Saturday 14 September 2013

Musing on Life (and Ali Pasha Saves the Day)

I'm sorry I've not posted much this week, but I've been quite busy and tired.

With the second anniversary of being taken into hospital (for the uninitiated I spent three weeks in the Acute Care Unit and a further three on the renal ward), and six months after my (involuntary) medical dismissal from work, I've been taking stock.  It's at times like that those you resalize where your true friends are.  The Wife was magnificent and demonstrated over a number of months a strength that some who know her didn't think she had; our families rallied around, and I had visits from all parts of the country; old friends were prepared to do the same.  In contrast, throughout my time in hospital and in the two months that followed not a single person from work came to see me.  My managers made all the Right Noises and went by the book, but when it came down to it fired me.

This has taught me something about the balance between home and work life.  I have come across more gestures of spontaneous generosity in one year of writing this blog than in my 20-year professional career.  Isn't that sad?

What of now?  Well the the research service and on-line bookselling is beginning to take off.  I've recently started doing some voluntary work in a local charity shop.  Honestly, I'm beginning to feel as tired in the evenings as when I was holding down a full-time job.

This week has been further complicated by the fact that the wife is taking longer to bounce back than we expected from what was supposed to be a simple out-patient procedure.

I was going to lighten the load by telling you about teapots and how reading about Ali Pasha has cheered me up, but I think I've written enough for the moment.  They'll be in the next exiting episode...

12 comments:

  1. Glad the blogging is giving you such in return you have quickly become a fixture of our little bit of the blogosphere
    Peace James

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    1. That really is very kind of you James. Thank you.

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    2. Agreed. Very interesting posts here that are well worth the visit.

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  2. I have to agree with James that you have become a welcome fixture of our corner of the blogosphere.

    I'm sorry to hear about what happened to you at work, but as you say it has shown you who your real friends are.

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    1. Thank you Tamsin.

      I hope you're feeling better soon.

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  3. I've made good friends with this blogging lark, hopefully you have and will continue to do so!

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  4. Huzzah for my fellow bloggers, and especially you Edwin - we've carved ourselves a nice little online community and yours is one of the most erudite corners of it. Chin up sir, and I hope your good lady is doing well!

    Re: management - as an old colleague used to say, 'f***k 'em and their top hats'

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    1. Thank you.

      I agree about the sense of community - to my mind a big chunk of that is down to James ans his Good Ideas.

      I don't know where I've got this rep for erudition from. Perhaps because my painting is so bad that I don't do posts on WIP and I don't play, so don't have AARs ;-)

      As for top hats - Very 1938!

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  5. Thanks for all your nice words chaps. I wasn't fishing for validation - honest!

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  6. Sorry to hear of the illness and the shabby treatment at work, but it's all too common a tale, I'm afraid. Still, I can't say I've met anyone who's regretted early or medical retirement and they all look a damn' site better for it. On the downside, blogging hasn't been popular for long enough to determine any long last medical effects of prolonged exposure to bloggers.

    I hope your wife is back on an even keel soon too.

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    1. Cheers Gary.

      The wife's much better now and cooked kedgeree as a reward for all my efforts this week.

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