{Cheese and Beans}

After a steady decline through yesterday afternoon and evening, I woke this morning with rather more aches and pains than I normally have – the kind that normally accompany some virus or other. Given the advance warning (and the absence of colleagues for the same reason in recent days), I worked from home. Working from home releases me from the silent world of the office and allows a soundtrack for the day. The only question therefore was what to listen to.

I decided – after at least half a minute’s thought – to give Katherine Jenkins another try. She became incredibly famous during the time I worked in London – her face (and body) were emblazoned across billboards all over the city for months. She appeared from time to time on television – singing at New Year, at big football matches, and on various television chat shows. I hated her. Sure, she’s beautiful, but much of the time I thought she sounded like a trumpet rammed up a very large nose.

Perhaps I know nothing about classical music. Perhaps I have no clue what a mezzo-soprano is supposed to sound like ?

This morning I downloaded the “Believe” album, principally because I listened to a sample on Amazon of the track “Bring Me To Life”, and realised that she didn’t always sound like a trumpet jammed up a very large nose. When she sings away from those particular registers, she sounds lovely. Wonderful even.

So – I’m not converted, but I am enjoying the album.

As an insurance policy I also got hold of some Tony Bennett, and confidently predict I’ll be forcing it on the kids later. I’m often aware that the children like any music, so if I can use that opportunity to expose them to some of the great talents, then I will do so.

Work went okay too :)

I’m off work with a cold. I can’t quite figure out how it crept up on me – yesterday evening I was fine; this morning I felt like my brain had been put in backwards.

Putting words together in any kind of sensible, lucid manner is proving difficult – hence the decision early this morning that attempting to instruct a computer to do anything similarly planned or constructive might be a bad idea.

I think this may be the second “real” day off sick since the girls arrived in February 2008. I say “real”, because I invariably end up working if I am at home.

The itinerary for the day so far has consisted of wrapping myself in old tracksuit bottoms and a fleece top, pulling on the oldest, thickest socks I could find (Simpsons slipper socks, it you really need to know), drinking multiple cups of sugar laden tea, and attempting to quietly watch a movie or two.

I just finished watching “Little Children” – Kate Winslet is lost, unhappy, and lonely – living in picket-fence middle America, and finds herself pursuing and becoming involved with a parent from the playpark in a similar situation. The voice-over between major scenes of the movie reminds me of a modern fable; it is calming and unsettling at the same time. The story draws you in early in the movie, and then systematically messes with your head. It pulls at the loose threads of your personality.

Little Children taps into the part of you that wonders “what if”. It explores the person we once knew, that we passed in the street, that we went to college with, or that we held a candle for. It’s difficult to watch at times – like a slow car crash involving several lives where the outcome is inevitable. While you might not approve of the events that unfold, you cannot help but sympathise with those involved, and hope for a good outcome – whatever it might be.

I find uncomfortable subjects in movies and books interesting. I also find other people’s reactions interesting too. Does that mean I am a voyeur, or a student of the human condition? Are they the same thing?

I read “Thus Spake Zarathustra” a couple of years ago, and it set me down the road towards some of the more famous works of Philosophy. I loved Plato – something about the abstraction, clarity and purity of thought appealed.

This virus is making clarity of thought almost impossible. I’m guessing a return to this post in days to come will result in either horror or hilarity.

Now would be a good time to stop writing. To relax. To recuperate. To recharge.

Time for another cup of tea. Better stay away from the playpark though.

p.s. I am becoming a huge fan of Kate Winslet

It's Christmas Eve, and I am finally home for more than a couple of days after several months spent in a hotel with work. I had anticipated being at work today, but a list went around the company email system yesterday detailing who was going to be in and on-call. My absence from the list was a pleasant surprise. In all honesty if I had been required to work today it would have meant a disaster at home; Wendy has been housebound with the children for the last four days due to snow and ice – my return has engineered her escape to buy groceries, and have a couple of hours to herself before the real mayhem starts.

I’m finally home this evening after four days away with work. After ringing the doorbell, I heard excited shouts from two little girls who had been allowed to stay up late to see me. Our youngest ran back into the house on-sight shouting “Daddys home!”, except of course there was nobody to hear her. Perhaps she was telling the house.

The next ten minutes were spent press ganged on the couch with little miss 4, and little miss 5 standing in front of me, showing me toys from their advent calendars, what they made at school, and telling me at top speed all the things I had missed out on.

A little later in the evening our eldest arrived home from Brownies. She didn’t notice me at first, and then while passing the living room doorway finally spotted me and ran in for a huge hug. Apparently she’s been very quiet since I have been working away from home; given their background it’s not surprising – they don’t like change.

At bedtime she hugged me a little harder than normal, and whispered “I missed you Dad“.

Back downstairs Wendy trudged into the kitchen, quietly walked towards me, and wrapped her arms around me. I think she missed me too.

With days left to go, I didn’t post anything yesterday. Crash bang wallop indeed.

I’m back in the office at work today, clearing paperwork, getting expenses paid, and sorting the various minutiae out. This afternoon will no doubt be back to the grindstone, neck deep in Javascript, Webservices, .NET and Microsoft SharePoint again. My work is going well though, so I can’t complain.

I arrived home from another 4 day stint on-site last night in time to put the children to bed. As is the usual pattern of things in our house I actually arrived home to an empty house – it suddenly occurred to me that Thursday night is Brownies night. I set about washing up, tidying up, and putting things away, and had just about finished when the rabble re-appeared. Little miss 4 immediately ran to me for a hug. No shouts, no laughing – just a hug.

It’s good to be home. The spectre of another 3 weeks of this madness remains though.

I’m home from my first stint working away from home.

Arriving home, the house was empty, and I ended up doing what I had joked with a colleague about – washing up. A little while later there was a knock at the door, and two very sleepy little girls greeted me at the door.

No cheers, no jumping up and down.

I read their stories, and then I gave their Mum a huge hug.

A little while later their elder sister arrived home from brownies – this time there were excited cheers, hugs, and kisses.

It’s great to be home.

You find me on arrival home from a walk into town – an eleventh hour dash to procure food for dinner – and a hearing of our eldest daughter reading from a book of her teacher’s choosing.

These few minutes are grabbed in passing. A moment of calm delimiting the mayhem of the day; a day filled with the bustle of the morning routine, perpendicular progress at the office, and then greeting stress and further mayhem on arrival home.

Once the little ones are in bed we will return to our adult lives for a few hours, before collapsing into bed as the world tumbles towards tomorrow and it begins again.

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from Jonathan’s Posterous

We’ll be getting back in the car in a couple of hours time to travel home from my parents on the south west coast – a five hour car journey taking us through Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, and finally Buckinghamshire.

Tomorrow morning we will all wake up to the real world once more. A world filled with work, expectations, commitments, costs, an endless task list, debts, and a severe lack of free time.

No doubt I’ll wake up tomorrow ready to hit the ground running, but until then my head will be filled with all manner of thoughts.

An eventful day so far (and night).

Our four year old has a bad cold, meaning she woke up at about 2 hourly intervals during the night crying. On more than one occasion she insisted there was a big scary monster in her room.

This morning Wendy woke up with a bad arm – unable to lift it more than a few inches without immense pain.

End result – I am working from home, and helping as much as I can inbetween my usual brainiac activities with the work laptop.