Glass Half Empty

So, new year, new decade, new chance. New start.

Where am I gonna go from here? One thing's for certain, I can't stay where I am. My time as a student is over, and I'm entering the world of work. My lab is moving from Sussex University to Brighton University (administrative differences etc, don't ask...), and I in turn mean to leave that lab before the year is out. It's been easily long enough, and I'm aching to get out into the real world (scary though it is) and work somewhere that starts at 0900 and finishes at 1800, doing something I can actually talk about. At the moment, so much of my work is abstract and highly theoretical that "I work in computers" is about as accurate as I can easily get. I'd dearly love to be able to point at a product and say something like "see that? My department designed the CPU that makes it go.".

Resolutions, such as they are:

• Get A Real Job - Working in research is all well and good, teaching at a university is good fun. Time for a change. I've been doing this for too long, and I'm stuck in a rut. I need to break it, move somewhere else and do something else, or I'll end up spending the rest of my life in that lab. And I'd really rather not.
• Lose some volume. Weight is optional, though I'd imagine some of that will go too. In particular, a trimmer waist and legs would be nice, as I'm bored of ill-fitting trousers.
• Stop being so hilariously crap at People. The great majority of people are decent, and pleasant, and while I generally cock up at least 50% of social interactions at some point, That's Fine. Try to remember that, recover, and move on, rather than failing, fleeing and cowering in the corner.
• Fix my sleep schedule (he says at 0130). Waking hours of 1030-0200, working 1100-1900 is really not sustainable. 0700-1100 or similar is perfectly achievable, and will likely be better for my sanity and weight-management. No harm in trying for it.

So there. Hopefully I can achieve some or all of that, and we'll see what happens from there. As I've said before, 2011 has to be better than 2010. I think the above points are a good metric for measuring what "better" means. So I'll be back in 365 days, to see how well I did.

I know other people have had what might be considered bad years, a fair number among people I consider my friends, in fact. Know this: I love you all, in a variety of ways and likely for different reasons in each case. You're all awesome for putting up with me, and I hope your 2011 is better, however you choose to measure its quality.

The Glass: refilling