Diary type entry

I'll just tuck this sort of diary stuff into a separate blog entry, to try and keep things a little neater. After last weekend, the working week has felt a bit of a struggle. Not in a bad way, just that it took me a fair while catching up on my sleep and getting back into a routine after being out on the Saturday night.

Not an incredibly busy week, but pretty steady, I tend to measure these things by meetings, so there were a couple of meetings where I was simply attending/supporting, which was fine. A couple of pretty informal ones where I was just meeting people. And one where I ended up sorting out the agenda and chairing.

This last meeting was our branch meeting, there have been quite a few changes lately, and a few more coming up, so there was a feeling in the air that we needed to get together to discuss. That said, I was not convinced that an informal structure would work, so I pushed for an agenda, and was offered the chance to chair, which I took up. I tend to chair a meeting, in pretty much the same way that I facilitate a meeting. That is, I like everyone to get a chance to speak, and I see it as my role to ensure that the quieter voices get heard, and the louder voices let them. Actually it went pretty well.

I also had a meeting with my mentor, something that has been arranged through work, and had been in the planning stage for ages, but now that it has got going is really excellent. I suppose every mentoring arrangement is different, but I find this a useful sounding board, and having discussed approaches, I then feel committed to actually do what I promised to do. So in terms of personal development, it is a useful motor to get me to try and push myself. The chairing the branch meeting was one of those things, I could have simply sat back, but there was that little voice saying, this is the sort of developmental thing that it would be good to do. If you think you are promotion material, you need to be demonstrating the skills.

I'm applying for another job, which actually looks pretty good, though challenging. However I am not going to die in a ditch if I don't get it. Simply get some feedback on my performance, and try and do better the next time. To be honest I am more focussed on extra salary as something that will impact on my pension, than as take home pay at the moment. Although, like everyone else, money is starting to get pretty tight.

Yesterday, went quickly. By the time you get through the big pile of chores, and walk the dog, and relax a bit, it is time for bed.

Trying to find things that we can watch together with the girls, which currently covers upto a 12 certificate. So yesterday we saw an Outer Limits episode, Demon with the Glass Hand, and Terminator 3. A bit of an opportunity to compare and contrast classic science fiction with a more modern version. For those that have not seen the Outer Limits episode, it is an absolute classic, it won awards, and was written by Harlan Ellison. I think it is even credited in Terminator, and used the same building that much of Bladerunner is set in.

Spent the afternoon in the garden, a bit iffy for mowing the lawn, but plenty of trimming and weeding to do. This year just seems to be a year of trimming and weeding and not much time for anything else. That said, when the weather is fine, there is no better place to be than pottering in the garden. I have grown a pair of wormwood bushes from seed, and one is full of bugs. Gratifying to see that it also has a few very happy ladybirds, getting all lethargic from a constant diet of aphids. I suppose we need to offer the habitat if we want to keep the nature.