Where's Waldo?

There are a lot of advantages to working for myself - no meetings to attend, minimal paperwork, and only taking on the work that interests me, to name a few - but one of the things that I do miss is having colleagues easily accessible for coffee and a gossip.  When it's just me in the office, I either spend my time between appointments doing admin (yawn), catching up with the Daily Mail on-line (only for the celebrity scandals and the cute animal stories, of course), or playing Spider Solitaire and Angry Birds.

Even though it's only three days a month, working for The Department in Shetland gives me that 'friends at work' vibe that I miss.  And, this time of year, being part of an actual department means the Christmas Night Out!  So, with my suitcase stuffed to the brim with running gear, party clothes, and work clothes as well as the multiple pairs of shoes required for a multi-purpose trip, I flew north on Friday.

When I went to bed on Friday night, it was a calm and clear night.  By the time I woke up at 10am the next morning (amazing what the absence of a snoring husband and rampaging cats has on my ability to sleep through the night), the wind was howling and the rain was torrential.  I had planned to do my long run on Saturday but there was no point in venturing out for exercise.  There was, however, a point in venturing out to shop; I braved the tempest and returned home with a sparkly pair of silver flats, a pair of skinny jeans with a bit of a flower motif (more tasteful than they sound, and they go well with the purple Laura Ashley tunic that I was planning to wear to the night out), and a Death By Chocolate cupcake from the scrumptious Peerie Cake Shop.

Two friends came to collect me at 6.30pm and we headed off to Hay's Dock for the Christmas meal.  This is one of the best restaurants in Lerwick and the food was as yummy as expected:  I had a cheese scone stuffed with field mushrooms to start, a seafood tagine for my main course, and a chocolate and almond tart for dessert.  And a glass of wine.  Or two.  During the course of the meal, our secretary informed The Empress, C, and me that a photo of us having a girly lunch was on the Hay's Dock website.  Yikes!  I do my best to maintain a non-photographic presence in the world, and then I end up featured (okay, slight exaggeration) on a popular local website.  Good thing that my back is to the camera.  Can you spot us?

Anyway, that shock aside, it was a very fun night which I reluctantly cut short as I really did want to do a long run on Sunday.  The sacrifices that I make for running...

Goose of Death (posed by model)

It was worth it, too.  I ran 7 miles this morning and it felt great.  Aside, that is, from getting caught at the top of a hill in a passing wind and sleet shower that utterly froze my head and face because I had forgotten to wear my hat.  I had to try to protect my skin by taking off my gloves and sticking them to my face.  The wind was so strong that it held them in place as I ran back down the hill; I'm sure that it looked as ridiculous as it sounds.  Even the Geese of Death by the lochan at the bottom of hill looked askance at me.  But at least they didn't rush me like they usually do.  Perhaps they couldn't move for laughing.

Yep, the sacrifices that I make for running.