As it has been a while it is probably about time that I update you on the latest goings on in my life.
First things first, we've had an extension to the family. No, not the pitter-patter of tiny feet, but the pitter-patter of tiny paws. Yes, we have a dog. His name is Cookie, he is a cross-Collie and we were given him by our friends Stuart and Gillian. They loved him to bits, but unfortunately their infant daughter Abigail was allergic to him so Cookie needed to find a new home. As we've looked after him before we were given first refusal, and he's pretty hard to turn down.
Unfortunately it isn't the best time of year to get him. Fireworks are going off just about every night, and like most dogs he isn't too keen on them. Last Saturday night was spent at home, trying to keep him calm. It wasn't easy, but at least the weather was rotten, which meant that the fireworks didn't go on for as long as most years, so that was a small mercy.
There were a few more fireworks last night, which made Cookie a bit scared again. So much for the fun night I was looking forward to having - instead I was looking after a frightened dog and wasting my time in a fruitless search for an MOT certificate (we're trading in our old car this Wednesday).
Also last night Lorraine was out with her friend Lucy. They went to Wetherspoon's in Motherwell, and in the course of their time there had some Nachos with salsa, sour cream and guacamole. I'm not sure which part of that made Lorraine unwell, but she was sick numerous times before her stomach calmed down and allowed her back to sleep at about 2am. Not good times. So much for my fun night in!
Mind you, my own sleep has hardly been peaceful of late. I've had a few nightmares lately, and while I don't really wish to retell the tales they were pretty vivid and wholly believable incidents. Not funny at all.
On the whole though life hasn't been too bad lately. Lorraine and I have stayed largely healthy, we're picking up a second hand car with not too many miles on it for a good price, and Christmas isn't too far away, so there's plenty to look forward to. And if we can't raise a smile between us at least we've got Cookie to amuse us.
Tuesday 5 November 2002
Thursday 9 May 2002
Jumping the Shark
Thank goodness! Five months into the year, and my first prolonged break is just a matter of days away.
Don't get me wrong, life isn't all bad. I've got a fantastic wife and a home which is slowly turning into a wonderful house (my wife has higher standards than I do!), but work has been a drag lately. In fact, to use a Bill Simmons' term, I think my current workplace has "jumped the shark".
Admittedly I'm not entirely sure what the term means, or how it came about, but it is a bit different, and certainly descriptive. From what I can tell it means something is stale, past its sell-by-date, and it is time to move on.
Work has been a chore lately. I've redeveloped bad habits, such as counting the number of hours until the end of the day, and sometimes the week. Counting the days until I next have an extended break. I can't see the light quickly enough. I'm hoping my week off will help me feel differently about things.
Recently I haven't even felt human. I've felt patronised and belittled. I would love to get a job which I enjoy, only a short drive away from home, and which pays better. Only in a perfect world I guess.
Anyway, I'm trying not to dwell on negatives. My holiday is only three days away, and if I'm not so professionally, apart from that I couldn't be happier. Saying that marriage suits me is an understatement, I love being married, and I love my wife. Lorraine makes my life a million times better - I'm truly blessed to have her in my life.
Don't get me wrong, life isn't all bad. I've got a fantastic wife and a home which is slowly turning into a wonderful house (my wife has higher standards than I do!), but work has been a drag lately. In fact, to use a Bill Simmons' term, I think my current workplace has "jumped the shark".
Admittedly I'm not entirely sure what the term means, or how it came about, but it is a bit different, and certainly descriptive. From what I can tell it means something is stale, past its sell-by-date, and it is time to move on.
Work has been a chore lately. I've redeveloped bad habits, such as counting the number of hours until the end of the day, and sometimes the week. Counting the days until I next have an extended break. I can't see the light quickly enough. I'm hoping my week off will help me feel differently about things.
Recently I haven't even felt human. I've felt patronised and belittled. I would love to get a job which I enjoy, only a short drive away from home, and which pays better. Only in a perfect world I guess.
Anyway, I'm trying not to dwell on negatives. My holiday is only three days away, and if I'm not so professionally, apart from that I couldn't be happier. Saying that marriage suits me is an understatement, I love being married, and I love my wife. Lorraine makes my life a million times better - I'm truly blessed to have her in my life.
Monday 7 January 2002
?Todav?a faltan 360 d?as!
For those of you who don't speak Spanish*, the title of this entry means "Still 360 days to go!", an altogether appropriate message from my page-a-day calendar on my desk at work from Saturday the 5th of January. What a start to the year it has been. A matter of days into it and I wish it was 2003 already, I really think it is going to be a bad year.
To start with just after the New Year was born Lorraine's brother Greame gave her a call, firstly to wish her a "Happy New Year" and secondly to say that he and girlfriend Sandra were now engaged.
This would normally be cause for a celebration, except that some other people had already told Lorraine this was happening. Lorraine and I felt quite hurt, and had to bring the matter up with them when we went around to Lorraine's parents for a New Year dinner on the 2nd. Greame and Sandra explained why that had happened, we accepted the explanation and said they were sorry we heard about it the way we did, and then (thankfully) we moved on from it.
Moving onto the 4th... well, I should have just stayed in bed. Having parked the car ready for work I proceeded to slip on some ice, falling backwards and somehow hurting my knee and my upper right-arm. Once I got into work I proceeded to have a nightmare of a day (including hearing that we're not supposed to use the internet anymore!). At one point I looked at my watch and couldn't believe it wasn't even 10am yet! Really not funny, and with a few personal insults thrown in for good measure work was the last place I wanted to be. Not a good professional start to the year, and it meant a second call of the year for my Weird Al Yankovic DVD, rarely a good sign.
And for the fifth? Well Lorraine didn't just have one but two hypos. Then we went for dinner with Lorraine's parents and Greame and Sandra to celebrate their engagement. On Lorraine's first day with new, fast-acting insulin she knew she had to eat within fifteen minutes of taking it, and the hotel we were eating at proceeded to make us wait a heart-stopping fifteen minutes. Indeed everything about the dinner that could have gone wrong did, which was a pity for such a special occasion.
On the sixth Lorraine was back into work, and starting at 7.30am. By this point I was knackered and I had another week of work facing me, filling me with dread. To top things off I called my best friend Neil and it turns out his nasty neighbour is trying to create trouble for him, so he isn't having the best of times either.
And just to make things even better this morning I caught my foot in an uneven Glasgow pavement and made a very good attempt at twisting my ankle. Thankfully I was able to walk it off, and it feels fine now.
To finish off this entry let me give you a little history lesson in regards to some years in my own personal life, and how the following year went. See if you can spot the developing trend:
1987 = Good year
1988 = Bad year
1990 = Good year
1991 = Terrible year
1994 = Good year
1995 = Bad year
2001 = Good year
2002 = ?
Let's hope it doesn't turn out the way I'm expecting it to.
*One of my goals for the year is to learn Spanish, and a page-a-day calendar with tips is very useful for this.
To start with just after the New Year was born Lorraine's brother Greame gave her a call, firstly to wish her a "Happy New Year" and secondly to say that he and girlfriend Sandra were now engaged.
This would normally be cause for a celebration, except that some other people had already told Lorraine this was happening. Lorraine and I felt quite hurt, and had to bring the matter up with them when we went around to Lorraine's parents for a New Year dinner on the 2nd. Greame and Sandra explained why that had happened, we accepted the explanation and said they were sorry we heard about it the way we did, and then (thankfully) we moved on from it.
Moving onto the 4th... well, I should have just stayed in bed. Having parked the car ready for work I proceeded to slip on some ice, falling backwards and somehow hurting my knee and my upper right-arm. Once I got into work I proceeded to have a nightmare of a day (including hearing that we're not supposed to use the internet anymore!). At one point I looked at my watch and couldn't believe it wasn't even 10am yet! Really not funny, and with a few personal insults thrown in for good measure work was the last place I wanted to be. Not a good professional start to the year, and it meant a second call of the year for my Weird Al Yankovic DVD, rarely a good sign.
And for the fifth? Well Lorraine didn't just have one but two hypos. Then we went for dinner with Lorraine's parents and Greame and Sandra to celebrate their engagement. On Lorraine's first day with new, fast-acting insulin she knew she had to eat within fifteen minutes of taking it, and the hotel we were eating at proceeded to make us wait a heart-stopping fifteen minutes. Indeed everything about the dinner that could have gone wrong did, which was a pity for such a special occasion.
On the sixth Lorraine was back into work, and starting at 7.30am. By this point I was knackered and I had another week of work facing me, filling me with dread. To top things off I called my best friend Neil and it turns out his nasty neighbour is trying to create trouble for him, so he isn't having the best of times either.
And just to make things even better this morning I caught my foot in an uneven Glasgow pavement and made a very good attempt at twisting my ankle. Thankfully I was able to walk it off, and it feels fine now.
To finish off this entry let me give you a little history lesson in regards to some years in my own personal life, and how the following year went. See if you can spot the developing trend:
1987 = Good year
1988 = Bad year
1990 = Good year
1991 = Terrible year
1994 = Good year
1995 = Bad year
2001 = Good year
2002 = ?
Let's hope it doesn't turn out the way I'm expecting it to.
*One of my goals for the year is to learn Spanish, and a page-a-day calendar with tips is very useful for this.
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