I knew I'd reached this point after walking back from London Bridge to drop The Boy off to get his train and as I strolled home in the rain I didn't care about getting wet, which I usually would; I didn't care that my favourite pair of baggy jeans were dragging on the floor and rather than fussily roll them up so they don't get even more tattered at the bottoms, I let the rain soak into them and watched as the water line steadily rose up my leg. Looking like I'm on a come down, I ambled home at a steady pace, eyes glazed with exhaustion and lips cracked from dehydration.
What's weird is that I was thinking all the way home how to open this blog and I had it pretty much word perfect, but now I'm here typing it all down it didn't come out sounding how I wanted it to at all. It's not quite as concise and snappy as I expected it to be. Tired mind 1. Rose's creative writing skills nil. I can only apologise, dear reader, for how the rest of this post may evolve or indeed digress...
On my walk home in the rain, as well as enjoying the pitter patter of the drops on my very pretty rose umbrella (which stands out and shits on the normal dull black or blue umbrellas most conservative city dwellers own) I was trying to decide just how I managed to get to such an exhausted state and here's what I've managed to come up with:
- It's the last week of term at school before the summer holidays. Everyone at work is exhausted, students and teachers alike and each day passes as a countdown to when we don't have to get up at 6am every morning. Honestly, it's been pretty tough to stay motivated when the end is so freakin' close!
- I applied for a job last week for an editorial assistant position at a gardening magazine. Yes, you did read that right, a gardening magazine. Quite a jump from writing about sex and relationships I know and as much as I'd like to I don't think I could away with a subtle 'Top Tips For Frisky Al-Fresco Fun', or even a real lifer about nude gardening. As much as I'd want to go out and find an all naturist allotment group in the back-end of Britain somewhere, I just don't think it's that kind of publication. Anyway, that's by-the-by, how this has contributed to my exhaustion is the reams of written tests they sent me to complete in four days. Although it was good fun and something to really get my teeth into, it meant that all last week I was finishing work, cycling home and then sitting in front of my computer for another three hours or so to get it finished. Was I brain dead by the end of it? Shit yeah I was, but I've got an interview out of it and...
- ...that didn't stop me going out for The Boy's birthday last week. Unfortunately I got hijacked by his housemates who coerced me into missing my train home and plying me with more red wine than is legally allowed on a school night. Ouch. Celebrations then continued into Friday with a bottle of very nice champers and then a night out in Brixton on Saturday with friends, then all topped up with a splash of Sunday cocktail drinking.
- The social life continued to dominate last night as I met The Boy's cousin and his missus who are over from Australia. Awesome couple, really easy to get along with, and like a drink. The most important thing I learnt last night was an Australian's ability to say the word "cunt" without sounding offensive. It was only a little way into the conversation that I realised the C-bomb was being dropped every fourth word or so and I wasn't even alarmed. Amazing! The Cousin made it sound like any other swear word that could have been on a par with "shit" or "crap" and they're the mildest. After a drink I felt confident enough that maybe I could join in, but as I expected the C-word sounds way too harsh when spat out in an English accent and I actually felt myself shudder when I said it. Doesn't suit me at all, so I reverted to calling everyone a "twat" instead. As we went for Mexican it was only appropriate that we had tequila...for a starter and desert. Didn't make getting up this morning too easy though.
Finally though, I can see a break in the mayhem as I'm heading back to Leicester for some chill-out time to celebrate my Dad's birthday (shit need to get pressie sorted), catch up with friends and God-sons, and what I'm most looking forward to is seeing my brother. He's finally back from Maple Leaf Land and I've not seen him since last October, so having as he calls it "a good yarn" over a pint or five will be sweet as.
Also can't wait to take wandering walks in the rain back there, a bit like I have tonight, only hopefully I'll be more alert as I stroll through the fields breathing in fresh air rather than city fumes. Perhaps my topics of conversation will become a little more imaginative and exciting as I let my mind unwind and relax rather than have it move at a hundred miles an hour as I logistically think about life, where I need to be, who I need to be seeing and all that.
Right, sports day to tackle tomorrow. If everyone could keep their fingers crossed for no rain before 1pm it would be much appreciated.
Night!
RoseC -x-
