(no subject)

I took this morning off (and work tonight and tomorrow night in recompense) and danced. I shall do this for the rest of the year, whenever there's a class and I'm in town. The folkdance mob are just the nicest people and I love the dancing and finally, finally, I'm well enough to do it. I only sat out the polka today and that was because I had forgotten it and polkas aren't the sort of dance one wants to remember half-way through. Slow circle dances are easier to copy until the memory kicks in (or if the memory doesn't kick in for the dance is new). Thus my morning was spent in Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Israel, Russia, Croatia and Romania.

My timing is good, for I get the Melbourne Cup with my folkdancing friends next week. It's the usual dancing, plus the Black Nag, plus gambling using chocolate coins, plus lunch, plus fancy hat.

I came home to a letter from the university telling me that my thesis was indeed safely submitted, that it will be sent to examiners very soon and that I should refrain from talking with said examiners about it or matters relating to it. Now, for me, with the doctorate, it's the long wait.

I shall have lunch and then ponder work. I have a list for today, but I snuck in some of the easier items before I was picked up for dancing, so it's not too bad. Four largeish things and two smallish things.

And that's all my exciting news. The most exciting bit is that I can now dance for over an hour without any apparent problems. My feet did what they were told at all times, and so did the rest of me. "You've danced before," said one of the newer students.

All this working-on-health stuff might not feel as if it's getting anywhere on a day to day basis and I might still be bearing an undue amount of pain, but quite obviously it's sorting me out in the longer term. This time last year I danced at the Melbourne Cup party and had to sit out one dance in three. This time the year before, it was one dance in two. This time the year before that, I couldn't dance at all - my feet wouldn't do what they were told, much less the rest of me.

My next goal will be to reclaim my co-ordination. This term's dancing is step one in that. I have a new craft activity that will also help, but it may be a few weeks before I can get to it. It will be very nice when things stop falling out of cupboards because I can't stack them correctly and when I can undertake simple housekeeping without making more of a mess than when I began. Six months ago I thought it would never happen - but six months ago I wasn't totally chirpy and only mildly tired after a dance class.

(no subject)

I've done all but one thing on my day's list, and that one thing can wait until tomorrow. I wrote half an article instead of it, which is half an article that won't be on my to-do list in a month (which is when I was supposed to write it).

I'm 2/3 through the Aurealis novels and want the last ones to appear in the post so that I can diminish my piles faster than they accumulate. Mind you, I also want the less-good novels to mysteriously disappear. I found it quite taxing to read to the end of today's single work. I nearly threw it at a wall at one stage. It wasn't bad, but it was impossibly annoying. That's one book I shan't defend if the other judges don't like it. In fact, I shall argue vigorously against its inclusion on even a long list. I'm hoping to have better luck tomorrow.

I have a choice now between babbling and sleep. I think I shall choose sleep...

Take care, please, all friends in storm zones.