The Inner Child Keeps on Growing

My holiday year started again on the 1st April, so I celebrated by taking today off!

So today I:

• Supervised the plumber who came to fix our ever-overflowing toilet (he also does bathroom fitting and tiling and as we are seriously thinking about having our bathroom replaced this year the word 'hmmm' sprung to mind.
• Mowed the lawn for the first time this year, managing to avoid mowing over the bunches of primroses (and other flowers I can't remember the names of) which have, very prettily, invaded the lawn.
• Read a goodly chunk of the Clarke book I'm re-reading.
• Played computer games (the appalingly named but enjoyable 'Infinite Undiscovery' on the XBox and had a go at Lord of the Rings Online on the PC)
• Spent an hour on the exercise bike.
• Caught up with one of the two episodes of Supernatural I hadn't got around to watching (a show that I was a bit 'meh' about for the first couple of seasons but has really raised its game in the third and fourth).

I call that a good day!

I've actually worked out that between now and going back to work after Wiscon on the 1st of June I've only actually got two full weeks in the office. Yay!

The amount of this afternoon, that is, that I've lost to playing 'Peggle'! There was a special edition demo which came with The Orange Box, which I thought was rather fun (it being a special Valve version it did, of course, feature the unicorn's face being eaten by a Head Crab).

So I bought and downloaded the full version...and that was the last couple of hours. I'll never learn.

Anyway, we need to eat, finish what packing we can and then up at some unholy hour (for a Sunday, anyway) for the airport. I don't know whether we will have any internet access while we are there, but I'll post some updates if we can (and littlebutfierce and sdn, look forward to seeing you!)

Play nice while we're away!

That's me finished with work for a whole week + bank holiday! And believe me when I say that it cannot come sooner; I think if I had to spend another full week in the office I would probably be considering maiming various of my colleagues. So no exercise has happened during the week this week, dammit.

So this week has mainly consisted of work (I worked six days worth of hours in five days this week) and rehearsals. Plus we went out for an Indian meal in Andover with various of the operatic society last night. Company was great, the food was okay, the service was atrocious. Not a restaurant we will ever be going to again...

Afterwards some of the party wandered off into Andover in search of further drinks and music, but the place we ended up in was one of those hugely crowded places where I queued to get to the bar for ten minutes and didn't get any closer, while several people somehow managed to find a space and get served. So we decided to call it a day and go home.

So next week is, finally, My Fair Lady. I'm fairly happy that it is going to be a good show and I am looking forward to it. Tech rehearsal tomorrow, dress on Monday and performances Tuesday through Friday evening and two performances on Saturday. Ticket sales are pretty good and we should at least break even. I've got friends from work going on two nights and my mum and sister on another. pennski's dad may be turning up on one night but he hasn't confirmed yet.

The rest of the week will be filled with sleeping, eating, exercising, watching t.v., reading, playing games, you know, relaxing stuff!

We are now going to Egypt in November instead! 4 days on the Nile and 3 days in Cairo. Seeing as Egypt has always been one of those other places we always wanted to go we are not too disappointed (and a grand cheaper as well...).

There is an optional trip to see a light show around the pyramids. Is it just me or does that sound just too Las Vegas?

We spent the weekend in Canterbury with Andrew Butler, British fan and academic and all-round good egg. Andrew is someone that we were very close to a few years ago and in recent times had lost touch a bit. So we spent the weekend mainly chatting (and playing very bad pool, which is always fun) and had a thoroughly enjoyable time.

What else? Finally finished Iain M. Banks The Algebraist. Very disappointing. There was a good background idea and some fun bits but overall it just didn't come together for me. The book I have found hardest to finish recently that I actually did finish (if that makes sense!).

I've now finished downloading cover images for the books I can find for my new book database. Still some other maintenance needed before it is completely up to scratch though (obsessive, me?).

I have also finished what I hope is the fourth and final draft of my short story. Hopefully should just need some grammatical & spelling tidying up now. Then I shall be girding up my loins and trying to submit it somewhere. Gulp!

Oh yes, and today is a bank holiday so I don't have to be at work!