dust bunnies

Oh dear! It's been a very long time, hasn't it. What has happened?

• I have a job. Since May I have been working 4 (short) days a week. I started on a 5 month contract and about a month ago it was made permanent.
• I am feeling a lot better. Having a job and a routine and a reason to get out of the house each day clearly helps me keep my ME under control. The first couple of months of working were very hard. I'd come home from work and sleep for an hour and I'd be exhausted at the end of the week. But over time, that got better. I've found a working pattern that suits me (4 5.5 hour days, day off on Wednesday, a flexi time system that makes dealing with the odd bad day much easier) and it's sustainable. This is pretty huge, really.
• I am not enjoying winter much. We're getting a couple of light boxes (an alarm clock and a portable light box) to see if that will help me.

Otherwise, life continues to plod on. It's ok. Not dramatic, not terrible, just life. Actually, thinking of the drama (especially health drama) of the last two years, that's a very good thing.

two tiny triumphs and a footnote which threatens to overwhelm them

Two small things which are probably totally obvious to most people, but which I have only just realised today and which made me happy on a stressful¹ day:

* If I use waterproof mascara (this astoundingly good value one in brown/black), I can wear it all day and not get black smudges under my eyes.

* If I place a plate over the top of the bowl when microwaving frozen sweetcorn, I don't get sweetcorn all over the microwave.

1: Our flat is currently somewhat chaotic due to our discovering mould in our (lovely, tres expensive) mattress a week ago. This has meant the disposal of the old mattress, the purchase of a new mattress, lots and lots of cleaning things with bleach (mostly carried out by Rob as I am deemed too high risk to be playing with noxious chemicals (too high risk because of my health I mean, not too high risk because I'm clumsy (although he might have had that in mind too))), the repainting of a wall (to be carried out tomorrow) and a new bedroom carpet (due Saturday). Hence currently half the contents of the bedroom are in the living room (to be joined by the other half before the carpet man comes) and we're sleeping on the sofa. This is all a little bit stressful, but at least we know when it will end. Although I still need to buy a new mattress protector and a blackout blind. (Love this one, very tempted by this one. Of course neither is currently in stock in the size we need. Any thoughts?)

lost things

A list of things I once owned, which I have lost or got rid of and wish I still owned.

* Eyelash curlers
* Purple false eyelashes
* A blue t-shirt with a fierce toothy fish on
* A pair of wide-legged dark red cords
* Several lipsticks, including white, dark burgundy red and clover pink.
* A pair of black leather gloves
* Life, a User's Manuel by George Perec
* Imagine: A Christian Vision for the Arts by Steve Turner
* Silver mascara

New year, new thinking

Hey there! I said I was going to blog more and then I went quiet. Oops.
Without further apology, here are my resolutions for 2012.

Read more
OK, so last year did contain a fair amount of reading (you can't do an English Literature MA without reading a few books) but most of it was study reading rather than fun reading. I seem to have got out of the habit of reading novels for fun. I want to get back into that.

Write more
I like writing. Sometimes I think I might be OK at it. But I rarely do much. Also, when I do, I tend to just write and call it done. I rarely go back and edit. I noticed while writing my dissertation that although to get something done initially, I just had to write something, ANYTHING! just to get some words on paper. But if I then went back and refined and rewrote and generally buffed and primped up my sentences, the finished result was much better. My blogging is usually of the just-get-something-written variety. Maybe if I thought more about what I wanted to say, the result might be more thoughtful, better expressed and more worth reading. If I really do want to find a job that involves writing on a daily basis, I'd better actually develop some writing skills. Which brings me to...

Find a job
I need something to do on a day-to-day basis. Our family finances would benefit from a little more income. I don't seem yet to have settled on a career. Maybe I never will. But it would be good to have some goals to aim at in work. I'd like a job I can actually get my teeth into, one that will stretch me some and get me learning new things or digging out old skills and polishing them up again. What that is, I'm not completely sure yet. But I'm looking, my CV's up to date, I'm checking the job pages and trying to work out how to network. Anyone want to employ me?

And finally...

Get healthier
I've been pretty sedentary in my habits since I got married. And that means I've got much heavier. I need to get back on my bike and get some healthier eating habits. My GP keeps telling me to go swimming (good for my back and general fitness) and I should probably start listening.

So, my 2012 goals. How do I make them happen? Got any tips? What are your 2012 resolutions?