Sometimes

Sometimes it feels as though I must have been very wicked in a previous life to have such bad luck in this one.

On Tuesday I had a phone call at work to say that the internet at home wasn't working. Our connection was not even showing on the list of available networks. It had been getting steadily worse for sometime dropping in and out of connection. I had promised that I would call our internet provider on Thursday (I had booked the day off on Thursday). But now I had no choice.

When I got home from work I prepared the evening meal (corned beef hash) before making the call to talktalk. Following the instructions from the operative I reconnected to the internet. So that was another problem solved. Time to finish cooking the dinner, I put a tray of chips in the oven for ET.

Next thing I know ET is telling me we have got a power cut, but the lights were still on. I climbed into the cupboard under the stairs where the fuse box lives along with the gas and electricity meters. The trip switch was down and wouldn't stay up. I phoned LV for advice. We worked out that it was the cooker that had blown the circuit. By switching off the cooker at the wall I was able to switch the rest of the circuit back on. It was lucky that most of the dinner was already cooked. This was one of those moment when I wonder why me? Just how bad was I in a previous life.

On wednesday I was alright as I was going out for dinner with Plumber. I was wracking my brains trying to figure out what my boys could have for their dinner. We decided on some frozen meals that I usually oven cook but that can be done in the microwave. However it turns out that after I had gone out they decided to walk to the local chip shop, stopping on the way to buy a pizza to go with their chips. It wasn't until they returned home that they realised that they couldn't cook the pizza!

During our meal at a newly refurbished and reopened (after a year) pub beside a river in an area renown for its watercress beds, I explained to plumber what had happened with my cooker. I am hoping that it might be a simple inexpensive job that he can do for me, but then I am still waiting for him to fix my shower for me (2 months after he said he would). If I could afford it I would get someone else to do it for me.

The setting for our meal was lovely, the pub is very spacious but each area is very intimate and interesting. The food was delicious although the menu was very limited ie 4 starters and 4 main courses. I would say that this place is well worth a visit if you are in the area. It was the first time I had been there but I gather from friends that it was very popular years ago but it went downhill and had a bad reputation for several years. Hopefully now that it is under new management it will become popular again.

Thursday morning I was woken by a tremendous crash of thunder and heavy rain so that was the end of my hopes for a warm sunny day off. I had a headache all morning which tablets didn't touch. In the afternoon I went shopping for microwavable food then called round to see my mother. By then it was raining steadily with no sign of letting up, but at least my headache was easing. Mother was excited because she had something for me, a free gift that had arrived with some stationary she had ordered. She opened the parcel and handed me a flat oblong box. Inside this box was stainless steel precision scales, (I had been talking about getting some digital scales) but these are not designed for the purpose I had in mind. There were more for weighing letters and parcels than people. Only my mother could have made such a mistake bless her.

I ended my day off by driving 34 miles to visit Forest. As always we had a very relaxing time kissing, making love and chatting. We discussed the problems I am having with my cooker and my shower. He suggested that I should switch the cooker on at the wall while the cooker is completely turned off, then one at a time turn each part on to see which parts of the cooker if any worked without tripping the fuse again. He also suggested that the solution to my problems with my shower could be a magnetic descaler on the in pipe. I now know that my oven and one hot plate still work. But since then the microwave has begun sparking and flashing so I wont let anyone use that! Luckily I was chatting to a friend about this and he has very kindly bought me a new microwave oven. It is things like that which remind me I am lucky to have such lovely friends.

the expense and the relief

I woke up with a splitting headache, 3rd day in a row I had woken up with a headache but this was by far the worst. I was trying to force myself to get up after taking a couple of tablets. It was no good my head didn't want my body to move let alone stand. I knew that it was going to be a quiet day in the office and I just couldn't face the constant moaning from across the desk so I text my colleague to tell him I had a migrain. I am guessing that he must have got my text as nobody phoned to see where I was. I would normally phone in but at 6.22am when I sent the text I didn't want to wait until 7.45 for there to be anyone in the office.

I settled down to sleep, at 6.45 (I later found out) there was a tapping on my hip, JA asking why I was still in bed. 8.55 more tapping OJ asing if I was going to be very late for work! It was nearly 11am before ET tapped my leg........'are you ill?' So much for sleeing it off!!

So I had managed to sleep until about 11am took a couple more pain killers and had a session on face book, nothing that meant concentrating (that would have taken too much effort). I think it was around 12.30 before I staggered downstairs to grab a cup of tea and a bowl of cereal. Back to bed a bit of blogging before tackling what had probably been the cause of my headaches. Paying a few bills etc.

First things first though I had received my Child tax credit renewal pack in the week and now I have my P60 from work I wasn't going to leave it until the last minute this year like I normally do. I phoned them and gave all the relevant details including informing them that ET completed his college course on 17th April. I also enquired why my weekly payments had gone down by £40 pw since start of April 'because ET has finished his Further Education' hang on I only just informed them of that!!

Next was the council tax, I have had a letter telling me that I was late making my April payment and must pay up within 7 days or face a court summonds. I am still playing catch up from 2008 @ £175 pm there is no way I can pay £120 on top of that!! I phoned the council and explained my situation and offered to pay £60 at the same time informing them that I never received notification of my bill for this year so had no idea how much I had to pay or when the payment date was. Apparently its the 1st of the month so now I already owe May as well! As I only have one more payment to make for 2008 I will then be able to start paying more to the council so will have caught up with my payments by the time DC and OJ go off to University at which time my Council tax will go down because I will be the sole adult in the home. No they won't even make a note of that until September. But anyway this time next year I should be in a position to pay my Council tax on time as I should be straight long before the end of this year's scheduled payments. So thats another worry sorted.

Next I made my penultimate payment on last year's Council tax which is a great relief to know that that is almost finished. So now I could turn my attention to the TV licence. when I was on benefits I had gone onto the weekly cash plan. But for ages now I had been trying to change to monthly direct debit. I had tried to do it online bt couldn't because I didn't know when the renewal date was. There is no phone number on the website grrrrrr. A couple of weeks ago I got a reminder that my licence exired 31st March. so I have now set up a monthly DD. One of the things that have annoyed me about they way we have to pay for our licences now is not just the cost but also that they take the money for the current licence in the first 5 months then you start paying for next year's licence. Talk about greedy. Perhaps I should demand to get the programs for next year early!! Why should I have to pay 6 months in advance for their service. Suposing anything (god forbid) happened to me or even (not likely) I moved in with someone else and didn't need my own licence next year will they pay the money back?

Tomorrow I have to cancel my motor insurance with dialdirect who had failed to collect my direct debits for 6 months then demanded it in one lump 3 days before I got paid. Obviously the DD rejected due to lack of funds so now I have bank charges of £8 and interest for the day the money left my account. I was about to ring them to make the payment (which would leave me seriously short of money this month) but I didn't. DC organised a new policy for me through the company he works for he also added himself as named driver. Next week he is going to see about selling his car (that will save him £100 per month) my new policy which he will pay half of is £35pm. So tomorrow I shall pay some of what I owe to Direct dial. It is their fault they didn't take the money each month so they can have it a bit at a time.............they can't cancel my policy as I am going to do that myself.

By this time I was feeling quite good, so after a salad and a bit more rest I had a bath, dressed and went off to a Rock gig. (my head was pounding again after it though). Plumber was soundman/roady for the band. He came over to my table for a chat during each break. Ithought it was funny that he didn't introduce me to the band (he was going to say I was an 'aquaintance') but it must have been obvious from the attention he was giving me and that I had to wait for him while they were clearing up after the gig that I am not just an aquaintance. A friend of his (chippy) was coming to the gig with his g/f and another couple. They sat at my table, we hardly spoke but thats ok. But when I first saw Chipy he looked familiar but I dismissed it until I heard his mate mention his name. So I checked with Plumber what the chippy's full name was. Yes I did know him. I used to hang around with his ex wife for a couple of years when the kids were little. He didn't recognise me but thats not suprising it must be a at least 12 years since he last saw me and in those days I had very long hair and wore shapeless baggy clothes ie joggers and t-shirts/sweatshirts ( thats how SF wanted me to dress). SF hated me being friends with Chippy's wife.

After the gig I followed Plumber home (until I got bored of doing 65mph and over took him) but he had to go and unload the equipment at the Drummer's house. I went home took some pills and had a bite to eat while I waited. It was 1.44am when I got the call that he was outside in his van. So we had a chat and a few kisses before I came back in at 3.3oam OMG it was that late!!

blowing away the cobwebs

Darling, for once it is a warm sunny sunday afternoon and I am looking out to sea from the place where we shared our first kisses. I miss you so much with all my body and soul. xxxxxxxxxxx

I was sitting on top of my favourite hill with the city spread out below me surrounded with blue sea under an almost cloudless blue sky. I didn't stop long, just long enough to write and send my text to Romeo. Before reaching this spot I had spent 45 mins driving at speed (averaging 80 - 90mph along the coast road to Chichester and back again, windows down, wind in my hair, music up loud, singing my heart out. Is there a better way to spend a quiet sunday afternoon, when my lover is away.

I had a headache all day saturday, and no that was not the countless rum and cokes I drank on an empty stomach on friday night. This was a tension headache, partially down to the ever present money worries. Did I mention that I had written to the child tax Credit agency to put their records straight. Last year they thought I was entitled to tax credit for DC until he turned 20 in feb but I was not claiming for OJ who is doing a 2 year A'level course at college!!

So now they have amended their records. In July they had increased my money by £60 per week now they have halved it, So I am back where I was before July, scratching around for every penny, but one of my debts has only £8.77 left to pay in October and another ends in November and another in December so progress is being made although it is slow going. At least the petrol prices are going down I paid £1.06 today at Asda.

Added to this is the worry about what to do about our shower. I mentioned a while ago that our shower was not working as it should and someone cae out to look at it. I thought I was being fobbed off when he said it was just a case of cleaning the nodules. I am stil not convinced as there was no change in water flow through the nodules but I did buy a new head and it did make a difference. However, on friday morning I left the shower running while I made my cereal, when I went back upstairs I thought someone had turned it off but it was still on, only no water was coming from it. There was not much I could do about it at that time. So a quick strip wash and off to work, feeling dirty and yukky all day until I managed to grab a quick bath before I dashed out again for the marriage blessing.

Now my problem is that although I could live with having a bath every morning (short term) it is going to be a problem with 5 of us trying to get ready every morning. So I need to get the agency to come out and fix the shower which means being here when they decide to come out!!!! Why can't anything ever be easy.

I am also fed up because I have been trying to lose weight again but I seem to be gaining or at least my clothes are getting tighter. I feel like a bloated whale at the moment, which doesn't help my confidence. I really want to look good when Romeo returns but I feel as though I have become the michelin.

So that is why I have been suffering with headaches plus the tension at work which will hopefully improve soon. NL was poorly on friday and I begged Boss Lady to send him home, but she wouldn't because she didn't think he deserved to go home. But by 10.30 am we had all had enough and off he went, leaving me on my own and it was lovely. Oh and I was a bit naughty too, I asked one of my favourite customers if he had an email address (meaning a work one) but we ended up exchanging personal email addresses. (there has been an email exchange over the weekend).

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed with no headache but it did gradually return, so when I set off to go shopping I decided to have a run down the motorway and back to blow away the cobwebs as it were, had I got more time I would have just kept on going but I needed to be in Asda by 3ish. Who knows how far I would have gone without the time restraint, Bognor ? Littlehampton? Worthing? or maybe even as far as Brighton. One thought did occur to me as I was racing towards Chichester, it is now a year since my last late night visit to Bognor.

back to the grindstone now