The Bathroom

It's been quite a weekend. I think I mentioned that we were off to stay at my parents this weekend. Being unable to sit still for more than five minutes at a time, since my parents moved to Wales they've invested in some property, buying it to do up and then let. They were just putting the finishing touches to the first of these houses (the second not having been bought yet) on Friday, ready for the tenants to move in on Saturday. When Alison and I arrived in Wales only my Mum was there, as my Dad was cleaning up the house to be let.

So we went down there and had a nosey round. I made free with the digital camera, taking photos and video footage of their purchase and their handywork in doing it up. Apparently while they were clearing and redecorating, on top of one of the kitchen cupboards they found a discarded box for a vibrator, LOL. My Mum's lack of respect for the guy they bought the house from (owing to the state he left the place in) was ratified by this incident, as she came up with theories of an unsatisfied live-in girlfriend having to take steps to achieve, well, satisfaction. It was an interesting talking point for all of thirty seconds before the discomfort set in at discussing such subjects across a generation gap.

The house was a smaller version of what Alison and I live in now, quite similar to a lot of properties we viewed but discounted due to lack of space. Can't be more than 10 or 20 years old, and is in the middle of a typical modern estate.

We went back and ate and then, since it was Comic Relief night, watched some of Comic Relief. The main bit I saw was the University Challenge special, basically four celebs who'd had a University education against four who hadn't. I didn't see all of it, so didn't know the end result. However, in the beginning bit, I had cause to glare at the screen a bit, for reasons which need not become clear but which certain readers, if they also saw it, might be able to guess.

Yesterday was a weird parody of our more recent Merry Hill + IKEA trips. There's a big shopping place just outside Bristol called Cribbs Causeway. We went there. While my Mum and Alison hit the clothes shops, my Dad and I basically went to Waterstones then went at got a drink from Starbucks. That basic itinery may sound familiar to regular readers. Funny that.

Anyway, I acquired a few books. No, acquired makes it sound like I nicked them. I bought a few books. My "To Read" pile now consists of:

• The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson (bought with some of the vouchers Anne got me for my birthday).
• The Meq by Steve Cash.
• A Caress of Twilight by Laurell K. Hamilton (the sequel to A Kiss of Shadows which I read shortly after starting this diary last year).
• Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds.
• Space by Stephen Baxter (which my Dad is already pestering me to read so he can read it after).
• Force Heretic I: Remnant by Sean Williams and Shane Dix (the latest part of Star Wars: The New Jedi Order).

After lunch in the centre we made a foray into John Lewis where my Mum and Dad bought new lights and Alison and I bought a new shower head. No, dear readers, we did not buy one with a "massage" setting. We might have bought more bathroom stuff there but we found it, to coin a phrase, far too fucking expensive.

Then we moved on to IKEA. In IKEA we got all the stuff we needed for the bathroom. A mirror (3 quid as opposed 60 odd from John Lewis), a towel rail (10 quid as opposed to 40 odd), a loo roll holder (5 quid as opposed 22+) and a shelf unit (14 quid as opposed god knows). Bit of money saved there then. All funky stuff too.

We got home quite late. My parents were then subjected to - ahem, I mean treated to - a viewing of our holiday photos. Food ended up being quite late and by the time we'd eaten there wasn't much else to do besides chat and then retire for the night.

And then we had to get up early. It was one of those weekends where Alison had a wind orchestra rehearsal on Sunday morning. Such rehearsals start at 10.30am. This means leaving Wales around 8.30am. Nice. Or not, as the case may be. Add to the joys of getting up at such hours (which I know many of my peers do not believe exist on a Sunday) the fact that I came home to find that my PC had crashed 10MB further along my download of the next Angel ep (leaving the total at 70 out of 450MB for the whole time we were away - about 48 hours) and then shortly afterwards the cable internet connection went down. It was down for 3 or 4 hours, which lead to me getting very pissed off, but I've got it back now, touch wood.

So today I put all the bits up in the bathroom. Replacing the shower head lead to the discovery that it was probably a good idea to replace the shower hose too, so we went out and got one - it's these little boring details that make my diary so readable, eh readers? :-D So with all the IKEAy bits up, it now looks damn cool. I rock, IKEA rock, and Chris Rock (boom boom).

I'm now off to read Chapter 2 of The Fuse before I go to bed.