It's just thirty four days and counting until I start my new job. Yay!! I haven't resigned properly yet, but have spoken to my manager on the phone about it. I'm going to resign on Thursday (or Wednesday if I can't get a hotel in London for Tuesday night). Depending on how many holidays I have left, I could be away in as little as two weeks!!

There are some good reasons for me to go. Firstly, I hate my current engagement with a reasonable level of passion. Secondly, now that I've been on this enormous project for the bank for so long, I will always be the 'expert', and will never be able to escape queries about the damn thing. Thirdly, the new role is a great opportunity to maintain my technical focus, whilst gaining some respectable CV points by managing a team and doing some business development. Fourthly, I have one particular qualification (CHECK) that's very important in my line of work, and it has to be renewed every three years. Mine runs out at the end of February, and I'll have to take the exam again. CHECK team leaders are worth a lot more in their field than non-CHECK team leaders, and so I'm pretty sure that my current employer would find some excuse not to put me through the exam next year. This would seriously devalue me on the market, and I'd be stuck in my current position for evermore. The company I'm going to needs a CTL, and so will definitely put me through the exam again in February. So it's a no-brainer really.

I will sorely miss all of my friends in London and Malvern. But Hightower's gotta do what Hightower's gotta do. We'll still be able to meet up now and again, and I'll be nice and happy in my new fulfilling role :-)