Edited to add: if you’re one of the many people searching for the song in the title and have ended up here it’s Maniac by Michael Sembello from the movie Flashdance. You can find the lyrics here and the video here

Today was the first day of winter and by golly! it was freezing both within the office and without. It was so very cold at my desk that I had to sit with my coat draped over me (blanket-style) and my arms in the sleeves up to my finger tips to type because my fingers were numb with cold.

Perhaps I need an office blanket?

I have considered making wrist/arm warmers and putting the hat (which I’ve not yet started) aside for a while. Of course that leaves a decision about how to construct aforementioned arm/wrist warmers – knitted? crocheted? sewn from Don’s poor, unfortunate felted jumper? Winter will probably be over by the time I’ve settled upon a method.

And so very cold at home, that despite Don working from home for the afternoon with the heater on, I still had to break out the legwarmers I bought earlier this year (If I recall correctly, they cost me about $3 at Myer).

They have sparkly gold thread, just like the navy pair I had in 1981.

But, verily, they are wonderfully warm. Perhaps I need to take them to work?

You may note that I’ve remembered what I was using for a spacer.

One of the only reasons I went to work today in the face of feeling revolting because of the stupidcoldnoit’snotswineflu was that I had a hair appointment this afternoon (I’m aware that on the face of it that may seem like a stupid reason to go to work, but everyone [including dishy boss] seemed to think it was quite reasonable).

Anyway, I’ve gone blonde.

Here I am in the bus. I always sit in the back seat, that is because I am cool. And also why I am sneering in the photo – because I am cool.

And in the loungeroom. Note the artful pile of my gym and hand bags on the lower right. I should be a stylist.

After initially being quite startled when encountering myself in the many mirrored walls in the DonandCarol haus, I’ve become a bit more accustomed to the colour and am quite fond of it (this could be because my vision is a little fuzzy from tiredness and the stupidcoldnoit’snotswineflu – kind of a Doris Day/vaseline on the camera lens effect). Of course, I know the style will never as good as it does now until the next time I visit the hairdresser – because they are skilled in the magical blow-drying arts and I, despite being a little dexterous, am utterly not. I know there was a lot of stretching and heat involved, which you’d think would be absolutely shit for your hair – but it looks so very good and bouncy (so bouncy, I feel like a hair model!)

When I was looking for the felted jumper post to link up there, I noticed that two years ago, almost to the day, I posted “I have a cold. I have not had a cold for a very long time. I had quite forgotten how dreadful it is. And let me just say, it is quite dreadful.”

Naturally I checked a year ago, and I had been to the doctor with a virus in mid-May.

It would appear that May/June is the time I get a stupidcoldnoit’snotswineflu after not having a cold for a Very Long Time. I now need to remember this useful information for next year, so that getting a cold/virus/bird flu/swine flu does not come as any sort of surprise and so that I may ensure that I have no work / meetings / hair appointments around this time and so can stay at home in bed. Also, so I can remember how dreadful it is, so it doesn’t come as a surprise.

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