At My Age I Should Know Better

30 November 1999

Well, the job at my brothers did run over just a little bit and much to Claire's annoyance I didn't get back until Sunday afternoon. I told her it was down to trouble getting hold of the tiles, which was true, but it could also have had some something to do with the REALLY big night out on the Saturday.

I just don't do this sort of thing that often any more and so I was expecting I would go out for a couple of hours and leave it at that. But it turns out my brother had been keen to get out as well and the excuse of his friend's birthday was too much to turn down. So we headed to a pub which we used to frequent when I lived at home, where I ran into some old friends. I was surprised they still went to the same place, and it turns out their lives haven't changed that much. They have just added wives, girlfriends and kids to the mix. They still do the same jobs and live in the same area. Thinking about it later, this felt a bit sad, as they didn't seem overly happy with the situation and seemed really interested in my self-employed life in the village.

Anyway, one thing led to another and many pints later and at least two other bars and a nightclub, I was surprised to find myself in my bed the next morning with a banging headache and a slightly queasy stomach. My brother had taken me under his wing and got me home in one piece. I am hopeful I was well behaved, but from the smirk on his face, I figure I wasn't.

So that is one of those never again moments and at my age, I should know better.

Still it took the edge off my rather frustrating week. With the pressure on to get the job finished and get back to the wife and kids, I was particularly annoyed by my tile supplier. Once again I won't mention them by name, but nothing ever goes right with these people.

I start tiling with these largish ceramic tiles. Really nice and with a slightly mottled look to them. Now I have to admit I am a perfectionist when it come to tiling and the walls needs to be dead straight. But no matter what I might have done to prepare, these tiles were never going to go up straight. Every one was different from the last and if I cut them they cracked. Because of this I needed an extra box. But it turns out they have discontinued them in the last week (I wonder why?). The tile company told me they had one last spare box in the back and brought them to me. I took them home only to discover they were a shade lighter than the ones on the wall.

In the end I had to do a botch job by putting the lighter shaded ones in less obvious places and use the broken and cracked pieces (which I found in the skip) to make up other areas. The only other option would have been to start over again. In the end it looked OK and to be honest only I would notice. But now every time I go to my brother's house I will be seeing that lighter shade of tile and it will do my nut!

So now I am home and doing my best to make it up to Claire and the kids. Reunions are always worthwhile and they say absence makes the heart grow fonder. But it sure was hard work to get as much as a smile from my wife this weekend, that was until I hid the Valentines card under her pillow for her to find when she went to bed. It was worth all the derisory looks for the whole evening to see her face when she saw that. But I won't be going away again in a hurry.