I have been trying to let go of bad things in my life for so long, it's hard to accept that - some 20 years after I announced to some friends that I intended to re-invent myself - I have at last more or less managed to do so.

In fact, what I need to let go of now are some habits I adopted in this long, introspective period of my life in order to give up other things I had relied on previously.

If this all sounds too abstract - tough. I could spell all this out with examples, but to be honest I can't be bothered. For the first time, being evasive, wasting time and underachieving hold no fear for me. No more gritted teeth or vaunting ambition. This is the reivented Alec. I have reinvented myself as a slacker.

Now will you turn the light off when you leave? I am going to doze a little bit and see if I come up with some, er, ideas.