So, another new year, more snow, cross-country skiing and wondering at exactly what point in life did I gain this mostly seamless understanding of which and how many layers to put on to survive a given level of cold...
On the other hand, this year seems to have started at absolutely break-neck speed. Leaving me a little breathless already. It's surprising in a way that for the first time I can remember we are barely through January and it already feels like 2023's been going on for a while. Not sure that's a good sign :(.
Either way, to focus on one of the better things about life at the moment, the snow!! It did end up snowing a bunch, a couple of times this month, leading to a reasonably good amount of cross-country skiing so far. Although the fresh snow has stayed away for a bit over a week and the temperature flitting between positive and negative values on a daily basis has left things rather hard and icy. Maybe there will some more of the good stuff before too long :).
There's been a little bit of travelling too! Back to Stockholm for work, and this time I got the chance to actually look around a little bit! It felt quite different from the other Nordic capitals I've being to. Oslo, Helsinki, Reykjavik and even Copenhagen to some extent feel decidedly small and laid back in comparison! I suppose what I'd really like is to be able to go back in the spring, or maybe summer. I keep getting told winter doesn't really show the city's best side :).
There was also a very brief but fun weekend trip back to the UK for a belated celebration. Pleasantly, the entire travel situation worked beautifully and without a hitch. Except of course some amount of panic getting to Oslo airport on Friday evening as the train services decided to descend into chaos. We managed to get to the gate pretty well in time in the end, only to have to wait because the flight was delayed. Reason? The flight crew, who were coming in from Oslo got delayed because of the same train issues :D.
In general though, I feel life has been somewhat busier than I'd like it to be. Mostly, if not entirely, because of work. I mean, I realize it's always better to be busy at work rather than have nothing to do, but still. I think I appreciate having a bit of headspace to be able to reflect on things. Plan, consider, evaluate. At the moment all I seem to have space for is plunging headlong through an unending and seemingly insurmountable list of things to get done. But this too shall pass, and in the meantime, I'm trying to keep calm and carry on :).
Naturally, reading has been happening a bit less. Even missed the monthly book club meeting for the first time in years. When I have had the time though, The Hydrogen Sonata has been providing me with a welcome escape. I'm about half way through and things are warming up :). Sadly, I'm reading this with the nearly constant thought in the back of my head that this is the last one.
I have been wondering if/when I'm going to go looking for the rest of the stuff by Banks. I'm not sure. I think I'm quite happy that a lot of the astute if cynical views he has (had?) on life are presented in the mostly benevolent and benign context if the Culture. Not sure I want to go delving into it all without that comforting blanket.
In another attempt to bring some light-hearted balance to life, we've started watching Avatar: The Last Airbender, and loving it! I've been aware of it for a long time, but never thought to make an effort. The first season was un-dubbed, and great fun to watch, but turns out the next two are only available on our chosen streaming service with Norwegian audio. It's no great impediment, we even get most of the jokes, but given that some of the characters are dubbed with somewhat strong west coast accents/dialects, it's a little more effort :). I guess there's a way to go before we feel as comfortable in Norwegian as we do in English...
I almost forgot! I did actually also finish reading the book club book for this month! And it was one of my suggestions! But one I had picked more or less at random from the fantasy racks at the library. So it was with some curiosity that I started The Starless Sea. It was certainly worth the time :). Weird and wonderful is probably an apt way of describing it. The author certainly seems to have an amazing imagination.
While the story itself was interesting, and the world it was set in extremely diverse and intriguing, I'm not sure what to make of the individual characters. With the possible exception of Madam Love and Kat, I wouldn't say I ever really warmed to any of the rest of them. They felt more like placeholders for the story and the author's tools rather than actual people.
(While trying to remember some character names, I also stumbled across this! :D. So, I don't agree with the overall view that the book was unreadable and a waste of time. However, I do very much love the way she describes the book. Felt accurate. And extremely funny :).)
Right. So.... There's actually a lot to look forward to in the next month! Visitors, downhill! (Downhill! Snowboarding!) And finally that trip back to India. But in the mean time, keeping calm and carrying on.
