Mixed

Lola will be neutered today, poor girl. Hence the girls' night we'd intended to have today at my place will be held at Alexandra's place. It's an emergency girls' night -- Alexandra had to dump her boyfriend (long story, but she really *did* have to, and he has only himself to blame for it), and she needs the company and copious amounts of wine. And probably chocolate.

duniazade 's Christmas card has arrived -- thank you, darling, it's lovely!

Now that I've booked my flight to Austria, I have to think of a birthday present for my brother's partner. Bummer. Especially since I can't ask him, because my going there is a surprise for him. If only there was something typically Macedonian, but there isn't really. Maybe Ohrid pearls -- they're very pretty (neither really fake nor really genuine, because the core is fake but covered in a layer of powdered scales of a carp that only lives in Lake Ohrid) and not overly expensive. And certainly typically Macedonian.

Hairdresser tomorrow. It's about time, because my hair is beginning to curl, which is a sign that it's getting too long. And the colour needs refreshing. Appointment at 11, which means a nice, slow morning at home. Tennis at 1 p.m., and then again at 4, but this second lesson will only last one hour, as opposed to the first, 1,5hr-lesson.

And on Sunday, provided the weather forecast is indeed correct, Stefanie and I are going to set out at 8 a.m. and go up the Vodno by car, till the point where the road is closed off, and continue on foot up to the cross. We'd do the whole thing walking, but we'll be playing tennis at 12 with Valentina, so the time's too short unless we start before 7, and that's not going to happen. Still, the tennis lesson is going to be... interesting. Since we're sharing it, there won't be too much running involved, but nonetheless Sunday's exercise pensum looks rather impressive.

Also, a (maybe even final) PW37 emotional status report: apparently I didn't need any Mr H-related closure, i.e. seeing him once more before he left, which is a good thing because he just left without saying goodbye to anybody. Understandable, in a way. Not really what I'd have expected, but that's neither here nor there. What's more important is that -- just as I had predicted -- the whole drama is already fading into a semi-pleasant memory. The feeling is similar to having finished writing a story: it's undeniably there, but it's not mine anymore the way it was while I was writing it. All things, and especially that last dinner, considered, I got away with fewer scratches on my heart and soul than I'd expected.

Since New Year I'd been eating a lot. And I mean a lot, i.e. more than I could possibly compensate for by exercising. So I've been disciplined since Monday, which doesn't mean dieting, but 1) I went back to salad for lunch instead of soup, 2) I'm not buying any sweets or salted almonds or similar stuff, and 3) I prepare some vegetable soup when I get home after sports, and eat that. Of course I need something more after that, but since there are neither sweets nor almonds, it's usually a sandwich or, if I really feel I need something sweet, a piece of bread with a bit of butter and honey. I don't think I'd put on any weight, but I was just feeling that I was standing on top of a very slippery slope. So now I'm back to normal -- the emotional distance to Mr H might also have helped (and the turmoil before I achieved it was surely one of the reasons for the increased food intake).

Boss returned yesterday at 7 a.m. and showed up at the embassy around 3 p.m., still rather crumpled and exhausted from 12 hours' driving. But he was in a good mood, and it's certainly good to have him back. The deadline for applying for his next posting is the 21st, and he's wibbling, poor guy. Because you don't want to put to few postings on your wish list, but neither do you want to include anything you don't really want, because if you get it you can't turn it down. He's especially unsure about including Tripoli; I've been there twice and quite liked it, but a 3-day stay can't be compared to living there for a full 4 years. Anyway, if he puts it on the list and gets it, I might consider following him in 2013, unless he has any objections of course, but I don't think he would. From a financial point of view it's great, and I'd be his deputy there, too. Plus, I'd only have to stay 3 years, while his mandate would be 4, i.e. he'd be leaving in 2015 and me in 2016, which means only one year with his successor, which would be bearable even if the successor was a monster. But let's wait and see.