Week 132: Creatures

• A game I was extremely obsessed with as a youth was Creatures. What confuses me is that nobody talks about playing Creatures as kids. I hear a lot about Neopets, Myst, Riven, Theme Hospital, The Sims, Age of Empires etc but did Creatures only happen to me? It’s an artificial life game about some creatures that you rear and can breed. You can teach them things, they have a complex biology, including an actual genome, when they get sick you can monitor their levels of antigens and antibodies. It taught 10 year old me a lot about science and I loved it.
• The FT’s maternity policy is 20 weeks full pay then statutory (£151 per week). What I only realised this week is that after 20 weeks, they will continue your pension contributions in line with what they would have been had you not been on leave. That’s pretty great. One of the things I like about working for a Financial News organisation is they do basically have their business together when it comes to employee finance.
• We’re moving house this week. For various reasons, I did a bit of an Irish goodbye on my neighbours. This week I’m at my parents house, Lachie is overseeing the movers, and then next week: BRIGHTON, BABY.
• I had another Keeping In Touch day with work. It was better this week I think. Starting the day off by listening to “Work, bitch” by Britney a couple of times definitely didn’t hurt.
• I will continue to have a little think about biggley winks.
• In week 114 I mentioned a cheque I had not paid in¹ because I hate doing that, even though it was for £50. It had taken me so long that the cheque had become invalid. Well, guess what, Legal and General said they’d send me a new cheque but what they actually did was just refund the money to my account. My do nothing strategy pays off again.
• I’ve started buying children’s clothes on Depop.
• Rowan and Glynn took my work treasure hunt to the next level to commemorate a year of WFH. Rowan told me his treasure hunt was going to make my treasure hunt look like it had been done by a child, and it did. I feel very proud of them for going so massively over the top with it and reading all of the feedback from the Product and Technology team really cheering, it was a smash hit!
• It was my birthday this week. A boring number between 30 and 35. My three year old opened my presents for me. She got me an easter egg and some of those little fluffy chicks made of pipe cleaners. Thanks babe - I love a theme. I also got two Anna Jones cook books, One Pot One Planet, and The Modern Cook’s Year. As usual, if you have either of these, please share your favourite recipes with me!

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