so apparently my forehead was too close to the top of the page for those picky people at the passport office.  Hmm, looks like theres space enough for me, but seemingly a few millimetres of ginger barnett could make the difference between a safer United Kingdom and an illiegal immigant frenzy.  

So I had to re-do the pictures. 

Whilst being very blotchy.  

.... Not impressed.

Luckily my face isn't usually massively impacted, so with a D-list celebrity dose of foundation firmly planted on my visage I trekked over to Morrisons to redo said picture.  I look pretty much the same, yet less impressed with life.  Hey ho, I will remember the day the photo got taken fo rthe next 10 years anyway.

really really sore hands now.  pants pants pants

Blotchy

Can't remember last time I got blotchy, Paul insists he's never seen it so it can't be for a few years.  As per usuual , I;ve not idea what caused it, only that whilst sat in the cinema last night (Slumdog Millionaire - great film) I started to feel a little itchy and had that doomed feeling.  sure enough, on greater inspection at home the blotches had started and by this morning I was well and truly covered in red wheals all over.  I'm doped up on anti-histamene and feeling sorry for myself.  Still it usually only lasts a couple of days....

 I got 98 emails at work today.  If I discard 10 of those which I could have replied immediately with a "yes", "no" or "sod off" comment, 8 or so were immediately deleted as pointless, but the remainder all required work, effort and reponses.  Thats about 80 emails, thats 1 every six minutes.

bloody ridiculous.

this time last year...

I had pretty much dreaded this month, January is never a particularly positive month, despite all the declarations of new starts, good intentions and resolutions etc.  But even worse was the knowledge that January 2008 was pretty much the best month of my life so far, in that it was carefree, fun and spent in New Zealand!  Comparing that to the humdrum January of 2009 was never going to be easy.  That said, it's not been as hard as I'd anticipated.  I'd had visions of sitting at my desk all month thinking "this time last month....." but actually I've been too busy to think about anything other than work whilst at work, and the moments of recollection have been positive, simply remembering what a great time we had and appreciating the fact that we had the chance to do something so wonderful.

So, on that note I take the opportunity to indulge myself a little this evening, remembering back to this day last year where we were on Day 1 of the 3 day Routeburn crossing.  This 32K tramp over 3 days was a big challenge for me, mentally as well as physically.  I don't do walking, and carrying a rucksack full of my gear was far too reminiscent of my Duke of Edinburgh days to be a pleasant option.  But in reality it was a brilliant experience, knackering but exhilarating with stunning scenery, killer inclines, good company, and in all a real memory to treasure.  The views genuinely took my breath away and to be so far away from the real world made the experience really special.  I was so proud of myself at the end, and still can't quite believe that Paul persuaded me to do it.  In fact, one day I'd like to go back and do a few more of the Great Walks - just don't tell Paul.  

 

photo-phobia

Ah the curse of marriage - not the being married bit I hasten to add, but the need to change your name on every bit of documentation etc etc. I know I know I could keep my old name, but I'm not that way inclined and, frankly, I think it would be more hassle to spend the next 30 years explaining that I'm NOT Mrs Ellis. So, that said, I've covered most bases but needed to find a suitable gap in my travelling window to change the old passport details. And this is it, i think I need to go over to the US first week of march so I have a month in which to get my passport to the lovely people in Cardiff, or wherever it is, and hope they pull their finger out and get it sorted asap. The bad bit is needing a new photo. One that will haunt me for the next 10 years every time I travel - creating hilarity with my husband and probably the lady at the check in desk too. So I thought I'd share that pleasure with those of you in Blog-world too.... enjoy .......

Politics at work

I don't like to blog about the job, given that I'm in HR and am well aware of the implications of dissing your company online .  That said, life in my job is 85% good,  I love being back in the company, like the challenges and like the people I manage and work closely with - however the experience of being "bought" by another company, and being shoe-horned into their culture, organisational structure (and I use the world "structure" loosely) and basically having my original remit completely rehashed is starting to hack me off.  I guess 15% annoyed is a pretty good percentage, and its certainly not putting me off the place, but I do despair of the politics that I seem to have been parachuted into.  I'm not a political manoevering kind of person. I just get on with the job and I'm damn well not going to change either.  just wish some others were the same.  hey ho, at least its friday adn I have a curry and glass of wine waiting for me to finish this blogpost - cheers Husband!