The Meerkat Muse: 19th of November, 2025
Ahoy there my friends, it’s the return of the Meerkat Muse!
A Medley of Missed Calls
It seems that I have been on the receiving end of a lot more junk calls of late. Some are from random mobile numbers, which makes them hard to trace. Others are from London, Manchester and Liverpool, among other places, and they are invariably tied to some sort of scam.
Quite why the frequency of these calls has increased now is beyond me.
The Slide to Incompetence
I am far from perfect, and have made more mistakes than I care to admit, but sometimes, I can do nothing wrong, and still wind up caught in problems and strife. Needless to say, that’s where I start to get really annoyed. The key area of strife in my life is without a doubt work, and of late it seems the powers that be at the warehouse and with the transport team are conspiring to make life harder for everyone.
The biggest problem appears to be a lack of internal coordination. Deliveries are not going out when they should, collections are happening at random and without communication with customers, and items are being collected on the customer’s word, without prior arrangement at any level of the company. The whole situation is a mess, and it will often fall upon the shoulders of store staff to deal with it. We are the first port of call for customers, and woe betide the notion that someone in deliveries or transport contact the customers directly. If the buck can be passed, it will be passed.
Even simple deliveries are failing. I requested a pair of matching trims for a customer, and they got two different trims, plus damage to one of their products. They only ordered five items! It’s then the store that gets the aggro, though to be fair to this customer he knows it’s not my fault.
The Great Delay
It’s the most anticipated game in history, but the developers of Grand Theft Auto VI, Rockstar, have pushed back the release date yet again. From originally being due out this year, to then being slated for a May 2025 release, we’re now looking at exactly one year from today. Needless to say, a lot of fans are only half-joking when they question if they’ll see this fabled game at all. Still, what this does suggest is that the studio is doing everything in its power to ensure the game is as polished as possible before it launches. If GTA VI were a bug-riddled mess upon release, it would wreck Rockstar. It’s better to take time and care to ensure it launches in its best possible state, than to rush it.
I do have to wonder if it will actually meet its new release date, or if something else will happen.
Seeking Security Elsewhere
My job-hunting activities have continued, albeit so far without any meaningful success. There’s nothing out there that appeals to me, or that I feel I can do to a good standard. The one place I really want remains stubbornly closed to me.
My efforts have redoubled in the wake of my earlier concerns about my employers. The situation with the warehouse and transport is creating all sorts of headaches, and it makes me dread to think what might happen if we got busier. Yes, we should want more customers and more sales, but if as a company we can’t get right what we currently have, what happens if business expands? Simple orders featuring no more than five items are going wrong. It’s not the warehouse or transport teams that then field angry phone calls, or have to make unpleasant calls, to set things right. Alas, until the right opportunity comes along, I am stuck.
Breaking Ground
Of late I have managed to make some decent progress with the final part of the Chon’ith Saga, having breached 56,000 words. Considering The Awakening is some 73,000 words, and The Schism is approximately 80,000 words, it is fair to say I am approaching the conclusion of the story. I have written several of The Reckoning’s most pivotal scenes, including one that will hopefully contain some shock value, and I have a broad idea of how I aim to end the story.
I suspect it will be emotional. I’ve been working on this particular saga since 2019, and watched as the characters and setting evolved, morphing into what is now on the page. The original ending is still in my head, but the story can’t really pan out that way, not anymore. It’s getting to the crunch, and with luck I’ll soon be in a position to submit the first draft to my publisher.
The Reckoning is not my only project. I have made some good progress on a joint project I’m developing with my brother-in-law. I need to keep at that, so that too can be submitted to my publisher, and in the meantime I’m awaiting the next round of edits for The Forest, which is the start of a whole new series. I may have mentioned this before, but The Forest is aimed as the starting point for a multiverse adventure, the full details of which I haven’t fully mapped out yet.
They Shall Not Grow Old…
The 11th marked Remembrance Day, which as always is a poignant moment. It is not the only time to remember the fallen, but it is the time when everyone pauses to do so. To return to such times should be unimaginable, yet with conflicts all around the world serving as potential flashpoints, we should not be complacent. Those who fought in World War I and World War II represent generations of bravery and heroism, and sadly they are nearly all gone now, so each new generation needs to be the torchbearer, holding the lanterns of memory so that we never forget what was sacrificed for our freedoms.
Downpours
The rain has been a steady, and irritating companion of late. I get it, we’re in November (and a surprisingly mild November at that), but the constant downpours are a downer. I can’t comfortably use my headphones in wet weather!
The Festive Season Begins
Well, sort of. As far as I am concerned, the Christmas season doesn’t start until the 1st of December at the earliest. As far as society at large is concerned, it seems that Christmas starts on the 1st of November, if not earlier.
I do get that preparations for Christmas should start before December. Last-minute scrambles to get presents, food and accessories are not a good idea. Still, considering that November is my birthday month, I’d rather not have my birthday overshadowed by Christmas, and I’d rather Christmas was contained to December, so as to keep the magic. Christmas is a special time of year, and I do love it, but it’s easy to get over-saturated with it all.
My hometown usually holds a Christmas Lights Festival in the middle of November, and the 15th was when this year’s little ceremony took place. In the middle of the town centre is a Christmas market, which is not so much of a market a set of food stalls. There’s a hot dog stand, a crepe stand, another crepe stand that only does donuts (yes, I know, weird), a baguette and Yorkshire pudding wrap stand, a cheese stand, and a beer and mulled wine stand.
The market will be in place right through until Christmas, but on the 15th it was joined by carnival rides and games of various kinds, not that me and mine partook in them. My daughter is not fond of them, and to be fair, they’re not a big draw for me or my wife either. We were in town mainly for one reason, the fireworks:
After the rather nice display, we headed home.
Outside the Comfort Zone
On Monday I was rather suddenly roped into doing a conference call at work. I felt a little bit trapped, and would have liked a bit more help in finding the info I needed, but I feel I got through it without too much difficulty. I mean, I’ve done conference calls before, just not with my current employer. You could say I was dropped into a situation a little bit outside of my comfort zone, but sometimes that’s good. It forces you to think, and to avoid complacency.
The Birthday Meerkat!
It is that time of year again. I have successfully completed another orbit around the sun, and maybe, just maybe, absorbed a little more wisdom along the way.
Hah! I don’t feel wiser, though I do feel older! I am however, generally content, aside from a few aspects of my life that I wouldn’t mind changing, such as having a fatter bank balance, or a somewhat more satisfying job. There’s more to appreciate than there isn’t, such as my long-suffering wife, and the beacon of light that is my daughter. Between them, and all of my family, I am very fortunate, and they made sure my birthday was a peaceful one. Granted, things did not pan out in a completely smooth manner – my parents’ car broke, so they couldn’t come and see me – but overall, my birthday gave me what I needed.
With that, I sign off another Muse, and when I return, we shall face December down together!
