In the months since our return from Japan I’ve felt a bit adrift, with emotions ranging from blergh to outright misery.

I don’t know if it’s winter, if I’ve finally had my fill of SML (which is as chaotic and frustrating as ever), because I’m adjusting to a less-full house after Joan’s departure, the alignment of the stars, my advancing age, or another mysterious mystery, but I can’t settle into much and am employing all the usual avoidance strategies of not exercising, reading a lot of things I pay very little attention to, losing myself in housework and not engaging in outside (or inside) activities.

Among all this I’ve also let blogging slip. Wallowing in self-pity and whinging doesn’t make very good reading and it’s nothing you haven’t heard a billion times before. Honestly I’m exhausted by myself!

So time to (yet again) carpe the whatevs – the plan is to make concerted efforts to:
1. blog on the regular
2. attend yoga at least 3 times a week – preferably 4
3. not blow off lunch arrangements because things are busy at SML (also, make lunch arrangements with others!)
4. do something creative – drag out the knitting for example
5. try not to get sucked into the SML abyss
6. make ME a priority

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So, let’s go with #1 …

SML has finally introduced a very civilised remote working policy (welcome to 2003!).

Of course I’ve jumped on this and will now be working at home one day a week (helps rather a lot with #5 and #6 on the concerted efforts list).

Last week was my first formal day of the new arrangement and was even more wonderful than I’d hoped. I got tons of work done and even ducked out at lunch to do the grocery shopping – which was a delight! There were very few people in the supermarket, it was peaceful and soothing and only took about 50 minutes door to door.

And on the whole I like my at-home colleagues rather more than those in the office.

I was the happiest I’ve been at work for a good while – makes me realise how much the place is slowly killing me^^. I’m planning to try to ease myself into two days a week at home if I can swing it. Though I definitely need to do something about my home desk arrangement because it’s absolutely killing my right shoulder and forearm.

^^ yes, I know I should stop complaining and really look for another job. I have obviously pretty mixed feelings about this – I should probably post about that.

xxx

When I was in ruthless decluttering mode a couple of months ago I grabbed my collection of Verity Birdwood** paperbacks and stuck them by the bedside with the intention of one last read before hauling them off to the charity shop. They sat there for a good while gathering dust and making me feel somewhat guilty, but I took the plunge last week.

As a devoted kindle owner and pretty voracious reader, it was an odd experience to revisit physical novels. I’m really habituated to turning the light off to read in bed (kindle is backlit), so had a few moments where my brain couldn’t work out quite what was going on after I’d flicked off the switch – why couldn’t I see the words? Odd too, to require the use of both hands to read, which makes it challenging to read while washing up and folding laundry &etc. And the typeface – YIKES! SO TINY! Holy!Goodness! my eyesight has deteriorated in recent years.

I wrapped up the last in the series yesterday afternoon and of course was reminded that I adore these particular books and they’re staying (in a box of treasures in the garage).

Last night saw me back to the kindle in the dark, reading a bunch of samples, casting about for something mindless – without much success.

I think the most interesting observation of coming out of this mini-project is that when I woke this morning with my now-usual headache, I realised morning headaches hadn’t been a thing the whole time I was reading those real books.

Perhaps a visit to the local library is in order?

** That wikipedia entry really needs enhancement – and the claim that Little is known about Birdie is just nonsense. There’s definitely a slow drip of information for the attentive reader, I feel like that’s a pretty well-used device in this genre, so that’s a pretty lazy assessment.

xxx

I’ll return tomorrow.