I’ve been working at home today on a presentation for a VERY demanding client who has been put on the backburner by me while I’ve tried to sort out the mess from the last week. The work I did yesterday has meant that I can put that aside now for a few days (well, until the end of the week) and try to salvage face with the other clients whose work has been set aside while I have fought fires.

Doing this has been essential to my well-being because this client has been on the phone every day for the last fortnight and I’ve had to keep putting her off because I’m so thinly spread. This time of year doesn’t help in any sense either because we have no ‘slack’ in the business because of holidays. If I want to keep my reputation intact I have to do this job for her and do it now.

So, I decided the only way to get on was to stay away from the office, email (most of the day anyway), phones (ditto) and people. I have had my head down and slaved over charts all day and posted the results off to the wonderful Lee who is our Powerpoint Wizard for putting into client format. I will get them back tomorrow and while on a flight to France on Friday will have the chance to tart them up and send them off to the client – phew, that’s another one of my jobs out of the way.

I’m still exhausted – still not able to sleep at night and still not getting any ‘downtime’ in the day. I have had one rather pathetic minor rebellion today but nonetheless one I am proud of - I have made an appointment to get my hair cut next Wednesday afternoon – IN WORKING HOURS!!!!!! You know what? I think I’m owed a little slack, especially as I was supposed to get it done in my own time on Friday and work cocked it up for me.

A number of people have expressed their concern about my well-being recently. Claz told DM to ‘look after me’ several times on Saturday night and Sunday morning. DM bought me some ‘glads’ to make me glad today and that’s only the second time he’s EVER bought me flowers so he must be bothered too. Eric H also expressed concern. Don’t worry folks. I will come out of the other side of this trauma. I’m a fighter remember, that’s what I’m known for!

This shot is quite similar to some I did a while ago with my G3 and close-up lenses. It was only when I tried to print stuff done with them that I realised they put a horrible prism effect on the edges of stuff so I’ve been redoing much of the stuff I did with them. It’s actually quite symbolic because I liken this to me at the moment – dry, fragile and brittle on the outside but with a heart of gold inside that is being hidden from the world. It’s a corny metaphor if you like but one that resonates with me as a simple soul.


Strangely last year I was really 'on the up' and two years ago, I was shooting a sun-drenched pear