Defcon Mental

Some complicated and ridiculous things going on with the work of late - and as much as I'd love to rant and rave about them in public, I'm afraid I can't. Sadly all I can do is tell you that like some of my colleagues, I'm close to being "Weapons Grade Pissed Off", but for the time being I'll settle for "Generally Aggravated". Lets not discuss it further until such times as we can.

 

I did find myself in the unenviable position of spending the entire week in the city this time round though, and while I love the place in doses, I don't enjoy it as much in long stretches. I miss my family. With the phrase "it won't last forever" ringing in my ears, I can only hope it doesn't.

 

So what of any social element of my week? Well, the was a little in between the painful bits. Monday night saw us leaving the office around 19.30 because Me and the Hedge had to visit a small grocery shop just around the corner from the hotel to collect a parcel we'd jointly ordered from the boys at amazon. All went to plan despite our concerns over the use of a "drop box" in unknown enemy territory and we are now the proud owners of stereo Bluetooth headsets with hardly a wire in sight. Very geeky - and very cool.

 

After the collection from the "safe house" we managed to get Greth-the-Spreader, The Tall Fella, The Church Seating and the Duleymeister to all make the journey to the "The Queens" for two beers and a burger (well that's what I had) - which I have to say - was pretty bloody good actually. The stroll back across Primrose Hill was most pleasant with a great view of the city from the top. A good start to the week, and suitably refreshing for the 8am start in the office the next day.

 

Tuesday night was another early one - this time around 19:00 - not least because we were all "mildly annoyed" with the state of things in general. We ventured out onto the streets of Swiss Cottage and took a curry on board in "Eriki". Not bad if a little overpriced but it didn't settle well and as a result, sleep was something I could only dream of. (Oh, I see what you did there -Ed).

 

In fact, the lack of sleep was particularly hard when combined with an 8am start and a 10pm finish on Wednesday. Food was almost an after thought, but we did manage to throw some Tapas down our necks in "Mar y Terra", a tiny Spanish bar in Blackfriars which was actually excellent. Not sure if that was because we were soooo hungry, or it genuinely was excellent. Only way to know for sure, it's to pay it a return visit at some point preferably a little earlier in the evening next time though.

 

Thursday brought with it a 7.30 (in the office) start and what we'd planned to be a short day. In point of fact, it was - although events conspired against us to try and reverse this decision. As it worked out, I was able to slope off early and meet up with Stan - who was in the vicinity on business and we took a wander round the city sampling a few ales from various alehouses. By 6.30 the tall fella and the church seating joined us (The Hedge having an appointment with his sister) and once Stan legged it to the station to catch the last train home, we slipped into "Wong Kei's" in china town for some below average Chinese food.

 

Another early start today - 7.30 again, and to be honest, I am now knackered. It's been yet another roller-coaster of a week, which at times has left us despairing of the very existence of this job - and yet we battle on like the brave fools we are. I managed to catch the 5pm train out of Paddington so not all bad - and home is calling me louder than even my new headphones can block out.

 

"Come, sweet slumber, enshroud me in thy purple cloak" as "The Art of Noise" (assisted by Max Headroom, once put it.

 

Until next time...

 

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