Up and at 'em

I am out of the hotel! Phew! I feel much better this morning having had two days of total rest(from moving).

Am feeling pretty on top of stuff now have read a few up-to-date papers and maybe started my own (hurray!)... And am out at the internet cafe to make reservations for my ma to come and stay which is proving rather tricky. Well, it will be lovely when she gets here (17 feb). If I am not stressed to the eyeballs with work. Oh dear!

SOOO today... Am going to check through the paper outline I wrote later yesterday. Need to really work out whether it is actually a synopsis of my PhD... you would think this would be obvious but the focus of it actually changes week to week - I have about three major foci of the PhD and in the end one will win out but as yet I am unsure which! Nothing wrong with a good synopsis though (or even abstract) and if it is a bit too all-encompassing then I can always take my favourite bit out if it and make it an article. It is a first step and that is enough for me!

Other than that I am emailing to get my ma somewhere to stay when she comes and, to be honest, resting my brain. Even though being ill is totally rubbish, because I have not felt ill as such I have been able to actually take advantage of being holed up to read for pleasure, for work, write and get on top of 'India'. In fact, I feel quite rested and ready to get back into work. I am so looknig forward to going south tomorrow, and finally, finally, getting my recce underway. I have decided to stay for a week and come back up north next Sunday, with the aim of arriving at site one that Sunday or Monday. Then I shall (again, finally) start work proper!! I am so looking forward to it now. Before Christmas I was dreading the whole issue of having to talk to strangers etc, but now with the hassle of getting site two underway I have realised that in many ways that is the easy and interesting bit! I am also so happy I have decided to come back to India in Sept - this means that I can relax into my work more and not feel the dreaded clock ticking above my head, counting down how little time I have left and spelling certain PhD-doom... Actually I started having a peek at rental properties in the area we are moving too and they are cheaper than when we left! God bless the recession ;0P and the cottages are gorgeous - I cannt wait to get one! yaya!

*detour warning*
Really am so looking forward to getting back to England - being understood and completely understanding, being cold (! hehe I know), going for a long, slow run (!! I know!), having a whole fridge and an oven of my own! And more than a room for myself! Seems really quite extravagant. Especially the fridge thing. Luckily I am a user-upper, I boil the bones of mah chickens for stock etc so don't often waste food which makes me feel less guilty about craving my fridge. Oooooh, I am having a fridge reverie... In my fridge I will have ham, cheese, eggs, and lots and LOTS of salad. LOTS. I miss salad. Cool, crisp lettuce and cucumber. I will have butter! Real butter and nice margerine-stuff. And some brie. And a sneaky, open bottle of chilled white wine... And some mince beef for a lovely lasagne. And I will have my veg bowl all stocked! With aubergine! And two courgette and carrots (some, not many) and mushrooms! Lots! And a squash or some beetroot, and green beans! Garlic and ginger! And in my cupboard I will have cereal to go with my cool, cool milk. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg......

And of course, lots and lots of curry.

Bizarrley, when DB went to our 'complimentary' breakfast this morning, they had hash browns - which were plain boiled potatoes (!!) and grilled tomatoes, or cornflakes with hot milk, or coffee with milk (had to pay extra for coffee without milk). What a strange breakfast!!

BTW, I am going to start a little section where I put a quote I particularly like, to help with my work. Just one a week or something. It is terribly cheesy, but you can't scoff too much at a wee bit of another's learning and knowledge...

Hope all is well with everyone!

x J