I am alive! I am sure my dedicated fanbase in, you know...Russia...have been very worried about my lack of updates. I'm just sure of it.
Well, here I am, finally on half-term holiday. I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, this has been the helfterm from hell. Work has been, without exaggerating, absolutely life-draining. As is my unfortunate annual tradition, I became ill and missed work. Unlike other years, I was off for 3 days last week and spent most of those 72 hours asleep and/or struggling to breathe. There has been so much pressure put on us at work, from all sides, that it has worn everyone down. Utterly and completely has taken our souls, violently, from our bodies. Well...I have a week to recover and get ready for the next halfterm. Oh joy.
There have been several noteworthy occasions over the past 8 weeks that I just haven't had the time to record. I went to the Warner Bro's Studio Tour where Harry Potter was filmed with Mary and Hannah as a late birthday gift. It was the best 4 hours that I have spent in a long time. The studio is divided up into several lots and, apart from a slightly guided tour at the beginning, it is really wander-and-experience on your own....loved it! Took a ridiculous amount of pictures and had an amazing time. I'd love to go back and see everything again.
Last weekend, I came to Norway to celebrate my brother-in-law's 30th birthday. My sister and I bought him a bottle of 30-year-old whiskey for his 30th birthday and I had to come to help take credit for it. I've told all the other important men in my life to expect the same gift on their 30th birthdays as it is one of my better ideas (if I can get away with saying that). I arrived Friday night and left again on Sunday and it was absolutely awesome. I saw all of Kristian's friends, met some new people and took over 400 pictures. Everything from Kristian opening his whiskey to beer pong to stacking red solo cups all over the birthday boy at 5AM. I was completely drained for work this last week, but it was definitely worth it.
I have made the decision to stay in England for Christmas this year. It's going to be very strange for me, being my first Christmas away from home, but I am excited to spend it with my English 'crew' as it were. I will definitely miss my family, the snow, and all those Christmas traditions that I have lived with for the past 25 years but I am excited to start some of my own. I am determined to continue with my eggnog ban and plan to spread the word to the English. They just need to know--it is that important. It is strange to think that I won't see my parents for almost a year and I definitely would have been much more upset when I left this summer, had I realized it then. School ends late for Christmas holiday this year and that would mean travelling through Heathrow on the busiest weekend of the year. Busiest weekend of the year = ridiculously expensive plane tickets = my first Christmas on the European side of the Atlantic. But, hey, spending Christmas in England, New Year's Eve in Norway and a holiday quickly following in February....not such a bad deal after all. I say that now. When I wake up to a green Christmas morning on December 25th, I might be singing from a different song sheet.
Thus far on my holiday, I have eaten food, walked the dog, been dragged by said dog, covered in drool from aforementioned dog, cooked and relaxed...a lot. I'm going back to England on Thursday night, just in time to wind down my holiday and start counting the days until Christmas break. Not that I would ever do that.
So, let's see. Work, Harry Potter studios, Kristian's birthday, Tanja (the dog) drooling, being introduced as a Canadian terrorist at the pub and getting ill...yep, that covers the last 8 weeks. I sincerely hope that it won't be another 8 before I update on here again. I have my loyal, dedicated and amazing readers to think of....all 6 of them.
