Backpocket

Backpocket

Some nice movie reads this week and a farewell to Mad Men.

Grumbles

A pretty glum weekend all round. No one reason but a culmination of issues and niggles all of which are in my own gift to fix. Mostly.

Knee
Not quite sure what I’ve done but my knee is giving me problems for the first time. Had it for a few weeks and it wasn’t really stopping me running although the last run was more difficult than normal. An hour after the run and it was pretty sore and in certain positions it is really sore, like something is ripping at the knee. I’ve given it almost total rest this weekend and I’ll go easy for the next couple of days but it shows no sign of improving. Next step is to visit a physio and try and get to the bottom of the problem. I really missed doing any running or exercise this week and I don’t want it to turn into anything serious. Running/walking is great for de-stressing and clearing my head so I don’t want to go without it for too long.

Work
IMG_3664I keep work talk to a minimum but two issues are getting to me – meetings and e-mail. The volume of meetings is getting a bit OTT, to the point that I struggle some days to get any work done due to back to back meetings. My Todoist stats show the impact – no work tasks done on Thursday just…meetings. I’ve also spent the weekend catching up and doing my favourite task – PowerPoint presentations. There’s a definite knack to doing these, one that I don’t have. Still, broke the back on them.

Next issue – email. There’s nothing better than getting energy sapping nit picky admin e-mails on a Friday and it’s becoming a trend. I’m going to make sure that I don’t become guilty of doing the same but there’s little I can do to stop anyone else doing it…and it also shows my general state of mind that I’m letting things like that get to me. But still…if you’re in a position that you need to send out admin mails from time to time have a think about how you word it. Makes all the difference.

Man Up
So no biggies but all the same, it’s meant for a pretty miserable weekend. Not only that the TV is constantly reminding me that it’s a bank holiday weekend but not for me as I’m at work tomorrow. I’ve also got a head cold. And I’ve burnt my hand in the oven. Grumble grumble grumble.

But it’s fine really. Even writing this has helped. Perspective. If this is all thats bothering me I need to man up.

Backpocket

A week of Mad’s…McCluskey, Murphy, and Men as one of the best TV series ever draws to a close while the Labour saga looks to rumble on for weeks and months. Oh, and of course, Mad Max which was fantastic.

If that wasn’t enough, take a trip over to Gordon’s blog for some Weekend Reading. I really love post’s like this as I usually pick up at least a couple of new reads.

Backpocket

22:00 on Thursday 7th May. How could the polls be so wrong? Surely this exit poll is way off…it actually underestimated the size of the Conservative victory. Tough years ahead.

Decision Time

This has been one of the most interesting general elections for a while. Despite the millions spent by all the parties trying to convince the electorate to vote for them the opinion polls have shown little variance over the last 5 weeks. By all accounts it will be a hung parliament and deals will be done to form then next government or someone will have enough seats to form a minority. Only time will tell but the stench from the parties already around what are legitimate deals and what aren’t is telling. If you are still undecided, here’s a few links to help:

  • Vote for policies – what matters to you? This helps get behind the personalities and focusses on what each party has put forward as policy in this election. Of course, how much will still remain if a coalition is formed?
  • Your Next MP – Who’s standing in your area? This has taken a lot of work to keep up to date with the UKIP withdrawals.
  • MP Report Card 2015 – see how your MP has performed. If you can’t decide based on the policies of each party has your current local MP done enough to justify your vote?
  • They Work For You – more stats on what your MP has done over the last few years
  • Want to vote tactically? Buzzfeed has a postcode driven tool to help you decide where to place your vote, The Guardian has a guide for Labour and Conservative supporters and the Daily Mail gives a detailed guide on how to keep out Labour. Twats.

I’m already surprised at how many are tweeting tonight of voting tactically rather than for their party of choice and that they have switched today, so it will be very interesting to see just how accurate the polls have been. In Scotland it looks like almost total wipeout for Labour and it’s not hard to see why. For the first time I’ll be voting SNP tomorrow and that won’t gift the election to the Tories – I voted Labour last time and still got Cameron. If Labour hadn’t spent the last 5 weeks telling everyone a vote for the SNP is a vote for the Tories and what they were actually standing for it could have been a slightly different story. Not much, but better than where they seem to be today.

Just one last thought…no matter your viewpoint I hope you make the effort to vote. It’s too important a decision to leave to others.

Backpocket

4 days to go. So good that our elections are pretty short in comparison to USA. Thursday night/Friday morning could be quite the thing.