fun while it lasted...

I had a meeting with my Human Resources contact at work today: the woman whose maternity I've been covering is coming back to work in April and they've decided not to renew my contract. In terms of my career this is probably the best thing that could have happened (assuming I capitalise on it and move forward into a new job) The whole idea of taking this job was that it gave me a six month corporate "rubber stamp" on the four years' DTP experience I already had (not to mention, dare I say it, some natural ability!) and it will do just that...

... the thing is, I wasn't counting on ending up in such a great office. With very few notable exceptions, the people I've been working with for the last five months have been some of the best I've ever worked with - I worked with some deeply cool people at Watson's too but in that environment I didn't have so much scope for interacting with them so in most cases it took most of the four years I was there to get to know them, with this lot at BG I'd made some really good friends within weeks. People I've looked forward to seeing each morning (and I hope you know who you are)

So when HR Hazel told me (exactly as I was expecting) that time's up on the 17th of April, my heart sank: I have a month left of these people's company day in and day out. I know that in a couple of cases that thought's going to help me get through the day more than once between now and X Day, but the vast majority of my daily interactions are going to be tinged with sadness from here on in because most of these great people are soon going to disapear from my life.

I really hope I can keep in touch with at least a few of them.

...

and the little voice in my head that belongs to my folks reminds me that I'm a big part of what worked so well here, I get to carry me to the next office and (if I'm VERY lucky) meet some more people half as wonderful as those I'll leave behind in a few short weeks.

So long, and thanks for all the monkeys.

bzzzzz

I'm going on holiday at the end of the month.

I can't wait.

Life is good, but also busy, and hard. There are a lot of things I'm tired from figuring out, dealing with, setting up, building or planning. All of them are things I'm a good place about: my career (I have a job I love), my home (I've made something really special of which I'm proud), my love life (still nowhere, and yet I feel the best about it that I have in years) but all of them are drawing a lot of emotional amperage. Even my friends have been hard work of late. Just keeping up with everything feels like a lot of effort recently, and I feel like I'm starting to flag a little.

This weekend I had no plans for the first time in months, but I had a hundred little jobs demanding my attention... I got to about twenty of them, not through lack of time, but lack of energy. I got things done, but I also spent a lot of time curled up on my sofa wishing there was a way to just skip all the journeys, and be at the destinations. That's not like me: I like the journeys.

I figure I'm just due a recharge. Happily the last week of March I'm going spend doing just that, I'm sure the old batteries can hold out that long.