Tinkerbell's Pages

On a little update on my life...

Just a quick posting today because I actually got up an hour later than I meant to this morning and have got loads to do! Maybe it's because I've been living in my own little bubble over the last week or so because of all the dramas which have been going on, but I had no idea the clocks were going forward this weekend! I guess I haven't read any newspapers or seen the news for days either. Usually my mum reminds me when the clocks are due to change, but she didn't do that this time, so I'm feeling a bit disorientated. Good job it wasn't yesterday because I was working at Saturday school and would have been an hour late! Talking of which, the two Saturdays in a row I had sacrificed have turned into nice little earners (once the money finally comes through), so I can now pay off the final instalment for the summer holiday I booked on a whim at New Year!

On the homebuying front - after a frustrating start, I finally managed to talk to a financial advisor at the beginning of last week, so at least I know how much money the boyfriend and I have got to spend on our little home. Have been trawling the internet for somewhere halfway decent within our price range, but alas, nothing worth looking at has come up yet. I'll go and see estate agents and start the hunt properly during my easter holiday (only four and a half more days of school left!), but I'm well aware that there's only two weeks left on my loan offer and then who knows what will happen. Don't know if we can just get an extention or if they'll make us go through the whole process again. Must find out. I'll keep you posted...

On coming to the end of a very crappy week...

Thank goodness this week is coming to an end. It's been depressing on a major scale, but it's Friday tomorrow at least. Except I'm working again on Saturday (my second six-day week running), so the weekend's not going to be that great anyway. I spent the first few days of the week receiving increasingly depressing and frantic calls from big sis about one of our half-brothers. The family have known for the last couple of months that he had cancer, but no one really realised how bad it was and how quickly he would go into decline. My sore throat of last week turned into a long drawn-out and stinking cold, so I really didn't feel up to visiting him in hospital on Monday or Tuesday night. Unfortunately, he died yesterday morning and although he had several close family members around him, my mum (his stepmum) arrived at the hospital only about half an hour too late to say her goodbyes.

But although I am far from being an optimist, I suppose something good has come out of such a sad situation. My sisters found themselves in the same room at the same time for the first time since they were forced to suffer each other's company on Christmas Day. My half-brother got to meet his half-niece before he died and apparently, despite the pain and the knowledge that he only had hours to live, his face lit up when he saw her for the first time. And big sis held her niece for the first time since she was born at the beginning of December. Maybe even my infuriatingly stubborn sisters finally realised just how precious and important family really are in the greater scheme of things...

On feeling a bit angry and grumpy...

I am feeling a little bit angry and grumpy today and here are a few of the reasons why: (1) I am knackered and therefore, like a small child, am getting what my mum used to describe as 'overtired and a bit grizzly'; (2) I have received the approval to go ahead with my homebuyers alone 'in principal', but apparently I need to find a home I want to buy within the next THREE WEEKS (!), or this offer 'will automatically lapse' (and that just isn't going to happen!); (3) I have to see a financial adviser before I can go any further with my application anyway and I've been trying to set up an appointment all week; (4) My student is coming in after school tomorrow to prepare me for the piles of extra work I'm going to have to do to help her over the next five weeks; (5) I've got to work at school all day this Saturday and next Saturday; and worse of all, (6) MY THROAT HURTS. It has been killing me for the last 24 hours, so no doubt I've picked up some life-threateningly hideous disease from the horrible brats at school!!!! Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!! END OF RANT.

On recapturing my youth (again!)...

Well, it's been a busy week and I'm totally knackered, but am still up at what my mum would call a 'reasonable hour' as I've got work to do today. After the joy of seeing 35 parents over two nights (Tues and Wed), I dragged my tired bones out of the flat and took Miss S to see Ash on Thursday night. We were not disappointed! Ash are a band who I've always wanted to see play live, but for some reason over the years I had never quite got round to it. We went to Kings College Student Union, which is quite a surreal venue that looks like an old office block from the outside. It is tiny inside and only seemed to hold about 1000 people, which meant we were able to go upstairs and get a fabulous view at the front, without getting bashed and battered around by everyone trying to crowd-surf and getting a little too over-excited downstairs! We're just too old for all that business now. Been there, bought the T-shirt...

Actually, did by the T-shirt. I finally procured myself a fetching orange 1977 t-shirt (see pic above). This t-shirt was originally available and widely worn by students and the like circa. 1995/96 and as a teenager I always wanted one. For those of you who don't know, 1977 was the name of Ash's first major album release and is the year Star Wars (a popular film with the band) was released and the year the band members were born (me and Miss M too!) Anyway, decided it was about time I finally got the T-shirt I wanted all those years ago, so I did. And despite the fact that it is bright orange - I love it. Also realised that I still quite like Tim Wheeler the lead singer - although he is now a hot 30-year-old rather than cool 18-year-old!

The band were fab and some of the songs brought back so many memories. I remember listening to their songs all the time during the summer of 1995. This was a period of great significance in my life which I think back on now with such fond memories. This was the time when I fell in love for the first time (or thought I did anyway); I first met the boyfriend (although back then he was just a good friend); I went away on my first drunken holiday with friends for the first time (boys and girls - how exciting!); left school and only had a Saturday job to worry about and turned 18. Happy exciting days. As the lyrics to their song Oh Yeah go: 'I don't know why these things ever end; I sometimes wish it was that summer again...' (*sigh*).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3WLaOdHi94

On another busy week and mortification on the dancefloor...

The boyfriend is out paintballing with his friends from work today, so I've got the flat to myself. I'm supposed to be doing all the housework and the usual work for school, in addition to making notes for parents' evenings on Tues and Wed night, but although I was up early, I'm not really doing to well so far! I've got another busy week ahead - am taking my lovely friend Miss M to see Ash at Kings College Student Union on Thurs night for her 30th birthday pressie (yay - we're so excited!) and then a group of us are going to Jongleurs in Clapham on Saturday night for her main birthday treat (incidently, this is also the place where Miss S and I go to salsa). Having the parents' evening on Tues also means that I'm going to have to miss my salsa lesson this week : (

This brings me neatly round to the tale of last Tues night's salsa lesson which I've yet to tell! My group had a different teacher this week, who was very impatient and quite scary compared to the guy we've had the last couple of weeks. He kept telling people off when they went wrong and seemed to think we were all useless. Not having Miss S there again meant it was quite a uncomfortable experience at times, but I was speaking to some others in the group and at least they felt the same as me! I hope we don't end up with him again next time. Then, in the break (without Miss S there for me to hide behind), a guy from another group just grabbbed my hand and swung me onto the dancefloor in front of everybody. There were literally about four other people dancing and about forty people standing around watching. I tried to explain that I was not very good, but it was too late and I had to dance with him for the entire song (which seemed to last for ages). I was totally motified! If only Miss S had been there to experience my gut-wrenching embarrassment! When I got home and told the boyfriend about it and he thought it was absolutely hilarious!