A right to have fun

October 31, 2003

das weekend arriveth

I am starting to feel like that old Ferrero Rocher advert - oh ambassador with zees chocolates you are spoiling us...

I seem to have spent all week smarming with people over glasses of champagne, and travelling on trains to get there. Okay, the train part is fun, only it really isn't when I always have to go cattle class and we really are crammed in like cows.

Only yesterday there was such a sweet boy on the train opposite me with his mother, they were so funny and he was so nice. German I think. But he spoke good English.

And then I had the whole seat swapping challenge again with a really stroppy French woman (HER mistake!!). i love the way people fly off the handle then when they realise they're wrong they can barely apologise. THANKS LADY! You made my day too!

Then there was an utter creep next to me on the train home late in the evening who splattered Coke over me opening his can, said sorry and then about half an hour later suddenly asked if I wanted some. out of his can. ?!OOOOOOOOOOOh no thank you strange older businessman losing your hair..

What else? Oh yeah then I ran into several people in the flesh who I've only spoken to on the phone, and there were loads of people at this gathering and it was in several languages with interpreters but the interpreters were quite bad so I kind of preferred listening to the original languages even though I didn't understand them. At least there was a rhythm to them. Also, when the speakers made a joke, half the audience laughed, and then the interpreters would translate it a few minutes later and the other people wouldn't laugh because it didn't work in their language.

And more bad champagne, and smug self-satisfied people, and more 'what do you do?' conversations. I hate them. I always want to hide in a corner behind a plant or a column or something, but I really did make an effort to talk to people this week, so now I am exhausted.