notyourmonkey: (shrubbery!)
Have made it through another round of meetings and awkward small talk. Slept horribly last night, so any grand cavorting plans for this evening have been tabled in favor of drinking while packing, maybe some nice Thai for dinner, and if I finish up early enough, one last beer in the hotel bar. ::happy sigh::

Life Lessons From Brussels, In Bullet Point Form )

I've been watching the sun fade away over the rooftops while curled up in my hotel room (not, as you might have noticed, packing). The sky shades from deep blue to deep pink, with all sorts of interesting purples in between. It's a little chilly, but overall the weather's been exquisite for the last four days - high fifties to low seventies, not a cloud in the sky.

I hear it's been snowing in Oslo for four days straight. Can't win 'em all.

My flight leaves tomorrow at 9:30 am, and the cab comes a little after 6:30. I have mastered the irrational guilt and impulse to nevertheless paint the town red this evening, so I think I'll toddle off to dinner here in a minute. Me and the Kindle are MFEO traveling companions, and I think I may go have a drink with an umbrella in it to celebrate my last night here. It would be a fitting end to a really genuinely lovely stay in, if not my favorite city ever (actually, I'd be hard-pressed to pick one), a city for which I hold a great deal of affection.

Next stop: Oslo. For less than twenty-four hours. Thence to a train for seven or so hours, and thence to a boat where I will live for the next seven days.

(Note to self: when preparing to travel on a boat north of the Arctic Circle, perhaps The Terror is not one's best choice of reading material, hmmm? Maybe?)
notyourmonkey: (shrubbery!)
Bienvenue once again, mes amis, from an almost disturbingly modern hotel room! I kind of feel like I'm living in the Jetsons! I haven't slept! I am reminded once again of how much I hate my traveling companions! We're having a sightseeing get-together later this afternoon! Whee!

From my mid-atlantic handwritten ramble:

I glory in each and every inch (all five of them) of extra leg room in Economy Plus. Worth every damn dollar, especially when one's original seat was in the middle of five, all surrounding seats filled. All in all, I hate to jinx myself at how well everything is going.

Ran a little bit late last night, but at this point, it's an almost comforting ritual to stay up until some obscene hour, alternately packing and downloading stuff and yarn-plotting. This feels like as big a trip as I've taken in several years. (Maybe 'cause it is?)

Cut the timing close there at the end on a couple of things: downloading season 4 of SPN and yarn prep - selection, winding, needle decisions, etc. (1st thing forgotten: pattern for the shawl I'm in the middle of. this is what happens when you leave your regular travel portfolio at work.)

Ultimately I was only about ten minutes late out the door (which is practically early for me), everything accomplished except seeing Watchmen and taking out the recycling. Had a lovely cabbie who drove v. v. v. slowly, talked the economy and international travel, and accepted credit cards. Super-fast check-in, even with my Morally Dubious One Way Ticket. Security took forever, both other people's bags and mine. (Apparently I have a v. suspicious necklace?)

Arrived at the gate just as my boarding section was called, with just enough time to fill a water bottle and have a hurried conversation with my mother. (Looks like I'm seeing Phantom in Vegas. My inner seventh grader remains pleased.) Easy loading, plenty of time to settle, and I dozed off about thirty seconds after takeoff. Then Now it's beverage/dinner time, and that forty-five minutes of drifting is probably all the sleep I'll get, even after my strategic bulkhead positioning.

Most amusing thing so far? One of the in-flight movies is Twilight. Oh, the pasty Cullens.

/handwritten stuff

My prediction was right; no sleep, just a numb butt. The Kindle remains The Greatest Invention In The History Of Ever (and I remain amazed at how eliminating the "what books do I bring with me/do I have space to bring with me?" question almost entirely de-stressed the packing process for me). So. Much. Love. I have 211 books/stories with me! And should I decide I need something else, I can acquire it via the wee little mac, and my luggage doesn't get any heavier! That is amazing, says the girl who has on multiple occasions done rather foolish things in order to make weight limits often tipped over by indiscriminate book purchasing.

So now I'm waiting for people to return phone calls, debating whether to nap or not, and [stress ranting redacted].

Breathe. I'm in Brussels. I love this city. Must remember that.

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May 2013

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