STARTING
Prompt - Starting : Write about starting a project
I should write down a plan, he thought. That's what people do at this point, don't they? So then I can come up with a timetable because I know what needs to be done and the order it's to be done in. And aren't there things called dependencies or something? That say that doing step X can only happen if you've completed step Y? Something like that. Yeah, I better do a plan.
He thought about doing it on the computer. But then he'd have to draw up a table or something, and maybe there was an app he could use? Or something? He had to admit ignorance. And if he went off searching for something suitable he could be here all night. But he needed the plan before he could actually start the job, so no point in delaying himself more than necessary.
He dug out a big pad of A4, and some coloured pens and felt tips. What else did he need? A ruler? Maybe. He eventually found a ruler. Sat down at the table. Pad in front of him. Pens to the right, felt tips ahead, ruler to the left. Had he left anything out? A drink. He needed a drink to help him settle, and to concentrate. And went off to the kitchen to get a mug of tea.
When he came back he looked at the blank page. And realised he had no idea where to begin. What came first? Tasks, wasn't it? A list of the tasks that needed to be done. then he would put them into order, and give them times and from that he thought he would have a plan. Or at least a thing. A thing that told him what to do next.
What tasks needed doing? And what was he really aiming to do? What was the finished product? He wasn't even sure about that. He just wanted things to be nice, to be right. He wanted to impress her. But did he know what would impress her? He thought so. But he could be wrong. And if he was wrong what was the point of the plan? But if he didn't have a plan, if he didn't so anything, it would be even worse. So he had to make himself do it.
There was the meal. And there was the flat. And the state of it. She was due to come round about seven, so he had most of the day tomorrow. Plenty time. Wasn't it? He wasn't so sure, because he didn't know what he had to do. He needed a plan. Start with the flat, that was the bigger job. Or was it? No, he'd start with the meal.
Was he sure about what he was going to make? He still hadn't really decided. She liked chicken. Roast chicken. But she made that so well herself he'd only loom stupid if he tried. best stick to what he knew, so it didn't go too wrong. He could do chilli. He'd do chilli. Anything else and he'd be checking a recipe all the time. Keep it simple. And get a nice cake for afters.
Right. That was decided. He'd make up a shopping list. Or could he make a chilli with chicken in it? was that a thing? He should Google that.
Typing in 'chilli chicken' came up with thousands of results. So it was a thing. There were precedents. he had a look at the first few recipes. That one needed the chicken dredged in egg and flour. What the hell did dredged mean? This one used cider. Best not, he'd just ned up drinking it while the meal was cooking, and he didn't want to be pissed before she got there. She'd definitely say. And number three used soy sauce and honey and rice vinegar and no, he'd stick to what he knew. Why go buying stuff he might never use again? His budget didn't allow for that. he'd stick to chilli, as he knew it.
He started his shopping list. Mince. Onions. Chillis of course. A pepper. A tin of kidney beans and another of tomatoes. Rice of course, but he already had in the cupboard that so he scored it out. He did, didn't he? he got up to go and check. Yes, he had rice. He sat down again.
What else? cake. A nice cake. Oh, and tomato puree, to make the chilli tomatoier. Or did he have some? He went back through to the fridge. He did. He came back to the table. Went back to the fridge. Was it OK? He checked the sell by date. Over five months ago. He'd used it last week, but... If he gave her food poisoning he'd never hear the end of it. He took it over to the bin, changed his mind and put it back in the fridge. No point in wasting things. He'd use that for himself, but get a fresh one for tomorrow. He went back and added it to the list.
That was the food. Anything else? Paper napkins. That would impress her. Oh, and wine. How could he forget wine? She'd like that. What wine should he get? Red. He'd have a look on the shelves and see what looked interesting.
That was the food shopping. Did he need anything else in the flat? He walked around, checking he had enough loo rolls, washing up liquid, cooking oil. While he did that he thought he'd better put clean towels out and he started towards the bathroom cupboard, but stopped himself and returned to the table. I need the plan first, got to do the plan.
The flat. What needed doing? A new sheet of A4 was begun. Tidying up. Cleaning. Mainly the living room, and bathroom, and she'd probably go into the kitchen while he was cooking. And his bedroom? He should. She probably wouldn't want to go in there, but you never knew. Best do the bedroom too. He'd best check the cleaning fluids and clothes and things like that. So he did.
Came back and added kitchen cleaner and disinfectant to the list. Now he had a shopping list. Would he get it all in one place? Yes, probably, that would be easiest, less time consuming. Except the cake. It needed to be a really nice cake. What did he have to do in the living room and the kitchen and the other rooms? He started adding tasks to his list. Dusting, hoovering, cleaning toilet and sinks, washing kitchen floor, moving all his papers and books and clothes out of sight (he should do that first, shouldn't he - this was the plan taking shape!). Did he have clean clothes? He thought about it. yes, he was sure he did. Maybe the plan should include what he'd wear.
What to do now? He's got the shopping list. He's got a list of tasks. To which he added 'do shopping', and 'do cooking'. He needs to put the tasks into an order of some sort, and allocate times to each. A new sheet of A4. What did he do when he got up? Had his shower and breakfast. Did that need to go on the plan? And should he leave his shower until after he'd done the cleaning, as he'd be sweaty then? That was proper grown up thinking, right there. So he'd do the cleaning first. He wrote it at the top of the page. But then thought he'd be feeling a bit faint if he did all that work with nothing inside him, so he squeezed 'eat breakfast' in at the top. Then, under 'clean the flat', he put different categories - living room, bathroom, kitchen and bedroom - and wrote separate task under each. Then he put 'shower'. Then 'go shopping'. And under that he put 'supermarket' and 'cake shop'. Followed by 'cook chilli' and 'get dressed'.
Was that it? Had he everything on there? He got out sheet of A4 and put 'PLAN' at the top, drew a vertical line near the left side and put 'TIME and 'TASK' over the resulting two columns.
What time would he get up? He checked his watch. Bloody hell! It was twenty to one. He should have been in bed an hour ago. Now he had to decide if he should stay on to do the plan. Or go to bed so he was fresh enough to carry it out. Or, option three, forget the bloody plan and go to bed. he'd get through, and as long as he had something for her to eat she wouldn't mind.
It was only his mum and she was coming to see him, wasn't she? But how would he cope if he really, really wanted to impress a woman??
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