Getting Ready

Only a week to go before we head off! I am very excited about going on a daytrip tomorrow to Daylesford, with Tim, Kristy, Toby and Dan. I haven't been there before, and there are plans afoot to visit The Chocolate Mill (hello vegan chocolates!) I love daytrips with these guys - the last one was tobogganing at Lake Mountain. 

Snacking & Reading

I resumed work today. It was extremely uncomfortable for the morning, but got a tiny bit easier in the afternoon. One glimmer of hope is that I'm allowed to work from home for a couple of days a week until we go on our big trip, which I think will make the 14 remaining working days more bearable. 

I did wish today that I was able to spend my afternoon eating strawberries, reading Fruit of the Lemon by Andrea Levy, and doing some research on Cuba. I miss the days of last week.

Now that I've finished Fruit of the Lemon, I'm going to start reading this. Also in the queue are this and this. 

Insomnia

It is now almost 1 am, and I should be fast asleep in preparation for my first day back at work tomorrow after almost three weeks off. Can I sleep though? No way Jose. 

Having suffered from sporadic bouts of the no-sleep disease over the years (even outside of my flirtation with gothiness in my teens), I thought by now I would have a surefire method of getting past it. I've tried focussing on positive things, focussing on nothing at all, reading. Nothing seems to work. 

Still, I have been productive. I have booked the first hotel of our big trip. It felt so good to actually book it and know that we are definitely going. I have to say the clincher with this particular hotel were the rather dignified looking dog chaps on the doona covers.......I'm sure I will sleep like a baby with them watching over me. 

You can take a virtual tour of the hotel here.

A little break.......

I can't believe it has been over a month since I last posted.......just goes to show how fast time can go when you are having a bad time. I've been having a terrible time at work which has been completely and utterly all-consuming (in a dark, evil and terrible way). Things are back on track now though after having almost 3 weeks away from the joint. I'm nervous about going back tomorrow, although Kristy has suggested that I reward myself with something at the end of the day. Sound advice. 

The Melbourne International Film Festival has also been on over the last few weeks. I managed to get to a few, and my favourites were: 

Johnny Mad Dog (France, shot in Liberia) 

Paper Cannot Wrap Up Embers (Cambodia) 

Gardens of the Night (USA)

Alone in Four Walls (Russia) 

The Debt (Israel) 

Jar City (Iceland) 

Cargo 200 (Russia)

I saw Cargo 200 yesterday afternoon. The absolute horror of the story, particularly given that it was based on true events, has made it very difficult to stop thinking about. I would definitely recommend it, even though I found it pretty traumatic. Here is a clip.

Prior to the film however, I did attend the Great Vegan Bake-Off & Launch of Vegan Indulgence . I entered Jaffa Cream Cheese Muffins. There were close to 40 entries, and everyone ate themselves into a sugar-induced stupor. Easy to do when you have vegan baked goods like this in front of you!