The first few days back.
I’ve been very neglectful of my new blogging habit in the past few days– all I can say is that my brain seems to be turning to cotton wool. In the past three days I have locked myself out (for the first time), lost a memory stick and completely forgotten that I had my volunteering next week. I don’t know what’s up with me!
Re: the other resolutions, I’m afraid resolution Write More has failed miserably– I haven’t written at all since getting back. Operation Lose Weight is going a little better: I’ve got back into the food diary habit and seem to be sticking to it okay. However, it has only been three days…I’m reserving judgement, that’s all I say. Still, had a lovely dinner tonight: gnocchi with mushrooms and butternut squash. Yum.
So relieved to have a day off tomorrow, after a week of classes which could basically have been replaced by playing a recording of a voice screaming “DON’T EMBEZZLE” at thirty second intervals. It’ll be nice not to have to drag myself out of bed too: I fully intend to have a nice long lie tomorrow morning.
Haven’t managed to get a hold of Suze in the past few days– she seems to have dropped off the radar. Still need to run the whole coming-to-visit thing past her officially!
(And as I type this, my stomach has started rumbling like a whiny little bitch. I really need to stop fantasising about cheeseburgers. Grr.)
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I’m back…hmph.
Above is the best rendering I can do of how I feel at the moment. Made it back to my freakishly tidy flat about twenty minutes ago after spending the entire journey here feeling as though I was going to burst into tears. Admittedly, my gloomy music choice probably didn’t help, and neither did the fact that I finished (the very interesting and informative) Superfreakonomics and started reading Oryx and Crake which is both beautifully written and absolutely heart-breaking, particularly having read Year of the Flood first and therefore having some insight into what’s going to happen.
Things have improved marginally since I got back in, having been deposited by a very confused taxi driver who had no clue where my address was until we reached the front door. Flatmate is in, having returned a full two hours before me; no pipes have burst and the boiler hasn’t exploded; and I went into my room to discover a box of Milk Tray and a thank you/goodbye card which Suze left me as a thank you present, and which made me want to cry (I say want to– actually writing this down has made me burst into tears. Urgh. I’m tentatively putting it down to the fact that my period’s due any minute. I don’t usually cry when)
So now I’m sitting on my bed, wiping my tears and eating half a Milk Tray– I should probably just eat the whole thing, given that my diet’s due to start tomorrow, but I’m meeting Jen for a drink and after half a bottle of wine I know that I’ll fall foul to temptation, so I may as well leave them for my inevitable moment of weakness. Am going to watch something on the BBC iPlayer and then go to bed: hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow. (Yeah, fat chance of that.)
God, I feel weird.
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Happy Birthday to me!
God, today’s been low-key. Highlight has been chatting to Suze, who seems to be doing well in China, so that’s all good. Have also decided (albiet tentatively) that I might go out and visit her at some point. I could stop over for a couple of nights in Hong Kong and visit my dear aunt. My first holiday in a good long time! Flights aren’t actually that bad when you look at them– they seem to be coming in consistantly at around £700, which I might just about be able to afford with some saving. It’ll certainly be something to look forward to, and it might stop ne from wasting all of my money on fripperies.
In other birthday related news, got a lovely satchel from my parents, as well as a book and a snood(???), and the slow cooker from my grandparents, which I’m pleased about. Cake and chicken marscapone later– it’s all good.
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Speak of the devil…
Huh. Just as I was halfway through a post bitching about how I texted two people yesterday and neither of them replied to me, I promptly recieved messages from both of them. Spooky. Will now have to retract all uncharitable thoughts. My apologies, friends.
I seem to be doing that a lot at the moment: just yesterday I got grumpy with dear old Suze when she failed on three occasions to ring me back, only to discover that she had tried, and that technology was the issue, not her memory. I can only attribute my crabbiness to being up north with nothing to do for too long– time stretches like elastic up here, making a few hours feel like eons. I feel very out of the loop.
Finally made a start on my Christmas homework (well, it had to happen some time, it’s due in in two days), and am finding it suspiciously easy so far. I am convinced I’ve missed something key, but I can’t for the life of me spot what it is. I’m sure it’ll become obvious once I get the work back covered in red pen.
Also keep forgetting that it’s my birthday tomorrow– that must mean I’m getting old. It says something that I’ll more excited about So You Think You Can Dance tonight than I am anout my own birthday. Supposed to be going out for dinner tonight, although no doubt it’ll snow again and we won’t be able to.
I’m a real little Miss Sunshine today, aren’t I?
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Today I…
- shovelled a lot of snow. My back is now angry at me.
- watched more films than I’ve watched in the past month: saw The Prestige, which was okay, but slightly confusing (although that might have been because I fell asleep for about ten minutes halfway through), and the Departed, which was very good and which I remained conscious throughout.
- accidentally set fire to a marshmallow (twice).
- set the dog on my brother after he refused to get up after an hour of repeated pestering.
I did not, however, do my homework. Tomorrow, I promise.
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Packing Time
I spent most of this afternoon sitting in Suzie’s room whilst she rescues her stomach-crippling cheese pizza from the oven. We spent a cheery afternoon arguing over exactly what is suitable attire for teaching English in China, before launching into a protracted battle over every single garment as I attempt to prevent her from taking all of her clothes with her. Inevitably, we developed a system of yes, no and maybe piles, on which decisions were made on the basis of a tripartite system of work, casual and social wear, with each item requiring to fulfill two of the three sectors before it can be considered for inclusion. Each item was then considered in the context of an outfit with reference to the general colour scheme, with similar items fighting it out against each other in a head to head battle. Much fun (and terrible wine) was had by all.
During this, I managed to persuade her to lend me her stretchy black H&M dress, with the proviso that I don’t damage it in any way (which I won’t, obviously, but that’s a bit rich coming from her). I just tried it on and it looked okay, of depressingly snug. Must get back on the diet train- to that end, I’ve decided to go vegetarian for a week when I get back to uni in an attempt to add some variety to what I eat. I’ve already drafted a meal plan, but I’ll post more once I’ve decided it finally.
In other news, last night I opened my Wanderlust document for the first time since the start of last year and started editing. It felt weird, but good!
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Day Three of the New Year…
…in which:
- I discovered that one of my jobs for the evening was so simple that a knotted plastic bag would make an adequate replacement (and no, that is not a metaphor);
- I used Skype for the first time and enlightened Suze to the joys of technology (“I can see you– we’re talking, and I can see you! And you can see me! And this isn’t costing us anything!” Yes, that’s right, dear.);
- I decided that a bag of crisps, a Twix and a can of Dr Pepper is an adequate substitute for a balanced dinner;
- My dear aunt fell over and broke her ankle. In the best tradition of these things, she did it whilst getting off of a ferry on the other side of the country, meaning that both her car and her dog will have to be rescued tomorrow. I can only assume that this is her punishment from God for sailing on the Sabbath (they tried to warn her).
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Why oh why…
…can’t I stop eating things? Despite having just devoured a massive plate of spag bol and a huge bowl of homemade trifle (which was delicious, by the way), I still find myself with a massive craving for cheese and onion crisps. I’m not hungry, brain! What can you possibly want more food for?!?
I don’t intend to give in to temptation though, oh no. Am going to be good and virtuous and return to my perch on the sofa with my book, Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood, which is excellent, if a little depressing: I was supposed to wait until I’d finished Madame Bovary before starting it, but I cracked– it’s proper addictive, though.
Still haven’t done any more writing yet–that may be tonight’s project if the insomnia kicks in again.
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Happy(ish) New Year
So, now it’s 2010…and can I be the first to say that I think this one’s going to be a bit of a dud for me? Maybe it’s just because I’m facing the prospect of graduating with no job, and probably moving home, and the fact that all of my friends are pissing off elsewhere, but I don’t exactly have high hopes that this’ll be the best year ever.
In the best tradition of these things, I’ve made a couple of resolutions, which no doubt will fall down immediately, but hey ho…
1. Lose weight. Yes, yes, like everyone else on the planet, but given that I made a start at the end of last year and had a small amount of success, I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to pick it up again.
2. Keep writing, and indeed write more frequently. I’m okay during Nano, but I’m terrible the rest of the year, so I’m going to set myself mini-goals to keep myself on track. First target: edit and amend the first three chapters of Wanderlust by the end of January.
3. Blog regularly. I’m not going to say every day, but I’m aiming for at least four or five times a week. It is a habit I am determined to get into.
Anyone else out there got any resolutions? If so, why not let me know? I’d be glad to have some company…
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Back to Blog and a Nano Update
Well, I dropped off the radar there for a bit, didn’t I? May as well do an end of year wind up: following a mammoth final push, I managed to win Nano ’09, with a little over 50,000 words. I then promptly placed Stranger Things in a box, and I fully intend never to look at it again. I may, however, post the remainder here for posterity’s sake, although given that the story is less than halfway done and I never plan to finish it, perhaps it’s a bit of a waste of time.
I do, however, plan to return to Nano ’08 novel Wandrlust to complete it as, you know, I don’t hate it with every fibre of my being. I also plan to start researching the plot bunny I mentioned in my midway meltdown, so some good’s come of this.
I also hope to restart my blogging habit- I’m sending this from my shiny new iPod which I hope will help me keep on top of it. In the meantime, have a great Hogmanay and a very happy New Year!
Ally x
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