Wednesday 16 April 2008

Halfway there...

...both metaphorically and physically.

Today was an office day; that is to say that I was working at the office rather than from home. Each has its merits and each has its drawbacks. Merits of the office: well obviously I have more resources (both in terms of information in the office and on the office computer system) and specialist software, the office telephone system (even my new mobile with it's excellent reception still doesn't like the bedroom), my colleagues; drawbacks of the office: commuting, interruption by phone calls, commuting, my colleagues. Yep, colleagues are good and bad. I like my colleagues, I find them informative and on occasion entertaining; but also distracting. In contrast the advantages to working at home: no commute, no distractions; disadvantages: it gets lonely and sometimes it is hard to stay focussed and motivated.

Halfway there because today is Wednesday and half of the working week has now gone. Halfway there because every day I feel physically a little more restored. Sadly it doesn't happen over night, the fatigue (that so many people with MS do battle with) is still one of the biggest problems. My legs are pretty much back at full strength, and my balance is much improved (although not so much that I feel confident enough to venture out without The Stick).

The commute is pretty much settled into a routine now. I have a variety of podcasts to keep me entertained, and if I don't have too much baggage and a free hand then one of the free newspapers as well.

I had an interesting spell this afternoon. I was filling out a report (and had been for some time), and when I finally finished I commented on the perceived bureaucratic nature of the whole exercise. Whereupon my colleague who sits opposite asked me what 'bureaucratic' meant. Have you ever tried to define a word without resorting to "Bureaucratic, well it means...um...bureaucratic". After eventually managing to convey the meaning I commented that I was probably using it a derogative manner rather than a descriptive one; whereupon I promptly was requested to explain the meaning of derogative. Mental note to self: curb inclination to verbosity and simply vocabulary, or face repeated requests for explanations!