Tuesday 22nd December 2015

Monday

Last day of work this year

!!!

Of course, if any of it gets done depends on whether the IT works or not, which can be relied upon to fail at least one day in a week: would it be today?

Jools gets ready for work, did I want the car? Was I sure I didn't need it? I make another pot of coffee and switch the computer on to see what grenades have been launched overnight. Not as bad as I feared, I answer those I could, then tackle the project paperwork that needs updating, have a meeting with my boss, have 2nd breakfast, have elevenses, have lunch, more coffee. And then there is no avoiding it, I have to tackly my travel expenses. THat is the downside of traveling for work, the bills that we pay with the credit card, that all have to be allocated and signed off.

Only I knew I was missing a who week's invoices; and would have to turn the living room upside down to find them. In order to overcome my emptyheadedness, I have a way of making sure everything is where it should be, well in relation to travel. At the end of each trip, I put all receipts in a small sandwich bag, and it gets put into a pot on one of the bookshelves. Only when I sorted stuff out last week I was sure I only counted three bags, not four. In the end I was more organised than I thought, in putting all the receipts from one week in an envelope with the bill from one of the hotels, then inside another bag. So, it was there all the time.

I scan and scan and scan, then send the scans in a mail to my work address, then send them on to my manager to make sense of after Christmas: good luck with that. That done, never as bad as you think it will be, I sit on the sofa with Molly and a bottle of Guinness Porter, a half eaten bag of tortilla chips and veg out on some daytime TV. I could hear my braincells popping as I sat there.

Oh Lordy, it is four in the afternoon! I set my out of office message, switch the computer off and pack it all away for another year. In the work of Mr Holder:

It's Christmassssssss!

I make some potato bread rolls to go with the soup, so when Jools comes home we can eat right away, then get down to some serious Hobbit action. Yes, the third part of the Hobbit trilogy: Battle of the 5 Armies. The extended version with more battle. Lots more battle. It dragged a bit, and was a tad silly in places: what with Hobbits, Orcs and dragons you mean, Ian? Yes, indeed. But it all panned out and there is a fine arc of stroy linking these three films and the three from LOTR.

I listen to some football to round off the day; then that is it, end of the working year, and wow, time to take a well-earned deep breath. Phew.