Rachel Killington's freelance web work at her local radio station is paying the rent on a new flat. The big move Without wanting to scare anybody, Christmas is stealthily creeping up at an alarming rate.As much as I’ve tried to both ignore and deny that face, it seems there is no escaping it, and every morning at work the presenters sing ‘Sleeps Till Santa’… essentially a song that delights children and terrifies parents as the ‘sleeps’ get less and less.
Part of the reason I am so completely unprepared for the festive season this year is because of the big move. I’d love to say it went well without any hitches, but that would be a bit of a lie… however it’s true to say that there weren’t any real disasters (apart from someone inadvertently treading wet tar into the cream hall carpet, but even that was remedied by my mum with some sort of miracle cleaner - aren’t parents great?!). The day itself was stressful to say the least, but my parents, brothers, boyfriend Neil, my ex flatmate Rob and little bro’s girlfriend Lou were great - I’ve never seen so much stuff moved in such a short amount of time! (Neil did give up half way through the day and went off to play football- I don’t think he’s used to family life just yet!) The Bed was built, washing machine fitted, sofa/telly/tables installed, and the seemingly endless amount of boxes were transported up the two flights of stairs that seemed to get steeper as the day wore on. We all sat around eating McDonalds surrounded by the contents of the first 25 years of my life, and it seemed very surreal. Time for winePeople were great in other ways too - my parents and grandma kitted me out with UN-sized aid parcels containing stuff I would never have thought about needing - such as a food mixer, cling film and microwave bowls, along with enough tins and packets to last me until Christmas! My colleague and great friend Gary supplied me with ‘lone living essentials’- a microwave, flowers and a bottle of wine, and by tea time when everyone had gone and I had time alone I read his card… which advised that the best thing to do would be to forget the unpacking, and drink some wine instead… which I obviously did! By the time Neil arrived back at the new flat around 8pm, all of the moving had been done… and a lot of the wine had been drunk. We were expected at a birthday ball for our friend Angie, and by the time we turned up I was more than a bit tipsy! I decided that the best way to forget the stress and upheaval of the day was to have a bit of a drink, and as Neil was ‘networking’ I didn’t see him for most of the night, and by the time he finally did reappear it was game over for me, and I don’t think he was too impressed by the fact that I was so drunk! What do you think, Poppy? So now two weeks on I’m starting to get settled. Poppy is still getting used to the new flat and I’m hoping it will soon feel more like home, although there is a large part of me that wants things back how they were - I’m really missing my old flatmate Rob (who is now in a new place of his own) and I hate getting up in the mornings with nobody to talk to. The neighbours seem nice and in all it isn’t a bad place to live although I swear the walls are made from paper as I seem to hear every little noise! I’m sure I’ll get used to that in time, but what I don’t think I’ll ever get used to is living by myself. It’s horrible when you get in from work and there’s nobody to talk to. I try and make the effort to eat well, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of point in cooking when it’s only for one person, and I feel isolated because I don’t have a land line and therefore can’t keep up to date with my friends through emails and Facebook.
I’d love to have a flatmate but that’s a bit hard when you live in a one-bedroomed place, and Neil doesn’t want to move in with me as he says he’s not ready. All by myselfSo for now it’s just me and Poppy. I had visions of singleton style moments- sitting in my PJs, guzzling red wine whilst screeching ‘All by Myself’ à la Bridget Jones, but so far I’ve managed to avoid that, and I’m determined to keep my chin up. So what if I have to do all the housework whilst working six days a week? So what if there’s no one to give me a cuddle when I’ve had a bad day, or to look after me when I’m poorly? At the end of the day, however much of a financial struggle it is, I’m 100% independent. I don’t need anyone to look after me, and everything in the flat is mine, and I’ve worked damn hard to get here. Sure, I never imagined that I’d ever live on my own, and the situation isn’t perfect but on the whole things are good - I’ve been promised work up until the end of the financial year which is brilliant, and I still love the job I do. I’ve been asked to join the radio station’s travel news team so I can fill in if ever I’m needed, which is brilliant news, and very exciting. I’m also presenting on Christmas Day with Gary again, which is the most exciting news of all, particularly as I’m doing the whole four-hour show with him, instead of the 90 minutes I did last year. Although some people have said they would hate working Christmas Day, for me it’s just perfect, and I’m really looking forward to it - it will give me a lot more experience, and Gary is a brilliant person to learn from, plus I’m sure we’ll have a great laugh. Bring on Christmas!So at the moment it’s all good with the new flat - but extremely scary. There are certain bits about living alone that are taking a bit of time to get to grips with - I’m not used to having so many financial responsibilities, and if I’m honest I do find it all terrifying- I keep having dreams that I haven’t been able to pay my rent and the bailiffs turn up and take away my telly! But one thing I’m so proud of is it that I’m finally standing on my own two feet. Although at the moment I’m still very wobbly on those feet, I’m hopeful that things will get easier, and I’m very lucky to have such a great family and friends to help me. So bring on Christmas - mince pies, carol singers, nativity plays. I might not be prepared for it all at the moment, but I’m sure it will all fall into place. Now how many Sleeps Till Santa did they say it was today…? See Rachel's previous job logs: |
