You know when you think of someone you've not seen for years, and then they show up out of the blue? Well that happened to me on a grand scale on saturday. Well it seemed quite grand to me, I was so shocked it took me several minutes to calm my heart to a regular pace.
I nervously drove to Queenstown, hoping that my van would survive the trip. It did. It almost didn't and nor did I, but through no fault of my own or the van's; it is merely tourist season and the roads are infested with brainless tourists who are used to driving on the right hand side. So after a dangerous swerve or three, I made it to the adventure capital of the southern hemisphere, once a sweet and beautiful place, but is now pretty much just hotels, lake front apartments, trendy shops, and booking offices. Alas.
I strode purposefully to the post office and bought a dozen International Reply Coupons. It was a delight not to receive a blank look for once. I could scarcely believe I had the coveted things in my bag.
I then bought a Starbucks to celebrate, and wandered down to the lakefront. There I met randomly with four of my colleagues, who are now also good friends of mine. This was not the big coincidence though, although it was remarkable timing. We wandered around for a bit and eventually when all the girly fashion shops became too much, my friend Paul and I split from the group and went for a drink by ourselves.
I told him about the bit... girl I lived with in Edinburgh, perhaps some of you will remember my strife from the time, see here for a reminder. I shan't mention her name here because I am a nice person. It is my belief that she took the £330 that I gave her to pay the council tax bill and used it for something else, possibly drugs or drinking, the latter of which she indulged in frequently. She could never supply a plausible reason as to why the bill continued to be sent, eventually by a debt collection company. Then a power bill came with her name on it from a different company than our usual, and she tried to get more money off my for that, but I was feeling wary and gave her nothing. I suspect it was an account brought over from her previous flat. Then when I found a chap to replace me when I moved out, she tried to prevent him giving me the £300 which would pay the bond, and give it to her instead since I supposedly owed her that much. In the end we hated each other, and she came up and had a go at me in the street. I'm a very non-confrontational person, and I'll be honest, I'm a bit scared of her. Our last encounter wrapped things up with a nicely threatening text message.
I said to Paul as we strolled around Queenstown that I felt like I might see her at every corner. A friend of his showed up at the pub, and since she was planning on hitchhiking to Cromwell that day, I agreed to give her a lift and save her the trouble. So after leaving Paul, I waited for my hitchhiker to come out of a cafe while I spoke to my mother on the phone. I stood alone on the street.
Then lo and behold, who should walk past?
My poor heart got such a fright. Please realise that I have not seen this girl since we were in Edinburgh together more than a year and a half ago, and that I heard that she was going overseas. Seriously, what are the odds that I would see her there, at that moment, on a day I had been thinking of her and telling a friend of her. Well it was a nasty jolt to the system. I've often wondered what I'd do should I see her again, a black eye or something of the like would do nicely. Perhaps just go straight up and call her a lying, thieving bitch, yeah something like that! Be honest, be bold!
What I actually did was turn away, panic, and whisper, "Don't see me, don't see me." Heart of a lion, really. I do rather suck sometimes.
Anyway, allow me to finish this on a good note. Now that I have the IRCs, I have been able to post off another four submissions. One was to my first choice, the one that 'jumped out of the page' at me. Another is to an agent who has some very high profile clients, I know I have a snowflake's chance in a fire there but hey, there's no harm in asking! Next I must write yet more letters and compile more submissions, then wait for my fate to be decided. I am approaching this with a good attitude, I think, the 'hope for the best but expect the worst' attitude.
Actually, I'm not going to end this on a good note. On a frustrating side note, my tent broke. Isn't that sad? It looks like a collapsed jelly.
I am now officeless, but that's alright I suppose, I will continue telling myself that some day I shall have a proper office, with carpet instead of grass, windows instead of mesh, and a desk instead a picnic table.
Well I think that'll do for now, until next time cats!
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