Okay, the time is currently 17:05. At 18:00 I will begin work. Until then, I will blog.

Remember my favourite green hoody?
The one that I wear all the time?
It went into the laundry on friday, and came out considerably smaller on Saturday morning.
It seems that a certain sister/buffoon can't read simple washing instructions that say LINE DRY ONLY.
I could have been so much more pissed off than I was, but the guests we had round prevented tantrum-throwing.

The reason we had guests round, (these being A and, my sisters friend, the hilarious Iraqi doctor who I can honestly say is the funniest person I have ever met) was because we were going to GO APE! in Sherwood Forest Park in Nottingham.

It was fantastic. Go Ape! is such a great day out, and way more fun than any theme park. There's nothing like swinging around high up in the tree canopy, climbing nets, crossing rickety bridges and balance beams, gliding down zip-slides, pretending you're a spy in the Amazon, or being chased, and generally acting the square root of your age!

Go! Check out the website, and see which one is nearest you. Then ask some friends, and book it!

We spent about 4 hours completing the circuit there and A and I (I as in me, not another friend) even snuck back to have another go on the longest/highest zip-slide. (I took an awesome video going down it with A's digicam, which I will hopefully be putting up on my un-annonymous website), before giving into our hunger and leaving. We stopped off at a nice little English country pub on the way back for a late lunch.

When we got home my sister and I were totally shattered. I just wanted to go to bed, but we were instead invited by phonecall to a family-friends house for a barbeque.
At the time I was really annoyed with Mum for saying yes.
Why can't Indian people ever just say no?!
However we went and had a really good night.

I haven't laughed so much in such a long time.
It was also really nice to see just how much they value us/me.
For example, one of the sons introducing me to his girlfriend as the funniest guy they know.
Or my uncle (not actually my uncle, just refered to as - its an Indian thing) saying that every time we meet up I keep churning out the jokes.
And another time when the same son mentioned something about how it will be really funny at our weddings. Its just subtle things like that that make you realise that they feel so close to us.

Its really good how all of us get along with each other. As in my sister and I can converse with their parents and vice-versa and their parents really value my sister and I.
Its not just parents with parents and kids with kids.

I have a reputation with them (and a few other close family friends) for being really funny. I don't know why exactly, I guess it comes from taking the mickey out of certain (mostly) Indian character traits/accents/mispronunciations/other that everyone can relate to, in my normal slightly sarcastic way.
And also being comfortable and feeling relaxed around them. But I don't try. My other uncle (again not actually) asked me to make everyone laugh last time we met up with them. I can't just do it, it comes naturally.
Whats really embarrassing is when mum and sister ask you to do a line involving Chinese accents to people you hardly know!

However, I've noticed recently (in general, not just with this particular family), that I feel scared /worried inside that Im going to say something over the line.
It could possibly be a result of pressure to perform, like I feel I have to entertain, because people expect it.
Or maybe because Im really glad im building this rappor with people I like/respect, and am scared of losing it?
Or maybe I just think too much sometimes.

Anyway, its 17:56 now so better wrap it up.

Sunday was boring anway. It just involved me realising halfway through the afternoon that I had a maths paper in for the next day, and FOUR in for the day after.

Ooh ooh!
There was also a nice family outing to MFI to gawk at office furniture, which lead to a nice family argument (still in the HomeStudy section of MFI by the way) over why we had come/I had been dragged all the way there in the first place.
It seems that mum "didn't realise" that the option of buying flat-packed was almost the same cost as getting fitted in the case of our study, even though she was the one who obtained the quotes to begin with.
After that we moved on to Harveys because my opinion was required regarding two contestants for the Bauble-Lounge Coffee Table Contest.
One recieved the "You are joking right?" award and the other came close with a "Nice but it won't go with our stuff" award.

Isn't it hilarious when parents who have been proved wrong then start retaliating with a completely random argument?
Mum who was clearly mardy declared that there was no point in furnishing the room so much as no one will use it, before begining to stride out to the car.
Then I gave her a big hug in the middle of the store and wouldn't let go, saying loudly "Awww there there, cheer-up, awwwwww" repeatedly until she burst out laughing.

Ooh crap, Its 18:14!

Bye.