My long weekend

Yes, computer games are involved, but this is not the whole story. Consumed by visions of carefree weekend activities, like a night on the town, lingering coffees, going to markets blah blah blah, on Thursday arvo I started to feel sick. This rapidly turned into one of those nastier colds where you can't really do anything except laze on the couch, your joints and muscles aching, your skin tingling, feverish, crap.

On Saturday night the gods of mild illness decided I needed something more (perhaps I am not celebrating Easter the proper, religious way?) so I was given horrible chest pains which prevented me from sleeping. Whatever lesson I was supposed to learn, I obviously didn't, because on Sunday night it turned out that a takeaway pastry I ate had  spent too long in the bain marie, which led to unpleasant results that I need not name (having so powerfully evoked). This also made sleep difficult. 

And the one, single time I poked my head out the front door (to take out the trash, literally), I was greeted with the most idyllic of scenes -- beautiful blue sky, people cycling past, walkers, cats frolicking etc. BUT this has not all been bad. Because, of course, the benefit of being confined to the couch is you really can't do anything except watch TV or play computer games. And I have, I have, I have. In brief: 

I'm back playing Transport Tycoon, a game I was addicted to in the mid-1990s. Perfect for anyone with obsessive tendencies, all one's perfectionist zeal can be channeled into making sure the trains run on time (with 80% passenger loads), naming trains ("Interline Monarch"), and planning intricate Bus-Plane-Train connections. I just launched my first Concorde. My heaven.

In between transport planning, I also finished off the BBC adaptation of The Line of Beauty. I actually thought it was pretty faithful to the book, although it suffered a bit for not having Alan Hollinghurst's writing to flesh out the characters a bit more. It certainly looked the part, though. I also wrapped up Damages, Season 2 and Kathy Griffin, My Life on the D-List. This then led to some Youtube investigating into the feud between Barbara Walters and the *wonderful* Rosie O'Donnell. I was amused that only the day after the infamous fight, this was Kathy's response. I know I shouldn't be, but I'm still shocked when I see how hated Rosie is (at least among youtube comment-leaving types). I LOVE Rosie -- I really do, and I hate her haters. But anyway.

So, when I was interspersing Damages with Kathy Griffin, I made a decision to adopt either an Ellen Parsons or a Kathy Griffin persona at work to "get things done", and tear through the inertia of government. I can't decide if I'd prefer to have Ellen's "fuck-off" vibes permeating from a humourless face, or begin every sentence with "here's the thing..." In my Damages-watching/cold haze, I also decided that it would be cool to have private investigators with which to acquire "information" and power, so be careful. 

My new work image?

From NYTimes.com:

"On a gray day in Paris, Zoe was having lunch at the Bristol, where she was staying with her husband, Rodger Berman, who was once an investment banker and now produces award shows for television. “I love Paris,” Zoe said as she studied the menu. “If I spoke the language, I’d live here.” She looked up at the waitress, who had appeared at the table. “Can you do crudité?” Zoe said. The waitress looked confused. “You did it yesterday. With cucumber. If not, I guess a salad, no dressing.” The waitress still looked confused. “You see,” Zoe said to me, “there’s just too much of a communication barrier.” Zoe took a sip of her English Breakfast tea. “I wish caffeine had vitamins in it,” she said."