Jam Everywhere: like a bear

I tend to hibernate in the wintertime, it seems. I've done absolutely nothing particularly exciting or interesting since late November (Galway trip). Now the weather is warming up but I can't really go out into it much because of my knees...

OH WELL.

I'm working full days for the whole month of March. This will effectively double my salary for that month, plus two weeks' extra pay for full days in February. I am going to save all the extra, plus a certain percentage of the regular salary for as long as my job lasts. Then I will be all set to travel, unemployed and free, for June, July, and August. If I can I want to do a nice, long bicycle tour in July or August. Like, three weeks, doing roughly the perimeter of Ireland. Nice, slow pace, stopping frequently, lots of pictures, detours, COUNTRYSIDE. I've been in Dublin, hardly leaving it, for seven months now. I love Dublin--Dublin is my city now--but daaaaaaang I love the countryside here, and have only gotten glimpses of it thus far.

But if I'm gonna get out into that countryside I need my knees to be in perfect condition. So I'm gonna focus on that for the next month. That and cleaning up my diet and not being so goddamn lazy anymore.

Also on the to-do list is a weekend trip to London if I ever get another three-day weekend from work (flying in on Ryanair, no luggage, stay in a hostel), a ferry trip and short cycling holiday around Holyhead in Wales, and a cycle to Belfast in June (100 miles split over two days).

I also want to visit other places in the UK. I mean, I should spend a little time in Scotland, while I'm so close, and I want to visit Cardiff, and maybe like Oxford or something equally pretentious. We'll see.

If my knees don't improve, well, I'll rent a damn car. But I hope it doesn't come to that.

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In other news. Here are three pictures chosen somewhat at random from my archives for those of you who still follow this blog.