Halloween's here

Bangkok prepares for Halloween 2008

One of my favourite costumes: Son on Halloween 2006 (I thought it was last year but my records say not).

We gave untold small children in our condo nightmares that year.

Books galore!

I’ve been having a saga with my Blackberry charges… I went to Emporium Mall to sort it out yesterday. Two lovely staff at AIS have been soooo helpful and now I’m nearly sorted out.

I can’t go into Emporium without stopping by Kinokuniya bookshop – even when there isn’t a specific title I want. There is never a time that I don’t want to stop by any bookshop: bookshops are my church. And what luck, they were just setting up their sale table. They have periodic sales where the fiction tends to be 100 Thai Baht (£1.70ish) and the non-fiction paperbacks are 300 Baht. So I bought this bundle of goodies for just 1000 baht (look at it in Baht and it sounds much cheaper than the £17 in sterling!)

When I got home I got my second parcel of the week! How lucky am I? It was a free copy of ‘An Old Fashioned Arrangement’ by Susie Vereker. The blurb sounds great so I’m very excited about reading it. I shall report back.

Bangkok Residents Note: There's an email originating from the US Embassy going around that PAD are demonstrating today between Siam Paragon and Emporium, via the British Embassy, so if you go to the book sale... take care or maybe go tomorrow instead.

Research

I managed a rather wonderful 704 words yesterday, which for a tortoise writer like me, is pretty good.

I’ve had lots of help from a man I don’t know, called Peter. He has been answering my questions about a first edition book that I’ve never seen and cannot find an image of on the internet. The book ‘appears’ in my novel and I need to know what it looks like. He’s emailed back and forth enclosing answers and now images. He couldn’t have been more helpful. Thank you Peter.

My sister has asked a friend of the family if he can help with questions about local building/planning applications for a very small subplot and I’ve now emailed him.

My poor brother is still being bombarded with emails about complicated medical complaints - I think I'm maybe running down his reserves of goodwill.

But I’ve still not heard back from either of my ‘classics’ connections.

Nor have I had a reply to the antiquarian bookseller my sister put me on to. If there’s anyone out there who knows one that might be willing to answer a few questions, please can you email me?

And a biochemist? Anyone manage to put me in touch with one of them?

All contacts gratefully received.

Getting back to normal

Look at my new, gorgeous notebook. It’s a belated birthday present from the loveliest Leigh. It scores on so many levels:

• A gift
• A parcel in the real post
• A notebook
• Illustrated with classic Penguins
• Handbag sized
• With elastic to stop the pages scuffing (this is SO important. Readers, please don’t underestimate the necessity for this simple piece of stretchy design.

I haven’t done much writing these last few days because of Husband, half term, the holiday that wasn’t, one or two personal problems. Yesterday I sat down to do some and I managed only 150 or so. I’m not sure what happens next – well I know roughly. She’s got to react, but have I walled her into a corner with no-one to react to? Should I bring on a man with a gun? Perhaps that scary lady can email me again.

So today, I was a bit nervous of starting and finding I’d got nothing to say. The 150 odd words I did yesterday brings my total up to 15,000, so first I went off to add that to my sidebar so that I could glow in the words I have achieved. Then I did the rounds of the updated blogs, and well, bloody hell, she’s gone and done it again: Calistro has some fantastic news that’s given me another kick up the backside. So I’m off now to do some writing … whether I’ve got anything to say or not.

I shall report back. Please send me frightening emails if I don't.

UPDATE: 704 words

Needing nostalgia

I am in need of nostalgia.

Yesterday Son, Daughter and I went to lunch at the Londoner, where we reminisced about this holiday.

In the summer of 2004 we went on a cycling holiday to Suffolk under the illusion that Suffolk was flat. I think it may be flat in a car, but it's most certainly not flat on bicycles. We had the best time.

We cycled between 20 and 30 miles a day, and Daughter (that little shrimp on the left) was only eight!

Rrrrrrhhhhh

I’ve sometimes said on various invite-only blogs, that I envy the freedom of speech on private blogs. Of course I could just open myself up a private blog but it’s too easily done.

There have been times when I haven’t been able to say here – on my space – what I really wanted to say because the people who’ve caused the anxiety read my blog. And even when they’ve made me feel crap, I actually don't want to hurt them in return: I don’t seek vengeance for myself. (Upset my husband or my children, and I’ll post dog sh*t through your door - s’okay, I’ll only talk about it, I’ve never actually done it! However, I could tell you the people who’ve made me want to do it.) Upset me and I want to explode and shout and scream; not as revenge but as a total lack of control and then, when I cool down I'm mortified. I have, I think, finally learned not to act in haste, but to wait, wait, wait, wait and then, finally, wait a bit more. It’s not growing up that’s made me learn this, it’s because I really hate having to apologise for overreacting after I’ve cooled down.

I shouldn’t blog today but this is my space. There’s something bothering me that’s been posted, in response I believe, to something I’ve said, that’s put my nose out of joint. I guess one runs that risk if one’s blog is open but it’s still disappointing.

I am going to give the benefit of the doubt this time.

Phew

This half term holiday was never meant to be.

First Cambodia was cancelled; then we tried to go to Koh Samet but we couldn’t find any accommodation with vacancies (Thursday last week was a bank holiday so lots of people were having long weekends.) As a last resort we booked a hotel that I saw advertised in the complimentary magazine of Bangkok Airways on my return from Koh Chang.

We went down on Wednesday morning and were due to come back tomorrow. However, we came back yesterday…

Husband had been having some pain for the last week or so in the elbow of his right arm, this got worse and worse and crept up to his neck until Wednesday night he barely slept. And Thursday night he didn’t sleep. So Friday morning we packed up, and asked the hotel to please drive us back to Bangkok so Husband could go to the hospital.

He had an x-ray, which didn’t show anything wrong and then an MRI scan. We went back for the results today and his vertebrae 5&6 and 6&7 have discs protruding into the nerve. I have to say I’m relieved. I’m a doctor’s daughter and sister, which is a very hazardous thing to be: “a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing…”

So that’s been what’s stopping me writing these last few days – not just the report coming back. Now that I know Husband’s not got anything more sinister, I think I’ll be able to start writing again.