It's date time.

Today is an anniversary of sorts. It's the day I joined my current company. Well, it's not really. That was actually 2 weeks ago, but through some legal shit, they never counted the two weeks of training and I only signed my employment contract on this date. But this time twenty and a bit years ago, I was sent to the States to work for three months.

I remember telling F all about it - we were chatting regularly on MSN at the time. That was the trip where I met V. She was very excited for me.

I'd forgotten all about it until I got an email in work this morning from our HR system reminding me of the fact.

Oh, and it's also CC's birthday today. I sent her a message wishing her a happy birthday, but I am a little surprised she didn't suggest dinner.

Out and about.

I spoke with Ideas Girl today. She's part of our social committee, so she knows what's going on, what's being organised etc. Sadly, we're not having a Christmas party. We haven't had one since pre-Covid and I haven't been to one since, I dunno, 2016 maybe? But I quite liked the idea of getting dressed up again and putting on my suit.

And there's no work thing this month. Well, there is, but it's not our usual trip to the pub and it's on a Saturday night. Quiet Girl said she didn't know if she would go, but I'm already booked up. It's the same day that I'm taking KfW2 out for dinner.

Speaking of that, we've finally chosen a restaurant. It's one of KfW2's favourites, which I knew, but we try and go somewhere new and I couldn't think of anywhere. I might have posted before that KfW2 rarely makes decisions about these things.

All we need to do now is figure out a time. I'd prefer to meet late afternoon and maybe go to mid/late evening rather than an afternoon start and dinner time finish or a late start and late finish. But kfW2 is the one with commitments, so I've asked her. 

Yawn.

My sleep over the past few nights has been awful: waking numerous time a night and finding it difficult to get back to sleep. It got to the point where I was tired this morning with a massive headache. I decided that I'd take a last-minute day off and get some sleep. Or try to - I'm not big on sleeping during the day.

So I logged on to the work laptop and was greeted with three reminders about urgent meetings this morning. Fuck. I'd forgotten all about them. 

I battled through the meetings and decided I'd still take some personal time this afternoon. I still have the headache, but I don't think I'm that sleepy any more. Tired, yes, sleepy, no. 

Woohoo!

I finally got an install date for the work that I want to get done to the house. It was, in theory, meant to have been done by now, but it was always a rough kind of estimate "ten to twelve weeks". Twelve weeks from the order date was last week, so it's only a few weeks later than I'd hoped and a couple, of weeks before I needed the work done by.

I need to kick my ass into shape. I have three things I need to do now. One is buy a shed, the second is some building work and the last is a new kitchen.

The shed is important. I've got stuff in the house that needs to be stored elsewhere, so I do need the storage the shed would give. Once I've gotten the shed and moved all the stuff out of the house, then I can think about the other pieces. 

Pondering.

I had half expected to hear from KfW2 this weekend, if not to suggest doing something, then to at least call after her comments from last weekend. But nothing so far. I've been super-busy all day long with family stuff that I think might be mostly sorted, at least for now.

And I need to think about taking some time off work. I have a lot still to take between now and the end of the year.  I usually take a week off around now, but I'm due to move to a new team in work (to report to the tall drunk girl) and I don't want to do that the first week on the job, but I don't really have much choice. I'm also getting some work done to the house imminently that might require taking some time off, and it's entirely possible that it could be the first week of September, the same week I start the new job.

Party on!

I heard a rumour a few days ago that we might actually have a company-wide Christmas party this year. it's been a while since we had one, since before Covid, and even longer since I last turned up to one.

In fact, I think the last one I was at, I left early due to a funk. The one before that, I turned down the tall women (who will be my new boss in a few weeks time), mainly because she was too drunk.

And it's 13 years since the "who knows" incident with CH. A night where I also, if I recall correctly, danced briefly with Quiet Girl after dragging her onto the dance floor.

Our Christmas parties used to be fun. The core team that I used to work with, that included KfW2, started to break up around 2016 which coincides with the parties becoming less fun but before that, we were a close-knit group (thanks to me).

I posted this rumour into a group chat, which includes Quiet Girl and Stalky Guy. QG seemed quite interested in attending if this all turned out to be true. I can't remember the last time I saw QG in anything other than jeans. It could have been that Christmas party in 2013.

I might even go this time, too. Now that I can fit into my old suit, and I actually think I look good in that suit, it'd be nice to have a reason to wear it that wasn't a funeral. I know that KfW2 thinks I look good in it (but then again, she was with me when I bought it, so it had her seal of approval from the start). But I also know that CH loves me in it. She's told me so, but she's also eye fucked me when I was wearing it (and she was sober). And USHW has also shared her appreciation, too.

Hello there.

In my last post, I mentioned being out with work last night. It was a somewhat impromptu affair, kicked off by the sudden appearance of an American colleague. Well, I say "colleague" but she was a colleague's boss, so I don't really have any direct professional entanglement.

Still... free dinner and drinks is free dinner and drinks.

And it was fun. The American girl was quite nice, and despite the fact she was quite senior in the organisation, she was quite open with information and opinions, which was refreshing.

She also, physically, gave off big QC2 vibes. 

QC2 vibes aside, I liked her. I don't say that about all my foreign co-workers, especially those in senior management. I guess it was her somewhat unguarded conversations that felt honest rather than those who just trot out the company line all the time. That was refreshing in itself.

Zzzz.

I was meant to be meeting Nerdy Girl tonight, having rainchecked from Monday, but I'm tired: partly due to having a few drinks last night, being out for a work thing and waking this morning at 5:30 AM and not being able to get back to sleep.

So I'm not really feeling it for tonight, but I don't really want to postpone on her again.

Wow.

As part of our work things, we often get in a private casino. We "gamble" using fake money, but it's usually good fun. I've posted before about one of the women who shows up to work at these events - our paths have crossed elsewhere. She's attractive and has a great smile.

Well, there's a piece in yesterday's LA Times about Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles fame, and stone me if the cover photo of the piece doesn't give off huge vibes of the casino girl. 

Wind down.

I only left the house to go to the cinema, so it's not like I can claim that I've done hours of chores, but that little thing alone has made me feel like I've accomplished something today.

And that's the last thing, socially, that I have on my radar for the foreseeable future. July was decent: work event, out with AM, out with G, a week off work, dog-sitting and a gig with AM and Quiet Girl (technically June, but it kinda fits this time period to count it as July).

KfW2 was in contact late on Friday night, claiming that she's on a detox, having been drunk for the past three weeks while she was on holiday. So that potentially means that her offer to take me out won't be any time soon, which is disappointing.

Urgh.

I'm feeling really lethargic today, which is not surprising seeing as yesterday was our work's summer party and I wasn't exactly sober. It was a good night, as predicted. There were about 9 in our group with a few people coming and going throughout the evening.

As tends to be the tradition these days, we finished the night in CB Pub, at Quiet Girl's insistence. Not that I put up a fight, mind you.

And an interesting finish to the night where Quiet Girl's friend got a bit tactile in the taxi - not crossing any lines - just tactile. She hasn't said anything, and beyond that first night that I only semi-remember, she's never done anything in our subsequent meetings.

But I am really lacking any kind of motivation today. 

Weather or not.

I'm looking forward to the work summer party this coming Friday, though with half an eye on the weather forecast, it's potentially going to be a damp affair. We've formed a fairly decent core group of people who usually attend these things with Stalky Guy and Quiet Girl and myself, plus associated colleagues.

Last year, we sat outside and stayed well after everyone else went home. Whether that happens this time is another matter, and the weather will be a factor in that. In previous years, we've adjourned to CB Pub afterwards, which is kinda central to everyone.

I do pride myself in being able to bring everyone together, and everyone genuinely tends to get along, which is always a bonus. 

Work and Play

Quiet Girl pinged our group chat in work earlier. Were we still going to the work even at the end of next week? I replied saying that I was. No-one else has said anything as yet, but I'm looking forward to it. It's been good fin the past few years and I think our group will be a little bigger than last year.

It might be similar to the year before that, though, where we ended up in CB Pub and QG's friend might have made a suggestion about me calling her.

That was a great night, and if we get close to having a night that good, I'll be pleased.

I will say that my capacity for alcohol has greatly diminished over the past year or so. Even on Saturday out with G, I only had like 5 pints over 5 hours and I was definitely not sober. 

It's weird... I can drink a lot more in the house than I can in the pub. 

But something to look forward to nonetheless. 

Things to do.

AM sent a message into the previously-quiet WhatsApp chat. It effectively said the same thing that we'd agreed on a few weeks back: dinner and drinks at a restaurant I'd suggested. I've said that I'm available but no-one else has said anything so far.

That makes a busy enough month: brunch with CC yesterday, I'm assuming drinks with G next weekend and dinner with AM (and others) the weekend after that. On top of that, there are two work-related things potentially happening before the wend of the month: dinner and drinks with some current and ex-colleagues plus our annual work summer party at the end of the month with Quiet Girl, Stalky Guy and others.

Lots of socialising this month. It must be my busiest month, socially, in ages.

Hands on.

I can only remember some vague details about last night's dream, but it involved work. I started a new team and most of the people were new to me, except for two people: a guy I used to work with about ten years ago and QC3. Why QC3 popped up when I've not thought about her in years is a mystery, but appear she did.

While the work was my current job, the place where we were was an amalgamation of various offices I've worked in over the years. 

I was sitting on a bench and she walked through the door. She immediately saw me and came over to sit beside me. her opening sentence was something about owing me money and that she had the money to replay me for video games and trips we'd taken. She was also getting very handsy, suggesting something physical, though the dream ended before anything like that happened.

It must be the warm weather because my dreams have been very random recently. 

Sun's out!

I'm due to take some time off, ten days, in fact, and I'm looking forward to the break. I have some stuff to do about the house to prepare for the big work that's happening at the start of next month, and there's some stuff in the garden that I'd like to do. And that's handy because the weather for the next week is meant to be very good.

That means pleasant time in the garden, beers, books and music. And a very pleasant way to spend my time off instead of sat in front of a computer, like I normally do.

Urgh.

Despite my social life being very quiet these days, I've now been in the pub three times since Sunday: the gig with Quiet Girl, a family thing on Monday evening and a work thing last night.

I wasn't expecting a lot from last night, to be honest, but it was surprisingly good fun.

Feeling it a little today. not a hangover per se, but a lack of sleep. Roll on 5 PM. 

Vibing.

So the long-term weather forecast has indicated there might be another spell of good weather in about a week's time. I don't have the skin type for these heat waves, but the dunny weather does great things for my mood and mental health. It'd be better if the good weather held off for two weeks, because I am taking some time off work that week, and a week sat in the back garden with cold drinks and books and music would be fantastic. Just pure vibes.

Weather or not.

Despite feeling overwhelmed with adulting stuff, I was returning from some family stuff earlier and part of that was getting the bus home. I have a choice on the bus journey, I can get off close to where I think Chloe lives (where she told me she lived) or I can get off the bus close to my office.

If I took the latter option, I'd be roughly just under 2 miles from my house and there's a bus that would drop me pretty much outside my front door. If I got off near Chloe, it's roughly two and a half miles home.

However, due to the weather, I decided on the former. I had my earphone with me, I put on a Spotify playlist and walked home. The bright sunshine and scorching temperatures, even with the exercise, really put me in a better mood.

We have one more day of really great weather left (according to the current weather forecast) before it turns cooler and less sunny. It would have been great had it lasted into the weekend. If I hadn't been on a training course this week, I'd have definitely taken a last-minute day off.

Interesting.

According to a meeting that I was in earlier, it looks like the Tall Woman (who might have been hitting on me at a work Christmas party about ten years ago) is likely to become my boss within the next few months. Probably around the start of August.

As I've posted before, I don't think she remembers (she was horrendously drunk), so I don't see it being a problem. There are other aspects that are concerning about this, but Tall Woman being my boss is not one of them.