Oh sweet indeterminant deity ...

[blamebrampton]

A lovely thing this afternoon: winstonmom sent me a postcard of cool! Actual cool, snow and all! THANK YOU! It's beautiful. Off tomorrow to what raitala has described as 'monsoons, but very chilly ones'. Sounds lovely.

Right, the list:

Acquire GBP so I do not have to get by with £2.17 in cash. DONE!

Travel Insurance. DONE!

Pay cat sitter the last $8 I owe her from the other week. NOT DONE, SHE'S IN ADELAIDE, BUGGER

Book London hotel for spare evening. EH, SOD IT, CAN DO THAT ON SUNDAY NIGHT, HOW HARD CAN IT BE TO FIND A GOOD ROOM FOR A TUESDAY?

Book Eurostar to Paris, and back to London. DAMN, SHOULD HAVE ALREADY DONE THIS. NEXT.

Buy last things for people who need Aussie things. WHY? WHY DO I FOOLISHLY DO THIS EVERY TIME? STILL, DONE!

Fix top and stitch new row of decorative braid to skirt. WHERE THE FUCK IS THAT BRAID?? ARGH!

Leave house tidy. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! EH, MR BRAMMERS CAN DO IT. (*LAUGHS MORE*)

Pack. BEGUN, AND CLOTHES ARE ALL CLEAN AND CO-ORDINATING, MIRACLE!

Repack when enormous quantity of Violet Crumble and pingrid 's boots means I have to decide between underpants and toiletries. FEARS WILL HAPPEN.

Arrange pick-up at airport. SORTED, BECAUSE MY OXFORD PEEPS ARE LOVELY.

Arrange fun things to do. ALSO SORTED, BECAUSE MY LONDON, COVENTRY, PARIS AND OSLO PEEPS ARE ALSO LOVELY.

Wonder what the fuck this 'peeps' business is. GIVES UP WONDERING, BRAIN HAS CLEARLY RETREATED INTO CORNER RATHER THAN FACE IMMENSE LIST OF JOBS FOR NEXT 24 HOURS.

Sort wallets, paperwork and which books I actually need vs which ones I will just be carting around for effect. HALF DONE.

Wonder whether one pair of shoes is really enough? YES! YES IT IS! CLOSED-IN BIRKENSTOCKS AND ATTITUDE CAN CONQUER ANYTHING. PLUS I WANT TO BUY BOOTS IN LONDON. PERHAPS ALSO GALOSHES, DEPENDING ON MONSOON.

spark_of_chaos , I will either finish beta-ing your fic before I go or on the plane, sorry! Have emailed mods to let them know I am crap, while you are fab. Everyone I owe comments to, yes, I do. Eventually! Nail polishes are packed and will be posted in London. What have I forgotten?

Comments

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I regret it, too, I really want to hit several of your galleries. If Paris is beset by strikes, you may see me yet ;-)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Will do! Right, off to back-up laptop.

[vaysh11.livejournal.com]

I'm tempted to wish for another strike in France. You have my mobile number, Brammers. Call if Plan B needs to happpen. There is also a couch here that you can have. I'm gone to my parents for Christmas from 12/24 (morning), and happy to leave you the apartment should you need it. (um, not that it's cleaned ... ;))

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Hee, it would only be a few days at best, I fly home on the 22nd. Truly this is a flying visit!

[catsintheattic.livejournal.com]

That's great. :-)

[emansil-08.livejournal.com]

Admittedly I had to laugh at the book one. Which books I'm going to take and how many is always the first thing decided. The clothing apect comes at the last minute.

The trip sounds lovely, I hope it's a happy and safe one.

[winstonmom.livejournal.com]

Hey! if you ever come to Northern California I will take you to Lake Tahoe. It is a promess.
Good Luck with your trip!

[being-here.livejournal.com]

Coventry you say? I live in Cov! Will you be visiting?

[raitala.livejournal.com]

You can stay with us on Tuesday too you know, though there will be no one to let you in to the flat till about 7pm.

Good luck with the crazy packing. Also you can buy both toiletries and undies here, once you have off-loaded the crumble, jus' sayin' ;)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I think I am still underweight: it's the actual fitting of jars of promite and big bags of VC that takes it out of you ;-). And I like the odd hotel!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Alas, no. One of my pals from there is coming down to London. THough if that falls through, I will be daytripping up, so I will PM you if there is a chance for afternoon tea!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I have decided to take a novel by an author who I think is very talented, but all of her four novels so far have disappointed me (and been v badly edited). That way, if it's tosh, I can discard it with no bad feelings ;-)

[being-here.livejournal.com]

Please do if you are around! And I hope you have a lovely time (London being ever so slightly more salubrious than Cov!)

[raitala.livejournal.com]

Still, you can totally stay with us for Tuesday night if you want to. We will be away for the vast majority of your stay in London, so you won't be over-staying your welcome or anything. If it is a question of luggage, I'll be in Bloomsbury and you could swing by and pick up a key from me during the day too.

[raitala.livejournal.com]

Or, I think my downstairs neighbour might well be in, as she isn't well at the moment, so we could arrange to leave a key with her.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

The galleries lured me. Though I do love Cov Cathedral!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I'll give you a call on Sunday. That might actually be quite fun ;-) Though if I find a last-minute special at one of the places I like in St James, I might ditch you for the cheap pleasures of a claw-footed bath ;-)

[pushdragon.livejournal.com]

Do not stay in a London hotel!! I don't trust them. And I want you to come back in one piece.

Just think how much room you'll have for new boots once you've delivered Pin's and eaten the Violet Crumble - this is very smart packing, my dear.

Best of luck and have a wonderful time.

[being-here.livejournal.com]

It is amazing, isn't it? I got married in the building next to it, and the bells were ringing, and it makes me nostalgic to even think of it

[uminohikari.livejournal.com]

S-so organized!

[emansil-08.livejournal.com]

I'm curious as to who the author is. I know you're traveling now, maybe you can share that tidbit later.

Hope the trip is a good one!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Justine Larbalestier. I really liked the IDEA of her first three novels, which were a rilogy, but the realisation of that idea was a bit all over the shop and the editing, even down to proofing, was frankly rubbish. Yet there was a keen intelligence behind it all and parts of the three books were terrific.

I picked up her next book, How to Ditch your Fairy, with higher expectations, and again, the idea was great. This time the editing was better and the writing more assured, with a higher percentage at the terrific level, but the end just fell apart for me.

This one, Liar, I ended up reading entirely before Singapore. I liked it a great deal, and feel that it is far more successful than even Ditch a Fairy. The ending is still a puzzle that I want to revisit, but that's intentional on the part of the author. I'm pleased, because it means that she has either really found her feet or has found an editor who is really good, and these are both good things for someone who is clearly talented.

[emansil-08.livejournal.com]

I read the Magic and Madness trilogy. I thought the first one was brilliant, the 2nd one not so much, and the 3rd one just left me going. What???. I have to say the math aspect was way the fuck over my peabrain, but the concept was really cool.

I was also able to hear her speak in Oct at our local book festival. She was a good speaker and seemed to be very bright and intelligent. I've not read the other 2 books yet.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I had much the same response, and I am secretly very good at maths: it was just that the story had flaws. Liar is a more successful novel, though I did find Fairy more fun, but I think a lot of the humour comes from having lived in Australia.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Damnit, missed this the other day! Trip underway, successful so far, though very wet. Still, water is such a pleasant change I am not minding it! I will make it to Northern California (and to Seattle) one day! So far it has been Marin then back: all my friends there are San Francisco or Berkeley.