A New Year, a New Look

Hello to everyone!

As you can see, I have changed the appearance of my blog. I thought: 'New Year, New Start'...


2009 is upon us... how is your year going to turn out?


Personally, I think this year is going to be absolutely fantastic, fun-filled and everything I ever dreamed of (and if it turns out to be less than perfect, I shall have to seriously consider my outlook on life and look back on 2008 to remember what a challenging year is really like - don't you agree?)


As for the first part of 2009, it has been good.


I started the year sick, working, down and tired. I can however say that it has improved drastically! I officially started my holidays on the 5th, where I moved all my stuff into Hilary's niece's place (where I am renting a room - her name is Debbie). I still had a nasty cough, but was determined not to let it ruin my two week break.

I took the following day off, doing a bit of R&R, watching television and thinking (I think I take after my dad in this respect!). It was delicious (yes, I know that is how you describe food, but if you know my love of food, you know exactly what I mean!) I have to say that being out of the work environment and in a family environment has really lightened the load. Debbie's household is so relaxed (I can wind down and not have to show compassion, caring and empathy all the time). She has two boys - two surprisingly well-mannered, polite, nice boys (as you can imagine, I was rather apprehensive coming to a household with young children - after Bethany's place. But am glad to report that all the fears were dashed within the day). Debbie allows me to feel relaxed (and I can even fold my legs under me on the couch when I watch television!) At times, I feel a little awkward (because as you know, I'm not much of a conversation buff) but those pass quite quickly. I must admit though, that by the time the first evening arrived, I was bored stiff and had to find something to do the following day.



The second day of my holiday I caught a bus into Solihull town centre to buy a white blouse, some trousers, lingerie and a book. I left happy. I caught the bus back home and then proceeded to vegetate the rest of the evening (what a hard life I lead!)


On the third day (sounds like I'm creating the world...) I had an interview at Selly Oak hospital. I was collected by one of Hilary's friends at 07h30, and dropped off at the Hospital at 08h30. I wandered around trying to find the building (I must have looked ridiculous, because the directions I was given were somewhat faulty ['from the building you can see the out-patients unit']. I passed the same buildings over and over and over... Eventually, I managed to locate the correct building [it was true, you could SEE the outpatients building from it - in the distance...]). At 09h00 I had found the place and was outside waiting. The rest of the morning passed by rather quickly. After the interview, I went into Birmingham (the Bullring) for some more retail therapy. I walked the area FLAT (so much so that my feet were killing me - I know, I know, that does not take much!)

Well, I then caught a train, another train and a bus home. I logged onto the Internet and found that I had an email from the day's interview, saying that I had been successful, and asking me to attend an interview at Birmingham University Hospital on the 20th at 13h30. I was so excited!


Friday arrived, I stayed home. Debbie was working from home, so at 15h00, I walked with her to the school to collect the boys. The rest of the day was spent indoors. Later that night, the boys' father came to collect them (it was his one in three weekend visit). So, a rather dull Friday was had by all...


Saturday brought with it some nice weather, so I decided to go into Solihull and do some more shopping (no, mum, I still don't like shopping...) Debbie dropped me off in town around 12h00 (as she was doing some shopping there). I bought some vests and socks (YAY, socks!!!!) and treated myself to tea, a scone and the Saturday paper and then caught the bus home. I had just gotten back when Debbie arrived home. By about 17h00, it was time to get ready to go out, as Debbie and her friends had invited me out to a Chinese restaurant in Birmingham. At 18h40, we finally left home to collect the other two ladies. We got into the restaurant at 20h00, had dinner and wine (lots of wine - both the drink and the talk kind) and at 23h00 left for home.


The food was nice. The company was better. It was really nice to go out, relax and have a laugh.


Sunday arrived and left as quickly and quietly as one would expect.


I woke up on Monday to the sounds of gentle rain on the window. I turned over, determined not to get up before 09h00. I was successful. At 11h00 I ventured downstairs, poured a cup of tea and put the television on. Having found relatively little on the television, I switched on the Wii. It was so much fun!!! In the space of an hour, I had managed to play tennis, baseball, tenpin bowling, golf, pool and boxing. If anyone had been watching me, I would have been rather embarrassed. I LOVE being a child, I just can't understand why I don't like other people seeing me behave in that manner... hmmm, do I need therapy???? Well, in any case, I enjoyed myself immensely!!!! By the time I was done playing, it was 16h00 and still raining. So I switched back to the television, watched an American sitcom and then went upstairs to mess around on my laptop.

Tuesday arrived all too quickly. I got washed and dressed in the usual dull manner. Looked at the clock and nearly fell out of my skin. It was already 12h00. This meant that I was going to have to hurry if I still wanted to catch the bus into town. I rushed through the rest of my morning routine and headed out to catch the bus (turns out I had missed the last one by minutes). I had to wait for the next bus to arrive in 20 minutes time. Luckily for me, the bus was early, which meant that I could still make it into town on time. I got off at my stop. I headed briskly for Touchwood (the shopping centre). I hurried through the crowds. I caught the up-escalator. I headed for the cinema. It was 13h40. I was late. I approached the counter rather apprehensively, and asked if it was still possible to get a ticket to see the 13h30 show of Bride Wars. IT WAS!!! 2009 is my year...... the previews were still on... I laughed... I got the ticket, and then the popcorn and headed for my first movie at a cinema in the UK, alone. The movie was dreadful, but the memory will last forever.

Once the movie was over, I had decided that coffee was the order of the day. I headed for Costa. I ordered their large Americano and went to sit down. The coffee was at LEAST 500ml worth, so it lasted me a little while, whilst I read through my email. As the people around me came and went, determined, needing to be somewhere, I sat. It was lovely. I started reading through my emails, when I came across one that sparked some interest. I opened it up, and you will never guess what it was......

An invitation to another interview. Sounds good, right? Well, turns out they want me to come in for the interview on the 20th (which happens to be the same day as my other interview, if you remember?) So, I got excited. It never rains, but it pours... I decided not to answer, as I thought that the timing would be an issue. I finished my coffee and caught the next bus home.

Wednesday arrived. I got up and headed downstairs for a cup of tea (naturally). I had not decided what to do for the day, so sat around and thought of things to do. The best that I could come up with was to hop on Debbie's bicycle and explore. So, I went upstairs, got dressed and headed out. It was such a sight (and I know that you would have paid good money to see me!) But, I had fun, and that is all that counts... I think.

After my exploration of the town, I came back home and (you guessed it) vegetated for the rest of the afternoon.

Thursday arrived and I remembered why riding bicycles is not such a good idea. I thought my bum was going to erupt every time I sat down (sorry about the gruesome images there - it was rather unintentional - but I thought I would leave it in for some comic relief!) Well, needless to say, I stayed home for the rest of the day. I had just finished lunch when my phone rang. It was a blocked number, so I answered it rather cautiously. On the other end, a voice said that he was phoning to see if I wanted to come in for an interview on the 20th (this was the email I received and not replied to). I was stunned. He said that he had interview slots available for the afternoon from 13h00 (I have the interview at 13h30 in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital). I asked what his latest slot was, he said 16h00. I took it.....

Unfortunately, my Thursday did not end there. Around 16h00, I did the dishwasher and then unloaded the washing machine. In order to hang up the washing, I headed upstairs and opened the drying rack. I hung up my stuff and noticed that I had dropped a vest at the bottom of the stairs. I headed down the stairs to get it, when i slipped. Good Lord, I can't explain the thoughts that rushed through my head at that point. In those seconds, I thought about Tony breaking his neck in the same way, I thought about broken bones (and which doctors I could see), I thought that I should have been more careful, I thought how long it would be until someone finds me, I thought about everyone else. It was really scary. After the fall, I regained my composure, and checked that I was alright. I sat on the bottom step. I could not help but think that if I had not had the job I have that I would not have thought twice about falling down the stairs. I had a good think about everything.

Friday arrived, I woke up and could feel the results of the previous day's activities down the stairs... I opted to stay in (and recover... or so I'm telling myself!)

So now you are all up-to-date...

*Aunty: sorry for taking so long to update*
*Mother: I'm fine, I could use a hug, but then that's nothing new!*
*Sister: I'll email Mommy next*