Oh dear - Blog fatigue

I always knew that one of my weaknesses was my inability to stick at things. This blog is a case in point. My last posting was two weeks ago. Shameful. In my defence, I've been really busy at work. Then there was the outbreak of plague where I live. Oh and the metorite that landed in our road on Monday night and ... and ... OK. No excuses. But there IS a reason.

Whenever I start something I go at it like a bull at a gate. When I began this I was ready to do a post every couple of hours. Now that sets a precedent which I find impossible to live up to. That then means that if I miss a 'scheduled' post I feel guilty and not worthy. So, I don't do one because I can't handle the guilt and then a viscious circle begins which results in nothing happening at all. And thus we arrive at today's situation.

I've therefore decided that I'll ease the brain-crushing pressure to post something insightful and witty every day and instead post something dull and vapid whenever I can be bothered. There, I feel much better now. Amazing.

The power of positive thought.

Blast from the past

Well sometimes life really does conjure up a surprise. I bumped into some people today who I haven't seen for about 15 years. They didn't recognise me at first and that was weird because I recognised all three of them immediately. How does that work then?

It's funny when you suddenly encounter people again after a huge amount of time has passed. Obviously you have the cries of "I can't believe it" and "It's wonderful to see you" but the funny thing is that you try to catch up on 15 years in an equal number of seconds. I found I wanted to catch up with everything that had happened before I felt I could just talk to them 'normally'.

An unexpected emotion I experienced afterwards, was a tinge of sadness. At first I didn't know why but then I realised that I wished I could have kept in touch; shared our experiences during those years. Even if it had just been by email or text message - just something that kept the connection between us. I'd missed that and it wasn't something I could get back.

Time to ensure it doesn't happen again I think.

Back to work

Ho hum. Today was 'back to work day'. Admittedly, I've only had 4 days off (unlike many others) so it wasn't such a pain but I would rather of been doing something else. Mind you, as is always the case, it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd told myself beforehand. In fact, the mildly depressing thing is that it was just the same as when I'd left. There was nothing to tell today apart from the day I finished last week. This made me realise that if I'd actually died, someone new would have got my job, sat at my desk and just carried on where I'd left off. They'd probably even have the remaining two 'cuppa' soup sachets, which are languishing at the bottom of one of my desk drawers.

Life goes on - as they say and that's the real truth. Whatever happens - life goes on. Of course it may not be your life, but life in general will always continue. Now whilst this may sound a bit depressing and morbid, it's actually really positive. If I really had died, it would be nice to know that someone was taking over all my work, making sure things got done, looking after my stapler and making sure my packet soups didn't go to waste.

I'd like that.

The big purchase

OK, so yesterday I went to buy a something with my Xmas vouchers - from the supermarket. I know, I know but read the posting from yesterday and it explains it all. Well sort of. Anyway, what did I buy? A book. I still have 75% of my money left. I failed to treat myself! Surely that's impossible. But no, I succeeded in failing. How brilliant is that?

Today though I truly have succeeded in using Xmas vouchers by actually buying things. It's quite sad how pleased I am with myself, but you know how good it feels to buy things with money that's not yours, don't you? I don't mean stolen money of course, I mean a gift, a present. It gives me a warm glow of satisfaction, not to mention a warm glow derived from having some cracking new trainers, trousers and a shirt.

Presents. They're great.

Sign of the times

It must be a sign of the times. I got a New Year's present from someone. Now that's not the sign of the times, although it's a bit unusual. What made it unusual was that it's a voucher to spend at a supermarket. Now five or even ten years ago, that would bascially have meant receiving a voucher to spend on vegetables, tins of baked beans or some cat food. But now, with the massive growth of supermarkets and what they sell, you can spend it on CD's, DVD's, clothes, MP3 players, sports equipment, mobile phones or even car insurance!

So, what would have been a really crap voucher a few years ago is, today, a really cracking little present. And that's where I'm headed today. I shall reveal my exciting purchase (bet you can't wait) tomorrow.

Smokin' !

New Year's Day

Hooray! It's New Year's day 2006. The weather is calm, the streets are quiet and ... in fact, it's just like any other Sunday. So it seems a little strange that there was such revelry and joyful celebration last night. Well, that's New Year I suppose. Wouldn't it be rather funny if we celebrated the arrival of every Sunday like this? It would certainly be horrifically expensive and I reckon, after the first 3 or 4 we'd all be dreading Saturday nights. I'm not quite sure where this particular posting is leading other than to prove that you can make any day 'special' if you truly believe there's a valid reason. Or you're told there's a valid reason.

Years ago, some friends and I decided to have Christmas day in the middle of August. We had a full Xmas dinner - turkey and all the trimmings; crackers; decorations and even Xmas TV shows which we had on video. Now I'm sure the vast quantities of alcohol helped, but we really believed it was Xmas day - depsite the bright sunshine and high temperature outside. And the really strange thing is, it was one of the best 'Xmas' days I've ever had. And it was August.

Makes you think doesn't it?