Thursday, August 31, 2006

And it's goodnight from me...

It's official, and minuted accordingly, and I will cease to be Chair of Dulwich and West Norwood Liberal Democrats on 31 December, despite the possibility of running for a third term.

I hate being Chair. It's not that I don't like the people I have to work with, nor the endless committee meetings (although they are endless, tend to start at times that cause me to leave work earlier than is convenient and make me feel vaguely influential yet powerless) but the leadership aspect that really gets to me. I'm not a leader. I'm uncomfortable with power and tend to give it away to others at the first possible opportunity. However, I'm apparently quite a nice person and can therefore get away with a degree of well-intentioned amateurism.

Yet I enjoy being a bureaucrat, so I will be running for a different position at our Annual General Meeting on 30 November. I can't say what that is as it would be unfair, and somewhat improper, but it will be a job that I can do, will enjoy, and won't cause me stress.

In the year after I separated from my ex, I lost thirty pounds and felt quite good about myself physically (a bit fragile emotionally, but that's a different story). In the two years since then, I've put all the weight back on, feel pretty good emotionally but am mildly concerned about my physical condition. Perhaps that indicates that politics can be bad for your health, particularly if you sit on committees rather than doing real work (that's meant to be ironic, by the way...).

So I need some time for myself. Not too much, you understand, but enough for me to have a life (I love chamber music and cricket) and perhaps develop some other interests. I might even do some housework!


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