I’ve pretty much hit bottom today at work. In fact i think I've realised the major criticism of working in a 9-5 job: there’s no point in me being here. I should be at home, I’m wasting time and energy sitting in an office doing nothing all day. Of course this I cant go home-I wont get paid, so I’m left to sit here to do some 'work' (ie copy and pasting my update from word).

I want to be honest with the employers (HM Government) and say something. I want to jump on my desk and tell them. 'look im not doing anything, and nor is anyone else! Were all sitting here writing emails to our partners and friends. Were all in meetings summoning up vacuous guff about nothing! Were all drinking tea because there’s nothing to do! But I wont, I'll just fill my time-sheet in and wait for the ship to sink.

Apart from the fact that no one really does anything here, there’s also the overwhelming physical presence of men-fat men to precise - who sit around and talk absolute twaddle. The whole building is swarming with them. They’re in the canteen, the hallways, the meeting rooms, in the toilets, they’re even in front of me now waffling about...well nothing really. I'd say 80% of the high-paid jobs are held by men in their 40/50 who's jobs include saying 'yah yah yah' very loudly. They obviously deserve to be there by default but some of the questions and comments they ask others or I am asked sum up their level of intelligence. Heres a few of my favourites...

-Where’s the out-post tray?
-Can I minimise this internet explorer thing?
-Can you change my ring tone for me? ('no not that one that sounds too gay').
-I’m not giving to children in need, I’d rather give to the soldiers in Iraq.

An update....

A fair bit of water has passed under the bridge since my last update which seems a lifetime ago and I can literally feel Christmas’ sharp consumer obsessed teeth biting my arse. Therefore I feel that I little update is required. I have a lot to do before the Christmas break and strangely it is all academic based. Since I submitted the dissertation in September I have become more involved in the academic world than I ever was when I was studying. The GTA position is brilliant and I am really enjoying it. It’s a real pleasure to teach something that I not only enjoy but also want to learn more about. I have literally gone back to the beginning with EU law. I am reading the new edition of the undergraduate textbook and learning it all again through the eyes of a student and a GTA. Although I am in the class for 50 minutes the classes fly by in what feels like 5 minutes. Apart from the teaching I am somewhat treated as an equal in the only University that I have ever known. Its an odd feeling but a good one. The only downside is that every week that passes is an extra week when I could be doing a PhD. My would be supervisor has given me access to a Legal Library in Russell Square, but that’s as close as the PhD as I get. I have had far too many talks with other tutors and would be supervisors that I am somehow sick of talking about starting the PhD and desperate to actually start it. I have applied to other universities but there is nothing just yet to get excited about, although I may here something by the beginning of next year.

Work is pretty much benchmark office/governmental work which bores me to tears on a daily basis but pays the rent and what not. This is obviously compensated by my weekly stint back at University and overall I guess its not going too bad. I think me and Vuokko did go through an anti-London episode but it hasn’t turned out too bad. Its expensive as Tokyo jewellers and there is the robotic feeling of getting-on-the-tube-going-to-work but I’ve started to ‘live for the weekend’ which is awful but an honest summary.

Now that I finally have internet at work, im going to be doing a lot of updating and what not to pass the time away.