Of books and non-existent convention reports
So, I had these plans to write trip reports and con reports and all sorts of things. Except, er, I didn't. My gentle relaxing trip to England was actually far too busy to have time to do that. When I wasn't out and about, I was relaxing over cups of tea and knitting with Mum and Dad. I had Twitter and other things on my iPod to keep up with the outside world, but it was lovely to spend time not really worrying about online stuff.
Now I'm back. Work remains the same as ever (lovely colleagues, Zombie Project eating my brainz) and the medical appointments resume. Something showed up on my bloodwork so I have to see my GP later in the week. I suspect that my blood count may be down again. Ugh. Some of my symptoms returned (only very slightly, but just enough to be worrying) over the weekend, so I have done as my specialist recommended (increasing my predinisone) and I'll be seeing him later in the week to discuss it. I won't pretend that it's not a bit of a blow, but hopefully this is a minor blip in my recovery and could even be due to the stress of flying.
Speaking of flying, it was surprisingly un-stressful compared to my last few trips. I have concluded that on-line check-in is the best thing ever. It made everything so much easier: I picked my seat from home, didn't have any worries about check-in closing before I got there and didn't have to spend so many hours at the airport. Lovely. Even getting through security in Heathrow was a doddle because they're actually being a bit more sane about it all. It's made me think seriously about taking an England trip next year, possibly in May, because it felt so much easier than it has done the last few times.
I shall write up the reports etc. over the next few days. What I can say is that I came back from the convention refreshed and reinvigorated in my love for science fiction. It feels like I've had my brain switched off for the last few months (possibly all that exhaustion from being ill) and I'm just starting to wake up. Now I need to catch up and read all the books and essays that I've missed, watch all the shows that were amazing or thoughtful and generally get back into the habit of thinking again.
The trip also got me out of my reading rut and I've finally identified why I'd been so dissatisfied with my reading: I'd been deliberately going for the fluffy and un-challenging because it's what I thought my tired brain needed. A lot of the books didn't engage me and left me completely unsatisfied, which just made me want to read less. My last few books have been different. They have made me think, they have challenged and none of them have really been fluff, not even the YA that looked fluffy. It's been wonderful: the books have engaged me from the outset and kept me compelled to read at every opportunity. This is what I really needed because these are books that are exciting me and that seems to be better for my brain.
I'll post up my book reviews soon :-)
This entry was originally posted at http://selenay.dreamwidth.org/389876.html. There are currently
babbles on the entry on Dreamwidth
Now I'm back. Work remains the same as ever (lovely colleagues, Zombie Project eating my brainz) and the medical appointments resume. Something showed up on my bloodwork so I have to see my GP later in the week. I suspect that my blood count may be down again. Ugh. Some of my symptoms returned (only very slightly, but just enough to be worrying) over the weekend, so I have done as my specialist recommended (increasing my predinisone) and I'll be seeing him later in the week to discuss it. I won't pretend that it's not a bit of a blow, but hopefully this is a minor blip in my recovery and could even be due to the stress of flying.
Speaking of flying, it was surprisingly un-stressful compared to my last few trips. I have concluded that on-line check-in is the best thing ever. It made everything so much easier: I picked my seat from home, didn't have any worries about check-in closing before I got there and didn't have to spend so many hours at the airport. Lovely. Even getting through security in Heathrow was a doddle because they're actually being a bit more sane about it all. It's made me think seriously about taking an England trip next year, possibly in May, because it felt so much easier than it has done the last few times.
I shall write up the reports etc. over the next few days. What I can say is that I came back from the convention refreshed and reinvigorated in my love for science fiction. It feels like I've had my brain switched off for the last few months (possibly all that exhaustion from being ill) and I'm just starting to wake up. Now I need to catch up and read all the books and essays that I've missed, watch all the shows that were amazing or thoughtful and generally get back into the habit of thinking again.
The trip also got me out of my reading rut and I've finally identified why I'd been so dissatisfied with my reading: I'd been deliberately going for the fluffy and un-challenging because it's what I thought my tired brain needed. A lot of the books didn't engage me and left me completely unsatisfied, which just made me want to read less. My last few books have been different. They have made me think, they have challenged and none of them have really been fluff, not even the YA that looked fluffy. It's been wonderful: the books have engaged me from the outset and kept me compelled to read at every opportunity. This is what I really needed because these are books that are exciting me and that seems to be better for my brain.
I'll post up my book reviews soon :-)
This entry was originally posted at http://selenay.dreamwidth.org/389876.html. There are currently
babbles on the entry on Dreamwidth