May

Goodness, this needs a bit of an update. I can´t really be bothered writing now though, so you´ll have to make do with a snippet.

Been busy. Two new classes this week. With adults! Two days off last week.
Quite a few nights out. Lots of hanging around in cafes and bars.
Found another board game cafe, played late night Scrabble.
Proudly watched my friends´ new play.
Got off the bus in the middle of nowhere, to the driver´s consternation, and had a lovely walk.
Went to three really good exhibitions. (More on them another day.)
Laptop got a huge nasty virus, I´m leaving it switched off in the hope it gets bored and leaves.
As usual, the job hunt continues. Summer is up in the air.
May is already good month, April was wobbly. 
It´s going to be hot this week. FINALLY!!!!!!

No more hugs. No time.

I feel that this is a low. Half ten at night, sitting on my own in McDonalds in Edinburgh, on the window seats looking at my sad reflection and people walking past, going places. I don't think I'll ever be able to live outside of a city again. It's awful, it's impossible to get anywhere and you waste hours of your life on public transport, and even more time sitting waiting for it, because buses only run every 2 hours and 10 minutes.

I don't even mind bus journeys, and I do some good thinking on trains, but doing it two days in a row is tiring enough, and I'm going to be doing it tomorrow, the next day, maybe the day after too and definitely the day after that. I might cry.

I did choose to arrange to socialise with different people in 2 cities, two days in a row, but that's usually not a problem! I'd forgotten how much of a nightmare it is living 1hour20minutes and a cold bumpy bus journey away from friends, bars and nice places.

It doesn't help of course that my empty gum hurts and the chips I bought to stave off hunger are not hot and a bit limp.

I wish I had enough money to just get taxis and stay in hotels, or even hostels. Actually, I'd settle for a phone so I could call someone and crash on their sofa.

Still half an hour till the bus leaves. Might start the 5 minute walk to the bus station now, it'd be my bloody luck to miss another bus (the last bus) because I was too busy moaning about having to wait so long for it. If only I hadn't hugged Alex and just waved bye instead- I'd have caught the 8pm train to Edinburgh, I'd have got the 9.05 bus to Gala, I'd have got home 5 minutes ago and I would be in front of the fire.

No more hugs for anyone.

Scary wisdom removal

I'm still in Scotland, in the countryside, and the weather? Dunno. Haven't been outside.
Yesterday was exciting though. I had my first ever operation! I know lots of people have lots of operations but I never do, I'm more an unusual illness than a broken bones kind of girl. This dreaded first time surgery was to get my wisdom teeth out. When I was telling people they'd say "oh that's fine, I had one out it was nothing, which one are you getting out?" and when I'd reply with ALL FOUR they'd just kind of say "oh."

So I was a bit nervous going to the local hospital, with my old dressing gown and borrowed slippers. My sister's boyfriend helpfully told me that his friend had her wisdom teeth out and she came out with bruises on her collarbone where they'd been kneeling on her while someone else was holding her forehead down.
Then at the hospital they told me The Risks, stuff like intense pain and losing feeling in your mouth. ("Most of the time it's temporary so don't worry.")
Surprisingly, when when they took my blood pressure and temperature they were both a bit high so I had to go sit in a cool room to calm down... IF SOMEONE SITS ON MY COLLARBONE I'LL BREAK!!

Anyway I must have managed to lower my temperature enough because next thing I was putting on a funny gown (very modest and no bum on show, contrary to expectations) and then walking into theatre. It was pretty scary, walking into a big room with one bed in the middle and tools around about, and lots of people looking at you in expectation. I get nervous giggles, always have, so must have looked absolutely mental. So I got on the bed, and they did blood pressure on my one arm while they started to stick a big needle into the other hand, chatting away about Spain and studying art to try and distract and presumably calm me. They were doing a good job, I was starting on a run down of my complaints about art school when the anaesthetist said 'nope, that's not working, that's just not working!'
Personally I think he could have just signalled to the others or something, been a bit more subtle.

So suddenly they all swapped sides and stuck the needle into my other hand, and pretty soon after I felt a bit weird like I might faint, and I thought 'I wonder if I should tell them', then realised 'that's probably meant to happen', but I was waiting for them to tell me to count from ten to zero but then I was asleep. Then I woke up with tears in my eyes and I'd obviously been having bad dreams, which was a bit disappointing after people telling my I'd be nicely high when I woke up. After a while they gave me some jelly and ice cream which I struggled to get past my huge lips, which it turned out were normal size and they just felt huge because of the drugs. Weird. I appreciate this story isn't very interesting but really I haven't got much else to do, I'm on the sofa, I've watched Green Wing, The Thick Of It, Britain: A Natural History with Alan Titchmarsh and Charlie and Lola, I've eaten petit filous, jelly, ice cream, mashed potatoes, tomato soup and drank chocolate nesquick and warm tea and taken my medicines. I'm hungry but feel dangerously full of dairy, and feel my eyes might actually turn square. So I shall tell you my stories. But right now I think I'll take some paracetamol and watch Neighbours for the second time today.

I wish I was on a beach

"What's the weather, what's the weather, what's the weather like today?" is one of the disgusting cringey songs I am supposed to sing every Monday and Wednesday to my EFL classes. Obviously after the first half-hearted assault on poor 7 year old ears I didn't try it again. (I'm actually quite a good singer, but really there isn't a lot you can do with that song.) It's also a really repetitive way to begin a class, oh what's the weather like? I wonder, it's March in Madrid, I'd say sunny and warm?

BUT- if they had followed me to Scotland this weekend they would have had their little minds exploded. (I'm glad they didn't, that would have been like when I had to take a 3 year old then a 5 year old home with me for a week each, and we all remember how fun that was...) Anyway, exploded Spanish heads everywhere because  it's cold, it's rainy, it's hot, it's windy, it's sunny, it's freezing, it's pouring, it's drizzling, it's pouring again and now it's a bit sunny and partly cloudy, then it's night time and OH MY GOD IT'S REALLY SNOWY then it's snowy and it's sleaty and it's snowy and there's hailstones, and repeat.

I did not come dressed for the weather, and almost cried in Edinburgh yesterday waiting for the bus on North Bridge, officially the coldest windiest bit of Scotland. Great place for a bus stop. I actually stood there with my wee suitcase which I'd lugged up the Scotsman steps, dragged across the road with my hood up and face screwed up against the blizzard, and had tears in my eyes. You know when you can't physically unravel your face muscles from a big angry frown? That.
God I'm a moaner! So I eventually got home at lunchtime, the bus driver ploughing on, and put the kettle on, and put the kettle on again, and again, thinking I must have suffered mild brain damage from the cold because why was the water not hot yet? And there was no electricity. There was no electricity. There was no electricity until 8pm. Living in the olden days.

Do I miss Madrid? It's been less than a week, but SI! I'm sure I had less moany Scottish things to say, maybe later. Must go light the fire.

Sunday feelings on a Friday!

I have had a very lazy day. I didn't get dressed, and I'm going to go to bed in a minute. Not working Fridays is amazing! Because if you go out on Thursday night, then Friday feels like Sunday, then you've got Saturday and Sunday again, and this weekend we're off Monday as well!! Happy happy happy face.

I was pretty tired after work yesterday, hadn't gone home in between classes so it was a long day, out of the house from 7.30 till 8pm. Slumped on the living room floor with a cup of tea and my big jumper, with no desire to get up, I ended up making plans to meet friends for drinks after tea. I don't understand how it happens!  So we did go out for drinks, and even after saying repeatedly I wasn't going out, I ended up suggesting the place to go next, leading everyone there, and getting dancey on the mostly-empty dancefloor. Where is my sensible side? I couldn't help it though, it was Ya'sta on a Thursday night, which as I've told you before, is great. So we danced.

What's great too is that I spent 6 euros. Pretty sure I owe someone a drink or two, but I might go out with only 6 euros on me more often. This morning I had a bit of a headache but soothed it with tomato on toast, tea, pineapple, coffee and biscuits. And more tea. I was going to go for a run (I know, out of character! Needless to say it was not my idea) but my flatmate couldn't find her trainers. What A Shame. I'm not sure how the rest of the day disappeared, but I did a quick drawing, and wrote a new cv, and started hunting for summer jobs. Oh yes, and I painted some petals purple, and primed some boards to paint on, and hung up my washing. And made some soup and ate some soup and then- the best bit- watched Robin Hood Prince of Thieves with my flatmate and some dulce de leche ice cream. That's not bad for a lazy day, except that I didn't plan any classes... and I need to go and have a shower now because one of the tiny flaws with this flat is that the boiler only holds enough water for one shower, and two of us are dirty and have to work early tomorrow.

I hope you enjoyed that account of my day.

Bleeding children and sticky floors...

I've moved house! My new flat is lovely, big, and feels like home. I live with one of my best friends and another lives close enough to pop in whenever. We have young friendly neighbours who didn't mind that we had about 35 people round for a housewarming party last night. The party was great, lots of people I didn't know but enough of my own friends too, lots of well-made mojitos and- predictably, with so many musicians about- a bit of singing*. We kind of have two living rooms, one that’s really pretty with a balcony which leads onto a darker, bigger one that has no furniture in (because we don’t have any spare) which turned out to be perfect for a party, and everyone was envious, which I like. (Hear me, friends around the world, I have a lovely flat, come and visit!)

At about 3am we decided to go dancing and all cleared out to a club called Taboó that I'd never heard of, but was cool. The music was mainly techno, but with live sax and congas on top! I think the place was India themed, but there were dragons above the bar so I can't be sure. Had a bit of a dance and some expensive and wholly unnecessary drinks. Ended up finally going to bed at about half 7, as it was getting uncomfortably light outside, very glad to be able to close out the morning with my big shutters.

Today was mainly mopping up the sticky floors of last night, and picking mint leaves out of cups, the sink and off kitchen surfaces, and later making and eating a few rounds of crepes to cure the hangovers. Tidying up revealed a number of full and half full bottles of spirits; turns out house parties can be profitable! We now have a well-stocked mini bar, and a lot of fizzy juice to use up. We've also been left with a guitar, but I imagine someone's going to want that back.

Recently, it's been quite busy as usual, but more so because of moving. Since having packed up my old room my piles of important notes and lists haven't emerged from the box I stacked them into, which means my mind hasn't been particularly organised. And the internet here doesn't like my laptop, so I'm feeling a bit out of touch. Tomorrow morning I have a lot to do including buying a mattress, because after over a week on an airbed my body feels like it's suffering a bit. Luckily I'm free all day until half 3 because- finally- I have finished my movement class!

It was a dramatic last class on Wednesday. I was meeting the new teacher there to introduce her to the kids, the teachers and the labyrinthine school and she was late so the kids had plenty of time to get very overexcited. (Overexcited, enthusiastic, and energetic are my words of choice for parents when I really want to say your child is an uncontrollable maniac in my class.) This meant that when we got to the gym, instead of the majority taking their shoes off and noisily getting ready to start while a couple went mental, they all went mental. I went to drag a child down off the tall heap of mats and when I turned back around, a sweet little 5 year old was clutching her face, bawling, and dripping a puddle of blood onto the floor. The kids told me that she and her friend had bumped heads. I don't know what the other girl has under her hair but it must be bloody sharp, because this one was bleeding, a lot.

Having no tissues and knowing not to expect there to be toilet roll in a school toilet in Madrid, I stripped off my jumper and started to mop up the mess, trying to distract the girl from noticing the quantity of blood and her horrified, gawping classmates. I got her rinsed off in the bathroom then headed upstairs to try and find someone with first aid know-how or at the least an anti-septic wipe. It had emerged from under the blood there was a fairly big gash above her eyebrow, and suddenly all I could think of were the inevitable phone calls from parents, sueing me, demanding to know how I ruined their daughter's pretty face in what is meant to be an English class, taught by a competent teacher...
Upstairs we found a teacher coming out of the bathroom and after I explained what had happened she took charge and took the girl to get some ice and stuff, and I went back to the gym to take back the class from the poor new teacher, who was looking a bit startled, but probably less so than me. And less bloody.

Turns out the girl had to go to hospital to get stitches so of course I called my boss and told her, expecting to at the very least have to fill in an incidence report or something, but no, this is Spain, no pasa nada. Excellent.

Ooft, just got a wave of hangover, time to stop gazing at the laptop screen and maybe just shut my eyes for a bit. . .

*My flatmate's boyfriend is in a band that's actually famous, apparently!

It is not pancake day, you are mistaken.

What really is carnival? I know it's the big party and parade and dancing and stuff they do big in Brazil, but for me here it seems to mean people in fancy dress and adding feathers to any art project. Last week was Valetine's themed, this week carnaval, no wonder I've practically missed Pancake Day!

So I've decided to postpone Pancake Day to the weekend. It's one of my favourite days of the year, honestly, I think sometimes I prefer it to my birthday. So, seeing as I'm moving into my new flat on Friday (!!!) it will be a good start to New Stuff of 2012 to make a huge batch of pancakes. Providing the cooker works, and I can find kitchen equipment... damn I'd forgotten about that, I don't have any bowls, forks, pans or anything and my flatmate isn't moving in until Monday! I don't have a bed either, which maybe should be more of a worry. Hmmm. I just don't have much time before Friday to sort out any of this, and I have no money either, which is going to be fairly restrictive. But I got the keys today, there is electricity (though no lightbulbs) and a new washing machine and a front door doorknob will be fitted this week. Woohoo!
Need to get packing...