This was started on Monday, but I never finished it, I’m afraid. So:

Monday:

Well, what a heavy weekend! Now, and I mean RIGHT NOW, I need to sleep. Not only was it heavy in terms of hours sleep compared with hours awake, but I also drank (my body is saying that I drank solidly for 2 days, but that’s not strictly true) a lot of red wine. So now I am suffering a bit but it is my own fault really.

Saturday, V was working. Some, very nice, girl came to view the room we have for rent. She was very nice and very complimentary about it but I don’t expect to hear from her again.

Because V was working, we were up early (and that means 6 a.m.) but at least I was able to clean the room and the bathroom that goes with it. Also I spoke to my best mate, S who was really chirpy and that was really good.

Then some work colleagues of V’s came round as I had to show this Australian guy, S, where some guitars were that V had persuaded him to buy – in the end he didn’t as V’s description was slightly misleading.

Then the other colleagues went home and S came back with me as we were all going to a barbecue at N’s flat. In fact this was a huge party during which, most of the Northern Europeans (it’s not just the British) got fairly well plastered. At a certain point I needed to go home but then I got waylaid by C who gave me the full works (tears, etc.) regarding her current problems. I mean, I don’t even know her that well, let alone the rest of her family. All very weird.

Worse was the fact that, some guy, in charge of the barbecue was keeping all the food for his friends. We did get some in the end, but it was a bit late. Luckily, S had procured some food and I had a crispy pancake (called panzarotta and filled with Italian cheese and ragu – but really a crispy pancake, no less) and a small slice of pizza.

Then we left about 2 a.m. and 7 of us piled into some small car with J lying across the legs of 4 blokes. I think we got home about 2.30 a.m.

On Sunday we were due to go to another BBQ with more (some the same) colleagues of V’s. Originally, V had said we would be leaving about 3 p.m., which seemed fine, until he told me the night before we would be leaving at about 12.20. Much harder if you’ve been partying all night. When he got up (about 10) he then informed me that the 12.20 was from a metro station the other side of town and that we would need to leave at 11.45!

Unfortunately, this meant Rufus had a much shorter walk than usual. We were late, of course, this being Sunday and V insisting on a bath – I have no idea why arrangements for Sunday are ever made before about 3 p.m. by V! It just doesn’t make sense!

So, the BBQ was at the ‘lake’ just outside Milan. I know what you’re thinking – what lakes are just outside Milan? Well, none really. This was obviously once a gravel pit and the water in the lake was a very murky pea-green soup-like water-filled hole in the ground with minimal landscaping. The ‘farm house’ does this BBQ thing and we are all sat at this very long table to eat outside. The food was OK, but nothing really special. ” Then M, who is this scouser who is married to an Italian with kids, tried to do the organizing thing.

During the afternoon, V arranged with one of his colleagues, R, to buy his car – well transfer it. At least it means I could get mine off the road.

Unfortunately R became unsure about it all and said he would talk to M about it on Monday at work. So there we were – stuck 15 Km from Milan and needing to get back to the tube station at least. So W was giving J & P a lift (I don’t know why we didn’t go with them) and then R decided he would give us a lift to the station. His wife wasn’t happy as he had been drinking. However, he said he was fine.

Then, as he was talking to V (who was sat in the front), he ran into the back of someone! Oh, it was quite unbelievable. A lady from a flat overlooking the scene came down at one point. The girl-who-was-driving’s boyfriend came from wherever he lived. She obviously was with her Mum. R is black, so they wanted to call the police. I just wanted to go home. But, of course, we were going to J & P’s place, because S had been thrown out of the place he was living and so he had nowhere to stay – and was going to stay with us – but, even though he’s been there a few times, his geography is worse than V’s, so he was going to go to J & P’s which is why we were going there too.

But what with R’s accident (I’m not sure I want the car now, to be honest), we were very late. Then when we got to J & Ps, they had done pasta, so we stayed for that, more wine and then caught the last metro home (after midnight) – hence the fact that I am exhausted and need to lie down. In fact, I’m going home now so will post this tomorrow!

Today:

Obviously, I didn’t post this on Tuesday. Tuesday was far too busy. I spent all morning fighting with a computer system that kept eating my documents that I had to send to a customer, a print server that failed to do anything I wanted and incredibly stupid, deaf customers. It was a very hard day!

And then, last night we went out again. V arrived later and was so tired that, he said, he fell asleep on the tram on the way! This is a difficult thing to do in my opinion, given that it rattles, screeches and is full of people, so he must have been tired. As it was, we arrived home at 12.30, so I guess he will be even more tired today!

Last night I did get the chance to have a look at Second Life, Teen Grid. Very weird. Like SL but far less interesting. Our avatar was a dog, but all the teens we could see all had avatars that were muscle-men! It’s a place for them to live in fantasy, I guess. I’m really not too sure that I will be going there again for a bit, not until we have something decent to put into it for the kids. More in a later post.

And today, for the first time this week, it’s a bit quieter at work, which is why I can finish this post.