Just going back through my photo library and came across this screenshot I took of myself in the audience of Top Gear back in 2019.

A couple of things you need to know:

1) I don't drive.  I can't drive.  I'm forbidden from even learning to drive because of sleep apnoea (currently being treated via a CPAP machine). 

2) As I can't drive, arriving at the Top Gear studio by taxi turned out to be.. awkward. Not because the route is difficult, nor for the lack of taxis, but without a car, you'll be standing around to get into the studio.  There's nowhere at all to sit at the main drop-off point until several buses come to collect you and take you to the other side of Dunsfold Park aerodrome.  I think I ended up waiting 30-45 minutes.

3) I used to work at Dunsfold Park aerodrome after Memset moved there from Guildford's Surrey Research Park.  We took the building directly next door to Top Gear's hangar/studio and facilities.  Top Gear were our neighbours.  We moved in towards the end of the Jeremy Clarkson era and still got to watch a lot of crazy stuff happen when they were switching presenters - twice.  Not only that, but was witness to the filming of several things: a reverse car stunt chase from Matthew Vaughn's The Kingsmen.  The Paris plane sequence from A Theory of Everything.  London Has Fallen (which was pretty interesting), but the big one was watching an entire film unit practice stunts for Star Wars: A Solo Story on trucks that drove up and down the main runway with a camera crew filming everything.  It was probably the train heist that appears in the the final film.  We even saw a Wookie (Chewie) on the back of truck trundle down the runway which was probably the most surreal experience of my life.  I wasn't even in the film industry at this point.  It seems to follow me as much as I follow it.  But for those that were thinking, "How did Martyn get to Dunsfold Park each day?" - well, the answer was the company provided a minibus service from Guildford station twice a day.

4) So now I'm in the Top Gear studio - my former neighbours (at this point I'd left Memset to go work for an e-commerce agency in Wimbledon) - and it really is an impressive studio space.  They were filming two episodes when I was there (judging by the notes left on one the cameras I managed to get a look at) but stayed for only one because after several hours standing up, my feet were understandably killing me.   I was practically doing silly walks right at the back of the main audience at one point.  Thankfully they were filming something else at the back of the studio at the time.  I left after they shot the first few parts of the episode.  I had seen enough.

(Side note: Before my sleep apnoea diagnosis, I was learning to drive during my time at Memset - being picked up at the office at Dunsfold Park and either returning to it, or driving myself home.  When I was driving myself back to the office one day, I spotted The Stig driving a Bentley on his way out of the aerodrome.  He, honestly(!), was still wearing the costume and helmet - and no, we never saw him out of it during all the time were were there.  They kept the mystery going even when the cameras weren't rolling.)

.. somebody will call me or reach out via LinkedIn to ask if my employers (or soon to be former employers) need X, Y or Z services.  Or the "buy our tat" sales pitch as I call it.

Firstly, cold calls like this rarely, rarely lead to sales (or even an evaluation).  Secondly, I'm being made redundant alongside 36 other people.  It is public knowledge (see social media and many games sites reporting on it).  What does that say about the general state of a company and its finances?  Finally, why are you calling me on my personal mobile number?  I haven't given you permission. 

I had THREE people reach out to me today (two by phone) to sell their tat.  The first was asking about our use of Kubernetes in the business.  The second one hurt: it was Cloudflare.  I had recently applied for a position there and I had thought it was somebody from their hiring team to tell me that they wanted to speak to me about the job and availability, etc.  No.  It was about how they're working with more game companies and to help with zero trust access (effectively a VPN replacement - used this back at KPS for a client and it was very good).  

Finally, somebody from Kandji sent me a LinkedIn message wanting to know who the best person was at my company who manages MacOS/iOS devices because they wanted to sell us their MDM product.  I explained everything to them and blocked them.

I shall leave you with this (being a fan of Gilbert & Sullivan).  I'm making my own little list.

I both enjoy and fear job interviews.  I feel that I don't do enough to cover everything being asked.  I feel that I am rambling/repeating myself, or I forget vital experiences that could make or break getting the job.  It's incredibly nerve racking (especially having not done it for a while).

I had two interviews yesterday for two jobs that I'd really like to get (not all at once, unless I pull a Foundation[1] and clone myself like Cleon I) and I couldn't tell you how they went other than one of them mentioned being over qualified, which from my experience over more than 29 years, generally means that I'm not likely to get the job.  It's a blessing and a curse.   So that's put the wind up me a bit.  And I may have even taken that out of context.  That's how much like a rabbit caught in the headlights I felt!  I also remembered that I had been using more SAN kit than I thought I had because when do you a job like I've been doing for close to three decades, everything tends to blur and I have to write everything down (though the good thing about that is that I am well known, presently and formally, for my thorough documentation - as well as the management of the systems that power the documentation - ha!).   I had a whole bunch of things written down, and I didn't use it.  Sigh.

The other interview is for a job that feels as if it would bring back a return to my days MPC where I'd travel to film studios and prepare/remove/fix equipment as necessary.  Except rather than the kit being in production offices where the VFX team would be - it would actually be on-set.  On-set of original television and film productions from a major streaming service (no, not that one - nor that one, or even that one - THAT one).  Now, I've been on-sets before (perks of the job) to observe, but I haven't had to touch anything.  I'm aware of etiquette and generally how these things work.  That, however, could be a disadvantage even though I'm gone through all manner of things with different hardware, software, operating systems and so on within post-production and having had to deal with a few unfortunate situations along the way (which were ultimately resolved - either by myself, production or through other means).

I still remember getting a bollocking off of the production manager at MPC who looked after all the assets that went out to film studios when I had to swap out a PC which had failed at Shepperton Studios. The PC had I swapped out was destined for something else, but the PM was on holiday and I had to make a decision.  We can't have artists not being able to work, so I swapped it and got the old machine repaired when it came back.  And when the PM returned, I still got a bollocking.  Sigh.  As my boss at Supermassive says, "Do it now, beg for forgiveness later."   Loads of lessons were learned at MPC and Imagineer Systems.  It was all excellent experience.

So I have no idea how that interview panned out because I get the feeling that the on-set experience is essential. But regardless, I've exhibited kit at Las Vegas (and had to set everything up in my hotel room and use crafty ways of bypassing the hotel firewall to get stuff done - and I did)

I've taken server hardware (like you see above) to various VFX studios in Europe and the US - it doesn't matter where it goes, I can be efficient, organised and get the job jobbed. I still have another couple of interviews in case I've stuffed up these first two(!), so there's always that - but this is the part where I am wringing my hands like a worried parent whose child has done something very bad and you just don't know what to do with them.

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[1] - Foundation, alongside Severance, is probably one of my all time favourite TV series of all time.  Incredible sci-fi that's based on the works of one of the greatest pioneers of science fiction, Isaac Asimov.  A visually awe-inspiring series.  And when Outpost VFX reached out a years ago about working for them, part of me was very excited because they worked on the show and especially the part where Demerzel rips her face off in series one.  But the VFX sector, like the games sector, is an unstable and fickle industry and nothing came of it.

"Huge wife breaks out at Edinburgh's Arthur's Seat" - as seen on Sky News' YouTube channel.

Several more rejections came through this week.  One really hacked me off because it was something that I was a subject matter expert on (email delivery) and apparently I didn't have the relevant experience (which I do).  Got to love templates and push-button rejections.  When technology takes humanity out of the process, you're doing it wrong even though it may still be beneficial to your organisation. 

What was even annoying was a Civil Service job which paid extraordinarily well and was based in London.  Spent 45 minutes filling in the form (and having to anonymise everything and copy and paste lots of stuff).  After that was done, about 20 minutes later an email came in to say they screwed up the locations at which the job was offered and if I were interested, please apply again.  Inaudible scream that only dogs can hear

Anyway, robotic, impersonal rejections aside, there has actually be some good progress with several companies.  I had a first interview this week with a position that I am really, really, really keen on and involves the use of something that rhymes with "Mmm.  Meal.  Bingeing."  It's gone well enough to go to a second interview - so every fibre of my being is crossed for this one.  

Then there is another role that involves Apple TV+ Original Productions, which is very exciting for obvious reasons,  there's an IT manager role, and one based around medical software. (My sister will be proud, hopefully!)

So...