...and we're off!

Off to Bologna, that is. I've survived my one day back at work, packed things and managed to catch a train to London.

From there it's down to Gatwick and onto a (very early) flight. Fortunately, my body is still in Whitby mode and does not require sleep. Honest. My brain, on the other hand, is doomed.

From Bologna, it's on to Mantova... and then I fall over and sleep for most of Friday. :)

Lent

So, this year I've given up Twitter, Facebook and coffee. These three may sound like a slightly odd mix, but from my perspective there's a single aim behind them: to slow down and relax.

Coffee fuels my working day. Tired and grumpy when I get to work? Want to get away from my desk for a minute? Trying to summon the energy to review a lengthy technical document or backtrack through the sequence of events behind a complaint or major incident? Coffee is always the answer. Lots of it. That's the way to do it.

Which leads neatly onto FB and Twitter. If I'm not relaxed, I get bored easily. I fidget. My mind rattles round in circles and needs something external to feed on, so that my thoughts don't tie themselves in knots.

...and checking FB or Twitter works nicely for that. Check what people are up to, post short sharp comments, then do it all over again five minutes later. With luck, there'll be replies to reply to. If not, there may still be photos to view and links to follow. Repeat as required. There goes lunch. Or most of the evening.

Using them in that way eats time and stops me doing other things. It also seems to discourage me from actually picking up a phone and talking to my friends.

So, away with all of this. Time to slow down - and to make better use of the time I do have.

None of the three are intrinsically bad things, and I'm looking forward to picking them all up again after Easter. But hopefully, when I do, I'll remember why I did this over Lent and I won't just fall straight back into the same old bad habits...