Tag: colleagues

Catching up

It seems like an age since I last wrote but it was actually 24 hours ago. After working all weekend I have had three days off which have been bliss. With warm sunny autumnal days walking the dogs, plenty of time to myself to chill out and we finally have a brand new boiler installed with piping hot water.

I had planned to go into Manchester on Monday morning for a catch up breakfast with a mate of mine but he cried off late on Sunday evening leaving me to my own devices Monday. However all I did was catch up on the house chores as well as giving my car a good clean inside and out.

Another mate of mine bailed out of meeting up for a catch up too. Do I smell?? Actually it has annoyed me that I have done lots of chasing of people who are quick to tell you they cannot wait to meet up and how it’s been ages since we did that, blah, blah, blah. When it actually comes down to it they disappear like a snowflake in summer. All those times they say we must meet up, it’s been ages, etc then when you try to get them to commit they go missing. Ah well, I did enjoy having time with the dogs so all wasn’t lost. My wife travelled up to Glasgow on Monday evening for a work conference so I really did have some “me” time.

Today we had a new boiler fitted which has set us back almost £2000. The old one which in fact was only 7 years old had me tearing my hair out as the way it was behaving. Whilst it was working to a fashion it would never have made it through the winter. I am so glad to see the back of the old boiler with the new one heating up the water in record time. I even have a new toy to play with. It comes with a wireless digital control to set the timer, etc so I’ll be having a faff with that later.

Tomorrow sees me return to training just for one day which means I won’t be in the office dealing with all the usual rubbish we deal with. Then it’s Friday and the weekend so I’ve had an easy week this week.

Being off has allowed me to go running every day which surprised me. My recovery is better now with no aches and pains and the runs are feeling slightly easier the more I do. It will be weekend before I get out on a run again but hopefully the two days rest will do me good. Soon I hope to up my runs beyond the two miles I have currently been doing.

Enjoy your day.

Something different

For the last six weeks, I have been on a course with work and out of my usual routine of working shifts, something I have done for eighteen years. When I have previously attended courses these have lasted for anything from one day to one week. So the thought of working Monday to Friday 8am-3pm daily did initially make me wonder how I would adjust. Adjust I did and as I enter the last couple of days of the course, I can honestly say that I have thoroughly enjoyed the course and also enjoyed working Monday to Friday, having every weekend off.

If you work shifts then you will know where I am coming from. I am well and truly out of the routine of “living for the weekend”. Those daily rush hour drives into work that have you stressed before you have even started. The Monday morning blues, excitement of Fridays and repeat. I did think the weeks would drag and I would spend my days counting down the time until the weekend but thankfully that has not been the case.

Sure some mornings the traffic was the pits, other days everyone appeared to have stayed in bed and I enjoyed a simple drive in. It is strange how some days are busier on the roads than others, two days are never the same, I do wonder where do people go sometimes?

Having every weekend off with the family has been very enjoyable. Guaranteed weekends off allowed us to plan things in and that has to be one of the best things about working Monday to Friday. Shift work does allow me some weekends off but I do enjoy my days off in the week when everyone else is in work. So the roads are quieter as are the shops.

One regret whilst on the course has not been making the most of the time I have had in the evenings. Returning home by 3 or 4pm has allowed me plenty of time in the evenings to either exercise or do some chores about the house. I certainly would have liked to have exercised more in the evenings by either jogging or swimming but this course has been taxing on the brain.

You would think that sitting on your backside all day listening and learning with going for coffee being the most exercise you get all day would mean that you would be full of energy in the evenings. Sadly not.

Each evening all I have wanted to do is sit down, have dinner and do very little else. Some evenings I have been asleep by 10pm completely shattered after a day of doing very little. Some say, “the less you do the less you want to do” and I do believe that saying. I suspect getting up at 6.20am for five days consecutively has an impact as well as the amount of thinking you have to do which means you are shattered when you get home.

Before I know it I will be back at work and into the old routine, wishing I was back on the course having a laugh with my colleagues and finished by 3pm. I had better enjoy the last few days whilst I have the opportunity.