![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Back from holiday
Aug. 10th, 2010 06:37 amGood morning, f-list!
2 things that need to be said right at the beginning:
1) I haven't yet checked whether my gift has already been posted at the exchange, but will do so shortly.
2) If the Muse was still with me, I would by now be writing an Ashes to Ashes -- Discworld crossover fic, because Sam Vimes and Gene Hunt just belong together -- not in a slashy kind of way of course.
OK, that's done.
In other news, my Austrian holiday was great. I'm as brown as a nut; removing the tan lines acquired by playing tennis and running didn't quite work out though, because I did a lot of that in Austria, too. Nephew Daniel and I played together -- not very elegant, but lots of fun. And exhausting. On Thursday I could hardly move, my muscles were so sore -- 1,5 hrs running in the morning, 2 hrs tennis, and afterwards I swam 1 km. Was very relieved when Daniel couldn't move either, since I'd first assumed old age, too, had a part in my sufferings. Janine, who is very much a no sports person, merely rolled her eyes at us. But we spent the best part of Friday alternating swimming with prolonged soaks in the thermal pool, and on Friday evening the muscles were back to normal.
I'd planned on being very good and studying Macedonian, but of course didn't. It was mostly listening to music (oh, how I love my iPod!), reading, sports, talking and eating. And scratching, because I'm allergic to whatever the toxic stuff is they use for the laundry. Lots of bleach probably. First I thought they had bed bugs or something, but then remembered that I'd had the same allergic reaction in 2008. Very reassuring, although it didn't help much with the itching.
Much though I like the hotel per se -- it's a five-star place and deserves each of those stars -- I have to say that the guests are appalling. It's a good thing we didn't go there for the company. I've never seen so many living dead in one place, both young and old. Holy shit, does having a bit of money and not being 20 or 30 anymore really mean you have to behave like a walking corpse? Well, sorry, Mr and Mrs Deadly Bore, I happen to laugh out loud from time to time, even -- gasp!! -- during dinner, and giving me Meaningful Looks will, if anything, make me laugh even more. Still, watching staff and guests trying to guess what exactly might be the relationship between the two ladies and the young man provided a certain amount of amusement.
As did the sommelier, who was trying to be charming and witty but failed miserably.
I still have the bruises on my left arm, which I gripped convulsively with my right hand, when he stumbled over the word "Muschelkalk" ("Muschi" being a German slang word for "cunt"), and I heard Daniel snort, followed by a quick dive under the table, because he'd had the presence of mind to drop his knife. Lighting a cigarette helped me mask the worst of the laughter, but when the guy had finally gone, Daniel and I succumbed to a laughing fit that caused a lot of Meaningful Looks. Strangely enough, the sommelier never returned to our table. This, however, might also be due to the fact that I didn't treat him with the respect and deference he seemed to think he deserved, when he first oozed up to our table to say "Ah, I see you're drinking a 2008 Sauvignon Blanc from the Polz winery. Excellent choice. I can tell you more about it." I fought the urge to tell the budding sommelier, who was maybe 24 years old, to stand up straight and uncross his arms, and merely said, "If it makes you happy, but maybe a little later, because we happen to be in the middle of a conversation here."
The flight on Sunday back to Skopje had a 2-hour delay -- major boredom, but otherwise no harm done. Ze boyz were obviously happy to see me, and very affectionate. On Sunday evening I took Irene out to dinner, since she'd been on leave before me, i.e. we hadn't seen each other for 3 weeks. Most of our main courses ended up under the table, to be devoured by hungry, adorable kittens. Was very satisfied that my deadly stare still works on obnoxious toddlers trying to molest kittens while they eat.
Since I'd had the foresight to take yesterday and today off work as well, I was free to play tennis yesterday morning. My Valentina is currently on holiday, so I played with Mr. H's coach Elena and will do so again today. She's very good, totally different teachig style, and I'm considering taking lessons with her as well, maybe once a week. And yes, I was being good, practically a saint, and didn't even mention Mr. H. Luckily she did that for me, saying that he's a fantastic player and beats her most of the time -- I think I'm not going to play against him. Not yet, anyway, because 1) I'm not going to cut a sorry figure, not with him, and 2) it would be deadly boring for him. (Unfortunately I'm the competitive kind of person who never does anything "just for the fun of it")
So today promises to be a good last day off, not least because Stefan is turning 40 today, and there'll be a party tonight at the pub. This means that I'll probably start my first day of work with a massive hangover, but the boss is invited as well, so we'll just have to get him drunk too. Excellent plan, if I say so myself, and lots more fun than just staying sober.
2 things that need to be said right at the beginning:
1) I haven't yet checked whether my gift has already been posted at the exchange, but will do so shortly.
2) If the Muse was still with me, I would by now be writing an Ashes to Ashes -- Discworld crossover fic, because Sam Vimes and Gene Hunt just belong together -- not in a slashy kind of way of course.
OK, that's done.
In other news, my Austrian holiday was great. I'm as brown as a nut; removing the tan lines acquired by playing tennis and running didn't quite work out though, because I did a lot of that in Austria, too. Nephew Daniel and I played together -- not very elegant, but lots of fun. And exhausting. On Thursday I could hardly move, my muscles were so sore -- 1,5 hrs running in the morning, 2 hrs tennis, and afterwards I swam 1 km. Was very relieved when Daniel couldn't move either, since I'd first assumed old age, too, had a part in my sufferings. Janine, who is very much a no sports person, merely rolled her eyes at us. But we spent the best part of Friday alternating swimming with prolonged soaks in the thermal pool, and on Friday evening the muscles were back to normal.
I'd planned on being very good and studying Macedonian, but of course didn't. It was mostly listening to music (oh, how I love my iPod!), reading, sports, talking and eating. And scratching, because I'm allergic to whatever the toxic stuff is they use for the laundry. Lots of bleach probably. First I thought they had bed bugs or something, but then remembered that I'd had the same allergic reaction in 2008. Very reassuring, although it didn't help much with the itching.
Much though I like the hotel per se -- it's a five-star place and deserves each of those stars -- I have to say that the guests are appalling. It's a good thing we didn't go there for the company. I've never seen so many living dead in one place, both young and old. Holy shit, does having a bit of money and not being 20 or 30 anymore really mean you have to behave like a walking corpse? Well, sorry, Mr and Mrs Deadly Bore, I happen to laugh out loud from time to time, even -- gasp!! -- during dinner, and giving me Meaningful Looks will, if anything, make me laugh even more. Still, watching staff and guests trying to guess what exactly might be the relationship between the two ladies and the young man provided a certain amount of amusement.
As did the sommelier, who was trying to be charming and witty but failed miserably.
I still have the bruises on my left arm, which I gripped convulsively with my right hand, when he stumbled over the word "Muschelkalk" ("Muschi" being a German slang word for "cunt"), and I heard Daniel snort, followed by a quick dive under the table, because he'd had the presence of mind to drop his knife. Lighting a cigarette helped me mask the worst of the laughter, but when the guy had finally gone, Daniel and I succumbed to a laughing fit that caused a lot of Meaningful Looks. Strangely enough, the sommelier never returned to our table. This, however, might also be due to the fact that I didn't treat him with the respect and deference he seemed to think he deserved, when he first oozed up to our table to say "Ah, I see you're drinking a 2008 Sauvignon Blanc from the Polz winery. Excellent choice. I can tell you more about it." I fought the urge to tell the budding sommelier, who was maybe 24 years old, to stand up straight and uncross his arms, and merely said, "If it makes you happy, but maybe a little later, because we happen to be in the middle of a conversation here."
The flight on Sunday back to Skopje had a 2-hour delay -- major boredom, but otherwise no harm done. Ze boyz were obviously happy to see me, and very affectionate. On Sunday evening I took Irene out to dinner, since she'd been on leave before me, i.e. we hadn't seen each other for 3 weeks. Most of our main courses ended up under the table, to be devoured by hungry, adorable kittens. Was very satisfied that my deadly stare still works on obnoxious toddlers trying to molest kittens while they eat.
Since I'd had the foresight to take yesterday and today off work as well, I was free to play tennis yesterday morning. My Valentina is currently on holiday, so I played with Mr. H's coach Elena and will do so again today. She's very good, totally different teachig style, and I'm considering taking lessons with her as well, maybe once a week. And yes, I was being good, practically a saint, and didn't even mention Mr. H. Luckily she did that for me, saying that he's a fantastic player and beats her most of the time -- I think I'm not going to play against him. Not yet, anyway, because 1) I'm not going to cut a sorry figure, not with him, and 2) it would be deadly boring for him. (Unfortunately I'm the competitive kind of person who never does anything "just for the fun of it")
So today promises to be a good last day off, not least because Stefan is turning 40 today, and there'll be a party tonight at the pub. This means that I'll probably start my first day of work with a massive hangover, but the boss is invited as well, so we'll just have to get him drunk too. Excellent plan, if I say so myself, and lots more fun than just staying sober.
