The girlfriend’s last message to me on Gchat before signing out.
We have my cousin staying with us this week, and doing work experience at the girlfriend’s newspaper. She’s evidently getting a bit of a crash course introduction to the world of journalism…
My cousin is staying at my flat next week whilst doing some work experience in the girlfriend’s newsroom, and we’ve been racking our brains trying to think of things to do with her. She’s not from London, and I doubt that she’s spent much time here at all before. Thankfully she’s over 18, so there’s always the fall-back of bars and restaurants, but it’d be good to do something else as well.
So far, all we have booked in is the London Zoo late evening on Friday 13th, which I’m really looking forward to. The similar evening at the Science Museum was fantastic, and I haven’t been to London Zoo for years. Throw in some booze, and I’m set. Anyone else fancy it?
It’s a little disturbing to see my mum listed under “People you might know” on Facebook.
Yesterday saw my parents and the girlfriend’s parents meeting for only the second time since we’ve been seeing each other. First time round, I was unbelievably nervous about it all, but this time was a lot more comfortable for me.
Our families are so similar: fairly loud mums, and quite quiet dads. Thankfully, they really get along, mainly by making the girlfriend and I squirm at the subject matter.
Amazingly, the topic of a future wedding didn’t come up, or at least didn’t come up whilst I was in earshot. Considering how frequently the two mums spoke about it last time (and probably still do on Facebook, shudder), I’m amazed. I would genuinely not be surprised if my mum has already bought a hat.
Not a bad way to spend a Sunday with a bit of a hangover, all told.
Not content with having only just recently booked a week in Dubrovnik, Croatia, the girlfriend and I already have another one booked in. This one’s with my family, at a villa in Tuscany for a week in September.
My mum’s been rabbiting on about doing a “family holiday” for a while now, as both my sister and I have left home and we don’t really do much as a foursome any more. The occasions when all four of us are in the same place at the same time are becoming ever less frequent, and the last time all four of us went on holiday was at Christmas 2004, when they came to the town in Germany where I lived.
Being my mum, she wanted everything sorted as early as possible, and after umpteen phone calls to me to check every last detail, she booked it over the weekend. I sort of agreed blindly, but today she sent me a link to the villa we’ll be staying in, which looks very nice indeed.
The idea of a week with my parents is a touch unnerving, but at least we’ll have two cars, so the girlfriend and I (and maybe my sister) can head off to do our own thing on a few days. I really want to take the girlfriend to Florence, just over an hour away, because it’s gorgeous and also because I really want to see Michelangelo’s David again. It’s the only piece of art which I’ve really been absolutely stunned by, and it’s worth the drive.
March is always such a stupidly expensive month for me. I’m the only one in my immediate family that doesn’t have something this month:
Sister’s birthday
Dad’s birthday
Mother’s Day
Mum and dad’s anniversary
Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the dog’s birthday too!
I genuinely have to plan ahead during February and save some money ahead of buying umpteen presents in March. Throw in some train tickets to go back seemingly every weekend, and it becomes very expensive.
When I was still at university, March used to cripple me financially, and I’d always be eating nothing but beans on toast by the middle of the month. Now I’m a bit more secure, I might add some cheese to that…
picture, reblog, london, family, university, memories, drunk post,
I’m going to assume that agirlcalledhenrietta took this photo of the inside of the Barbican complex, because it’s a fucking awesome shot. It reminds me of when I had my graduation ceremony there a few years back.
I spent 4 years at King’s College London to do my law degree, minus a year in Germany when I was 21, and it culminated in a ceremony at the Barbican with gowns and certificates.
My parents didn’t trust me to make it to the ceremony on time from my then abode, so booked me a hotel room neighbouring their own, for two nights.
I have to admit that my final year at uni was a slog; my friends had all graduated, and I couldn’t be bothered to make new friends. I just wanted the whole university/poor period of my life to be over and done with, and to get out into the real world.
For my parents, however, it was all about the ceremony, because I’m the eldest grandchild in the family. I still feel like a bit of an outcast because I couldn’t introduce them to X hundred friends.
For them, it was one of those moments of recognisation of the money that they’d put into my education, although maybe not quite the recognisation of how it had made me the man I am today.
It’s still one of those moments that will forever be engraved on my memory.
I just wish that I might’ve felt differently at the time, and maybe REALISED just how important it was to my parents, even if it meant fuck all to me.
Reblogged from: agirlcalledhenrietta
Originally posted on: a girl. her world.
I nipped down to Gatwick airport yesterday to pick up my parents’ car, as they were heading off on holiday for the Christmas/New Year period and are letting me borrow it. It saves them parking costs, and it’s a whole lot easier for me to get to/from the girlfriend’s parents’ house for Christmas itself.
As I wandered through the terminal to their hotel, and also whilst sitting in the hotel bar with them, it struck me just how happy everyone around me looked. Yes, travelling can be stressful at this time of year, but the smiles on people’s faces showed that they were prepared to cope with it for the reward at the other end.
Some, like my parents, were escaping to sunnier climes for a week or two. Others, no doubt, were about to cross great distances to be with family for Christmas. Either way, the whole place was relentlessly upbeat and jovial.
‘Tis the season…
I’m very pleased with myself for having almost all of my Christmas shopping done and dusted already. Usually, it’s around the 20th before I even think about it, and then I end up rushing around. Not this year, though, no.
My parents are off on holiday over Christmas and New Year, so they came up to London on Sunday for an early Christmas. This meant I had to get their presents sorted by then, and I figured I might as well get the girlfriend’s as well.
Saturday was thus spent wandering around the shops (hell on Earth for me), and I think I did alright. I had some ideas whilst I was out and then jumped online back in the flat to get the last couple of things. Organised, for once.
All that’s left is to get something for my sister, which should be easy enough. And then it’s time to put my feet up and crack on with some mince pies!
I feel like I’ve just taken a fairly big step, relationship-wise.
It’s my mum’s birthday this Sunday, and I just wrote her card to pop in the postbox later today. But this is the first time that I’ve ever signed a card for anyone in my family from me and someone else.
I’ve never been this deep into a relationship, this long with another person, and definitely have never lived with someone like this before. We really are a couple nowadays, rather than two individuals, and I have to say that I love it.
Yes, signing her name on a card to my mum isn’t really a big thing, but it feels like another step forwards for me/us.
Man, I am so loved up. It’s really quite sad/amusing.
