London calling - A bad week
You know how, in life, there are periods when it feels like everything is running smoothly, things are under control and, yes, you're kind of happy, and smiling, and a joy to be around. Life is good for yourself, and - as a result - for those around...
You know how, in life, there are periods when it feels like everything is running smoothly, things are under control and, yes, you're kind of happy, and smiling, and a joy to be around. Life is good for yourself, and - as a result - for those around you, and you feel a bit like Leonardo DiCaprio at the bow of a ship claiming to be the king of the planet (nevermind that the ship went on to be come the biggest nautical catastrophe in history). And then it all goes a little bit pear-shaped, and because the bubble of happiness that surrounded you has been so good for so long, you feel a little worse than you would do under normal circumstances.
That, dear reader, is what has happened to me over the last week. Before you start to think that something really bad happened, worry ye not, it hasn't. But it's been a long time since I've had to deal with so much hassle on my own (remember, Flat Mate is gone now, and Significant Other will be working in Barcelona for another three weeks, I was informed a couple of nights ago!) so meltdown is a lot easier than it would be under normal circumstances.
It all started on Friday with a day trip to Bath. My colleague and I rented a van (a white one, one day I'll tell you all about White Van Man and his worth on the city's streets) and decided to meet early to get what we have to do out of the way and have an early start to the weekend. We couldn't have been more wrong. Instead of a predicted mid-afternoon re-entry into town, I didn't get home till 8 p.m., which is half an hour after I should have arrived at a dinner party on the other side of town.
Things got a bit worse when on my way home from dinner, I noticed that water was gushing out of one of the flats into the central courtyard of my block, which is not only an environmental issue but a noisy one as well. Since it was dark I couldn't see where the water was coming from - although my ear did seem to locate the noise to somewhere on the second floor. Wrong again. With daylight came the horrible realisation that the water was coming out of my overflow, and that there must be something wrong with my water tank.
So most of the weekend was spent waiting for the landlord to turn up, running to the bathroom to turn on the cold water and empty the tank every time the leak got going again. I even got all paranoid about going out and leaving it all on its own - in case the whole thing flooded or something (this in itself is an indication of how pathetically ignorant I am of how these things work. Apparently chances of flooding in this case are as remote as Britney Spears's winning Mom of the Year award.)
Unfortunately, I do not have the space here to give more details, but let's just say that things didn't get better as we entered the new week: My deadline for this article was moved to Wednesday instead of Thursday, the weather has been horrible, and it feels like a cold could be round the corner, as I haven't stopped sneezing this morning. To paraphrase: I'm hating everything and everyone, and I want all this negativity to be over so my life can be normal again.
That, dear reader, is what has happened to me over the last week. Before you start to think that something really bad happened, worry ye not, it hasn't. But it's been a long time since I've had to deal with so much hassle on my own (remember, Flat Mate is gone now, and Significant Other will be working in Barcelona for another three weeks, I was informed a couple of nights ago!) so meltdown is a lot easier than it would be under normal circumstances.
It all started on Friday with a day trip to Bath. My colleague and I rented a van (a white one, one day I'll tell you all about White Van Man and his worth on the city's streets) and decided to meet early to get what we have to do out of the way and have an early start to the weekend. We couldn't have been more wrong. Instead of a predicted mid-afternoon re-entry into town, I didn't get home till 8 p.m., which is half an hour after I should have arrived at a dinner party on the other side of town.
Things got a bit worse when on my way home from dinner, I noticed that water was gushing out of one of the flats into the central courtyard of my block, which is not only an environmental issue but a noisy one as well. Since it was dark I couldn't see where the water was coming from - although my ear did seem to locate the noise to somewhere on the second floor. Wrong again. With daylight came the horrible realisation that the water was coming out of my overflow, and that there must be something wrong with my water tank.
So most of the weekend was spent waiting for the landlord to turn up, running to the bathroom to turn on the cold water and empty the tank every time the leak got going again. I even got all paranoid about going out and leaving it all on its own - in case the whole thing flooded or something (this in itself is an indication of how pathetically ignorant I am of how these things work. Apparently chances of flooding in this case are as remote as Britney Spears's winning Mom of the Year award.)
Unfortunately, I do not have the space here to give more details, but let's just say that things didn't get better as we entered the new week: My deadline for this article was moved to Wednesday instead of Thursday, the weather has been horrible, and it feels like a cold could be round the corner, as I haven't stopped sneezing this morning. To paraphrase: I'm hating everything and everyone, and I want all this negativity to be over so my life can be normal again.