Catching Up

"I'm still alive" Pearl Jam

Never fear (ir)regular readers, I'm still here. It has been a very hectic couple of weeks for me and there has been little chance for me to sit down and vomit out the contents of my being. Naturally, with so much going on there is a lot to regurgitate so I'll try to keep things concise.

• As mentioned in my previous post, work is undergoing its bi-annual PDR process (thanks Ron for your support!). To my surprise, when I presented my Objectives and Measures as outlined in the afore-mentioned post, my manager responded well - to the extent of saying "this is one of the best PDRs I've ever read"! Of course, he then went through and changed the Objectives and Measures into professionaleese. Still, I view it as a small victory in cutting the bullshit at work.
  
  
• My folks flew into town last Monday. Because of their impending arrival, I spent the entire weekend cleaning my apartment from top to bottom. Makes me laugh that, even at the age of 31, I still feel the need to present my parents with a spotlessly clean house. Am I trying to prove that I can be self-sufficient or that I am successful in living as an adult? Do I do it out of love because I know that my mum appreciates a clean environment? Or am I just hiding the fact that I sometimes live like a slob?! Jury is still out. Regardless, it was great spending time with them, sharing a meal and then seeing them off on their cruise around the Pacific islands.
  
  
• Yesterday the State Election was held in NSW and I exercised my democratic privilege to vote. The Labour Party was returned to Government after running one of the most slanderous campaigns in Australian history. Honestly, it was vile to watch the character attacks being thrown from both parties, and even worse to hear the party spokespeople defending their campaigns as necessities of modern politics. I would have thought presenting clear, achievable policies which address the populations' needs and concerns was a necessity, but apparently not. I just hope that the 2 major parties read into the fact that 33% of the population gave their primary votes to other parties.
  
  
• I have started a month of short weeks at work. As mentioned previously work has been a major pain of late, so I booked a few days off spread over a 4 week period (including Easter) in an effort to gain some space and reclaim my identity outside of work. This means I will be working no more than 4 days per week for the next month. Last weekend was my first 4-day weekend in some time and, by Tuesday, I was feeling like my old self again - relaxed, stress-free, happy. Unfortunately, all the good that had been achieved by taking a long weekend was instantly undone by a phone call I received at 19:00 the day before I was set to return to work asking me to come in early the following day. All the pressure and stress came flooding back and this set the tone for the following 3 days. Still, I have only 3 days of work this week to get through, then I can resume the healing.

So that's the past 2 weeks' major happenings in a nut-shell. My posts may be a bit sporadic over the next few weeks (my folks arrive back on Thurs for a 4 day stop-over, Easter happenings and a 5 day trip home for me all in the next month) but I'll jot out a few thoughts when I can.

Songs played while writing this entry:
"Black Girls" The Violent Femmes
"Iris" The Goo Goo Dolls
"Electris" Woody McBride
"Misfits" Cold Chisel
"Phorever People" The Shamen
"Heaven Scent" Bedrock
"Disorder" Slayer & Ice-T
"When I Rock" Thomas Schumacher
"Pride (In The Name Of Love)" U2
"Supernova" Transa
"It's So Easy" Guns N Roses