(Not quite) The Last Shout

Well,

I think I will go out tonight. It’s Monday, and last week (my first week off after I finished my last job) I ended up going to bed. I fancied a night out, especially after a more-stressful-than-expected accompanied meeting with the Benefits Agency (don’t ask – not me), but in the end I didn’t. Today, my brother went home late evening, by which time I’d started on the posh cider (flavoured/pear), and I was unsure. But I may be working next Tuesday (a week tomorrow), so I may as well take advantage…

After a home-made damson gin and tonic (i.e. the damson gin was home-made, and obviously the mixture was made here too), I’m onto home-made kiwi vodka and tonic (ditto). This past weekend has been odd (my brother’s visit, and the fact  I went out on Friday, which has set me forward a day), so it all feels a bit out of place…

So! I have been losing weight. I am now hovering just above eleven stone, despite my recent and current drinking. Strangely, my appetite has died the past few days, and I have had breakfast and no lunch, or no breakfast, no lunch and then dinner. I am totally into my new Vietnamese cookery book right now, having moved on from Italian a couple of weeks ago, so what I do eat is loaded with spices, salt and coconut fat, but otherwise I’m hardly eating. However, the gym has fallen by the wayside since I stopped working, so it all evens out, I guess…

Meanwhile, as I have hinted, my brother has been up to visit. I used to speak to him two or three times a week, and yet it’s been two or three months since we last had a good conversation. Still, I had been aiming to move into his spare room short term, in the near future, and he had heard the rumour. We were as ever, squabbling over petty family matters, but getting on otherwise. We share a lot, which is not to say we agree on a lot – our debates are lengthy and deep, which we both enjoy. In any case, it seems certain now that I will move down to London within a very few weeks, and will at first live with him. Whether he or his friends help me find a job is conjecture, and I will not count on it. Nevertheless, a place to stay is a big help.

The rest is up to me…