Expedia Must Die!

I will get my hideous lost-holiday sob story out of the way now and then try and move on.

I should have been here...

Saturday 21st October
11am - arrive at Gatwick airport amd join the fairly short Emirates queue.
11:10am - Emirates tell us we cannot travel because we don't have a Visa for entry to India. Met with stunned disbelief and shock from me and L.
11:12am - Find the relevant section of my unread Rough Guide to Goa and find out they are not lying!
11:13am - Feel like an ill-prepared idiot. Feelings of idiocy replaced by anger towards Expedia for not telling us we needed a Visa.
11:14am - Find smallprint on Expedia travel details saying it is our responsibility to meet entry requirements. Note to self - never use faceless internet travel company EVER AGAIN!!!
11:15am - Call Indian Embassy in London. Closed until Monday.
11:16am - helpful and understanding lady on Emirates desk rearranges outbound flights for Tuesday and hotel informed. Only 2 days in Goa but better than nothing. Right?
11:25am - commiserate with fellow victim of internet booking c*ck-ups. Although this person now can't get home for his sister's wedding in South Africa because the "t*ssers" took his money and didn't book the flight.

Monday 23rd October
8:30am - arrive at Indian Embassy on Aldwych.
8:36am - find end of queue for Visa applications.
8:40am - informed that this queue is just to get a token to get in to the Embassy, that we will have to join another queue when we eventually get in and that it closes at 12:30 no matter what.
8:50am - have moved 5 feet and made friends with the rather obnoxious yet amusing young Aussies standing behind us who are going to India for two months in November and find it hilarious we missed our flights.
8:51 - decide we don't like the aformentioned little sh*ts.
9am - no movement to speak off. Unless you count L's trip to the coffee shop. I start to blub.
9:01am - decide to take back control of our lives. Leave queue, get cab home and then drive down to Lancing for a few cheap days on the coast.

So, here endeth my tale of woe!

I won't moan about it again!

Blub...sob!

Will try and console myself with the fact that we did some good country walks down in Sussex, ate lot of yummy fish and chips, saw the green turtles in the Brighton Sealife Centre, won £40 on blackjack at the Grosvenor Casino and bought our first piece of 'proper' art.

Expedia say it's our fault so no compensation. Harumphhh!

It is Hallowe'en, which is totally wickedy wack!

Next holiday we'll be camping in teepees in Cornwall - no entry requirements, no vaccinations, no malaria tablets!

I'm off now to comfort eat!!

Naked

Boo – they’ve sawn all the branches off the beautiful trees outside my office window! What will I gaze at wistfully now, rather than working??!!!

Yes, autumn has definitely arrived. The brief Indian summer we experienced earlier in October is now over and my very attractive (and sexy) toe-socks have come out of the wardrobe. Thanks to H for introducing me to them all those years ago at Kings.

I must admit that S.A.D. has been getting me down this week. I get up in the dark and go home in the dark. I should be hibernating like a brown bear. Also, I could have spent the last few months fattening up before sleeping for three months. Emerging all svelte in spring.

I’ll have to content myself with a week in sunny Goa – oh woe is me!

And it’ll be Halloween when I get back. I love Halloween!

Watch Out For The Slippery!

6:45am Alarm
6:55am Got up and made tea - Rooibos kind.
7am Hung up the washing and complained about the cold Autumn mornings to L....

I'm just getting in some practice for the National Trust's 'Blog for Britain' project. You've got until the 31st October to take part.

I'm getting mildly stressed about my exams now. Last two evenings of taught classes this week and then it's just two weekend revision courses, at-home study and lots of prevaricating between me and the proper exams on 22nd and 23rd November. Yikes! It's come around so quickly again. Oh well, only another 6 exams after these.

G - how many exams do you have left?

Still, I've somehow found the time to visit the 'Quirkies' on Ananova and find these two juicies.

Chinglish - I actually guffawed reading this.
Giants or Goblins? - only another 1000 years of evolution!

Are You Cool?

Not sure where this week has gone. I don't have much to show for it apart from a headache, a new handbag and a big, long 'To Do' list!

I am supposed to learn advanced SQL and have completed three more three-hour mock exams by next Friday. In between actually working and actually going to college and actually sleeping more than four hours a night. Although if it's good enough for the Iron Lady it's good enough for me. Hmmmm!

There is a temporary light at the end of this dark, dark tunnel. I'm off to Goa next Saturday. Woo hoo! I will be living off fish curry and spiritual healing for a week.

I digress...I can't say that anything very remarkable was asked of me in my Cambridge interviews but I'm delighted to see that I now appear to be in the minority.

I remember you mentioning this recently G, so thought you might like to point out to your American chums "Earlier this month, Cambridge was ranked by the Times Higher Education Supplement as the second best university in the world, with Oxford third". So there!!

The Ig Nobels

Hip, hip hurray for 'Jeans for Genes' day. I get to wear my lovely new Gap boyfit jeans and chunky studded belt in the office.

Also, it is Friday and I have made it through a VERY tough college week without any major tantrums or broken calculators.

And, I am off to MK this weekend for my mum's birthday and MK just happens to have one of the largest covered shopping centres in Europe. Yay for shopping therapy!

And, finally, there is the genius that is Ig Nobel awards to celebrate!

Breast Implants Save Lives!

I am too busy to blog properly this week but just wanted to ensure you see this - I found it during my 30 second lunch break! It seems that implants should not actually be used as an alternative to car airbags. No, really?!!

Two nights of college down, another two to go, then retail therapy for me. Huzzah!

Looking forward to doing my Christmas shopping in NY. Where MUST I go, G?