Coming back to work ...

... is always better when you are greeted by Pretty Ladies who wave at you.

Mind you, I did have to edge around, jump up and down a bit and do manic-mini-wave at them before they noticed. (Not quite, they were nattering but not quite that engrossed).

This week off definitely did me some good. When I downed tools, I was absolutely mentally and physically shot. That's from time catching up to me as well as a lot of missed sleep and some of the implications of my physical condition.

I'm definitely improved energy wise (although I did have a little stress attack this morning which my legs didn't appreciate). I was a lot more engaged at work today and the random thoughts were coming out again. That's my key strength at work. While I can follow the orthodoxy that Good Business Practice tends to demand, I'll also throw out the rulebook and make it up as I go along. As long as the mental energy is there to spark it off.

I like having that spark. The randomness keeps me unpredictable.

So what have I been doing on the break ?

Listening to lots of music. Hey ! It's me. Ok, I've not made that much of a dent in that battery of unlistened to music but I've taken a bit of a bite out of it. It was at 9 days unlistened before, now it's at 8.3 days unlistened. That's cos I'll listen to tracks one by one before listening to the whole album. I get a better appreciation for the individual tracks that way.

Some artists make outstanding albums, some artists make outstanding singles. I'd put Arctic Monkeys as an album maker and Ellie Goulding as a single maker. And then there's the Cardigans ...

I have a new Super Ultimate Mega Favourite Song. It's Song For The Leftovers by A Camp, who were led by Nina Persson of the Cardigans. I linked it in the What The F A to Z post (at the end). I guess it touches a nerve "We are the best leftovers of the night" ...

Been watching sport. Lots of sport.

The week started with Le Mans. I didn't watch all of it, the mental exhaustion put paid to that. I was totally and utterly beat. That weekend turned out to be :

Cricket on the telly - hours of play are 11.00 until 18.30. England vs Sri Lanka. Decent game, very close at the end. Glued to the finish, which was a well earned draw by both sides.
Le Mans on the desktop - 3pm BST until 3pm BST the next day. It was a good Le Mans this year, with Porsche, Audi and Toyota providing the leading runners. They all had problems, Audi won despite losing one of their cars to a rain induced crash and having to change the turbochargers on the other two. Never really knew how it would work out.
Footie on the telly - conveniently after close of play in the cricket. I had the footie on mute because you really don't gain any benefit from the commentating.

The England footie started at 11pm and as the players were running out on the pitch, fatigue hit bigtime and I tried for sleep. (Hitting the record button so I could watch it the next morning).

I think I've caught up on some sleep. The physical condition I'm managing is trying to heal up now. The cuts disappear after a day or so like normal. But ... the self discipline slips when I'm trying to sleep and I end up attacking myself, making more cuts.

Heh - self inflicted wounds and all that. My answer is to try and keep the self discipline and above all else, keep the wounds clean. I think that's helping above everything else.

It does seem to be working. A quiet week has seen my legs get much improved. I'd have almost passed them fit for cricket a day ago (before I attacked them again early this morning).

Enough about my difficulties though.

It was good to be back in work today. It gives me a sense of value. People value my knowledge and experience and they know that if I don't know something absolutely, I'll give them a hint of where to go to find out what they need.

And it wasn't just the Pretty Ladies on my way in to the office, as I was walking to my desk - what do I see ? Another Pretty Lady walking my way - this being the one that has a massive radiant smile just bursting to jump out. She's a little shy so the smile doesn't come out too often but when it does ? Everything seems right.