Public transport

I normally try and take the bus when I'm going somewhere. It works for most of central London, but then there's a point when you have to decided that it takes too long time. London is, after all, quite a large city, where traffic at rush hour can be absolutely horrible.

The main reasons for choosing the bus are four: 1) it is considerably cheaper than the tube (at least if you don't have to change, any new bus route you jump on will be charged again), 2) you get to see so much more of the town (and suddenly realizes how everything is connected), 3) it is easier to get out if you're trapped (a decent bus driver will let you off even if you're not at the bus stop, if stuck in traffic - on the tube you are basically very trapped) and 4) on the bus you have the chance to get some fresh air (rush hour on the tube in the middle of August is NOT a pleasant experience - especially if you're stuck with your nose in someone else's armpit (they should make separate carriages for short people!)).

Having said that: I just experienced a very unpleasant smell on the bus tonight. First of all you look around, trying to work out who it might be who hasn't washed for a week, or who didn't make it to the loo in time. Hopefully you then discover a clearly strange creature in a corner of the bus who can be blamed for the stench. The worrying thing is those occasions when there's no one obviously responsible. That's when you start to panic a bit, trying harder to locate the smell. And the fear sets in - have you sat in something (is that why there was a seat available?!?), and how do you get out of the situation?

(I have actually once sat on a wet seat. I freaked out completely, until I discreetly managed to sniff my fingers and realized that it was just coke. However, Tim and I have once seen a teenage girl wee on a seat. We didn't sit down for months after that.)

Who said that travelling on public transport was easy?

Home?

Today, for probably the first time, I actually recognised someone by the tube station. Yes, of course there's the absolutely ancient crooked lady, the guitar playing hobo and the aggressive dwarf (very short person/midget/vertically challenged man/whatever) who usually hang around the area (Tim's first encounter with the latter was when he was trying to find shelter from a rain storm, and headed for one of the phone booths, only to be met by said dwarf who was having a pee in there. I think that pretty much sums up the kind of person we are talking about.)

But it feels a little bit like this is home, when you actually recognise some other people in the neighbourhood. Or have I come to that stage in life when I have seen all faces, and they all start to blend into one?

Happy Skärstordag!

Comfort

Tim travels quite a bit, which is nice on those days when you fancy watching chick flicks, eating popcorn for dinner and having the bed to yourself. But it is, of course, less nice all the other days.

But then there are those little things which makes it a bit easier. Like being given a box of chocolates from Beligum.

They are made with love. Aaaah.... (Obviously only bought because Tim was a road trip with his boss, and she made him, but still!) And who can resist that, then the box contains lovely little pieces like this one:

Diamonds might be a girl's best friend, but coffee and chocolate are pretty close to the top too.

Just add to the burden

I am panicking quite badly. This is the most stressful week in a long time (or at least since my last deadline, or possibly my doctoral defence). I am finishing a post doc application, a job application, a serious task for a job interview, a book review and two (long overdue) articles. So, I am trying to calm down by listening to Comforting sounds, by Mew. It is for some reason a strangely comforting song. And I am such a sucker for songs that build up to a massive string crescendo!

Itsy bitsy...

While Scandinavia is suffering from a serious cold, and is buried under tons of snow* we are moving toward a new spider season. Last night, as we were on our way to bed, Tim suddenly told me not to go in to the bedroom. Did I obey him? Of course I didn't! But he had discovered a wolf spider. My hero managed to trap it under a glass (yes, he is far too nice - I would have crushed under a book/newspaper/whatever was close and handy**) and get it out. But I seriously freaked out! Tim tried to calm me down, by saying that at least I didn't have to worry about being bitten. Wrong thing to say - at least when the emphasis is on 'you' rather than 'bitten'. I.e. he normally gets bitten by them. This was followed by a story of how he just to be bitten as a kid, and I remembered the HUGE one I once saw back in Gloucestershire (too big to fit under a glass!), and Tim tried to calm me down again by telling me about all the beasts his Aussie mate was bitten by as a kid. Not helpful! I will from now on sleep on the sofa and never enter the bedroom again...

*While this seems to annoy all my scandi friends and family who desperately long for some sun and spring - suckers! - it has actually spiced up my life. 1) I get to feel like a live in the tropics (one can always dream) and in a very civilized country that has (at least for the moment) working public transport. 2) Mum has changed her normal topic of conversation from "What did you have for dinner? We had..." to "You will not believe how long it took me to get in to/home from work today" and "We have had to shovel snow xx times today". Variation is a blessing!

**Yes, once in my youth I trapped an enormous bug in the middle of a library book. I never finished reading it (or opened it), but returned the book the following day. I still feel just a little bit bad about it.

Please call more often

*ring, ring*

-Hello?
-Good afternoon. Is doctor B there?
-Which one?

Hahahahaha! Oh, that feels good. (And this, folks, is probably the only use I will ever get of that title, so I am bloody well going to enjoy it!)

Numbers - gaaah!

Less of both a rise and a shine today. So tired I can barely remember my own name. My head was buzzing with job, good sentences ("have to remember that one, it'll be great in the introduction") and general hormones (endorphins?) last night, which made me unable to fall asleep even though my body wanted nothing more. Have spent the ENTIRE day trying to fill out forms, making budgets and trying to work out much I should earn (What does one earn? I have definitely been out of work for too long!), and how much I should add for the university's overhead expenses. It is a jungle out there, I tell you! Also, there's a reason why I'm in humanities, and why I got my only poor grade in maths. This is not down my alley! I just feel like I'm wasting the time that should have been spent writing the project description.