Last Week Of The Current Tempo

Well as far as I could I've made it. Most of goals i set over the past couple of week I've met more or less. From Monday I'll be back on rush about schedule. As I'll have to finish at 4 to collect the kids from school.

As for the rest of the week, apart from Thursday night, not much has not been work orientated. No training, no going out, just my Job. When I've not been working I've been adding more books for sale on ebay. For the most part home life has been a blur.

Out To Anglesey

On Saturday I took the wife and youngest to Anglesey there was meant to be a church do with some one being baptised near Holyhead it might have helped if the wife had found out who else was going and had at least 1 mobile number. Unfortunately she didn't so we failed to find anybody but had a pleasant few hours day on the beech. I found out to day that some had been baptised, but given how cold the water was they are all now praying that she will recover from hypothermia.

Help For The Addled

I just had to ask the wife what I did in the evenings, the only high point she could identify was that I bought an Indian take away on Friday night. My eldest is back from my mums on Tuesday so we will back to normal on Wednesday morning. The youngest will be starting at her new school tomorrow, so she is facing a very new week. Newt week I should have more to right about.

Till then to all my friend across nation ocean and ether take care and have a great week.

Chancer

The Pace Continues

It was pretty inevitable that this week would be a continuation of last week. On Monday morning I plunged into my work load with the expected gusto.

The work load has carried on growing, but I wont deny that tiredness has crept in very much unbidden, but not to my disadvantage. Right now so many of the pieces of the week seem to be scattered in various compartments of my mind. By writing this blog, I see how the parts come together. With out my work note book and daily schedule book I'm at a loss to draw out the detail of the working day. However certain things to stand out, I'll start with those.

The Bristol Run

early on Wednesday morning I picked up a colleague and drove down to Bristol for a day of meetings. While we managed to make some head way the lack of progress made by our associates in the south west did not go down at all well with my bosses up here. While it was productive day on the work front the travel front was less auspicious. We left Bristol at 4 pm, and promptly ran into a jam between junctions 14 and 13 on the M5 it took us 5 hours to move 6 miles. The end result was that I didn't get home till 12.30.

Back To The Table

As can be imagined, there was a knock on effect on Thursday and I was pretty much struggling through the day. I did however get to the wargames club and had my first games in a month. Both games were pleasant relaxed affairs that reminded me why I enjoy the hobby. Yesterday afternoon I spent a few most pleasant hours in the gaming bunker of the Chester Games Workshop watching my Empire army get clobbered by an un-dead dragon. Ouch!

On Saturday I took the wife and youngest out to Conway and the to beech at Talacre Bay, I bit dull but they enjoyed it..

New Steps

The pressures of the shear clutter in this place has finally led me to start trading on Ebay. Today I set up and account and placed my first book up for sale. I've resisted the pull of Ebay for so long but have now caved in. There's one hell of a lot more to go in order to thin things out.

I wish I had more to say this week, but while I've not been working I've been crashed out. This is now the last week of August, September will enforce a new schedule upon me.

Till then, to all my friends across nation, ocean and ether, take care and have a great week.

Chancer

Realigning The Week

Most weeks my banter would roam over a variety of subjects, home, life, work life training and war games club, relationships and occasionally a bit of politics. To keep it simple this week, I've placed every aspect of my life subordinate to work. Hence No Training, No Wargames and not much family.

The Whys and Wherefores

I supposed that last week I realised that things were building up on the work front, Especially as some long awaited and delayed funding had been approved, when I looked at my options I realised that once September starts I'll have no choice but to finish at 4pm so that I can collect the girls from school, from time to time I'll go back to work around 6pm if I need to put in the extra hours. Well when September comes, I'll deal with it as best I can. This left me with the most of August to pull out the stops to drive things ahead and ensure that I can deliver a key project fully implemented for January. Consequently this week has been purely objective based.

Each day up to 4pm I'd focus to the tasks that required getting hold of people or working closely with colleagues be it face to face or on the phone. After 4 it becomes quiet work time, such as report writing, design work, basically the stuff that I could get on with on my own. Each night I had established my objectives and activities for the next day, then I simply carried on till they were done or I was too tired to think straight any more.

To help me keep up my momentum I knocked back a can of Relentless (like red Bull but with a lot more kick) at 3pm. That ensured productive work up to 9pm. After that my brain was still spinning but not all that coherently any more. I'd crash out around midnight or 1am than be rolling again by 6.30am.

To some this may seem a bit rough, but so help me I bloody love it!. I love the pure buzz of focused activity and of hitting my objectives. I enjoyed the caffeine highs and even the knock on shakes. The number crunching felt great, and I love being the only person left in the office. I suppose in same way as I love town centres and motor way service stations late at night or early in the morning.

I love the intensity of each day and seeing how hard I can push my self, I even found my self enjoying the politics of trying to bring others on side and making sure 2 years of work will finally come together over the next 6 moths. If they don't my reputation will take a real kicking, if I can pull it off well I'll have reason to grin like a madman.

So what of the rest?

I cant say I've seen all that much of my kids, while I've left my wife to get on with things, in all fairness to her she has been a bit better round the house. I even had a couple of dinners made for me.

Saturday I hauled my ass round ASDA to do the shopping, then pretty much pottered round for the rest of the day. While I was cooking tea I had a couple of games of chess with my eldest kid which was fun. I also finally got to see the WW1 film Fly Boys on Sky moves. Great film the CGI flying sequences were brilliant. I missed seeing the film when it came out in the cinema, so that was real treat on Saturday.

Today was the normal Sunday of cooking, rummaging, round the car boot sale and even a bit of DIY. Tomorrow my eldest will be going down to London to spend the last 2 week of the summer holiday with my mum. So it will be a bit quiet round here. I'll miss her. Seems to me that missing people is has become something of a regular feeling right now.

Well once again, to all my friends across nation and ether: take care and have a safe, peaceful week.

Chancer

Well The Start Was Quiet

Sunday afternoon has rolled along once again, its been a mixed week with some good news, some frustrations and some new doors opening.

The week opened on a quiet note with the wife and kids staying on in Cornwall with the wife's family. This gave me chance to catch up on the house work and my post holiday laundry. I must admit that I made the most of the quiet and spent Monday through to Wednesday evening at home. When I wasn't pottering around the house I was working on the car.

Good News on the Work Front

The return to work was not as turbulent as I had expected, and once I had cleared my email back log things settled down pretty well. The best news of this week has been that after 4 months of waiting, the funds for this years key project have finally been approved. In addition a final sticking point in the process capability has been resolved. So now its full steam ahead to make up the delay and really get things driving along. I think the next 5 months are going to be pretty manic.

As I also have no leave left till December its going to be a long haul, the leave situation was so ropey that I've had to pull 2 days from next years holiday entitlement. This came about because the company has tightened up its policy for granting leave of absence due to family health matters. So this year if your kid is ill the time you take comes out of your holiday entitlement, or it has to be unpaid leave.

Frustration

This week, I have spent more time under that bonnet of the car than had I had done over the previous year, doing the job your self is meant to be cheaper than getting a garage to do the work, but a least mechanic is more likely to get to root of the problem. I have given my car's cooling system a pretty major over haul and have replaced numerous suspect components. But it seems to little avail and the damn thing is still running hot, maybe not a bad as in the past , but I still need to drive with the heater on. So with the car and the holiday this months finances have taken a real battering, getting back on track will now take a good few months.

The Places We Keep Hidden

It seems that what ever the day is ,one thing that I can't escape right now is the inevitable void I feel at Fran and my self having to go our separate ways. I keep reminding my self that this had to happen, and that now Fran can find some happiness with some who can be be there far more than I ever could. But what ever the logic and what ever the reasoning, deep down in the places we keep hidden, it hurts.

So now, well I can't deny I've cast my net again, and have allowed my bi side to be revived. Right or wrong I know that the life I have at home will always leave me feeling unfulfilled and bereft of passion. But in the same breath I can't face the risk of falling in love again, well not for quite a while at any rate. Over a year ago I put my bisexual side away when I became involved with Fran, in the past those brief encounters had provided simple uncomplicated moments of respite and release. While I'm loathe to return to the sauna scene, I have successfully put feelers out for friends with benefits but with out the risk of leaving my heart exposed.

So What Of The Coming Week

Next week I'll be getting may self back into the normal routine of training and club activities, things have softened a bit round my midriff, so that needs to be pulled nice and tight again. Like wise I think I'll be getting pretty lost in my work, as much out of a need to be absorbed in world that I seem to have better control of than out of commercial necessity.

So I'll close as normal, wishing you all where ever you may be across nation ocean and ether have a safe week, take care and hold tight to those you love.

Chancer