I'm not entirely sure why I'm doing this. Partly, I guess, it's because sometimes it feels like I'm living in a soap opera at the moment and if I don't write down what's going on I'll start to forget important things, partly also because this has actually turned out to be an interesting year for me, but mainly because I'm a contractor in the IT industry and finding things to do during the day that look like work but aren't is the raison d'etre of a contractor.

So yes, I confess, I'm a contractor. I wish I wasn't, but thems the breaks. This is now my fourth stint away from home this century. The first two and a bit years in the midlands (of England, I should add) were ok. Earnt a fortune, spent a fortune on a sports car, expensive holiday, huge telly etc. The drive then was manageable - admittedly I got to know the M42 and it's roadworks far too initmately for my liking - at about 2/3 hours (I live in the south west of England). Then I had 6 months in my (adopted) home town working on a business I set up - that was bliss. Then followed one and a half years in Yorkshire. Great job, nice people, wad of cash etc., but the 4 hour drive back every Friday night and returning on Sunday evening was a killer. Sometimes almost literally.

After a very brief stint back home (a permie job! yay! walk to work! sleep in own bed every night! for five months until new employer goes bust! arse!) I'm now up in the north east for six months. Not as far north east as you can go before reaching scotland, but almost. This means I now have up to 12 hours a weekend sitting in my car feeling my arse grow (and a train would take longer and be more expensive, and a plane would be shorter but much more expensive).

It's a crying shame when you reach the stage of being bored of listening to your entire music collection through repetition. I even found myself listening to a german rap CD - an ex (german, obviously) of my sister gave my for xmas one year - that I hadn't heard for several years, just to hear something different during the journey. I learnt lots of new swear words and remembered why I hated the album so much in the first place. Better than Coldplay anyway.....

Boss back from meeting. Back to more obvious work-faking.....