ‘Celtic Folk Opera’ directed by the Fire Event director… which Julie put me onto… and I knew her because we were in JC Superstar together… which I auditioned for because my best mate’s friend saw it in the paper… and I knew my best mate because Flash introduced us on a bus… and I knew Flash because we were in ‘Ubu Roi’ together at USQ… and I went to USQ because I complied with my parents’ wishes that I shouldn’t study jazz guitar at the conservatorium.

I think that’s about as far back as I can go. But it’s cool that I can have a decent job doing esoteric bits of coding in sleepy Mid-Wales thanks to a totally unpredictable chain of events… I guess that’s life, innit!