Ah, not just another day in the office. Nor indeed another first day back in the office after more than 2 weeks holiday (wtf? a time of day with a 7 in it?). No, today is the first day of a new year, which marks the closing of the previous one and lots of groundless optimism for the one ahead.

The activity that really drove it home for me was tearing off the front cover of my newest Dilbert desk calendar and adding the 9th brick to my wall of old calendar boxes. Have I really been working in exactly the same office for 9 1/2 years? Yep. Am I still enjoying the majority of each minute of it? Err, yep. Am I going to be happy to reach May intact? Hell yes.

Just before Christmas, I had the pleasure of poking around the Tower of London in some detail, including looking at graffitti carved into the stone walls by famous historical figures when they were incarcerated. I wonder if there’re any parallels between that and my collection of cartoon annuals..

Another brick in the wall

One of the better New Years Resolutions I’ve come across so far was ‘1080p’. Which if you found that amusing, then I’ll recommend you read a book I’ve just finished called The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross. Its writeup is firmly stuck in my queue of Blog Posts Needing Finishing, after last autumn’s chutney, Fun with Pastry, 2 other books, maybe something about experiencing the Square Mile at the last weekend before Christmas and answering Wez’s challenge

Unlike a few of my friends, this year past didn’t see any particularly life changing experiences or events, although one of my cousins has fixed the trend that my extended family only met on sad occasions and the house I moved into last Spring is still just as fantastic as ever. The wood burning stove is just perfect for cold, dark nights, although we should probably have bought his and hers sheepskin rugs.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish you a happy 2009. May it bring mornings and exercise and good luck to all who sail in her.