Tickets, Money, Passport?

One of the upsides of exchanging Christmas presents early is that once you've checked out your haul, you can go back out and buy the things you had held off doing so on the off-chance that it had already been bought for you.

Therefore I can now head out and buy books,CDs and socks, although I did get two lovely pairs from Clare - cashmere blend no less, get me, my feet don't know what's hit them. Used as they are to (w)holy synthetic disaster areas. Obviously I can ill-afford to buy anything at this stage but as my Christmas gift-giving/receiving is essentially over I am due a treat. Oh yes.

I had to detour past the dentist this morning, speaking of disaster areas. Although I was given a clean bill of dental health my unusually attired dentist* did recommend the replacement of all amalgam fillings. Suffice to say that after vetoing gold as an option and being told the next option up didn't last - why pray do they do them then? Unless it's for soon-to-be dead people - ceramic ones were the only option. Yeah right, like I've got hundreds of pounds per tooth to spare. I shall hang on to the 'poisonous' amalgams and replace them all for next to nothing in Australia next time I go. Lovely shiny new Home & Away gnashers for me....

Meanwhile walking down Queensway, en-route to the dentist, I observed hoards of excessively and extravagantly bobble and beanie hatted Italian tourists cluttering up the place, taking their time in Costa Coffee and generally getting in my way. Bayswater is a funny area, it's too expensive for normal folk yet is, down Queensway at least, a mess of tourist shops and crappy pubs/eateries. Not to mention two Tescos. I loath Tesco with a passion, of course I use them, I have very little choice but I was especially mortified to see not only a Tesco Express right outside Bayswater tube but a Tesco Metro less than 100 metres down the road. It's times like these I nuture fantasies of selling up, moving to the countryside and growing my own food. Of course I'd be bored rigid and would probably starve, my gardening/nuturing/hunter gatherer skills lacking somewhat, still it's a little fantasy that got me through the vigorous dental clean.

Speaking of fantasies I have also been ruminating on a change of, well, everything. Career, home, hair colour. Ok the latter isn't true but the former two are. The only problem is I have absolutely no idea what on earth I would like to do. I've spent a ridiculous amount of time staring forlornly on the OU site, various university online prospectus sites and just said no to everything. I'm prepared to study for the new career I just don't know what it is. Suggestions on a postcard please. It's not often you want to say let's start again but right now it's what I'd like to do.



*Didier has always been colourfully dressed. Today was black patent boots to the knee, black trousers covered in zippers, dyed red hair (as in Jane Goldman's colour) and about 50 silver bangles on each wrist.