A striking image for the 365 days project, I thought – me looking up at an oversized tricycle in a forest. But the technique generally involves setting the timer on the camera, and then moving into position – on this occasion having to move rather swiftly. The old tree trunk which looked like a good place to stand turned out to be slippery, and I ended up on my backside. I don’t know whether this picture, in the event, was me falling or me getting up:
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A somewhat bizarre discovery at the New Royal Infirmary. I’ve been jokingly saying that it is a bus shelter, but it’s clearly a smoking shelter – with a no smoking sign?
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I use the excellent Time and Chaos to manage my life. I try to keep my work life and my home life separate, by maintaining two distinct databases – work tasks, contacts, and appointments are stored in one place, and the information I need to keep the rest of my life going in the other. This week, accidentally, I merged the databases. Initially I was horrified, envisaging weeks of unpicking and pruning, but I’m coming around to the idea that trying to keep things in separate compartments wasn’t such a good idea in the first place. There is, after all, only one of me, and I can only attend one appointment at a time, whatever its context.
Wife and a friend were down at the mother-in-law’s house yesterday, and by the sound of it made good progress. It is only to be hoped that mother-in-law is also impressed – positively. We’re going to visit her in hospital this afternoon.
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I’m thinking back to the day when a BBC Micro arrived on my desk at work. The liberation! No more staring at the message on a dumb terminal – EMAS is down. (Please note, EMAS wasn’t down very often, but when it was, I couldn’t do any work.)
Have we moved on? I guess that a modern desktop computer easily surpasses the power of EMAS, but as we insist on pervasive management, are we going to see more and more often a situation like to-day, where a power outage in a machine room a mile away yesterday means that there are people in this building to-day who still can’t login to the computer on their desk?
And can wife’s mother insist that (a) wife must clean and tidy her (mother’s) house, and (b) she must do it without help? Wife has gladly accepted a kind offer of help, but her mother, for some reason, is trying to forbid the offered help. I know what my response would be!
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This wiblog used to be called “The Lunchtime of Chas”. And as I enjoy the relative peace between a pleasant meal in the canteen, and a not so attractive stint on the helpdesk this afternoon, I reflect.
The university counselling service offers 6 sessions. They have been extremely helpful. I think that I have to acknowledge that at some point this year I was not far from being seriously, perhaps clinically depressed. The conversations with my counsellor have enabled me to take a more positive view of my circumstances, and, indeed, to have a more positive view of myself. When I returned to work after my week off (earlier this summer), a certain responsibility was lifted from my shoulders, and given to a colleague. Not having to carry this particular burden has also been helpful.
My counsellor and I have agreed (I’ve noticed that she likes to say – we have agreed such and such …) that I do need to seek continuing support. She has suggested possible avenues to follow. I do agree with her. I think that further counselling would be too intensive for me now, but wonder if somewhere there is a support group catering for people like me.
Which, of course, leads me to acknowledge the support of you wonderful people. I did explain to my counsellor that I derive much benefit from belonging to an online community. I think that it is probably fair to say that I should be nevertheless looking for some local support – man does not live by bytes alone … but I shan’t be abandoning you … nor, I trust, will you abandon me …
Perhaps you can expect cheerier posts from me? Like how it has worked out that I was able to take the car to the garage (to have the clutch replaced – major surgery!) this morning, instead of first thing to-morrow morning. And that this morning daughter had her stookie removed.
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I took this picture in the entrance hall of the building where I work. I’ve seen this cat plenty of times around the campus, but this is the first time I’ve seen him indoors:
And thank you, as always, for your prayers – always appreciated.
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My mother in law is in hospital. Medically, there isn’t a serious problem. The state of her house, however, means, I gather, that the hospital are unlikely to release her until some sort of care package is in place. The catch 22, however, is that, for health and safety reasons, a professional carer would not enter her house until it has been cleaned and tidied.
So all the health and social service professionals phone my wife, demanding that she clean and tidy the house. At the same time, her mother will not allow her to discuss anything with these professionals. And my wife’s mother tells the professionals that they are not allowed to discuss the situation with my wife. In the next breath, this same mother in law tells my wife, and anyone else she happens to be talking to, that it is my wife’s responsibility to keep her (my mother in law’s) house clean and tidy.
Over the past few weeks, for the first time ever, my wife has had access to the house (which is the place where she grew up) without her mother being there. Previously, my mother in law has wanted my wife to help her with the house, but has insisted on being there, ensuring that whenever my wife wants to throw something out, my mother in law can demand that it stay. To some extent, it has been a revelation to me, to see how willing my wife has been to have a go at doing something about the house, when her mother hasn’t been there to frustrate her at every opportunity.
But we are a family where the dad works full time, the mother works part time, the children are 10 and 7, my mother is elderly – it does amaze me how it is that everybody assumes that we have reserves of time and energy to cope with a situation which they, generally, just walk away from.
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I’m at my desk (at work); it’s Wednesday morning; I have plenty to do; but I’m tired, tired, tired.
Update: I am making progress, which is good.
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Preordered Martyn Joseph’s new album the first day that I could (which means that I am the proud possessor of a limited edition Martyn Joseph Vegas poker chip), and am listening to it as I type. All that I can say is that there are some great songs there … nourishment for the soul.
A bit shocked by what’s happening to the Northern Rock – I’m on my third mortgage with them – and save with them – and own shares – I’m not so much anxious for the direct consequences as shaken – they seemed to be a good, trustworthy company – and I don’t see how people rushing to withdraw their savings is going to help …
We’re having a busy week-end, but I seem to be managing the busyness better – taking my breaks when I can …
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Thank you all for your kind and helpful comments. Jan, you are absolutely right about the need to find ‘me’ time, though it’s unlikely that I’ll make it to the library this Thursday. But a considerable part of Monday’s counselling session was taken up with talking about finding a way to take time out. It’s more difficult than it appears, because the solution has to take account of the whole family situation. The counsellor commented that perhaps I have a habit of putting myself last, and that in the long run this doesn’t work – if I’m running on empty, then my contribution to the family is going to be pretty poor. The trouble is that I do tend to be conscious of what other people require, and find it hard to make space for myself.
And the congratulations – the hatched plot is now a named baby! And it appears that I have been able to help with the naming (blush). I like Sustaining Life – makes me think of a science fiction story – “Do you think that this planet is capable of sustaining life?” But I have no experience of building a website; Dave once wrote an article about setting up a church website – see http://www.cartoonchurch.com/blog/2007/08/10/church-website-guide/. I am sure that other wibloggers can offer help and advice – I believe indeed that one or two of them do it professionally …
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