Rare sighting of Tiefling's daylog
Last night, the penny finally dropped that I'd been acting like a jerk since about new year. Sorry, everyone. Anyway, on with the show. My writer's block has mostly cleared up now, and I've stopped drinking so many energy drinks. Hopefully, I'll be able to node like I kept telling everyone I would last autumn. This daylog isn't going to be quality writing, but just random things I've seen and done. Earlier in the year, I don't think I'd have been collected enough to string even this lot together.
From Saturday to Wednesday this week I was down at Torquay, in the West Country, at my trade union conference. It went well, and I think the seaside and the wonderful sunny weather did me some good. That said, I spent most of the time in uncomfortable, cramped seating in a conference centre. Maybe getting right away from the office and the internet helped, too. The evenings were marked by lots of drinking, loud music, and a pub quiz which I didn't do so well in. Basically a good experience, though.
Yesterday I sorted out all the things which were waiting for me back at the office. I picked up a couple of old laptops I'd bought in an office sale, and made the cheering discovery that I'd earned loads of flexitime by going to the conference. In the evening, I caught up with various friends online and by 'phone. In the process, I gained an uncomfortable perspective on how badly I'd behaved. I think I'd already turned the corner by then, but looking back over the past few months was embarassing and a little upsetting. I hope you'll all bear with me as I return to what passes for normal. All in all, a fairly good day, in retrospect.
Things are a lot more focussed this morning. The grey mental fog is lifting. Wanting to do things is no longer a dull ache of not being able to achieve them, but a positive desire to see them done. Thanks to my new-found flexi-time, I set off for work a little late, and took things easy. On the tube, I sat opposite a frumpy woman wearing a diamond-effect necklace reading 'COOL'. As I arrived at the office, the row of old townhouses which it's part of seemed to be like a great speaker stack, as brisk military music flooded toward me. Apparently, while I've been away in Devon, marching bands have been practising up and down the road along the edge of St James's Park behind the office most days. They're probably preparing for Trooping the Colour. Several more bands passed by during the day.
I got an e-mail from someone saying I hadn't sent her the right document in reply to some earlier e-mail. I was sure I had, and checked my sent messages to be sure. Then I called her, and discovered that she was pretty confused about what she wanted. She seemed to be asking for something which would have required me to spend most of the afternoon photocopying. Then, just as we'd thrashed out what it was that was needed, she found it sitting on her desk. I hope she didn't overhear me grinding my teeth at that point. The rest of the morning passed off uneventfully, although reading about the latest from Abu Ghraib on the BBC News website made me pretty angry. I had a pleasant and relaxing lunch, and came back to the office to the sound of Big Ben striking one o'clock.
The afternoon passed off peacefully, and I browsed a few bookshops before coming home. The TV news remains bad, but other than that things seem all right. I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Who knows when I'll daylog again? It feels good to be able to, though. Catch you all later.