Interesting day all round really...

Today was just one of those ODD days.

Firstly, the local BBC film crew turned up early doors to record some shots & an interview for a news piece that was aired early afternoon and also in the evening. The piece was pretty positive (for a change about games) although the interview kind of got some of the info a little bit wrong :-) but never mind eh... we'll gloss over the fact that being the 2nd top XBLA title isn't the same as being the 2nd top title OVERALL ;)

After that was out of the way, I spent some time trying to find out what had happened to my D300, a new Nikon digital SLR I've treated myself to... and also wondering how I'd tell my wife about it... especially since my current camera was a 40th birthday gift from her.

It seems they (UPS) couldn't find Team17, a huge 16,500sq.ft office block that they'd found many times before. Oh hum, typical given it was my stuff for a change. After mucking my way through a phone auto-response system for 10mins, I left word & directions.

Then it was down to planning a trip away to visit some developers & a publisher liason over in Budapest, which will be quite cool since (a) it will be freezing (b) I've never been. It's just a quick overnight stop, but it'll eat into a weekend given its a Sunday flight - no other options with it being my birthday week that week and I'm not prepared to run the gauntlet with the missis given there's bad-camera-news in the offing.

After that all sorted it was time to chase up the still missing camera and 15mins of phone full left me to arrange to pick it up at the depot after work, better than nothing I presumed.

The rest of the day whizzed by given a stack of emails and work that needed to be sorted and soon it was time for me quite excitedly to jump in the car and go for the camera.

I got to the depot pretty quick, it being a 10min drive from Team17 and first thing; getting in... there were huge, closed gates. Second problem, I'd not noticed that the entrance and exit roads (for some reason, I'm sure it's a good one) are reversed on UPS depots, so there I was on the left, sat blocking the way to a UPS truck on the other side of the gate thing. Queue some frantic reversing and then accelerating through & past the gate before it closed.

I was then led up a dark alley (!) to the customer reception are, which wasn't particularly cosy and was full of very sweary, tired UPS delivery blokes cursing everything - unlike me who was politely waiting for them to sort out the package that they'd failed to deliver, to a huge marked location on a major road that they'd delivered to a hundred times before. (breathe in)

Anyway, when I finally got the attention of one bloke, he wandered off and came back to tell me that the driver wasn't back yet, so I should wait and he'd find out when he'd be back.

10mins later and I find out he's going to be at least another half an hour so I decided to go to some local electrical stores and also grab a bite to eat. After spending a few minutes wandering around a desolate, empty and pretty grotty Comet store I headed for a nearby KFC - I know I'm supposed to be on a healthy eating binge, but I'd not eaten all day.

Cue ten minutes wasted lifetime as they buggered about in the back of the kitchen to an orchestra of deep sighs and grumbles of discontent from about a dozen people. I was at the front, so waited for the server to get to me (finally) and after being asked "what can I get you?" I simply turned and walked out, sans Fillet Burger, but my point was made and I felt less hungry.

So, back to the UPS depot and more fun with the gate, even in the correct lane. Anyway I get back up to reception, into the middle of a slanging match because one driver hasn't done enough deliveries (probably mine, I thought to myself) - and the guy I'd seen earlier toddled off to get my package. 5mins later he appeared with it and then said "Customs charge, £46". Great, now I have no problem with that at all, but I had something like £44.50 on me... "No problem, we can take cards". Cue another wasted 15 mins before he finally announces that neither of my cards will authorise at all - cue 10 mins giving him the right details and then another 5 on the phone before he grins and says they still won't. I grab my cards and walk out.

Getting to the nearest cash point I insert my card and get the cash required, obviously my cards are fine and UPS are just jokers.

Back I go, slyly sneaking under a closing gate as a van pulled out, run up to reception gleefully to find the guy I'd been dealing with not there. A bit of a wait before he arrives and then FINALLY I have my package, at 7.10pm, with the TV show all aired (but safely recorded on Sky+).

I get home (with some fish & chips to celebrate) to my eldest taking the piss out of my "Telephone voice" but young Harry enjoyed the fact that dad had been on telly. I also got an email from Jerry at Media Mill (who also featured) grumbling that they'd made his head look too big, which made me chuckle.

After consuming the fish & chips, which I immediately regretted, I was then asked to go clean some cat shit up (one had been trapped in all day - or most likely hid). Nice. Proper gravy style too - how I managed without retching I don't know... a far cry from doing BBC interviews and I'm not sure I wanted to keep it THAT real.

Spent the rest of the evening trying to sympathise with the missis who appears to have got mumps or something and the odd few minutes arguing that the D80 she bought me shouldn't really have sentimental value like it's some old ring/watch or heirloom and that I wasn't snubbing it - it was just part and parcel of my hobby. I pointed out that she was quick to 'snub' the laptop I'd bought her in place of MY 12" ibook, but that didn't seem to wash, obviously.

One more day in the office before the Iceland trip - and I've got to get my head around the new camera's features pretty quickly. The D300 is gorgeous btw, proper Camera porn!