More time please

I have a list. Places I'd like to visit. Activities I want to try. Experiences that seem like fun. What I feel lacking in is time.
Like many people, I have a job that accounts for at least eight hours each day (often eight & a half and sometimes as many as 12). I try to sleep for about eight. Then even if you take out a few hours for eating, washing & relaxing I should have about four hours each day to do something new. Where do these hours go?
I'd like to claim that some strange creature eats the hours for breakfast but that's just silly. Time flies when you're having fun or not paying attention.
Maybe I'll try to pay more attention... I'd like to learn something new. Or even just update this more regularly. We'll see how it goes.

A day off

I don't have to do anything today. I'm not at home so I can't do house-stuff. I don't have my computer so I can't spend the day on the web. There's nowhere I have to be and nothing I have to do. It's a bit strange.

I'm sitting in a garden watching the duckies clean themselves & wishing my new shoes hadn't given me blisters. Not the most exciting morning but somehow it's good.

Enforced relaxation time. Is that possible?

Working weekends

It's Sunday and I've had a working weekend. It seems that the kind of work I do always has 'occasional weekend or evening work required'. I get time in lieu for working on a weekend, but only hour for hour - no extra time for giving up time I could have spent with friends.

I think that's the biggest drag about working weekends - losing socialising time. Sure I get a day off sometime in the week - but no one else has that time off. Too often I end up spending my day at home doing house stuff. I'd rather go exploring but it's not that fun alone.
I wonder if I'll ever have a job where I don't have to work weekends...

Public transport? Call it snail.

For the second day in a row there's been problems & delays with trains. The most expensive public transport system in Europe (I expect) & yet it has so many issues.

It should only take me 35 minutes to get to work from my place.   Yesterday it took 50. Today's looking similar.  It's extremely frustrating.

I don't think I'd be as annoyed if it didn't cost so damn much. Lift your game, Transport for London.

That's life..

A great evening catching up with friends. A happy gingerbread man and a coffee. A stroll followed by tasty thai food. Another coffee to finish the evening & I foolishly forgot my umbrella. It's still at the little cafe, near the seat the dog piddled on. Dammit! Everything was going so well! I guess that's just life. It's only 'stuff' anyway. The conversation was worth more.

I want some Bendigo-time

I'm back in London & already it feels like I never left.

Work has fast-approaching deadlines & ongoing administration. Home is in boxes & has deadlines of its own.

I'm glad I got to spend so much time at home with Mum & wouldn't change that. I just wish I could bring some Bendigo-time with me and not feel so rushed.

Slow time?

Glenn once said that being in Bendigo was like being on slow time - there's not much to do and the days just wander by. It's not been like that for me.

While there's nothing I HAVE to do - no work to go to, no schedule to keep - there are always things that need to be done. All kinds of bits and pieces to sort out (or to be support for the sorting out), appointments to keep, places to go.. I've not even started on the things I brought home to do during my break.

Still, I'm glad I'm here. It might not be slow time, but it's certainly family time... and that's what I need right now.

Leaving London again

Another long flight ahead of me. Hard to believe how long I'll be away. I'm sure it'll pass far too quickly.

Part of me is happy to be able to spend lots of time with Mum. But there's the underlying sadness of why I'm going.

This is the last tube for me for a while. Can't say I'll miss it. But I will admit that London in the sunshine can be stunning. Hopefully when I come back there'll be more sunny days.

Seasons

In England the weather begins to warm. Flowers start to poke their heads through the greenery of public spaces. Signs of spring bring hope after winter.

In Australia the days continue warm and sunny, oblivious to the sadness we feel. Our Autumn has come early this year.

Love you Dad - rest peacefully.

Winter again

After a beautifully warm week in Bendigo, it's back to snow in the UK.

It's not until you see people clearing paths & platforms that the hassle of snow is obvious. To me it's still something special - a white blanket that makes everything look beautiful. At least it does until it melts.

I wonder if there's snow in London.

Travelling

I'm travelling today.

On planes, trains & automobiles. As well as the subway. And walking of course. Hopefully I'll be tired enough that I'll sleep on the plane - I'm not usually very good at that.

Why does travelling make you tired? It's fair enough on long trips, especially when you cross timelines... but even relatively short journey can tire you out. Maybe it's something to do with the white noise of the engine or the tracks or the road. I wonder if anyone has looked into it. If I wasn't on the tube right now I'd check. :)

A grey day

sometimes it's good to take a moment to think. to look at where you are and remember how you got there. to look at the direction you're heading and decide whether that's still the way you want to go.

sometimes it's tricky. the path runs in circles and you can't tell if you're still heading forward. that's where i feel today - uncertain of direction and no clear plan ahead.

i hope it passes soon. there have been enough grey days.

Are you human?

What makes us human? Is it our ability to think? To learn? To love? To hurt? All of these? Some of them? Or something that's difficult to define?

We are an imperfect bunch. We lie. We cheat. We steal. We intentionally hurt others. These are not traits to be proud of. But they are human.

Sometimes I think it would be easier to be a robot!

A wrong turn

Went the wrong way. Wanted to walk along the Thames. Ended up crossing at London Bridge & got caught up in pedestrian traffic. Then had to wait for a packed train to take me closer to work. Not a good start to the week.

It's funny how one small action can have such an impact. A wrong turn and suddenly you're surrounded by too many people in suits. Too many bodies walking on the same footpath. But it's all okay if you keep a cool head and work out an alternative plan of action. Find your way again. Even if it's not the original plan, you can always turn things around and not let one wrong turn ruin everything.

Is work fun?

Motivation. It's a strange word. The thing that motivates you. Something that makes you want to get up in the morning. Does work motivate you? Should it? Or is work just a means, a convenient way to get money so you can do the things that motivate you? Or an inconvenient way?

Someone told me recently that we spend about a third of our life at work. Another third is spent sleeping. That doesn't leave much time for the motivational stuff. So best case scenario would be that you are motivated by the work you do. ...but are you?

Lost wandering along Baker Street

Not really sure what to write about today. My mind is surprisingly blank. Or perhaps so full of things that I cannot make sense of it. How do you keep lots of projects going at once? How do you keep home stuff from interfering with your work day?

I don't have the answers. Wish I did. Then I could run self-help courses & make loads of money with a small time input. Instead I work regular hours which become later in the day as the week goes on & I lose inspiration. I need to work out what motivates me and try to enhance it.

In the meantime I guess I'll just wander along Baker street.

More snow?

We were sent home early yesterday. Weather warning. Closing the building. I walked through the snow. Enjoying the soft touch of snow hitting my nose. It didn't last. It soon became more like rain. Wet snow. Not quite sleet. Happily it was only for a moment. And all too soon it all stopped. No more huge flakes settling on my beanie. No tiny flakes colouring the sky. Just a fine layer of white on the ground. Slowly degrading with each person's crossing. Carving black footprints through the purity.

More snow?

Famous

Yesterday was Isaac Newton's birthday. Or it would have been if he was still alive. Google even illustrated their homepage in honour of the occasion. That's some fame. For millions of people to recognise your birthday when you're not even alive anymore!

I guess this happens for people who have made a significant contribution to life. Like eminent scientists. Or decent politicians. Or something. ...not sure many pop stars would have the same kind of recognition. Although maybe they will in 100 years. Who knows?

It's a strange place we live that, in some cases, creations can be more famous than the creator. Take Sherlock Holmes - he has numerous movies, several books & comics, various statues and a whole museum in his honour. Can you even remember the name of the original book?

Maybe it just doesn't matter.

What's so good about new anyway?

Happy new year. A new year. New. Why do we spend so much time fixated on new? It's a new day. New week. New moon. New year. What about the cliche that  nothing's ever new? If that's true then there's nothing to celebrate. So what's all the fuss about?