Today I was supposed to be making big in-roads into our waiting list for initial appointments. It would have gone well if people had actually bothered to turn up, over the course of the whole day only 1 person turned up! Now whilst that was good for the admin I've had piling up around my ears it was bad for our wait times. All of those people that haven't turned up will have to have another appointment offered (for some this was strike 2 of a potential 3) and then people complain about how long they have to wait to be seen.
School holidays are always a nice time at work. A lot of people in the team only work during termtime, so its nice and quiet and there's a bit of a blitz mentality. We always have nice cake and actually have occasional chats that we don't stop and have otherwise. My clinic workload doesn't reduce, but I don't have to go out to schools. Means there's time to catch up on reports and write programmes for children. Its always a nice feeling to start the new half term with a relatively clean desk.
Plus, school holidays mean its easier to take time off and go visiting.
I spent the weekend having a wonderful time down in London at Gemma's. I drove down which was a novelty, its been a long time since I last drove on the M25 and it was the furthest I've ever taken this car. The roads were pleasantly quiet which meant I got a good chance to test the car out... I'm not convinced that the reported top speeds are accurate - if they are then mine is breaking the mould :)
The weekend was spent mainly watching films. I have finally seen the 'Back to the Future' trilogy. Yes, I'd managed to get to my ripe old age without seeing any of them. I'm so so glad that I've seen them now, and just wish that I'd been watching them for years.
We all loved 'The Unicorn and the Wasp'. I thought it was very funny, and well written - it really felt like the step up from 'The Shakespeare Code'. I also really liked how it was woven around Agatha Christie's disappearance, felt quite clever to me.
Today back at work has felt a little like a rude awakening. I've felt really irritated by the smallest things today, so have ended up trying to be as invisible as possible. I think the fact I got missed on the tea run almost every time may have contributed to my irritation... just an inkling though.
Yup, I'm back just one day and already I'm whinging. Today I had my semi-regular catch up meeting with my line manager. That in itself feels like a bit of a bone of contention - I'm the only person who has these meetings, and I start to wonder quite how long they want me to work there before they cease. The bit that really got me though was when she suggested that I have anxiety about my health, and this causes me to give up quicker than most people. It just showed me that after over 18 months she hasn't got a clue about me or what I'm like.
Luckily its not only me who is have issues with her, she's ruffling a lot of feathers. We all end up having hushed whinging sessions, which is cathartic at the time but very bad really. I don't want my workplace to end up like that - considering its an all female office there is very little of the stereotypical women together behaviour. It'd be a real shame if that changed.
Long story short I've decided I miss blogging and so I'm going to try and actually use my vox on a more regular basis. I've realised I have more to say than things about work (well occasionally) so when I do I'm going to say them.
Now to remember how to update my profile pic (I barely remember when my hair was that short and curly).
confession: i only gotta vox so i could chat with other vox-ers, so there's really nothing to see here.
in fact no-one ever reads this so i could use it to slag off everyone i know... if they weren't all so goshdarn perfect in every way! (yeah, forget what i said before, you never know who's reading).
anyway, if you want to read more of this nonsense (and who wouldn't?) i blog with frightening regularity at what do you do? and archive it later at posts from the past.
you can also find me on twitter, linked in and facebook - but not myspace, 'cos i lost all my login info.
and you can email me if you need me.
or want to offer me work. (which would be nice. as long as it's paid, and above board, and i can do it in my pyjamas.)
i'll shut up now.
Dear vox...
I love you, I truly do, but the lack of HTML control has done me in. I will be using you for secretprivatestuff. But apart from that, I've moved...
http://www.gemmacartwright.com
Yep. I have my own domain. This officially makes me a loser, as if you didn't already know.
For the benefit of the poor people forced to buy me things I don't really need this Christmas, here's a wishlist full of things that are too expensive for you to buy me anyway...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/37EOK7PXXQ7RR
I'd particularly like the laptop. Thanks Santa.
At 6.15pm on November 7th, and an email with THIS as the subject header appears in my inbox...
"WHAT TO BUY YOUR CAR FOR CHRISTMAS"
I thought I must have been mistaken, but no, it really was a press release about buying Christmas presents for your car. The poor PR who resorted to this to keep their client happy deserves either a medal or a good beating. I'm not sure which.
Show us your favorite doctor.
I'm in the process - yet again - of trying to lose weight. This time last year I was lighter than I've ever been in my adult life. Now I'm back up the other end of the scale again. I'm not obese, I don't have major issues, but I'm a little big bigger than I should be to be both healthy and happy, and my clothes are all way too snug for my liking. I have a limit, and I just stepped over it.
This time I've refused to see it as a constant battle, though. I don't like being 'that' diet girl. I don't want to talk about it constantly, I just want to be consciously aware of what I'm putting in my body. I can't deal with a diet if it's something that stops me from having fun in the meantime. One bowl of greasy pasta here or pizza there is not going to kill me, but it needs to be far less regular than it has been.
Problem is, it's already proving difficult only two weeks in. I picked the worst time of year to do this, as all the parties and social events in the business are beginning already, and as much as I pretend that I can go to them and not drink, I know that's a big fat lie.
Fat being the operative word there, of course.
The problem with me is that I always have to be involved. I have a very difficult time saying 'no' to things. It's like I think if I miss one evening in the pub with a few work colleagues, I'm going to miss the moment something major happens. Of course I never do. All I end up doing is going home via [insert fast food joint here] completely ruining all my hard work the rest of the week.
So I've decided it's time to put my old 'rule' into place. This worked really well last time even if it makes me sound a bit like an alcoholic. For the next month or so, I have a 4 day no drinking rule each week. That basically means I can either drink at the weekend or in the week, but never both, because four days a week must be completely dry. And those three shouldn't be binge days, they should just be the odd vodka and diet coke to look sociable and wind down after another stressful day.
Its going to kill me in the short term but save me in the long term, I hope. I'm not happy being this big, but I have to make an effort to get slimmer - and once I get there I have to continue to keep an eye on what I'm eating. The unfortunate truth is I'll never be one of those girls who can eat or drink what she wants and never go above a size ten. Inside of me is a fat girl screaming for KFC. I just need to keep her dormant.
Bruges doesn't count, by the way. It's a different area code...
