It's been a while since I did that typically blog-ish thing, the deliberately self-indulgent online diary entry. However, as I've come to realise that the most that friends and acquaintances may hear of me comes direct from these entries, I suppose I should do a few more!

The Monday to Friday 9 til 5 (OK, 8.30am until 4.30pm, with an hour earlier shift so I can get football in on Wednesdays with colleagues after work) is draining me more than I thought it would. My body seems more adjusted to either complete inactivity (the natural male state, I hear you feminists cry) to simply working fewer - but much longer - days. I'm feeling sleepy when I'm in from work only an hour or two, but it's not hard to stay awake when you have a fab little 2 year old really glad to have you home, and eager to babble on about her day in the cutest little broken sentences ever.

It's impossible to get across in words how it is to be a Dad. I know it's different for everyone, but I always wanted kids, and the fact that I have a genuine soul-mate for a wife makes it all picture perfect. I could just sit and watch our little one for hours; she's fascinating. Her completely non-cynical and innocently naive take on everything is extremely refreshing, considering the incredible cynicism of her father. My faith in human nature has been restored somewhat, and recharges slowly, the further I am away from T-Mobile in both space and time.

Looks like the project I'm employed on at work is going to run until the end of July, which will serve to recharge my coffers significantly. The payment holiday we took on the mortgage runs until March 2009, so this gives me plenty of time to find a good permanent job when this finally runs its course. It'll be a shame, as it's a really nice place to work, and the atmosphere is great.

Things are good and steady, and it all bodes well for the future.

Mars

This picture was taken from the latest Mars lander mission, which successfully touched down there recently.

Something about this picture just puts everything into perspective. Sure, it's a fairly featureless and largely barren landscape, but... no human has ever set foot on it. It is completely untouched by human hand (and, for the most part, by incredibly expensive techno-litter) and should remain so for a very, very long time.

I find this quite comforting- there is so much more outside our own insignificant little sphere, just waiting to be explored. What purpose Earth governments, or politics, or war, or the latest series of Big Brother, when faced with the incredible vastness of...well... everywhere else...?

If Aliens are truly visiting this planet, it could only be as some kind of comedy theme park outing for them. They probably mutilate cattle, leave crop-circles and anally probe Rednecks in the same way that we might buy a pair of Mickey Mouse ears or a 'Kiss Me Quick' T-Shirt.

New Horizons

I really must take the time to post here more often.

As an update to those not in the know, I've recently started a period of temporary admin work for a major bank. The pay is good, the atmosphere is excellent, and the work is very interesting!

To say it's a far cry from the call-centre driven experience that my working life has been dominated by in the past is an understatement. It's a veritable breath of fresh air, and although it's only temporary, it serves to :

1) Show that Iam eminently employable in non customer service work, away from a headset, and can be trusted with very sensitive information and ;

2) Recharge my haggard current account; it'll allow me to take my time finding a permanent position more under my own terms and timescales. Also it means that ;

3) T-Mobile are no longer my last employer, so I need have nothing more to do with them. Huzzah!

I'm doing the standard Monday to Friday 7.5hr days, but it's very local to where I live so travel isn't tough. Being that I was only working 3 days a week (albeit 10.5 hour shifts) at T-Mobile, and have then had almost 3 months out of work, it's taking some time for my body clock to adjust to this new routine. I'm shattered.

But inwardly smug too :)