strange_complex | One long social whirl (Reply)

This weekend is Quiet. An oasis of calm amidst the madness. There's a bunch of stuff I could be going out to (in fact, should be going out to, really), but I'm deliberately dividing my time this weekend between venues no more demanding than my bed, my sofa, and my bath. Oh, and my computer, I guess...

I realised this week that there hadn't been a single weekend since I got back from Belfast when there wasn't something wonderful and exciting going on. Not to mention the wild and decadent shenanigans which had filled the weeks before I left NI. No complaints, obviously - I've been having a whale of a time. But there's only so much one little Penny can take, especially when she's busy managing 150% of a normal teaching load and spending 10 hours travelling a week. The result of late has been headaches, queasiness, fuzzy-headedness and posts like this.

So I'm taking a break from it all and spending some quality time alone with Me. But that doesn't mean I can't sit here planning further social joys for the future. So, without further ado, My Social Life For The Next 10 Months:

Saturday 29th Oct. 2005:

violetdisregard's Halloweeny House-Warming in Kidlington. To do:

Come up with some kind of appropriate costume.
Remember to take the Kummel
'Forget' to take it away again afterwards

Friday 4th Nov. 2005: Andreas Scholl in Birmingham with my Mum. Possibly also a chance to see sister? To do:

Nothing much. Just go there and enjoy.

Saturday 5th Nov. 2005: Nothing happening on this date. Nope, definitely not. Nothing at all. To do:

Nothing. Obviously.

Friday 2nd to Monday 5th Dec. 2005: Long weekend in Belfast, staying at Duke's hotel. Neatly timed to take in December's Cornucopia. Much time to be spent with the Irish Boy, natch. To do:

Ask someone Local to get me a Cornie ticket in advance, as it'll cost me lots of money to get in otherwise because Libitina are playing.
Nearer the time, arrange to meet up with people during the parts of the weekend not already taken up by Cornucopia.
Remember to pack the night before, as will be going straight on to the airport from work.

c. Friday 9th to Sunday 11th Dec. 2005: Tenth annual Bristol Winsley Road Christmas Meal? To do:

Define a date which suits everyone, or the highest possible proportion of people.
Identify suitable holiday cottage - must be reasonably priced, able to sleep around 10 or more (possibly including some on the floor in sleeping bags) and accessible via public transport
Ensure everyone is happy with arrangements.
Book cottage.
Proceed to the fine details, such as arranging the Present Circle (or Dip), food shopping and travel there and back.

Sunday 18th December: Dad's birthday. Not sure if I'll see him that actual weekend, but certainly soon after for Xmas generally anyway. Sadly, the annual Chris Barber concert which often marks this occasion falls this year on December 11th, so will probably miss that assuming the Bristol meal does fall on that weekend. To do:

Buy present.
Feel pleased at having thought of something he'll like.
Realise I have to buy a Christmas present as well.
Wish he wasn't so hard to buy for.

c. Friday 23rd to Tuesday 27th Dec. 2005: general Christmas period. Will certainly be in Brum by the 23rd, as we're going to see Ex Cathedra do Christmas By Candlelight at St. Paul's, Birmingham that night. Other plans include carolling with lanterns and the carillon on Bournville Village Green on Christmas Eve, hopefully Boxing Day drinks with the Waltons, and just general Saturnalian revelling with the family. To do:

Decide exactly what dates I'll spend there.
Make travel arrangements.
Buy presents for everyone, including Nicolas, who'll be with us this year.
Get childishly over-excited far in advance of the actual festival.

Saturday 31st Dec. 2005 to Sunday 1st Jan 2006: New Year. No concrete plans as yet, though Belfast might be a good option. But I'm open to offers here. To do:

Decide what the hell I'm doing.
Do it.

Friday 27th Jan. 2006: Oxford Dark Masquerade Ball. Missed this last year due to being in Belfast, but this year I already have both my ticket and an Official Hot Date! How lucky am I??? The theme is to be 'The Masque of the Red Death', drawing, as far as I can tell, as much on the film as the story. I cannot begin to express how excited I am about this, because it was when I saw that film at the tender age of all-of-about-10 that I first realised that fancy dress could be sexy and elegant and beautiful, and not just a bunch of kids dressed up as ladybirds etc. I've wanted to go to a ball like that ever since, and now I am! And in the Randolph Hotel's Ballroom, no less. Oh, and did I mention the Hot Date? To do:

Re-watch the film.
Decide on a costume (including a mask, natch).
Buy / make it as required.
Get enormously excited.
Spend hours getting ready. (Well, as many as working in Warwick until 1pm that day will allow, anyway).
Flounce into the Randolph in fabulous costume with Beautiful Young Lady on arm.
Profit!

Friday 28th to Sunday 30th April 2005 (and possibly the Thursday and Monday too): Whitby Gothic Weekend. I haven't actually made any concrete arrangements for this yet, but I am Definitely Going. It'll be a good chance to see the Belfast crowd, and it sounds like lots of my friends from other parts of the UK are planning to go then as well. Unfortunately, I've just realised it clashes with May Day in Oxford, which I had been really looking forward to. But it's been longer since I did a Whitby than since I did a May Day. So I guess I'll just have to wear it. To do:

Buy ticket.
Check who else is going.
Persuade the undecided.
Identify people who'd like to share a cottage together.
Identify a suitable cottage.
Book cottage.
Reshuffle a couple of lectures if possible so that I can travel up on the Thursday.
Find out how other people are planning to travel up.
Make suitable travel arrangements.
Spend hours packing.
Get very excited.
Actually go there.
Have a blast.
Cry (probably in my sleep) at 6am on Monday May 1st because I'm not in Oxford listening to choir boys greet the onset of the new summer.
Manage to live with it.

Wednesday 2nd August 2006: My thirtieth birthday (ZOMGWTFBBQ how did that happen?). Utterly unplanned at the moment, but Something Cool is going to happen. Ideally, something which doesn't clash with Mecon 9, over the weekend of 4th-6th August, since a high proportion of my Belfast friends will be at that. So I guess we are really looking at the weekend of July 29th-30th, here. To do:

Think of Something Cool.
Arrange it.
Do it.
Try not to think too hard about actually being 30.

Friday 4th to Sunday 6th August 2006: Mecon 9 itself. Another good excuse to see the Belfast gang. Not decided for certain whether I'll go or not, but it seems like a nice idea. To do: