A work in progress...49

Christ, almost a month since my last post, I can't believe I left it so long.

It's been a completely manic four weeks. We moved into the new house at the weekend, which was stressful and utterly exhausting. The move itself went OK, but we've moved from a three-bedroomed place which we were renting to a two-bedroomed house which we have bought.

The kids have settled in OK and don't mind sharing a bedroom. We can convert the loft into another bedroom, bu that will be in th future. My wife is tired and stressed, but seems reasonably happy. Hopefully being in her own house will have a calming influence. The cafe gallery has closed and added to the pressure, as she had to clear out all her work a week before we moved. The house is compact, but cosy, and in a quiet street. There is not really anywhere to write, unless I take the shed in the garden, which my wife is eyeing up for a studio.

I got my laptop back, it's super quick with all the shit taken off the HD and the extra memory. I miss the ibook though, which I had on loan from work. The Mac is much cooler and always provokes interest on the train. I found that other mac users also gravitated to me, it is like a community.

Because I can't afford to take anytime off work right now, due to a few special projects and a restructuring of the department, I have managed to keep on writing. I've almost finished revising the first 12,000 words and will look to send it off to a couple of agents and maybe post something on this blog. I also wat to print the poetry collection and do some reading.

The kids are off school for the easter holidays, but I doubt whether I can take any time off. I feel tired and a little bit down with things, I guess it's the pressures of the house and family and also our relationship. There are issues that still need resolving. My wifes birthday and our ninth wedding anniversary came and went as it was in the middle of the move. We don't seem to have any fun anymore, that is one of the main problems.

My only enjoyment is writing. I feel pleased that I've managed to keep on going through everything, it' my release and salvation.

At the moment I'm reading William Burroughs' Naked Lunch. A brilliant read, original and provoking. I'm picking up a lots of things from his style. I'm also reading a book on the Turin shroud, which fingers Da Vinci as the faker. Very interesting.

May look at changing the tone of the blog, start publishing extracts from my book.

We've had lovely spring mornings, London looks all pristine, the days are nice and fresh and people are sat out in the parks on a lunchtime. I do ashtanga yoga twice a week and can realy feel the benefits. The new house is about a 20 minute walk to the station, I may start going on my mountain bike.