9 more sleeps...

Pretty soon I'm going on holiday. It's a package holiday, to Tenerife of all places, all inclusive and completely not the sort of holiday I would normally sign up for. Normally I prefer to avoid resorts, faovouring the turn up somewhere and try to absorb some of the day to day normality of the place I'm visiting.

I'm looking forward to my week away immensely. My last holiday abroad was at the end of last summer and was less of a holiday as an intensive kung fu training session which was fantastic but not what I would call relaxing. My last week off work was last October when I took my customary "brace myself for christmas" week off to do nothing but skulk around the house playing xbox. I need a break.

Don't get me wrong. I love my job and have done so more or less consistently for the last 9 and a bit years. It poses it's own problems and is responsible for many of my frustrations but it's also a source of much joy and satisfaction. Right now though I'm finding it really tiring.

I'm convinced that it's the time of year. Almost everyone I know seems to be suffering the same level of mental fatigue and I have decided to put it down to a sense that this winter is never going to end. I can't figure out why this year is any different to previous ones. Maybe its the abnormal amount of snow, maybe its the recession, probably a bit of both. Hard to put my finger on. Whatever the cause it's bloody depressing.

So in 9 days time I will be kissing this winter goodbye for a week and swapping it for lounging by a swimming pool, in the sun, drinking beer. No work, no danger of being called by work as always happens when I'm on holiday. Just me, my lovely girlfriend and my stack of light holiday reading. This trips books include: "Last Man Off Bataan" by Carlos Romulo, "The Last Battle - Berlin 1945" by Cornelius Ryan and "The Invasion Of The Moon 1969" by Peter Ryan. If any of these are any good remains to be seen but I hope they are on a par with my current book of choice "Defence Of The Realm, An Authorised History of MI5".

Dry, dusty, factual and full of data. I love that in a book. I'm about a third of the way through it but it will eat up our luggage allowance so it won't be coming on holiday with me. Recently I have rediscovered my love of non-fiction, especially history, especially military history. I've been working my way through The World At War box set of late but I'm finding it difficult to find the time. It's a shame because I'd love to watch the whole thing from start to finish but at 30 odd hours that's a bit of a mission. I heartily recommend it though. Although I'm no expert I thought I knew a thing or two about World War 2 but as it turns out there's a great big bunch of stuff that I had no idea about. I love it.

So I have a week of lounging, eating, drinking and reading ahead of me. I cannae wait.