It’s Summer! Like a real Summer! So – the last few weekends have pretty much consisted of getting as much sun as possible.
Last weekend – we had a BBQ on the Sunday, during which at some point most people disappeared inside to watch some football game. While Caitlin & I took the much more sensible approach of sitting in the sun – and pretty much following the game by counting the screams of despair vs delight. It was quite easily done. I also took this oppurtunity to meet our upstairs neighbours – who were also having a BBQ. There was a general air of antagonism building between our flat and theirs over time – and I think I have mostly sorted that out. Except Chook, who refused to come out and meet them. But – for the most part, hopefully tension has been relieved. And our friends won’t look at us with scorn when “we” complain about our neighbours – with “our” justification being exactly the same behaviour which we exhibit ourselves.
And – this weekend just been, another sunny weekend. So – Saturday, headed to Fulham for an afternoon of croquet. And Jess & I made the final of the tournament. Very good at croquet are we. In fact, we only lost the final because we were being rushed for time by Gary – the croquet-man. But – other than being cheated out of the trophy – it was a good day over-all. I was on-call, and only had to go full-on-nerd once, pulling out the laptop at the picnic table during post-tournament drinks. And then – a lazy Sunday. Spent all day in the hammock, reading. And finally – I might have something approaching a tan. Which should last about 1.5 weeks.
Nothing else going on. Feeling some severe need to do something bigger – ie: other than work and weekend events. ie: travel. I need to travel. I’m pretty sure I’ve left it too late to do the Trans-Mongolian, North Korea, Trans-Siberian trip I was hoping for this year. I think last time I talked to an agent about it, and asked at what point I needed to get serious about booking stuff – she’d intimated that the deadline would be pretty soon – and that was a month or two ago. Might have to check on that.
So – instead, I’ve taken an extra step towards getting a motorbike license. Not a very big step – but a step. Just getting details on a training course, etc. But if I start doing something on that, at least I’ll have something to do – with the possibility of some road-trips serving as a light at the end of a tunnel. And a much nicer way of getting about London. Which will also serve as blocking the booze, which has got to be a good thing.
Speaking of the booze – on the underground returning from croquet on Saturday, it wasn’t even particularly late – but I was suddenly struck by all the people in stupors. I suddenly thought of Brave New World – and “soma”. And then wondered why I’d never drawn that blindingly obvious parallel before. Similar ‘drugs’ often occur in utopian/dystopian stories – but I’d always just thought the authors shared this premise to help the story. It really was only on Saturday night that I saw alcohol as a present-day soma. And that the drugs in all these books weren’t inventions of the author’s mind – but rather just a metaphor, or future equivalent, for the good old booze. It nearly scared me into sobriety. But then I got home, and had myself a nice calming relaxing glass of wine, and forgot all my cares and worries for a little while.
Anyway – my new month’s resolutions for July will be to do more reading, and to never drink alone. See if I can reverse this vicious spiral into stupidity I seem to have of drinking too much, killing brain cells, making a bad decision – such as drinking again, becoming more stupid, making it easier to make the bad decision, etc etc. I mean – who the hell decides to tentatively have a glass of wine to see if “the hair of the dog” will make them feel better – and then suddenly realise that there’s 3 empty bottles, and work tomorrow? A certifiable idiot – that’s who. No more.