An expensive day, but good for me )I hope)

My trip to the hairdresser yesterday didn’t result in a complete new look. In the end I bottled it. 

the lady took a couple of inches off the length and layered it a bit. It looks a lot better but it’s hardly a whole new me.

I’d spoken to the Relate lady about the problems I’m having now that my world has changed. I’ve always thought about what other people wanted, and tried to do whatever it was I thought they, and particularly Mum, wanted. Now I’m on my own. I can do whatever I like. It’s not just different, it’s strange and unsettling. It’s as though I’ve landed in this whole new world where the only person I have to take into consideration is me. I’ve never been good at spending money on myself. I’ve bought cheap clothes, often second hand. I’ve never had a beauty routine. Never had a manicure, or a makeover. It was time to start making changes, so I went straight from the hairdresser to Debenhams where this young girl showed me how to use makeup. I ended up spending a small fortune (to me anyway) and  booking a follow up appointment for the week before Swanwick so that she can remind me what to do in time for my big holiday.

By then  I was on a roll. I called in at Jessops to look at digital SLRs but didn’t buy one. I used to be a good photographer, by which I mean I took photos of fish to go with my articles and even had quite a few photos with an agency, but did I want to do that kind of thing again? I certainly had no intention of writing about fish, let alone photographing them so why did I need a big, bulky camera?

So I called in at a jewellers instead. I’d spotted a gold and diamond bracelet in the window a few days before but there was no price on it. I went in, tried it on, and bought it. It was second-hand but is still the most expensive piece of jewellery I have ever owned. It didn’t stop there. AT the jeweller I happened to see a ring that I rather liked so I bought that too.

I was out again last night to a disappointing dinner shuffle with Spice. Disappointing as there were only 8 people there so there was no point in moving between courses. I had to decide whether to cut and run early (there’s only one train an hour) or get a cab home. I got a cab.

A VERY expensive day was over.

Today I’ve been working on my Writers Forum column, then went to one of my writes groups. I also got paid for the first time by The Writers Bureau so I am officially a tutor. It’s the first time I’ve had a ‘proper’ job (i.e. not self employed) for decades. I think I kind of like it.