The sun is out, the birds are tweeting - usually fairly mundane stuff about what worms they've been eating (haha! I did a joke!); there's a faint smell of cow manure in the air. Next door on a building site a dog frolicks in the long grass and comes out with a half-full bottle of coke in its mouth. It spills, and the dog begins to lap at the puddle. He seems pretty happy, this dog. It really feels like spring is coming, and then summer, but I'm not happy. I found out on Monday that the temp job I'm doing, y'know, the one I wrote about on Sunday, is coming to an end on Friday. This is much sooner than I thought it was going to be, and it threw me into a depressive funk for a couple of days. I don't think it's anything to do with me or my work - Charlotte the manager told me they just don't have the budget for another temp. But it felt like I'd been dumped and was being given the old 'It's not you, it's me' shtick. I'm not sure I want to ask her to be frank though, I'd rather not have it confirmed that I'm a total cunt.

So I'm back looking for work, and my plans have been ever so slightly thrown into disarray. But I'm going to try as best I can not to plunge headlong into despondency, as is my wont. I've taken a pretty decent look at myself over the last few months - I could draw my own navel from memory - and now have a better understanding of the shit I do. I spoke to my parents last night, and they were incredibly sympathetic and nice about it. My dad, with whom I have a warm but fairly distant relationship, even said to me, 'we love you very much' at the end of the call, which I can't remember him saying before. Certainly not in the last ten years anyway. But because it was at the end of the conversation and I was wrapping it up, it took me by surprise and I just said 'thank you' in reply, and hung up. Then I had a small, momentary cry, and went downstairs to watch the football.

I'm incredibly lucky to have the friends and family that I do.

Laaaaaaazy Sunday Afternoon.

Alright world, keeping well are we? I do hope so. Today is a sunny Sunday, and it's put me in a good mood. It's been tempered slightly cos our neighbour's just been round to complain about our drains, but I won't let it bum me out. Basically, whenever we use our washing machine the run off flows out of our pipes and into the clogged drains, and overflows into their yard next door. When it's cold, like at night time, it freezes and becomes a deadly slipping hazard for his tiny son. And it's fair enough: if I had a son I imagine I'd be a bit sad if he died. But we're sorting it out and Glenn the landlord is bringing his rods round next week.

In the last week or so the sun's been out more, and it's great. I've been working, getting home at half five, and generally feeling like a real human being again. It's nice. The other day I also played squash for the first time in about three months, fighting manfully back from 1-0 down  to take victory 3-2. One slight problem is that I used a load of thrusty, lunge muscles for the first time in ages, and so now I have a really sore arse and ankle. I think part of the trouble is that I have a fatter arse and ankle than your average man, so there's a lot of it to get sore. I'm playing again next week so we'll see how it goes.

In other news, I have no money. The new job pays monthly so I won't feel the sweet embrace of dosh until around the 30th March. So I've not really been up to anything, and won't be for the next few weeks. It's pretty annoying, and meant that I had to give up a ticket for the England - France game at Twickenham last week, but hey! It's better than dying, cracking your head on frozen washing machine run-off. And for that I should be forever thankful.