working on it

I was quietly, hopefully, confident that the MOT wouldn't be that difficult. Not after new tyres last year, new battery, new brakes etc 6 months ago and general service etc.

It only needed an entire new exhaust and front suspension. Only £485 worth of work. That's all.

To add insult to injury?

When it got to paying for it. At 1 minute to 6, closing time, I realised that my credit card, which would have given me 6 weeks to find the money, expired 31/03/13.

Yay.

My *car cost me another £214 today. This is sad making, but apparently, working brakes are quite important.

It's only money after all, and heating is for wimps anyway.



* I was going to write "l'il ole car' there, but I can't for teh life of me work out where the apostrophe should go. Does it even have one? I can't make it look write wherever I put it, so I gave up.

Car mended :)

Brand new tyre, 'cos they couldn't repair the old one - *and* they put it back on the car for me - all free of charge :)

yay!

So, I went to a hen night that I survived by sitting with a mother of four and debating whether the children coming into the club wearing naught but a second skin were old enough to be out without their mothers! (With the added highlight of watching the men (who were very much old enough to be out without their mothers and shamefully far too old to be letching after the 17year old girls), falling up the cunningly disguised steps at the end of the bar - strut strut strut, pose, strut TRIP! it was quite the highlight of the evening!)

I really am getting old though, I googled the new nightclub wee were going to, and all I could find was a youtube video of the toilets! The urinals in the gents are apparantly lit to change colour - can't quite see the appeal myself - perhaps they're designed to soothe embarassment after the chaps have arsed over on the way to the loos??

That was Saturday's night out, Friday was the theatre as mentioned before - and Wednesday I had a Birthday meal to go to. That was fun, food was good and company relaxed and mellow. The birthday boy was raving about the fact he had gotten out of bed that morning and come downstairs to find a giant box of lego, with his Lightning Mcqueen birthday cake on top, and his Lightning Mcqueen duvet cover to the side. He was very happy, and, although I know what it is to be a fan of something, I did spare a moment to wonder what his parents thought as they laid out these presents for their 32year old son...

Wednesday I also tried Durian paste for the first (and last!)time I always thought it was supposed to smell foul, but taste sweet.... not so much. Foul is the overiding theme there - that and mockery as I was the only one at work 'stupid' enough to taste it!

And to round off my week, yesterday I had a prison visit booked, after much debate I had to book a hire car as it was just beyond the distance at which we are allowed to drive our own car. Booking car was a fiasco as they didn't have the 'authorised' model and I had to negotiate an upgrade over many many phone calls. At one point I was threatened with a four by four, but on the day a nice shiny Golf arrived. Off I tootled.

I got 30 miles down the road when bells and whistles and warning lights started flashing at me. I managed to pull over into a petrol station where I watched as what remained of the oil in the engine poured onto the forecourt. Then I sat in the sun for an hour or more waiting for the (very nice) AA man. Who took me to the car hire place where they gave me a car to drive home in. It was a "3 series BMW" which caused some envious comments but means nothing to me. (It did amuse me that on the phone to the car hire place the AA man had to hand the phone over so the girl could ask was I prepared to drive such a car... was I supposed to be scared of it?) Anyhoo, my visit was obviously cancelled, but I quite enjoyed my enforced hour reading in the sunshine. Especially as it was on work's time!

And that was the week that was.

today I have a man coming round - unfortunately it is a married friend of the family, so I won't be oggling - instead I will be trying to be adult and home-ownery, and getting a quote for central heating.. I have vowed that I will not spend another winter crouched in front of the computer wearing 7 layers of clothing! No more will I have to dare myself to strip for a bath (I have, no word of a lie, taken a bath in a jumper, whilst I did all the leg shaving bits!) Anyway, TMI aside, the man coming means that I am whirling through my house with hoover and duster and trying to pretend that I am not a sloverny, slattern who would be voted out of the 50s housewife club in disgrace.
Thank goodness it is sunny that's all I can say, I can't do housework when it's gloomy (!), oh and I've found where the cat's pee smell was coming from - all the time I have washed the walls, and the cupboards, floors and furniture... the bloody thing peed on the hoover! - the thing I have been moving to get to all the washing surfaces! Argh!

What else? My poorly peugeot is going to the auction today... Dad and I spent Sunday afternoon washing her and making her pretty - (dad used a brillo pad to get a mark off - we had... words is the best way to put it!) I have a reserve of £850 - she's in good condition, new, low mileage.. ah well, we'll see.

I spent the last three days devouring season 3 of The Shield. omg! ( cut for spoilers - for Ironicdutchess's sake if no-one else! )

Right, erm, I have Life on Mars on order, have been listening obsessively to David Bowie, and read two excellent fics over the weekend - which I have just remembered I didn't feedback on - will be there later to do that!. I have been in bed for two days of the long weekedn with a migraine, I have spent £150 on bargain clothes, including 4 bra, and am feeling suprisingly positive!

Anyway, I have to go - wash the vacuum cleaner for starters! - I will no doubt be back later!!

1). DIY items that say things like 'easy' '1 hour' 'wipe clean' and 'quick, efficient results' ARE LYING.

2). Chocolate is very very very good.

3). My 'new' car looks, apparantly, like 'A Spice girls trainer' - wot?

4). DIY things that aren't going well don't get better if you walk away in a snit.

5). David Tennant really is rather sexy

6). Internet shopping can be very bad - it's so easy... Life on Mars - booked!

7). When I was very drunk last week I agreed to go out tomorrow, and next week with people I dislike..

Sodding car broke down in Bury. gave up ghost at roundabout - though i was gonna get squished. came back to life at random intervals and i managed to get to thelocation an hour late.
I had telephoned ahead and asked a message to be given to the course tutors - not only did they not do this, the snotty cow at reception greeted me with "You DO know it started an hour ago" - apart from downright rude, apart from the fact I had called and apologised, apart from the fact I was very clearly stressed and flustered... it's none of her damned business!
was gonna cost around £150 justto get car home, so in the end Dad and hi business partner came to get me in their furniture lorry and trailer - we loaded car into back, and we all drove back (without Yorkies)

i'm just so frustrated i could cry. dunno what to do. got to repair it before possible to sell it, but dunt wanna spend loads. i hate driving it now. so scared it gonna go wrong. i cant even think about it

hmm...

I got my car back today - hurrah! - the man said he spent several hours bleeding it and other such terms, turns out was a faulty radiator cap!!! - so it is mended again and was FREE FREE FREE!

this is a good thing.

I phoned up 02 again (everyday since the bloody thing was stolen) - they STILL haven't received the 6020 back, but again was assured I can order the 6230i when they do... which is good, they activated my sim for me, which will take at least 24 hours, so it's a week without a phone and still counting, boo. BUT, BUT the man (in between telling me he'd rather spend his money on computer components rather than phones...)did say that when it was activated it WOULD BE THE SAME NUMBER!!! ( I am very cappsy today, but these things are exciting me and I have not the energy to concentrate with the little < things to make emphasis in a neat way). If this is true (my pessimistic side reveals itself) then is is YAY and WHEE and things like that because OMG - i like my number, and maybe the telephone numbers will still be on there too????

this will be another good thing.

There are still more:

I had a moment of lking my job today - well the place and people more so perhaps - but I have been on yet more training events for the last few fdays, but had to go into work at 5pm afterwards - it was all lovely - people kept greeting me like I'd been away for ages (3days) and there was pleasedness to see me (which sounds like I'm being all false modest and so on, it's not that, it's just nice when people make a point of being pleased to see you, does that make sense?) But aside from that, I gathered a huge pile of work that has accrued in my absence - tomorrow is going to be hell! - but i got a little 'giggle' inside when I did. I like my job? When did that happen? I'm so glad I moved to this office.

(Bonus - I had to do a three way interview tonight, me, offender and the staff member from Norwich known as Devilishly Handsome - he is so very lovely and had jet black jeans today - the deep black that looks like it would mark if you touched it... I really wanted to test the theory.. He is indeed DH!)

still more goodness: I work in a place where, in the midst of the work, a colleague came and took us out to look at the sunset. It was stunning, beautiful orange/purple, with clouds and all, but my last job - when the solar eclipse happenned we had to flex out for the 5 minutes we were alloud to look at it, here, everything just stopped.

one more bit: Neighbours!!! -OMG. I am so excited for the crash and boom and they did look so very good (most of em, Dylan disappointed me I have to say) in their 40's gear. But there were all the loaded comments 'I love you's and 'I don't care if I never see you again' comments, and it was all so OOOH! - and I can't wait!
(Actually I can't, I went and read the episode summaries for the future episodes, so I know what happens, and I still can't wait!!!)

I think I should probably stop now!