2006 - Part 2

The lil guy came down earlier today. Sadly his cousins, who have been spending the days here, during the working week, left yesterday. His mum, my sister, brought him. She is feeling tired with the chemotherapy. She is completely bald. The chemo is expected to continue until October. She is on the 2nd phase of chemo, i.e. it’s a different set of chemicals to those she was taking in phase 1. These chemicals take a greater toll on her energy reserves.

The lil guy is full of energy. He has more energy than a Mexican illegally crossing the American border. He has more “va va voom” than Thierry Henry. He is duracell personified. Tonight we watched “Cars” and “Cats and Dogs”. It’s funny enough watching the humour on the telly. It’s even funnier when he sees his uncle recreating the actions on the carpet. Didn’t manage to complete all of “Cats and Dogs” – the lil guy was fighting fatigue, with his usual stubbornness. He failed and was soon in REM sleep once his head hit the pillow. He’ll probably dream of talking dogs, cats and cars :) - I might get a guest appearance. He’s put on so much new height. He is now able to cycle without stabilisers. He can even push himself from a standing start. Remember, the last time he was down, we cycled 8 miles, with him using stabilisers.

Last weekend I took his cousins on a bike ride. They too have grown nearer to the sky. I had to raise their saddles. The eldest led the way, the youngest was third and I shouted commands from the rear. We cycled the same route, more or less, as I did with the lil guy, the full 10 miles plus. The boys handled the journey well. We sampled some black/red berries at the furthest point from home.
Further on I let the boys go shopping in a major supermarket ALONE. I hung outside, guarding the bikes and watched the parading people go in and come out. They went in armed with 10 large money units. They did well. They purchased drinks and sweets and even brought back change. We found a new BMX bike park and the eldest 2 had fun. Child 2 fell off a few times and the gravel irritated his cuts, but he didn’t stop – he was enjoying the experience too much. The youngest let me race him on the cycle track – he won, but it was close. They made a few transitory friends too. The youngest is the best at making friends – he sees a game going on and just wanders over and asks if he can join. Both days of the weekend were spent on our bikes.

We also went swimming on Saturday – or was that last weekend? That too was fun. All the boys can now swim without floating aids, though the youngest still finds the deep end a challenge and has to be watched. He went down the “snake-slide” more than any of us. I went down twice and would have done more but each passage and landing aggravated the groin. I did a handstand in the water, for about 3minutes. When I came up it was to find a protective father staring with evil eyes at me as he feared my imminent collapse on him and his child. I apologised and smiled and went back to the boys.

The fuss I made with the insurance company paid off. I received a cheque, less the excess, for my stolen bike. I’ve been scanning Ebay hoping to spot a bargain bike – so far without success. I may eventually purchase new. I’m trying to avoid steel –I want a light bike.

More police action at work. One of the existing clients had his car stereo stolen by, we think, one of the new clients. We discovered one of the existing company mobiles has been stolen and has possibly been in active use for 3 weeks. This was discovered by accident – one of the staff rang the number by accident. The phone had been used by a recently departed member of staff. Sadly with the clients we deal with “lock it up or lose it”. Though as in real life it’s the few who actually ruin it for the many.

Me: I motor on. I am beginning to believe God took me up on those offers I made when tragedy struck family members. You know, when your brother is lying in a hospital bed, you kinda offer god anything, your soul, your happiness, etc, so long as he gets well. A bit like those books/movies where a person sells their soul to the devil to ensure happiness for someone they love.

As for Lisa, I’ve heard nothing from her. I’ve played all the cards I am prepared to play. I’ve noticed on some of the “female ads” – “must be sufficiently well off”. It’s the only card I haven’t played. Maybe I’ve read too many classics, have too many romantic attitudes and ideals, but I just can’t bring myself to mention money.
I’ve never been money mad. I’ve always felt health was more important. Watching money, e.g. shares, interest rates, bores me. I’ve always felt pursuit of fun as more important. Though family obligations have been a higher priority. I watched my elder brother pursue money. I watched him take on two money-losing businesses. He refused to let them go for the sheer “joy” of having his peers praise him for having 5 businesses on his letterhead. Eventually the worry led him to a triple heart bypass operation. Eventually the 2 money-losing businesses were sold off.

The only real ambition I have shown in my life has been the subject of this blog.