Tuesday night despite there being no sign of temperatures dipping below zero in the small hours, nonetheless they shut off the water again. Naturally it wasn’t on in the morning so I simply had to sit and wait until I could get cleaned up. When noon arrived and still no joy I guessed it would be after lunch before service resumed.
It annoyed me because I could have gone to town and been back around that time had I been able to perform my ablutions, or indeed were I the type to happily don yesterday’s clobber and go out with my hair looking as if a cat had dragged me in. I have delayed a haircut due to the cold. So I sat and waited for the sound of the cistern filling yet again ( it is just the other side of the wall from where I sit now) and when two o’clock came I was getting mightily disgruntled. I went to take a leak and from habit pressed the flush button to check, knowing it was empty. Except it wasn’t! They must have turned it on initially at such a low pressure (yes, they can control that) that I couldn’t hear it trickling in.
By now I had the right hump because I also needed to wash the dishes and were I to go to town it would be dark by the time I returned. But go to town I did, once again stocking up on liquids for when I am trapped on campus. By then even where I park the bike was almost clear of snow and the temperature was such that although I needed gloves to ride the bike, I didn’t for the trip to town. Much better.
It was indeed dark by the time I got back, I toyed with the idea of eating downtown but dismissed it because I still had just over half of that pizza and at 137y I wasn’t going to waste any of it. That was my dinner last night and indeed is dinner again tonight - still three slices left! So yes it may have been expensive but it HAS fed me for three nights. Whilst in RT Mart when I went to check the imported goods section (it’s where I can buy McVities chocolate digestives, pasta, tuna etc) a girl spotted me and started shouting “Mama! Mama!”. without looking, I parodied her and was surprised when I turned around to see the girl had returned with Tina from the Tongling train trip. Never seen her before in my life and suddenly we bump into each other two days on the trot - talk about coincidence.
Last night thankfully they left the water on and so I could shower any time I fancied and I have once again been shopping. En route to south gate I went to the cashpoint to make a withdrawal. With payday being normally on the 12th and with new year falling on the 8th (with a week’s holiday for many employees) I fully expected my salary to be deposited late and had duly ensured I had enough money available to last a week or ten days beyond the 12th. It is not often these days that I have occasion to praise the administration here but to my welcome surprise we have already been paid next month’s wages. Very nice, thank you.
Today though we have gone from cold and white to not as cold, wet and grey. Dismal. With eleven days to go before I have absolutely no chance of getting to town other than biking (I’d rather not in these cold times) it is too early to start stocking up on vegetables for my meals. I have pizza, ready curry/rice, cottage pie etc in the freezer so it will never get desperate but of course I may want to cook different things. Quite what I am going to do about the cauliflower cheese and pasta still languishing at -15C I know not. It’s enough for four people and from memory wasn’t that good. It is however hogging a baking tray so I may end up eating some, making it far more palatable with Linghams and then giving the rest to Mum and the one pup that has remained with her. They are still squatting on the ground floor of this building. That reminds me, I have a huge pork bone with meat on it that I bought for Pepsi. I must defrost it, boil it and give it somewhere it will certainly be appreciated.
Tigger is getting on my nerves now. He appears to be taking it for granted that he can sleep with me every night whilst the other four make do with the top of the fridge. Because he’s black he can often dart into the bedroom undetected but the really annoying thing is the constant crying throughout the day because he is shut out. If I don’t want him in here at night (I don’t mind sometimes but his whiskers being poked up my hooter are annoying just as I am dropping off) then I have the ludicrous scenario wherein I take my last pee, position myself outside the bathroom, switch off the light and then as fast as I can, get in the bedroom and close the door. Gammy hip or not, that little swine is still as fast as hell and can leap off the fridge and be in my room faster than you can say Whiskas. It has to be said though, he is my most loyal cat.
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