Insomnia's back

Was up at 4am this morning watching TV programmes I'd missed on BBC I-Player. I did go back to bed eventually and managed to get a couple more hours sleep. End up going through spells like this when my brain gets overloaded. Work situation is a bit overly full-on & pressurised at the moment due to sheer volume of recruitment, the fact that none of the basics are in place plus a pretty heavyweight audit. End result, my brain's slightly fried! That's not to say I'm not enjoying it...the business is really interesting, plus it's great being so busy and having a variety of new challenges to deal with. Way different to what I've done to date. Just found out about another potential piece of work... in Yemen! That was after Angola & Madagascar earlier in the week...think I'm slowly working my way through the A-Z of countries...am definitely going to have to invest in a globe or world map for the office.... maybe even with flags like one of the old war films ;o)

Took the smaller sproglets to see 'Alice in Wonderland' as we all like Johnny Depp & Tim Burton films. It was very dark and Burton-esque in parts which is predictable but also slightly Disneyfied too...bit of a weird combination making it even more surreal than I'd expected. Quite enjoyed it but nothing to write home about really. Does make you realise how 'barking' Lewis Carroll must have been & of course Edward Lear with his nonsense rhymes ...convinced they'd both been partaking of way too many doses of Opium!

Vote now!

The live debate last night has sparked an interest in politics in the Frosty household. I could hardly believe the discussion on policies over lunch. Both Ms. Sensible & Minor Mayhem had followed the whole thing really closely and proffered strong opinions on what was being proposed by each of the parties as well as commenting on the style & body language of the party leaders. As if that weren't gobsmacking enough, this was followed by a discussion on the shift in position/approach between Labour & Liberals since David Lloyd George! Not only was I amazed at what'd actually been absorbed from history lessons but delighted to see that they're unlikely to be apathetic voters :o)

Steel City drop-off

again. Getting to the stage where I can almost find my way round Sheffield blindfold. Drove over via the supermarket to ensure fully re-stocked cupboards. Little did we know what we were about to be faced with. On opening the front door a somewhat unpleasant aroma greeted us. The smell permeated from the unspeakably filthy kitchen...never seen anything quite so bad in my life. Didn't feel I could just turn on my heel & leave her to it so donned on the rubber gloves and got stuck in nearly heaving in the process! Someone had left some veg at the bottom of the fridge a fortnight ago and it has disintegrated into the most revolting stinky, slimy mess. Add to that an un-emptied bin and a pile of festering, mould encrusted dishes strewn in the sink, across work-surfaces and in the lounge, and start you get the general picture. Should have taken out shares in cleaning products before I started...got through loads of the stuff but at least now it's something like hygienic. Ah the joys of a shared house....

Back to work

yesterday...we had four guys into the London office to be deployed to Afghanistan, worked out the logistics for mental health evaluation of personnel in Iraq, sorted out the staffing issues for the new Dubai office, did an on-line meeting relating to the implementation of a new job portal, then looked at budget requirements ... and that was all before lunch time!!! Come to the conclusion that job title means nothing 'cos the lines are so blurred plus the boss is on hols. Always seems to be stacks of random stuff to sort out but it certainly keeps things interesting

Been happily ensconced in my ‘Billy-no-mates’ office today ploughing through emails and sorting out paperwork. Got down to 53 outstanding but seems as fast as I get through them the in-box fills up again :o/ Had company in the next office as one of my colleagues from HR is up here today & tomorrow so not quite as quiet as usual. Decided that the approach of a couple of days in London full-on dealing with issues and meetings, followed by a couple of days in my base office playing catch up works pretty well. Starting to feel like I’ve settled in a bit now and the travel has become pretty routine, although much as I quite like being in London, I still hate the tube journey. Tore a shoulder muscle last week strap hanging in rush hour :o/

Still school hols…Minor Mayhem's been at the Gadget Show Live today in Brum with friends (came back with all manner of new gizmos/techie bits) whilst the girls have been doing course/homework and chilling out. That’ll mean I’m on document review duty later for Strident Student so far this vacation I have fed-back comments on whether utilitarianism advocates slavery, as well as a debate about whether porn as a medium for female subordination...Heavy stuff! Fortunately have a get out of jail card for Miss Sensible’s Maths as I’m so rubbish. Can’t help on the science side either as I was 'pants' at that too…just hope she goes for Arts subjects at 'A' Level or I’ll be no help whatsoever.

The following day

the long suffering Strident Student's boyfriend transported the sprogs back to base whilst I took my Dad to the hospital for his biopsy. I had to leave him at the hospital whilst they kept him in for observation in case his lungs deflated or there were any other complications. To take my mind off things I did a bit of a nostalgia trip around St.Helens, checked out the old haunts, re-visited my old school, went back to look at the first house house I bought when I had the baby Strident Student...only a 2up, 2down but I loved it...felt I'd really achieved something when I bought it. It was so run down and dilapidated but everyone pulled to in order to get it habitable. I was donated furniture, carpets, cooker and even an old bathroom suite. I've never forgotten people's kindness or the hours friends put in plastering & decorating. Despite the circumstances we had a great laugh and loved living there.

Easter

started off with the ubiquitous Easter Egg hunt albeit indoors due to the inclement weather. Miss Sensible clearly demonstrates that some of the hiding places were less accessible than others ;o)

The rest of the holiday was spent doing the rounds of the family & amassing the European Union Easter Egg Mountain. I think we can safely say that we can all have a multitude of mega chocolate frenzies without running short this side of Xmas!

Had a brief sojourn to the Ribble Valley for my friend Smelen's wedding which was absolutely great... a chance for everyone to get together and celebrate the fact they've finally formalised things. So pleased that she's met someone who's such a good match & quite obviously thinks the world of both her & Elizabeth. What made it so special was the heartfelt speech Elizabeth made about her Mum & Des which left everyone with tears in their eyes.

Some comment has to be made about the costume changing, cross-dressing DJ for the evening 'do' who managed to get everyone up on the dance-floor but was very nearly over-shadowed by my 12yr old whom he got on the stage to demonstrate the 'moves'...

A postscript is required as a warning to would-be brides...don't go down the route of hold-ups for the big day...this is a true life illustration of the dangers ;o)