Limbo land - and the NHS

Work is starting to get a little frustrating. My boss says he'll come over in ten minutes to discuss something or other, but it always ends up being at least an hour, and then he'll only spend a few minutes with me before attending some vital meeting. Most of the time I'm left in limbo land. I am getting to know about the drainage networks, but as for actually using our systems to do work relating to the networks, I feel almost completely clueless. And most importantly, I'm spending too much time doing bugger all. In my contract it says my salary might be negotiable after three months. Well I'm half-way there already, and if I ask for a raise in another six weeks they'll think I'm having a laugh. The good news is that I'm going on a two-day course next week, which may (or may not) help me understand one of the programs we use.

During one of my "bugger all" periods at work this morning I read this article on the Guardian site. It's an absolute must-read. The bloke who wrote it (and a book) is the same age as my grandfather (Dad's dad) would be if he were still around. The article illustrates what a difference the NHS has made to millions of people in the UK, from someone who remembers all too vividly what life was like before it: if you became seriously ill and couldn't afford health care, you died. The NHS isn't perfect, but the proposed alternative, where people lucky enough to have money can effectively jump the queue, is surely a huge leap backwards.

Mum and Dad left Christchurch yesterday morning on their eleven-week voyage; alright for some. They'll be taking in the UK and France, and are also going on a Nordic cruise. They're currently on a stopover in Singapore. I emailed the Guardian article to him - I knew he'd be interested - but told him not to read it yet because it's too depressing.

When I walked home this evening I realised I didn't want to go home (which no longer feels like home) but didn't want to be at work either. I was quite happy being in limbo land.

Tennis comeback?

There's been some good news from my brother: his ex has chucked in her job and left the country (she's freezing her butt off somewhere in the north of England - she can't do much damage there). Hopefully this whole saga will now blow over and he'll be able to get on with life.

I've almost finished How To Be Good which is a shame as it's been a jolly good read. I found Hornby's depiction of "Barmy Brian" quite thought-provoking, especially the bit where Brian (he's about fifty) tells Katie what it's like to cook for himself (badly!) following his mother's recent death. There are shades of (Barmy?) Bazza, who also lived with his mother until she died in 2008. As Hornby says, "love ... is as undemocratic as money, it accumulates around people who have plenty of it already: the sane, the healthy, the lovable. I am loved by my children, my parents, my brother, my spouse, I suppose, my friends; Brian has none of these people, and never will ..." There are a lot of Brians in this world, living, breathing human beings, existing outside of society, unloved by anybody. OK, some of them have made a choice to live like that but most haven't, and it's all very sad. For some reason I've always found those sorts of people interesting, probably because I only really exist on the fringes of society myself.
By the way I find Tom (Katie's ten-year-old son) to be extremely unlovable!

After work yesterday I dashed to the Green Man (a bar quite close to work) to watch the tail-end of Serena Williams' shock loss to her compatriot Sloane Stephens. I was wishing I hadn't bothered (there was no sound and you couldn't watch it without something going on - like a game of pool - between my eyes and the screen). The underdog Stephens looked to be playing a blinder, and I was impressed by her fighting spirit after she lost what I thought would be the crucial game at 3-3 in the third set. I've never been a huge Serena fan, and Stephens seemed amiable, so I was happy with the result. (I'm always amused by Serena's official weight. On the Aussie Open site she's listed as 68 kilos, but they don't say which parts of her anatomy are included. Her bum? Maybe that's just her bum.) Sharapova fell heavily to Li Na in her semi-final this afternoon, and Stephens' excellent Open came to an end in her semi with Azarenka just as their match was getting exciting.

I've been following the tennis much more than I thought I would. I'm sure the no-poker thing has played its part (I don't miss the poker but I do miss having an "escape" - the tennis provides that to some degree). I emailed a comment (about tie-breaks) to their radio team and was surprised to hear it read out on air by Richard Evans, my favourite commentator. I'd like to make another comment about the weight of rackets. All this talk about tennis has made me at least consider taking it up again. I basically quit the game when I came to Wellington. At various times tennis has done me an awful lot of good, but it's also caused me a lot of angst on occasions, I'm a bit apprehensive about getting back into it. They're in the middle of the current season, so it's likely I'll have to wait till September in any case. Whatever, I need proper serious exercise on a more regular basis (I've put on weight and certainly feel more lethargic); at the weekend I've got an arduous tramp planned - hopefully that will help.