(no subject)
so... jen went to london. it was a test of coping and seeing how i would manage without my usual coping mechanisms (ie, running to ben or kat for help). stress levels leading up to city break were high, due to me messing up the times of the meal.
over the couple of days, a couple of things went wrong. flights were delayed, and i messed up the date of the flight back, meaning we had to book another night in a hotel, which was a major shift in plan. this, i thought, would have me devolve into a little panicky pile under a table, but actually, i think i coped rather well, surprising myself.
i too myself and my brother neil down by plane (delayed) and we wandered london getting barings. we went to kidrobot (clinical, and rather dissapointing), orbital comics (amazing selection and many indy titles) and forbidden planet (huge and fun). we also went to cyber candy, which is great fun, if only to see that they made ginger ale flavoured kitkats.
we went and saw avenue Q in the evening, and the performance was excellent.
then, the next day, we went to the fat duck. this is heston blumental's resturant, and a bit of an extravagance. it was superb. highlight for me were the palete clenising nitro poached lime egg white thing, caramel apple wafer pudding, the dry ice oak/moss truffle cracker, the hot and cold tea and the sweeties at the end. the whole thing was marvelus fun, i could not stop laughing from about halfway through.
but the staff really did make the meal, they were friendly and did a lot to put myself and neil at ease (we were the younger there by about 20years, at least! and rather out of place).
we then had cocktails, and found that all trains back from maidenhead were cancelled. again, jen did not panic (and believe me, jen panics really well, she changes colour and everything!)
we went, had another cocktail, found a mass of fuzzy little caterpillars, got on a re-enstated train, then got to hotel without any futher bother.
lastly, we went to chinatown, which was a bit overpriced, but the barbeque meats i had at a small eatery were really good. and by the time we were leaving, i'd almost sussed the subway/train system.
the flight back was delayed, and i am really not liking the 100ml rule. true i don't want to be blown up if traveling by plane, but it meant i could not bring jolt cola back with me. but cybercandy does do orders......
so, yeah. i'm in a pretty self-statified mood after all this, and as long as i get someone to check over the things i am booking before i book them, i think i could do another holiday on my own. this is a big thing for me.
in a mass of other news, i have two new rats, male, and one is hairless. i went larping and loved it. work is a bit stressful but looking like it will get better. i had to take down the really rather nasty 'antispyware soft' virus which is a beastie and a half, but seem to have killed it. playing with fire colourants, and making fire burn blue (campfires at larp burning blue is pretty cool).
stress levels been a bit higher than i could cope with over the last two months, but i think that is settling down now. stupid adverse life events.
and now beltane is over i can try to reclaim my beltaney friends back. at least until sowneen....
over the couple of days, a couple of things went wrong. flights were delayed, and i messed up the date of the flight back, meaning we had to book another night in a hotel, which was a major shift in plan. this, i thought, would have me devolve into a little panicky pile under a table, but actually, i think i coped rather well, surprising myself.
i too myself and my brother neil down by plane (delayed) and we wandered london getting barings. we went to kidrobot (clinical, and rather dissapointing), orbital comics (amazing selection and many indy titles) and forbidden planet (huge and fun). we also went to cyber candy, which is great fun, if only to see that they made ginger ale flavoured kitkats.
we went and saw avenue Q in the evening, and the performance was excellent.
then, the next day, we went to the fat duck. this is heston blumental's resturant, and a bit of an extravagance. it was superb. highlight for me were the palete clenising nitro poached lime egg white thing, caramel apple wafer pudding, the dry ice oak/moss truffle cracker, the hot and cold tea and the sweeties at the end. the whole thing was marvelus fun, i could not stop laughing from about halfway through.
but the staff really did make the meal, they were friendly and did a lot to put myself and neil at ease (we were the younger there by about 20years, at least! and rather out of place).
we then had cocktails, and found that all trains back from maidenhead were cancelled. again, jen did not panic (and believe me, jen panics really well, she changes colour and everything!)
we went, had another cocktail, found a mass of fuzzy little caterpillars, got on a re-enstated train, then got to hotel without any futher bother.
lastly, we went to chinatown, which was a bit overpriced, but the barbeque meats i had at a small eatery were really good. and by the time we were leaving, i'd almost sussed the subway/train system.
the flight back was delayed, and i am really not liking the 100ml rule. true i don't want to be blown up if traveling by plane, but it meant i could not bring jolt cola back with me. but cybercandy does do orders......
so, yeah. i'm in a pretty self-statified mood after all this, and as long as i get someone to check over the things i am booking before i book them, i think i could do another holiday on my own. this is a big thing for me.
in a mass of other news, i have two new rats, male, and one is hairless. i went larping and loved it. work is a bit stressful but looking like it will get better. i had to take down the really rather nasty 'antispyware soft' virus which is a beastie and a half, but seem to have killed it. playing with fire colourants, and making fire burn blue (campfires at larp burning blue is pretty cool).
stress levels been a bit higher than i could cope with over the last two months, but i think that is settling down now. stupid adverse life events.
and now beltane is over i can try to reclaim my beltaney friends back. at least until sowneen....