Note to self

[blamebrampton]

Dear self,
It's great that you sometimes grab a small handbag and just stuff a few essentials in it for a jaunt up the road. It means your lovingly curated handbag collection does not go to waste, for a start. And let's face it, your work handbag is a bit bloated. No one will ever need two New Yorkers, three New Scientists and four pairs of gloves for the one day.

What would be even greater is remembering to put your keys back in your main handbag when you get home. I know you aced the return of the wallet and phone, and that's terrific. But the thing about keys, the really really good thing about keys, is that they let you go back inside to get your wallet and phone, whereas the reverse is not true.

Still, at least the cash meant you were able to go across the road and buy a tin of catfood, so Biscuit the Time-Share Cat stopped whimpering at you accusingly. And the wireless does reach to the doorstep. And it's not raining at the moment. And even if it were, the eaves extend out over this bit. But your bum is really cold and Mr Brammers is not here yet. And Biscuit has gone off to sit on her cardboard stack now she's finished eating. Ingrate. So, perhaps pop the spare set of keys in the spare handbag next time? Or use your brain? In the interim, you could use this time to write, you know.

Big hugs,
Me

Comments

[catsintheattic.livejournal.com]

You might have to perfect your handbag management skills, but you rock at humour when looking at your dear self.

*sends hugs and sunshine*

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I grew up surrounded by hippies and lawyers, Cats! It was either be really good at laughing at life or rebel and become a merchant banker ;-)

(Sidenote: A friend from one of the communes I stayed at regularly as a child DID become a merchant banker, and she is now enormously wealthy (still!).

When we were in our early 20s, she suggested to me that, given I am actually better at maths than she is, I might like to throw away my arty cred for a few years and follow her down the path of making lots of cash.

I replied: 'Look, I think it's wonderful you're doing so well, but to my mind the entire economic growth model is based on shared delusions of worth.'

She, using the same words as everyone else I had ever said that to, said 'SHHHH! You can topple economies that way!' The year before last, as the cascading series of failures that would lead to the official GFC were well underway, we ran into each other. She shook her head, and said with tongue in cheek: 'Well, I hope you're happy with yourself.')

[catsintheattic.livejournal.com]

That's such an awesome story about you and your friend. *grins*

I wish I had grown up surrounded by hippies and lawyers. Sounds like fun. :-)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Often fun, occasionally filthy, freezing and eating lentils in a country that you didn't speak most of the languages and suspected was devolving into civil war ;-)

And that was just the lawyers -- boom boom! (I jest, the lawyers were responsible for such highlights as the Christmas dinner in which a bell was found so my grandfather could ring for a division, and the family took sides in the room to back whichever side of that argument they supported. 25 years later, no one remembers what the actual argument was, just that we were all expected to leave table to settle it.)

[catsintheattic.livejournal.com]

Oh dear ... civil war, really?

You must have been a lot of people at your Christmas dinner so that this procedure made sense. I try to imagine something similar with my family - but there's no way that would have worked out. Lol.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Yes, 30 was a small family Christmas. The one year that the numbers looked as though they were going to hit triple figures, we kids took a vote and managed to wrangle Christmas dinner with the stable staff who were staying on at the farm. It was MUCH nicer!

And Dad's ability to arrive in countries as they destabilised was so astonishing that I once wondered out loud if he was gun running in his spare time. Then again, in the 70s, civil war was more or less a national sport in much of sub-Saharan Africa ...

[catsintheattic.livejournal.com]

Wow! We were 6 people at the best times for Christmas. I've always wanted to know what it would be like to grow up in a big family.

My dad is so obsessed with security that he would have never taken such a risk. He told me he was once almost mugged and beaten up as a sixteen-year-old, and that left some traces...

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I'm the only child of both my parents, but I have two half-sisters on mum's side, and I stopped counting cousins after they hit 40. Dad had quite a few brothers and sisters -- and my grandparents aren't even Catholic!

My dad knew how to spell security, but was convinced it was important for other people ;-)

[catsintheattic.livejournal.com]

Amazing! I'm an only child, too. And we're Catholic. Lol. There is larger family on both my parents' sides, but we never celebrated Christmas other than with the core of grandparents, parents and child.