Birthdays again

Yep.

That time of year again. Time to get cakes for the team and lie outrageously about the age. I have to admit, I don't lie that outrageously about my age but I find it hilarious to get other people to lie about my age.

I managed to get 3 guesses out of people today, although 2 of them knew far too much about my history which made their guesses reasonably close :

Bloke colleague - 37 (because he knows that I was on a certain course at the end of last century)
MiniMegan - 35 (due to comments about me working on stuff last century)
IT Girl (different one) - 25

That last guess is freakin' awesome. And that's language of a colour I only use here for emphasis. Guessing that low is amazing.

I'm curious actually - those of you who come here on the Facebook feed and therefore have access to real pictures of me, take a guess ! Even it's above my real age, it'll make me laugh. And laughter is one of the best sources of medicine for the soul.

It's a sign actually of how I've improved over the past year. This time last year (actually October), I was struggling with chunks missing out of my ear lobes and zombie patches on my face. And that's just the visible signs that I couldn't hide. The skin problem erupted over a very short time from being just on my legs, to being over maybe 30-40% of me. It still affects a lot of me but I'm in far better condition on the outside than I was this time last year.

Not out of the woods just yet though.

But I am a lot better even than last week when I was getting squished under a depressive cycle. I guess flipping that "Do I care ?" switch about a particular person has made more difference than it should have done. I still think about her for a significant proportion of the day (cos I'm still worried about her, partly due to lack of info) but the emphasis has shifted.

Yeah - I worry about a bunch of people. I have a hyperactive mind that flips back and forward like a rocket assisted metronome. So what I worry about flips around a lot, from hoping CQ is ok, to agreeing with BK that banning dogs is stoopid, to keeping an eye on the Phillipines situation, hoping that my new friends in the PHO group are coping with our nasty illness.

What I would like to find is someone in particular to worry about. Nah. That's not right. To find someone in particular to find ways to amuse in as imaginative and varied ways as possible. To have a target for all sorts of subterfuge that goes into surprising people in nice ways. And someone to help me out as well in return.

I think you get the picture there. Someone to ease that loneliness. It seems like whenever I find that rare person with that potential, they're either involved with someone else, be totally oblivious to my presence or run away screaming (metaphorically) when I invite them to do Stuff.

What did I do today on birthday day ?

Work as usual today, although a little more relaxed than average. That's partly due to us having a team brief which, while informative, puts a hole in the middle of the day when you're not actually producing anything. They're highly beneficial and we'd miss them if they were stopped.

There's two schools of thought with working on birthdays. I like being around people, which is why I'll work on my birthday. I get to buy them cakes and have them guess my age. The cake buying and giving thing cheers me up. Although it's important to respect people's wishes with the cakes. It's not a good thing to keep on at people to "Have a cake !" when they're a certain figure and maintaining that figure doesn't allow for cake.

As someone who needs to stay below a certain weight in order to have Outrageous Speed, I can understand that. Although I'm not religious about the weight thing because I know I have a certain natural weight which my body self regulates.

After work ? I'd have liked to join the work people in town, there was a leaving drinks thing this evening. Sadly (lol!) though, I had to pick up parcels from the Post Office place and the only viable time was tonight. They only open late on a Wednesday.

That gave me a perfect excuse to see Gravity ... I had to avoid the nearer Vue cinema due to them not showing it in Non Gimmick mode. Yep, just 3d showings for Cribbs. Their loss. The Longwell Green Vue is far higher quality. It feels like its been looked after. It has brighter carpets, they've painted the walls. The projectors gave a sharp picture.

Yep. I'll go back there, although there's less support places (Cribbs has a proper Mall instead of scattered retail park shops) at Longwell Green.

That's another thing about having a cooperative partner to drag around. Tonight's dinner was MehDonalds. I'd have much preferred to have an actual meal in the pub there or maybe even the Frankie & Bennys.

I'd better close out soon cos I'm rambling :

Condition - much improved since last year
Mental state - greatly enhanced by hilariously low guesses of my age
Gravity - excellent film, drama level maintained throughout
Birthday wishes - had lots of them today.

Thanks everyone !