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• November 2008
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The first full week of November is upon us, and I’m off work for a week as I desperately try to fit in the 19 days holiday I have left before the end of the year.

I haven’t really got any plans for this week other than for Thursday which will see me at Glasgow Green to watch the annual fireworks display. And then I’ll be in a few pubs around the Merchant City area; for a heat obviously, because it’ll be cold down there on Glasgow Green. Ahem.

Today however, I stand accused of spectacular forward planning and of being ‘worse than a girl’. I was bored this morning (my body wakes at an absurdly early hour even when I don’t have to get up for work), and as it was dry and sunny (if a little cold), I decided to head into Glasgow to wander around the shops for a bit. I left Glasgow having bought what I will wear for my work’s Christmas night out. Which is on 19th December.

I’m actually glad that this particular festive task is out of the way, that really only leaves me the necessary present buying, and that’ll be done online hopefully within the next few weeks. I’ll hopefully be stress-free over the festive period and will just be able to enjoy the atmosphere without all of the hassle that goes with it. I think Edinburgh will get a visit this year (haven’t been for a couple of years now) as the mulled wine in that wee German market thing at the top of Princes Street Gardens is fantastic!

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I’m on holiday from work for a week. This is my first break for 14 weeks, so I’m finding it a bit weird getting into the swing of doing nothing.

I got up this morning about 8am (which is a pretty decent lie-in for me, as I’m normally up before 6am), and I’ve done nothing at all since then (apart from shower and make some lunch). And I am BORED.

I have things to do this week, but can’t motivate myself to do them. I’m meeting a friend for lunch tomorrow, so that’s pretty much that afternoon used up, I’ll visit my parents tomorrow evening (get a free dinner cooked for me), and I have a website to design, code, and build for another friend.

I also have a house that badly needs tidied (both inside and outside), and a ton of bills/letters to file away. This task will definitely be done this week, as the state of my living room with papers and books and letters and all manner of other bits and pieces is really doing my head in, and if I don’t do something about it sanely, I’ll end up just piling it all into a big heap and setting it on fire (it is almost Bonfire Night after all). And I kinda need some of it, so setting it alight isn’t really the best idea.

I also want a new table and a new lamp for the living room. This (not the lamp, the table part) would also allow me to finally set up the hi-fi that my brother gave me about three months ago, which has been sitting in the box in my spare room.

So, not sure how much of a ‘holiday’ this week will be, if I do actually manage to motivate myself to get off my arse and do any of the stuff that I should be, and frankly, need to be, doing.

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I have new wheels. That is to say, I have a new car, but indeed that also means I have new wheels. I had steel wheels on my last car, I now have alloys again.

I liked my last car. It was a Citroen C2 1.4 Diesel, and the fuel economy on it was simply superb. I could easily get 600 miles out of a full 40-litre tank. It was a quick wee car too; pulling away from junctions etc was very good, and I’d say that the initial pull-away speed of that car is easily quicker than anything else I’ve owned.

But, in November, the car will be three years old. It would also have done 60,000 miles. So I was faced with finding the money to:

• a) put it through an MOT
• b) put it through it’s 60,000 mile service

In addition, I needed tyres, I desperately needed brakes (including discs as I’d let the pads get so bad that the discs had become scored), and I had a leak somewhere in the coolant system. I estimated that getting all of this done in November would mean that I would have to find close to £700 from somewhere, which I don’t really have the means to do.

So, instead, I bought a new Mazda 2.

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OK, it’s been a while, but with good reason. I’ve had a few things to contend with: being ill, being very busy with work, and dealing with one of the biggest decisions I’ve ever made.

I decided a few weeks ago that it would be better for my cat if he went and lived somewhere else. I’ve had him for about three and a half years, and he was the best thing in my life. He was affectionate, he was fun, he was a reason to get up when I was feeling hungover, or just like I couldn’t be bothered - he could always be bothered eating, so miaowed you into a guilt trip that got you out of bed.

We’ve been through a lot together; he only ever got outside when I was at home, so that when he came back I was there in case he needed to be rushed off to the vet - which happened on a few occasions! His last vet trip was because he appeared to have been knocked down - he came limping in one night, with his front right paw pouring with blood, and in a lot of pain. Unfortunately for him, this incident meant he was kept indoors for around ten weeks. He was at the vet every couple of days to get his cast off the leg (which was broken) and to get his wounds cleaned and dressed. When he seemed well enough to get back outside (which in him mind was about ten minutes after he’d come back from the first vet visit…), I let him out.

As it had been quite a few weeks, it seemed that in that time a new tom cat had appeared on the scene around where I live. And even though Treacle had been here for over three years, this new tom thought that this was his territory. He and Treacle didn’t really get on (fighting viciously whenever I let him out), to the point that I started to keep him in again.

With no reason to be kept in, he wasn’t very happy. He wanted to be out there, even if it meant getting into fights all the time. But I figured he’d had enough of the vet for a while, so didn’t want him getting injured, and so he was housebound again.

Every morning I’d go to work, and eventually I’d come home, and he’d be there. Sitting by the door, waiting on me coming in. But I knew, he was desperate to get back outside.

I eventually took the decision to see about getting him re-homed. I made some enquiries about this, and after a few weeks Treacle was fostered, while they tried to find him a new permanent home. It took a week for someone to come and see him and immediately decide they wanted him, and I’m glad to say that he now lives in a house with nothing but fields out the back, and has a cat-flap that will allow him to come and go as he pleases.

I miss him a lot. The house is so quiet without him padding about, and I definitely miss the company; the affection; his personality. But I know I did the right thing…for him. This was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, and I didn’t do it for me, I did it for him.

I’m sure he’ll be happy where he is - in reality all he needs is love, care, attention, food, and to get outside to play. He’ll get all of these things where he is now. As much as I loved him, I wasn’t able to give him all of these things any more.

Thanks for everything Treacle, you will be missed.

Great. I’m crying. Again.

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