Older and wizened

Well, look at that, would you. It's nearly May! Boy howdy the time flies. I've now been gainfully employed for a year, which I guess means my favourite excuse - that I'm new to the company and don't know any better - is wearing a little thin. I feel as though I ought to have saved more money by now. But then I am high-maintenance.

So yeah, work is busy and will continue to be. In addition to my editing work I am devoting brain cells to generating excuses to get out of a national (national - eep!) five-aside soccer tournament on May 12, since two-and-a-half weeks (of which five days will be spent indulging while on holiday) isn't nearly enough time to get down to fighting weight. And my knees, they are creaky. And I'm too old to be competitive against the dreaded teenaged teams. And I always get picked on by referees. And I've been asked to play goal-keeper for a game and I have the world's slowest reaction time (though admittedly I cover more of the net than my waifish teammates). If I am forced to play my only goal will be to remain uninjured, or at least unhospitalised.

And Facebook. What's the deal? All of a sudden, over the space of a few weeks, I get at least ten invites from people in all corners of the earth who to my knowledge don't know one another. It comes up in phone conversations and blogs. It's almost scary how pervasive it is at the moment - and it wasn't even remotely on my radar. THEN I find out Jeff has had an account for ages. It's almost like finding out your partner has a whole other life and ten secret love-children. (Almost.) Everyone who has invited me to join has about 785 'friends'. Since I only know about 25 people in the world I'm paralysed with insecurity about giving everyone who ever hated me in high school the chance to snicker at my atrophied social circle.

My mom and brother recently visited for a few weeks, and it was really great. We did some traveling and I will post some photos when I get my act together (check back in, oh, September maybe). My brother is still abroad and I am envious indeed, though perhaps it's as well that he does his 'Grand Tour Of All The Racetracks In Europe' without me - I'd only fret about his speed on the Autobahn. There's more traveling in the works and more visits from very cool folks and the flat smells like hyacinths and in general life is good.

In the meantime, here are some photos from a fire festival in Oxford that by now probably happened at least two months ago. As always, I am running behind.