Rosalia Rambles

Category: Redundancy Review

  • Redundancy Review, Day 5: “Familial Ties”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: https://rosaliarambles.wordpress.com/2025/06/11/redundancy-review-day-1-a-new-beginning/)

    Good morning allfathers and allmothers, welcome to Day 5 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review

    If you can not tell from today’s iteration of my silly greeting, it is Father’s Day – which is appropriate for using “allfather” cause of Odin, but the only usage of “allmother” I can find is “Narwa the Allmother” from Monster Hunter Rise… which I love to pieces so it might be a redundancy review topic in future.

    I actually did go out with my dad today, which is why I am writing this piece a little later than usual, but I did get a subject for the review portion thanks to it so that has made me happy.

    For those who know me, my history with family has always been a little checkered and difficult, especially in the wake of my transition. There was a lot of friction after I came out properly to them and I reacted in quite a negative way to it, which led to more negativity on both sides as we both dug our heels in.

    Whilst I do not explicitly regret how I acted; there is definitely some element of knowing I did some things I should not have really done, and better ways to approach things.

    But my life philosophy is focusing on the here & now, whatever decisions I made have brought me to the point I am at and I should not dwell on things I could regret, instead choosing to try to live life the best I can.

    Concerning everything I talked about yesterday I actually feel remarkably calm and composed today. Maybe it was the longer amount of sleep I had, or the fact my dreaming was not a nightmare like it so often is. I am relaxed today, despite everything going on in my life currently, and it feels so relieving to actually be relaxed for a change.

    Helping with that is another food delivery from my mother – she works at a food hall so I often receive any product that needs to be wasted due to expiry dates or damaged packaging. These deliveries have been happening long before my redundancy but they are a genuine lifeline now in terms of helping to plan for meals and minimising what needs to be spent during the week.

    Granted it does mean my freezer is full up again when I have been actively trying to empty it out, but y’know, worse problems to have.

    A pretty positive mental state summary today, with the next positive note reminding any readers that I am available for writing work if you want to hire me. I have experience writing sci-fi, fantasy, and grounded pieces of fiction along with a vast swathe of professional business and creative copy in my line of work, I would love the opportunity to work on live projects again.

    Time to move onto the review, which actually does come with a disclaimer today. I will be reviewing the meal I had at Peaberry Grand Cafe in Shrewsbury, whilst I will be including the price in my assessment of the meal it was paid for by my dad (thanks for that!)

    To drink I ordered an Iced Frappe Latte, with the addition of some chocolate syrup. Something like this is a halfway point to what my choice of caffeinated beverage in summer usually is, being a Mocha Frappe. The chocolate flavour was not as pronounced as I would have liked it to be and honestly the coffee flavour was also a bit lacking compared to my taste, but as a vector of caffeine on a hot & humid day like today, it still hit the spot nonetheless.

    Plus I have a soft spot for drinks served in mason jar style glasses, there is a pleasingly rustic charm to them for me so bonus points to Peaberry for that.

    However, the main event was my usual brunch option of choice: a cheeseburger. To some it may seem weird, but to me there is no better option than that to keep me going for the rest of the day. Usually I would order an egg on top of the burger as well, but considering I was on my dad’s dime I did not want to take the piss.

    Even without my extra topping of choice, this was a beyond fantastic burger. The moment I bit into it the juices flowed into my mouth, the homemade beef patty being perfectly seasoned and not at all dry. The pickles underneath the burger were crinkle cut circle ones as opposed to strips, making each bite easier to manage and delivering acidic bursts of joy every time.

    The sauce was about what I would expect from “burger sauce”, some unknown mix of mayo, ketchup, and whatever else the chef might have put in to act as an extra layer of moisture to the burger – perfectly passable but nothing noteworthy.

    And finally, those chunky chips. Proper triple cooked chips with an incredible thickness, seasoned lightly with salt shortly after they came out of the fryer so it adhered properly, not needing any additional salt adding – only thing I needed to add was a small pot of mayo to make them the perfect accompaniment to such a beautiful burger.

    Now, as mentioned this was paid for by my dad, but the total cost of this meal was £18.65, breaking down into £4.65 for my drink and £14 for my food. For the price of the drink whilst it did give me the hit I needed, I definitely think it could have been better as well and if/when I return to Peaberry I will likely pick something else.

    The burger however I think was worth its price and then some. There are a fair few decent spots to get a burger in Shrewsbury, including an award-winning restaurant just a stone’s throw away from where I was today in the form of The Beefy Boys (if I get the resources I am definitely doing a review on them – fucking love that place).

    Peaberry’s cheeseburger though stands out as being of an exceptional quality without going far beyond what I would be expecting to pay elsewhere. At another local cafe I am about to get a standard cafe bacon cheeseburger with chips for around £10, and whilst a £4 jump is a fair bit to consider; the quality is definitely worth it.

    With potentially making a few people reading this hungry, we reach today’s conclusion. Thank you for reading my words today, if you are around your father figure today I hope you have a good day, and if this day is more difficult to you for whatever reason, I hope you are able to take care of yourself today. Treat yourself regardless, you definitely deserve a relaxing Sunday.

    For more information on Peaberry, visit their website here (a little outdated, but it has the vibe): my-peaberry.com | Shrewsbury Grand Cafe & Party Venue

  • Redundancy Review: Day 4, “Uncertainty”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: https://rosaliarambles.wordpress.com/2025/06/11/redundancy-review-day-1-a-new-beginning/)

    Good morning friends and foes, welcome to Day 4 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

    Yup, I am going to be writing this even on a weekend, even if I did slip a little bit on my wakeup routine and slept in an extra hour.

    There is not going to be any job search update news on weekends, specifically because I intend to try and keep weekends to myself unless a seriously good role appears that I will make the extra effort for.

    Got plenty of mental state stuff to ramble about though, so I will launch straight into that.

    What is taking its toll the hardest right now is the waiting, or as the title suggests, the uncertainty. Currently I am waiting to hear back from a handful of jobs I am pretty excited about, but also waiting for the government services to get back to me with news of either my redundancy payments or my unemployment benefit.

    I have never been good at waiting personally, the sense of anticipation that builds when I know something is coming usually puts me into a state of limbo until the thing arrives.

    Uncertainty is not just coming into play when it comes to waiting though. In general recently I have had a lot of self-doubt creeping in, both in regards to jobs and my writing. It usually comes as a result of tiredness and my brain becoming overactive in regards to how I perceive my writing.

    In the end, I am doing this for myself more than anything else. Writing is a passion, and one of the best pieces of advice I have ever seen in relation to art in general was “don’t let it die inside your head” – which is my intention as I get back into the groove of things.

    That said, I continue to be available for writing work. If you want fiction, fact, or fun topics covered with my writing style, please do not hesitate to get in touch. I would love to get involved with people’s projects.

    So yesterday I reviewed some local food, and today I will be reviewing another local place but instead covering a cold, refreshing drink.

    During lunchtime yesterday my partner decided to treat me out for a milkshake, and in Shrewsbury there is only one place we go to for it: Simply Sweet.

    It is actually a fairly recent addition to the lineup of independent businesses in town, having only opened a year ago, but in that time it has become a firm favourite place for its varied offerings in terms of both milkshakes and desserts.

    Specifically I usually go for what is known as an “Out of this World” milkshake: Milkyway, Mars, chocolate sauce, and coal dust. This goes down extremely smoothly, the mix of chocolate bars and ice cream blended together make a rich but not stodgy drink – especially welcome as the weather heats up.

    I also have to give a shoutout to the owner as well, he is an incredibly genuine guy who always seems happy to see us as regulars, chatting happily about what we have been up to and how he is going with the business. His attitude about working for himself shows through in the quality of his work.

    In terms of price, Simply Sweet does position itself more at a higher end, with my regular sized milkshake being £6.50, however I feel this price is extremely worth it given the quality of what you receive.

    That covers everything for today, more concise for weekend reading. Thank you for taking the time to read today, and whatever you get up to today I hope you have a good one. 

    For more information on Simply Sweet, visit their website here: https://simplysweetshrews.com/

  • Redundancy Review: Day 3, “Mixed Emotions”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: https://rosaliarambles.wordpress.com/2025/06/11/redundancy-review-day-1-a-new-beginning/)

    Good morning alligators and crocodiles, welcome to Day 3 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

    Have to admit, waking up today was a struggle. My body felt extremely heavy for some reason and the temperature under my duvet was damn near ideal for me to just go, “screw it”, and sleep in a bit more – but I persevered, so here I am with buttered crumpets and my mug of coffee.

    Something that is keeping me going a lot in recent days is social connection, being able to talk to friends or have unique interactions with random people online. In the leadup to the axe dropping I struggled a fair bit to be around my friends, but now I am striving to hang out more, arranging coffee dates or informal meets with people.

    With regards to the job search I applied to that Jagex role I mentioned yesterday, but shortly after I was scrolling LinkedIn and I saw a post saying that Poncle was hiring a QA engineer.

    For those unfamiliar, Poncle are the developers of Vampire Survivors, and well…

    …I really like that game.

    The application itself was also interesting for one specific question: “What is the most interesting bug you’ve ever found and how did you go about reproducing it?”. It was a difficult question to nail down what I wanted to write.

    Breaking software might be my career, but if I am honest it is also a way of life for me – if just because I am a magnet for bugs even when off shift.

    I eventually settled on a story from my Codemasters days, which ended up being so long I could not send it as a Discord message for my friends to check out, and I will tell that story another time.

    It had the blend of a difficult bug, a consistently inconsistent repro method, collaboration with another person, and a positive knock-on resolution. I was actually somewhat proud of reading the forums after the fact and seeing the chatter around that crash dying down to some degree.

    Forum horror stories on the other hand are for different day though.

    Time to move onto the review, and you might be wondering what topic might be next, considering I went from video game to instant coffee.

    Well, today the topic is food – specifically my lunch from yesterday.

    This is a chicken and coleslaw baguette from a local sandwich shop near to me in Shrewsbury called “Brambles”. I was out doing an errand walk and it was next to me as I started my walk home, so I decided to treat myself.

    In addition to the main fillings I requested the baguette to be buttered and for the sandwich to have salt & pepper applied after it had been made. The chicken was a breast that had been shredded up which did admittedly leave it a little dry if it were to be on its own, but the butter and coleslaw more than helped make up for what it lacked.

    Speaking of, the coleslaw was an absolutely amazing addition to the sandwich. In general I am someone who adores a good homemade coleslaw and this was no exception, the dressing was perfectly creamy whilst not being runny/watery and there were massive pieces of onion and cabbage within the mix, making it the ideal chunky sandwich topping.

    What made it the perfect lunch though was the price. When compared to other chain shops around town who charge extortionate amounts for a subpar sandwich, being able to get a modestly sized meal for the price of £4.10 which goes to support a local business, there is no question I will continue going to Brambles for the foreseeable future.

    That does it for today, a little bit shorter than yesterday but a bit more reflective of my tired state. I hope reading about the stuff I have been up to has been a positive influence on your day, and whatever you get up to today, I hope you have a good day. You deserve it.

    For more information about Brambles, check out their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Bramblesshrewsbury/

  • Redundancy Review: Day 2, “Adjusting”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: Redundancy Review: Day 1, “A New Beginning” – Rosalia’s Rambles)

    Good morning dalies and mentlegen, welcome to Day 2 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

    I kept saying to myself yesterday that now the hard part is ahead of me: actually keeping up with writing this every day and maintaining the routine. My therapist has always said to me that it takes 21 days for the brain to start adapting to a change, so I guess that is the informal goal for myself currently.

    Trying to get back into my previous routine is definitely hitting hard as well. In the days before getting the official news of my redundancy I really slipped in getting out of bed at my usual time – got a delicious mocha next to me to help with shaking off the sleepiness.

    The mood has shifted as well. Whilst in the immediate aftermath I felt a lot of relief of finally having the axe come down; I feel a fair bit of melancholy today. 

    All of my colleagues are insanely talented people who were absolute joys to be around, and while we do have a Discord server for us to stay connected there is a twinge of sadness about the lost potential of what we had become capable of as a company, especially as we were on track to do some amazing things.

    In terms of my job search, I am intending to apply for a Producer role at Jagex today, working on their new game in the Runescape universe. Fully remote with travel into the office 4 days a year for team days, which sounds exciting.

    Also sorted out both my redundancy application and Jobseekers’ Allowance application yesterday as well. Filling out government forms can be extremely demoralising and degrading at times if you ask me, especially when it comes to repeating information across both of them, but whatever can help keep me afloat whilst I find my next role.

    That said, I am available for writing work of any variety still. If you need professional copy, script writing, or bespoke fiction I would love to hear from you and discuss your project – any experience would help me round out my portfolio and gain a better understanding of a wide range of clients.

    Now, time for us to move onto the review.

    “But Rosa! How are you going to ensure you have enough things to review for however long this series goes on?”

    I am very glad you asked, strawman representation of my audience that I just made up. There are two main factors that are going to keep this series going as long as it needs to. 

    The first of which being that I enjoy a massively wide variety of different activities like cooking, card games, video games, music, films, and plushies. I often refer to myself as a “collector of fine things”, and these fine things will ensure I do not run out of topics for review any time soon.

    The second factor being that out of all the things I enjoy, I am not above picking an extremely esoteric item to discuss, which segues us nicely into today’s review…

    Yup, I am reviewing a pot of instant coffee today.

    TrueStart is a brand I have only recently taken notice of, but upon searching out their story based upon what is written on the packaging they have quickly become my go-to instant coffee now.

    For a brief background on the company, they are what is known as a “B Corp”, an accreditation designed to offer distinction to for-profit entities that are striving to have a positive impact on people and the environment, maintaining transparency and accountability. Considering the coffee industry is mainly dominated by Nestle, it is refreshing to see a company actively striving for change within that space.

    That was partially the inspiration for making the switch to TrueStart Instant. I was a prolific drinker of Nescafe Azera specifically, and whilst it went down pretty smooth for an instant coffee I was on the lookout for moving away from the Nestle ecosystem. Cue a trip in Asda where their packaging caught my eye, and I put it in my basket – prompting what is now a permanent change.

    Outside of the care and concern for the environment, TrueStart Barista Grade Instant Coffee is absolutely incredible in terms of taste and strength. As someone who primarily drinks mocha due to the flavour of standalone coffee being a bit too pungent for my taste, I still appreciate a strong hit of coffee within my drink of choice.

    TrueStart definitely delivers this.

    Additionally as well, at least in the Asda where I shop, picking out TrueStart products does not break the bank – especially compared to the prices of other leading brands, letting me enjoy a smooth coffee flavour whilst knowing my money has gone towards a positive cause.

    I think that covers everything I want to talk about today, a bit more of a ramble than what I posted yesterday, but I hope reading it has made your day a bit brighter. Whatever you get up to today, I hope you have a good day. I know you will smash it.

    For more information, and to buy TrueStart coffee, follow this link here: TrueStart Coffee | Feel Good Coffee | B Corp | Carbon Negative

  • Redundancy Review: Day 1, “A New Beginning”

    As of yesterday, 10th June 2025, I am redundant.

    Well, that is a question I have been asking myself for a fair few days after getting the initial news that the company I worked at was in trouble. Even if I saw it coming to some degree it was still a shocking thing to process, but weirdly enough now that I know the outcome I am… relaxed in a way?

    Obviously there is a tonne of stress still to come, from finding a new job to managing finances during this time, though the former is partially why I am writing this.

    One of the things I knew I needed after the axe dropped was a sense of routine, something to keep me getting up in the morning and not just rotting in bed as I would be so inclined to instead.

    That gave birth to this idea: “The Redundancy Review”…

    …I really do like alliteration with R words huh. Anyway, back on track.

    This blog of mine has been dormant for a while, partially because I was busy advancing my primary career of working in production and directing all of my writing energy towards proposals, scripts, and all other sorts of professional copy. Now it is time for me to make a comeback!

    I still have aspirations of being able to work as a copywriter in any industry, so I will be using this blog to build up a new portfolio of work alongside my job search. 

    The Redundancy Review will be a daily article series, written each morning as I eat breakfast and drink a delicious mocha, with the following structure:

    • A brief emotional check-in, talking about how I feel in regards to my situation and any stumbles I have encounter
    • Job search update, any fun roles I have applied for or any opportunities I think are cool
    • Finally, the real “review” part of the article, where I talk about something I enjoy at varying lengths

    I will also be including a call to action in each article, emphasising that I am available for all sorts of work. If you like what you are reading and want to inform me of an opportunity or offer me paid writing work, I would absolutely love to hear from you.

    With the introduction to the series out of the way, let me inaugurate it with the first Redundant Review of something I have been loving to play recently…

    Oh yeah, we are starting strong with this one.

    Beat Saber is a Virtual Reality (VR) rhythm game developed by Beat Games and released in 2019 for Playstation VR and PCVR platforms, and standalone mode for Meta Quest platforms.

    The main objective of the game is to smash blocks with various directional arrows (or dots for hitting them in any direction) in time with a song whilst walls and bombs fly by you, needing to keep your head and sabers away from them respectively.

    I got into it recently as a way of exercising within my home in a way that is more mentally stimulating to me – and it is certainly a workout. 

    Your centre of gravity gets time in by needing to lean your body side-to-side to avoid any walls, whilst your knees get their activity by needing to duck under the same obstacle. Specifically in my case as well, once I really get into a song I can feel my hips swaying and my feet bouncing, dancing along with my lower body whilst my upper body is twisting and turning to hit the blocks.

    My reaction time has also definitely improved from when I started out. Initially I would struggle to keep a good combo going on some “Normal” difficulty songs, even failing a handful of the custom levels I had installed – but now I am able to competently clear a good majority of “Hard” songs and even pushing myself towards “Expert” for some.

    As mentioned above, Beat Saber supports custom levels. These maps are designed by community members and uploaded on various sites, with my site of choice being BeatSaver – Home. My choice primarily includes original songs by Hololive talents and the RWBY OST, with a few mainstream songs in there as well.

    That said, custom levels are not needed to enjoy Beat Saber. Built into the base game is a wide array of original songs, including an entry by legendary power metal band Dragonforce, “Power of the Saber Blade”, one of my personal favourites to play due to its high-intensity note patterns and upbeat energy of the song.

    And even beyond what is already available, as of time of writing, there are 245 DLC songs across a massive range of artists and genres, including:

    • A full Linkin Park pack
    • A full Imagine Dragons pack
    • A full Lady Gaga pack
    • Various iconic internet culture songs, such as Sandstorm by Darude, and Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd

    There is something for everyone in Beat Saber, and with how easy it is to add custom levels on PC I can guarantee if my review has made you interested, something will be out there for you.

    Well, that’s Day 1 of the Redundancy Review in the bag. I hope you have enjoyed reading this today, and whatever you get up to today, I hope you have a good day. You definitely deserve it.

    You can purchase Beat Saber from the following locations:

    Steam: Beat Saber on Steam

    Playstation: Beat Saber – PS VR & PS VR2 Games | PlayStation (UK)

    Meta Quest: Beat Saber on Meta Quest | Quest VR games | Meta Store