a quick catch up
Oh wow. So much has been happening, I barely know where to start.
1. My niece is better. The new drugs are working and she's back off the transplant list. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that she won't need a transplant eventually, but the longer they can leave it, but the better the chances of success - both in finding the right liver for her, and in her acceptance of the new liver. So that's happy news.
2. I have to go shopping for some new clothes. Most of my usual work clothes are sitting a little too low on my hips for decency since I've lost some weight. Not that this is a bad thing, but I just haven't had time to hit the shops. At the moment, I've gone back to wearing some of my old stuff from 5+ years ago, which at least fits, even if it is a little dated. Thankfully, my suits tend to be classically cut, so it's not too obvious how old they are. My "play" clothes are looser, but are generally wearable if I use a belt to keep them from dropping to my ankles with a stiff breeze. ;o)
3. I've got a couple of interesting boys around at the moment. There's the "European contingent" from salsa, but they're just fun, being too young to take seriously. And of course, they aren't here for long. Which adds to the fun, but detracts from the seriousness. Then there are a couple of guys from online dating who are looking pretty promising. Nothing definite yet, but they're all cute, they're all into music almost as much as me, and they're interesting to chat to. Even better, they seem to think I'm worth the trouble as well.
4. I'm settled into my higher duties now and have finally got my "den" organised so that I know where everything is, even though I inherited a heap of stuff from the previous occupant. I'm here until the end of the financial year, so it was important to me to settle in properly and stop feeling like I'm just squatting. So far, I've managed to avoid going to trial by putting my negotiation skills into play to settle the matters, but there's one coming up next month which I think is going to be impossible to settle. Thankfully, the other side is quite pleasant, and it shouldn't be a difficult trial. In the last couple of weeks, I've taken 6 flights, driven about 1000kms and attended meetings or conferences nearly every day of the week. I even played devil's advocate with our QC, because we were concerned about his advice. It's been challenging and stressful and I can't believe how much I'm enjoying it! ;o)
The weird thing is that my "arch nemesis" - the reason why I was cautious about taking on this job - has been really good, and has actually been saying very nice things about my performance in the job. I think he didn't realise how extremely narky I can get in negotiations - I'm generally helpful and open to ideas (I think this part concerned him), but I'm not a fool and I usually have a good idea of our prospects at trial, so I won't let the other side try to bully me or my instructing officers. And with the sort of firms I'm dealing with, bullying seems to often be the norm. The fact that I've got quite snappy with the other side in a couple of conference has got back to him and seems to have bolstered his opinion of me. *sigh* These guys are weird. You're helpful and nice to them and they treat you like crap. But if you snap at them and show no fear, all of a sudden, the respect-o-meter goes through the roof. *bigger sigh* I don't get it.
5. I've been able to renew the lease on my flat, so I'm actually going to be in the same place without moving for more than 12 months. I can't remember the last time that happened. It was certainly more than 5 years ago. So I'm nesting whenever I'm home (which admittedly isn't often).
6. The kitty cat had an abscess a couple of weeks back because he'd been fighting and I had to take him to the vet. It scared the bejeevers out of me. Possibly, I could have been more blasé about it if he was my cat, but I'd feel horribly guilty if he died when The Fairy had entrusted him to my care. I've been more vigilant with him lately and making sure he's locked in as soon as I get home. But that means that I have to keep him out of my bedroom or else close the house up completely (which I hate doing because it gets so stuffy). He hasn't liked being closed out of my bedroom and is very vocal about his displeasure when I close the door. It has meant that he's way more affectionate when I'm actually home and paying him some attention though. Ah.. you treat 'em mean... ;o)
But I think that's most of the news. A bit of work, a bit of play, a bit of feline relations. Something for everyone I think. Except for music. I have to do up a review of the Amnesty gig I went to last weekend. Maybe next time.
Listening to: Xavier Rudd - Solace
1. My niece is better. The new drugs are working and she's back off the transplant list. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that she won't need a transplant eventually, but the longer they can leave it, but the better the chances of success - both in finding the right liver for her, and in her acceptance of the new liver. So that's happy news.
2. I have to go shopping for some new clothes. Most of my usual work clothes are sitting a little too low on my hips for decency since I've lost some weight. Not that this is a bad thing, but I just haven't had time to hit the shops. At the moment, I've gone back to wearing some of my old stuff from 5+ years ago, which at least fits, even if it is a little dated. Thankfully, my suits tend to be classically cut, so it's not too obvious how old they are. My "play" clothes are looser, but are generally wearable if I use a belt to keep them from dropping to my ankles with a stiff breeze. ;o)
3. I've got a couple of interesting boys around at the moment. There's the "European contingent" from salsa, but they're just fun, being too young to take seriously. And of course, they aren't here for long. Which adds to the fun, but detracts from the seriousness. Then there are a couple of guys from online dating who are looking pretty promising. Nothing definite yet, but they're all cute, they're all into music almost as much as me, and they're interesting to chat to. Even better, they seem to think I'm worth the trouble as well.
4. I'm settled into my higher duties now and have finally got my "den" organised so that I know where everything is, even though I inherited a heap of stuff from the previous occupant. I'm here until the end of the financial year, so it was important to me to settle in properly and stop feeling like I'm just squatting. So far, I've managed to avoid going to trial by putting my negotiation skills into play to settle the matters, but there's one coming up next month which I think is going to be impossible to settle. Thankfully, the other side is quite pleasant, and it shouldn't be a difficult trial. In the last couple of weeks, I've taken 6 flights, driven about 1000kms and attended meetings or conferences nearly every day of the week. I even played devil's advocate with our QC, because we were concerned about his advice. It's been challenging and stressful and I can't believe how much I'm enjoying it! ;o)
The weird thing is that my "arch nemesis" - the reason why I was cautious about taking on this job - has been really good, and has actually been saying very nice things about my performance in the job. I think he didn't realise how extremely narky I can get in negotiations - I'm generally helpful and open to ideas (I think this part concerned him), but I'm not a fool and I usually have a good idea of our prospects at trial, so I won't let the other side try to bully me or my instructing officers. And with the sort of firms I'm dealing with, bullying seems to often be the norm. The fact that I've got quite snappy with the other side in a couple of conference has got back to him and seems to have bolstered his opinion of me. *sigh* These guys are weird. You're helpful and nice to them and they treat you like crap. But if you snap at them and show no fear, all of a sudden, the respect-o-meter goes through the roof. *bigger sigh* I don't get it.
5. I've been able to renew the lease on my flat, so I'm actually going to be in the same place without moving for more than 12 months. I can't remember the last time that happened. It was certainly more than 5 years ago. So I'm nesting whenever I'm home (which admittedly isn't often).
6. The kitty cat had an abscess a couple of weeks back because he'd been fighting and I had to take him to the vet. It scared the bejeevers out of me. Possibly, I could have been more blasé about it if he was my cat, but I'd feel horribly guilty if he died when The Fairy had entrusted him to my care. I've been more vigilant with him lately and making sure he's locked in as soon as I get home. But that means that I have to keep him out of my bedroom or else close the house up completely (which I hate doing because it gets so stuffy). He hasn't liked being closed out of my bedroom and is very vocal about his displeasure when I close the door. It has meant that he's way more affectionate when I'm actually home and paying him some attention though. Ah.. you treat 'em mean... ;o)
But I think that's most of the news. A bit of work, a bit of play, a bit of feline relations. Something for everyone I think. Except for music. I have to do up a review of the Amnesty gig I went to last weekend. Maybe next time.
Listening to: Xavier Rudd - Solace
posted by OLS |
Friday, October 07, 2005 | 10:05 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home