Man-flu crosses gender boundaries

I am ill.

I really am.

But probably not as ill as I think I feel.

I have a cold. I feel rubbish. My throat hurts. I feel quite pathetic and self-pitying. I have spent most of the weekend lying on the sofa telling Matt that I think I'm going to die.

This is man-flu. I am not a man.

Flash! A-aah!

A few weeks ago we looked after **i* and R***'s gerbils while they were in Canadia. They wre pretty annoying - they'd always make scrabbling noises in the corner of their tank while we were trying to watch tv - and it's pretty disconcerting to hear funny noises in the house when you know you're the only peron in it.

But once they'd gone, we missed them. And they were pretty cute. So on Monday we went out and bought some gerbils of our own. Matt's is black and is called Scamp. Mine is black and white and is called Flash. And is quite clearly much cuter.

Sadly, however, they do not seem to like us very much. They hide in their play tunnel and only come out when we're not looking. This makes me quite sad. I hope eventually they get used to us and want to be friends with us...

Driving in my car

When I was 17 I had driving lessons for about 9 months, which seemed to be largely successful. On my instructor's suggestion I put in for my test. Then he retired on medical grounds and I tried two other driving instructors who said that there was no way I was taking the test in their car because I was too dangerous.

I had about 6 lessons in my second year of uni but did't get any further than that.

Yesterday I had my first driving lesson for my third attempt - hopefully this time I will get to taking a test! I would like to be able to drivie so that I can get promoted at work, contribute to the annual drive to Skye with Matt and Hil and argue with Matt about who gets to drink.

It was a bit scary trying to do things like get out of junctions. I had a hairy moment when I realised the road wasn't going where I expected it to, turned, turned back, panicked and stopped in the middle of a junction. But mostly I think I did quite well. Lots to work on, but I think that for a first go, I did pretty well.

Meatloaf and happiness

I have just added a few more albums to my mp3 player and now it is full! I bought two cds last week - Crazy Itch Radio by Basement Jaxx, because I really like 'take me back to your house' and I knew that if I didn't really like the rest of it Matt would - and The Best of Meatloaf. I don't have a senes of shame, exactly, about buying a Meatload CD but I am aware that it's not necessarily quality music. It's quite sentimental and his gender politics aren't always spot on but it takes me back to being 14. My best friend's mum was a hippy and we used to listen to Meatloaf and the Eagles and I was occasionally happy.

Unlike now, when I radiate unspeakable amounts of happiness to the point where people can't bear to ask me how I am. Well, nearly. But I think that I'm only ever really into one thing at a time and currently it's my job. I do like coming home and seeing Matt but I spend a lot of the evening thinking about my tenants and how to make them happier. I don't want to turn into someone who has no life outside work. But there's so much to get my teeth into and I think I can have a real positive impact on my tenants' lives - I just find it really exciting.