I've had an impossible week.

"I swear I'm jinxed this week," I said to anyone that would listen. "It's been a horrible week."

Monday, I got up on the wrong side of the bed. Tuesday, I got anxious that the magazine we are producing won't be out by the deadline and I heard some ugly rumours about Summer School that upset me. Tuesday too, my car window was smashed by some jerk and there was just glass everywhere and I got horribly wet and I got in a near screaming match with Jason. Wednesday, with no car to drive to work I had to practically beg Jason to let me use his car - the car I have not been allowed to change radio stations, let alone drive! Wednesday too, I find out Jason is under considerable pain due to adult chicken pox - I hadn't realised how painful until Mum explained it all to me.

I woke up yesterday, feeling like a complete heel. I felt like an even bigger heel when I rang Jason after rushing from my morning class to see if the repair people had rung so I could take the car in for repairs and found that he had taken the day off work to deal with it for me. He took Wednesday off too, which was why I could, eventually, use his car to get to work. I took myself off for some hot chocolate, then spilt half of it when I tripped on the stairs. I have a beautiful yellow bruise on my left knee, now.

I said to a friend at the afternoon tea we had to raise funds for cancer research, "Why couldn't they have smashed the window next week? The timing is horrible. Next week's so much more convenient."

She made symphathetic noises.

"At least now, the week can only get better," I said.

It didn't.

Madama Butterfly, one of my favourite operas, is on at the Arts Centre at the moment. A group of us planned to go see it last night, hoping against hope there would be student rush (and hence, cheaper) tickets. We turned up at the box office only to find it had sold out. Completely. I'm surprised I didn't chuck a tanty right there and then. I was disappointed, and though we had back-up plans and eventually went to a fairly decent concert in the City, the night was almost completely ruined for me. I was doubly disappointed because it was P's birthday and I so wanted to make it fun and enjoyable for him.

"I had fun," he reassured me, "it was good." I just made a face at him and plodded on.

The night had a few bright spots, though.

>> The astonished, then pleased looks on P's face as he ripped the paper off his present to reveal one of Slava Grigoryan's albums. "Oh! I only mentioned him once!" My last image of him last night was him looking over the cd quite intently as he walked back to his place. Nary a thought to me at all. I was quite pleased with myself.

>> The jazz band at the concert energetically playing some of my favourite standards - Fly me to the moon, My funny Valentine, Autumn Leaves. The choir singing a mediocre rendition of Rubber Ducky - one of my favourite ditties. I giggled and sang along with the choir. P had to nudge me to shut me up. I sang a couple of lines to him after the concert, "rubber ducky, you're the one/you make bath time lots of fun/rubber ducky you're my very best friend/it's true ... " He was quite amused, but after a while he said, "If you start that song again, I'm leaving."

>> Meeting P's brother for the first time.

It's the end of the week now. No more jinxes. Universe, I'm telling You now. No more unpleasant things, You hear? I'm going to have a nice weekend. I'm seeing two of my project girls tomorrow before heading off to drinks with Em, who is in Melbourne for the weekend from Adelaide. The last time I saw her was exactly a year ago, so we have loads of catching up to do. Has it really been a year and a half since we've graduated? And in between all that galivanting, I'm going to study for my one and only exam, and half a dozen things that I'm meant to do but am blocking out right now.

No jinxes, You hear?!!!