Christmas holidays

Well, it's official. I'm on holidays.

My work stopped very suddenly due to the long anticipated government rule changes, but hopefully the stoppage will be only temporary. In the new year, I've got to do some paperwork to see if I can resume the type of work that I've been doing almost exclusively for as long as I've been in business.

I managed to get to the Newcastle cafe night this week, and was amused to learn that the conversation that I had with a solicitor at the cafe night in early October had led him to ask where I was when he was there on one of the many Tuesday nights that I missed. Apparently he was of the opinion that if he had me as an expert witness, he could win every case related to my field. I'm not all that keen on expert witness work, but it gives me a fallback option, meaning that the government department need me more than I need them. That puts me in quite a good position. :)

I got out a second time this week. Today, I went and got my nails done, including getting them painted in Christmas colours, then went and wandered around Charlestown Square for a while. Last year, I wore the Christmas colours only from Christmas eve to after boxing day, and was only seen by a limited number of family and friends. This year will be quite different, as I plan on leaving the colours on my nails from now until the next nail appointment. Unless something unexpected happens, that should be the Wednesday just under 3 weeks from now. So I'll be seen in both boy and girl mode for almost 3 weeks with quite distinctive nails.

That's pushing the comfort zone a little bit but after a whole year of wearing colour on my nails, I haven't had a single negative comment so my confidence is far better than it was last year.