blueblanketblog

my not-so-temporary blog, i guess

saturday, october 20

spree

I have lost all self-control at the Waterstone's in Glasgow. I know, Waterstone's is a big UK chain, and I generally try not to buy stuff at chains, but it had such a huge selection of stuff that I hadn't seen or heard of that, well. One of them is out of print in the States anyway.

So here's my list:

Junk Mail, Will Self (out of print in the US)
Death and the Penguin, Andrey Kurkov (not yet quite published in the US, or maybe just barely)
The Melancholy of Resistance, Laszlo Krasznahorkai (published in the US, but Andrew the Waterstone's guy recommended it, and he seemed to have great recommendations)
253, Geoff Ryman (supposedly in print in the US, but I'd never seen it before)
Exploits & Opinions of Doctor Faustroll, Pataphysician : A Neo-Scientific Novel, Alfred Jarry (in print in the US, but I'd never seen it before -- recommended by Andrew, plus I'd been meaning to read this)
Too Loud a Solitude, Bohumil Hrabal (in print in the US, but I'd never seen it before -- recommended by Andrew)

.: 6:09 AM .:

friday, october 19

oh yeah

Books to anticipate -- this new one by Will Self called Feeding Frenzy. Sadly, the book (and his associated book tour) will come out after I leave the country. So I hope he tours the states.

.: 11:59 AM .:

better

All coffeeed up. Went to a Waterstone's (which was much better than the ones in Edinburgh), got a few book recommendations off the stuff on the shelves, ate at The Ubiquitous Chip (a lovely restaurant in the West End), and sloooowly browsed through the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art. I'm now feeling much happier, thanks.

.: 11:48 AM .:

in glasgow

I am premenstrual, I think. All I feel is cold, and lonely. And I know it's all chemical, because I know that it's that time of the month. But it sucks, nevertheless.

Making it worse is that I saw Intimacy last night, a movie based on a collection of short stories by Hanif Kureishi. The theme: loneliness.

But there are certain good things about this feeling, this feeling of emptiness and need for interaction. I am feeling achy pangs for all sorts of things -- for writing, for communication, for interaction -- things I need to get back to eventually. This is good. I will be ready by the end of the month. Ready to go back to that city that has grown, in my mind, to represent all the awfulness that has happened to me in my life.

.: 5:53 AM .:

wednesday, october 17

in dundee

Going to Glasgow tomorrow. People do drink whisky here, in wee bits that add up to quite a lot. St. Andrews is pretty. Being separated by an ocean is good, because otherwise, I would be volunteering for all sorts of work I shouldn't do, because I need a break, for sanity.

Over and out.

.: 7:36 PM .:

tuesday, october 16

an ocean away

Water, and distance, separates me from both the anthrax scares of my home country, and from the "terror wars" of Afghanistan. It is weird, hearing about everything from remote, and being a few time zones off everyone.

Hearing about anthrax is especially weird, just because one of the papers I worked on with Andy was about bioterrorism and stuff. If this were last year, I would be completely unafraid of anthrax, in the same way that I was completely unafraid of flying, right after the World Trade Center stuff. But now I'll be working in a Big Government Office (though one of the smaller side buildings), so it feels as if my risk is higher, somehow. Still, I'm not too worried. Because what are the chances, right?

Instead, I will try to enjoy this vacation, my first long vacation in many years, and the last long vacation I'll have for many years to come. Today, I go to Holyrood Palace, and then David (my friend Paula's husband) drives us to Dundee, where his mother lives. We will have dinner, sleep, and then poke about Dundee. Then David will drop me off at Glasgow on Wednesday night, where I'll stay for a few days, again to poke around. It should be nice, and relaxing. Then I'll bus back to Edinburgh on Saturday, so that I can see Paula when she gets back from the United States on Sunday.

.: 7:26 AM .:

monday, october 15

vindicate me!

Ur, I mean vindicate Judge G. The Supreme Court just granted cert on this Jehovah's Witness case I worked on for Judge G. Judge G was in the dissent. C'mon, Court, reverse this baby and vindicate my judge!!!!