Tomorrow – Aug 24th marks my last day at Refresh Mobile.

Over the past 13mths I’ve worn many hats and gone through many job titles… so here goes -

Ahem – SO – I am leaving the role(s) of:

Mobizines Manager, Customer Champion, Chief of Blogger Relations, Content Merchandiser, Blogger, Product Manager, Quality Control Manager and Service Evangelist… (breathe) …at Refresh Mobile.

Phew… and where am I off to?
Well…

I’m off to go and be the new Digital Marketing Product Manager over at the voice-to-text specialists…  SpinVox.
Working alongside another new(ish) recruit – James Scroggs – to help them expand the SpinVox brand and products across the world and throughout the entire universe!

In the meantime – I wish the guys at Refresh every success with Mippin…

…which, by the way, IS fantastic. I’m gonna be taking it along to the SMS Text News Unlimited Drinks event tonight – so if you’re coming too – grab me and I’ll give you a cheeky preview…

And I owe a massive amount of thanks to them also, for plucking me from obscurity many moons ago (more details here) and helping me grow in all sorts of ways…

(ask Scott Beaumont what I was like when we first met!)

It really has been an incredible journey* (which is by no means over for them – Mippin is gonna ROCK!) but at this point our paths are headed in different directions…

Good luck guys – The first round is on me at the next Mobile Geeks of London!

____________________________________
*Some key points in the Refresh Mobile journey so far – in no particular order:
(and I’ve probably missed a few too – so expect this list to grow)

- Nokia Developer of the Year 2006

- The Mobizines Blog

- Launching Eyemags

- Shortlisted for the Meffy Awards

- Nokia Download!

- Getting Mobizines live in the US – Hungary – South Africa and Germany!

- Mippin – Make It Mobile

First, I’ve finally joined the elite in my office and sorted myself out TWO (count ‘em) monitors…

I know it’s nothing new, but I’ve been the only one with a single monitor for ages now…
So Yay me!

Next up – a quick picture of the desk next to mine..

‘Hmmm… Which one shall i use today?’

Hehe…

Those of you tuning in for the N93i vs N95 shots I promised from the wedding at the weekend; It won’t be long. I took a ton of photos with both handsets so it’s just gonna take a while to put it together..
I’m working on it though. For now though.. I hope you enjoyed my Geek-a-thon pics…

Nothing uber-amazing.. It’s fun to play with and stuff.
The features are cool etc.. But practically? We’ll see..

As I said – I’ve only had a quick play so I may yet be turned from my N95 (yeah, right)…

Check out the very messy/scrappy video of me having a look at this very blog, care of the iPhone’s Safari browser…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Leave any questions/opinions in the comments below…
See ya!

It’s just like being back at Glastonbury! …Yes – I know I haven’t written up my Sunday at Glasto yet (it’s coming – there’s a draft saved here that I need to finish) but I just HAD to update and share the crazy rain/hail we just had round Fulham way! Check out the photo and video below!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Cross posted with “Mobizines – Update All“

Well, we’ve got three actually…

…and Guess what?!
Mobizines looks GREAT on it!

I managed to let the techies upstairs let one out of their sight for a whole week a little while back and I can safely say you are looking at the phone of 2007.

Do not misunderstand me when I say this – I’m not talking about ‘the phone’ that everyone will be chatting/blogging about (they’re already doing that).
What I’m saying is – by the middle of the Summer; EVERYONE YOU KNOW WILL HAVE ONE.

Y’know how right now everyone’s either got an N73 or a Sony K800i?
(that’s the case in this office anyway)
Well forget about your iphones buddy – the N95 is the way forward.

What can I tell you about it?
Hmmm… Well – a few mobile bloggers have their own N95 RIGHT NOW – so there’s probably not much I can tell you that hasn’t been covered already…
My own opinion?
It’s cool.

It slides both ways, which is cool.
It has a ‘proper’ headphone jack, which is cool.
It has a massive screen, which is cool.
It’s got an AMAZING camera, which is also cool.
Nokia Pop-port? No.
Mini USB Port? Yes.

That last point – I’m sure it will a good thing in the long run (no – scrap that – I’m certain, I’ve already half-inched my colleague’s blackberry cable) but Nokia just keeps changing things! AARGH!

That doesn’t really count though – the phone is amazing and really needs to be seen to be believed.
Vodafone have promised me my own one in 2wks. These things often get delayed so we’ll see – but if you manage to see one out on the market, get one!

Then once you’ve got one – Get Mobizines!

New readers and old.
The blogging has begun (somewhat in earnest) again.
Today is Monday.
The time is 13:26.

I’ve had a weekend busy doing nothing.
*yawn/stretch*

Back to work today and I’m looking around thinking:
“I really want to be in bed…”

But never mind – gotta work, gotta pay those bills.. not forgetting the fact that I love my job of course.. Heeh – makes getting up in the mornings oh so much easier.

Made this thing the other day – check it out – anyone who’s followed this blog from the beginning will remember that it started out as a ‘detox diary’ – well, I’ve taken some of the best bits of that blog and compressed them down into my own mini-blog for consumption on your mobile phone!

ANYONE interested in trying this out for me (anyone folks – this should work on whatever phone you have in whatever country) should direct their handset’s WAP browser to:

http://wap.eyemags.com/199

The thing’s called ‘10 Days in Thailand’ – I’ve put it on mine and it doesn’t look too bad.
All feedback welcome folks!

In the meantime – take it easy.
Blogging to improve on the whole very soon.

It’s good to be back.

Laterz.

For this – I am truly sorry.

But in the meantime – here are something that have made me laugh!
)

First up!

Me…. In my ridiculously tiny sunglasses..

I’m actually thinking about taking them back and getting some bigger ones..
They just don’t seem big enough.. y’know?

NEXT:

I have a friend called Vicky.
She is lovely.
Beautiful, funny, intelligent, witty.. everso caring and considerate but also a teeny bit bonkers..
(which is probably why I love her like I do)…

Anywhoo – I stayed there a while back and in the morning she had to do her nails (as women do)…
So – I’m minding my own business and Vicky starts talking about her ‘monkey’.

“Your what?”

“I need my monkey to dry my nails…”

“EH?!”

Next thing I know out pops this thing:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

You put your fingers on the Monkey’s ‘nanas and he blows air over your nails for you!
I don’t know why, but I found this absolutely hilarious.

Vicky just giggled away with me.. but it was just SO random..
Hahaha – I’m still smiling about it now.
In fact – have another pic!

Hehehe…

NEXT!

This is my friend Will.
Trying to use his new BBQ.

I think that’s all I need to say in regards to that one!
Hehehe…

In other news..
Here’s a picture of me and Alex’s Giant Ring..

I love Alex’s Ring.
Alex’s Ring loves me.
We were meant to be.
Don’t you think?

Also..
I don’t know why that pic is yellow.
But it is.
Maybe it’s leaking from my hair…
Who knows?

Moving on…

I saw this at my Mum’s house the other weekend.

HAHAHAHAHAH!
Apparently its a Duster… I just laughed so hard when I saw it.

HOW RANDOM?!
Hehehehee…

That very same weekend – while I was visiting friends and family on the Isle of Canvey I nipped round to see my mate Tony..
He asked me if I like his dishwasher…

He then burst into fits of laughter..
As did I.
Who buys a dishwasher TO KEEP FOOD IN?!
WHO?!

Hahaha…

Remember me in my *super-cool* Sunny-G’s?

Well…

- because they are SO super-cool -

…whenever I produce them, people just want to try them on!

So here – for your delectation – is a selection of random people wearing my sunglasses…

James, Anthony, Rebecca, Rich, Jim, Bastian, Al, Mark, Alio (feat. Jess) and Elaine..

…I salute you all!
Every single one of you!

Right then..
A couple more then I really must chip off to bed…

This is my mate Flashy blatantly abusing the law…

Hehe
..and while we’re on the subject of Flashy..

This is my friend Alio.
She’s a good girl.
But sometimes she likes to be silly in the middle of very important meetings…

..but, when not posing alongside Flashy’s backside, Ali Bongo likes hiding under blankets, drinking strawberry cider, listening to all sorts of ker-razy music and generally having fun taking amusing photos of herself, and others.
Check out her myspace in fact.. you’ll see what I mean!

..and I *think* ..that’s everything.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Quick update Lifewise:

I’m having a great time still..!

Been out clubbing not as much – but still having fun…

Kind of seeing someone at the moment – that’s all cool.
(and I think she’s probably going to read this so I can’t really go into TOO much detail – wink wink – nudge nudge – you know who you are)

Still working bloody hard.
Still loving my job.

If you’re still not sure about what I do -

“..simply text ‘Mobi Daily’ to 63333 for your FREE download…”

Then you’ll see..

Advert over..
..well – nearly:

Very soon – thanks to the lovely intelligent people at Mobizines – you’ll be able to read my blog ON YOUR MOBILE!
…
…
I KNOW!
HOW EXCITING IS THAT?!

Errr… yes – where was I?

Had a great night clubbing at the weekend with one of my new best mates Liv (she’s my hairdresser too – she’s wicked) – her fella runs this night at Isha in Kingston on the last Saturday of every month called Sugafem.
Playing some wicked funky house and some sexy dirty classics..

Lovin’ it…
Ended up going back to some dudes house where he had some decks – mixin’ it up styleeee…
Hehe..

I’m STILL rehearsing too by the way!
Five weeks now until Our Country’s Good goes up.
Looking forward to that – made some real proper progress with my character..
Most of my main scenes are one on one with another bloke, so the rest of the cast hasn’t really seen what I’m doing with it yet.. but I’m looking forward to showing him off as it were – I’m aiming for something a bit edgy.. a bit.. intimidating y’know?
(I’m playing Ketch Freeman if you know the play at all)

But yeah – the Director, Jess – has really kind of encouraged me to explore this (what seemed at first to be a small) role.. and has given me some great direction.
Got a real good working relationship there.. proper director/actor respect y’know?
I’m really happy with it… …all I’ve gotta do now is get off book!
EEEK!

Ahem…

This month also sees the start of rehearsals for The Nativity too.
I think I’ve got my first call this Sunday – so fingers crossed for that one.
I’m really looking forward to working on this – the Director has got quite a good vision it seems and there’s an energy about him that reminds me of a good friend of mine.. so yeah – should be good.

The weekend also gave cause for a celebration too!
One of my closest friends, Natalie, managed to drag herself out of the horrid clutches of all things Essex and moved herself (and her lovely li’l sis, Squiffy) to sunny Surbiton!
Which.. for those of you who DONT know.. is about 30mins on the bus from here!
WHICH.. for those of you who dont know.. is SO much better than 2hrs on the train from here!
So – big HOORAH for Nats!
(I’ll come visit you soon darlin - when you’re all settled in like)

*sigh*

I always intend to write such short blogs – but it never happens!
Dammit…

Ok – quick wrap up…

Thanks for reading!
Things to do for next time…

I must email Sarah Bennett.
I must call Victoria Jackson.
I must text Selina Forrest.
I must hug Ali Bungo.

Laters Potatas!

PS – I’m a bit of a cheat – I’ve done two of those things already..
Ah well!

Hehe.. ’til next time true believers..

It’s around 6pm – I’m falling asleep at my desk.
Too many late nights and early mornings.

I work hard and I play very hard.

My skin feels crap and oily and mank.

Tonight I have duties to attend to but I’m deciding against them – falling back on the old phrase that you should stick to your responsibilities as long as they are:

“Without detriment to yourself or your connections”

Well – I am shattered.

I have a headache (which I never get),
I’m all spotty and horrible, (no good for the ladies – obviously),
Tonight I was supposed to be going out but instead I am going to go home to bed.

I. Need. Sleep.

Big catch up blog to come soon – I promise.

It’s just.. Ok – Here we go:

Monday night I saw my mate Liv.
Tuesday night I had rehearsals for Our Country’s Good.
Wednesday night I saw a lovely lass named Selina.
Thursday night (tonight) I’m supposed to be out but I can’t see it happening.
Friday night I’m going Karaoke with my family on Canvey then into Basildon with my Sister.
Saturday night I’m in Westcliff Casino celebrating my friend Bodger’s birthday.
Sunday I have to be back in Twickenham for 11am for more OCG rehearsals.

And that’s just this week.

Obviously I work Mon-Fri too. Hard.
I’ve never worked so bloody hard in my life.
Especially on something that I actually believe in and care about.
It’s MENTAL!
But hey – they pay me to play with Mobile Phones.
Winner.

Right – I’m going home to bed now.
Take it easy folks – I may post later if I can’t sleep.

N’night…

PS:

This is a new blogspot that Nemi and I have setup.
Check it out…

Why Don’t Grownups Get It?

It’s only young so there’s not much content – but it’ll grow.

Til next time.

This weekend I’m going down to Essex to see friends and family.

Here we go!

Last time we spoke I had spent the weekend in Canvey mildly drunk.
Here I am. Mildly drunk.

I went back to work after all that time off..
..and I went in thinking it was gonna be sunny..

But.. it wasnt:

It was rainin’..
Ah well..

That week it was Jobber’s birthday – we went to the pub:
Jobber and his mate Wing (more on him later), outside the pub…

He’s a good bloke our Jobs… that’s him on the right.
Gonna miss him from the Mail.. admittedly probably JUST him.

Moving on..

The weekend after that: England got knocked out of the World Cup.
It might’ve been the weekend before -
I really cant remember -
My days are swirling together through a mist of champagne and white wine..
Wergh.
Either way – Boooo.. England went out.
We don’t talk about who won it or whatever because nobody cares.
In all seriousness this World Cup will go down as the Cup of Cheats as SO many teams employed under-hand techniques on their road to the finals..

Not.
Good.

Anywhoo..

I watched our last game with my mate Jim.
..and here we are:

Yes.
We are drunk.

..and don’t ask about the sombreros.
I have no idea.

The following day I went to my see friends Roger and Aidan..
They live in this proper nice penthouse apartment overlooking Clapham Common..
The lifts are a bit old and scary mind..
Here I am, in a lift, a bit scared:

So yeah – that was cool.. the corridors are bit ‘Overlook Hotel’ too..
I keep expecting to see a kid on a tricycle screaming “Redrum.. Redrum..” at me… ahem.

But yeah – had a g-r-r-reat time. Roger did some fantastic food.
They’d been down to the farmer’s market in Balham that morning and got some lush veg..
Yum.
..and we spent the rest of the day yelling obscenities to passers by..
Yay.
(that was actually the most puerile fun I’ve had in ages – hehe)

Ooo oo oo!
I forgot!

The Friday before that..
My friend Vicky took me out to the ‘Che’ Exhibition at the V&A Museum.
The V&A:

It was SO cool… They had a big celebration of all things Cuban and there was food and dancing and Mojitos… oh how we love Mojitos…
I don’t know much about Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara..
Here he is:

Or in fact I should now say.. I didnt know much about him.
The exhibition was wicked – REALLY interesting man..
The guy’s a legend and it’s amazing how his image has grown in the way it has considering this pic was a complete fluke..
Amazing stuff.
So yeah - Vicky took me out to dinner afterwards to a place called The Priory in Olympia.
It was lush and we had SUCH a nice evening just chattin’ y’know?
Was cool.
Tors – if you’re readin’ this – I owe ya!
)

Anywhoo – where was I?
That’s right Sunday at Roger and Aidan’s.
That was cool – called a few people a few names and then went on my merry way home..
Bahahahahahahaahahah!
___

Monday – back to work.
Eugh..

But – It was the final leg of my three year stint at the Mail.
The week kind of happened without incident…
Well – aside from The Wing (remember him?) wearing this disgusting shirt…

Talk about Ocular Rapage.
(and yes – that’s Jobber again.. WORKING! Shock Horror!)
Heheheh…

THIS is how you look good at work:

Urinals and all.. lol

Anyway… My last week at work..!

It was cool..
Unsurprisingly I got hammered on my last day.. about two bottles of red wine at lunch.
Probably the best part of a bottle of champagne in the afternoon and then..
God knows how much white wine at the pub afterwards..

But yeah – these are my girls:

Christina, Laura and Louisa… lovely they all are too.
See ya girls – nice workin’ with ya.. Bless ‘em.

Apparently they were at my leaving drinks..
But I REALLY dont remember…
Apparently I may’ve embarrassed a few people – I’m sure I’ll hear about it all eventually.. lol

Whoops..
Ah well…

But!

What I do remember (and this would be pretty damn hard to forget) is what my lot bought me for a leaving present..
Check it out!

A nice shiny shiny Nintendo DS Lite.. “Ooooooooooo…”

Yeah man! Awesome -
I am proper impressed..

Anywhoo… my mate Laws came over that night.
Came to my party and everything – it was cool.
She’s a good girl she is – helped me get home!
(dont remember that either – apparently I made us get on the wrong tube but I dont believe her – you hear that Laws?! You tell fibs woman!)
lol

So yeah – the following day my mate Martin threw me a champagne breakfast picnic on Twickenham Green.. it was brill.
Me, Laws, Roger, Aidan, Martin and his girlfriend Lyddy all went…
Here we all are:

Laws & Martin, Martin & Lydia,
Lydia & Adian, Aidan & Roger,
Roger & Me, Me & ….a big church!

But yeah.. the picnic was wicked – Martin made all the food himself and we got hammered… again! I think I didnt really have a hangover per se.. I just carried on drinking from the previous night.. lol
Anywhoo – so we’re all sittin there and Martin says:

“Dudes! Check it out! Pac-Man!”

We had a bit of a chuckle about that.. but THEN.. Martin says:

“Weergh! Those poor ghosts! No wonder those f**kers run! Look at him from the front!”

I laughed so hard… Hahaha.. One of the funniest dudes I know, is Martin.
Love him to bits..

So yeah – after our AMAZING picnic:

Laws and I headed back to Canvey to catch with friends and family.
It was all good.

Had a wicked night on the Isle of Canvey then headed back to Sunny Twickenham..
(not much of a story there I know – but I was out of it and I really dont remember much)

Back in Twix – I thought i’d get an early night..
Right up until I decided to move my room around…
You ever get that?!
No?

Just me then..

Ach well..
At least I have a proper cool desk now:

Yes true believers – that is where yours truly sits when he is recounting his stories to you…

Nice huh?
I think so.. makes life online a lot more enjoyable..

Moving on…

Started at my new job Monday.
All good.

I now work for a company called Refresh Mobile – www.refreshmobile.com

They make things called Mobizines – www.mobizines.com

Its absolutely wicked.
I love it.

The hours are longer – but to be honest – I only noticed that on the first day when I didnt really know what I was doing.. since then – its been cool.
Non-stop. In fact im doin more hours than I should be…
I love it…

Today is Thursday.
Well – its now Friday because its gone midnight – started this blog ages ago.

I’m shattered….

Laters

PS – Ooo! Check this out!
Its Me and Martin!
Aidan did it for us..

How cool is THAT?!

I love it..
In fact – you can tell I love it because i’ve got a printed copy of it above my desk…

My friend Naomi (we call her Roger – she’s Aidan’s girlfriend) says we look like some kind of twisted parallel universe version of Miami Vice..

Hahahahahaahahah..!

Apologies for the ‘half-blog’ the other day – it was just too sunny to stay in and type this stuff up! As it stands – its 815am here and the Sun is up but I dont think its warm enough to warrant going outside just yet.. watch this space! Hehehe…

Where was I?

*opens new window – checks previous blog*

Ahhh…

Right then – I emailed Kevin back telling him how stoked I was that they were still interested etc.. and I left it at that.

That afternoon I get an email from their CEO asking me to pop over sometime next week… so we arranged a time and a date and last Wednesday I rocked over to Refresh Mobile in Fulham and went and saw them..

Now – bear in mind that my vocation at the moment is Accountant. So I bowl in there thinking I’m being interviewed for an Accounts-based position..

But no – turns out they want me to not do any accounts stuff at all!

They want me to work with them on improving their software and to help in making it a better experience for the user!

The two people that interviewed me didnt seem interested in my CV at all.. in fact one of the quotes from the interview was-

“James, if we’d have got your CV from some head hunting job agency.. you wouldn’t have made it through the door – its only because you’ve met Kevin and Scott that you’re here – they speak highly of you..”

Eventually Scott comes down and we have a bit of a chat, discuss the Mobizines in more detail.. he gives me a pop quiz on the software.. which, to be honest – I dont really know how well I did on!

But at the end of the interview said:

“Right then, I should make you an offer then really.. ”

YEAH!

“I’ll email you in the morning..”

COOL!

I give Scott my personal email address (so far all correspondence has been using my my work email – which is a bit …unethical i guess.. and probably against company policy too I’d imagine – know The Mail) and then I toddle off home.. after a near two hour interview!

Thursday arrives..

All day long i’m constantly checking my email.. lunchtime passes.. still nothing.. panic.. setting.. in.. it gets to 1630 and I decide to email Kevin – “MATE! No news! Should I be concerned?! ..or just more patient?!”

No reply!

AAAAAAAARGH!

Following morning I get an email from Scott to my work address.. turns out he mislaid my personal email address.. (THANK YOU LORD!) ..I send it over and within minutes I have a job offer and contract in my inbox ready for my perusal.. I browse over it.. decide that this is probably the best thing thats happened to my carreer in YEARS and email Scott back…

“I accept!”

I printed the contract off, signed it, sent it back… and by 11am I’d resigned from the Daily Mail!

Wooooooooooooooooooo!

Do you have ANY IDEA how nice that feels?!

To RESIGN?!

Well.. thing is.. its nicer for me I guess – I was made redundant from my last two positions and I’d kinda forgotten what it feels like to LEAVE a job instead of my job leaving me.. y’know?!

I’m so excited – this job’s gonna be great..

But now.. we have a problem. (Yup. Its never simple is it?!)

Right – so – I’l try and make this as simple as possible.

The Mail pays on the 15th of every month – two weeks in advance and two weeks in arrears. So you get paid for the two weeks you’ve just worked and then the two weeks you’re about to work… With me so far?

Cool – anyway – because of my trip to Thailand I’ve used up all my holiday at the mail and it turns out I owe them seven days.. so.. they’re gonna deduct that amount from my salary.. not NEXT month’s… no no.. THIS month’s. Arse. So in four days I get three week’s money. That’s June.

Then – on July 7th I finish at the Mail.

July 10th I start at Refresh.

July 15th I get paid ONE WEEK’S (!!) money from the Mail.

Now with Refresh things are different – they do it normally – there you get paid at the end of the month for the month you’ve just worked y’dig? So moving on:

On July 30th I get paid THREE WEEK’S money from Refresh..

Then I dont get paid again until the end of August. That pay cheque will be first full pay cheque since May 15th.

Ouch.

Fingers crossed I can survive til then.. I might be eating out of bins and stuff but I guess I’ll survive!

AARGH!

So yeah – thats my news!

Good and (slightly) bad.

Goodbye and So Long to The Daily Mail!

Goodbye and So Long to my Carreer as an Accountant!

Hello Refresh Mobile!

( oh and goodbye to my social life over the summer )

___________________________________________

Ok – thats that sorted – now to bring us bang up to date.

Yesterday was a beautiful day. Hung out with mates most of the day watching various World Cup matches..

GO ON THE ENGLAND!

Ahem…

…had a kickabout.. my mate Rich broke his leg! But he’s alright.. Trooper that he is! Gonna go see him later.. see how he’s getting on..

So yeah.. there we go.

I’m gonna go have a bath now I think…

Chat soon!

J.

EDIT:

Forgot to mention – there’s a fairly large chance that I might be going to see Bon Jovi in Milton Keynes today… Bizarre eh!? Hahaahah..I’ll let you know.