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[percival]

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NaNoWriMo is off to an auspicious start. 4700 words written. No work on grants, except for reading. I was too tired on Saturday, so I went shopping after I'd written my 2100 words, buying a jeans I can't afford and some massage gear by Nike to soak up the sweat that I can't afford either. Plans to work during the evening were scuppered as I remembered that I'd been invited to a hen night at Yo! Below, a sushi bar. Now, it was great to see friends, and the food was nice. But the music was so loud you had to yell to make yourself understood, and the food was more than an hour late (ordered at nine, brought at a twenty past ten). I went home at 11pm.

And I made a big mistake - I walked down Lothian Road. I thought I'd made it safely, but then one of a group of three drunks decided he had to do the lambada in front of me and ask me to strut my stuff. Now, I was in long jeans, a long black coat, and a jeans shirt. I was NOT tarted up. I yelled at him to eff off. Unfortunately, when I'm angry, or tired, my German accent shines through quite clearly, a bit like Liz' Russian coming through when she's distraught. They immediately cottoned on to the fact that I was German, and one guy thought it was funny to run after me and spit at my face from the side.

That's drunks for you. I should really have waited for the bus.

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In happier news, I was at my second Quaker meeting today, and it felt great. Just what I needed. My monkey midn ran amok, but circled around spiritual themes. I'm now ready to start pondering whether I should volunteer for the Samaritans. I've briefly thought of befriending children with autism, but then rejected the idea, because I would really have to be available on a regular basis, so that they could fall into a routine of seeing me. But I can't do that with all the jetting around I do. I can at most give a few hours in the early morning or late at night during the week - perfect for the Samaritans. We shall see what the little small voice says.

Comments

[acusa-dora.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry you had to have that experience. I'm really glad it wasn't worse, but I'm angry too. What a bunch of pigs.

[apel.livejournal.com]

Good to hear that you liked the Quaker meeting. I've never been to one but I hear good things about them from a lot of contemplative types.

Sorry you had such a bad experience with the drunks. That could have turned nasty. I'm amazed by the level of hostility towards Germans that still exists here. It's very noticable when England plays Germany in football. A lot of the arguments I hear for not letting go of the grudge don't really hold water when I compare the situation to Sweden. The Swedes are pretty anti-German too and they were never under direct threat. It seems to me to be more a case of kicking the dog that everybody else kicks.

[soupytwist.livejournal.com]

Oh Jesus, I'm sorry. Glad it wasn't worse, obviously, but still. GRRRR. And scary - the worse I've ever had about the German thing was a Heil Hitler joke and that was bad enough. *hugs*

I'm glad the Quaker meetings and the NaNo are going well, though. :)

[zanzara.livejournal.com]

Just had time to catch the beginning of your writing project, but it looked great and I look forward to reading more later.

And the drunks. AGH! Makes me so angry.

I've often wanted to connect with the Quakers, but there aren't any where I live (far from any real cities...we lack many interesting things).

I can't remember...did you read "Critical Incident of the Dog in the Nightime?" (the autism/asperger's novel - I forget who I've discussed it with - I forget many things!).

~ Z ~

[murasaki99.livejournal.com]

Sorry about your experience with the drunks. I can't understand what motivates people to behave in that way.

What is NaNoWriMo? I keep seeing people talking about it, but I've somehow missed the details of what it is.

Wow! 4700 words is excellent!!

The Society of Friends are neat people, and I'm so glad you felt comfortable there.

[tefkas.livejournal.com]

UGH... ::shudders over the drunkards bit::

Well done on getting on so quickly with NaNoWriMo... maybe next year, for me, I think...

[saucebook.livejournal.com]

It's scary just how our streets are frontier country on weekend nights. I've had similar experiences in Southend and a much worse incident befell some relatives in Newcastle the other week.

Big congrats on Nanowrimo - 4,700 words is wonderful - does this mean there's more to be posted - I've only read about 2,000 so far.

I got off to the slowest, laziest start - my excuse being that I shouldn't neglect the family when they'd just got back from Italy. That kind of soppiness has to go. This morning I notched up 1,000 words on the train, which will get me back on track (har, har) if I can do the same every journey.

Loved the Quakers too - I was about the youngest person at the meeting I attended, but it was so peaceful and contemplative. Can't remember why I didn't go back...