Alien Spouse

Hydration.

Clearly whilst on the flight back from Las Vegas I didn't drink enough water, which you would have thought would hit me yesterday but it was actually this morning I woke up with a headache and a raging thirst, so clearly I had dropped below acceptable water levels. Doc C got up to feed the cats, then he brought me a bottle of Perrier water and the iPad, so I could e-mail in to work as de-hydrated.

I stayed in bed until about ten, and got to work at eleven thirty (a mere three and a half hours late). I brought with me a large coffee (Don't tell me the coffee is a diuretic, I know that, I still needed the caffeine), a litre of water and half a litre of Gatorade which Doc made me to make sure I got my electrolytes.

With all of that, I should have been able to swim home.

Las Vegas Recap.

As you can see Edith felt very strongly that she should be coming to Las Vegas with us, and attempted to pack herself in to my suitcase on Thursday evening. She would make a fabulous show girl actually, with that plumey tail and gorgeous figure (it's hard to believe she's had kittens).

I didn't really take many photos over the weekend, because all the suff I'd want to have a picture of was either something I was prohibited from photographing (for example Doc C intentally scrutinising our crime scene at the CSI Experience) or something I didn't think would photograph well without some professional level lighting equipment (for example the jellyfish display at the Mandalay Bay Shark Reef Aquarium).

It was obviously imperative to take a photo of our hotel at night, because it was a quite ridiculous fake castle with turrets and other such nonsense.

It was annoying that I couldn't get a shot of both The Excalibur and New York, New York's Faux Liberty without the walkway's guard rail in it, but I think you get the point. Ridiculousness.

Home Safely - Yay!

At the start of the flight we thought we'd never take off, because we were delayed by returning back to our gate to fet medical attention for a passenger (I have no idea what was wrong, or how serious it was, or if he's ok - So it's kind of hard to be sincerely sympathetic if I'm totally honest. It was a pain in the backside for everyone else on the flight frankly!). At the end of the flight we thought we'd never land, because we were already delayed and then we got caught in fog. I am so glad to be off that plane and home in my own bed.

Leaving Las Vegas (Which, OMG, is a depressing film)

Last breakfast at Krispy Kreme before we catch the flight back to Charlotte. We're both pretty tired this morning, but Doc made $450 at the MGM poker table last night, so he's talking about upgrading to first class on the way home!

Viva Las Vegas! (Unoriginal But Apt)

Vegas is pretty much what you might expect it to be, you can find anything you want at any time of day or night - except free Wi-Fi. Fortunately Krispy Kreme has come to our rescue! Oh our tasty delicious dougnutty friends! I shall update thoroughly when I get home, promise!

To Do List.

I had planned to do some stuff to do this weekend, and I did absolutely none of it. We fly out for a 5th anniversary weekend away on Friday morning, so I have to squish everything in to the next four days.

Monday: Laundry!
Tuesday: Clean the downstairs bathroom!
Wednesday: Re-Load all my CDs back onto my iPod! (I had to re-sync and lost 2/3 of my tunes. sigh.)
Thursday: Pack for Vegas, Baby!

Asheville Saturday - December.

Journey - We drove to Asheville today for my haircut, on the way we stopped in a shop that we've been interested in going to for a while because it also serves slices of pie with coffee. The pies are baked in house and are really delecious; we both got pecan pie this time, but I'm going to have to try the coconut cream pie next time.

Shopping - Even with a stop for pie, we still were 45 minutes early so we shopped for books. I scored two kids books by Catharine Jinks and "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain. Doc C was giddy to snap up a $2 copy of a Bertrand Russell book, so that was good too.

Haircut - Seeing as I won't be at work for a couple of weeks, I asked Naomi for a slightly edgier cut than I usually get and I think she enjoys having a bit of creative freedom! She took a couple of photos with her phone for her portfolio.

Food - Sushi! We ate miso soup and seaweed salad, then an excellent selection of sashimi and sushi. So delicious.

After that we came home.

It was a good day.

Saturday Lists.

Morning - Tea. Toast. Honey.

Afternoon - Asheville. Sushi. Window-shopping. Haircut. Iced latte. Home.

Evening - Pizza. "Eureka". Cats.

Mini. Tea. Sofa. Cabinet. Focus.

Today we drove to Charlotte because the car needed a check-up at the Mini dealership; so we took the opportunity to test drive a Mini Countryman whilst we were there. Doc C insists on having four wheel drive before next winter.

We then went to World Market to buy tea bags and Hobnobs, before the most exciting part of the day. A trip to Ikea.

Mostly this was so we could test drive sofas, but you know what Ikea is like. Once you are in the labyrinth you must maintain a steely eyed focus, or find yourself packing the car with tea lights and curtains for windows you don't even have. I'm not kidding, I've bought totally unnecessary curtains at Ikea before. The sofa will have to wait until next month, but it was definitely useful to try all the seating options out. An arm chair we had both thought would be great in the living room turned out to be just not what we wanted at all.

This was Doc C's first visit to Ikea, and he got a headache just as we'd started on the second floor. Fortunately I knew what had to be done, so I sent him back to the car and I carried out a solo mission. It was a succesful foray, and I'm very excited to report that we now have a new television stand! It is SO much better than the unbelievably hideous tables that we had been using (they were given to us, and they were better than nothing. Apparently.)

We got home, made a cup of tea and put together the TV cabinet. All in all a most satisfactory day, and worth the headaches we both got.

A Visit from My Mother-in-Law.

After the Power of the Pumps walk we met up with Alison (Doc's Mum) and her friend Mike, who had detoured on their drive back to Massachussets after wintering in Florida. They had arrived in town just before the walk, so they saw The Wedges before going to get some lunch whilst the actual walk was in progress.

The last time they visited we were still living in our old house, so we were excited about showing off our current home because it is a much prettier house and neighbourhood. They were staying over-night (after Doc guilt-tripped them), so we went out for dinner and an evening tour of the town, before getting frozen custard. We know how to show visitors the very best of our small town. It was actually a really good evening for them to visit, with the town being neither in the full-on tourist mode of summer or the full-on student mode of the start of a semester (it's exam week - The students should all be revising...) and the weather being actually quite pleasant instead of miserably cold and damp.

This morning Doc dropped me off at work before going to meet them for breakfast, and then they will continue on their way back to New England.

A Dress (or a Skirt) A Day.

...As I've said before, everyone should have total clothing rights. - Eddie Izzard

Since returning to work from my trip back to England I have worn a skirt or dress to the office every day, with only one exception, which is part of my determination to rotate more skirts and dresses off the hanger and onto my body. It's not that I suddenly hate trousers or anything, but I don't want to wear jeans-and-a-top every day; not least because that is exactly what 99.5% of all of the students on campus wear regardless of gender. Of course they are mostly twenty-somethings who tend to be wearing an over-sized university sweatshirt or t-shirt, so it's really not as though I'm ever mistaken for a student, but it's still nice to dress like an individual and a grown-up lady.  I have been thinking a lot about the non-verbal communication of clothes and how important it is (for me at least) to actually think about what I want to be projecting about myself through my wardrobe. I want to look interesting, intelligent, witty and at least somewhat professional, at present my clothes are probably indicating that I've been watching our "Mad Men" DVD boxsets every night after work.

An added bonus about the trip home was retrieving almost all my jewelry from Mum's, so I've also been wearing all the earrings, bracelets and necklaces I've been missing (althought not all at the same time, however tempting an option that might be). I was getting a bit sick of small silver hoop earrings, but I kept thinking I'd be home soon and so I didn't want to start a new collection only to find there was duplication when I finally merged the two. 

There is little danger of this becoming a fully fledged fashion blog, I'll leave that to bloggers who are more expert in fabulousness than I, so I sincerly doubt I'll start photographing my outfits everyday - But I did want to record the start of my personal skirt revolution. 

Normal Service Resumed.

Hello from our desk top computer in the study, that I never use and can't quite get used to!

So essentially what happened was that Doc C had been using our laptop at his conference, so on Friday afternoon I got back to our room and saw the laptop I pounced on it. I plugged it in, checked my e-mail, looked at some websites and wrote a post. I noticed that the battery icon in the bottom left-hand corner was running down, but it would occasionally change to the power cord icon so I thought there was something odd going on with the socket I was using.

By the time Doc got back the laptop's battery had died, and I had realised that in my rush to connect with the web I had plugged in the power adaptor for the speakers which is a slightly higher voltage than the laptop requires... And this seems to have fried the laptop... Oops.

At that point I decided to just take a weekend break from the internet, and that's exactly what I did.

Philadelphia 2011!

Philadelphia! It took thirteen hours to get here, with one traffic jam, a detour through Washington's rush hour traffic and a flaming eighteen wheeler at a nice safe distance on the other side of the highway (one of the wheels exploded when we went past - which was pretty exciting!)What is with the heavy rain every time I come to visit you? It does not make a girl feel very welcome you know.

However I do appreciate that you are clearly the place for conferences, as my friend Danny was also here and I haven't seen him in years so it was lovely to have lunch and catch up with him.

After lunch, I went to Blick to buy art supplies; Lush to buy moisturiser etc; and then Grocery for a vegan wrap and a cupcake.

Now I'm back at the hotel, hoping to dry off before going for curry with my husband and other philosophers.

Ah Philadelphia! Love you!

Prepping for Philly.

We're going to Philadelphia tomorrow for a conference and we will be there for four days. Neither of us has packed yet, and the house needs to be tidied before we leave. 

Naturally, I've baked some cookies and we have watched 3 episodes of "Mad Men" so far this evening. I have managed to do a load of laundry though, so there is some hope that I'll at least have clean clothes to throw in a bag as I run past the clothes horse in the morning.

Pedestrian Angel Crossing.

I really like it when the addition of a simple sticker makes a traffic sign much more charming.

Disco Chicken.

This is Disco Chicken, and she's Doc C's favourite objet d'art for illustrating kitsch in lectures. She's extremely well travelled for an ugly bird statue. Disco Chicken's origins are misty but she came into Doc life when she was abandoned at the recording studio he worked at in Boston, then she came to London with him, and she went to stay with my Mum for an extended visit to the beautiful Norfolk countryside when we moved to North Carolina.

I managed to fit her in one of my suitcases, as a special surprise for the Doc, and I feel I should mention that she's about the same size as my Brown Betty teapot, so it was really quite the sacrifice on my part. Still, it will not be another three years before I go home for another visit so hopefully I won't regret this great generosity.

Back with a Cold.

My very least favourite of my souvenirs of the trip to England is this stinking head cold. I must have used pure will-power to keep it subdued for the last few days of my visit and the flight home, because I just didn't have time to be ill. The worst part of the journey was the landing in Charlotte, because as the air pressure changed I couldn't get my right ear to pop, no matter how much I chewed gum or yawned. The pressure in my ear felt wrong, until I blew my nose - but then it didn't pop, it squeaked. That can't be good, can it? 

Fortunately Doc C was his usual thoughtful self and had brought me some cold medicine to take in the car, so I was able to take that as soon as I got to the car. By the time I got home I wasn't too bad, but I was totally exhausted. When I woke up this morning I couldn't breathe out of my nose, so I'm having to mouth breathe, which is never a good look and doesn't seem to be helping my sore throat either.

The only member of the household who is loving this is Edith, because I am curled up on the sofa with a blanket and she is lounging around on me. This is Edith's idea of a particularly good Sunday.

Over-Sized Colour Co-Ordinated Tea Cups.

I have a huge cup of green tea with my breakfast every morning, and when I saw that Whitards had the same style of tea cup on sale I asked Mum to buy me a couple more. That was about six months ago, and they travelled back with me in my hand luggage yesterday.

I love how well the new cups co-ordinate with the colours of the original cup's stars. The added bonus is the new Union Jack tea-cosy being in a satisfyingly similarly colour-way.

Gorgeous.

American Home.

I bloody hate air-travel. It's not so much the flying, I quite like that bit, although I hate having no room to swing a hamster let alone a cat. It's all the palaver of checking-in, going through security, then reporting to the gate before boarding and then having to do the whole thing in reverse at the other end.

You know when someone asks you to do that thing where you pat your head and rub your stomach? Doesn't it feel like that when you have to keep your passport and boarding pass in your hand; and carry all of your hand luggage in such a way that pick-pockets can't rob you or drug smugglers plant stuff on you; and separate out any fluids or gels that you might have brought; and remember what things about your person might set off the metal detector; and find your way through a maze-like building full of equally harassed people; and get something decent to eat from Pret a Manger whilst you have the chance? I mean I can easily do all of those things individually, but put them together and I feel quite overwhelmed.

Still I have safely made it back, and so did all the Marmite - So that's alright.

Brighton - The Old Manor.

I am in Brighton and I am clearly seeing why I loved living here so very much. Also Marmite Cashews have been sourced. Bonus.

A Day Out in Aldburgh.

We got a whole bunch of things ticked off my "To-Do whilst in England" list today! This included some of the more important items, such as a visit to a Norfolk beach, have fish and chips on said beach, go for a walk and then have a cream tea in a proper tea-room.

The picturesque seaside town of Aldeburgh provided all this and more, and it was a lovely place to go for a stroll with my parents. The tea-room was even having a tea-cosy beauty contest, but fortunately they were a bit too busy to press us for our votes because it would have been a very difficult decision.

I also managed to track down a Vivian Westwood t-shirt printed with a picture of Blackadder's "absolutely divine and regal, and yet and at the same time very pretty and rather accessible" Queenie, and a Liberty print silk scarf; both of these delightful items are on sale to raise money for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day next week. I'll definitely wear the scarf, but the Queenie t-shirt is going to be stretched on a canvas frame and hung on the wall when I get home.

Speaking of Elizabethan beauty, here is Aldeburgh's cinema and gallery which happens to be housed in a gorgeous Tudor house. I've always liked the incongruity of that.

 

 

Two Hours in Norwich.

Mum had a meeting this morning so she took me into Norwich with her, and turned me loose for two hours. It's always disconcerting to realise how much a city has changed, but I could still find my way around without too much difficulty.

One of my first stops was Waterstones, where they had a Dalek plonked next to the escalator apparently browsing the Classics section. He was suitably grumpy, and threatened to exterminate me, which was thrilling. There was a sign taped to the front saying to please be gentle with him because he was very old, but I don't know why he was there or if he was an original cast member or anything really. Still, a DALEK!

Then I went to the bank to see if I could remember what the PIN for my cashcard might be. Now sometimes when one is writing a blog one has to consider the likely audience, and I know this week that Doc C will be reading this, so I'm almost reluctant to blog about this... But I thought it was funny, so bugger it!

I put my card into the ATM, and typed in the PIN that I thought was most likely. The machine happily brought up the screen asking how much money I wanted, I decided on £50, whereupon it told me by card had expired and spat the thing out. Oh. Hmmm. Good thing Doc C gave me his cashcard and PIN before I left, eh? That worked beautifully, so I do have access to British currency whilst I'm here. Hoorah! Iknow that Doc will now fret about what i would have done had he not lent me his card, but I'd have been fine. If necessary I was thinking I could have transfered the money into Mum's account and she could get it out for me. No problem, just a touch more complicated.

Back Home.

I'm back home at my parent's house! Actually "home" is a relatively fluid concept, because they have moved house 5 or 6 times since I left for University - But they moved back to the village that I went to primary school in, so this feels very familiar indeed despite it being the first time I've been in this house.

The flight was fine, I didn't sleep of course, but I did try to and I didn't spend the entire eight hours watching crappy films. Just the three hours.

I'd promised Mum that I wouldn't sleep in the car on the way to her house from the airport. That's about a three hour drive, and towards the end of it I was going a bit cross-eyed from the effort of keeping my eyes open and my responses relatively lucid. But I did it! Yay! It is possible, it's just not at all pretty.

As soon as Mum had finished the tour of the new house, I climbed into bed and slept for five hours.

And relax. With a glass of wine.

Jet Set.

I've packed a variety of clothes and a crochet project, selected three books (Smiley's People; Hons and Rebels; Neuromancer) and cleaned the cats litter tray.

My work here is done for now. Time to catch a plane.

Book Choices.

My suitcase is packed and, as usual, I have a major dilemma over which books to take on the plane with me.

I've narrowed it down to:

• The Great Escape - Anton Gill
• Young Men in Spats - PG Wodehouse
• Hons and Rebels - Jessica Mitford
• Neuromancer - William Gibson
• The Oxford Book of Victorian Detective Stories
• Smiley's People - John Le Carre

 I've made a stack of these books next to my traveling clothes and I'll choose the finalists in the morning.

Over-Excited.

This evening I am doing the last of my laundry, so that it's dry before Saturday. Because I need to pack a suitcase. Because I'm going home to see my Mum.

That's pretty much all I can think about right now.

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

 

Travel Accessories.

Flying for 8 hours by myself is not my idea of a good time. The problem is that I usually can't sleep on airplanes, and almost inevitably watch all of the in-flight films and cartoons. My plan is to do loads of exercise before we leave for the airport and maybe I'll take a sleeping pill as well.

The engine noise is what usually keeps me awake so I bought a pair of Sennheiser headphones (for under $25 - Score!) to use whilst I'm travelling, and a nifty little converter so that I can plug it into the plane's dual prong sockets. I also have a travel pillow which I bought on our long drive to Boston.

If I can't sleep then I will at least be comfortable and entertained.

 

And Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow!

Monday really SUCKED. It's odd how that effects my energy levels, and I was utterly exhausted when I came home from work. I skipped my workout for the day, had a bowl of salad for dinner and went to bed early.

Today was better, so much better, and I feel like I got things done. My theory is that the week is going to improve day by day, until Saturday when I get on a plane and fly home to see my Mum.

Squeeeee!

Mental Health Day Trip.

Asheville appears to have an amazingly recuperative effect on Doc C and I. We both woke up feeling unwell, but after four hours in Asheville we were relaxed, happy and full of curry.

Winter Sunset.

On the way home some enormous fluffy snowflakes landed on the windscreen and you could see the pattern of the ice crystals really clearly.  I tried to take a photo, but it was really difficult to focus on it so the white spec that I actually captured in the shot turned out to be the moon.

I still had my camera out when we hit the stretch of road that faces the sunset in the evening.  So I snapped some pictures of the gorgeous orangey pink horizon instead.  It's definitely one thing that North Carolina does really very well, and I particularly like the colours against the monotones of the telegraph wires, the mountains and the snow.

Yes, if it wasn't for that bloody Hot Tub sign on the right I'd be really quite chuffed with this photo.

Snow Wednesday.

The University was closed today because of the snow, so I read a lot and Doc did a lot of work; whilst the cats mainly found new and exciting ways to sit on me and sleep.  This morning I woke up with both felines snuggled up to me, and whilst Edith has been following me around all day, Nancy was quite content to make herself a nest out of my pajamas and just stay there for the past 9 hours.

After lunch Doc remembered he had an appointment for a check-up, so we did venture in to town and made a run to the supermarket to buy more staple foods for the larder.  I never want to be in the position where we are even close to being stranded with no tea in the house.

I also took this opportunity to post my Mum's birthday present!  Which means it's only going to be a month or so late!  I am TERRIBLE at getting to the post office when I have a parcel to be sent out.  This one came to Boston with us, had one or two things added to it, and then came all the way back home to sit on our coffee table.  It is a well traveled gift already, and it's still got an ocean to cross.

New Year's Eve 2011 - In Brief.

We started the day with a plan, which was to go to the Science because I have intended to visit it on every trip to Boston and we've just never been able to fit it in.  

This time we went!  And we got all the way into the foyer! Before we saw the giant queue of people who'd had the same idea as us, and so we turned round and left again!  What we hadn't anticipated was that the Science Museum would be linked to Boston's First Night festivities, so that the first 500 people with a First Night badge got in for free!  Damn it!

So then what should we do instead?  Hmmm... We walked through the park to a cinema complex, and watched "Black Swan" because it looked like it would appeal to our taste for both depressing dramas and spectacular costuming.  It was very good, I described it as "The Red Shoes" (1948) for a new generation of girls yearning to be tortured dancers and Doc C agreed but preferred "Black Swan" for it's more visceral approach.  I suppose that is the difference between Aronofsky and Powell/Pressburger, not to mention 62 years of changes to cinematic conventions.  I do hope that Natalie Portman gets the Oscar nomination that the internet has been mumbling about for her performance as Nina Sayers.

After that beautiful downer we walked down Newberry Avenue and browsed the shops on our way to having cocktails and curry for dinner.  Clearly the curry houses of Boston are where all the best people watching and listening can be done, because on this occaision a woman announced in ringing tones to the waiter that "Well, you see, I am European...", which, according to her at any rate, meant that Americans wouldn't know spicy food if it slapped them, so how hot should she request her curry be prepared?  The waiter was understandably flummoxed by this line of questioning, and I have become very fond of saying in a suitably dramatic manner "Well, you see, I am Euro-Pee-Aaaan..." before asking Doc C a question about anything at all.

As has become quite the tradtion in recent years we visited Bob's flat for the midnight celebration of gourmet snacks and television coverage of the fireworks displays.  Being old and sensible we were back at the B&B by 1 at the latest, because we started the long drive back home the next day and 8 hours in a Mini would have been no fun if either of us were hungover and/or sleep-deprived.

Zebra Print Trimmed Accessories.

The Holyoke Building on Mass. Ave. always has a window display of festive figurines, all about a foot high and most of them are creepy as hell; however I was quite taken with African American Santa and his quite magnificent beard of ringlets.    

Last Day of The Hols.

I was up and in the shower before the alarm went off this morning, because I want to get home to my cats and all the television shows that were tivo'd whilst we were away.  Why don't any hotels seem to have Bravo in their cable package, damn it I thought it was a basic cable channel?  All I want is "Top Chef: Any Variety" and "The Fashion Show:Wrath of Iman" and I would be like a cat in a cardboard box.

Anyway...

Hopefully we will be home at a nice sensible time.  Tomorrow I'm back in the office at the inhuman hour of 8 o'clock in the morning, and I expect to be in a fugue state for the rest of the week.  Quite frankly I doubt there will be much going on, but that a good opportunity for me to write up all the fun stuff we did in Boston that didn't get a post of their own at the time.  And a photo of the stack of lovely new books I have.

All is Quiet on New Year's Day.

I'm all packed & just waiting for Doc C to brush his teeth before we leave. We're both keen to get home to our own bed and our cats, but it would be so nice if that wasn't a two day drive away. Ah well, we've had a great city break and did almost everything we had planned. Next time Science Museum, next time.

Wrapped Up Warm.

The weather in Boston has been as predicted, that is to say, OMG SNOW!

Our B&B is toasty warm though, the thermostat is set at 75, which is much too hot for us to be able to sleep actually so we've had the windows open every night we've been here.  The first night we were here we also bundled the duvet off the bed and put it on the chair, and when we came back the next day it had been put back on the bed.  So the next night I re-made the bed with a thin cotton throw and put the duvet on top of the wardrobe with the spare pillows.  That was perfectly comfortable to sleep with, and the next morning I re-made the bed to indicate that this was a conscious bedding choice on our part.  There was no change that day, but the next we found that our chosen bed-spread was swapped out for a light weight but fleecy blanket, and the cotton throw was missing entirely from the room!  We joked that the cleaning crew were worried that we were a bit soft in the head and didn't know better than to freeze when there were plenty of blankets in easy reach.

This evening, after we came back from sorting out Doc C's conference stuff, an electric heater had been put in our room as well.

There is simply no way that we are going to be allowed to be cold this Christmas.  I'm starting to think there is a team of Jewish mothers keeping our room in order.

Massachusetts Welcomes You!

We'd been in Boston for less then an hour before we found ourselves in the Harvard Bookstore. After that we went to get me a pair of gloves, because that was the one thing I'd forgotten to pack. Then we went to Wagamama's for dinner. It has been a most satisfactory day.

Pre-Trip Preperations.

We start driving to Boston tomorrow, which naturally means I have only just finished packing. Well, I say finished but there are one or two things that I'm hoping dry before we leave in the morning. I love travelling, but I really hate packing. Ugh.

Third Day Itch.

We were snowed in again today, which after the third day is starting to wear a bit thin frankly.  Today we really did try to leave, but we only managed to drive about 10 feet from our front door before the Mini's wheels lost traction in the powdery snow and just started to spin.

It was too chilly to sit still, so I baked cookies, deep cleaned the kitchen sink and put up that insulating cling-film stuff on the windows in the bedroom and bathroom; all whilst watching a SyFy marathon of really bad horror movies.

Hopefully we can get in tomorrow.

A Purgative of Mental Objects.

Edith woke me up at 5 this morning by miaowing pitifully, which she never does, so I went downstairs to check she was ok (she was totally fine, I don't know what that was about at all) and then back up to bed; but I couldn't fall back to sleep.  I just did that dozing thing, where you have your eyes closed but your brain is churning away.

Mainly I was thinking about life, the universe, and, you know, everything.  A recurring theme was blogging and what exactly I'm trying to do in this little bit of of the internet.  I read a lot of blogs, web comics and cyber-zines so I've observed there are as many approaches to maintaining an internet site as there are people on-line.  I've never wanted to stick to a particular theme, because my blog was more about keeping an open diary.

When I wrote about going to the hospital with Doc C on Wednseday evening he wasn't very pleased that I'd done that, but it was in defending those 2 posts that I came to the conclusion that I haven't been writing about the things I've been actually thinking about.  I don't really know why I'm censoring myself so heavily because all it means is that when I open the compose screen I'm stuck with a very limited selections of topics to write about, and it sort of feels like I'm making endless small talk.  Which is exhausting.

So I think it's time for a cathartic blurt of my current recurring thoughts:

• Doc C and I are going to try and get me pregnant in 2011.  This is a very weird thought.
• I haven't been home in over three years and I just have a small but constant lump of homesickness in my throat that I have to try and ignore or I'll just wallow in it.
• I've been on anti-depressants for 18 months mainly to cope with the homesickness, and that certainly helps, but it's still there.
• I don't like living in a small town, because I really miss being in a big city.  The job market means we are unlikely to move anywhere soon, so I'm trying to make the best of it all but it's not my ideal lifestyle.
• Only one person seems to be talking to me from my last office here on campus, and that makes me really paranoid.  Did I do something awful or are they just cross because I changed offices?  No one's actually mentioned anything to me, but it's a hard feeling to shake.
• I like my current job but I always planned to have got somewhere in an actual career by this stage in my life, and I'm getting a little bit panicky that I'm in my mid-thirties without any idea what the hell I'm going to do next. Part of the problem is that the only career option that seems viable in a small university town is becoming a university lecturer.
• I'd need to complete at least an MA, which would involve taking classes, researching and writing essays and doing student teaching whilst working a full time job.  I need a nap and a large gin just thinking about that. 
• I would like to start a small business but I'm not sure what I should try to do.  I'm always being told I should sell my Amigurumis or other stuff I make, but I'm just not sure if that's really what I want to do full-time.
• I'm not a very good house keeper, because I honestly don't notice that stuff until it becomes clear that it really needs to be done.
• I don't like my wardrobe.  The only place I ever seem to buy clothes here is Old Navy, which is fine for jeans and casual tops; but all of their skirts are too short.  I'll never be cool and that's fine, I just want to look smart and sensible, but also a bit funky or at least interesting.  
• I can't find time to exercise regularly.  Going to the University gym is free, but it opens at 7 so I can only fit in 20 to 30 minutes in the morning before I have to get ready to start work at 8; the gym then closes at 3 and I finish work at 5.  I can't run because my plataar fascitiis flares up again.  I want to take Pilates, but one studio just won't get back to me and the other isn't offering classes until next year now.
• I'm a natural blonde and, as is natural, my hair is getting darker.  I occaisonally think that I'd like to dye it a fun colour, but I've never bleached or dyed my hair and I'm not sure I could really be bothered with the necessary upkeep to keep it looking good.  Plus that sounds expensive.
• We will be in Boston for Christmas, which means we will be seeing the Doc's family and he hasn't even begun thinking what we could do for presents for all of them.  Actually when I mentioned it this morning he said he would tell them not to give us any, so we shouldn't need to get anything for them.  This strategy never bloody works, and I find it mortifying to be given gifts when I don't have anything to give in return.
• Edith keeps pooping on the bathroom floor, I'm trying not to get angry with her because I know she's just trying to tell me something, but I don't know what she wants now. This makes me feel like a bad cat owner.

Ummm... Yeah, there's other stuff too I'm sure, but that'll do for now!

Car Dependency - An Epiphany.

Recently my friend Shawn tweeted (@idleformat) that Brighton was third in least car-dependent UK cities list.  I followed the link he provided to see which UK cities had had beaten my old home in the survey.

Nottingham topped survey ahead of London despite a multi-billion pound taxpayer investment in the capital's tube and bus services that is the envy of sister cities across the UK. Brighton came third, reflecting its much-admired bus network, its umbilical rail links with London and a size perfectly pitched for commuting cyclists and walkers. 

I started my working life in Nottingham, before moving to Brighton and then London.  People are surprised I don't drive, but according to this report I've spent the majority of my adult life living and/or working in cities where it was totally unnecessary to own a car.

It's like a light bulb went off for me!  No wonder I can't wrap my head around a culture that relies so heavily on private transportation; I'm used to actively pedestrianised city centers, good public transport options and a semi-decent (let's not entirely fib here and say "reliable") national train network.  

And yes, I do think that's better actually.

*Postscript* The BBC has a report on the new double deckers that London's shelling out seven point eight million pounds for.  I like the bits that have been directly lifted from the classic Routemaster, and the reduced carbon emissions sound good too.

 

Disposable Beauty.

If you have the breakfast buffet at the Hilton Garden Inn's restaurant, then you get a fresh orchid on your plate.  I suppose that's a nice touch, but it just seemed sad to me to me to see all of these beautiful flowers being treated as so disposable.

I did consider wearing this one behind my ear for the rest of the day, but the stem was far too short and the colours would have clashed horribly with my red t-shirt.

So I took a picture, because it lasts longer.

The Amazing James Randi.

This is James Randi, who was speaking as part of the Skeptic track of events at the conference.  This was one of the few photos I took of an actual person at Dragon Con, and it's annoyingly a bit blurry.

This was one of the events that I insisted we had to attend, and it was well worth queueing to hear The Amazing Randi speak about his dual careers as a stage magician and a paranormal investigator.  I could have listened to him talk all day.

Atlanta's Pubs Welcome Dragon Con!

Isn't it amazing how creepy and wrong the addition of a cheap C3 PO makes a dwarf statue in a pub?

*shiver*

Dragon Con : The View from the Ninth Floor East.

Atlanta's Hilton Garden Inn has some pretty nice views of the city from some of the rooms.  We were on the ninth floor, overlooking the aquarium.

In the evening whilst the lights were still on in the aquarium, we could see one of the tanks and the turtle, whose home it was, swimming like a lunatic.

We also were woken up at ridiculous o'clock every morning by the sun rising.  It was always an internal battle of whether I wanted to watch the dawn unfold before my eyes, or if I wanted to draw the curtains and sleep for another couple of hours.

So I took a series of photos, to appreciate when I was properly awake, and then I drew the curtains.

Pretty is nice and everything, but it is damn hard to get me to appreciate anything if you've woken me up to see it.

Dragon Con : Monday

This morning both Doc and I agreed that it would have been really nice to take today off to recover from our long weekend, and get some sleep.  We are both exhausted today, but we have tea and some chocolate biscuits to keep us going until dinner.

In the mean time I promised the re-cap of Monday at Dragon Con.  This was perhaps the most exhausting of all, because we were in such a rush to get to the last available "Battlestar Gallactica" photo opportunity that we skipped breakfast.  The important thing was that we got there in time to sign up for a photo with Edward James Olmos, an actor with a long and illustrious career, but who Doc and I love best in his role of Commander Bill Adama.  We only had to wait in a queue for about twenty minutes before Eddie arrived, and then we were whisked in, posed with Eddie and out the door again.  It took perhaps 30 seconds, but Eddie was very friendly and the picture we have is of him with an arm around each of us.  Squee!  Adama hugged us!  So then we went to the "Battlestar Galactica" panel (Edward James Olmos, Dean Stockwell and Richard Hatch) which was mainly a Q&A with the audience.

After that we hung out for a while and looked at the photos waiting to be collected.  They were great!  There were dozens of science fiction stars at the conference, and several of them had posed for photos with fans; some clearly more happily than others.  Out of all of them I have to say that Eddie McClintockdeserves a special mention, because in all of the pictures he looked as though he was having a great time.  I already liked "Warehouse Thirteen", but now I am all the more charmed.

The final thing before we left was a quick return run to the trading hall, because I wanted to buy a piece of jewelry that I had seen the day before and realised that I needed to own.

Is it not the most magnificent thing you have ever seen?  It can really only be described as a Star Trek Drag Queen accessory, and was (according to the nice man who sold it to me) designed by Majel Rodenberry; who apparently was as much of a magpie as I am.  

We had also intended to pick up a couple of t-shirts, but the very last morning of a convention is not a good time to find clothes in a specific size.

I very very nearly almost bought this for my Mum though:

And THEN we had breakfast.

Home Safely!

That was a very long day and a long drive too. Home now, and I got straight into my pyjamas; whilst Doc cracks on with writing another paper. Academics are actually working at all times, it's quite staggering to see it in action.

I have photos and a longer post, but not until after I've slept in our lovely comfortable bed. It doesn't seem to matter how many stars a hotel has, the mattress is never as nice as ours.

Dragon Con : Sunday

Things started poorly in the morning because the bed in our hotel room is not compatible with Doc C's temperamental back and he woke up in some pain.  We got him pain killers and I scoured the internet for somewhere to have brunch.  

I eventually settled on Cafe 458, mainly because it sounded like it had some decent food and I thought was fairly close to the hotel.  Until I realised it was really at least a half hour's walk away.  So I bundled Doc C into a taxi and got my sweetie to his much needed omelet and juice.  Cafe 458 is actually only open to the general public on Sundays, and it's entirely staffed with volunteers so that 100% of the proceeds, including the tips, go back to the cafe's charitable weekday work.  During the week reservations can only be made by homeless people who have been referred to the cafe by another social service, and the idea is that it's like a fine dining experience with maitre d' greeting the guests at the door and waiters serving a menu prepared by corden bleu chefs.  if you are in Atlanta over a weekend I highly recommend going, it's a nice little restaurant and you can get a stack of delicious buckwheat pancakes that just happen to also be tax deductible.

After breakfast we headed over to the hotel where Doc C would be giving his talk, but we went to see what was on sale in the market places.  It was like a sea of fabulous geekery, we could have purchased entirely new wardrobes of cool t-shirts along with an exciting selection of steam-punk jewelry and disturbingly accurate weaponry.  Doc C bought a cuddly Darth Vader and I think I may have to go back tomorrow to pick up the gem encrusted Star Trek communicator broach. It was magnificent in it's campy over-the-topness.

The browsing took far longer than we had anticipated, and afterwards I needed the peace and quiet of our hotel room.  Not to mention the elixir that is tea.  Doc had a meeting to go to, so I stayed for a lovely nap and we arranged to meet before his talk.

The talk went really very well, and Doc's observations on how super power's are assigned along gender roles for the most part prompted a lot of discussion with the audience.  He had several people stay behind after the Q&A to discuss things in greater detail, including a student who happens to attend our university who asked if he could help with further research.

Then we went for a ridiculously delicious dinner at the Ritz-Carlton's Atlantic Grill, before heading back to the hotel again.

I am freaking exhausted now, but this weekend has been a welcome jolt of geektastic fun.  Tomorrow we are determined to see the Battlestar Galactica panel, because if Edward James Olmos is in the same town as us we are going to hear him talk or know the reason why.

Dragon Con Saturday

One of the websites that Doc sent me a link to in advance of our coming to Dragon Con gave the very sensible advice that you do have to very consciously remember to eat, drink and sleep.  That sounds redundant until you get here, and find that there is something interesting going on from 8:30 in the morning until 1 in the morning, and that's just the official program.

Today we got up at about 9, had breakfast at our hotel then walked over to one of the other hotels hosting the conference for our first session.  This was part of the Skeptrack schedule, and it was a fascinating and extremely inspiring discussion about the need for secular lobbying groups in American politics.  Hell yeah!  Obviously with us and others like us in the audience the man was preaching to the choir, *snort*, but it was still very refreshing to hear.

We left during the Q&A because I wanted to find the loo before we went to the talk by James Randi.  We found the mens toilets fairly easily, and correctly guessed that the ladies would be opposite, I walked around the corner and there were Dean Stockwell and Scott Bakula signing autographs!  (Post script: That makes it sound as though they were actually in a cubicle in the ladies' loo, I can assure that they were not; they were just right outside.  It was perhaps not the best of locations.) It was most surreal, but I was in too much of a rush to get anything signed - Besides, I had absolutely nothing appropriate with me, so it would have just been a receipt or something stupid like that.

The queue for the Randi talk was epic, and we were not 100% sure we would get in, but we did and even managed to get good seats on the center aisle.  James Randi himself was a very interesting speaker and engaged with the audience in an intelligent and charming manner, although really we were all clearly fans so there was no debate or dissension.  Still he's like a cross between Yoda and Darwin and he can do conjuring tricks, which makes him a pocket-sized version of the ideal grandfather.  Utterly adorable.

Then we had lunch, and then we headed back for another talk - This time on the solar system.  It was 5pm by this point, and when I realised that the sound was going to be terrible and the room slightly too warm I told Doc C I was going back to the hotel and left him there.  I bolted back to our room and had a bath in our ridiculously fabulous whirlpool bath and read some Sherlock Holmes.  Then I had a nice cup of tea and a nap until Doc C woke me up for our next event at 7.  We decided we probably wouldn't get into the Battlestar Galactica panel, so we went to the academic discussion of "The Watchmen".  This had some good observations, and an almost complete set of Watchmen in the audience; although I was even more pleased to see a group dressed as characters from the 80's BBC TV version of The Hitchhiker's Guide.

At this point we headed back to our own hotel, because we wanted to go to the seafood restaurant there and then visit the special after-hours Dragon Con opening of the Georgia Aquarium.

And now we sleep.

Dragon Con : Friday

Atlanta is over flowing with sci-fi fans for Dragon*Con 2010, and the next three days is going to be a veritable cornucopia of geektastic panel discussions and costume judging.

The only problem is that Doc's talk is scheduled for 7pm on Sunday, which is the same time as Patricia Quinn is doing a Q&A; the discussion panel on "Being Human"; and the Chinese Vampire make-up demonstration.  Damn it!  Good thing there are a few hundred other things we can attend over the rest of the time we're here.

We are already overwhelmed, tired and fractious, but I think this will be a fun weekend.