Best Intentions

(Photo thanks to Tom Foolery, ages ago)
Last week, I decided to take Friday to catch up with the editing I need to do before the end of the month to send off to Caerleon.

This was the plan:
1. Drop J & S off at the bus stop - 7.15am
2. 7.30am, breakfast
3. 7.50am write, with only short break for lunch, until J & S return after school.

This is what happened:
1. Drop J & S off at the bus stop - 7.20
2. Home - put on washing, make beds, etc, blah, blah, blah
3. 7.45am turn on computer and start going through emails.
4. 8.10am - phone call from J, which went something like this:
J: Mum (in singsong voice that instantly tells me I'm not going to be pleased).
Me: What do you want?
J: I've left my memory stick on my bedroom window.
Me: So? (moments pause) I hope you're not expecting me to drive through rush hour traffic to your school with it?
J: But mum, I need it. I have to print off my ICT A2 module stuff and hand it in.
Me: When do you need it for? (Such a dumn question).
J: As soon as possible.

I daren't repeat what I said after that, but suffice to say, the dog pressed his ears against his head to stop from listening to the worst of it. My day was down hill from there. After dropping off memory stick, went home, R arrived asking how soon we can go to buy the plants (I) need? So that's what happened next. The mole man came, as my garden once again resembles Flanders, and on it went, until...

4.50pm I had a niggling feeling that I needed to check something. Checked letter from Uni telling us J's two choices. First choice is fine, but second choice would take him 6 hours (flying from Jersey to UK, then trains) which is far too long to travel. He was given 14 days to phone UCAS to make any changes to his choices, and it turned out that he had to phone BEFORE 6pm that very day to speak to someone to do it.

5.10- phoned J - no answer - eventually got through, at about 5.30, and told him to phone UCAS, gave him all his ID, phone numbers, etc.

5.40 - J phones back to tell me that he's been on hold for ever and his credit is running low, so can I phone UCAS. I said I would, but doubted they would let me instruct them.

5.53 - having been told by very nice chap that, "No, you can't make any changes, as J didn't put you down on the form to do so", I phoned 100s of times to J, who finally picked up, and said (in near hysterical voice, me that is, not him), "You have four minutes, to get through and make the changes."
6.01pm - J phones back. "Done it," he says. Then adds, "I don't know why you get in such a state mum, it was fine."

Grr. So, this weekend, I'm not speaking to anyone, not picking up the phone, and not doing anything other than my damn editing. Well, that's the plan anyway.