Really must say "OWW!!"

[nineveh_uk]

In three and a half weeks I am going on holiday. I am ridiculously excited about this, of course. The day begins with checking the weather. I check webcams regularly while at work. I Google images of random mountains. My latest discovery is the website Bratte områder Norge*, which tells you how steep a mountainside is, and by implication its avalanche potential. I gaze at it like an archetypal 60s teenager and a poster of their pop idol. I order new clothes on the grounds that this is reasonable given the fact that it is 16 years since I first went skiing, and the things I bought then are getting a bit past it - namely my jacket has lost its waterproofing, my fleece doesn't fit under my lighter weight jacket, and my gaiters got been left behind at a hotel somewhere.

I am also supposed to be improving my fitness. Unfortunately, as I have a slight bug of the sort that isn't serious, but I don't want to encourage, I am avoiding the exercise bike and anything that might strain me much. Aha! I thought. I shall do strength exercises. Which is why yesterday I apparently did far too many squats, and my thighs are absolutely killing me. Forget about the cold hillside, I can scarcely walk downstairs!

*Norway: the steep bits.