Thursday 31/12/2015 - One Bookshelf's Up, New Job Next Week, Happy New Year & This Week's Wristwatches.

Less than twelve hours left in 2015 and I, for one, will be glad that this year is over. Hasn't been an overly disastrous year, but it did have its fair share of stresses and trials. 

Still, I managed to finish my course of study, even if I don't pursue work in that field and that, at least, is one less thing to concern myself with.  

The settling in to the new house progresses smoothly. It stays reasonably cool indoors during this Summer heat thanks to the insulation and the long eaves, but I think we'll have to look into installing a split-system air conditioner in the lounge room before next Summer hopefully. Current temperature here in Melbourne is 38 degrees Celsius (100.4F). Ouch!

Finished one of the bookshelves for the study. Two-point-four metres tall. Gave me a few headaches along the way, but it turned out okay in the end. Now, to build three more just like it. The last one will not be as tall as the others because it'll be nestled against the wall near the window and the curtain box sits low on the wall. Hopefully, this shelf will hold all of my Bond-related titles. 

Early in the week, I wore the Omega Planet Ocean;

In other news, I FINALLY got a job! It's a part-time/job-share gig at an optometry practice.

I imagine there'll be a steepish learning curve as I get the hang of optical dispensing processes and health insurance procedures, but it will be good to be employed again. More importantly, it'll mean that my wife can scale back on her hours. She could do with a break. She's kept this ship afloat for quite a while. Thanks, amore!

Time for me to share the load and step back into the wage-earning arena. 

Being part-time, I can ease my way back into the workforce, too. The owner of the practice seems like a nice guy, so it will hopefully be a decent place to work.

I start next Tuesday. He wanted me to start on Monday, but I asked if I could commence the following day.  I Googled this fellow earlier this year...

...and was delighted to learn that he and I share the same birthday! What are the chances? 

So yeah, I figured I would start my new job the day after my birthday.

Bought a new diary for 2016. I made some heavy use of my diary this year. It was pretty busy admin-wise, with appointments regarding the sale of our house and then the purchase of our new one, plus various other appointments. I had a big medical appointment a few months ago where I was given various tests. My blood test revealed a low white blood cell count. Never, ever Google health information. The web is rife with horror stories and bad diagnoses. I was a nervous wreck for about a week when I thought I may have the early stages of Myelofibrosis. Prognosis for that terminal condition is 60 months. Divide that number by twelve. Not good.

My doctor referred me to a haematologist who read through my file and determined that I had nothing to worry about. He took a blood sample and told me that he gets one or two referrals each week for low white cell count patients. He went on to explain that it's just one of those things. I haven't shown any other symptoms over the last five years, such as dizziness, constant headaches, weight loss, etc. He told me he'd call me if my blood sample showed any abnormalities or a further drop. That was on December 10th and I haven't heard back from him. So hopefully, that's the end of that. 

So anyway, I have a new diary. Already jotted down a few items to tackle in the first week of the new year. Switched to the Omega Seamaster 300;

And it's now about 4:15pm, Thursday afternoon. We'll be heading out in a couple of hours to catch an early session of Joy, the new Jennifer Lawrence film, directed by David O. Russell. 

I've got a bottle of something pretending to be champagne in the fridge. I'll be popping the cork on that one sometime around midnight. 

And, because I've never done it before, I bought a small can of tomato juice and plan to have a Bloody Mary for breakfast tomorrow morning.  Complete with a white terry-towelling bathrobe and a pair of sunglasses. I'm gonna pretend I'm some 1950s Hollywood movie star with a hangover. 

And one final wristwatch switcheroo for the year. The Rolex Submariner 5513. Although, the dial and hands no longer glow in the dark on this watch, so I may switch to something that's easier to see in a darkened cinema;

I hope you all have a Happy and safe New Year, folks! Thanks for reading this blog o' mine throughout the year and thanks for all the kind comments, and I hope that 2016 treats you all kindly.

Thanks for reading and see you next year!