According to statistics (though I beg you not to ask who they are released by, for I have no clue), next Monday - the last one before the end of this month - is considered to be the most depressing day of the year. It's the day when we wake up having had a bit of a crap weekend (usually made so by the lack of funds resulting from the excesses of Christmas) to look out of the window and be faced with - at best - gloom. Understandably, the primary urge is to return to bed and take a day off from the world - which is what a lot of people do, resulting in one of the biggest sicky-day in the calendar. Unfortunately, that's not always possible. Certainly not in my case - my workload at the moment does not give me that option.
Faced with all of this, living in the city becomes a bit of a chore. Everyone you meet is in exactly the same position you are in, so there's no respite. It's a bit like a communal hangover, where the pocket hurts as much as the head does.
This kind of climate is the perfect ground for "quality of life" discussions, which are very much in vogue at the moment. They've come up several times since the beginning of the year - in different circumstances: at a dinner party made up of people who come from warmer climates (with all of us wondering what the hell we are doing here when we could all be leading easier - definitely warmer - lives in our own respective countries); on a bus with an English friend who I hadn't seen in ages, on a cold and rainy evening after work ("Please explain to me what it is about this country that you find so appealing" were his exact words); on the phone at work with those who start off the conversation with: "Isn't it all too miserable ...".
January is a horrible month (this coming from someone who celebrates his birthday in it). It stretches like elastic, and turns everyone - or at least everyone I know - including myself, into monsters simply desperate to get it over and done with and try and find some sun somewhere.
So with my birthday out of the way, and nothing much to look forward to (this is not as bleak as it sounds by the way, just in case anyway reads this and worries) there's only one thing to do: go online and look for a holiday - a cheap one. So far the choice of destinations, given the budget - is limited to a few days in Gozo or a week in the Canary Islands, with me arguing for the former, obviously (although I'm not sure about sunshine in Gozo in February), while Siginificant Other roots for Spain. The christening of a friend's son could also take us to Barcelona - although that's a bit unfair because it's home for SO (whereas Gozo for me is not home - I think I may have spent a total of 10 days there in my whole life).
We'll probably end up going somewhere completely different, but to be honest, at this point, I really don't care, so long as I get out. Incidentally, if anyone knows of any nice (and not incredibly expensive) places to stay in Gozo, just let me know.
Faced with all of this, living in the city becomes a bit of a chore. Everyone you meet is in exactly the same position you are in, so there's no respite. It's a bit like a communal hangover, where the pocket hurts as much as the head does.
This kind of climate is the perfect ground for "quality of life" discussions, which are very much in vogue at the moment. They've come up several times since the beginning of the year - in different circumstances: at a dinner party made up of people who come from warmer climates (with all of us wondering what the hell we are doing here when we could all be leading easier - definitely warmer - lives in our own respective countries); on a bus with an English friend who I hadn't seen in ages, on a cold and rainy evening after work ("Please explain to me what it is about this country that you find so appealing" were his exact words); on the phone at work with those who start off the conversation with: "Isn't it all too miserable ...".
January is a horrible month (this coming from someone who celebrates his birthday in it). It stretches like elastic, and turns everyone - or at least everyone I know - including myself, into monsters simply desperate to get it over and done with and try and find some sun somewhere.
So with my birthday out of the way, and nothing much to look forward to (this is not as bleak as it sounds by the way, just in case anyway reads this and worries) there's only one thing to do: go online and look for a holiday - a cheap one. So far the choice of destinations, given the budget - is limited to a few days in Gozo or a week in the Canary Islands, with me arguing for the former, obviously (although I'm not sure about sunshine in Gozo in February), while Siginificant Other roots for Spain. The christening of a friend's son could also take us to Barcelona - although that's a bit unfair because it's home for SO (whereas Gozo for me is not home - I think I may have spent a total of 10 days there in my whole life).
We'll probably end up going somewhere completely different, but to be honest, at this point, I really don't care, so long as I get out. Incidentally, if anyone knows of any nice (and not incredibly expensive) places to stay in Gozo, just let me know.