...and a new house!

Yes, I've finally found a new house to move into as the one I'm renting was recently sold. It's in Willingham and is a 3 bedroomed terraced place on a main road. The decor is a little tired but it is big enough upstairs and has ouddles of room downstairs if you include the utility room, garage and great conservatory. It has all white goods too. I managed to knock them down £55 pcm off the rent and get them to waive the admin charges so not a bad deal. The garden has an ok sized lawn and some decking. It is west facing so when I'm there in the evenings it should get lots of good light and sun both in the garden and conservatory. It has a drive big enough for atleast 2 cars out front and the garage for bikes.

It is very close to the "always open Co-op", the bus stop for Tom and the Duke of Cumberland with it's excellent pies and ale. Willingham also has a chinese and Indian takeaway, doctors surgery, post office, butchers, barbers and DIY place that I can remember off the top of my head.

I just need to get my head round the thought of physically packing up and moving and all the admin involved!!!

Excited.

Pharmaceutical intervention?

No one likes taking pills, but no one likes it when things are n't right, right? So at what point do you decide to seek pharmaceutical intervention? Usually it works but there is always a little risk and you don't want to start taking these things too often or you might miss them when you stop. You don't want to lightly start taking something that you could be on forever either so it is a tough call.

I'm gonna hit 42 soon so this question is probably going to get more and more relevant!

Of course, I work in the Pharma industry as well so probably know a little more than most about the good and not so good things that go on. I often can't say I'm proud to work in this industry, but just occassionally, I am. For instance when my company recently announced that it was donating over a million pounds per year to help save lives from common "3rd world diseases". Yet I still hear senior managers complaining that research is not delivering ebough considering what it costs.

I guess it has to be a case-by-case consideration. I recently decided to pop the pills. Hope it pays off and I don't regret it.

That was the weekend that was.....

...and it's nearly over! Why do they go so fast? I was denied the opportunity to spend saturday afternoon with my children which was a real shame. I did get to spend most of the weekend with my new lady (well not so new, it's been seven weeks now!) and that was nice.

Dust and distortion!!!

So, my trip to Japan got cancelled due to the Icelandic volcano doust cloud that is supposed to be hanging over the country. It's been so sunny for the last few days it is hard to imagine it being up there! I'd just got through the 4-5 days before "I don't wanna go" phase and at the day before I'd got into my usual "this is gonna be good!" place. So there were mixed feelings really. A bit of sadness (but the whole trip will probbably happen in May sometime) but some joy that in this beautiful weather I will get to spend extra time with the people around me that I love to spend time with. However, the dowside is that I will not get a weekend with the kids in the next 10 days due to other people's plans already made and the lack of a desire to change them. So for most of today (Saturday) I'm on my own.

There is only one thing to do in that case really (well once I've fed the OCD by cleaning the house!). That is to go and spend money I don't really have. Today I acquired locally (at t'interweb prices) a lurverly Boss Ds-1 distortion pedal. So I finally enter the land of foot-controlled guitar effects. I'm very much into the Chili Pepper's Otherside and as that has a nice distorted solo it's getting a bit of a hammering today. Hope the neighbours like it!

This week I have been told that I'm too negative all the time (there's an irony!) and that I have a bit of a dark side regarding my temper. I am aware that both of those are true to some extent but now I'm starting to wonder if there is more to them than I thought.

Stress....don't ya just love it?!!

Sooo much going on at the moment it's difficult to know what to concetrate on and writing blogs probably is n't one of them. I'm off to Japan on Saturday for a week of leadership training and then following a weekend free in Osaka I have to go on site to work for a day before flying home. I don't like long flights but luckily I'm in business class.

I've managed to upset somebody I'm starting to care about through my own thoughless actions. Trying to help people can sometimes get you into trouble with others if you don't understand each person's needs and/or get them balanced right.

I'm still trying to find a house as I'm getting kicked out of mine by a landlord who changed his mind about the "long-term investment" thing. Everything that is a bit more expensive than what I'm paying now is nothing like as nice so today I'm off to see one that is 30% more but if I take it on it will leave me completely broke.

Last weekend Steve, Andy and I started our "training" for the C2C. That will soon be the subject of another blog.

On top of all that I'm off work sick atthe mo which is a very rare event. A quite nasty virus based around D&V with more of the d than v, thrown in: awful aches and pains everywhere but my head and temperature going up and down and you are just about there. Fortunately, the timing is perfect as I should be all recovered for the big trip, thank goodness!

Lol, life is fun!

That was the week that was......

.....and like other weeks it has shot by. Granted it was just a four day week, and a real four day week at that, none of this "supposed to be a four day week but being too busy to take that day off that was booked" (and loosing holiday, what a sin!). Work is busy - it's the end of the financial year and that means lots of appraisal and objectives stuff to sort out to ensure everybody gets a fair pay rise and bonus for the year. There's the Leadership Course I'm on. That's causing work in two ways. Then there's the forthcoming trip to Japan, I have n't even started working on that yet. Then's there's the projects and the team. Still, I do like to be busy at work, nothing worse than having to look for stuff to do.

With work and the kids that has not left time for much else. Managed to get the car through it's MOT. When I called the garage they said it had passed without any work, that was strange because I was sure there was a sidelight not working. However, when I got there they said that a bracket holding up the centre section of the exhaust needed welding. I booked it in for next Friday when I can cycle to work.

Beyond that I have found a little time for dating this week. "She" was away last weekend when I did not have the kids so, frustrated, I had to amuse myself working, playing the guitar, going to a garden centre and riding my bike. I saw her for a cuppa on monday early evening, which was very nice but short. Then we spoke on the phone for some time late on Tuesday. Weds her routine had changed so no gym. I went round to hers and she had traditional pies for tea, super! What a treat. Then in spite of her hatred she let me watch the footy, what a star! She got so bored of the second half (poor thing!) she went upstairs to watch the little tele. I stayed down, watched the great Arsenal fightback against Barca (finished 2-2) and drunk her daughters beer!!!!

Thursday was busy. Car to garage, cycle to work, cycle back to garage and then back into town for "Bling ya Ting", beers and JD. it was very good nigth. Some of the acts were very talented.

So, it's Good Friday. I need to find a new house to rent. I need to do loads of work this weekend which will be tough as my mum has just landed (she's watching her beloved Heartbeat just now!). I have the kids from Sat 9 am until I take Mum back to the station on Monday lunchtime, then I'll want to spend as much time as possible with the beautiful one. But, as I said, it's great to be busy!!!