Back to serious work

So, having spent the past month living between Lincoln and Stockport (thanks Mum and Dad for being great hosts!) we are finally back at home and I have a month to do five different projects. I am managing my time very carefully right now using a cool new app called 30/30 which I would recommend to anyone trying to manage their hours effectively. I have got loads done already today and have squeezed in a tough workout (I have refound the wonderful Zuzana on youtube - her workouts are short but fierce!). Lunch is beckoning and I have to freeze a lot of meat during my lunchbreak. On Saturday D went all 'American grill' on me and smoked a piece of pork for 12 hours straight on his new BBQ. I am not a huge meat eater but it is absolutely amazing! And there are so many leftovers!

I am always relieved when a big sporting event finishes, especially the Olympics. It's been fun but I'm glad not to have to keep checking what's going on in the handball! In fact last night I deleted my London 2012 app from my phone. TV takes up considerably less of my time when there isn't 24 hr sport on. We are not very 'Team GB' in our house and my favourite moment of the games was Michael Phelps in the pool. He is just unbelievable and seems to be a genuinely nice chap. I guess the Brownlees' successes in the Triathlon were a close second. Alistair ran his 10K only 20 secs slower that Mo's. That is incredible!

Last night, in an attempt to avoid the horrors of the closing ceremony (opening ceremony was good, closing ceremony looked bad from the rumours so I steered clear - my Twitter feed this morning confirmed that this was a good plan), I sat back at read Neil Peart's (Rush drummer's) amazingly sad book Ghost Rider. It is great and extremely thought-provoking. I then cleaned the BBQ, tidied the bedroom and kept one eye of the golf (hoorah Rory!) which D enjoyed very much. Rock n' roll evening!

The month of August is completely clear. I have NOTHING in my diary at all. This is how I planned it (I've not just run out of friends, although...) as I really want to crack on with research work. I absolutely love my job and am just getting a taste of what my sabbatical is going to be like - long days with no distractions, an open Macbook, good music, tea and some real, manageable goals. It is a little duller outside today than it has been but the birds are happily jumping about so all is well.

Anyways, lunch beckons if I'm to keep on track for today. Lots of new articles and conference papers to bore you with are planned for this afternoon. I have finally started the article I have the funding for (probably a good idea to start that one!) and am loving the material. It is fascinating!

Hope everyone is having a good Olympic-free day.
CSW