I'm back
Mea Culpa
This is becoming a bit of a confessional for me. I always regret the times I don't write about. It has been an age since I last wrote anything serious in here, and I have no-one to blame but me. As you had gathered over the past six months, I regularly added items in here, I was rebuilding and revaluing my life after a couple of years which were pretty low in the happiness stakes. This is all changing now, and my full life has meant that some things can't be done, for reasons selfish or due to plain old laziness.
I can't promise regular news feeds but I would like to try to entertain my two readers.
Since January lots of things have taken place in my life and what follows are the things I remember today. The missing things should surface over the next few weeks as I try to increase my words here.
My life revolves around my wife, family, friends and work. If I'm not doing something for one of these reasons then the only other reason is for me. These words are for me, my family and friends.
Since being offered full-time work at Middletons, my life has been full of thoughts and actions about work. This is different from when I was truck driving, then it was all about me. Now I need to consider the lives of ten other people, namely the staff who work directly for me, and then the working conditions of the four hundred staff whom I manage the computer systems for.
This work has me visiting Sydney on a semi regular basis, which I enjoy, but for the most part I travel into the Melbourne office. Here I have an office with a window and the cut and thrust of business confront me everyday.
Home life is somewhat different. Dee has recently recovered from a major operation, which took place the same day her landlord asked her and the girls to move out of the Geelong property because the owners had sold it at last...And Dee had 28 days to leave. Being Dee, she obliged but at her cost not her landlords. For the next four weeks, Dee quietly packed up pieces up the house and where possible I brought them back to Niagara. It was a very tiring time for all of us, the girls included. Nathaniel and I made space and Dee's gear filled it up. On the weekend of the move, I hired a large truck (cos I could) and with the help of my neighbour Martin, I was able to move the bulk of the furniture during daylight. This was an improvement over the previous time which saw us moving well into the night. That was four weeks ago. The house is still very cluttered and the girls are still sharing a room, but each weekend sees it a little less cluttered.
Dee as recovered her health and now she will focus more efforts on her job, which is a double-edged sword due it (the job) having bits Dee enjoys a lot, and bad bits which would drive any normal person to distraction. I hope she finds more good than bad.
We have a puppy called Gizmo. Born about 23 Jan, he has been a constant source of laughter as he learns about our world. It is refreshing to witness should unbridled and questioning love and devotion from him. It is a vastly different approach from the cats. Gizmo was unsure if he was a dog at first and tried to do 'catlike' things such as walking along narrow edges...Until his wagging tail made him fall off. I think he thinks he is a human now, because I caught him pretending to be Nathaniel the other day. Picture Gizmo, sleep on the couch, on his back, hairy legs apart, head back on a cushion, watching TV with his eyes closed. If it wasn't for the fact that Nathaniel snored louder I could tell the difference.
Speaking of Nathaniel, he turned 26 last week and over the previous three months I'd been paying off a snowboard as his present. Needless to say he was pretty happy with his present. His mum and sister sent him a ski jacket and Dee and the girls gave him thermal undies so once he gets his bindings and boots he should at last be able to follow his snow dreams.
Casey is becoming a grown-up. She is both compassionate and surly at the same time, but still fun to be with. She is getting excited about her trip overseas, and so am I as I need to save a lot of money before she can go.
Kirby is playing soccer for her school in a Saturday league, so I've become a soccer dad, delivering her to the field of choice every Saturday, after spending the morning trying to find her uniform at the bottom of the cleaning pile and berating her for not doing this on Friday night - sigh-. She got a goal the other week, and $5 for her efforts. She is a good player, with a calm style that allows her to place the ball for her team mates to kick goals. While not the star, and still building her fitness, she enjoys her Saturday games. Gizmo is not allowed to attend after being there for two losses in a row.
Niagara is bursting at the seams. 5 humans, mostly grown up now, (Dee is the only official grown-up), 4 cats, -shh don't tell the council, 2 dogs - one is very tired now but tolerates the puppy, 2 rabbits, in separate accommodation, and most recently, a red-headed guinea pig named Cruickshank, who, I'm convinced, can teleport around his/her? cage, much to the amazement of the cats and Gizmo. Zoe is over it.
I have installed a wireless network so the girls can roam around the house with their laptops chatting on-line, and I've even found them inside closets at times... Which is a worry. I also put another Foxtel line upstairs so Dee (upstairs)and Nathaniel (downstairs) could watch different shows at the same tme and stay out of other peoples hair. What an interesting environment I've created. All this adds up to why I haven't written much.
I've been following the Super-12 series and I'm very glad that the Crusaders are in the final. My staff in Sydney don't enjoy my devotion to this team as it jars against their very bias following of the Sydney based team, whose name I can't remember at present :) I will making a serious effort to be in front of one of the numerous TVs next Saturday at 5pm to see the thrilling conclusion to this year's season.
Over the past months I've been listening mainly to mild music, which is an indication of my stress levels. I've also just completed a 6 week introduction to yoga, where I discovered that I'm a ball of tight muscles, that a large waistline doesn't make it easy to touch your toes, and you shouldn't stand on your head, unless you are near a wall...and girls fart too.
Reading wise, I've mixed it up between management books on IT and Legal Firms (of course) and some good old Larry Niven Space opera stuff. Dee, Nathaniel and I also took some time out to enjoy the movie "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy". Was really amazed at the name of the business that was knocking down A.Dent's house...before the planet was destroyed of course.
That's it for now. I promise to be better and not let this blog slide again, so you should hear from me Real Soon Now
Peace
This is becoming a bit of a confessional for me. I always regret the times I don't write about. It has been an age since I last wrote anything serious in here, and I have no-one to blame but me. As you had gathered over the past six months, I regularly added items in here, I was rebuilding and revaluing my life after a couple of years which were pretty low in the happiness stakes. This is all changing now, and my full life has meant that some things can't be done, for reasons selfish or due to plain old laziness.
I can't promise regular news feeds but I would like to try to entertain my two readers.
Since January lots of things have taken place in my life and what follows are the things I remember today. The missing things should surface over the next few weeks as I try to increase my words here.
My life revolves around my wife, family, friends and work. If I'm not doing something for one of these reasons then the only other reason is for me. These words are for me, my family and friends.
Since being offered full-time work at Middletons, my life has been full of thoughts and actions about work. This is different from when I was truck driving, then it was all about me. Now I need to consider the lives of ten other people, namely the staff who work directly for me, and then the working conditions of the four hundred staff whom I manage the computer systems for.
This work has me visiting Sydney on a semi regular basis, which I enjoy, but for the most part I travel into the Melbourne office. Here I have an office with a window and the cut and thrust of business confront me everyday.
Home life is somewhat different. Dee has recently recovered from a major operation, which took place the same day her landlord asked her and the girls to move out of the Geelong property because the owners had sold it at last...And Dee had 28 days to leave. Being Dee, she obliged but at her cost not her landlords. For the next four weeks, Dee quietly packed up pieces up the house and where possible I brought them back to Niagara. It was a very tiring time for all of us, the girls included. Nathaniel and I made space and Dee's gear filled it up. On the weekend of the move, I hired a large truck (cos I could) and with the help of my neighbour Martin, I was able to move the bulk of the furniture during daylight. This was an improvement over the previous time which saw us moving well into the night. That was four weeks ago. The house is still very cluttered and the girls are still sharing a room, but each weekend sees it a little less cluttered.
Dee as recovered her health and now she will focus more efforts on her job, which is a double-edged sword due it (the job) having bits Dee enjoys a lot, and bad bits which would drive any normal person to distraction. I hope she finds more good than bad.
We have a puppy called Gizmo. Born about 23 Jan, he has been a constant source of laughter as he learns about our world. It is refreshing to witness should unbridled and questioning love and devotion from him. It is a vastly different approach from the cats. Gizmo was unsure if he was a dog at first and tried to do 'catlike' things such as walking along narrow edges...Until his wagging tail made him fall off. I think he thinks he is a human now, because I caught him pretending to be Nathaniel the other day. Picture Gizmo, sleep on the couch, on his back, hairy legs apart, head back on a cushion, watching TV with his eyes closed. If it wasn't for the fact that Nathaniel snored louder I could tell the difference.
Speaking of Nathaniel, he turned 26 last week and over the previous three months I'd been paying off a snowboard as his present. Needless to say he was pretty happy with his present. His mum and sister sent him a ski jacket and Dee and the girls gave him thermal undies so once he gets his bindings and boots he should at last be able to follow his snow dreams.
Casey is becoming a grown-up. She is both compassionate and surly at the same time, but still fun to be with. She is getting excited about her trip overseas, and so am I as I need to save a lot of money before she can go.
Kirby is playing soccer for her school in a Saturday league, so I've become a soccer dad, delivering her to the field of choice every Saturday, after spending the morning trying to find her uniform at the bottom of the cleaning pile and berating her for not doing this on Friday night - sigh-. She got a goal the other week, and $5 for her efforts. She is a good player, with a calm style that allows her to place the ball for her team mates to kick goals. While not the star, and still building her fitness, she enjoys her Saturday games. Gizmo is not allowed to attend after being there for two losses in a row.
Niagara is bursting at the seams. 5 humans, mostly grown up now, (Dee is the only official grown-up), 4 cats, -shh don't tell the council, 2 dogs - one is very tired now but tolerates the puppy, 2 rabbits, in separate accommodation, and most recently, a red-headed guinea pig named Cruickshank, who, I'm convinced, can teleport around his/her? cage, much to the amazement of the cats and Gizmo. Zoe is over it.
I have installed a wireless network so the girls can roam around the house with their laptops chatting on-line, and I've even found them inside closets at times... Which is a worry. I also put another Foxtel line upstairs so Dee (upstairs)and Nathaniel (downstairs) could watch different shows at the same tme and stay out of other peoples hair. What an interesting environment I've created. All this adds up to why I haven't written much.
I've been following the Super-12 series and I'm very glad that the Crusaders are in the final. My staff in Sydney don't enjoy my devotion to this team as it jars against their very bias following of the Sydney based team, whose name I can't remember at present :) I will making a serious effort to be in front of one of the numerous TVs next Saturday at 5pm to see the thrilling conclusion to this year's season.
Over the past months I've been listening mainly to mild music, which is an indication of my stress levels. I've also just completed a 6 week introduction to yoga, where I discovered that I'm a ball of tight muscles, that a large waistline doesn't make it easy to touch your toes, and you shouldn't stand on your head, unless you are near a wall...and girls fart too.
Reading wise, I've mixed it up between management books on IT and Legal Firms (of course) and some good old Larry Niven Space opera stuff. Dee, Nathaniel and I also took some time out to enjoy the movie "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy". Was really amazed at the name of the business that was knocking down A.Dent's house...before the planet was destroyed of course.
That's it for now. I promise to be better and not let this blog slide again, so you should hear from me Real Soon Now
Peace
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