Ways to Waste Time

(DeviantART)

With just over two weeks to go before heading to Laos, I decided to go to the hairdresser today to get my annual trim.

I hate going to the hairdresser. I'm not a fan of making small-talk whilst strangers fondle my locks. I'm more of the Paul Bennett school of hairdressing: the rain washes it, the sun dries it, and occasionally I'll pick twigs out of it.

Still, it should now be easier to run a comb through when it's dripping with sweat in the Laotian heat, and I do still have just enough of it left to continue to function as a masked highway (or hairway) woman, so the day-job won't suffer too much. (Cue crude PhotoShop mockery, which only looks good when it's really, really small).

So, that's been fun.

Work's not so much fun. I was hoping to get most of it sewn up before leaving, but looks like I'll be taking it with me. I'm fortunate that I can do my job on the road, thanks to the wonder of internet, but it's stressing me out slightly. I keep swinging between 'must take on as much work as possible so that I have money for my travels' and 'don't want to take on any more work so that I can enjoy my travels.' Caught between the fear of running out of money, and the fear of running out of time.

Guess I can't really control any of that, so I may as well just plough on as usual and hope for some sort of middle ground. Wherever I end up, I'll have a credit card that can get me home in an emergency. What's to worry about? (Universe, do not answer that.)

Other things I've been doing to pass the time...

Fruit smoothies. I've discovered the joy of a hand blender. No need to use (or, more annoyingly, clean) the main blender, thus dirtying up the blender and the glass. Now I can just put everything straight in the glass and blend. The novelty is likely to take a while to wear off.

An Array of Leggings

I have shopped more in the past two weeks than the past two years. It's certainly been a challenge looking for summer clothes for Laos in winter, plus saving enough room for a couple of warm clothes for Kenya. I have no idea how long I'm going for, or what I'll need when I get to wherever it is I end up, but I have a suitcase the size of a small house, so hopefully it'll be okay. Especially now that I've discovered rolling (instead of folding) my clothes.

I wasn't at all convinced to begin with. I just couldn't understand how rolling could possibly be more spatially economic than folding. As illustrated:

40 comments from friends soon convinced me to give it a go.

ME: Oh my freakin' god. Everyone was SO right. Rolling saves a bundle of space! I'm shocked. I could smuggle an asylum seeker in that amount of extra space! I hereby reject science in favour of - ~magic~ 

SABRINA: That's basically how I reacted the first time I tried rolling haha 

ME: Plus it takes half the time. I've rolled all my tops, all my bottoms, and all my nighties together, and now I only have three things in my case. It's like there's an extra spacial dimension in there. 

LAETITIA: Can you smuggle me to Laos then? Much appreciated 

ME: Hell, sure, why not. I'll have to roll you though. 

LAETITIA: I am very bendy. Can you roll me together with your duty free giant Toblerone bar and bottle of gin? 

ME: Hmm. I sense that if I did that, I might unravel you at the other end to find you've performed a disappearing act of your own on those items... 

LAETITIA: well perfect then, you'll have even more free space in your neatly packed suitcase for souvenirs (or more gin) when you leave Laos. Sorted! 

ME: I am suspicious of this plan, but I was suspicious of rolling and I was proven wrong, so... okay.

As usual, I have been wasting a lot of time on Facebook.

One thing I am not so proud of... leggings.

I'll be the first to admit, I have absolute no sense of style. I admire it in others, but I've never managed to co-ordinate my underwear, yet alone an entire outfit. However, I do draw the line at leggings. These have never been, and will never be, fashionable.

So, how come I now own two pairs?

Well, Martine reckons it's the best way to survive the heat in Laos: leggings and long tops. 

When in Vientiane... *shrug*

Here's something else that isn't cool.

Asda, what were you thinking? Is this some sort of America 'let's jazz it up a bit' Walmart import? A square crumpet!? I mean, just - seriously. It flies in the face of all that is sane and rational.

Fuck it. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. It's almost as laughable as Nestlé being fair trade.

By the way, have you ever seen a tiger eating Martime? Seems there's nothing Big Cat Rescue won't do in the name of entertainment.

So, yeah. Spending the next couple of days packing my hard drive. Clothes are sorted, but you need to take a stash of your favourite movies and tunes. Always a few DVDs you can rely on in any situation, or during the inevitable traveller's meltdown. Got Bob on in the background whilst I'm working out what to put on my Kindle. 

Heading to Banbury next weekend for lunch with me mam, then nothing much to do until 10th. I've been oddly super-efficient: bags packed, clothes and meds bought, paperwork in order. Take-off is going to be brutal. Taking the night bus at 1:30am on 10th to get to the airport for 5:30am, check-in from around 7am. I'm hoping that by the time I get on the plane I'm going to be so completely knackered I'll just sleep the whole way to Bombay.

Right, better get back to it.

Whilst away:
learn to use PhotoShop!