Still sick

Day 12 and counting. Voice still not back. Still feel like crap. Went into the office on Monday and picked up enough stuff to work from home for a couple of days, but I'll be running out shortly and will have to go back to work to do anything more. In any event, there's stuff I need to do that I really can do only from the office, as most of the papers are there.

I've finally caved and made an appointment at the doctor's for tomorrow. I don't like making an appointment unnecessarily, but this is getting ridiculous. I have an all-day meeting on Friday that I really need to be able to speak at, plus I suspect that I may have a chest infection, which will need antibiotics to shift.

Am meant to be away this weekend, in the New Forest attending a Bonfire Night party. The prospect of me actually making it is looking doubtful, which is pissing me off no end as I was really looking forward to it.

Bugger.

Fridge magnets galore

So, I've come back from Z-con with a ridiculously large amount of fridge magnets, courtesy of the favourable exchange rate at present. I kept on thinking to myself 'bargain, bargain' at the prices. And then I thought of the price that British industry is paying at lack of competitive exports (penalty of growing up with a father whose business was exporting goods all over the world). But yes, the magnets are very pretty. Still, I can't help wondering what my cleaner thought of them when she came round to do the weekly clean today. *g*

The largest contingent are Due South, but I have rather a lot of Smallville, plus a lovely couple of Jack 'n Will. Then there are the Firefly magnets (all of them featuring Cap'n Mal, funnily enough...), plus one of Josh Lyman (love that Josh). They go nicely with my existing Bodie 'n Doyle and Duncan 'n Methos magnets. Gosh, I love pretty men. 'Cos I'm that shallow.

I only picked up a couple of zines at Z-con, both Pros. I enjoyed them both, although I couldn't help wishing that the Rosemary Callahan zine had used the services of a Brit-editor. All the gottens kept on throwing me out of the rhythm of the story - there's no way Bodie or Doyle would say 'gotten'. Other than the Americanisms, though, it was a good read, especially considering that I'm not a huge h/c fan and the zine was h/c based. It also has a lovely Lovett cover. And no, I wasn't there when the Lovett picture at the auction sold for $3,000 (was sick in bed in the hotel room at the time), but I heard about it.

The fact that any fannish item sold for that much money highlighted the difference between an American and British con for me. I can't imagine any item of that nature ever selling for that type of money at a British con. I remember being gobsmacked at reading how much items auctioned off for charity at US Highlander cons raised compared to the prices that similar items fetched at UK cons. Wonder why that is - something to do with the 'good value for money' ethos that (used to be) drummed into the head of every British person I knew, I wonder.

As for the con itself, I don't propose to do a full con report as other people have already done it and very well too. ( However, I do have a few thoughts. )