And now...yes it is Nik@41!

I woke up way too early today, thinking that I would go to Paddington for a project meeting. I got to work at 7:45, and had intended to do what I did last Friday, which was park at work, and then take the bus to Newbury station, and from there the 8:30 express to Paddington. I got to work, though, and thought about priorities. The room booking system I am putting into Paddington has been seriously stressing me out. The software company that sold it to me are German, and their attitude is a rather un-Germanic lacadaisical one that drives me nuts. I wish they would just put it in for me, but instead it is up to me to decipher what they meant (their English isn't great)in the user interface, think of a better word, and then ask if it is a problem to fix it. The system is supposed to go live on Monday.
So, I decided to stay in Newbury rather than spending an hour going to Paddington, an hour there, and an hour coming back. Good choice. I have been really worried about this application and wondering what I got myself into when I volunteered to make it available for the new office, in addition to already being responsible for A/V and videoconferencing, and now conference phones and room displays as well. Finally, I feel like it is almost where it needs to be.
I got some stuff done, and then went over to the studio, where they were doing a webcast today. I haven't helped produce one for awhile, so I volunteered to do sound. It was good, because I got to be a bit useful, and make a little time to hear our CIO and my boss talk about the state of our department. No big layoffs announced, which is probably part of the reason a lot of people watched--to find out when the axe is going to fall. Our European CEO hasn't spoken one word in public since he joined in October, and there is a growing feeling that his first words will involve talk of redundancies.
I saw my former boss in the canteen. I have to admit to not being over really hating him. But now that I am not working for him can see him for what he is: A small-time nobody who surrounds himself with people that want only to do his bidding, no matter how wrong or self-serving it may be. Ok, I am even more of a nobody, but I have no regrets that I have screwed anyone or ill-treated them. Then again, he probably doesn't have those regrets, either. Self-awareness doesn't seem to be one of his stronger points.
After lunch, I got a lot done. The booking application now has all the information it needs, though there are still a couple of things that need fixing. I spoke to my boss, and he is relatively happy with me, that I am doing what needs to be done, which is good.
At 4, Darren and I went over to a nearby pub for a pint. We didn't talk at all about work, which was good.
Then I came home and had a birthday dinner and got a present (two bags of gourmet coffee), and am now drinking a glass of wine to my own happy and healthy 41st year.
I am, by the way, down to 86 kg. That took awhile, and to lose the other 17 kg that I need to be at my ideal weight will probably take awhile longer. C'est la vie. C'est la 41e année pour Nik.