Yearbook: 1999 The Lost Journal: |
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My Little Girl Today, my heart's a little heavy. Harley's not feeling well; she's got a bit of a temperature and a sniffle. It's probably nothing serious, but as a dad, that's what I do – I worry. My little girl is absolutely everything to me. Her unconditional love has a way of lighting up my entire soul.
Things Are Looking Up! It feels like the universe is finally starting to smile on me. Harley's feeling much better, which is the biggest relief. Work's going okay, and to top it all off, I somehow miscalculated my bank balance and found myself over £100 up! That's a fantastic bonus and will more than cover a few unexpected bills I've had recently. What a difference a day makes!
A Lovely Note Yesterday, Claire and I had a bit of a disagreement on the phone, which wasn't ideal. But today, I came home to a lovely note from her, and it just brightened my entire day. Today has been brilliant.
Work Transfers & New Beginnings I'm feeling much more like myself today, which is a great relief. I'm really hoping this feeling lasts right through Christmas and into the new Millennium. At work, I've put in for a transfer to the Reserve Unit. They're the ones who cover every route and step in when someone's off sick or there are gaps in service. Don't get me wrong, I like my current Unit 33, but I've been hearing some rumours that have made me a bit nervous about sticking around. Fingers crossed for the transfer!
My First Nephew Fantastic news today! My sister, Kerry, has just had a baby boy! He's called Callum Zak, and he's my first nephew. Can't wait to meet him! Car Trouble Strikes (Again) Just when you think you're getting ahead, life throws another curveball. The alternator on the car has just packed up. Thankfully, my dad's a lifesaver and can take it to the garage for me later. It's money we definitely could do without spending, but I guess that's just life, isn't it? Claire's really upset about the whole thing.
Back on the Road! Great news! The car is fixed! So relieved to have that sorted.
Meeting My Nephew & Mobile Phone Hints Later today, we're finally off to see my new nephew, Callum, for the first time! I'm very excited about that. On a different note, I'm currently trying my best to drop hints about wanting a mobile phone to Claire. I really, really want one!
The Mobile Phone Campaign Continues I've even mentioned wanting a mobile phone to my mum and dad, in the way of a massive hint, of course! I can't really think of another way to try and get one, though I still haven't directly broached the subject with Claire. Wish me luck!
Claire's Mobile Phone Verdict I finally bit the bullet and brought up the subject of having a mobile phone with Claire tonight. Annoyingly, she's of the opinion that it's a bit odd and even "a bit sad" for married couples to have one phone each. Looks like my mobile phone campaign might be tougher than I thought!
A Small Act of Kindness Something lovely happened on the bus today. I was coughing, and a kind lady actually gave me a packet of Lockets! It just goes to show, there are still some genuinely nice people about in the world.
Black Ice & A Lucky Break Last night was a white-knuckle ride. While driving the number 51 bus, I hit a patch of black ice and completely lost control. My heart leaped into my throat as we careened towards a skip. Incredibly, that skip, rather than causing more damage, actually prevented a far worse accident. At the bottom of that hill were several houses, and I'm certain they would have been in danger if the bus had continued. Even though there was nothing I could do to prevent it, I can't shake this worry about the consequences from management. Update (Later that evening - 21:15) I've just spoken to my union rep, and he's told me not to worry! Given the mitigating circumstances – that treacherous black ice – he thinks I'm in the clear. Still, tonight's weather conditions are almost as bad, making for another tense drive.
The Ice Slide Report & A Quick Fix This morning at 06:00, I officially submitted the accident report for what I'm now calling the "ice slide." Now, all I can do is wait for a response from the company. Update (Later that morning - 07:23): You won't believe it – I just saw the bus I crashed! It's already been fixed and looks as good as new. That was fast!
When It Rains, It Pours Things seem to be going from bad to worse lately. As if dealing with all the work drama wasn't enough, now our car has broken down again. For the second time, the clutch has gone, and we've got absolutely no money left anywhere. Honestly, I'm at my wits' end.
The New Car Dream Begins I've been giving our car situation a lot of thought, and I've come to a conclusion: we might be better off going down the new (to us) car route. Obviously, this would mean getting finance in the form of a loan, but even with that, we'd be in a much better position than constantly pouring money into repairs for this "hunk of junk" Peugeot we have right now. To that end, my dad and I went out to browse for cars. I'm quite taken with an F-reg Ford Fiesta 1.4 Ghia we saw. It's not really what we were originally looking for – it's only a 3-door and quite small – but something about it just clicks. Claire's going to pop over this afternoon to see what she thinks. Update (Later that afternoon) Claire loves the car! In fact, she says it's the car of her dreams. She's always wanted a little Fiesta. So, it looks like we'll be owning it after all!
Fortunes & Festivities Ian and I had a fantastic night out yesterday for a festive celebration. We had a rather random stroke of luck: while he was at the cash machine in Centertainment, a £20 note just popped out! There was no one else nearby who could have forgotten a withdrawal. So, we took it as a sign and enjoyed a memorable night of double whiskeys and cigars at the Noose and Gibbet on Broughton Lane. Definitely a night to remember!
Snow Day Commute We woke up this morning to snow! I'm currently on my way to work, not knowing what I'll be facing. All I know is that it's not looking good out there.
Christmas Eve & Millennium Countdown Christmas Eve is here, and everything is falling into place for the big day tomorrow – the last Christmas Day of the Century and Millennium! We've got a few bits left to sort, but almost everything is done, bought, or ready to go. Last night, we went to Meadowhall for some last-minute shopping. You'd have thought it would have been absolutely packed, but it was just steadily busy, like a normal day. A pleasant surprise!
The Magic of Christmas Through Little Eyes Christmas has come and gone. It was a quiet affair this year, but Harley had a fantastic time. There's truly no feeling quite like seeing your children open their presents. That's the real magic of the festive season.
The Third Millennium New Year's Eve was a fantastic night. We spent it with our friends, Ian and Lynne, who came around to our house to witness the passing of the old Millennium with us. After midnight struck and the bongs of Big Ben rang out throughout the land the night sky lit up with a thousand fireworks from almost every house. Here's to the dawn of a new age, welcome to the 21st century! |
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© CAPTAINKIRT
