Resolving

So I guess I'm working through some laziness..?

I'd more-or-less decided to do a bit of shopping today - pop over to Uxbridge and/or Harrow, pick up a DVD or two (Scott Pilgrim is out now, after all), possibly WiiFit Plus (with Balance Board) assuming I could find it...

But, in the end, I've stayed indoors all day - not even popping out to restock on fizzy drinks, or empty my bins. Sure, I've done some laundry, but that's about all I've done of any great import. Other than that, I've been bumming about on the internet, burning through my bandwidth, and I decided to watch The Men Who Stare At Goats on DVD.

It had been recommended to me, having missed it in the cinemas, but I really didn't know what to expect from it. I was quite pleasantly surprised by a bizarre, yet subtly-played road movie - the road travelled being both a geographical and a metaphysical transformation. It's one of those comedies that doesn't make you laugh so much as think... its situations being, by turns, strange and harrowing. And, naturally, Kevin Spacey was the bad guy...

Anyway... here we are, approaching the end of 2010. 10 years after the Millenium Bug didn't cripple the world's economy, it has been brought to its knees by the very people who were operating it. London has a mere two years to completely overhaul its transport infrastructure to the point where its hosting of the next Olympics will not be an unmitigated disaster for all concerned. I've been made redundant by one of the UK's largest independent publishers, because they think they can save a few quid running the Production side of their operation from a battery farm in their head office in Norwich, even though they've seen twice before that it doesn't work.

It's looking increasingly likely that I'll be working on a freelance basis for my former boss, who's setting up her own Design company. Whether she's based in Blackheath or elsewhere depends on when the serviced offices in Blackheath become available - the date keeps getting put back.

So what else am I going to do to stop myself going stir crazy?

Well, there's always writing. I've had the germs of several stories - at least two series of novels, potentially - knocking about in my head for far too long... Now I'm going to be alone with my thoughts for a while, perhaps they'll line up and come out in an orderly fashion. Stranger things have happened... but, frankly, the last time I did any significant writing, it was almost an act of retaliation. My 'opponent' has long since faded back into the abyss. The writing group I had joined is effectively gone due to the death of one of its founders, and I haven't even tried to find another. Writing challenges from friends have been roundly ignored, even when I have ideas that fit.

Nevertheless, I shall try.

Other 'New Year's Resolution'-type things include:

• Get a bit more active... even if it's only with WiiFit. I'm four years shy of 40, and am beginning to notice that I'm not as fit as I used to be. There's a park just down the road, and I could do worse than wander down there for a walk every so often.
• Spend less time on the internet... and more time in the real world? Wow... that'd be a step...
• Stop dismissing out of hand anything and everything that I don't believe will work... I should always at least try, until I'm certain. As part of this, I'm actually intending to keep in touch with a few folks from my last job, which I've never really been keen to do in the past. I've always felt that any connection made in an office environment is irrevocably connected to that office environment, and cannot translate to 'The Real World'... I may be wrong in that assessment. That said, I'm generally an excellent judge of character... so while I may be keeping in touch, there will be an element of caution involved with some of them.
• Cut down on the analysing... Several people over the last month or so have mentioned to me that they feel I am constantly 'judging' or 'criticising'. This isn't necessarily true, but I am constantly analysing... and, I suppose, that does sometimes lead to a conclusion being reached, and this conclusion can alter my behaviour in certain circumstances. Not that that's a bad thing.
• If I do end up in another office... I shall fight off the urge to generate a new 'Office Me'. My last few days proved to me that I don't actually need to function on that reduced level, as long as I can concentrate on the work by some other means.
• Write more... whether it's just this blog, or stories, or haiku, or poetry... I'm not fussed. I just want to write.

There may be more...