Yesterday was pretty tricky. The cold had been getting worse and grinding me down into the misery zone - well, that and my growing sense of running out of time.

The running out of time might have been figurative, or it might be that I was trying to coordinate too many things before then rushing off to go on holiday. Yesterday was the turn of the curtains, which were supposed to be done before my new housemate comes to join the household. Last night was my last chance to get them up, as it were. The day started badly with the non-appearance of the electrician - snarled up in traffic as he was. I eventually gave him my requests by phone and headed off to work.

Work was busy, but not unconsolably so.

My mood was descending. I guess I feel like I'm running out of time figuratively too. This year really has been a nuisance and I only wish that I could have held on to more opportunities than I did over the course of it.

Going home, low and miserable, I collected a friend, with whom I'm going on holiday. The plan was to plan things on the computer while I got the curtains up. We discussed stuff, but didn't really organise very much of it. The curtains went up, though.

Then we went to a bonfire party. A nice thing to do, but neither a cure for last minute house adjustments nor a cold.

However, the party was very nice and I did an excellent job of boring everyone with whom I spoke. I also got a "try out" of some material I've always wanted to do on stage, which, for some excellently fortunate reason, became the topic of conversation. It seemed funny when I said it in company, so maybe it's one for the stage sometime. Perhaps when I next MC in Southampton, which threatens to be a regular MCship for me, which would be nice.

Ah Southampton - why do you draw me close so often?

Anyway, today has been noticeably worse. I still had myriad loose ends to tie up and the pressure seemed greater. My mood was lower. Hoorah. I need a sodding holiday now.

I think it's all sorted out now. The last of the printouts for the holiday have emerged from the printer. I've found necessary passports and I got some travel money. I've left keys with the right people and I've had further keys cut for the tiler tomorrow morning.

I've got various cars booked for various reasons and my calendar is full tomorrow, but manageable... just...

I did a gig tonight. Wise? Not really. I had a cold and a shit load of stress and a holiday to sort out. However, I am a stand-up comedian and gigs are what I'm built to do. So I did the gig. It went well. I couldn't quite do one of my songs much justice, given that it has some unfunny patches which rely more on the quality of the performance to keep them interesting, than on the music or lyrics to be interesting in their own right. D'oh! However, my new David Bowie joke worked in its second outing, so I'm pleased. Also, I managed to deliver one of my gags to a round of applause, which it's never had before. Nice.

There was even a free M&S meal in it for me, eaten from the M&S simply food/garage in Hammersmith at a point where my car refused to estimate the remaining mileage and just said "!!Refuel!!" on the dashboard. Intense.

So, I'm off to New York for a week, with a friend. Should be fun. Don't miss me...

...I didn't think you would.