My 100th post

It might be a long one, it might not. The words in my head have not been forming themselves into bloggable sentences for some time now, hence the short and punchy postings.

When I started this blog back in August, I wasn’t really sure how long I’d keep it up, especially when, although I could access it for a while, my access from work was blocked. That was probably a very good thing, because it means that I can’t come on Blogger and unleash my frustration in the middle of the day. But it also means that I can only blog in the evenings and at the weekends – and this has the effect that the majority of my postings are affected by alcohol. I’m assured by those who are bearing with me and are still reading (although there's not been any comments for a while, so they may not still be with me!) that this makes my blog interesting to read, especially when they know I’ve been on a night out and can log on in the morning and see what I’ve been rambling in the small drunk hours of the morning.

I might also therefore be giving the impression that I drink a lot. On balance, I certainly drink more now than I did a few years ago. But my circumstances are completely different – I have a different job, different flat, different friends and a different relationship situation. This has an impact. My job falls into the ‘work hard play hard’ category, and if I couldn’t sustain a fulfilling social life, I don’t think I’d be able to manage the work. I need to get out and do normal things with friends in the evenings and weekends to add some perspective to my life. There are often massive contrasts, such as a few weeks ago when I was at a black tie dinner with some big big big wigs on a Monday night, and the Act2 gang were at karaoke at a formerly dodgy pub in our student town. Weird – but good.

I love that kind of contrast, and I also love my job. I think however that the time is nearly here for me to have a month off the booze. I did that last year, and the year before that, and it made a big difference. Trouble is, when I’ve done it before, it’s been in the winter, and it seems easier then somehow – now that we’re into May, the evenings are lighter, beer gardens are open, there are BBQ’s, and we’re into ‘birthday season’. Maybe I should aim to do what I vowed in Vegas instead (whilst battling a grade 10 hangover) – never to drink so much that I get a hangover.

The slight problem with that is that my hangovers are a bit unpredictable – I can get a shocker from three and a half pints of beer one time, and then the next time I’m completely fine. So I’m not sure that’s going to work either… but I really should pay attention to being a bit more sensible.

So, summer is here. I love summer. I’m very much more a summer person than a winter person. As I sit here on the balcony at 9pm, the sun is setting over the city, I’m having a glass of wine (oopss; see above!) and thinking that the feeling I had at the BBQ on Wednesday that good times and things are ahead is still here. I like it. On the whole, I love my life. I’m in a happy place, and I like it.

I’ve also done one of my favorite things tonight – cooked myself dinner. That might sound like a run of the mill chore-like thing to do to some, but actually I love cooking, and find it very relaxing. Trouble is, it’s not really very compatible with the aforementioned work-hard-play-hard lifestyle, and I don't therefore get to do it very much, and it's great when I do. Most people take eating at home for granted. Another one of those contrasts eh…

Those contrasts which are part of my life, and they add to it – I embrace them and make the most of them.

So, a long post. A varied post. The 100th post. I’m not sure that I’ve done that significant landmark in my blogging history justice, but at least there are coherent sentences, and not too much alcohol influence.

Onwards, to the weekend. Looking forward to it, and it should be comparatively relaxing compared to the past few. Perhaps apart from the 18 mile walk on Sunday – eek!