One day at a time

One of my team wasn't in the office today and she has an important role in the running of the department. I stepped in to do part of her role, I just hope that I managed to perform it adequately. Got another stressful one tomorrow with someone coming to look at the leak in the morning, followed by a dentist appointment at lunch time and social committee meeting in the afternoon.

I've virtually given up on the HTC Flyer. Decided to take the Aldi tablet with me on my trip to the UK instead. 

I've been thinking about going away around my birthday and can't decide between Sydney or Brisbane. The accommodation in Brisbane is cheaper but the flights are less to Sydney. I do have friends in Brisbane, compared to just familiar faces in Sydney.

Some times the department's position seems overly cautious

My manager had an accident and broke one of her toes before coming into work,  so took the day off work. I had my own challenges with demands for my time coming from several people. I did have dinner with Campbell who's feeling down about being out of work, but unfortunately there is little I can do to help him find a new job.

One of the things I need to do this year is renew my New Zealand passport. It's got until January 2015 before it runs out but I should make sure it is updated before then. It can be applied for online, but I need to locate another Kiwi to support my application.

Friday wasn't good for me, but today it felt better to take control  and get some clarity on the roles of people in my team. Still work to ensure it all works, but steps in the right direction. Social event at work has been popular and sold out before the closing date. Campbell is down in the dumps, but hopefully it won't last long.

Might not have been the most social day, but was busy. Finished off installing Windows 8 on the Dell and it's working well. I went to the gym,  after finishing some study. Got through some ironing and made risotto for the week ahead. I think that's a lot for one day.

I've successfully installed Windows 8 on my old Dell netbook. I wasn't sure it was going to work, but only issue was the screen resolution and there was a fix for that. Now I've got a computer with another few years of life. 

Things not going well at work. I think I may have discovered what I haven't been doing on one of the grant programs, so work is going to pick up next week. 

I'm having a hard time convincing myself to purchase a new tablet. It's not a major expense but would I get more satisfaction out of having a 10 inch screen without 3G than I do already out of the 7 inch HTC tablet.  Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something when there wasn't any working ones at the Coburg Officeworks.  One thing is certain, a bigger screen makes typing a lot easier. 

Has the same fate befallen MH370 as that of JAL123? JAL flight lost part of its tail, resulting in sudden decompression and erratic flying patterns, including rapid raising and falling, before it crashed.  Quote from The Age "resulted in its flying an aberrant course that involved turning around, heading back over peninsular Malaysia while rising and falling rapidly again, and finally flying out over the Strait of Malacca to an unknown location."

Been thinking about what I can do to help my staff improve and add more value. When did I turn into a manager!!

I went the my new gym this afternoon and I would say that I was without doubt the oldest person there. It was populated by twenty something's, although they did come in various shapes and sizes (including extra large). Wasn't too busy, but nice to have some other people there. 

Didn't feel that great today and spent most of the day in bed. I still took the car to be serviced and this evening, I feel like I might be have a cold coming on. :'(

Had my first massage in ages and it was very relaxing.  Will definitely be back for more of that!

Picked up my key fob for the new gym, who has over 300 members. I hope they don't all turn up at once!!

Feels like a Monday and as unremarkable as such. Watched the Downton Abbey episode with Kiri Te Kanawa played the part of Dame Nellie Melba, and it is reported she reduced the cast and crew to tears when she sang on set.

Checked out of the motel and after a substantial breakfast, drove to Bright. Very pretty town and very nice setting, but very busy. Had a sandy at the brewery and bought sweets from the lolly shop. Stopped off at the butter factory on the way back to Melbourne.

Had to find a new place for breakfast as the cafe close by was closed. Eating out was a problem in the evening as there appeared to be little open. We drove to the Brown Brothers vineyard and was unfortunately under whelmed with the set up. Beechworth was very nice and we cooled off at the Woolshed Falls before coming back to Wang.

Today included trips to the Brown Brothers vineyard for a less than satisfying lunch, a trip to the Woolshed Falls to paddle in the streams and a walk around historic Beechworth. Bought some old English favourites from the lolly shop but missed out on the vanilla slices at the Bakery. 

There are some interesting buildings in Wang. 

Today was the first full day in Wangaratta. Had breakfast at a local cafe before going shopping, as we tend to on these trips. Had lunch at the Milawa Cheese Factory and stopped of at Glenrowan to see the BIG Ned Kelly statue. The afternoon included a trip to both Bunnings and Kmart, before dinner at the Atrium restaurant at another local hotel.

Made it safely to Wangaratta after a hectic day, mainly from trying to find somewhere to park the car. Ate very well at Ronaldo's.

Had a nasty surprise, but was wondering when it would return.  Plumbers came to check out the leak effecting my apartment and they are not sure where it is coming from any longer.  The group said goodbye to Brian, in a low key way. 

I'm used to have to sometimes work with tight deadlines, but not emotional colleagues. I've got two that for different reasons are feeling emotional stress and I'm not sure what to do about it. However I  expect that not ignoring it is a start.

Plumbers have moved to Thursday afternoon and Campbell is still coming over to let them in. Can't complain how helpful he is being and I'm very grateful.

Drove down to Hastings to take my aunt out for lunch and was accompanied by one of my friends. We all had a fun time in our own way.

My friend Neil came over and had lunch here, we then went over to the Masters hardware store in Preston. I bought stuff that I didn't really need, but I'm sure they will all come in useful.