Code red

So.

Well.

Yes.

Today was kind of a long day (after a ridiculously long night - awake - or short night - asleep - last night), and this evening seems to be heading the same way as last night too. I've always known that I work best with a deadline, and I seem to get some kind of adrenalin rush out of pushing myself to the absolute limits of do-ability, but seriously, Magic? All-nighters just really don't suit you any more...

OK, so it wasn't quite an all-nighter - but I probably did nothing more than doze at my desk for an hour or so. I did also sneak in a nap this afternoon (another hour and a half). But that's it.

And I still have about 4,000 words to translate tonight, as well as my June (and May for that matter) invoices to do, a quotation to do for another job, tax hassle crap, admin crap, bla, bla, bla.

And of course, school's out tomorrow at 11h45, we're invited to lunch with a friend, I have to pick up another friend's son (same age as C and her best out-of-school friend) at the SAME TIME but from a DIFFERENT SCHOOL and take him along to lunch too, even though I haven't managed to get hold of our hostess to warn her of this at all today. I also have to find the time to do some food shopping at some point as we have essentially nothing to eat in the house (or nothing that anyone wants to eat, anyway).

I'm guessing my afternoon of "work" is pretty much screwed.

On top of that, the girls drove me batshit this evening, what with the bickering, not putting anything away, not doing anything to help, not going to bed and holy crap High School Musical AGAIN.

5 September seems a long way off, I can tell you.

At the same time, I have lots of ideas for cool (I think) things we can do together this summer and I'm kind of looking forward to doing them (assuming I stop staying up all night and manage to a) sleep at night and b) get my work done during the day). I don't want to wish the summer away - I love summer, come alive in warm weather - but I'm certainly going to have find some kind of strategy for getting the girls to be more helpful round the house. As it stands, they only help once I've asked a million times and probably shouted a couple of times as well and I really do feel like some kind of slave.

Of course, the tiredness doesn't help.Nor do Troy and Gabriella's squawking (I don't HATE HSM as much as I hate, say, Dora (though we're pretty much past the Dora phase now), but it is still pretty irritating and those kids just aren't great singers, all nasal and whiny, but with a heavy dose of sugar frosting on top. GAH.).

What I really fancy right now is a week in a swanky spa place with my best friends from England. A luxury hotel, with fluffy towels and crisp sheets (not covered in cat fur), spa treatments and beauty salon, elegant dining and fine wine and - why not? - an inexplicably single Johnny Depp or Jon Hamm at my beck and call. Yum.

Obviously none of that is likely to happen, but a girl can dream, right?