Warmth, seven weeks in, reading again

Only a few days now until I'm off up north for my holiday. The forecast is for unseasonably warm weather while I'm there. It's going to be 27 degrees on the day I arrive - 10 degrees warmer than what I'll be leaving behind (which is itself relatively mild for a mid-winter's day in Melbourne).  I guess I'll have to fell my winter leg hair forest!

It's nearly seven weeks since I stopped shopping for shoes and clothes. Most days I don't even think about it (which I think is because I don't work near any clothes or shoe shops and there's only one on my way home from work - out of sight, out of mind). It feels kind of strange. Strange, but good. 

I'm enjoying Meghan Daum's The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion. I'm enjoying being in the habit of bedtime reading again too. I'm looking forward to getting into bed and reading a chapter (if I can stay awake that long). 

Lunch, more money, no nap

Fence cat thinking about jumping onto my head

I enjoyed hanging out with my friend and her two boys (9 and 6) today. We had pizza for lunch, which the boys generously declared the best pizza ever, followed by ice cream because the salami made the little one's mouth burn. They make me laugh. 

I dropped into work afterwards to pick up my salary review letter because I didn't want to wait until Monday. I was hoping for a pay rise, but not expecting one. I did get a small increase though, which I'm happy with. 

I came home and got into bed to read (Meghan Daum's Selfish Shallow and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on the Decision Not to Have Kids) and most likely to have a nap, but somehow I didn't end up napping, which I'm both pleased and disappointed about. Pleased because I'm trying to nap less, but disappointed because I love naps.

Off to Woods Point tomorrow!

November: day 28

This evening

I didn't feel like leaving the house today to go to the two Interrobang events I had tickets for, but I'm pleased I did. Cheryl Strayed, the one I was looking forward to most, was great: she was warm and funny and wise, as expected, and the banter between her and facilitator Meghan Daum was entertaining.  

But I think I enjoyed the second event with The New Yorker copy editor Mary Norris - aka the Comma Queen - even more. She was delightful, and not just because she looked and sounded like a cross between Marilla from Anne of Green Gables and the granny from Loony Tunes.  

She talked about the joy of finding errors in copy and I nearly jumped up and yelled, "Yes! Yes!", but, being an introvert, I merely nodded my head in agreement. Anybody who follows me on Twitter will know picking up mistakes on The Age website is one of my favourite hobbies*. I think I'll have to buy her book, Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen, which has been described as a 'refoir' - a cross between a reference book and a memoir. 

A Twitter friend, Jess, also attended the Cheryl Strayed event, which was at the Athenaeum Theatre - a sizeable venue.  We bought our tickets separately, but ended up sitting in the same row about five seats apart!  

* Now I feel pressured to vigorously proofread this post, but I'm not going to because I'm too tired to bother or care too much if it isn't perfect**.

** I feel as if I should apologise for mentioning how tired I am so often. It's boring. Sorry.