happy birthday, laz!

* * *Have the happiest of birthyears, m'dearlazulus!!!* * *

I'm so sorry I missed the actual date due to off-lineness! I did celebrate it in my head, however, because I saw it written on my kitchen calendar. :-) I hope you had a lovely birthday and will have a good, happy next year of life.

outing myself on the real

For those who don't yet know: I've been off-line a lot lately because I have decided that 2007 will be the year to face my fear, that the only thing that has been keeping me in my present job is fear (of losing the salary, of not getting another job), and that I must leave that institution.

I have been pondering the possibilities, potentials and pitfalls of a career change. I've bought books from Amazon about career change; I went to see a careers counsellor (who was prohibitively expensive and useless); I have sent away for prospectuses for MBAs from Business Schools; I have been borrowing and reading books on (yes!) 'Creative Management' and 'Accounting for Non-Specialists'.

I have also been thinking (if not writing) about the novel I want to write (orig). I want to post thoughts on character and plot invention when dealing with orig and not fandom but I haven't got round to it yet.

Tonight I have gamelan and I want to do the cashflow exercise from my accounting book -- yes, you may fall over at this point because I myself am certainly bruised all over from all the falling down I've been doing recently. I mean: cash flows? I can't even add beyond ten without using my fingers and have a mortal fear of anything numerical -- but, as I said, the motto of the year is to face the fear so I am looking into the dark heart of maths. And I do like learning and mastering new things. I also am applying for an academic job (keep all the irons in the fire) and applied for a post with a charitable arts foundation in Jakarta, Indonesia (11).

Just so you know why I'm never here.

In my spare time: I see movies and listen to the radio (Just a minute! The Archers! Five Live's football commentaries!).

T'sons are now big enough to babysit themselves so t'h and I have seen Apocalypto, The Last King of Scotland and Babel.

On DVD, I am working my way through all the Christmas presents. So far: A 1936 Cary Grant film whose title escapes me; Porco Rosso, Fanaa, Krampack, Sommer vorm Balkon, a 1936 Hitchcock whose title escapes me, Die Wilden Kerle 3. And I'm going to order Rang De Basanti from Amazon because in the wake of Fanaa I am now an Amir Khan fan. And Kajol is still the most breathtakingly beautiful woman in the world.

:-)