Grumbles, wrinkles and other minutiae

Grumbles first. I�m back at work today.

This may lead you to wonder at the coincidence of a new entry showing up today. No coincidence at all, of course. For three reasons I can immediately think of:

1. I have sorted out my desk, my snail mail, and my email, and now don�t want to get started on actual work because I haven�t yet turned on my work brain.

2. I am actually well enough to be thinking somewhat clearly � if not about work � unlike last week. Am still on the cold medication though.

3. Actually being out in the world leads to topic ideas much faster than lying on the couch sniffling and coughing.

Last night I really, really, really did not want to come back to work today. I have a good job and all but I did not want to be attending the office at all today or for at least the rest of the week. As a result I didn�t sleep well, so am even more stuffed than usual this morning. At least by virtue of the �race that stops the nation� this is a short week and Wednesday is already half over.

Of course when I got here it wasn�t as bad as I�d imagined during the late night hours, though my desk does resemble the Himalayas at the moment. I had been checking my email from home, so there were no great surprises there and wading through 150 odd emails is easier when you�ve already seen most of them. And the Boss was helpful. Instead of stacking everything up on my chair for me to try and decipher hand-scrawled notes and swear generally at having everything dumped on me, he gave me a few files during the course of the morning with explanations rather than scrawled notes. Much more helpful.

I am counting the days until Christmas holidays though.

Wrinkles second. Of the clothing rather than the face kind.

I am not a big ironer. In fact, I try to avoid it at all costs and for about five years my iron was only used by my brother Boofhead or Nathan when they had crashed at my place and needed to iron a shirt for work. I�m not quite that iron-phobic any more, but I only do it when I have too.

Leaving the office to go and get a sandwich at lunchtime I was annoyed to find myself looking all wrinkled when I glanced in the mirror in the elevator. It�s only lunchtime and I�m wearing a perfectly respectable shirt and pants that left the house this morning ironed. Grudgingly ironed, but ironed none the less. But by lunchtime, wrinkled. Its not fair and I don�t think there�s anything I can do about it except going back to winter turtlenecks and tweedy skirts that require no ironing. But I don�t think the weather would comply. Grumble.

Third. I went for a long walk yesterday in the lovely Spring weather (which showed up just in time to go back to work, of course).

Wound up at the CD store where they were having a 10% off everything sale. And they have some pretty good reduced prices to begin with. I came home with the following:

- Billy Bragg�s new greatest hits double album (the reason I went into the store in the first place)

- The Strokes� new album (I think they�re a bunch of wankers but like the music anyway)

- John Mayer�s last album (have been meaning to buy for some time)

- Sophie Ellis-Bextor�s first album (because that �Murder on the Dancefloor� song has grown on me and even though I�ll probably never listen to the rest of the album at least it was cheap)

- Bruce Springsteen�s greatest hits (most of the songs I like all in one place that is not the 3 CD live set that I already have)

- Bee Gees greatest hits double album (just because)

- Eels, Souljacker (�Souljacker� Part 1)

I there anything wrong with this list? What does it say about me? Hmmm. Things to ponder.

Fourth. I got my tax refund. Woohoo!

Fifth. I�m getting a new mobile phone. All organised over the phone while I was standing in line at the bank to deposit said refund. They�re delivering it to me at the office on Friday. No mess, no fuss, no waiting. Colour screen and two months free internet. Not that I need either of those things, but I do need a new phone and if they�re not going to charge me for it, who am I to argue?