2009 Round Up
I haven’t blogged anything for quite some time. In fact, the post before last was in June just after we picked up our puppy, Wile E!
So, I thought I would write a little update (mostly for myself should I ever read back, given that probably no one reads this!) to round up 2009 and the various things that have occurred in my life during that time.
The year seems to have really really flown by, which is a bit frightening as the speed at which it passes indicates you are continuing to get older.
Anyway, hit the “More” link to check out the rest of the post as the chances are that this could get quite lengthy 
New Job
On the 5th of January this year, I did something I hadn’t done for almost 4 years previous. I started a new job having left MIND CTI (formerly Abacus). I am now very close to having been in the role for a year and I have to say it has been excellent. The commute is tiny, I have lucked out and got a good boss, the pay is good and I don’t have any stress at all at this place. I have settled in very nicely now and know quite a few people around the building and my year end review went very well. Also, I have managed to pick up some new skills and have boosted my confidence that my database skills have carried over into a different industry nicely (I know they do, but I had convinced myself I was stuck in Telecoms!)
Flying
Nothing to report here I am afraid, I haven’t managed to go flying for just over a year.
Slipped Disc
At some point not long after my kidney stone operation I started getting nasty sciatic pain in my right leg, this turned out to be a slipped disc and subsequently I pretty much wrote off most of the year to the sciatic pain as it stopped me walking the rescue dogs and made getting anything done a nightmare more or less. I had an operation (through my work’s BUPA, w00t!) to sort it out and it has worked well! No more pain down my leg!
I am still in the recovery period but am now out walking with the dog and taking some pictures again. I just have to be mindful of what I am doing and take care of my back. I have a series of exercises I am supposed to do but I am being hopeless with them, so I am actually going to have a new year’s resolution next year to get fitter as core strength can help prevent a disc slipping again.
Wile E
Wile E (we think) has more or less grown as much as he will. He is mostly very very well behaved for a 7 month old puppy. The only real issue we have with him is his somewhat anxious excitement whenever someone new comes into view. He tears off to meet them and tends to jump up, most people understand this but we did meet a jerk who tried kicking him in the head a few times last week (he wasn’t hurt, the guy nearly was!). He has been a pleasure though and we really enjoy walking him in the hills.
Meeting Mr and Mrs Altman
Becky and I met with friend of mine I have known for about 7 years or so but have never met in person! He is in the US military and is stationed in Germany so he came to the UK for a holiday and we met up with them in London. This was a real blast, the girls really hit it off as they have about a billion things in common so we sent them into the Natural Science museum and headed to the pub. Shortly after this we got to Oxford Street and sent them off shopping while we went to the pub for more Leffe Blonde! This continued and we finished off the evening with a meal in a pub on the real ale trail whose name I forget.
So, a strange year with both good and bad things going on and 2 more operations than I generally find acceptable. Looking back I can see I blogged more than I thought I did this year but felt it worthwhile doing a round up anyway.