Five Year Fix, Five Year Plan

badmemory

The good news being that you weren't a naughty enough driver to NOT be able to do the speed awareness course.

Merlin's_Beard

badmemory said:

The good news being that you weren't a naughty enough driver to NOT be able to do the speed awareness course.

I was, no word of a lie,1mph off not getting a letter at all. A 60mph limited zone turned into a 50mph limited zone on an empty motorway and at 12.30am, trying to get home through diversions, I clearly didn't notice quickly enough.

KajiKita

That Black Sun book sounds really interesting - thanks for the heads up 😊

I got to a point this month where I realised I wasn’t reading any books at all, just magazines. I think the heat and disturbed sleep as a result reduced my capability for getting into a book. Since restarting reading, I have got through 1.5 this week 😊

KK

Merlin's_Beard

KajiKita said:

That Black Sun book sounds really interesting - thanks for the heads up 😊

I got to a point this month where I realised I wasn’t reading any books at all, just magazines. I think the heat and disturbed sleep as a result reduced my capability for getting into a book. Since restarting reading, I have got through 1.5 this week 😊 

KK

Would definitely recommend - it's by Rebecca Roanhorse and is the first of a trilogy (second was immediately on my to-read list, third is out later this year). I think the heat/lack of sleep is the root of most of my issues this month as well, alongside the disruption of the work getting done outside. Amazing how lack of rest just hits every single other part of your life/mind.

killerpeaty

Really happy to hear that the garden is looking good!

It sucks so much about your speeding ticket. I've heard the course is not the most fun thing in the world but only half a day?

Resting is so important, I go a bit loopy if I get less than 7 hours

savingholmes

Your EF is looking healthy given you've just had work done.

I'm hoping I didn't get done for speeding today. I didn't see the speed change sign - but the camera didn't flash so hoping I'm okay. Good luck with your course

Merlin's_Beard

Got the annual review of my income protection - it's inflation linked which is great (the amount will go up every year) but also means with the last year my policy is going up from £48pm to £55. Hopefully I'll never need it, but it is my bills paid if I ever get ill or can't work at my job so it's paying for security.

Front garden deweeded, lawn mowed, laundry done - I've now got enough patio that I can stand a clothes horse outside, which will decrease my energy bill as I use the tumble dryer less. I've also got a washing line that's arrived, just need to collar my dad and his power tools to help set it up.

Lawn edging shears ordered because it's distinctly scraggy, along with an adaptor for my phone (no jack for earplugs and my car is too old for bluetooth, so a jack-USBC converter), and a pair of bluetooth earphones (I think I accidentally threw away my over-ear wired headphones because I can't find them).

This month needs to be a quiet one financially. One birthday present to buy for the end of the month.

Merlin's_Beard

Horrible work week. Everything spent every day teetering on the brink of disaster (time management and workflow wise, mostly, not medically speaking!) and I have a tendency to catastrophise, so I spent a lot of the week as stressed as if the disasters were actually happening. Lots of multitasking patients and tasks, which also stresses me out. Felt a bit like spinning plates all week. A midweek evening training session that we were all voluntold for, which left me doing effectively a 13 hour shift that day.

So basically I collapsed on Saturday and reappeared from my sofa at about 6pm thinking "oh no" (words were slightly different...) "I need to do all my laundry for Monday, cook meals, and be ready to be at a motorsports thing in 13 hours"

Long story short, expensive ready meals purchased from the local shop at 8.30pm  for yesterday and today. Also cupcakes, so I could eat my feelings. Laundry done. Motorsports thing done today - also overran due to the rain. But my phone still works after this thunderstorm so small wins?

Lawn edging shears arrived, so garden given a haircut. Chatted with neighbour as I did it, and they offered to let their gardener look after the lawn? I'm terrible at subtext, and I was in a terrible mood already, so I have no idea where on the scale of "we're trying to be helpful to our working single neighbour" to "I hate living next to this scruffy mess" that offer actually came from. Politely declined. Hopefully if it's the latter the new neatness should win them over. If it's the former, then it's quite satisfying to look after it anyway.

Wireless earphones arrived as well, but I can only get one to work at a time because they won't talk to each other. Very much a problem for a different day.

KajiKita

Oh MB I can totally relate …. Weeks like that are hellish. Don’t worry too much about the ready meals and cupcakes - I’m in a similar zone atm but am adding pickles, vegetables and fruit wherever I can to offset them. 

Well done on getting everything done at the weekend for the following week. 

That week sounds crazy-intense - are there alternative roles you could look at that don’t require such intense working hours? 

KK

killerpeaty

It's ok to not be at the optimal sometimes, obviously you had a bad week. Most importantly, how were the cupcakes?

The neighbours were probably trying to be friendly honestly!