Prevaricating thru wiffle

I have a very large spreadsheet open on the smaller of my two computer screens, and various emails open on this screen. I am still managing to type inane crap to a guy in Singapore, read celebrity gossip on a reputable news site (ensuring the logo is always visibile) and now type wiffle here, all to avoid doing any work. My justification to myself, as no-one else actually seems to care, is that I'm voluntarily giving up two of my four days off next week, giving myself a four day weekend rather than the 6 day weekend the rest of the nation will be taking. I figured 6 days was greedy in the run up to budget submissions, and I might actually get some work done if no-one is here. Eid Mubarak and all that.

Horrid work day looming tomorrow, which I shall write more about then, but I'm dreading it. That's the other reason for my complete lack of ability to concentrate.

On a more positive note, I rock at planning holidays. December is shaping up to be an awesome month - with little to no work involved at all. Unfortunately it looks like it means I'm going to be stuck in Dxb for new years again, but if I can rally enough people to literally head for the hills and go camping in the desert then all may not be lost.

The dream holiday that is speedily taking shape looks a bit like this...

• End of Nov - Dubai Rugby 7s. First year in the new Emirates stadium, guaranteed to be a piss up of note, with confirmed visitors already from the UK flying in. Fri/Sat merriment guaranteed.
• Sun morning - fall on to a plane bound for Bangkok with my friend Hannah, having showered and picked up pre-packed suitcase, but really not thought about much else.
• Sun evening - picked up by hotel limo and deposited in to a suite... oh yes, a suite, at the Banyan Tree Bangkok. Yours truly found a deal online for a two roomed suite for 700dhs a night, or 100 pounds. Which I'm slightly smug about.
• Monday - breakfast in bed, may shout through to Hannah in the other room, but otherwise not moving until the taxi comes to deposit us back at the airport. Short hop later, we're in Phuket.
• Haven't really sorted Phuket yet, but it will involve a trip to the sailing club to say hi to Stevie Mac, and then lots of touristy sightseeing for a couple of days.
• Friday morning - Hannah heads to Koh Samui, I jump on a boat at the crack of dawn and head for the national park, to do 7 dives over 2 days on a liveaboard trip.
• Sat night - deposited at Phuket docks about 8pm, head straight over to sniff out the sailing crowd methinks for the end of regatta shenanigans.
• Sun - fall on to another plane bound for Koh Samui
• Mon - Fri - detox at the Spa Samui - a combination of flushing from multiple ends, drinking clay and herb concoctions and generally banishing the evil toxins from my blood and liver. Guaranteed to wipe me out and ensure that the most activity I can manage is the three steps from bed to lounger. Works fine for me.
• Fri afternoon - transfer back to 5* luxury for a night at the Amari Palm Resort, just because.
• Sat morning - say bye to Hans and jump on a plane (note the post spa/detox spring in my step?) to Bangkok, and straight on to Hong Kong, arriving at 6pm to be joyously greeted by the lovely Jodi & Dan.
• Explore the madness that is HK for a full 27 hrs, jumping back on a plane Sunday night, upgraded courtesy of miles, to slump, comatose, for the 9hrs or so back to Dubai, ready to fall straight in to work, tanned, relaxed, partied out, and generally having squeezed maximum enjoyment, debauchery and detoxification in to two weeks. Ready for the Christmas party season....

I'm now going to spend the next three months saving for this mammoth trip! I went to Hannah's last night to plan, and it actually won't break the bank, as Thailand is still incredibly reasonable, and we found a number of pretty good deals on tinternet. Next year I really will have to venture somewhere else, but I'm just a fan of the chilled out vibe and beautiful weather that Thailand consistently guarantees.

Speaking of which, Dubai is becoming a bit more chilled out, with bearable weather, as we creep in to the winter months. I might hit the beach this weekend, but also need to go and visit Clare and Nev and meet new baby J, as well as call Erica, Joe and baby Noah in New York to see how they're all getting on. Will also be calling S&K to see if they fancy a large bottle of wine in an incredibly smoky bar for a big catch up session.

Life is good, I think, just quite fast at the moment. I can't really believe it is already the end of Sept, and actually went through a whole thought process earlier about how perhaps I could readdress an issue in August when things were quiet... before coming to my senses. All this crack smoking really gets in the way of work. No, I'm not serious. This year has just sped by, and I think the interminable planning cycles just help to grease the cogs, as you are constantly looking forwards and conceptualizing what might happen in Q2 2010, rather than actually making things happen today, or tomorrow, or next week. Future-gazing. Danger, danger.... (high voltage)