I'm in my new office and under the eagle eye of a new boss and this is why there has been a sharp reduction in bloggage on my part.

so here is a summary of what I would have blogged:

I've moved offices and am on the top floor of a building with no lift and the fax and photocopier are on the ground floor. So I have to climb 44 steps each time to use these. I fax stuff several times a day so this is right royal pain in the arse (which may become literally so). Stars climbed so far today: 264

I've got a fortnight to finish my End of Course assessment for a mini OU course I'm doing. This piece of work constitutes 100% of the mark for this course and I only started it yesterday. Fortunately it's a piece of cake.

Landlord wanted to go for a run and I volunteered to come along. We did a grand total of one mile (don't laugh) and I've been aching like fury ever since. That was 4 days ago(!!) and we're doing a repeat plus an extra half mile tonight. this is because since last year, Landlord has gain three kilos and I have gained 2 - and my running trousers are significantly tighter than last year. Contrary to how I'm making it sound, running is quite nice, especially in how it makes you feel right afterwards - jsut not the day afterwards.

I'm considering eating a bacon sandwich. Yes - I may just be falling out of the first organised religion I was ever a part of. I don't know why that is and I'm still mulling it all over. This is of little interest to anyone but me but it's a pretty big deal. For the record, I still very much believe in a loving God just not necessarily some of the details, like oink-free diets and things.

I feel so much more competent in my new office. I have no idea why, I just feel like I can do a better job here. And the stairs you get used to. I'm going to have an arse of steel by the summer.

My ECA (end of course assignment) is not as piece of cake as I'd thought. well it IS easy but it's no fun. It's more like a really dried up old fruitcake than a yummy chocolate fudge - yes my resolution to eat no refined sugar is proving quite hard - why do you ask?

the running would be easier if Landlord weren't so tired. He's also started making 'old man' noises when he moves about. A precocious geriatric. HOw the heck he's gioing to manange South America I don't know. He's got to cycle John O'Groats to Lands End this summer, too.

still no news on the bacon sandwich issue. I feel odd avoiding it, but I feel odd thinking about eating it, too. This is the point where religion and faith become two different things. I don't know where I stand anymore.

To celebrate that the weather was horrendously windy and rainy and cold, Landlord and I decided to cycle to an out-of-town shopping centre type place and do most of the journey along the seafront (to enhance the restorative effects of lashing rain and blustery wind, of course, ah how soothing and calming to the soul it is to be nearly blown off your bicycle a few times and to feel your thighs getting wetter and colder as you go). It took us blooming ages and what were we there to buy? Socks. Yes, socks. That is all, nothing else. Just socks.

The fact that I did not quietly throttle Gorgeous Landlord (whose idea this was) and leave his body dumped by the side of the A27 is testament to my patience (or stupidity, you choose).

We then cycled back home, stopping by the supermarket for groceries. We'd both taken two panniers each but it wasn't until we were packing these at the till that we realised, we had more groceries than bag space. We had seriously misjudged how much we could fit into each pannier. At the till we got most of it in... oh dear.

Well after some rearranging of the whole chicken, beef mince, cranberry juice cartons, box of tea, washing powder, canned tomatoes, block of cheese, pot of yoghurt, packet of pasta, bottle of gin, bottles of wine etc we finally managed to get.. uh, still only most of it in.

So I packed the eggs and toothpaste into my bar bag (which is attached to the handlebars) along with the parsley plant that looked about as comfortable as any plant could be, lying sideways with its leaves poking out of the top, despite the lid being fastened shut, and I carried tabasco sauce and mustard in my jacket pockets and Landlord suggested we eat our samosas now rather than at home.

I haven't ridden a fully loaded bicycle in months so i made a wobbly start, with (I'm not sure but I think) at least 20 kilos in each pannier, and the rain was helpfully still lashing down and so I squinted and wobbled my way onto the roundabout and we cycled home along the main road, where each car passing  us made us wetter (including one car doing the classic "overtake to park up on the left" manoeuvre so loved by cyclist who then have to swerve into traffic to avoid a collision. Even without fully laden panniers and wet brakes that's not very funny)

but the new socks are splendid. There is something indescribably gorgeous about putting on a new pair of socks. Not sure it was worth the trip, but I've chucked out all my old socks and have 12 pairs of lovely new lambswool beauties.