In reply to: http://rhiaro.co.uk/2019/11/internet
The internet went out for 11 hours today and I wrote 3,414 words. Still not sure about a pattern.
The internet went out for about an hour yesterday, and besides some time spent trying to debug the problem I wrote about 600 words before it came back on. There's a lesson here but I can't quite place it...
It's blustery and overcast and a bit rainy, and forecast to be like this all week. I love it because I can hear the sea more clearly, and my flat is super cosy and I don't feel bad about not going on giant beach walk adventures. But I also still have the dog and he gives no shits about the weather and wants out. Probably good for me.
My host's doggo is sleeping over at mine tonight cos their baby is sick and they need to be in a different town. We went for a walk on the beach and he's so fast for such a tiny thing and made me run. Tomorrow we're going to climb a hill. I suspect I might end up with him for the rest of the week which is AWESOME
Week in review: 11 - 17 Nov
- Walked on the beach in Obzor. Rested. Wrote.
- Did a little editorial/admin work on the DID spec and use cases.
- Did some work on the OCDS Data Review Tool and Co-op improvement team stuff.
- Fell behind on nanowrimo but caught up again at the last minute. Ish. Spent way too much time reading all of wikipedia.
- Walked 10 miles from Kara Dere beach to Obzor with a detour over the Sv Atanas headland.
- Finished Better Than Us, Bojack Horseman, and caught up with the Good Place.
- It was foggy all weekend so I stayed home and cooked cabbage and that was nice.
My new place has a smart TV with Netflix, but I think it must also be connected to the NaNoWriMo API or something..... it won't connect, even when the TV's network connection is fine, netflix isn't blocked on other devices on the same network, YouTube and Amazon Video connect fine... Netflix won't even let me log in, just says there is a problem. So obviously it knows my wordcount is under.
The moon kept waking me up last night. It's almost full, and was blazing through my window with the light of a thousand suns. Then I kept having moon-related dreams.
I laid in bed for like 45 minutes feeling bad about not getting up and writing and also waking up too late and just letting the day waste away and anyway it turns out I can't read my watch and it's an hour earlier than I thought \o/ So yes everything is going according to plan.
One of the most useful skills I gained during my PhD was how to use an espresso machine.
The night train from Sofia to Varna
I took the night train from Sofia to Varna. I'd read good things (it's amazing, super clean and comfortable, friendly staff) and heard bad things (you'll get robbed, Bulgarian trains are awful). One thing I was sure of is that it's slower than the bus. But overnight, that just meant I actually had the potential get enough sleep before I arrived.
I ended up with the help of a local to buy the ticket, which I left til the last minute. She strongly suggested that I buy business class so I would have a sleeper cabin to myself. Otherwise, they're a three-bunk deal shared with strangers. The price was the same as a bus ticket (~€25) so what the heck.
There are also first and second class seats for sale. Through the window I saw them and they looked plenty comfortable enough for me, tiny person, expert bus sleeper, to have been more than happy with. But having a cabin to myself was nice too.
I bought the ticket online at bdz.bg which was fairly painless. The later train I wanted said it was sold out of business class tickets, so I got a slightly earlier one. The site gives you 15 minutes to fill in all the details and pay. I timed out a few times, and when I went round again it said business class was sold out on the other train too.. I just let it time out again and try again and eventually it worked. My new local friend printed the ticket for me. The instructions about that are ambiguous, so better to be on the safe side.
I got to Sofia Central station about 40 minutes before departure (not on purpose, I was just extra efficient). The station has clear signs (as long as you can recognise Bulgarian place names in Cyrillic) and I found my train already on platform 6. The ticket had my coach and berth number on. When I boarded a member of staff took my paper ticket, cross checked some lists, and told me to go to berth 81 (which is not what my ticket said). She didn't speak much English, but was very friendly and enthusiastic with the words she did know.
The train wasn't super busy, but it wasn't deserted either. Plenty of people from all walks of life seemed to be entering sleeper cabins or settling into seats.
Berth 81 turned out to be a triple bunk room. There was a sink, and various different lights, and temperature control, and high up storage, and a little cupboard. I wasn't sure if this meant other people would be joining me after all. Oh well. I settled into the bottom bunk (as instructed) with my kindle.
About ten minutes later the train lady knocked on the door and I got out of the way from the bunk. She hoisted the middle bunk against the wall, so I could now sit upright on the lower one. "Business!" she beamed, and left. I see.
The train trundled along throughout the night. There were lots of stops, some very short, and some where it sat in a station for a while. There were no announcements. The bed was comfortable, and I slept well in between being woken up by irregular train movements, or sudden station light. Every time I woke up and looked out of the window at the passing night, and felt the rumble of the train, I was filled with joy and a feeling of adventure; this is exactly what I want my life to be like. The feeling encapsulated by night trains.
We arrived in Varna about half an hour late. Fifteen minutes or so before arrival, the train lady knocked on my door again (I was already up, having heard knocking on the doors of my neighbouring berths getting closer and closer). She told me "Varna!" and returned my printed ticket. As we pulled into the station, and the sun was rising, there was finally a tannoy announcement, presumably because the train was terminating.
After two days of buses, arrived in Bulgaria as planned in time to not have to cross any borders around brex- oh they moved it again. To correspond exactly with my next UK visit. Again.
Week in review: 21 - 27 October
- Trained back from Edinburgh to Lincolnshire (well, Nottinghamshire, then Mum picked me up and drove me the rest of the way, thanks Mum).
- Went to Boston with Mum, and ran some errands, and Gregg's vegan sausage rolls.
- Went to Brighton for two nights with Mum, to visit Dave and Juri! Ate lots of Japanese food, and other good things. Didn't think too hard about how much that trip cost. Procured a waistcoat for Kit's wedding.
- My sister showed up for the weekend. We went to the beach at Skegness again and ate chips and flew kites. I bought shoes for Kit's wedding!
- Booked last minute tickets out of the UK, which cost more than they should have. Packed. My new backpack still hasn't been shipped.
- Caught a cold.
TFW a service you sign up for asks you for 'title' and you put 'Dr' and then it goes ahead and addresses you on every screen as 'Miss' anyway. Why bother even asking? Did it even store that first form?
And then you have to phone them to get it changed. I mean.
Weeks in review: 7 - 20 Oct
- Resting and running in Stickford. Time in Nottingham and Skegness.
- To Sheffield, then Wortley Hall for ODS Co-op coworking and training from The Hum.
- Straight up to Edinburgh for the weekend, then Falkirk.
- Co-working and touristing and eating in Stirling.
- Back to Edinburgh for co-working and hanging with friends and catching up with everyone I ever knew (or so it felt).
- Finished The Other Wind, started The Lathe of Heaven.
- Watched more of Better Than Us, and Steven Universe.
- Played more boardgames than normal.
- Acquired some clothes (shirt, suit jacket, trousers), but for a special occasion; all second hand. Also a new (used) water bottle.
The good thing about being unfit is that when I do manage to get out for a run 15 mins / 1 mile is enough for the same physical release and seratonin hit that I needed to run 45 mins / 5 miles for when I was in practice. Way more time efficient.
If there's one important lesson I've learnt from my mother it's that if you want cake, and you don't have any, just make some.