agggggggggggggggh
In other news, I'm ill. It was only a matter of time, really. Richard was inflicted with a horrid head cold last week, and it was inevitable that I come down with it too. But shocking that it took a full seven days to happen.
I had an absolutely lovely weekend, which was a relief, cos the week was turning out to be quite shit. I was getting really sad and bitter and wishing I had just gone home earlier. I could have seen the Red Sox win the World Series. I could have been there for the election. I could be making money, instead of wasting away feeling lazy and useless. And what was I sticking around for? My two-year anniversary, and to spend more time with Richard. Well, our anniversary came and went without much fanfare. And as for the rest of our precious time together, Richard spends most of it working in the lab anyway. Blah.
But the weekend... we made up for it. On Friday, I had errands to do and a late doctors appointment, so I decided to stay out until pop league and swung by to visit Matt. As he came to open the door to let me in, he accidentally locked himself out. Oops. So we spent an hour or so trying to track down the two other people with keys , and hung out at Michael's new house, waiting for him to come home. As we waited, Richard phoned to see if I wanted to go out for dinner. Oooh! We ended up in the basement of a nice Italian restaurant, in a dark little nook by ourself, and I had some yummy gnocchi. Very nice! Afterwards we had an hour and a half to kill, so we went for a drink at a nearby swanky pub. Then pop league, where we first got together two years ago. Aww.
It was Halloween pop league, and there were loads of great costumes. Very few in our crew dressed up, however - in fact, very few turned up at all, but at least they all sat with us at our table, which was nice. Marisa, Patrick and Stuart were like the Happy Days trio. Marisa was a 1950s carhop, complete with roller skates. Fab. Stuart was a bit of a Fonz, and Patrick was an old school diner/fast food worker, with a crazy hair net and hat. Bless. It was pretty low key, and sort of a tribute to the late great John Peel, so a bit sad as well, with a weird selection of music. But I filled myself with rum and coke and managed to dance a bit anyway. The walk home was long and brutal. I was drunker than I thought, unable to walk straight, and suddenly terribly tired. I didn't think I'd make it.
Saturday morning, Richard headed out to check something at the lab, then do a bit of shopping, while I lounged in bed and finished a great book. When he returned we both sat in bed reading the paper. I eventually got up and started cooking. I had made a big visit to the fruit and veggie stall and stocked up on lots of raw ingredients. Now was the time to put them together and make something fabulous. I ended up with pumpkin risotto, fresh bread and apple crumble. Yum! I hollowed out the pumpkin, separated the seeds, dried them to munch on later, and handed over the shell to Richard to carve. It was his very first jack o'lantern! Aww bless! And it looked fab. We put a candle in it and lit it up, and it kept me company as I cooked up the feast. In the meantime, Richard tidied the front room. Actually, he scoured the place. It looked fab! It was so nice to sit down in a nice clean room, with a hot homecooked meal and a bottle of wine, watching some shit talent show together as the sun went down. And for once, I didn't feel guilty for my failure to get motivated and make the most of the day. I didn't care. And I felt we had made a pretty good job of it anyway.
Sunday was more of the same. Except this time my grand creation didn't turn out as well. I had grand plans for a nice potato and spinach gnocchi. Even though I had never made gnocchi before, it seemed quite simple. Ha! It took so much work, and the result was disappointing floury dumplings of disgustingness. Ack! Even the creamy mushroom and spinach sauce turned out badly. I wanted to cry. Richard pretended to love it. I barely kept down five bites before giving up and tossing the lot. What a waste.
On Monday, I woke up sick and spent much of the day in bed. Ditto for Tuesday. Blah. I did manage to finish my mixed CDs and letters for my Australian friends, though. And I knitted like mad in an attempt to finish Patrick's scarf before I leave. Minor accomplishments, but accomplishments nonetheless.
Yesterday I actually left the house. Wow! I went to the post office and the bank before heading into town to meet Alison for a flick. I'd like to say that both errands were successes, but that would be silly. The bank visit was especially awful. Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE my bank? Well, I'll spare you my tirade, but suffice it to say they SUCK. The goal this time around was to pay off the bulk of my loan and renegotiate monthly payments on the balance. I had already phoned twice to do so, and got two different answers. Finally, I was sent to my local branch. But when I got there, I was told I cannot pay off part of my loan. I either continue the current arrangement or pay off the entire thing. ARGH! So I have to continue the current arrangement - and continue to accrue insane amounts of interest - for the next four months, after which time I will hopefully return with the total amount and pay off the whole thing. Why can't anything ever be simple?
Speaking of which, I still haven't received my deposit, more than three months after moving out. Apparently it takes that long to get someone to replace a piece of chip board. One which I shouldn't be responsible for in the first place. Bastards. There's no way I'll get the cheque in time to make use of it now. Shit... As soon as I wrote that, the phone rang and it was the bastard agent... Turns out the bill to replace the floor comes to £220. Which is basically the bulk of the deposit. I'll be lucky to get £50 back now. ARGH! I am shaking with rage. SHAKING! And it's useless to even argue with him. It's so frustrating. I want to cry.
As for the film,the latest animated wonder, it was lovely. Too bad I was all stuffy and sniffly and gross throughout. Hmmm.
Afterwards, Alison and I went out for coffee and chatted for a few hours, as is our way.
I'm into the final stretch now. Just a few days left. I'm thinking I should be making arrangements for farewell drinks or something, but I can't be bothered. Awful! Actually, as I was laying around thinking earlier, I had a brainstorm. It involved a trip to the pub, then bowling alley, then back here to the flat for a Saturday get-together. Crazy, I know. Crazy. But it just might work.
After that inspiring thought, I was inspired to clean like I have never cleaned before. I tidied, I decorated, I rearranged... I even mopped the floors... with bleach. It was fevered activity for several hours, and now I'm sitting admiring my freshly immaculate surroundings, listening to the cheesiest radio station ever. As in, easy listening, horrid local adverts, and a DJ with a lisp. Wow. It's kind of comforting. I can't wait until Richard comes home and sees what I've done. Hopefully he won't object to some of the changes. Hmm.
Did I mention I'm already packed? It was remarkably quick and easy to do. Too easy. I must be forgetting something. Or maybe I'm just used to it. Who knows, the next time I write, it might be from my parent's basement in lil ole Rhode Island. Freaky! Wish me luck. I'll need it.
