My Life That Happened In… #14
Episode #13
… November 2024
Friday 1st
Today is my day off, but it feels weird to call it a day off as I have to go to bed in the afternoon. I need to start treating these one-day off, like a workday and return to that habit.
Anyway as I have been up since half past midnight I popped over to see my brother around six in the morning. Don’t worry he doesn’t mind. He is up at all hours plus he needed my help with a couple of things that I did help him with.
Saturday 2nd
I had Joe from Airtaskers come over today and install the 2 hardwire kits and reverse camera. There was a problem; the reversing camera wire was too short and needed an extension. Also, my dashcam rear camera isn’t working for some reason. I will need to discuss it later when he returns.
My Android auto is now installed and covered with a blanket when not in use.
Sunday 3rd
After thinking about the dash cam and realising that power was still going into the back camera. I had another look at the lead and pushed it in, with a click. It’s now working again.
Wednesday 6th
It has started. I bought my first Christmas food of the year. I also found a blast from the past.
Tuesday 12th
Ne Ne broke down. I was trying to take my wife to work when the car didn’t want to click over. The wife wasn’t in great shape. She was waiting for a call from the GP for some drugs for her shoulder. But sadly, she had to take the bus instead.
Going online, I found a site FixMyCar.com, and found a mobile mechanic that could come out that day.
The Mechanic was called Anthony. Even though he didn’t look like your typical mobile mechanic he seemed to know what he was doing and left me satisfied with his work. It turns out my problem was my battery. There may have been a problem with the person who installed my hardwire kits. But also he believes that Ne Ne was left in storage for a while which isn’t great for the battery.
I left him to it and after a couple of hours, he had Ne Ne up and running again. I have been asked to go for a decent drive. This could help with the charging of the battery and maybe also unplug my devices at the end of my drive.
Thursday 14th
Starting today I am taking a longer journey to work. It only takes a couple of minutes to get to work so the engine doesn’t get a chance to warm up. A slight detour is needed. Plus I get to see different areas of where I live.
Saturday 16th
Joe the man who installed the hard wire kits came back today out of the blue and replaced the dodgy cable, so now my reverse camera works. I paid him the money for the replacement part, I am now happy I have it working. I just have to make sure I keep the battery charged enough by taking longer drives to work.
Getting a little worried about getting my next book report published on time as I haven’t finished reading the two books I am reading. Writing has begun, but I will see if I finish it on time.
Sunday 17th
I think my new screen in the car is causing the power drain. I will have to an eye on it for the next few days to see if the problem continues. If not a new battery is needed.
Friday 22nd
While going to work, I noticed the battery was draining again. So I spoke to someone at work who has knowledge about cars and he said he would sort it for me. I am now down £166.99 on a new battery. The price is because I presume the rarety of the car.
Saturday 23rd
I woke up around half past midnight. It turns out, that the wife has been cold due to the boiler not working. Having a look, I found an error number and checked with YouTube for a solution. One came very quickly, and I was able to get the boiler to do its job again. The wife was pleased, of course. But the chill had already set in and it would be a while before she was suitably warm again.
I had another quick nap later but woke up feeling completely knackered. Most of the day I spent trying to get my energy levels back up by resting. It did take most of the day.
Sunday 24th
I thought of something different for presenting presents for Christmas. Yes, there will be presents, but I suddenly thought of something else. Instead of just a Christmas card, maybe a Victorian-style letter could be included in the cards. I have no clue how to do this, so I went online and found a site that uses AI to produce a letter.
All I had to do was add a few features, and the AI created a letter in the style of the Victorian era. Fair enough they will wonder what the hell?, when they read it. But, I am hoping they will have some fun with it.
Here is the link if you would like to give it a go.
It Has Began
It is that time of year again when the festival season decorations come out early. The wife wanted to do it earlier, but she was able to get it done today. Fair enough the missus doesn’t go overboard and is quite minimalist. This year we have the black tree again.
Monday 25th
It finally happened at work. I had an attack. It wasn’t a normal stress attack but due to stress from the sensory environment. There was a constant beeping of horns from the forklifts and in the end, it got to me. I was able to continue, after a while and I wanted to see how far I had come along and was able to finish the shift. I am proud of myself.
Tuesday 26th
I am now a Fire Marshal. Today I completed the course, which took less time than I thought. I had to change my shift pattern to take the course, but I am proud of myself. I was even allowed to put out a fire.
Now I have to find the next course.
Thursday 28th
We are going out today. There was no rush, but we had to be there by 6 pm. We eventually left home around oneish and headed to the train station. I could have driven: But I didn’t need the extra stress and payments.
Getting on the central line from Stratford the missus started having anxiety issues due to the screaming screeching from the train on the tracks. The train is at least forty years old, so the screaming of old metal bones will happen.
Our first point of call. Bond Street. From here the wife was able to get and have the distraction to calm down in the form of:
Stepping inside the wife lost control and was touching everything.
After walking around, we finally decided on what we wanted. And yes. I found something that spoke to me. I couldn’t take my eyes off it.
This is the closest I will get to a real cat I suppose. I did get it wrong. I thought the cat was from the Aristocats, but he is actually from Cinderella. His name is Lucifer. I can’t help but love it.
The wife found a Japanese Eeyore and a jumper.
We had to leave because we wanted some money left in our accounts. So we walked across the road to the HMV store.
This place is pretty large and they have rammed in as much as possible. The shop is on two levels and has different sections for the various mediums.
We came away with a Beetlejuice Sandworm and I was surprised to find the Sandman on Bluray. So for one penny more, the wife got Wednesday season one.
Lights
As we left the store it was already starting to get dark. Making our way up Oxford Street, we popped into John Lewis for a toilet break. That place is a stampede of cosmetic stands and other items. It took a while for us to find a toilet as they were not all together but scattered all over each floor. There isn’t one on the ground floor so you need to go up a level to use one.
The ground is a sensory anxiety-driven nightmare. I am glad we were only there for a minute or two. I couldn’t dream of working or shopping in there.
At Oxford Circus we stopped and took in this year’s Christmas lights. They weren’t that great but the Wife liked them.
Walking along a bit further I spotted one of the security staff from my workplace. He was dressed up in a suit. I soon discovered that he was working for my company as they were having a pre-open day/ artistic style installation. I had a quick walk around and in the end, bought a keyring. They also had some blue Candy Floss which tasted different but nice.
There was the option to have a full-size version of the bag below with it personalised with your initials. I didn’t get it.
Continuing on our route towards Tottenham Court Road. Opposite the station, there is a McDonald’s. We decided to have something to eat before going to the final destination. We originally planned to get a drink before our first train, but we skipped that. So we had some expensive food and relaxed for a little while.
The Burger I had at Maccy Ds wasn’t that great. That will teach me to try something different. Next stop: Foyles.
We Have Arrived
We had finally arrived at our final destination. It took a few hours but we were there. Having a quick look around and then heading to the lower ground floor to meet the first person I wanted to meet. We were a few minutes early and it didn’t matter as they came out late anyway.
We had a chin wag with someone with us in the queue and the wife couldn’t decide whether she was in the queue or not. until I told her I might need her help with taking a photo.
But then she arrived, Sandi Toksvig. I have been a background fan of hers for about forty years. I was about five or six when I first saw her on a Saturday morning kids television show called No.73.
Here’s an episode I found for those interested.
I was about third in the queue and when it was my turn she came over to me and started telling me about how much she liked my coat and started telling us about how her family searched for fairies in the forest, where she lives. And they would all wear similar coats. It was a nice story. When she signed the book I told her that the first thing I had seen her on was No.73. Sandi Automatically said I didn’t look old enough. I replied thank you. But I felt afterwards, I should have said something back.
After that encounter the wife fell in love with her and wanted to take her home.
Next Level
We had to go upstairs a couple of floors to meet the next person I wanted to meet. He was in a back area away from everyone. We walked down and queued but luckily we didn’t wait at all.
There was a woman who seemed to be conducting the whole event. She took my phone for some pictures and directed us as Mr Rick Astley signed the books and handed them over. I got one for myself and another, which will be a Christmas present for a work colleague’s father. The wife wasn’t sure if she could be in the picture but was convinced otherwise.
Final Stop
We had to go up another level for our final signing. This time this was for the wife. We headed to a queue of people who seemed to be going towards four authors. So of course, we joined it. This was our longest wait for a book and we didn’t mind. The wife did her usual thing of talking to others in the queue. And then we arrived.
I don’t know if it was a coping mechanism but Mr Richard Ayoade seemed to have the same expressions for everyone he met. But the wife was happy.
We were planning on having a walk around the shop to see if there was anything else I wanted to buy. But as we made our way to the ground floor it was starting to get uncomfortably packed that I decided and the wife agreed that we should go. We had a walk a bit further up the road and I showed her a shop I went to with my brother earlier in the year. The shop is called House of Spells.
It was getting late and we were getting tired so we went home.
We came home to find some parcels had been delivered. Some Christmas presents from Aliexpress. But the most important:
My new Ice Scraper.
See you next month!
