Birthday's

It was my son's birthday a couple of weeks ago and we took him and about 15 of his friends tobogganing, this in itself was an easy task, my son takes the invitations to school hands them out and we get the responses, but that's where the easy bit of the day begins.

The actual day was my own small hell which started on the Monday, I had applied for a Rage Against the Machine ticket as they are playing live at Finsbury Park to say thanks for getting them to no.1 at Christmas (http://www.theragefactor.co.uk/). I got confirmation that my photo had been approved, no I'm not going to show it, and i can apply for a ticket on Wednesday from 9am onwards, this is when the alarm bells start ringing, this is my sons birthday and there is no way unless I am a magician will I be able to be with my son opening his presents and be on the laptop at the same time but I decide to try and I/it causes an argument. The gf starts moaning at me because I'm not paying attention to my son, I realise this but this is also once in a lifetime opportunity, ok it's not life or death but my son can surely wait for 5-10 mins while daddy tries to get some tickets, no of course he can't and I give up trying as I can't get on to the site and flounce off and enjoy my sons day with him.

Once he has opened his presents from me I have to go out and get some bits and pieces for the muffins that the gf wants to back to put in the party bags, why she couldn't have organised and done this the day before I don't know, so I head to the local supermarket and get what was needed, well what I think is needed as the actual items I couldn't find. I go to the balloon shop and get the yearly helium balloon, but I get the wrong one, she wants the one in shape of a 6 and not one with a number 6 on it. I smile, grimace, shout swear words in head and move to the next issue, the house needs to be tidied as we will be having guests back after the tobogganing , so I start to wash up and she moans I am in way and needs to get to the oven so I tell her I will cook the muffins. I have never cooked muffins, fairy cakes when i was a child with my aunt, so what could be so hard, the answer nothing, that's because the oven, after being on for about 10 mins turns itself off and is not coming back to life at all.

Panic almost sets in so I tell the gf I will go to the other supermarket and get some muffins from there, she looks at me but this time I ask for direct orders, "Which muffins and how many should I get" reply "I don't care" I know I am now treading on very dangerous ground as whatever I do could send her over the edge, so I get tot he supermarket, look both ways before crossing as anything could happen now and head inside. When I am inside safely I realise that all is not right, I hear someone say "yes the ambulance is on the way", "is that car on fire?" I glance round just in case it is mine, luck would have it that it's not and it seems to be smoke coming from someone else's bonnet. The ambulance was possibly for someone that had fallen over/passed out in the fruit and veg isle.

I find the muffins and now need to make the right decision otherwise I won't be seeing my sons next birthday, so I cover the bases in my head, "how many kids?", "about 20", "will they all like chocolate?", "they are kids of course they will", "better get double chocolate and choc cip ones", "how many in a pack?", "24" "two packs it is then". I grab the muffins and head to the checkout, there is no-one in front of me so I scan the muffins, pack the muffins, pay and I am out of the shop.

Home again I get the muffins out and I almost see a smile break on her face but it could have been wind, I start to pack the cupboard up with the flour etc I had got out to make muffins when my phone makes a noise, I look at it, it is my friend from Reading telling me he has tickets for Rage, I text him back as politely as I can "You git, I couldn't get on" and my phone rings "I am on the site now, what are your details", I hesitate and leg it out of the kitchen to the laptop, I have to power it up, log in and get to my email whilst under the killer glare from the gf, ok she has had enough and starts spouting off on one and i calmly ignore her till I have given all the details needed down the phone, I hang up and smile, nothing can hurt me now or so I thought.