The Stupid Thing

Confession time.
Nah, it's not that bad.
The long and the short of it is that I had serious trouble getting over Mr H. As to the reasons, I frankly don't know,  but since I was feeling like shit, I wasn't overly interested in the reasons.
So I decided to write him an email -- getting the address from a friend working at [...] was neither conspicuous nor a problem. I wrote it last Tuesday, i.e. on 22 February, and the bastard hasn't answered it. Well, what I ultimately wanted was closure and clarity, and I guess I've got both. Maybe it's too early to shout victory, but this irrefutable proof of a total lack of interest on whichever level seems to have provided what I needed so badly.
I didn't expect an answer right away, but an entire week including an entire weekend seems reasonable. Bastard, really, but at least now I can be sure that he's a bastard. Yeah, I could've seen that a bit earlier. What counts, though, is the fact that apparently I've finally realized it.
/end of confession

In other, much nicer news:
Alexandra is moving today, into the flat next to mine.

Dinner logistics for Friday's dinner have been ruminated over -- I'll do the shopping on Thursday (except for the bread, which has to be fresh) and will prepare the starter on Friday morning. Starter will be a chicken-porcini mushroom terrine on a salad bed with cranberry sauce. And I think I'll try that caramelized-cake dessert, using orange jam instead of strawberry, and whichever fresh fruit looks best. Just not sure yet whether to serve it cold or prepare it à la minute, but am tending towards serving it cold, i.e. the cake-and-jam part can be also prepared in the morning, and in the afternoon I can prepare the fruit topping and chocolate sauce (unless I do a cop-out and buy the latter. Might happen).

The Monk's Pepper pills seem to be working -- it's early days, because they have to be taken for a few weeks before the full effect kicks in, but That Time of the Month is very close, and I'm feeling physically fit and cheerful. I'm sure most of you understand how glad I am. So keep those fingers crossed.

Gym today after work, and then probably a thorough drinking binge house-warming with Alexandra and Lola. Janine sent me this, well, glove: it's made of rather sturdy cloth, and the fingers are extended (looks a bit like Edward Scissorhands, but gaudily coloured), and on the ends of those spidery, long and reinforced fingers there are mice dangling from threads. I suppose Lola will love it -- we'll give it a try tonight. There was also a Fun Board, i.e. something like a tray with holes and tunnels and small containers, on/in which you can put bits of dry food and small toys, which the cat then has to figure out how to get. I think the Fun Board will be more for Lola, with occasional appearances chez PW37.

And I just realized that I've got a total of 47 days of paid leave. That's more than 9 weeks!! Since the Federal Chancellor apparently won't come on 14 April, I'm considering taking the 2 weeks before Easter off work. 1 week in Vienna, 1 in Skopje. And if the weather is ok, I could do my crazy climb-the-Vodno-every-day project.