What a month!

So much has happened in the past month that it's hard to know where to begin...

Well, starting with the biggest event, my Department (for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) was offering voluntary redundancies as a way of cutting its staff headcount (but not necessarily its budget!). I've been so disappointed with work and the way in which sycophants were rewarded, with those who dared to question the lack of wisdom of a certain action being told they were not "team players". More importantly, I've come to see that the Department is doomed to be taken over by those interested only in furthering their careers, fiddling while the Earth burns.... Anyway, long story short, I looked at many options for getting out and the money offered was too good not to accept. So, as of the end of this week, I'll be a free man (aka unemployed!). I'm going to give the health & fitness thing a go and, if nothing comes of it, look for a job where I feel I'm making a difference.

What else has happened... ... oh yes, I went to a 3-hour Christmas Spinning Ride, where the UK's Master Instructors took turns is taking us for a challenging and varied ride. Sounds daunting but it was done so well that it was an hour before we had our first hill climb. That's not to say that the flat road was easy... far from it! It was good to be on the "other side" for a change, especially so when led by such good instructors (we are a rare commodity! Hehehehe).

The inevitable Christmas parties have mostly come and gone but I've managed to stay relatively sober and stop myself from eating a month's rations in one sitting! Which is good for me, as I almost always put on weight over the holidays. I have a few more drinking sessions ahead and I'll need to be disciplined, especially now that I'm in the mood for celebrating my new-found freedom from work!