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 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 ;-)

[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.