The final furlong

It's the university Easter holidays now, and I've returned from 5 days 'on tour' with the hockey club. Do not be fooled by the word tour. I think 'wild holiday' would be much more appropriate. A whole bunch of university sport teams descended on the resort town of Salou in Spain and caused alcohol fueled havoc. It was very entertaining although at times I would have completely understood why outsiders would have seen it as pathetic. We did play a couple of many games whilst in Spain...but the tour ended up banned from the pitch complex due to too much alcohol and nudity! Perhaps I actually am growing up and becoming ready to move on? That said..I had a really great time and the hockey club is full of great people. However I am now feeling the effects of a week of partying and have an awful cold and sore throat.

When I got back to my parents house the other day my mum had some bad news about a man at her church who had a heart attack last week and died in his sleep. He had a wife and 3 fairly young daughters. I always remember him as being extremely kind and friendly and he was only 48! Whilst I was watching Bear Grylls attempt to fly a powered paraglider to the height of Mount Everest in the Himalayas I just thought it was so odd that one man will risk his life in these extreme and really quite pointless ways and survive whilst another will simply go to bed one night and not survive. Life is strange.

Return from a different kind of wilderness

I haven't posted in a long while and although I often find myself killing time on the internet I haven't felt llike there has been much to say. Perhaps I have wasted all of my insightful thoughts on the completion of my dissertation (which is almost complete and due in in 2 days) and I didn't want to write about a whole load of nothing. At the moment it's 3.49AM and the reason I'm still awake is that I'm waiting for my boyfriend to phone from Australia. The time difference is 10 hours but still...I have been very unimpressed by his lack of contact recently. Luckily he completely surprised me with some presents from Hawaii and Pago Pago for Valentines day, I'm amazed he was organised enough to send them over on time...he sent them to a friend of mine who then hid them in my room whilst I was out one afternoon. bless.
I've just returned from a weekend at home for my mums birthday, it was great to see everyone. I'm not sure I'll be loving home quite so much when I move back next year, I expect the novelty to wear off quite quickly. Still, maybe I'll be enlightened to more exciting plans and will find myself in other parts of the world! Only I can make it happen - but I won't! Still stalling on applying for any jobs... 'too much work to do' at the moment. hmm.

returning from the wilderness

A day or so after I posted my first blog my lap top died! maybe it's a sign? anyway 2 weeks later I have finally got hold of a replacement lap top and am relieved to be back from the no internet wilderness. I have had to go without the internet for a few spells in the past..and every time I think to myself how awful it is that I depend on the internet for so much information and communication with friends and family. To some extent I think it's a shame we depend on technology so much for so many different things, perhaps life is becoming a bit too virtual.

I collected the first draft of my dissertation today from my tutor who has been marking it. He said it's really good but nonetheless there are lots of scribbles of things I could change...he even mentioned doing some statistical tests on the data...nooooooo!!

I went to stay with my oldest sister and her boyfriend for the night on friday. Her friend was also staying with her 2 and a half year old daughter Lucy. I haven't seen Lydia for at least a year and she has changed so much. She can easily hold a conversation with an adult and is the most adorable blonde haired toddler. We spent hours playing Tummy Ache on friday evening and for a good couple of hours I thought she was fantastic. But then we sat down to dinner....she needed a wee every 3 minutes and I realised how its not all rosy and fun. The next morning I was woken up at 8.20am! 8.20 on a saturday morning!! its not right to get up before 12 noon on a saturday!! it felt very bizzare, and was another argument for contraception.

I think my sister has pretty much moved in with her boyfriend but they haven't been together a year yet! but people tell me that things happen faster when you're older and you 'know what you want' sooner. He must love her if he's letting her put photos of her family up around his house!

My other middle sister is 25 and engaged to be married in May. She has been with her partner since she was 16, I think that makes her one of the luckiest people in the world. You can just tell how much they adore eachother when they are together. The wedding will be beautiful. It's happening in Greece, there are about 30 family members flying out in total and it's my first shot at being a bridemaid. I am so happy for her, but have a slight problem in that I will always compare my situation to hers, and if I know I don't love my boyfriend as much as she loves her fiance. This makes me wonder if I ever will? We've been together for a year and if im not head over heals now will I ever be? It doesn't help that he has the most unsociable job in the world and we are apart for so long. Its only his second phase of being away, there are probably at least 20 more to come in the future and I don't feel very positive about it at the moment. Oh well...time will tell. I was walking through town today and a big issue seller approached me and said 'Why so serious darlin'?' to which i kind of giggled and smiled embarassed. Then as I walked on by I heard him shout 'If your boyfriends giving you grief bin him'!! but I'm not sure it's wise to accept life guidance from a big issue seller.

Let the blogging begin...

So here I go with my first 'blog'...after being inspired to 'blog' by an article I came across when reading The Times (a rare event). I've decided to try blogging for a while having realised how I prefer faffing about on my lap top to using any wrist energy to write in my beautiful, but not very full, diary which is sitting next to me on my desk and has been collecting dust for a good few months.

I don't where I'm going to go with this whole blogging thing...I think I just want it to express the experiences/views/worries/stories of a young woman (although I think I'm still very much a girl) who is about to undergo the experience of leaving comfort zone of education and stepping out in to the real world of work...adulthood...and financial independence ( to some extent).

I decided to go to university because it was the done thing amongst my older siblings and cousins. I chose to study Geography and have not regretted it...but really I think I'm someone who has an interest in just about everything.I'm not much of a forward planner so who knows what the next year or so holds. I have been thinking about a career in the area of town planning/ development and regeneration but at the moment have no work experience to back me up and typically found out I have missed all of the application deadlines for related graduate training schemes beginning in the autumn. I hope to gain some work experience over the summer in time for next years applications...but lets face it...I'll probably leave uni..get a job I could have done when I was 16...or perhaps do abit of travelling - just to be fashionable.

I have a boyfriend who is currently all over the world as part of his 'year in industry' - a year out from university study to gain experience related to the course he is studying. This means we go for long periods of time without seeing eachother. At the moment its mid January and I won't see him now until the end of March. We are in contact regularly with texts, emails, and a few phone calls each week, but nevertheless it can be difficult...and its made worse because I consider myself to be a bit of an 'out of sight out of mind' person....but each time we're reunited I instantly love him and any doubts fade.

Right..I think I've blabbered on enough for now although anyone that started reading has probabaly fallen asleep so I'll leave it at that. How are you meant to end a blog? Just stop typing or with a farewell?