Well, I think that Project Don't-Die-In-Sydney can reasonably be called a success, despite how mashed my feet and calves feel right now.

( Short version: I think I walked about 15km this weekend, and I'm still mobile. Long version: Click here. )

To what purpose?: footsore

Hey! I'm still in Sydney, and it's been great fun so far. The whole city is just full of pilgrims, everywhere you go; the volunteers and most of the locals seem amazingly ok with it, too! I think if I lived here I'd have left for the week.

Tally so far: saw the top of the Popemobile for approx. 5.5 seconds as it zoomed past (oh, *totally* worth the five hours we spent waiting for it), been to Mass three times, had one incredibly scary catechesis with terrifying retro mantilla-wearing Marians and one awesome one with the local Augustinian parish (guess which one I'm going back to today, go on), failed to eat three out of three main meals and two out of three lunches (fortunately they supply us with tons of snacks and fruit to go with the main courses, so I haven't been too hungry!), walked a surprisingly large number of miles, talked to all sorts of people, given myself a minor sunburn while distracted for ten minutes in the sun (I put suncream on after the first ten minutes, but apparently that was enough), met three or four of the Australians who came to the last Augustinian gathering in Pavia two summers ago, alternately baked and frozen in the bizarre Australian weather, and generally: HAVING LOTS OF FUN.

Project Don't Die In Sydney seems to have been surprisingly effective - I'm still desperately slow at walking around places, and I can't stand in one place for long, but my feet are still working despite all the walking I've done. The long walk for the vigil (9km, 5.5 miles) doesn't scare me nearly as much. Also, everyone else in the group has been great about it all - on Tuesday we had a long wait in an incredibly slowly-moving queue, so I kept sitting down on the floor and the pavement and, well, everywhere, and there were always dozens of hanfs to help me up. While we were walking, I would fall behind and catch up when they stopped to regroup, but after the first half-hour or so, someone else always stayed with me while I plodded along (assignment in group game of "what animal is everyone?": tortoise). And no one has said anything about it at all. I'm really grateful for it, too; it's pretty miserable dragging along behind all the time.

Internet is strictly limited - the room's only open between 6am and 9am! But I woke up at 6 this morning, too stiff to get back to sleep on the floor, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to get some computer time in. Hope everything is going well back in LJ-land?

To what purpose?: cheerful

IN AUSTRALIA STOP "ENJOYING" JETLAG STOP SO FAR FREAKISHLY LIKE ENGLAND ONLY WITH TROPICAL VEGETATION STOP MAY POSSIBLY HAVE PHOTOS LATER ON STOP CATCH YOU ALL LATER MESSAGE ENDS

I'm off to Australia! Catch you all in a couple of weeks, and don't let anyone break the Internets while I'm gone...

To what purpose?: excited

HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS, I'M GOING TO AUSTRALIA IN FOUR DAYS

To what purpose?: rushed

Today: VERY LONG. Things done: lots.

To what purpose?: rushed

I sort of wanted to get this completely written up before I go to Australia, but I just finished book 79, so I'm thinking that probably won't happen... In the meantime, have the next batch:

( 31. A Door Into Ocean - Joan Slonczewski ) this is a book that's stuck with me; I want to re-read it, and think some more about the issues.

To what purpose?: calm

"Tenors and basses, you sing this bit again; ladies, you'll give us an artistic impression of your chords."

To what purpose?: creative

Poll #1200481 standards of government
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

pick:

To what purpose?: cheerful

I'd scheduled today in rather tighter than I'd intended, but I also had stupendous luck, and everything came out fine! Makes up for all the times I just miss the bus or the chain falls off my bike or I oversleep by two hours (not that that happened on Friday or anything), I suppose.

So, ( today )

*( my thoughts on Iron Man )

PS Jason Momoa and Joe Flanigan: 12-year-old BFFs y/n?

To what purpose?: cheerful

I made it home in just under thirty minutes this evening! I am *very* impressed with myself - and at this point I can now officially get myself to work and back in less time than it takes to go by bus. Although that doesn't include the time I spend changing into cycling clothes, extra showering, and increased tendency to flop as soon as I get home *g*. It seems as though even cycling reealllllyyyy slllloooowwwwwwwwlllyy is faster than getting off and walking; that's what I did tonight, kept going down and down the gears until I could manage the steeper sections, and plodded along for longer between breaks, and it really does seem to speed things up. It feels totally counter-intuitive when I'm doing it, though! I'm sure that the real cyclists on my flist could be pretty scornful about my progress *g* (and certainly the three vehicles that shouted inaudible insults at me this evening would agree), but I've cut my journey down to nearly half what it was, and pushing myself tonight has reminded me that my legs aren't this wobbly usually; I really am fitter and faster than I was two months ago. Yay for small gains!

Additionally: I have fully backed-up my computer (in two places, and hopefully soon in three), and upgraded my Ubuntu installation without being eaten by sharks (what I love about that strip is how true it is *g*), and put a load more of my music onto my mp3 player. Last weekend wasn't very exciting, but I did a lot of admin things that really needed doing, which is something. My laundry mountain is about to eat my room, however, so that's something to tackle tomorrow.

Also, I watched Alexander Nevsky, which was awesome. It's like a cross between Cecil B DeMille and a Monty Python historical, down to the people running around in ridiculous beards; I honestly spent the first half-hour thinking that various characters were being played by Graham Chapman or Terry Jones. Some of it is actually quite good as film, but that was really only a bonus on top of the sheer over-the-top ridiculousness of it all. The soundtrack (which was actually what I watched it for - we're doing the cantata that Prokofiev adapted from the music he wrote for the film), on the other hand, was pretty dreadful *g* - according to Wiki, Stalin forced them to release the film in a hurry, and the sound never got done properly... I'm actually tempted to buy this, if I can find a cheap copy somewhere *g*.

And a weekend of Nevsky ahead, in fact; I'd almost forgotten! Concert on Saturday, matinee on Sunday, and I need to go and look up times for Indiana Jones to see if we can get to see it after the concert on Sunday.

To what purpose?: chipper

If you haven't already voted in the LJ User Rep elections, I'd encourage you to do so; This links to statements from all the candidates, and this post by penknife talks about how the voting system works.

I want everyone to vote according to their own opinion, but I'd also like to point out that jameth and a number of his supporters have been being absolute shits to people who disagree with him.

Among other things, he encouraged his supporters to use rapidly flashing icons with the oh-so-friendly slogan "seizure the moment". When rydra_wong, among others, pointed out (in her own journal) that this was a pretty offensive act and could potentially harm actual people (such as rydra_wong herself, since she is mildly epileptic), multiple jameth supporters turned up on her journal, left unpleasant comments, posted there with rapidly flashing "seizure the moment" icons even though she'd said *in the post* that they could potentially harm her, and then told her that it's her own fault if the flashing icons they posted on her journal did her harm. jameth himself commented on the post, mocking her. For reference, here's a Wired article about damage caused by similar graphics posted on an epilepsy discussion board a few months ago. rydra_wong has been hit with so much trolling as a result of this (not especially violent) post that she's locked her entire journal down, at least for now.

jameth also counts among his friends and supporters at least one openly anti-semitic person

For more links on all sorts of election-related things, this is a good starting point.

For the record, I voted for legomymalfoy, because I liked her statement and a number of people whose opinions I respect endorsed her. She has received death threats to try and make her step down. This is ridiculous.

Voting closes at 9:00 p.m. PDT Thursday, May 29, 2008 - that's about seven hours from now, so vote now if you're going to. Even if you don't especially care, or think that LJ won't pay any attention to this rep (quite probably true), you might still have an opinion on who *you* want to see as the public face of LJ's users. I know for sure I don't want it to be jameth.

To what purpose?: angry

( 22. Happy are the Clean of Heart - Andrew Greeley ) Jolly good mystery novels, plus I *really* like the way Greeley handles and includes the Catholic elements. His theology is something I find very satisfying.

To what purpose?: cheerful

Catchup booklog part 2: I don't think I'm even updating as fast as I read... *flails along after the pile of books*

( 11. Bride Leads the Chalet School - Elinor M Brent-Dyer ) I do so enjoy these, despite occasional twinges of ideological discomfort. Still my favourite school series!

To what purpose?: apathetic

- My financial woes are much reduced. Only a week to go, and I'm still 200 quid in the clear; if I'm reasonably sensible, it shouldn't get that bad again.

- Work is pretty good lately; the other work we've taken on is still with us, and it's generally much more straightforward than our usual, which makes for a nice change of pace. However, this does of course mean that things are calmer and therefore more susceptible to outbreaks of ( Office Politics ) It would be pretty funny if I wasn't in the middle of it; I expect The Office would make it look hilarious.

- Speaking of work, I had this awesome dream the other week where I was at work, except that instead of dealing with tax records we were somehow a kind of time-travel agency. Like, we kept track of people's timelines and when they'd travelled to which time, and stuff. In the dream, I really really wanted to see my time-travel history but I wasn't allowed, which is really really clearly a reflection of my actual desire to see my tax record (which is of course forbidden because I could totally edit it *g* - you get, like, escorted permanently off the premises if you try). This is probably the least-subtle dream message I have ever received.

- I'm still ( cycling )

- Choir's been nice and peaceful, but we're about to explode into ( CONCERTS )

- We've been staging ( a bloodless coup at church, muahahaha )

I've been so bad at updating lately; I never seem to have time for anything except reading my flist. I draft dozens of witty and incisive (hah) posts in my head, and then never get them typed up. See what you have lost! OH THE TRAGEDY *g* But things are not at all bad right now, so yay.

To what purpose?: cheerful

Inspired by trinityofone's example, I bring the first installment of Catchup Booklog...

( 1. Watching the English - Kate Fox ) I'd be fascinated to read a set of these for different cultures, if they were done this well; really excellent. And also totally hilarious!

To what purpose?: chipper

It's been a bit of an up-and-down week, really. Friday was pretty terrible, I spent almost the whole day in a mood of festering rage. But other than that, not so bad. We're back at choir; singing Alexander Nevsky and, bizarrely enough, the 1812 Overture *g*. It was fun, even though I wasn't looking forward to getting back into the grind. Wednesday rehearsals really cut the week up. Also: met Carly Joseph from school on the bus. I haven't seen her in *years*, so we spent the journey swapping news of our almost entirely non-overlapping friendship groups. She is apparently an accountant, which has to win the prize for "most unexpected career of our year-group" hands-down.

My dreams remain surreal - I think it's an effect of my back still sometimes aching at night, keeping me nearer the surface so I remember more. Normally the dreams I remember are fairly boring and linear, but this stuff is crazed. Last Wednesday was particularly, um, interesting, as I kept being hit by mini-flashbacks during the morning of some really freakish products of my subconscious *g*. That thing worries me, I tell you.

My back also worries me a bit; I'm hoping it's just that I'm still recovering from the pulled muscle, but it's been aching more than usual. I was wondering at the end of last week whether the cycling had helped with it, because after three days of buses it was burning something fierce; I wasn't sure I was going to make it to the end of Friday, but I ended up walking around briskly for the whole of lunch, and it was ok after that. It was hurting again a bit today, though nowhere near as badly - should it be, after nearly two weeks? *crosses fingers and is Very Careful* I really can't afford not to be able to sit down.

Friday was bad because I was overtired, but also because I had ( yet another Money Crisis )

Other than that... things aren't too bad. Really. The new work we're doing is getting to the point where I understand what I'm doing enough of the time that I'm not all flaily in my head; I still have queries, but the basics are pretty solid now. My colleagues are pretty cool, and we seem to have "gelled" a bit more as a group, which has been fun. Choir was good, and it was nice seeing everyone again. The weather has been pretty if not gorgeous, and this evening was really pleasant. Cycling is eating into my free time, but podfic is awesome and I'm not as exhausted as I was expecting to be. I talked to the Confirmation group again (along with various other people) about what my faith means to me and the ministries I'm involved in, and I had some good questions and other people referred back to things I'd said, which means they were listening! :) Roleplaying was fun, as usual. Next weekend is the big preparation meet-up for (most of) those of us who are going to Sydney, and it's going to be good times. Today I bought delicious apples, and tomorrow I will eat some. For dinner I had icecream, tinned pineapple chunks, and raspberries, and it was reeeeeeeeeeally nice. I think that's ten good things? To make up for the whining, I hope :)

Now I'm going to go and stand under our awesome shower, and then I will go to bed. Yes. Tell me about things that make you happy right now? That will give me something cheerful to read when I stagger out of bed in the morning.

PS: in: 0810 - 0835 (with more wind than usual). Out: 17.45 - 18.30, better than I expected and I actually got a lot further without having to rest, mostly by playing with gears a lot more than usual. Times holding more-or-less steady so far.

To what purpose?: sleepy

in: 06.10 - 06.40
out: 15.55 - 16.50

Five minutes longer getting in, ten minutes longer going home. I walked rather more of it, today, so that's not too surprising.

It was raining when I started home, but despite the taxi-driver who cut directly in front of me to make his left-turn, I'm still not dead. Tomorrow's choir, so no bike. I'm thinking about Thursday, because it's not that late a finish, so I'll see how I feel tomorrow night.

I don't want to jinx it *g*, but I've not been doing too badly with my "cycling to work" plan. I've not been having the motivation problems I had last time I tried - I mean, I don't exactly go "WOO CYCLING TIME" but I don't keep trying to find ways out of it either. And in the way of all good plans, it also works with my other current projects, namely Project Don't Spend Any Money (an attempt to prevent my bank sending me any more nasty letters or phone messages), and Project Don't Die In Sydney (the WYD finishes off with a 9km pilgrimage walk to the site for the overnight Vigil and closing Mass; I'm pretty sure I can't do that right now, and I'm certain I can't keep up with any actual normal person while trying, so I need to improve my fitness at least a little).

In any case - I'm managing to cycle a couple of times a week, so far. Calculating out the route, it's just about a six mile round-trip, dropping a couple of hundred metres feet elevation on the way in and obviously picking it up again on the way home. If I were any kind of cyclist at all, I'd expect that to take, oh, forty? forty-five? minutes? At the moment, uh, not so much. I'm going to try and keep track of my times on LJ, so I can see whether I'm (hopefully) improving.

Today:
dep. 0620
arr. 0645

dep. 1555
arr. 1640

I got up about the same time as usual, perhaps a little late, and was at my desk only about fifteen minutes late; that isn't too bad (and it might have been a little quicker if a) my shower hadn't burned out with a loud bang while I was using it, and b) the other woman who came into the changing room had gone out quicker rather than deciding to investigate the noise of me dripping in the cubicle by opening the door *g*). Coming home is the big deal; on the bus, desk to door takes just about thirty minutes at my usual time, whereas today was a good cycling day and still three-quarters of an hour (it's usually closer to an hour). I've actually discovered that podfic is an *enormous* help with the trip home; music just doesn't cut it when I'm grinding sloooooowly up hills, whereas a story holds my attention a lot better and makes the journey, if not enjoyable, at least not too boring.

Tomorrow will be tougher, because the second day in a row always is *g*, but I don't think I'm cycling again this week (I don't after choir, because I'm knackered then anyway, let alone starting the whole uphill route at half nine at night, it's just more than I need, and on Fridays I usually hitch a lift with my mother after her treatment - oh, and Thursday's SFRG, so I'll be later than usual again). I'm aiming for two to three times a week right now, because I think that's a figure I can sustain over the longer term. And I do actually enjoy the *idea* of cycling, as well as some of the practice, which really helps with keeping going at it. Ideologically, it's something I want to do.

I've been eating better lately, too - porridge when I get into work, quite a bit more fruit-and-veg... Trying to revolutionise myself never works, and I'm unhappy with the whole concept (let alone the science) of "dieting", but I *like* apples and carrot sticks and baby sweetcorn, so eating them isn't any kind of hardship *g*. I had my first crisps today since, ooh, must be *last* Monday, and I hadn't actually missed them that much (although they were still deliciously evil, I swear Sainsburys mix crack cocaine into the cheese-flavoured coating...). So I'm trying to make it more of an active thing, anyway; do stuff I enjoy, eat things I like, rather than going "DO NOT EAT ANYTHING TASTY, SUFFER SUFFER SUFFER". I need to do something, though; I just had another tipping point where suddenly none of my clothes fit any more except the ones that were previously hugely baggy. Also my dad cornered me for yet another round of BUT I'M SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU YOU EAT TOO MUCH AND TOO BADLY AND ARE OBESE AND WILL DIE AT THIRTY which I always hate and makes me want to go away and defiantly eat ice-cream (and possibly become an alcoholic or something just to show that I'm not so bad now *g*), and I just can't hack that again any time soon. I was planning on starting cycling again then anyway (I'd already packed my bags for it and everything), but it's another inducement.

To what purpose?: calm

So, uh, yeah. I pulled something in my back on Wednesday (while, of all stupid things, trying to stretch out the stiffness from having slept too long in one position). ( So things happened, my mother laughed a lot and now my co-workers think I'm into pain. )

Speaking of crazy notions, I also had to try and persuade one of the managers that Douglas Coupland's Microserfs wasn't chicklit (...which conclusion he had drawn on the admittedly valid basis that the blurbs on the cover were from Cosmopolitan and Elle). I still don't know why they'd pick those magazines for a book that geeky, although it did make me realise that actually Coupland is generally pretty gender-neutral for a geek author. Also, the book is still awesome, which I was pleased to discover; it's a few years since I read it, back when I was on jury service.

I was also going to talk about the mad platonic crush I've developed on my perpetually cheerful colleague (to be known henceforth as the Jolly Grey Giant), but I'm too disturbed by the section of my bizarre dreams last night that featured us walking hand-in-hand through a SFF convention / folk festival / detective story. WHY HALO THAR SUBCONSCIOUS, YOU FRIGHTEN ME.

To what purpose?: weird