Adrian Phelan

Post 10

We’ve got to ten | The job bit | Christmas | Beat friends | Bad badminton | It’s Wicked innit!| Birthday vibes | Do Good Well | Thanks

Welcome to this week’s blog. 

Ten it is then  

So we’ve reached the first big milestone on this yellow-bricked road and got to post number 10. I’m very grateful to you for forgiving me the weekly self-indulgence. To thank you I won’t post the quiz I’ve drafted based on posts 1-9. I tried the questions myself and got most of them wrong any way. 

Looking at where people have been viewing from, naturally most are from the UK and Ireland but there are a few scattered around The US and other parts of the world. When trying to solve the mystery of my regular reader in Singapore an old school friend got in touch and said, “If you were hoping the mysterious Singapore reader was an exotic, Asian beauty beguiled by the chronicles of an Irish scribe, I hate to disappoint you.” Thanks Paul, I think you’re rather dashing yourself anyway. I’m guessing the reader in New Zealand is an old school friend as well. Greetings Gavin.   

But to reflect for a moment, I set off on this journey not knowing how it might pan out and have been honouring the commitment I set myself to produce a post every week. Even when I thought content might be thin on the ground there’s been enough going on to get something out. At the time of writing, I’m in the Prae Wood Arms in St Albans and if you don’t mind, I’m going to raise a solo toast. I am driving mind so it’s a shandy as opposed to a glass of bubbles. I’ll maybe have one of those at the weekend.  

The job bit – LinkedOut 

I have rebranded the blog because job seeking is becoming a smaller percentage of the content, but it is still a big part of what I’m about. LinkedIn has become a funny one for me since I started this round of job hunting. I had always seen it solely as a job-hunting tool but now see it mainly as a platform for showcasing achievements and expressing professional views. I’m starting to think it flatters to deceive. It daily reminds me about how many profile views I’m getting and how many impressions my posts get but it hasn’t delivered one successful job lead to date. And the sheer volume of people who apply for every job I want within minutes of them being published is really off-putting. I paid for a subscription for a couple of months which seemed ok at the time but on reflection it just gave me more information about people who passed by quickly to take a look and then moved on. Check back in next week where I will be reporting on how great LinkedIn is after securing an interview for my ideal job.  

Deck the halls 

Our first couple of Christmas cards have arrived including one from an uncle in Ireland. If you’re like our house, you’ll have also opened your first five advent calendar windows. I don’t have an advent calendar this year so I’m just opening cupboard* doors and eating whatever’s in there. And I’m pleased to report the trees are up, but I’m a few days behind on the cards. If I say that again this time next week, judge me harshly.  

*Press. You know I meant press.  

Can’t buy me love or Friends  

I’ve started watching the Beatles Anthology. I’d seen it the first time around but it’s still an enjoyable watch and of course has extra bits and a sprinkling of Peter Jackson magic. In other TV news I hear Friends is leaving Netflix at the end of the year. I’ve often said I make no apologies for being a big fan. I still dip into it from time to time as it can lift my mood, particularly before bed so I will miss having it on tap. Friends might not be your thing, but I do recommend having something you can watch that can cheer you up. It works for me anyway. Tell me what that might be in the comments and leave other recommendations as well.  

Facing my mortality 

I played badminton on Wednesday. Badminton is happy to regularly remind me I’m nearly 50. There are some shots I just won’t /can’t go for anymore and I look a bit like the tinman generally when I try sports like that. But I had fun and it topped up the run I’d done earlier that day. Suffice to say I slept well that night. Reminds me I’m still missing my afternoon naps. It’s hard being me these days. I don’t appear to have too many social engagements in the run up to Christmas so this year’s December indulgences should be in moderation.  

The film bit 

I finally got round to seeing Wicked for Good. The thing I was most curious about was how they treated the Wizard of Oz story we all know so well. My review is that it was a bit shoehorned in and relied a lot on poetic licence. But that was how they wanted to do it so if you are in any way curious do check it out. It was mainly filmed in Hertfordshire as well, so a local production and I love that. Some people at work are talking about the second Five Nights at Freddie’s which comes out today. There’s someone in my house would love to see it but alas they are a bit too young. I might go and report back.  

Happy Birthday to fil 

It’s my father-in-law’s 80th birthday celebration this Sunday. I’m looking forward to it. There are few enough occasions when families get together, so it will be nice to see some of his siblings and nieces and nephews again. When I met him, he was just 62 which puts time into perspective. I think of that as my own parents get older as well. One of my favourite lines from any song is in Spancil Hill and goes, “I called upon my neighbours to see what they might say. The old ones were all dead and gone, the young ones turning grey.” That’s often how I feel when I return to Dublin. My parents have always lived in the same house, so I’ve watched the area and the people age slowly to a point where literally the old ones are all dead and gone and the young ones turning grey. Some of the young ones turn grey too. I think I was 11 when I got my first few, but let’s leave that there.  

Do Good Well 

As I’ve reached post 10, a confession. I’ve nicked ‘Do Good Well’ as a title. It’s the name of an amazing charity founded by Lucy Macnamara that helps high-profile people be philanthropic. I love the title and the concept and have shamefully adopted it for this blog. So, my charity call to action this week is to check out Do Good Well and see if it’s something you can engage with.  

Thank you and thank you again 

We’ve got to ten. Thanks to everyone who has engaged. I really hope you’re getting something out of it. As I always say, be there 1 or 1,000 readers I will carry on regardless.  

Catch you again next Friday.  

Adrian  

07974669338 

adrianphelan@hotmail.co.uk 

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