Day Ninety Eight - 30 years today

Fourth of April 1994. Thirty years ago to the day, I started work in the firm I'm in now.

Big celebration tonight of course. I sat at the dining table doing this cartoon on my own til 1 am while Loki and Iu snored in the bedroom. Woo hoo.

Still, gave me an opportunity to reflect on my career, my achievements, what legacy I will leave and the impact I've had on others around me.

That took about 2 minutes. Maybe less.

Coincidentally, it seems that in 30 years of working life I put on about 30 kilos of weight. One kilo for every year slaving away for the corporate machine. On this basis, with the 10 kilo weight loss I've pulled off this last 3 months, I'm travelling back in time to about 2014.

At that stage I still had hopes of progression, I still had the drive and ambition to work the crazy hours a consultant does, and I had just moved in with Iulia.

Didn't make me skinnier.

But back in 1994, the world was a very different place. No computers at work, no mobile phones, and still a pre-industrial revolution era of workplace inclusion. Bullying was rife, sexism was expected, and any form of difference was pounced on as a form of potential kompromat. Or maybe that's just Australia. Hard to tell.

We used to wear suits and ties, even in the height of summer when the temperatures would reach 46 degrees centigrade. I remember at Uni thinking 'all I want is a job where I can wear a suit and tie' and then 15 years on, all I wanted was a job where I didn't have to wear one. Now hardly anyone does - unless they're at a cremation.

This reminiscing is bringing back one of my darkest nightmares that gives me cold sweats. It's a dream where I find myself back in that office in Adelaide, but this time at the age I am now, and there's no chance of getting back to the UK. Shows how much I enjoyed it.