NYE

Wow - New Years Eve. I feel as though it's come around too quickly. This is only going to be a small reflective post. I mean - you guys have been through most of it with me.

I cried my final tears for S yesterday. No more for 2011 I told myself. Not promising but hoping.

It wasn't a bad year. January saw me start a new job and February saw the first of my business trips with a stint in Basel. It also saw the eldest of my baby cousins start his travelling. 10 months later, he's now in Australia and I miss him immensely but with Skype, his blog, Twitter, Facebook, his random texts and a trip to Oz hopefully planned for Summer 2011, I know that he's doing ok. March saw me turn another year older and not so wiser. Betty decided that her time was coming and I was distraught!

April saw me dating (which clearly didn't work out!) and May saw another business trip in Dublin. How excited was I?! Only to not see any of Dublin (I barely saw my hotel room) working 17 hour days! But making myself indispensable at work will hopefully have have good things in store for 2011! June saw a lot of redecorating at home, some hen dos and bridesmaid outfit fittings.

July saw a whole load of weddings. In fact, that is the only thing July really saw. Ooooh and Jay Z at Wireless (plus a whole heap of other celebs!)! Ooooh and the purchase of Hector (my new car!). And then we reach August. August was a shitty month (11 posts in one month can testify to that!). Having my heart broken once and for all proved a lil' too much for me. My emotions ran wild and I was a wreck. Never had I depended on my siblings or my friends as much as I did then. Hindsight is a great thing and looking back I have a few unanswered questions - to myself but I'll deal with those as and when. September saw a continuation of August. Let's be fair - having someone in your life for 10 years and then leave will take a while to come to terms with right?

The last three months saw me fly a lot! October saw me take a trip to Frankfurt which tested my patience with family! November saw me in Athens which tested my patience with friends(!) and December saw a trip to Budapest with a new friend (all of which need photos I know!).

And here we are. I can only go into this new year optimistic. So my friends are hooking up and falling by the wayside but that doesn't mean it's my time. And I don't have to live by anybody else's time lines. New Year resolutions will be made (and most likely broken!) but my heart will be on my sleeve just as it always has been. If I get hurt - then hopefully I'll learn from it.

To all of you that read this blog. It'll be 3 years old in January. What I started out as a lil' bit of fun because I was bored at work has become such a part of my life. In turn as have you those that read and comment. For all your kind words during the year - my words can do you no justice but thank you.

Happy New Year to all. I hope that 2011 is filled with much happiness, laughter, good times, good fortune and love.

Pregnant or Fat?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8730106.stm

I love this article. And totally agree with the last sentence. Many a time I've umm-ed and ahh-ed about offering people my seat. So much so that sometimes, I just sit and pretend I'm doing something on my phone just to avoid eye contact! :

The Down Side of Road Rage

I don't get road rage (often). In fact, I can be very patient. What I don't like though is when people try to cut me up.
You can clearly see that I have patiently been waiting in the queue of traffic to get to my destination.
You can see that I am in the correct lane (I know some of these concepts may be foreign in SL! :P). So why do you think it is acceptable to come speeding along the side of me and try to pull out in front of me?!

My usual response to these things are (me shouting through the glass and hoping that the person can lip read!) "Can't you see that we've all been waiting patiently?!" No, I will not let you in. I've WE'VE all been waiting and you should too! No I don't care how flash your car is!" (whilst thinking "That is such a nice car!")

So this morning when someone tried to cut me up and I moved Betty forward to close the gap, I was mortified that the driver of the other car that I had just given my usual response to was VERY HOT! To make it worse, he gave me a very sorry looking shrug (one that said, "we could have had something!") and I felt very very bad. Not least because he was hot, but more out of guilt!

The moral of this story? Choose your road rage victims wisely.

New Era

I guess you want details of the date first? Fine!

The blind date (BD) was organised by a friend of mine (D) and the only detail I had from D about the BD was that his name was J. D booked the table at the restaurant and gave me a time and a place. Arriving a lil' late, I told the waiter that I had a table booked and he informed me that there was a gentleman waiting for me. I can't say that I was nervous because I didn't know anything about J so I didn't have any expectations. It was a nice feeling to not expect anything. As I walked over to the table, I was greeted by a tall (and we all know how important that is to me!), Caucasian and cute guy.

"Impressive!" is what I thought to myself but with still an evening of dinner to get through, I didn't get too excited. Conversation flowed smoothly most of the evening but that was mainly due to me. J was very sweet and I enjoyed his company immensely but I think the evening made me realise that I need someone who is a lil' more confident and is a bit more vocal. We exchanged numbers and I doubt that it will develop into anything apart from a casual friendship. But at least it's something that I can tell the grand kids!

Speaking of the opposite sex, recently I have been prone to a bout of wolf whistling which, maybe when I was younger I would have felt slightly pleased about but now I was highly embarrassed (though a lil' pleased!). The wolf whistling I can deal with; though cringing as to what I about to write next! Yesterday a very young looking boy (20?) approached me with "Wow. Hey sexy. You are buff!" (the first definition by the way!). I may have actually gone red and as a Sri Lankan we all know how difficult that is! It was horrible! But the price we must pay I guess! *eye rolling*

The "New Era" title does not reflect my new found desirability to the opposite sex. In fact, I have started my new job and though it seems as though they expect oodles from me and I don't have the first clue, I have a good feeling about this.
And it helps that they want to give me a company American Express card! Wooooooo!

(A very rushed post with spelling and grammar mistakes - apologies!)

India - Finally!

I did manage to keep some kind of daily journal whilst I was there but rather than expose you to my (crappy) handwriting, I'm going to type it out. It'll be in a few parts so if you are remotely interested - please try and read them in order in the hope that they'll make some sense!

"Never again" I vowed to myself about 14 years ago. Never again will I travel on this bloody airline but what to do when they offer the cheapest fare to your destination of choice?! In times of credit crunching, you can't afford to be picky right? And so the journey begins at London Heathrow airport (LHR) with the captain announcing that there'll be a 45 minute delay due to air clearance (or something that sounds remotely aeronautically technical!) over Brussels!

I inwardly groan at the fact that I am putting myself through this again (my first experience with this airline started with a 5 hour delay!). As the plane finally takes off, I consider the journey that lays ahead of me - dosas, temples and a country that closely resembles SL. The flight itself is uneventful - a lil' turbulence to scare me slightly, the food leaving a lot to be desired and Krispy Kreme donuts purchased at LHR that I am thankful for!

Now ours was not a direct flight. Hell that's why it was so cheap! (LHR - Mumbai - Chennai) So imagine my concern when the captain announces a delay in landing - especially since we have another flight to catch!

Disembarking from the plane at Mumbai, the first thing that hits me (quite literally!) is the smell - it's not good! After that, it's the sense of panic that we might miss our connecting flight. This is clearly the same feeling as many of the other passengers leaving the plane who are barging past me with their hand luggage. Some that resembles the size of my hold luggage!!

The organisational skills of staff at Mumbai airport leave me somewhat bewildered (no point getting stressed!). I am very British in my ways - queuing is not beyond me yet as a Tamil, I know what to expect amongst other South Asians. I felt very sorry for the Caucasian people who were on their first trip to the country!

With 15 minutes until the departure of my connecting flight, I make it to the boarding gate. I get on the bus thingy that is going to take me to the aircraft. The temperature outside is apparently 30 degrees (I landed at 2:30 in the morning!) so I'm aghast as to what it might be during the day! I stand on this bus for about half an hour roasting as more and more people are piled on. BUT far from being stressed or annoyed, I'm loving it!

Our flight to Chennai leaves 45 minutes after our scheduled time and we manage to safely arrive at our final destination. A further 40 minutes as our temperatures are scanned by a scary looking gun type thing (36.6) in a bid to contain swine flu. And finally I manage to collect my bags and leave Chennai airport.

Apologising profusely to the driver who's come to pick us up, I soak in the lights as we drive to the hotel. As competent as I am in Tamil, the difference between South Indian Tamil and the Jaffna Tamil spoken at home left me asking him to repeat what he was saying at least twice! I agree to whichever hotel he suggests seeing as all I wanted some sleep.

I am clearly a closet freshie at heart because nothing (except the smell slightly) seems to faze me!

The first two days are spent exploring Chennai and it's surrounding areas before we start our crazy temple tour.

The highlight for me is Mahabalipuram. The ancient rocks carvings with such intrinsic detail leave me somewhat in awe.

Apologies for all the text and lack of photos in this post. The next few will be photos and less text!

iPhone

I have one and I don't really know how to use it!

It's all very technical and the manual they give you with it is SHIT!

Technology is moving so damn fast and I am getting left waaaaaaaaaaaaay behind!

Update from India

This is going to be a very quick post with no sentence structure, poor grammar and crappy spellings!

I have another 10 minutes before my internet time runs out!

Reached Chennai in the middle of the night (3:00 AM ish) about 10 days ago. The temperature was about 30 degrees! CRAZY! It only got hotter during the day!

Started touring the temples (you got to love my Amma!). Roughly - the trip was something along the lines of Chennai - Trichy - Madurai - Kanyakumari - and currently in Kovalam (Kerala).
Kerala is beautiful! And the people are so nice! And the shopping is awesome! :)

I met this beautiful lil' boy with the best smile ever! Photos when I get a chance to upload them!

Less Blogging

In 72 hours, I will be in a departure lounge waiting for my flight to be announced.

Destination: Tamil Nadu - India.

I can not wait!

My friend from high school is getting married out there so I thought I'd go (I was invited!) and make the most of it. I have never been to India before so am extremely excited.

Whilst making my way through Chennai, Madurai, Bangalore, Pondicherry (not to mention all the other lil ' villages!) and last but not least Kerala before I arrive at the destination of the wedding, I will be taking an infinite amount of (rubbish) photos but it's going to be great! And the pound is not doing so badly against the Indian rupee! I think that I may be more excited about the food more so than anything else!

4 weeks of limited blogging and blog reading but oh so worth it!

Musings

The sun has started to fade now. People are reverting back to not smiling and everyone is starting to look that lil' more miserable! It was fun while it lasted.


My sister walked into my room last night just as I was about to fall asleep saying that there was a car on fire in the alleyway behind our house. Cue my brother, mum and I rushing to the back house windows to see what was going on. "Call the fire brigade!" says Amma. I do as she says and am told that they've already been informed and the fire brigade are on their way. 10 minutes later and still no sign or sound of fire engines. The fire has now caught onto the wooden fence of a house 4 doors away from ours. "Oh shit - it might spread to our fence! Thambi (lil' brother), go and get the hose ready!" my sister says. Me and brother stare at her thinking probably the same thing: How are we supposed to tackle a fire?! With our hosepipe? The water barely trickles out!
I put on some jogging bottoms and go outside the front of the house to warn the neighbour - an elderly gentleman whose wife has not been very well of late. No one is answering and in our lil' cul-de-sac there is a small amount of panic. "Where is he?" I hear someone ask. "I think he is away" another voice replies. Inwardly, I breathe a sigh of relief but don't want to imagine him coming home to find his back fence burnt out.
After what seems an age, I hear the sirens getting closer - another neighbour directing the fire fighters towards the alleyway and the fire which is now spreading slightly (albeit a slowly!). I see residents from the opposite side of the alleyway - windows open and heads hanging out.
The crackling and popping of the car burning scare the life out of me - unexpected each time.
I hear the firefighters trying to contain the fire - and the sprinkle of drops from the backlash of the hose. Slowly but surely the fire is being extinguished and dark smoke billows into the already dark sky.
Everyone returns to what they were doing - the show over.
"A lil' late for that now!" I hear my brother say as the sound of falling rain takes over the sound of burning metal.


Ticket for India which I thought was booked may now have flopped and I may have to rebook and pay a more extortionate price. But it's all for a friend's wedding - and 4 weeks away from work has got to be worth it


Hen party at the weekend was interesting. Quickest way to learn about people is to play drinking games - especially "I have never" which always seems to get sexual!


Have guys lost the ability to chat up girls? Not wanting to stereotype or tar everyone with the same brush because I know this is a small minority. Walking home after a night out - a car drives past. It's passengers - young South Asian guys. "Yo, yo, yo, yo" - no one from the group answers. "Yo man - you in the pink. The girl in the pink. Yoooooooooooooooooooooooo" And yet despite this clear display of chivalry(!), still no one answers. And how do they deal with their somewhat bruised ego? Throw a bottle of water at said group of girls and then drive off (I'm pretty sure that I will get (anonymous) comments saying that it was probably deserved for coming across so stuck up but so be it!)! Further along I see the same thing - a group of guys hanging outside the windows of their car. "Yo yo yo" and girls giggling despite themselves and entertaining these chavs! Seriously?!


And I need to sort out my bloody visa to India!

Not The April Fool

Shitty start to the month.

What do you do when one of your best mate's lil' brother commits suicide?

There are no words. No amount of consoling. An infinite amount of grief.

19 years old and all he wanted was some love.

In All of Our Twelve Years....

Nothing like this has happened to us and yet yesterday it kinda did.

Someone tried to break into our house yesterday! :-( Thankfully they didn't actually manage to get in so nothing was taken but it still feels like rubbish.

And on top of that - the police must have sent the dustiest police officer ever! He was in such a rush to get away that he didn't even bother looking at the house. When I asked him if wanted to see if anyone had tried to enter through the back, he said "Oh yeah, I guess I should have a look around."!

WTF?! Seriously?!

So far today has been spent calling the insurance people, waiting for forensics and trying to sort out all the other bloody admin stuff.

We were thinking about moving before but this incident has definitely accelerated the process.

Struggling!

If you’re as unfit as I am, or even slightly asthmatic like I am (hayfever induced!), getting older must be a bitch.

Seriously – I struggled to blow out all the candles on my cake! And the pressure was on because people were looking at me. Staring, as if to say "WTF is wrong with her?!" "Why can't she blow out those candles?!" And all the time I was thinking "There are sooo many fucking on here! You try and give it a go!"

So for next time, I asked them to just get the numbers themselves rather than individual candles to add up to my age!

Fear

I am getting my hair cut tomorrow.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!*




*enough said!

Fundraising

I guess most of the readers know I'm Tamil. And I know that there are a lot more people out there that are better equipped to write about the war. That's not what I'm going to do. I just wanted to share something that I'm quite proud of - not for any kind of glory but because it was so much more successful than I anticipated.

We all know what the situation is like back home; some more than others. But there's only so much protesting can do.
Every time I log onto FB, I've been invited to some other rally and some other protest and whilst I agree that there does need to be some kind of International Community involvement - even if it is just to highlight the situation more (some people I work with don't even know that SL exists, let alone what's happening there!), what difference has it really made?!

So A decided he wanted to raise some money. Host a charity event. So between A, R (who will maybe feature more in this blog as time goes on) and myself, we decided to go for it. A few ideas were thrown about and in the end we decided to have a charity auction. But not just random stuff for auction. We decided to auction off "dates" (yeah, it kinda borders on prostitution but not quite!)! This was all decided on 28/01/09 (you'll see why I'm telling you the dates a bit later) and by that Friday we had a venue and a date for the event to take place - 04/02/09. That gave us exactly 5 days for us to market the event, get people who were willing to be auctioned, get restaurants to sponsor the dates and choose a charity. A charity that was preferably on justgiving so we didn't have to handle large donations. That weekend was spent marketing it on FB (you gotta love it!), me making frantic telephone calls to friends calling in all kinds of favours as well as promising all kinds of favours (get your minds out of the gutter - nothing sexual!).

A has me down as a bit of a wordsmith - well, when I am compared against him. So I sent out a whole load of emails, messages and wrote the fundraiser page synopsis. Wednesday arrived as quick as we had thought of the idea and I spent most of the day running around finding stuff to collect the money in. Arriving at the venue (a bar lounge provided free to us), I set about creating the scene. I put the names of the restaurants into envelopes so those being auctioned off could choose.

And slowly people started to wander in - the after work crowd comprised of faces familiar and some of those not so familiar. I would have been happy if 20 people turned up but by the end of the evening I reckon at least 90 people had passed through the doors.

A was the comperé and thus began the auctioning. It wasn't a normal auction. We set a bid increment which happened to be £5. Whenever you bidded, you only put in the £5 and the last person to bid would win the date. Thus, you could bid 4 times and spend £20 but your last £5 might have won you the date. We thought that this would work better than one person having to fork out £60/£70 and surprisingly it did... On the night, we raised £1981! For something that was arranged within a week, I'm so pleased that it worked out. Currently our total stand at just over £3500 with online donations and an employee charity fundraising scheme.

For some of those people that this war is more than the marches, the protests, the sitting in comfy offices preaching or dictating - hopefully it'll make some difference.

Not just who I am - but a part of what I am.

Scrumpy's Antics

I'm still relatively new at my job so it's a constant learning process (my line manager loves to hear that!). It also means that I'm constantly meeting and being introduced to a bunch of people whose names I am never likely to remember.
Obviously we all have ID cards and the majority of people tend to wear them around their neck so it's usually hanging around the navel area. I'm one of these people.

Today, I was standing around doing what I do best (nothing) when a member of staff who I've yet to meet/work with (X) came up to me.
She pointed at my navel area so thinking that she wanted to know my name, I enthusiastically flashed my card saying my name. X shook her head at me and mumbled something at me. Oh, she didn't want to know my name. Fair enough. I assumed she wanted to get to the drawers behind me so I moved out of her way. Again, she shakes her head and still mumbles.
Erm.. look of confusion starting to register on my face - do I have something on my top? Looking down, I see that I don't so I say "I'm sorry?".
"Your zip!" she mentions far louder than the mumbling she had earlier exhibited!
How embarrassed was I?!

The other incident which wasn't nearly as embarrassing. I leave my house about 7:45 to get to work. I live in a quiet cul-de-sac and because of the recent Arctic like temperatures that Britain has been experiencing, I'm careful about my footing. Tuesday morning was particularly icy.

As I walk out, I see a man walking/slightly limping across my road. Just as I'm about to put in my earphones, I hear a thud. I turn around to see the man on the floor. So being me, I ask him if he's OK. He says he'll be fine but he didn't seem to be able to pull himself up. I asked him again because at this point he was dragging himself across the (albeit small) gap on the pavement to the nearest garden pillar.

As I watched him try to drag himself up, I could see he was struggling so I asked him if he was OK. By this point, I could see that his legs weren't that strong - something of a dead leg as such which blindly explained the limping so I asked him if I could try to pull him up. Holding both his hands, I tried to pull him up but I couldn't. We tried again with him using the post for leverage but I just couldn't get him off the floor.

He was starting to get a bit worried about how he was going to get up so I told him to hang on - I'd just quickly run back home and get my brother who'd come and help us. Waking up my sibling who hasn't got anything to do at the moment because he's off university at that Godforsaken hour wasn't about to go down to well until I quickly stammered out I needed his help. Along he came and lifted the guy up from behind with not that much effort - bless his heart!

It's the little things that make you smile.

What's Going Around

People get bare tag happy in the SL blogosphere don't they?!

So before I get feeling left out when nobody decides to tag me (awwww), I'm just going to write it as it is!

I don't tend to have any resolutions. If I did, they would have gone like this:

• Try not get as much road rage (broken at 02:35 01/01/09)
• Try not to swear (broken 02:37 01/01/09)
• Try not to eat that much take out (broken 15:05 01/01/09 whilst at the pub)
• Lose a lil' weight/tone up - shit that will never happen let alone get an opportunity to be broken!

As you can see, the whole process would have been sooo pointless that it would have been a waste of time even trying!

So instead, I've decided to do actions. Things that I need/want to do by the end of 2009. These involve:

• Doing my bit to aid the combat of climate change. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a tree hugger but I do want to do my lil' bit. So, I will be turning off unnecessary lights, printing on both sides of the page, turning off my monitor (though not when writing a post!) and trying not use my hair straighteners that much (a whole load of energy in itself!).
• Learn sign language.
• Go on a digital SLR beginner course.
• Attempt to learn the flute.
• Only spend £50 a month on any extra curricular activities (like going out partying, clothes I don't need, make up that might make me feel good).
• Spend time with those that matter,
• No more drama (though it does entertain me when I read back on previous blog posts!)!

And last but by no means least - learn to say NO. Seriously. No means no. What's that overly friendly hot neighbour (it started off so well but he's started to leer at me now!)? You want to show me a good time? No thank you. But it'd be really good fun? Yeah, no thanks. What do you mean I'm giving off signals that I want you? For the love of God, NO! Clear enough signal for you?!

I think this might be the most important one too. I seem to get myself into predicaments where guys seem to think I'm interested in them when I'm not. Just because I'm willing to hang out with you does not mean I want you.

So there it is - in all it's glory.

Happy New Year to all! :)

So, This is Christmas?

Having been tagged by Thé Doc and Gehan, I should really get around to this post before the New Year!

I think the point of this post is to summarise 2008 so here goes I guess!

In 2008:

• I have fallen out of love with New York.
• I started this blog with the hope of just having somewhere to pen down my thoughts and in addition to doing so have met some very cool people.
• I've had my heart broken (repetitively).
• I realised that you can't always depend upon your family.
• I bought a SLR camera.
• I took up kickboxing (though I'm not going to carry on as I am far too lame to hit anyone!)

There's probably a bit more but nothing that strikes out me. I wouldn't say that 2008 has been that much of a defining year for me. Maybe this time next year, I'll have more to say!

The Love Affair Is Over (!)

I didn't think that it would end like this. All it took was 6 days! 6 days breathing and living it. For those of you that knew, I was in New York a couple of weeks ago. Up until this trip - New York had been one of my favourite places. Always busy - the hustle and bustle of it all, the fact that whenever you're in Manhattan it feels as though you've stepped onto a set of a film or Friends, the fact that everything is celebrated OTT amongst so much more.

But by the end of the 6 days, I'd had enough. Maybe it was because of who I went with (siblings and S - the ex).
Arriving at Heathrow T5 (which looks awesome) - I was filled with that excited anticipation that is expected when you're going on holiday; the prospect of being away in a foreign land without the dramas of being at home! The flight was uneventful and thankfully due to online check in I had managed to bag us all seats by the exits. You know the ones where you always see other people sitting and glare at them enviously because they have so much leg space.

Arriving in JFK, I was happy to be back in NY - it always seemed like a home away from home. We were staying at the Pan American in Queens and they offered a free shuttle service from the airport to the hotel. Saving money is always a bonus so I was well excited when I booked the hotel. Being someone who tries to plan meticulously, I read the reviews about the hotel (do not ever go on TripAdvisor unless you never want to go on holiday ever again!) and was highly prepared for the worst. I kept telling myself that we wouldn't be spending much time in our hotel room so it would be fine. Arriving at the hotel, I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't look as bad as I expected but appearances can be deceiving. I'm one of these people that judge the quality of a hotel by the quality of the bathroom. And suffice to say - it was very nice.

Despite physically being prepared for the cold, mentally none of us were. The days were spent wondering around Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn in a cold daze. It was unbelievably cold but we ran out of things to do after about 4 days.

If we had more time, we could have done so much more but due to the fact that I was travelling with a group who weren't really interested in doing anything apart from shopping and the normal (overrated) sights, I ended up being quite disappointed.

I will go back to NY at some point but not for a long time yet!

The Outcome

What happened next?

R left me her keys, contact telephone numbers, some money to order pizza and casually dropped it into conversation that this was the first time that they had left P with someone overnight (!). On top of that, my dad freaked the shit out of me by saying something like” Say they give her some drugs and go off and then you’re the one left to deal with that….(!)”! WTF Appa?! Why would you say something like that?! So I was in freaked out overtime!

Leaving work – I looked like a right dishevelled nutter and I may have been muttering to myself slightly about what to do!
Arriving at the nursery (first part a success having found the nursery and not getting lost – who said I didn’t have a sense of direction?!), I was pleased that they remembered who I was and let P know I had arrived. She ran up to me and again gave me a knee hug (she’s getting better at those!). She made to run off but I asked her politely to hold my hand and she did. As we walked down the stairs, I heard the inevitable.

P: Where’s mummy?

Scrumps (S): Mummy’s at work my love. She’s working late with daddy and they’ll be back soon.

Phew – no further questions your honour. She put on her jacket and sat in her buggy (pushchair) for me. First proper hurdle. Trying to push a buggy with a child who’s probably (clearly) too heavy to be in it. I was all over the place to begin with and she probably felt a bit queasy after it but didn’t say anything.

We stopped at the sweet shop and bough some sweets. R told me to buy her whatever she asked for. She chose a sweet that probably had the highest sugar count known to man but who was I to stop her – I didn’t want a tantrum!

I managed to find our way home and promptly texted R to let her know. This was what she was most worried about – again, me? No sense of direction? Hell to the no!

S: So P – what shall we do?

P: Baaaaaarneeeeey!

S: OK. Barney it is. Where are your DVDs?

P proceeded to open a box and fling out a few DVDs. Now I am not one that’s clued up with technology. I can operate my phone, turn on a computer, just about manage to turn on my TV at home with the DVD box but games consoles are not my thing. So imagine the horror when I see that they use their X-Box © as their DVD player. Bollocks! Luckily P knows how to use it – but I for the life of me could not fathom out how to change the channel to receive the picture. After a few tries, I give up. P luckily and happily agrees to do something else.

P: Puzzles! Yay!

So we did some puzzles. At the same time, P is covered with in sugar from the sweet that she chose. So I tried to negotiate with her.

S: Shall we order some pizza now?

P: Yes.

S: Shall we put the sweeties away until after dinner.

P: Yes *whilst shaking her head*

So I ordered the pizza. Upon arrival, I managed to get P to sit down and eat something that wasn’t sugar. This wasn’t that easy. After dinner, we sat and watched some rubbish TV.

An hour later or so, I asked P is she was ready to go to bed. She said yes and I remember thinking to myself – RESULT! I didn’t manage to get her to change into her pyjamas – well I managed to get her to put the bottoms on and that has got to count for something.
As I tucked her into bed – I was still reeling at the ease of it all. What do these young frazzled out mothers complain about?!

P: Can I have a story?

S: Sure you can honey. Which one to do you want?

P leaps out of bed (but I just tucked you in!) and chooses about 5 different books.

I’m still smiling. I can do this I mentally tell myself!

So I read them. Some of them are interactive. P needs to join in. But then it gets absurd. She has chosen a French/English translation book – how the hell do you manage to change random words into a story?!

*pen/un stylo* S: The pen is blue.

P: No it’s not. It’s green. *giggle giggle* A lot of fumbling about on the bed.

S: No it’s not P. Come on, let’s not jump about on the bed.

P: What time is mummy coming home?

S: Soon my dear. When you open your eyes in the morning, she’ll be home.

What succeeded was a lot of me reading random stuff and trying to get P to fall asleep. This took about 90 minutes. Finally she fell asleep (around 9:30 ish) as I was reading Dr Seuss. Thank the Lord almighty!

I didn’t manage to get to bed until midnight. I kept checking to see if she was still breathing. As I lay in bed – every sound managed to freak me out. I did doze off and at 1:00, P came into my room telling me she wanted a drink. This was easy enough as I had made on earlier. And off she trotted back to bed.

3AM, P wanders in again – she needs the bathroom. Not a problem – and she manages to stumble back into bed once more.

5:30 AM – she wanders in and needs the toilet again. Sure P, I tell her. But she doesn’t wander back into her bed. Because now; P is WIDE AWAKE! Oh dear Lord. It’s 5:30 I tell P. Shall we try and go back to bed I ask her. Sure she says. But she wants to get into my bed. OK… I can deal with that. I close my eyes to make it clear that I want to sleep but I feel her eyes boring into me.

I open them and ask her what’s up! Baaaaaaaaaaaaaarneeeeeeeeeeeeeey she replies.

I guess it’s time for me to get up! 5:30 AM on a Saturday. Luckily – Saturday morning TV is totally geared towards little children. So we sat there watching Milkshake, Thomas (who is by far my favourite), Tom & Jerry amongst so much more!

I managed to get her to eat breakfast and we managed to play with a lil’ bit more play dough. R text me to let me know what time she’d be back and I remember thinking to myself “only need to keep P occupied for 2 more hours – phew!”.

I managed to make the last few hours go by quite quickly by playing hide and seek and creating a fantasy world where P was the princess and I was the evil dragon (yeah – I’m bad!).

Despite the fun P and I had, I can not tell you how happy I was to R. Not that P was any trouble at all but there’s only so much play dough I can take!

It can't have been that bad because apparently P asked R when I'd be coming around again! Yeah, not for a while I remember telling myself!