Changes

"Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes", as David Bowie once sang... Something new, something new, something new, and something new.

#1 New job. Starting on the 21st of June, after 14 years at my old place which came to an end in May. Although the carnage since I left -- over thirty redundancies, including 23 of 30 in the production department which is where most of the revenue is generated -- makes me feel like one of the lucky ones...

#2 New gadgets. It's 2010, and I finally got around to buying myself a phone of my own for the very first time. I was losing my works-provided handset (actually I got to keep it, but I needed to get a new contract so I could swap my number over), so I decided to go hog wild; I could have just bought a SIM-only contract, but instead I treated myself to a new HTC Desire smartphone. I also got a new point'n'shoot, but since a model had asked about an underwater shoot, I thought I'd get something that could cope with a dunking: a Canon Powershot D10.

#3 New business cards. To go with my "commercial" website, at www.delargy.co.uk. While I go through this big upheaval in my life, I thought I might as well have a stab at getting more paid work as a 'tog. Heck, bezzie mate Karen B left to become a full-time actress. That's a proper full-time actress, not one of those people who works in an office for forty hours a week but calls herself an actress because she got to be an extra in The Bill eleven years ago. So if she can take such a plunge, why can't I be a 'tog? I'm already getting paid every now and then.

#4 New car. The wee Arosa's beginning to aggravate me after two years of ownership. It continues to be enviably cheap to run (a best of 74 mpg last month, £35/year VED), but it rattles a bit, one of the front wheels is slightly squinty, and the exhaust needs fixing. It's too wee, and since I'm no longer working in Glasgow every day, I don't need something that you can park in itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny spots. I'll probably miss it when it's gone though, especially when I'm filling up at the petrol station. EDIT: Might be a change of plan with this. Keep running the Seat, which has now managed a 76 mpg tank, or switch to a Skoda Octavia or Ford Mondeo? I can't decide...