A long and tricky week. Have hardly paid attention to work, and have been absent in person as well as in spirit for much of the week. Feeling the strain a little, but determined to make sure things happen as planned. Persuaded to wander into town for drinks later - for the first time in a couple of months. Manage to have a pretty good time against all the odds, and initiate a very late trip to the Curry Garden. Very sleepy now.
Started the day with a couple of phonecalls. Otherwise, things go well and I actually get work done. Urgent summons at 4pm finds me marshalling all the skills I learned in Social Services to try to appease medical staff, convince Social Workers that they're not required and keep various other plates spinning. Think I pulled it off - certainly hope so anyway. Filled with vague trepidation, but thankfully feel I've made some allies.
Desperately hoping that last couple of gift items arrive in time. We had an early Christmas dinner to account for seasonal absences. All went well, and even I managed to be a little festive! Got some incredibly nice Bristol Blue Glass items as an unexpected gift. Can't help but think that they're far too good for my humble abode. Later, some pretty intensive planning for the next couple of weeks keeps me awake far too late.
Spent the rest of this week being ill and reasonably maudlin. Chanced a trip to Bristol this morning in the hope of completing the one outstanding bit of gift shopping for my secular new year style gifts - failed miserably, but accomplished one or two chores for a friend. Took advantage of the relatively crowd-free early morning to browse book and record stores. Settled for a small volume of Pope, since I can't find a nicer used one with everything I want. Failed to find either Cat Power or Mountain Goats CDs which I'd hoped for, or indeed any kind of suitable gift. Slightly alarmed to see a long-lost acquaintance on the bus back to the station. Caught between wanting to say lots, and wanting to allow people the chance to ignore me. As ever, erred on the cowardly side. Submitted a patch for gnomine. Always failed to see the attraction of Minesweeper style games - even when they were quite the vogue with colleagues at work. Now I get it, I end up sending stupid patches! Lots of phone and online tech support tonight. Brief visit. Drunken IRC yakking. Sleepy now
Lost::MikeGTN
I've had a home on the web for more years than I care to remember, and a few kind souls persuade me it's worth persisting with keeping it updated. This current incarnation of the site is centred around the blog posts which began back in 1999 as 'the daylog' and continued through my travels and tribulations during the following years.
I don't get out and about nearly as much these days, but I do try to record significant events and trips for posterity. You may also have arrived here by following the trail to my former music blog Songs Heard On Fast Trains. That content is preserved here too.
