Birthday in a nutshell (I’ll complete the post over the day):
Thursday 18th July
Midday: There’s a tube strike in London so I’m working from home. The plan is to write a spec for a project at my new job at UpMyStreet, pack everything I need to take to Norfolk with me and then hop onto a train – having organised my gas problem at some point during the day.
4pm: The spec is still far from complete. I am starting to sweat.
8pm: The spec is still far from complete. I am starting to sweat.
10pm: Have a freak out about the spec. Far from complete.
Friday 19th July
12am: And suddenly, with the spec still far from complete, it’s my birthday and I’m thirty. I send a few e-mails and text messages, go for a little walk around outside and feel like a tremendous weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
2am: The spec is still far from compleete, but I’ve done enough for one day. Haven’t managed to get to Norfolk yet, but I’ll do that in the morning…
7am: Wake up exhausted like someone has dumped a bucket of cold water on my face and look around frantically. Check my watch which has been broken for the last two and half weeks. Yes, it’s still broken. Scrabble around for bags and clothes and things I have to take to Norfolk.
8am: Everything’s packed, but do I take a shower? I have no hot water, after all – not until the gas is fixed. Decision made on spur of moment – damn the shower. Run outside and wait for bus.
8.30am: Bus still hasn’t arrived. I now have an hour to get to the train station.
8.45am: The bus just drove past fully loaded with people.
8.55am: Arrive at tube station having given up on bus. Am carrying huge bag of crap. Tube station is closed due to flooding.
9.05am: Arrive at other bus stop, hop onto bus – surely everything will be ok now.
9.30am: Have moved about ten minutes walk down the road. Old ladies are lapping us. They’ve literally walked around the world once while we’ve been in this queue.
9.40am: Get off bus and walk to nearby tube station. Pay for ticket and walk through barrier. Take off iPod headphones. A message comes over the tannoy, “There are no southbound services on the Bakerloo line at the moment”. Swearing, I turn tail and get back on a bus.
9.50am: God it’s hot on this bus.
10.00am: Arrange to meet Nick C. and drive up with him from Primrose Hill as whole public transport thing is slowly destroying my mind.
10.25am: Bump into old friend at tube station. Declare that I am thirty. He’s older than me. Feel like I’ve joined a club.
10.40am: And we’re off to sunny Norfolk!
11.45am: Nick and I are driving around in the sun and it’s really good fun and we’re talking and really enjoying ourselves. I keep getting nice text messages from friends, and then – while driving through Elveden – I get a phone call from Gideon in St. Petersberg wishing me a happy birthday which is so entirely cool.
2pm: Arrive at my parents’ place in Norfolk kind of sweaty and exhausted. Which makes it sound like we arrived at orgasm rather than a nice house in the countryside, but we really didn’t. We lounge around for a while, I show Nick around the house and the village, we have a drink, get cleaned up and wait for the first people to start arriving…