March 2007
Life is settling down into a routine now.
School run is a breeze now I have the car so I manage to get home at about 9.15am. Then I sit in front of the PC until it's time to go back to school at around 2.30pm.
Things I do while sitting in front of the computer:
- Listen to BBC Radio through the PC. This is quite weird as I use their "Listen Again" option so often hear news that happened several days ago. I do like it though as it keeps me in the loop of UK news and current affairs.
- Check email: I have 2 personal accounts and a business account. Reply as necessary.
- Make a cup of tea.
- Check my work forum: this takes a little time as due to the time difference everyone has posted stuff while I was asleep so there's quite a bit to catch up on. I add my comments, help and assist as much as possible. Unfortunately, my priorities have changed now and, as I no longer run my own magazine I am beginning to feel I don't belong here. I work for them behind the scenes, but can't contribute much to the work-related threads on the forum. Also, it's not really the place for personal chit-chat.
- Look at the news sites to see what's happening in the world.
- Make another cuppa.
- Look at the USGS website to see if there were any earthquakes I slept through. They have an option to complete a form if you felt one, so I always do this when I can.
- Look at the weather forecast.
- Repeat most of the above in case I've missed anything... did I tell you I am the Queen of Procrastination?!
- Then I settle down to work.
I'm scheduled to write the Tokyo Tales articles on a regular basis so I make a list of subjects and copy some emails and forum posts to help me remember things. [Now I'm writing this blog I'm so glad I kept these notes. I'm still more than two years behind and have no idea if I'll ever catch up.]
I also do quite a lot of the administration required for this work website so sometimes I dedicate the entire day to this as it's one of those jobs that have to be done in one go otherwise I'll lose track of where I am, archiving and so on. The software running the site is clunky but easy to use as long as I concentrate hard.
However, while I was in the UK, a nice part of my day was to phone various stay-at-home friends while the kids were at school. We would have a nice gossip in peace without the children interrupting or other-halves overhearing. Sadly, I can't do this anymore and I really miss it.
I can phone people in my evening, which is morning in the UK, but this takes up my evening when I should be spending it with Tim. During my day, it's the early hours of the morning in Britain and I know of no friends of mine that would appreciate receiving a call from me just to chat at this time.
So, I feel a bit lonely.
And March is always a hard time emotionally for me. Until now, being so busy has alleviated the depression, but now it hits with a vengeance.
Basically, from 1st February to 16th March is my "downtime" – it was on 1st February 2004 that Dad had a massive stroke and turned our lives upside-down and 16th March 2004 when death finally released him from the prison his brain had put him in.
It was the worst six weeks of my life. And sadly, these six weeks replay themselves each year.
Then one day I stumbled across a website that I consider to be a lifesaver. It's a forum where I can chat with lots of lovely mums, mostly from the UK, but some are in the US or Australia / New Zealand. Many are insomniacs so are online when my day starts. It's a place where advice can be sought and answered with amazing insight, the general chit-chat is fabulous and drama, support and venting of problems large or small is considered beneficial. I joined immediately and soon felt part of a caring cyberfamily.
The website? The Bad Mother's Club www.badmothersclub.co.uk/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=308
Thank you Badmums!
The founder of the site, Stephanie Calman has written these books which are highly entertaining.
