Semester One almost over!
Well... on Monday 15th December this semester will be finished for me! I have lots to report on and will post it here. Its been everything I expected from University 
Stay tuned!
20th Birthday and Exams!!
Had a great 20th Birthday. Spent most of it in my room on campus (and nipping downstairs to do some laundry). However the nice peeps of J and H block (top floor) bought a tasty chocolate fudge cake for my celebrations. Thanks guys
Well... its exam time too now. I don't want to spend too long speaking about them because I wanna focus on them but all I can say is. I can't wait to go back to LONDON!!!!
Thanks for reading.. peace to you all
Have a happy xmas - or holiday season (whichever you prefer)
Matt is at University!
You wont find much here now. I am really busy with tons of work. However when I get some time off at Xmas I will make a post about my first semester
See ya around!
Tired of it
Tired... about to hit bed. If anyone at work tells me I am not keeping on top of things again I will punch them in the face. Tired of shoveling sh*t at that place all the time.
I ALWAYS keep on top of work duties. As anyone at Pastilles Networks will tell you
Drunken night and still passed
So, I had a bit too much to drink last night. Came home late and had to wake up early for my driving test.
I only remembered I had a exam in the morning while my brains where still in France. I woke up a tad late. Had nothing to eat and couldn't find my counterpart license. Found it in the end. Matty kept his head cool and passed.
Just another day in the mixedmatt disorg
Here, Here, Here!
IPod is here and so am I!
Well, I'm still around. Trying to make a bit of cash before uni as I have nothing saved up and will rely on parents. Will need to ask my manager nicely for more shifts before I leave. On another note I really want to leave work soon. It's become hectic and a drag, I am not enjoying it. Counting down the weeks/days. No doubt I will regret leaving so early for a bit but I am sure I will get over that.
Pictures of heap loads of washing up removed for the time being
University wise. I got access to my PIP (Personal Information Portal) recently and joined the student union. I still need to wait for my results and then I will apply for accommodation.
Soooooo still lots for me to do this summer. I haven't been karting yet. I need to ring up and let friends know.
All my savings for any holiday have gone into university.. it's not like I had saved much anyway.
At the time of posting this I was listening to Rob Thomas - Lonely No More.
I will be back soon......
Finally getting a Ipod!
I ordered an ipod yesterday. I have always had MP3 players on my phone or PSP but I choose something I could store a lot of tracks on and just use for music!
I ordered an ipod classic (80gb version) in black because that’s what colour all my other electrical goods are
Screenie of what I ordered below.
I bought it from additions direct using the 3 months interest free plan. I will be able to pay it off before I reach the 3 months making this ideal for me.
I am expecting a external HDD to come tomorrow too. One I ordered from Amazon. I will write another post tomorrow about me unboxing my brand new ipod
Can't wait!!!!
Life since February
Another long time since I last posted here but here is another post to keep the very few who read entertained
A lot has changed since February I guess. I've finished college and am ready (well nearly) for University. I've seen what Oxford Brookes is like and I love it. I really am looking forward to it. It's been a very different month. I've got even more tired of working in a pub and I am thinking about leaving earlier then intended. Some people really irritate me at work and the whole job just isn't me.
I've got fed up of girls too. Having been led on and played around in the months in between. Then they wonder why they get mucked around! However I definitely will not be joining the gay club at any point in my life 
More about University!! I actually didn't know what Oxford Brookes and the surrounding area was like until I visited about 2 weeks ago!! I already had it down as my firm choice. However I was confident I would like the place. I wasn't wrong. Overall the place had a better feel then Hertfordshire University. There are only a few universities that I considered. They were all highly regarded in the Motorsport world which is what I hope to make my profession. After visiting Oxford Brookes and in comparison to Hertfordshire I found Brookes the most suitable. Here are some piccies of the tour!
Headington Campus. I will be staying in wheatley halls which are about 30mins away from Headington and a bit older. With no en-suite, but catered halls.
Headington Campus again.
Williams F1 Racing car from 2001 in the workshop. Williams are based close to the university in Grove, Oxfordshire. Oxford Brookes is in the heart of "Motorsport Valley"!
Train at Oxford Station.
What it says! Oxford
The Oxford Brookes Formula Student Car.
Students working on the Formula Student Car.
It was a cool day out. Seeing where I would spend my next few years. It's good to know they have a Costa coffee on campus too
Web wise Ferrari fans is doing well with the new design. We have some new staff aboard and have been steadily improving..
I've got months off now.. So I will be here to update this often from now on.
Happy holidays!
Staff Management
Well, I've not posted in a while but I'm back! I have more time so I will certainly post a lot more in this blog
Today I am going to write a article about staff management. This is one vital component that is often overlooked by managers/business owners. It's easy to think we just pay them and they work as they should. In fact staff management is a lot more complicated then that.
Staff Performance
Staff Performance is one area many businesses can improve on. It's not about making them work harder, smarter rather. It's your job to make your staff more productive. Monitor their performance, don't make it obvious though. Everyone hates being monitored and watched (People hate to see people standing over them!).
One way of improving productivity (and in turn performance) is through the basics such as manners and your own mentality towards you staff. Don't think as your staff as just staff or even worse slaves. Remember you need your staff more then they need you!!! A staff member can find another job easier then you can start another business.
By installing processes staff standards and in turn staff performance will increase. These can be written or verbal. Instruct them on better ways to do things, listen to what THEY have to say! I know because you’re the big boss everyone should listen to you but you can make improvements by listening to your staff.
Staff Morale and motivation
Obviously if you spend hours shouting at your staff they aren’t going to be very motivated to do anything
A small firm is one place where motivation can be at its lowest. Some employess can feel overloaded, neglected, or hard done by. It can reach the stage where people start taking time off sick and having de-motivated people around really can create a unhealthy climate for everyone else!
Recognition and advancement leads to employee satisfaction!
Obviously if a staff member is screwing up more then you can tolerate you should sit down and discuss this with the member of staff. Giving them pointers on how to avoid the mistakes that happen last time and putting in some processes for them to follow so they don’t make the same mistakes again. Never grill your staff or demote them!! Remember you can always leaven out criticism too, if things are going better then they did before but still far from being acceptable you can say something like “This is definitely a improvement, but we still have a way to go. Lets spend some time looking over what we can do better”.
By now you have probably figured out just how important employees are. They are more then employees, they are not robots. They are living people by managing effectively they can prosper and in turn so can your business.
If you haven't figured it out by now read it again and again! If you still don't get it then I am afraid this arena really isn't the place for you!
I hope you enjoyed reading this article. I have more coming on business management soon
Targets/Aims/Resolutions for 2008!
As 2007 comes to a end I have been thinking hard about what I would like to achieve in 2008, both personally and in my business. I want to set targets this year and actually stick to them. I didn't set any last year so here they are!
Here are the personal goals I hope to achieve by the end of the year.
- Become fitter then I am now. I was quite athletic before school finished. Now I've left school I can't run 2 metres without stopping for breath. So, Off to the gym!
By a car. Vauxhall Corsa of some sort..
Play badminton.
Race go-karts often!
Now the Business goals!
- Do even better then we did this year with Pastilles Networks.
Launch Apple Elf Hosting!
Have more fun. Work harder and smarter. Hope everyone has a happy and prosperous new year!