In a somewhat indulgent - but also justified, I feel - manner, I only ‘worked’ for 3 days and spent Thursday and Friday in Brighton for a friend’s birthday and a general catch-up with people. For once, I avoided the temptation to drive past the old house and therefore lessened the regret of having left in the first place, nearly 11 years ago.

But the short week was a productive week, with progress on a number of fronts.

• I met up with an ex colleague for lunch on Monday and we discussed ‘the old times’ and what has changed in the intervening time. (Not much.)
• On Tuesday, I had a great meeting with a founder about collaborating / supporting the business across operations, strategy, systems, product delivery and research. This is green for go! Another meeting to progress things is planned for next week.
• In the gaps between and around the above, I wrote an article on mentoring (to be published on 28th January), and an article on procrastination (which you can read here).
• I also applied for a full-time role - an opportunity too good to miss - which is really appealing and plays to my generalist / inquisitive strengths coupled with my experience.
• Did some research on grants for the aforementioned founder.
• Made some good progress on book 2. I’m now just over 50% through the additional writing, but a long way from finishing; it’ll need a lot of editing to bring some coherence and tie the pieces together.

Listening highlights:

• Xiu Xiu - “Xiu Mutha F****n' Xiu: Vol. 1” [sic] Album.
  Covers / re-imaginings of a range of songs. Interesting.

I watched:

• Extinction. Not very good. The premise is a great twist on the alien invasion trope. But the execution is poor, the end is a bit ‘meh’, and the effects are obvious to the point of distraction - even for a film that’s coming up to 8 years old.
• Blackshore Series 1 Episode 1. Dipped my toe in. May go back for a paddle, or even a swim, at a later date.