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( For some days now I have been aware of an ache in my right ear (cut for general yuckiness)... )
In other news, as part of my treatment for depression/CFS, I am making a list of things I do, with particular emphasis on things that give me pleasure or a sense of achievement. Of the latter, in the past week, there have been some few. I managed to get all the dishes washed on Wednesday before the cleaners came. No, really, stop laughing, that is the level of achievement I'm at. On Friday I replaced a pendant light fitting in the living room, discovered that as far as most shops are concerned 150w light bulbs (which the Countess needs to see properly, and for which there is no low-energy equivalent) don't exist any more, and sourced some on the Net. And on Sunday I bought and fitted a replacement for our shower curtain rod, which had finally abandoned the horizontal as jejune and passé and embraced a new career as a gentle slope. (I only put one drill hole in the completely wrong place, too. Yay me.)
I've also made an effort to get our benefits sorted out again, having let mine lapse because I couldn't bear the thought of filling in a form with more than four pages. In making the three or four phone calls I had to in order to achieve what used to be done in one, I find myself shocked at the quiet efficiency with which what used to be a reasonably workable welfare system (not brilliant, and I know people had problems with it, but by gods it worked) has been completely dismantled. Example. When I started at the Benefits Agency every office had its quota of visiting officers, who could be tasked to go out and help people fill in forms if they were having difficulty. Then they were hived off into a separate organisation working in the same office, then they were moved to other offices, and now, if one of the people I spoke to yesterday can be believed, they don't exist any more. And the same thing has happened to many other necessary parts of the organisation. By the time they get round to the privatisation, there won't be a single person in the country who knows enough about what's going on to stop them, or even see what's happening.
Seriously. I am having second thoughts about the argument that goes "the government could never cover up UFOs, they aren't competent enough to cover up their own mistakes." What has happened to our benefit system, under successive Conservative and "new" Labour administrations, is evidence that when the government really wants to do something (get rid of the welfare state), it operates with a cold, clinical efficiency that is truly scary. The things that don't get covered up are just put out there to distract us. American friends, take note.
As far as things that give me pleasure are concerned, though, I've definitely been taking the easy options, ploughing through Settlers missions like a big ploughy thing rather than writing or doing music. This must change. I shall talk to the therapist about it today and see if she has any ideas. At least I remembered to book the hopper service so I don't have to drive there and worry about parking.
So, that's where I am. Where are you today?
In other news, as part of my treatment for depression/CFS, I am making a list of things I do, with particular emphasis on things that give me pleasure or a sense of achievement. Of the latter, in the past week, there have been some few. I managed to get all the dishes washed on Wednesday before the cleaners came. No, really, stop laughing, that is the level of achievement I'm at. On Friday I replaced a pendant light fitting in the living room, discovered that as far as most shops are concerned 150w light bulbs (which the Countess needs to see properly, and for which there is no low-energy equivalent) don't exist any more, and sourced some on the Net. And on Sunday I bought and fitted a replacement for our shower curtain rod, which had finally abandoned the horizontal as jejune and passé and embraced a new career as a gentle slope. (I only put one drill hole in the completely wrong place, too. Yay me.)
I've also made an effort to get our benefits sorted out again, having let mine lapse because I couldn't bear the thought of filling in a form with more than four pages. In making the three or four phone calls I had to in order to achieve what used to be done in one, I find myself shocked at the quiet efficiency with which what used to be a reasonably workable welfare system (not brilliant, and I know people had problems with it, but by gods it worked) has been completely dismantled. Example. When I started at the Benefits Agency every office had its quota of visiting officers, who could be tasked to go out and help people fill in forms if they were having difficulty. Then they were hived off into a separate organisation working in the same office, then they were moved to other offices, and now, if one of the people I spoke to yesterday can be believed, they don't exist any more. And the same thing has happened to many other necessary parts of the organisation. By the time they get round to the privatisation, there won't be a single person in the country who knows enough about what's going on to stop them, or even see what's happening.
Seriously. I am having second thoughts about the argument that goes "the government could never cover up UFOs, they aren't competent enough to cover up their own mistakes." What has happened to our benefit system, under successive Conservative and "new" Labour administrations, is evidence that when the government really wants to do something (get rid of the welfare state), it operates with a cold, clinical efficiency that is truly scary. The things that don't get covered up are just put out there to distract us. American friends, take note.
As far as things that give me pleasure are concerned, though, I've definitely been taking the easy options, ploughing through Settlers missions like a big ploughy thing rather than writing or doing music. This must change. I shall talk to the therapist about it today and see if she has any ideas. At least I remembered to book the hopper service so I don't have to drive there and worry about parking.
So, that's where I am. Where are you today?