Saturday 19 March 2016

A day in the life ...

This was the brainchild, I believe, of Trish at http://www.lovelaughterinsanity.com/ - the idea being to share an ordinary day in our lives. I didn't take part in the last one but I was casting about for a blog topic and remembered this, so here goes.

Friday, March 18 - a day in my life.

4am: Wake up. Need to go to the loo. No I don't. Yes I do. Get up. No. Yes. Come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. Fine!

4.30am: Get up. Go to loo; grab a couple of biscuits on the way back - for some reason I get hungry when I have to get up for the facilities at bugger-off o'clock.

7am: Alarm goes off. I contemplate committing alarm-a-cide, as I do every morning. Spawn gets up about 10 minutes later, comes in to say good morning and goes and does spawn things for a bit.

7.35: I've negotiated with my bed for my release. Dammit. Get up, make toast and a drink of milk for spawn, make toast and a drink of coffee for me. J has Fridays off, so he's around and about, too. Also some cats. (Let's take the presence of cats as a given.)

7:45-8:15: Consume toast and coffee, browse social media, read a Dragon Age fic. Get spawn into school uniform. Get dressed. Here's spawn, waiting for our ride to school.

8.35: Get picked up - one of the other mums who's son is in spawn's class gives us a ride to school every morning, as I don't drive and J usually isn't home from work by then.

8.45: Bell rings at school and I'm lingering. I help out some mornings, with reading, etc, though I have a limit of how long I can tolerate herds of 8 year olds (about 45 minutes). Today, however, it's the feast day of the saint spawn's school is named after, so we're off to church. (I'm not particularly religious but the school fit my criteria for spawn: small; excellent rep and a diverse roll).

9am: In church. I can feel my brain drifting already. Spawn is sitting beside me and I have one of those quiet moments when he tucks into me and I put my arm around him and I can feel him breathing. I love those moments. Mass goes on as it does.

10am: Spawn - and indeed the whole school - is getting restless and ready to get back to the business of the day. I stop to say hello to my old principal - now rather elderly, but she taught me as a wee thing at the same school. Also there was the mother of a high school friend of mine.

I drop spawn off and head to the supermarket to pick up a few things. I also call my old job, as they need someone asap for a three-month fixed term contract. I start on Monday and while it's a lot to get my head around all at once it'll be nice to be working again for a bit.

10.30am: I make the bus, yessss. Get home, call my Monday lunch friend and reschedule and tell her my news. Then I call Births, Deaths and Marriages as the woman from my old job I spoke to said that HR would need a birth certificate or passport. For a company I worked for, for 13 years. So I'm on hold for a bit, and I take a few photos for this post while I'm waiting. Get through and find out that the court records for my birth certificate have my first name spelt "Marie" instead of "Maree". Were my mother still alive, she would have Words to Say About This. I say yes please when they offer to track down the records to correct it. Fun and games.

11.20am: Coffee and ginger kisses time. Om nom nom nom nommmmm I think to myself, "I could work on that Dragon Age fic while I'm sitting here. 300 words. You can do it." I browbeat 410 words out of myself and call it a good day's work.

12pm: I meander to the living room, ipad, book and water in hand. I dither for a bit on what to do, then decide to start on American Horror Story: Hotel. Which. Is. A thing. That I watched. Only one episode though because it has everything, the kitchen sink and the local bloodbank in it. I'm sure it will be terrible but I'll persist - for now. I heat up a bacon and egg pie for my lunch and read a bit of Perdido Street Station while listening to Adam Lambert on spotify. Tis peaceful. There's a cat.

3pm: Meander back into my room, intent on abrogating all of my adult responsibilities and playing Dragon Age: Inquisition for the rest of the afternoon.

7pm: Okay, that's exactly what I did. Friday afternoon is game day in this house,which doesn't mean what you might think - it means video games. Spawn is a gamer kid, and Friday afternoons is the one day he can play unfettered by things like "rules" and "homework" so I tend to go nuts myself. I played Inquisition till about 5.45; got through a major quest line. Died a couple of times - you know how it goes. I ordered pizza for tea because ... Friday. Mooched for a bit reading fic, and updating this post.

After tea, spawn asks for "alone time", so I head back to my room and more Dragon Age. "Alone time" doesn't mean the same thing to me as it does to spawn, and five minutes later he's in my room. Which is fine, it's just sort of funny.

8:15-8.30pm: Getting spawn to bed, which doesn't usually take too long. He's not a kid for deliberate delaying tactics, though he does muck around a bit. I read a  chapter of the Lego Movie book, and say good night. J repairs to his own room to read.

8.45-9.30: I watch Face Off - it's a repeat, but I love Face Off.

9.30-11.10: It's time for #cinemaz on The Zone. The Zone is New Zealand's version of SyFy, and it actually has some decent content, but on Friday nights it's time for the schlock. Bad movies abound and those of us who watch gather on twitter to mock. Tonight's offering - Lord of the Elves - is especially awful. Possibly the worst movie I've watched in a long time. It's fun, though, and I tweet sporadically while also playing Midnight Castle and trying to accommodate Lily, who is an affectionate cat but not especially cuddly. Which is an awkward combo when she's lying on my lap.

Halfway through the movie I make myself a hot chocolate and have something to eat. After Lord of the Elves, I watch a tiny bit of American Idol to see Adam Lambert's performances (which is the grand total of how much of Idol I've watched all season). After that, I take my sorry and tired bones off to bed, closely watched by cats.

Annnnnnd that was my Friday. :-)


10 comments:

  1. What a great post! I enjoyed reading about your day. I love the moment when he tucks into you in the church. I love those moments too. I know they won't come as frequently when my daughter gets older as they do now.

    Adam Lambert . . . He has a great voice, doesn't he?

    I have a feeling my daughter will be a gamer. She likes to watch her dad play and tries her hand every now and then. :-)

    Thank you for sharing!

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  2. Literary Feline: Thank you! I had fun recording the day. And yes - I try and enjoy those moments now while I can.

    I'm a big Adam Lambert fan, have been since he was on Idol.

    Heh, it's kind of fun, we're all gamers in my house.

    Thanks!: )

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  3. I love the sweet unexpected cuddles from your son. We visited New Zealand in 2014 and just fell in love with the country. It's so much fun to see a day in the life of someone who lives there!

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  4. I love to tweet bad SyFy movies too; I wish we still had them on a regular night of the week instead of just sporadically.

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  5. Alarmacide, now that's something I could get behind. LOL!

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  6. Your debate about getting up in the morning sounds a bit like mine when I was pregnant. Can I make it? Or should I just get up? But if I get up can I go back to sleep? But what if my bladder explodes? The struggle is real-I get it Maree. :)

    The unexpected cuddles are my favorites. I'll never tire of them. Thanks for sharing your day Maree! Glad you included a picture of the Spawn but where are the cats?! :P

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  7. Haha, I understand what you mean about a kid's definition of "alone" time. Mine insists on playing alone and rarely even lasts five minutes. All in all, it sounds like a relaxed Friday night and that's always nice!

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  8. I feel your morning...I can't truly "sleep in" any more because I always have to go to the bathroom. So frustrating! Thanks for sharing a glimpse into your day across the world!

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  9. I had fun reading about your day - your morining inner dialog cracks me up.

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  10. Melissa: I love those moments too :) Thank you! :D

    Teresa: It's so much fun. The movies are terrible but the tweeting is great fun.

    Megan: Right? I think we all could - lol

    Trish: The struggle is SO real! Lol, I know! I should have remembered the cats :)

    donttakemybooksaway: "alone time" is, apparently, open for interpretation - lol

    Stacie: It is frustrating. Thanks for reading?

    Suzi: Heh, thank you! :D

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