It’s time …

I’m 42.  I think, that I could have learned to drive when I was 17 in the UK, maybe 16 (it would have been 1987 or 1988).  Tomorrow is when I’m actually going to start learning to drive.  I have my first ever driving lesson booked.

So yes, I’m about 26 years late, but I guess it’s finally time.  As a kid, after the age of 4, our family never had a car, so I grew up using the bus or my bike, or walking, everywhere.  When I went to university, no one had a car, and I certainly never had the money to learn to drive.  Then, after I left and got jobs, I never felt like it was critical, and I relied on a lot of friends to drive me to work.

When myself and Grete first got together, Grete had already had quite a few lessons, we needed one of us to pass, didn’t have much money, and so we agreed she had the best chance.  She did pass, and she’s been driving us everywhere since, with skill, patience and well, even more patience.

I mooted the idea of learning a couple of years ago, and Grete got my provisional license sorted out (basically, I’m rubbish without her).  I’d had it since I was 17 (wishful thinking), but never updated the address, and then the whole complexity of that got to me.  Anyway, even with the sorted license, I still didn’t do anything about the driving.

This year though, it just seems right.  After all, I’m 42.  And 42 is the answer to life, the universe and everything.

I have a driving license

Still only a provisional, but I finally got a driving license sorted out (thanks to Grete who did most of the hard work).  Now I just need to organise some lessons in the next 10 or 15 years to keep up the same pace and I’ll be golden.

I swing between optimism and complete and utter terror.

So no change there then.

Turn and face the strange

There are a lot of things going on at the moment, a lot of potential and certain change.  For some people change is great, for some, and that includes me, change is unsettling at the least and very stressful at worst.

I’m on the verge of finally starting to learn to drive.  Maybe I’ll pass my test before I’m 40.  Just need to get a photo signed (got them taken today), get the ID back and actually arrange the lessons, but I’m in the right place mentally which I’ve not really been before.  Mostly it’s thanks to Grete for sorting out the hassle that I can never be bothered to deal with.  I’m actually, if I let myself think about it, looking forward to it, but let’s keep that a secret for now.

My employer is currently going through a round of redundancies.  I’m included in the ‘in scope’ pool.  So there’s a fair amount of uncertainty from that.  Won’t really know where I stand personally for another few weeks.

Add in to that mix that I’m changing roles at work as well.  It’s not been formally announced yet and so I’m not going to give any detail here, but I’m staying in the same bit of the company and hence still ‘in-scope’ (see above), but moving to a different role.  No definite timescales as of yet.  That’s the big change I tweeted about a short while back – once it’s been formally announced at work, I’ll provide an update.

And of top of all of that, and I’m not sure how many folk will understand / care, I’ve taken on the role of Control for the uk.* usenet hierarchy.  Voluntary position, and different people probably have different views about how much of a concern it should be, but for me it’s a big deal, and I intend to carry out the role as well as I can which brings it’s own level of change and stress.  I’m proud to have been offered the position.

A couple of other minor things, and there’s a big stirring pot of change going on right now.