October 4 (Monday): The Story Of Everest. Ouch ouch, the headache that I had last night appears to have become a tumour as I awaken with one of those specialised behind my right eye migraines that always feels as if my eye/head is bleeding. And I must be ill if I don’t bother with speaking to Sara on MSN.

I walk into work in the pissing rain and it is thoroughly miserable, this is a stereotypical Monday morning straight out of the depression text book.

At work this morning there is something of a real vibe and this is not helped by the bad news that Alan’s little baby is really ill in hospital.

When I go over the road, I go into the cellar to collect some client’s files and I find myself able to clearing overhear (eavesdrop) the weekly Monday morning partners meeting. I hear my name get mentioned and wonder what it is in conjunction with. Paranoid as ever, I wonder if this is finally the turning block and they are deciding to give me a long deserved dressing down for my poor performance. I hold fire however I hear Acme Maintenance discussed and suddenly the conversation sounds more constructive in my direction and regard by the partners. The meeting can no longer be as clearly heard as initially but it sounds like I will be called in/asked to cover for Alan for a bit.

I return back over the road, slightly arrogant about the fact I was able eavesdropping on the partner’s meeting and that I know what is planned of me almost before they do. And as per my announcement, shortly after the meeting ends I am called into the board room by Who to speak/talk to him. I go over and he asks me to take over one of Alan’s jobs (C&T) and that we need to get to Acme Maintenance and get them sorted out (their VAT quarter has ended and is due at the end of the month). Doing so equates to me being up the Suffolk/Cambridgeshire border four days this week, so it gets suggested that I stay up there at a Holiday Inn (or something). Immediately I am filled with dread but then I come around to the idea, less feeling like Alan Partridge, more feeling like Willy Loman, a tired, lonely staying out on the road in rooms by himself (ha ha). I agree to it all (although I do have football Wednesday and English Thursday).

I go back to my perch in Chernobyl and figure if I take the company laptop I’ll be able to do some work (writing) and watch DVDs to keep myself amused.

Today Louise is having a lunch meeting (pre-interview) with someone from Scrutton Bland about returning to the company for a new job. Apparently it turns out that many people have been leaving there of late. If it goes well for her, I might consider her putting a word in for me.

At lunchtime Ivan, Stevo and myself go for lunch at Nandos. I am really bored of/by the food in this place by now but it’s a good lunch all the same, I’m on form and really hungry. And there are some really honeys here, not least the two oriental girls and the young blonde business girl in whore boots. When we’re done here, I quickly pop/fly to HMV to get American Splendor on DVD in the sale. Job done. And once more, I see tourettes man.

When I get back to the office, Louise is still out on her lunch in Zizzi’s (flash/swank). When she finally returns I ask her how it goes/went and she really was not impressed, the job sounded crap and the pay really crap. All turns out, maybe GloboChem isn't that bad after all (oh dear, trainee accountants are in trouble).

In the afternoon, Stevo turns on me and suddenly tells me that he is going to need/require the laptop for a job tomorrow. Suddenly, out of the blue, he needs it back. What a coincidence. So this effects and scuppers all my plans as he acts like a real dick about things but technically he has seniority on me and I can’t do a thing about it. Without this, there seems no point in staying over now if I will have nothing useful to do in the evenings, I really cannot afford to waste my evenings away. Still, he acts like a real dick over the whole situation, getting semi aggressive, and when I leave and he is having problems with his computer (it crashes and there is a loss of work), I get a slight perverse enjoyment out of it.

I take the bubble car Micra home and put petrol in it and my Focus, £10 and £20 respectively. Guess which receipt I’ll claim back? When I return I find that Stevo has tried to call me on my mobile. I phone him back with “what do you want� half hoping he has come around on the laptop front. No dice, it doesn’t even get mentioned, instead the clot has got lost in Chelmsford doing errands for Who. I suspect he is doing his thing of calling me to make sure that we are “all right�.

The rest of the evening is spent doing this and that, having a bath and taking in Monday night TV in preparation for a client I have never met before tomorrow.

np: Joe Maneri - Paniots Nine