nothing but blue sky

nothing but blue sky, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

It's still hot. It rained last night, but today is blazing hot again. Actually the sky is hazy today, not bright blue, but it feels like it should be.

The end is in sight of my busy fortnight. two and half more days and then I can go home and sleep. And go to a wedding. And then sleep some more.

The conference is going well. People are getting lots of out it, although it's pretty intense and exhausting, especially in this weather.

Soon it will be August. How did that happen?

hot, tired, busy

Not much blogging likely this week or next. We've got a two week conference on at work and I'm busy from morning to night. Still quite tired and not eating much, so I'm trying to take it steadily. Cambridge college conference cuisine is not conducive to convalescence.

It's going well so far, apart from a minor disasater on Sunday night when we turned up at the place we were going for dinner to find they weren't expecting us at all. Completely my fault. I thought I'd made the booking, but apparently had only asked for a quote and never confirmed it. We ended up in a restaurant instead and people had a good time and probably better food than they would otherwise have had, but it was an expensive mistake to make.

Hopefully the rest of the conference will go more smoothly.

hello world

Just about emerging from my sick bed.

I've been laid low with a stomach bug which has pretty much wiped me out. I'm back in work, but not really back to normal. Loads to do, the next two weeks at work are super-busy. Not really the best time to get ill. Nothing I can do about it though, just get on with it.

Prayers appreciated!

commuting

stratford station, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Once upon a time, this was part of my daily commute to work. London has its beauties and the sun streaming through Stratford Station is one of them.

Then I moved from London to Cambridge and switched from being part cyclist, part tube-rat, so being a mostly cyclist and now an everyday cyclist. My new route to work is much quicker on a bike that it would be in a car, so I'm not tempted to drive and there isn't a useful bus. This morning I cycled past cars, people on their way to work or school, green spaces and historic buildings. There are things I miss about getting the tube, having time to read and knit on the way to work, mostly. But there are things I don't miss too, like black bogies, underground confined spaces and the smells that linger in them.

I don't think I've left London forever, but I like living in small city for a change.

back from Brighton

I'm back in Cambridge. i'm very tired. I'm moving tomorrow, too sleepy to be stressed about it, most of the packing was done last weekend (by Debbie).

This week has been just what I needed. I wasn't really prepared for it. Monday I was wondering why I was going and for most of Tuesday I was still stressed and angry. Something happened through Wednesday, I'm not excatly sure what, except that it was God and I just relaxed, caught my breath and got into the swing of the conference and more importantly started to listen to God and experience him like I hadn't in months.

I've still got lots to process, the questions I had at the beginning of the week haven't gone away, but I've put them into perspective. The best bit of the week has been spending time with people, the students from City I was staying with. I didn't really know any of them at the beginning of the week, but by the end, we were praying for each other and encouraging each other.

I've got lots of notes to go through and make sense of and I think what I really need is people to talk to, most of all, someone to meet up with and talk stuff through with. I'm not too good at that. Too independent and fussy about who I talk to. But I need to do it because I'm too good at bottling stuff up to myself and trying to think things through alone. Yes, that can be good and God does help, but when the problem you're trying to think through alone is 'Why do I feel so far from God?', you just drive yourself deeper into misery. or at least I do.

quick hello

Mobilise is good, God's good, weather's mostly sunny.
Hooray!
Will write more when I can.

ttfn

arggh, where did the day go?

I'm running off to catch a train to Brighton soon, for Together on a Mission/Mobilise.

I don't feel ready at all. Too much to do at work, really bad timing as far as things to do making me feel like I shouldn't be running off and leaving people in the lurch right now. It's hot and I'm irritable. I'm sort of looking forward to it and sort of not. Staying with people I don't know. Good because I get to know new people, bad because I'm feeling sort of delicate and like I might cry lots this week. I don't feel spiritually ready for this week at all, just cross and confused and tired. Maybe that's why I need the break and time out with God. But it's such an intense knackering week, it doesn't feel like time out.

Anyway, I'm going and I hope it does me good.

feast of ladybirds

feast ladybirds, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

For HP.

It's Histon Feast week, lots of fun events round the village - most of which I'm missing by being away. Yesterday afternoon was a parade. It was blazingly hot, all the ladybirds and flowers and hippies and marching bands must have been melting. Looks like they had fun though.