Really long post...

[jadesfire]

I like wandering round LJ, I really do. People fascinate me, and I could pretty much spend all my time, ever, sitting in a cafe in the middle of Oxford watching them. And I have a tendency to follow links at random and read journals of people I don't know. Mostly, this is fun. Today...ack. The trouble with being interested in people is that you have a tendency to get too caught up in their stuff, and forget it isn't yours. Especially when you don't even know who they are. *sigh* A week of watching BBC World News didn't help. There reaches a point where you just have to click away/turn off.

So rather than flail and weep and curse the computer. Or rather after flailing and weeping and cursing the computer (dontcha just love hormones?) I figured I'd do something positive and post about the holiday instead :)



Firstly, Menorca is lovely. I really can't recommend it enough if you like peace and quiet, not too much heat but lots of sun, clear blue seas and lots of greenery. We walked past every property with a "sa vende" sign with wistful sighs. Our hotel, the Barcelo Hamilton is in Es Castell, near the capital, Mao. Or Mahon. The first thing you get used to in Menorca is that people speak Menorcan, the signs are in Catalan and lots of other signs are in Castillian. I can count, order dinner and understand basic instructions. For other things, it's amazing how far pointing and smiling can get you.

I won't list out all the stuff we did, mostly because my list would be embarrassingly short. I didn't do anything more energetic than walk the half hour into Mao, and nothing more exciting than watching the swifts from a clifftop cafe overlooking the harbour. There was more activity in my dreams than my days, and that was fine by me. Of course, I'm still exhausted, but that's what the trip to the Doctor's was for (results this week, I hope). The other half pottered around the island while I stayed at the hotel and ate the wonderful cheese that they make - queso di Mahon is worth getting hold off if you can. Just delicious.

I read "Gateway" by Frederik Pohl , which is the first of the Sci-Fi classics series that I've really, actively enjoyed. The protagonist is a great mixture of hesitation and action, and the narrative structure builds the tension perfectly. Great stuff. Similarly, "The Water Room" by Christopher Fowler should be compulsory reading for anyone who likes London. Or hates it. You don't need to have read the first of the Bryant and May series to understand this, the second one, and the conclusion had me gasping out loud. Just brilliant. I also read a collection of stories by 'giants' of the genre, including Stephen King, Ursula Le Guin and a Raymond Fiest. I enjoyed the King story much more than I expected to, but was disappointed with the Le Guin. I think you needed to know more of Earthsea to understand it properly, added to which, the heroine was a little passive for my taste, and there was much standing around staring into space, which would look pretty on film, but worked less well in a novella. But I shall consider the Dark Tower series next time I'm in the library.

We had some stress at the airport when we thought major_jim's bag had gone astray, but while we were having lunch at the other terminal, they called to say it had been found. Which was a relief as my bargain DKNY dress was in there, as well as my new New Look one. I like that I like both the fashionable black expensive (originally) one and the bright pink cheap one equally. J was relieved as it meant the gin had been found. They make a special blend on Menorca, called Xorigeur, which I'm told is quite different and very nice. See the article for a full history, but as usual, the Brits are to blame, sailing into countries, claiming them and then making the locals cook British food. The number of British bars in Mao was depressing. But we didn't eat at them, and we made a point of trying local dishes when available. The tripe in pureed veg was a little bit beyond even me, but all the fish was absolutely delicious. Er...I seem to have wandered off the point...which was that when you come back from holiday, little hassles always seem huge. We had 4 messages from various letting agents, all pestering us for stuff. Since they should have known we were on holiday, this is less than impressive. But we got the car back early, and I soooo much prefer parking at the airport than wrestling with the coach back to Oxford. Much, much, much less stressful.

I'd recommend Menorca without hesitation. The hotel probably isn't to everyone's taste, but it was clean, the food was good, we had a wonderful view over the harbour and it was incredibly cheap. It's hard to find fault with that.

Oh, and I absolutely loved listening to rustydog's Torchwood Fanmix, Bring on the Wonder. You've got a good ear, my dear. The perfect soundtrack.

Of course, what I didn't do on holiday was write. So time to get cracking on that. But first:


Interview Meme:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you 5 questions of a very personal nature.
3. You will update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this and an offer to interview someone else in the post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them 5 questions.

From aeron_lanart
1) How did you end up as a Librarian?
Oh boy. Well, you see, I was fairly sure I'd done really badly in my degree. I didn't want to work in banking/consulting/have to wear a suit in the city, I didn't want to teach, and am the world's worst administrator by some way. So naturally, I went to work in a kitchen. As you do. After realising that the thing I'm second worst at is being a caterer*, I desperately scanned the University jobs page for something (anything), found the library graduate traineeship (brilliant scheme - thank you SCONUL!) and well. Here I am.

*I feel I should point out that I'm a fair to decent cook, and make pretty good cakes. I just make an over-stressed, rather chaotic mass caterer. You know what they say: if you can't take the heat...

2) Any bad habits? You can mention as many or as few as you want.
Heh. The worst is picking the skin round my thumbs, which I've done since I was a child. I manage to stop every now and then, and they go down again, then I get stressed, pick and we're off. They're almost a normal colour at the moment, which I'm quite proud of...

3) Favourite place to read.
Anywhere. I like reading on transport and have been known to miss bus or tube stops when really engaged, but I find it's the book and my mood that matter, not my location.

4) Place you want to see before you die.
I like travelling, but I'm a homebody at heart. I've also been to New Zealand, which is top of my "things I want to go back and see before I die", as are Pompeii, Rome and New York. New things? I have this hankering to see Vegas, just because I can't get my head around the scale of it in pictures.

5) Have you any tattoos or piercings?
Just my ears, just once in each. I often forget to even put any earrings in, although that's more down to pre-caffeinated amnesia than anything else...

Anyone want to play?

I've decided I'm not doing a DW reaction post, since I both enjoyed and hated the episode. My mental state is such that I got kind of caught up in it and nearly broke J's fingers, but looking back, I didn't like it that much. I think it's mostly me, rather than it, so I shall wait until I have a clearer head.

*re-reads post* Oh yes. The rambling is back :)

ETA: *flails* I forgot to say! I went to school with one of the actors from last night's Doctor Who! DeeDee! Not a close friend, but very nice and I'm chuffed to bits that she kept on with the acting - she was in Grange Hill for a while but got written out. And now she's on Doctor Who! How cool is that???? Possibly only for me, but still. I'm excited. :D