Big work changes; shirataki noodles

So I now have my new car. I paid with cash and felt a bit dodgy wandering through town with a wad of used notes in a plain brown envelope! I felt a bit sad letting my Ka go and I still miss it now, but probably only because it was so familiar it was like an extra limb. My new car, I’m still getting used to. The gear ratios are all different, I don’t know where any of the buttons are. When I go up a gear, I put my foot on the accelerator and nothing happens for a couple of seconds and then it suddenly shoots off. What’s that all about then? I even set the alarm off trying to get into it today and got a funny look from a passer by. I didn’t even know it had an alarm!

I’m sure I’ll get used to it and I do like lots of things about it; no random mysterious rattling noises, radio controls on the steering wheel, electric windows, remote central locking and a great big boot.

Random photo time.

Here is a rhodedendron we’ve just discovered in our garden. Very pretty.

Muse tickets arrived! Only 12 days to go!

And our pigeon has now decided to live on our spar room window sill. Every time I go in there, she’s sitting there just watching me. Her name is Samantha, she told me yesterday *nod*

Big changes at work. My boss has been promoted into a different department and they’re not replacing her. So now it’s just me and Amy in the office, and we have to run it between us with no extra remuneration. Anja (ex-boss) kept on saying “This is your big chance to prove to everyone what you can do.” Errr no, it’s a big chance for the company to squeeze extra work and responsibility out of us without having to pay for an office manager.

Since November, I’ve been working in accounts every Monday. Obviously now that Anja has gone I’m not going to be doing this anymore. Except that they’ve decided that I’m going to still do the same work, just from my own desk. On top of being 50% office manager, taking on 50% of the work that Anja did including taking minutes in a three hour meeting every other Monday and typing them up. How the frick I’m supposed to do that without cloning myself is completely beyond me.

Also, what happens when one of us is on holiday? Amy has two weeks booked in July and I have two weeks booked in October. It’s stressful enough being the only person in the office for one day, never mind two weeks. The phone rings, the doorbell rings, people come in asking us to do stuff, tea and coffee needs making for meetings as well as the NINE email inboxes we have to constantly monitor. Yes you read the right, NINE. How is all of that going to be possible for one person to do for two weeks when there used to be three of us?

Our new boss, the HR manager, is coming up tomorrow to chat with us about how it’s all going to work, so I’m definitely going to mention this to her, it’s beyond a joke.

In other news, I’ve decided to give the 5:2 diet a go. Jay loves the Dukan; eat as much meat and eggs as you like. I don’t get on with it. Although I don’t eat chocolate and crisps very often, when I’m not allowed them at all I miss them.

With the 5:2 diet, you can eat whatever you like for five days a week, although you should try and stay fairly healthy, and for two days you eat only 500 calories. I can do this if I know I’m allowed treats again tomorrow.

Today was my first fasting day. I had yoghurt and apple for breakfast, Ryvita with Philadelphia Light for snacks (one in the morning, one in the afternoon), salad with cucumber, tomato, lettuce and two slices of turkey breast for lunch. Two turkey sausages with shirataki noodles and sweetcorn for tea. All of that for 500 calories. It’s a small amount of food and I was slightly peckish, but nowhere near as hungry as I’ve been led to believe from reading articles about it.

As I’m now also walking Roxie the Rottweiler five days a week, hopefully I should start seeing a bit of weight coming off this week :o)