So, Sunday.
Sunday’s come around, and almost gone. First day off in an age. Or so it feels, not actually the case, but I’m so tired that it feels that way.
I declared outloud to my bike yesterday that regardless of other plans, today I would spend some time checking it over; which I duly did this morning. Expecting to have to adjust the chain tension, the brakes, and top up the gearbox oil.
In the end having checked it over, I greased the chain (didn’t desparately need doing, but what they hey, new grease is always good), adjusted the back brake a bit, but everything else was fine. Which shocked me a bit, considering that it’s done nearly 2k miles without being touched (apart from previous exhaust related traumas). Hopefully she’ll be good to the end of my placement now, at which point she’s due to be stripped and have the welding done on the frame, the engine re-re-rebuilt (third time’s the charm), and hopefully, if I can afford to sort it, the new instruments and fairing fitted.
At any rate, having done almost the bare minimum (oh, I smeared the exhaust with the old grease too, in an attempt to make that downpipe last a smidge longer than it might – for some reasons, MZ exhaust downpipes fade away very quickly), I then came back in, lazed on the bed while Trey motivated me into actually not entirely wasting my Sunday afternoon.
So after a bit of a heafty shove (which I really needed), and some whining, we headed out to Leigh Wood for a wander and a picnic. Although the city’s kind of invaded the woodland, and it’s got a railway line running through it, it still made for a really gorgeous way to spend an afternoon.
It was horrendously humid, though. Climing back up the gorge was really hard work! As we were driving back I looked across at the distance we’d crossed in the car, and had that obvious realisation of just how quick cars are. It seems blatantly, ney stupidly obvious that cars are a fuck-sight quicker than walking; but it just kinda brought it home to me. The path we’d struggled up being so far away that you couldn’t pick it out from the woods.
We also wandered across the suspension bridge, at least, some of the way across. And I had a brief moment of comparing Brizzy to San Francisco. Not that I’ve been there or anything, but there’s a certain shot of the bridge there, which was recreated in a rather British way by the view over the houses of Brunel’s bridge…
…well I thought it was.
…Anyway, we then we headed uh, West. yeah, west, across to the Showcase to watch War of the Worlds; which apart from some rather ‘but that…doesn’t make sense’ moments, at least to me as an engineery type, was cool. Lush special effects.
…and we saw a trailer for Peter Jackson’s new film. He’s doing horror and this time he’s got money! It looked to be a very Peter Jackson film, which I think I will have to go and see. Mind you I say that about loads of films and never get to see them.
Bleh.
By the time we got back to the house I was (and am) knackered. Completely flipping knackered, but you know what, I’ve had a lush day. I’ve been out and done stuff rather than just lazing round the house, and maybe nipping round to see friends, which is normally what I get up to. Trey kinda reminds me that there’s a world outside the door, and that maybe I should take more advantage of it.
Having lazed on the cofa after getting back, I was pleased and suprised to be rung by Ais, who’s been ‘mailing saying we should get back in touch – and I think I spent about an hour on the phone to ‘er, which was cool. It was nice to get back to talking to a freind after a long break. I need to ring James and Sophie and get back in touch with them again.
I’m blaming this placement for my tiredness and inability to keep in touch with any of my friends. It’s as good an excuse as any. It is very, very tiring though. Although I’d love to work in A&E after I’ve qualified I do wonder how they have any kind of life outside work.
And uh, what else.
My parents. My dad survived the op, continuing his phenominal run of ignoring the medical professions prophecies of doom. I still remain scared, but I hope he’ll be home in the not too distant future – and if the operation has worked as they think it has, he’ll be back onto a normal diet – which will be phenominal for him. Anyway, I’m writing this when I should be snuggling, so I’m going to stop and go snuggle.
