Ok, so as much as I love my kids, sometimes it's nice to have some kid-free time. But to have 24 hours off is a real treat… and this is the first time in about 2.5 years we all haven't slept under the same roof. Yes, they have had individual sleepovers, but there hasn't been a time where they both were gone… until last night.
So what do I do? I dropped them off at lunch time, and the first stop was a work appointment, followed by a trip to the bakery for lunch. A couple of hot-cross-buns (my favourite at this time of year). Drove home and ate my lunch watching Ellen, and a really nice interview with Pharrell Williams. After lunch, I took myself off to have an hour's massage which was ahhhhhhhh! Came home, did a little bit of work, Facebook, etc before my fuck buddy arrived! (OOH!). Not much to report there… in and out… there you go!
I took the dog for a walk, watched a little TV, made some work appointments and got myself ready for my BIG night! I have been promising a friend that I would check out his regular Friday night karaoke night for about 2.5 years now, and tonight's the night. I have a willing friend prepared to drive the 50 minute drive to The Basin and potential for a night of whatever happens.
My friend, who's regular night it is, says it's 7.30pm for an 8pm start. And that was my plan, yet my willing friend took that little bit longer to get ready. We jumped in the car, drove on roads I knew well, until we took a right hand turn, and I felt we had turned into the 1970s. Shops in the street hadn't been changed, cars were scarce, it was really weird. This road lead to Forest Road… and indeed it was like driving through a Forest into another time zone, until we found the little tavern that should have been in a quaint town in Canada rather than the 'burbs of Melbourne with its rustic timber exterior, its stag horns, flags, odd chairs and vintage signs. And of course, we arrived a little before 8pm and all the tables were full.
We squished onto a table with my friend and his girlfriend, ordered some chips and gravy, and salt & pepper calamari with aeoli (a slight contradiction in eras), which was my last feast before I started my Lite N Easy diet the next day. The singing was all a little too serious… those who got up, were singing beautifully the words in tune, but standing like a zombie focussed on the words on the screen. Now, I didn't drink a drop of alcohol all night, but somehow my girlfriend decided that we needed to sing Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen after she had a few too many pots. And the entertainment factor soared through the roof.
Our singing was terrible, our elaborate arm movements and theatrics were apparently very entertaining. We had one little mishap, where my friend wanted to play air-guitar with my leg and my rarely-worn high-heels wobbled so much we fell over, but we continued singing. My friend videoed it, and it's going to make us millions on YouTube!
So after our sing-song, the entertainment stakes were raised, and other punters were keen to have a little more fun. The night finished at about 11.30pm without our encore performance of 'Blurred Lines' that was planned, and I asked the DJ if he really wanted us to return again after our shocking performance…, because one day, we will have to sing it... but he just nodded his head.
We said goodbye to our friends, and set off to St Kilda. We met a few friends there, who we met a couple of weeks ago, plus these two gorgeous school teachers, called Kath and Kim! Hilarious if you're an Aussie who knows the comedy duo (fortunately not the TV version - two very sweet girls). We got up on the dance floor to some Irish violin playing, and screamed out Mr Brightside when the main act came back out. We just sang and danced with all the locals, having a load of fun.
I decided my night was over at about 1.30am and drove home, leaving my girlfriend in the arms of her London boy she met a couple of weeks ago, and the delightful Kath and Kim.
It was weird coming home to a quiet house, with only my cheeky dog wanting some love. But I did have a restful sleep, without hearing my son's bed creaking in the middle of the night, or doors opening with toilet trips. I was able to sleep in until 9am, took the dog for a walk. I was silly enough to make a work appointment for a Saturday morning, but it gave me a good excuse to check out a vintage craft market one of my other girlfriend's had a stall at, selling her beautifully scented soy candles.
I bought a few candles, and a thermal nail polish (it changes colour!), a funky American numberplate cushion for my holiday house and some flavoured liquorice for my boys. It was nice being able to potter around looking at the stalls and chatting to people without my boys begging to go home.
It was time then to pick up my boys, and smile about how fun, how happy and how easily it is to enjoy 24 hours without kids!
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