#91 Priorities

This never-ending list's been overflowing for a while

I've nearly fifty emails, half a dozen voicemails too

It's been so long since we sat down and I could make you smile

but I'd keep working every day, every day for you

That's right, I would work every day

Sunday right through Saturday

I'd work without a holiday

Every day for you

The meetings in the calendar are almost back to back

The keyboard's full of breadcrumbs and the printing's in a queue

Sat here in the office while the sky is turning black

and I'd stay here right round the clock, round the clock for you

Yes I would work right round the clock

Every tick and every tock

I'd even bring a change of sock

In fact I would bring two

My friends are all out having fun. The night is nearly through

This latest draft is not quite done, so still I work for you

It almost feels a waste of time but what else can I do?

I'll just keep working every day. Every day for you.

That's right, I would work every day

Sunday right through Saturday

I'd work without a holiday

Every day for you

#90 End of the road

"Liz, Tom" asked Marc, "if you go out of the house, which direction would you head in to get to the top of the road?"

"Left", answered Liz "because that's where house number one is". 

"It's also where the highest number is" said Marc "but surely if it was just the lowest number, it would be the bottom of the road?"

"Then we'd be saying that the road begins with us" reasoned Liz "and that is a bit arrogant". 

She thought for a moment. "Although if you're climbing a mountain, you start from the bottom and end up at the top".

Marc checked a definition and announced that in the English language, the bottom of something could be the farthest part of it from the observer.

Liz showed some agreement with this but explained that she had thought that the Left end was the top for seven months now and so it was pretty much fixed that way in her brain.

Naino chipped in to say that the top end was where the road met a main road.

Liz seemed to like this idea. "There's more going on at that end of the road" she said. "The other end is a bit rubbish and is not entrancey".

There you have it. Not entrancey.

After work, I sometimes find up to eighty unread Whatsapp messages on themes from how men should get out of the shower to euphemisms that might pass acceptable commentary when playing chess.

Not entrancey.

#89 The dropping of pins

Sasha glanced across the glass bar at the motionless penguin. It was a slow night. Shifting around to face the stage, she brought the black straw up to her mouth and sucked until it gurgled. Some of the other girls were chatting, clustered in their usual cliques. If there'd been a clock in the place, she'd've been aware of the pause in between every single tick.

The thought of her flat mate pushing pasties around in Greggs made her smile although she also realised that she could murder one right now. There were six hours to go. Maybe she could get a snack in her break. With a slowness that she'd learned to the point that it was now unconscious, she got up off of the stool, adjusted her attire slightly and sauntered across to the cloakroom.

"Are you pissed yet?" joked Alexandru. "Maybe because I just saw talking gorilla" she shot back, with no change of expression. "What?" He scoffed, "Ruta, who you think spends more time in the gym, Sasha or me?" The girl smiled but didn't say anything. "Who you think spends more time?" he repeated. "I'm not saying anything" she replied and then quickly changed her mind "You work out to impress Ivana" she stated. A grin spread across the man's face. He didn't reply.

Satisfied with this brief amusement, Sasha walked gracefully back to the bar, adjusted her hair, sat back down on the stool and ordered another vodka lemonade.

#88 Home Alone

Foamy brown suds coated every surface and dripped from every wall. This was the best that the downstairs bathroom had smelled since I'd moved in. I felt like the decision to dilute the bleach with two litres of cola had been a good one.

Placing the new rug and recycling tub in their positions, I took a step back and admired my handiwork. I'd had the whole house to myself this weekend, which I loved. I'd cooked fish cakes, skyped Lela and the twins and watched a ton of Him and Her episodes.

It had been a pretty solid week, the highlights being trips to Toys R Us, which was still good and Mamuska, the Polish restaurant in Elephant and Castle shopping centre. I hadn't had a date in over a month, which these days was borderline unusual but in a way, it was nice to have one less thing to think about.

In the two months to Christmas, I figured I'd focus on work, getting the shopping done and just generally chilling out. December tends to be full of seeing friends and family. I wanted to meet one or two new people before the end of the year though. Perhaps another night out by myself was in order too. There's only a certain extent to which a person can get away with blogging about cleaning the bathroom.