Interlude

I'm still working diligently (though that's subjective) on Part 3 of the China Trip.

Until then, however, there's been plenty going on.

Firstly: The examination period is almost over. This is something which results in a bizarre feeling of anti-climax, because there's a lot of preparation, and then it's over differently for each student. My 'end of exams' day is different from my friends, and so on. And there is a period of adjusting to what life consists of without having to prepare for an exam. Futhermore, language students are in a unique position where they don't actually want to forget what they've learned throughout the year.

This is not entirely different from a gym patron who doesn't want to lose their progress by taking too much time off. With Chinese this seems especially true, as it's rather easy to forget characters and tones.

So with the holiday season approaching, I suspect I'll actually more or less keep doing what I've been doing. That is, going through Chinese and Russian textbooks.

But even then that still leaves quite a few hours in the day. I'll be spending the majority of the holidays in Cairns, so I'll probably work most of it, and of course there's plenty of friends in Cairns to catch up with.

Secondly: I'm still pretty uninformed about politics, particuarly American politics. But it's good to see a better balance of power in the States. This may lead us to ask, Who should be the next Presidential candidates? I'll go with Barack Obama (who is also my personal preference for the next President) over Hilary, even though Time's article on him was not without criticism. Not sure who the Republicans will pick. Rudy Giuliani would probably be a smart choice.

Thirdly: Children of Men. This is by far the best film of the year. So I'd advise everyone to see it if you haven't already.

Lastly: Spiders. Not the Ralph Fiennes kind


but the arachnid kind. Now, as all who know me can attest, I'm a practicing arachnophobe. This is no joke. A photo such as this


makes me gasp, my chest tighten, my skin crawl, and my body shudder. The other night I came home late, and while I'm brushing my teeth I suddenly am overcome by dread, as there's a horrifying, fuck-off-big spider behind the aftershave bottles.
I had not the courage to do battle with it. I spat out the remaining toothpaste from my mouth and fled back to the relative safety of my room, all the way shrieking like a crazed chimp.

The spiders and their webs have been growing and spreading in the bathroom ever since. It's the storm that brought them in. Is it possible that they arrived as a part of some sinister over-arching plan? Every time I micturate or bathe, the dread grows stronger. I can feel multiple sets of 4 and 8 eyes watching me with unthinkably evil, sadistic urges. The bathroom mirror is now covered with grotesque spider hairs, evidence of their predatory hunts. It's only a matter of time before they reach my room. They'll be threading a special, hideous web just outside my door, a web to engulf my entire body. And if they don't succeed there, they'll come in the night and wrap me up whilst I sleep, creating for me a cocoon of blind, constricted horror and dread.

As far as I can tell, theres only one answer.

Move house.

But, as I always say, no point worrying about something that will only probably happen.