Catching up

It always feels good to catch up on stuff that has been waiting around in the mire that is our minds.  Over the past week it seems that catching up is all I have done, with both my own chores and those of other people.  The worst of those neglected tasks was assisting a friend who had become long overdue in handing in coursework for a qualification, a task that I was told about last Wednesday and had to be completed by Sunday night.  She had scarcely begun the process, was feeling desperate and eventually reached out to me for help.  I agreed, she came over to mine and we made a start on what at first seemed quite a simple job but that illusion was soon shattered. I then spent the next four days attempting to dissect the information given by the examining body, written in a language that seemed alien. Three course units later it was finally completed yesterday on my own whilst my friend was in work.  I am always happy to help people, but I think it's the last time I shall agree to accepting something that may give me such a headache.  

The other stuff I cleared from my list of overdue tasks were all far more pleasurable. Clearing the bathroom of two bags full of toiletry items that were never going to be opened or used by me.  They were collected by the local homeless/in need charity last night, along with a few bits that my mum and I added on Saturday when I also caught up with seeing her.  That was also pleasurable because we "mooched", gossiped and had a lovely midday breakfast-lunch.  It's always pleasurable to see mum.  She calms and she soothes my troubles even though she has her own shit to deal with.  A formidable woman who I am sure will be mentioned in future blogs.  Today was spent catching up with my friend Gill who I first met a few years ago when we were thrown together in new jobs in Iceland's call centre to cover their Christmas rush of complaints.  Paltry training, shit IT systems and customers who could moan about a £1 lasagne soon resulted in the pair of us learning to hate the job.  We have both worked in customer service for years but we both struggled to enjoy the rotten environment. Gill came and picked me up and went for a Christmas lunch at a local carvery.  I ate a turkey roast dinner for the first time in years and it was good.  I don't cook much beyond the odd microwave meal so it would have been lovely even had it tasted like shit. Almost.  We came back here, had an Ecclefechan tart to finish us off and we moaned to each other for a few hours.  It's incredibly cathartic to get stuff off your chest that you wouldn't ordinarily share with your day to day company.  We did also laugh quite a lot because there's humour to be had in the hypothetical murder of the people and events that piss us off.

Tomorrow is housework catch up and Wednesday is another catch up with another friend. At some point I shall catch up on some sleep.