It never gets easier in Hello.

I wrongly assumed that when Rob left this house to go and live in another, my life would become infinitely easier, a weight would be lifted. But no, it doesn’t and I can’t see him actually “leaving home” for quite a while yet, haha!
I’m aware I haven’t written for a while, so forgive me if I’m repeating anything here. In May, Rob announced he didn’t like the course he was on, it wasn’t what he expected, so he planned on switching. Rather than coming home for the summer, he planned on moving into his new shared student home earlier, paying a bit extra rent, and trying to find work down in Ormskirk, which, admittedly, he had more chance of doing than round here. He worked for quite a while in a pub, but the boss was a drunk and a dickhead and Rob left. He got a job at an adventure centre, working in the kitchens, which he absolutely adored. Sadly that was only seasonal, so as the end of the season approached, he got himself a job with an agency providing catering at Leeds festival. That was terrible. He was told he’d be doing 12 hour shifts and have the rest of his time free to go to the festival. He was told meals were to be provided. None of this was true. He was expected to be on call 24/7, the work was dangerously difficult (like when the field was so boggy, the quad bikes couldn’t be used, so he was expected to carry heavy loads on foot in the rain, then go immediately into a refrigerated truck IN HIS WET MUDDY CLOTHES and sort out a delivery.) , there were no meals provided, his wallet got stolen from his tent, his tent got destroyed in the rain and he was offered no help or support for his accommodation…in the end he decided enough was enough and walked to the nearest town where he spent two nights sleeping under a motorway bridge with a tenner to his name, until his bank opened and he could explain the situation. The tyke only told us this after the fact, didn’t he? To top it off, they still haven’t paid him for his work because apparently a radio, which he was assigned and passed to another member of staff on his departure, has still not been accounted for. Oddly, this radio is worth the exact amount of money he is owed! How odd is that? So he’s still having an ongoing battle with that. If it isn’t sorted soon, I’m going to have to step in myself.
As it turns out, the uni sent him the acceptance email in error, he hadn’t actually got on the new course because they’d entered his details wrong. He’d thought he had, hence signing the new tenancy agreement.
So, because his rent was paid up until the end of September and he no real reason to stay in Ormskirk anymore, he decided to look for live in jobs elsewhere, save up for driving lessons and a car and see the country. I told him this was a grand plan and he quickly got offered a KP job in a nice hotel just outside Milton Keynes. He told his letting agency his plan, they said they’d mediate between him and his landlord, he could probably give his landlord a month’s notice and they’d sort out a new tenant. Only his landlord isn’t happy with this. Because he signed the lease until the end of June next year, his landlord wants Rob to pay the rent as agreed at the end of September, then he’ll get it back if he can arrange a new tenant. Because he’s not a student, he won’t be getting a student loan. Because he’s been living hand to mouth, he hasn’t got this rent saved up to pay all at once. I’m guarantor. See where this is going? I certainly don’t have the spare cash to pay for 9 months of rent all at once. I’m going to have to ring the letting agents, try to get them appeal to the landlord’s better nature and try to get him something sorted. He’d asked if he could even pay the rent weekly, but no, that’s no good. I’m fretting like anything....I know Rob is contractually obliged, but seeing as the uni made a mistake in the first place, makes me wonder if I can use that to get him out of the contract. We’ll see. Anyone who has known me long enough knows how much I hate dealing with letting agents, after having a terrible one when we lived in Preston.
On top of all this, my parents’ dog, Blue, had to be put to sleep. He was only 2 and a half years old, they’ve only had him 18 months. Blue hadn’t been eating for a quite a while, my parents thought he was poorly and had him under the vet. They did multiple tests on him and couldn’t put their finger on exactly what was wrong. Mam was at work Friday before last and Blue was due at the vets. Blue hated the vet, he had to be muzzled and held and occasionally sedated, so I went with dad. The vet is literally 100 yards from their house, but Blue was so weak he had to be driven. The vet said his blood results came back fine, his temperature was elevated but his extremities (his toes and ears) were still cold. He still tried to bite the vet, bless him. He was admitted and put on a drip over the weekend because he wouldn’t eat or drink. He came back home and seemed to be a bit perkier. I went on the Tuesday with my lunch, a small quiche, and ended up giving it to the dog because he really wanted it! It made us laugh, watching him literally snatch the pieces from my hand! Mam was at work and me and dad were waiting to hear from the vet because they wanted him in for a scan. We still hadn’t heard until mam was almost home, so I went home. They took him in for the scan and I’m kind of glad it was mam and not me who was there, as the sonographer discovered Blue was riddled with tumours, they couldn’t tell his organs apart, where his liver ended and the lumps began. I would have hated mam to hear that second hand. They texted me the news. I had to go to the next town later that afternoon to get the girls uniform bits and needed to take the car. I thought it important to take the girls to see him....they were all out in the yard, blue was lying on his big cushion, a blanket covering him because his tummy had been shaved. Mam was crying, Blue’s breathing was laboured because his heart and lungs had water on them. Blue lifted his head and wagged his tail when he saw us. We sat there in silence, everyone shedding a silent tear, the girls stroking him gently. Eventually we had to say goodbye. He was put to sleep the following evening. Mam said they’d taken him for a little walk before the vet came, he’d paddled in the river and even had a little run. It was hard to believe there was anything wrong with him.

Last updated September 16, 2016