I woke this morning to a wonderful photo of Tress’ family over dinner together last night. Her dad looked a little tired but he is otherwise on the mend. We discussed her return dates yesterday and at this stage it looks likely she’ll be back this weekend. That would be great as it has been horrible without her around.

On Friday night I took a walk and ended up having some pub grub. The live band played some Paul Kelly numbers so that was nice.

On Saturday, after a futile visit to the local Bunnings (they didn’t have the line trimmer cords I needed), I immersed myself into work tidying up the outside – I worked single-mindedly on the hedges, at one point taking some risks and nearly fell off the ladder. I had to place the A-frame ladder parallel to the hedges and it wobbled and threatened to tip over. A desperate grabbing of some rough and large pittosporum trunks saved me from a fall which at my age, would have been dire indeed. I ploughed on after that and completed the trimming, mowing and sweeping routines before continuing to scrub some bird droppings off the deck, and finally moving on to wash the MX5. Late that same arvo, having scrubbed off and walked LBJ, I took the glistening MX5 for a drive and it provided temporary relief from being alone without my better half.

Sunday after St Alf’s I headed to the local supermarket, got some stuff for another toastie meal, and went home to make another sandwich meal.

Then it was laundry and then off to the library – I had finished the book on Charles Bean Kiddo gave me and there was nothing to read at home. I picked up a fiction piece this time (Tom Winton) – and headed home, prepared for the work week, and took the little guy for his walk.

Interspersing all the activities with WhatsApp video calls with Tress was both very nice and disruptive – when there were no chores left to do, those calls were exactly what I needed.

*****

Last Friday a colleague came up to my desk and told me he had resigned. An intelligent guy who managed some key accounts, he was well liked and respected and I enjoyed working with him. So it was a sad piece of news.

He must have been the 20th or so person I worked with who has parted ways with the company. Like many before him, he joined the company after me so I guess it is a testament of the sort of future this company promises for its employees, that so many have such short tenures – they seem to leave the first chance they get.

I’m just continuing to put my head down and plough away. I have worked up a routine – I don’t know if I like it or not. I have come to think that the idea of work satisfaction/enjoying what you do can be overrated or overplayed. Most work require application/industry/just plain rolling up your sleeves and working on stuff. Whether that is enjoyable or brings satisfaction is a distant secondary consideration.

I have a routine which sees my days utilised doing work which helps an organisation manage it legal risks. That routine helps my days pass easier and I earn a living out of it. Those are easily and by far the more important factors than whether I enjoy doing what I do. Often, satisfaction is derived not from performing the task per se but from being gritty and staying the course to complete the task.