I Don't Like Mondays

except when they're bank holidays of course. It's that wonderful day of feeling like a Monday, yet it's really Tuesday, and the weekend isn't so far off. Having said that the last two days have felt like Sundays, so it's a bit of a trade off I guess. Things are looking up at least: Heir No. 2 can now climb on and off the sofa without any risk to life and limb, Heir No. 1 has at least listened more over the weekend, and only got sent to his room on one occasion. My brother-in-law brought his new fiancee round at the weekend. As per usual she is stick thin, and appears to dote on him. By my quick reckoning this is the 5th fiancee of his I have met, and that doesn't include his first wife, who he was already married to when I entered his life. Only my good taste and manners prevent me from starting a book on how long this relationship will last! Somewhat surprisingly he has yet to meet her parents, normally he follows strict tradition and asks for the daughter's hand before proposing. Then dumps them a couple of months later, or marries them, then decides they want different things and dumps them. There's at least one consistent strand there though. To be honest I could probably write a whole blog about my brother-in-law, but it would be dismissed as utter fiction. Oh where would I start? The narcissism complex that he is getting treated for, the unparalleled climb up the corporate ladder without the benefit of a degree or even decent A level results? The sudden disappearance a la Reggie Perrin from his first wife, the illegal alien status of his second? The fact that he "no longer needed the trappings of materialistic wealth to prove his own worth", shortly followed by the purchase of a Porsche convertible? This may now be coming across as petty jealousy, and whilst I am about to deny that, it will not merely be a blanket denial. I know for a fact that I have something that he doesn't and quite possibly never will have. I have so much love in my life, my wife, my children, my mother - all of it unconditional and so much more rewarding than any fast car or salary figure. I hope that he will find what he is seeking, but somehow I feel that contentment and true happiness are going to miss him out. That will be a shame, because I firmly believe that everyone can enjoy life with the right outlook and attitude. Again I feel blessed.

Life a bowl of cherries?

Problems on all fronts this week - Work: the disciplinary thing rumbles on - meaning more meetings with HR etc. We've also got two different sets of auditors in - all asking questions I'd rather they weren't. At home heir number 1 is not listening to what he's told - then gets told off - the gets upset - the promises to listen and behave - then doesn't listen - then gets told off etc. etc. Heir number 2 has now learnt how to climb onto the sofa, and sits there looking very proud of herself. Unfortunately her skills do not extend to being able to get off the sofa, well without falling off anyway. I expect the lesson will be learnt quickly! Heir number 3 under construction at the moment - next week we have a scan and should hopefully find out the sex.

Hatchet Man

Well things have escalated in terms of work, and I now am in the position of having to discipline a member of staff for failing to do their job properly. Stage one is issuing a letter informing them of the need to attend a disciplinary hearing in a week's time. I am not looking forward to the reaction, but things may well get interesting. and I'm not even getting paid for managing this person!

I just don't know what to do with myself...

Another long delay between posts, partially work related, partially related to my attempts to start a different Blog. I wasn't feeling comfortable with the direction this one was taking, but upon reflection and starting a new one, I'm back to try and make a go of this one. Work is heading for meltdown - I've got so many deadlines looming that I really don't know which way to turn. One of the major causes of backlogs and usurper of my time is now facing disciplinary procedures. In my last meeting with directors the lack of progress with tasks was unavoidable. Whilst I never like seeing people in trouble, this person has left themselves wide open to criticism and the chickens have most definitely come home to roost. I'm actually feeling so frazzled at the moment that I know my home life is suffering. Normally when I get home from work I enjoy playing with the kids - their simple joys are a real antidote to work stresses. This last week however I have found it hard not to get annoyed at things that I would normally shrug off, or even join in with. From my own childhood I remember my father wanting peace and quiet when he got in from work, and I resolved not to be like that. So far it hasn't taken any resolve on my part, it's come naturally: organising games for the kids, tickling them and reducing my wife's stress levels has been a pleasure. I realise now, that I was naive to think that at some times it wouldn't be necessary to make an effort to achieve these goals. The more I delve into the world of Blogs the more I realise that I do have a pretty good life compared to a lot of people. Even when things get tough I manage to deal with them pretty well for the most part. And I know now that when things are bad I am able to realise it and change my approach and outlook accordingly. I feel truly thankful for this ability. Hopefully it makes my relationship with my wife and children all the better. That's something that I certainly don't take for granted, and hope I never do.

Bah! - crossed fingers phooey

Sleep is yet again a commodity which I have been deprived of. Got to sleep in whatI'm sure was a record time in recent weeks. But around 2am the whining started again. Trying to describe the sound is tricky, but it's akin to nails down a blackboard, but with more changes in pitch thankfully. A sort of long continuous shriek, the sort which makes you think that she knows, even at 15 months old, what sounds really cannot be ignored. So up and down a few times - once in her room the sound mysteriously stops, replaced on at least one occasion by a giggle, just to add insult to injury. It became rapidly apparent that there was nothing seriously wrong, and very little that could be done to alleviate the condition. Even the modern day saviours that are Calpol and Calgel could not change circumstances. So I found myself at 3am trying to reason with a 15 month old baby " Come on you know there's nothing seriously wrong, you must be tired, let's cuddle you up with tinkling bunny". Now sometimes I have no doubt that she understands exactly what I am saying, yet now in the middle of the night she acts as though I am speaking a completely different language. I am beginning to suspect that the female ability to completely re-interpret what men say develops at a far younger age than I previously thought. I'm saying "let's settle down and get some sleep", she hears, "carry on whining, I'm really enjoying it". Coupled with this is my wife's ability to sleep through/ignore and hope I deal with the situation. Unfortunately I inadvertently nudged her upon getting back in bed, provoking too rapid a response foe her to have been genuinely asleep. Her fall back position was that with her blocked sinuses from her current cold she hadn't heard a thing, but could strangely hear my muttered curses just afterwards. Another amazing female ability.

All change

Well temp number 1 lasted all of two days - then struck by a migraine and coping with a suicidal boyfriend she hasn't returned. So now we have a new temp - Nicky is a school leaver, 18 and creating a lot of interest in the office. We now have lots of male colleagues visiting our section on some pretext or other, visibly sucking their paunches in. I'm quite enjoying maintaining a conversation with them, watching them a) struggle to maintain breathing while holding belly in and b) struggling to follow the conversation as they ogle Nicky. At least the atmosphere in the office has improved, and Nicky appears to be pretty capable, and more importantly interested in the work. Struggling today - our last addition is cutting more teeth, so I have been awake since 3.30am. Lack of sleep coupled with playing football last night is wreaking havoc with my capabilities. Roll on bed time tonight - with fingers crossed for a full night's sleep.

Work Work Work

Another sizeable gap in posts - this time due to work constraints. I think I am part of some hybrid tolerance/hidden camera show test. No sooner do I manage to resolve problems with one area of work, and finally get things working on a regular basis, than I get assigned a new area of work. To be fair, this one doesn't have inherrent problems and does work quite smoothly on a month to month basis, but I was hoping for some sort of respite and the chance to take some holidays. Still no mention of remuneration fo rthis new area of work, just as there wasn't for the last one I took on. Apparently I have to wait for the new Pay and Gradings scheme to be launched in December. This is one of the pitfalls in working in Local Government - everything is tied up in red tape and bureacracy. If this were the real world I would be getting an nice enhancement to my salary about now. Still I can hopefully look forward to a sizeable back payment when/if things ever do get sorted. I hope that my new temp is up to the tasks needed. Rather worryingly the recruitment consultant described her as a "plodder" - which apparently is a compliment. It's meant to convey that she gets through the work without having aspirations - make of that what you will. Updates will no doubt follow