Friday 18.9.09

Gulp. Change is in the air.

I got up today to find an email confirming the start of the OU certificate. I was glad that it had come through, having got the application in a bit late, then worried I might not keep it up, then excited in turn. In avoidance mode, I haven't looked at the special student internet pages. Oh but I will. It struck me how 21st century things are. The last time I did any course that needed the internet it was 2002, and we were taught how to use Google as a search engine. That was revolutionary to a lot of us, as was the fall of the Twin Towers a few months later. I hope I haven't been a fool, and can get on and make the most of this opportunity. If I can't, it will have been an expensive mistake that we can ill afford.

H has her girlfriend over for the weekend, so I went shopping, read the paper in the cafe, and did a good clean-up. I'm pretty pleased that the house is being kept in fairly good order, maybe it's more a barometer of how things are than I would like to believe.

Nick came home with some news that was unsurprising and disappointing at the same time. In spite of all of his commitment, well, I won't say, except that we will be affected financially by £200 a month from February. Not in a good way. We just about manage now, so I don't know how we'll economise. Maybe I'll have to get another minimum wage job. I don't want to think about that at the moment. I feel bad that I couldn't hide my anxiety from Nick. I think he will view this as my being upset with him, which is not the case. I am so proud of him. He deserves so much better. Hey kid, move on, it was good while it lasted.

Derren Brown is very much in the news with his magic stunts. Tonight was an attempt to get the audience glued to their seats. It didn't work on Nina or me, but about 50,000 people called the show to tell about their experience. This is far more important than Obama's decision to cancel the space-weapons programme, swine flu, and the economy combined.

Tuesday 4.8.09

Today had two beginnings. I woke up in time to see Nick off to work, but made the fatal decision to go back to bed with my headache. I read quite a few chapters but then fell asleep, waking up to the sound of H with friends in the house. Embarrassingly, it turned out to be 3pm. I had lots to get done, and felt ashamed as it seemed too late and I had let everybody down again. Depression appeared in the form of octopus tentacles crushing the ability to have a coherent thought. I went out of the house without my keys, lucky H was in, then went the wrong direction for the tyre place, and then drove past it.

There was a bit of a moment when the tyre man said that I would need three tyres (I do think he was telling the truth but it wasn't a truth I wanted to hear). He quoted over £200 but he took me at my word when I said that I couldn't afford it and shipped in some cheaper ones for me. I subsequently see he has charged me £15 for a guarantee I didn't ask for or even know about. Since there's no explanation of what this guarantee is, I can't think how I'll ever avail myself to it. What are they guaranteeing? that the tyres will stay black? or round? or rubbery? Why would I want a guarantee when the Sale Of Goods Act protects me for up to four years? I think it guarantees they get £15 out of me for a cost to them of one line of computer print. I considered complaining, but it feels like too much hassle. I hate to be had, so maybe tomorrow though.

I started to feel better and did a supermarket run, got home feeling upbeat and made a family dinner. Everybody is in better spirits today, so the benefits of the holiday are still with us. We had a good chat and a laugh.

I watched Derren Brown's The Heist on 4OD. A group of successful middle managers are persuaded into holding up a security van using a toy gun. I was reminded of my former self, suited and articulate, attending motivational seminars and lapping it up. The oddest bit was where he persuaded them that they should each steal sweets from a shop. Out of the large group, only one had the sense to say that he had a teenage daughter and there was no way, even for fun that he was ever going to shoplift. Well done him. I'd like to think I'd have done the same, but I'm conscious that at the time, I would have been buoyed up by over confidence, and competitiveness and would have gone with it. Funny enough, now, because there's nothing to loose by being myself, I would be more likely to refuse. Anyway, the important thing is that I had a good laugh at the expense of the suited ones.

Bank Holiday Monday 25.5.09

Spent the morning in bed (surely the best place to be on a bank holiday) on my own. Nick declined my invitation saying he was' not doing that again'. I hope he didn't mean it for the long term. He stuck to his guns even after all of the children had gone out. I had intended to get some work done on my punctuation, but failed to get on with it, instead, I spent my time catching up on various tv programmes I had missed. Curses to i-player and 4OD, I would never have bothered to see them if it weren't for the opportunity offered. Even as I write I can't remember what I watched, but hey, Bloomsbury Grammar Guide or Have I Got News For You? What Was I to do?

In the evening Nina, P and I went to Derren Brown's show, Enigma, at Northampton. It was a big treat as P had organised it all, and even drove us down in his car (called Percy, better than naming his nob I suppose. Unless his car is named after his nob. I'm not thinking about my daughter's boyfriend's nob, I wouldn't OK). Northampton is a nicer town than I remembered, perhaps because it was mostly closed, but sunny. There was a tall young man bouncing his basketball in the precinct, and they have a sculpture which can be summed up as two flying men with no genitalia. We had a nice tea at a coffee shop run by a nice Greek (or maybe Italian) man. We sat outside in proper continental cafe style. When I poured my Diet Coke into my glass, it overflowed, flowing steadily towards P. You never get that kind of entertainment in KFC (the alternative food option) where they do the pouring for you. Good choice.

We made a mistake and missed a few minutes of Derren Brown's show. It was mostly excellent, although there was a bit with a spirit cabinet which went on a bit perhaps because it is quite a standard magic act. I had to admire the scripting of the show and Derren's stage persona which was both charming and authoritative. It reminded me that I have always intended to learn the memory techniques he uses as it would be both useful and a great way to show off. The finale is spectacular but I can't write about it in case one of the thousands of people who reads this blog is going to see the show. I wouldn't want to spoil it, it was ace.