Slogging

A really bad night's sleep for some reason and waking up repeatedly.  

A day of increasingly joyless slogging. Glacial progress on a complex and boring job. I told my client the work would be ready today -- but it just wasn't. Meanwhile, Valérie, my original French client got in touch and I'm going to do some work for her at the end of the week and early next week. Spent the day fruitlessly manacled to my desk and ended up in a very poor mood.

Went for a walk in the evening, Lorraine, Pat and Maureen had gone to Marks and Sparks and to drop in on Beth. It was already dark. A quiet night in, eating fish curry, and watching TV and reading The Vegetarian, a novel by the South Korean woman Han Kang, my new favourite novelist. Lorraine came back with new socks and two thermal vests for me. Maureen very pleased with her purchases and showing me them.

To bed early, to read a little more of The Vegetarian.