This week, I have...
- Loaded my life into a number of vehicles
- Split my life between three houses
- Ended my life at one house
- Begun my life at a different house (almost)
- Spent more money than I would like to dwell on
- Visited my new school
- Met up with an old old friend
- Had stitches pulled from my leg
- Spent the weekend in the Cotswolds with my ex-housemates
- Suffered two nights in a YHA dormitory surrounded by people with chronic snoring disorders, phlegmy coughs and propensity for yelling aggressively in their sleep
- and come home again completely exhausted.
I am moving into my new house very soon. HOW EXCITING!!
Now I am going to forget I am a grown-up and go and eat the dinner my mother prepared for me. Hurrah!
Sunday, 22 August 2010
Saturday, 14 August 2010
the morning after
Yesterday, my best friend woke up a Miss and fell asleep a Mrs.
She floated down the aisle, spoke her vows with assured confidence, serenely signed her certification and then boogied like a wild cat, sporting a smile to rival the Cheshire's grin.
What a happy lady!
Today, I woke up sore-footed (I stubbed my toe), achey-legged (too much funky dancing) and with a strange sense of second-hand excitement. I'm excited for their new life together, excited for their happiness, excited for their future, and (perhaps a bit selfishly) trying to work out how I might fit into it...
Then I saw my beautiful German friend for the entire day, celebrating her quarter-century birthday a week prematurely. I love her, but I hate that she inconveniently lives in an entirely different country. Glad that it is not a different hemisphere, continent or side-of-the-world, but still, it's a bit difficult to pop over for a cup of tea and a large slice of cake.
I also watched my beautiful grown-up little sort-of-sister dance an incredible solo with grace and presence far beyond her years, which sent shivers down my back and tears down my face. Who let her grow up?!
And now I'm trying to compose myself, as the next stage of my life kicks off tomorrow. The cars are primed and ready to go - their seams aching to burst and suspension longing to groan under the weight and volume of My Belongings. (moving house begins...)
I am excited about this next stage.
Bring. It. On.
She floated down the aisle, spoke her vows with assured confidence, serenely signed her certification and then boogied like a wild cat, sporting a smile to rival the Cheshire's grin.
What a happy lady!
Today, I woke up sore-footed (I stubbed my toe), achey-legged (too much funky dancing) and with a strange sense of second-hand excitement. I'm excited for their new life together, excited for their happiness, excited for their future, and (perhaps a bit selfishly) trying to work out how I might fit into it...
Then I saw my beautiful German friend for the entire day, celebrating her quarter-century birthday a week prematurely. I love her, but I hate that she inconveniently lives in an entirely different country. Glad that it is not a different hemisphere, continent or side-of-the-world, but still, it's a bit difficult to pop over for a cup of tea and a large slice of cake.
I also watched my beautiful grown-up little sort-of-sister dance an incredible solo with grace and presence far beyond her years, which sent shivers down my back and tears down my face. Who let her grow up?!
And now I'm trying to compose myself, as the next stage of my life kicks off tomorrow. The cars are primed and ready to go - their seams aching to burst and suspension longing to groan under the weight and volume of My Belongings. (moving house begins...)
I am excited about this next stage.
Bring. It. On.
Thursday, 12 August 2010
My Best Friend's Wedding
My Best Buddy is getting married in the morning! Well, afternoon...
We have stuck sticky shiny things on bits of pretty stuff and pampered and preened and plucked in preparation.
And now it's nearly today! It will be in approx. 1 hour and 50 mins. EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Very excited.
(I am also very tired, so am going to sleep until it's tomorrow. Hallelujah!)
We have stuck sticky shiny things on bits of pretty stuff and pampered and preened and plucked in preparation.
And now it's nearly today! It will be in approx. 1 hour and 50 mins. EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Very excited.
(I am also very tired, so am going to sleep until it's tomorrow. Hallelujah!)
Tuesday, 10 August 2010
Sunshine Yellow
You know that feeling when you feel like you haven't stopped for breath over a length of time that is far too long not to have stopped for breath in?
I feel like that.
Immediately after the End of Term, this sleepy little life of mine kicked off like a small child on E110. I have been camping in Somerset (at New Wine - involving lots of God, new song singing, coffee drinking, life refreshing, tent building, soul renewing, wine drinking, book reading, cheese eating and all the good stuff); Hen Partying in Stamford (involving lots of map reading, clue writing, person hunting, water dodging, tea drinking and general merriment); watching Chicago in London (involving coffee drinking, cake eating, map reading, lost getting, phone calling, restaurant finding, dinner eating and show viewing); Hospital visiting (involving coffee drinking, book reading, cafe waiting, chunk-of-leg-extracting, thread breaking, stitch pulling and other uncomfortable situations); seeing ex-housemates in Cardiff (involving tea drinking, pizza eating, dress wearing, make-up applying, sambuca drinking, gay club visiting (accidentally), croissant eating, coffee drinking, train travelling and lots more food and drink besides).
And then today I passed my driving test! Wahoo! (They say those that pass fourth time make the best drivers...)
The next 3 days involve lots of marriage. Well, marriage prep. Well, wedding prep... Not mine. My best buddy's... This afternoon, I helped pick out pretty sparkly sequins and pretty paper hearts and pretty lovely photos for their guest book, and tomorrow I shall not only have my hair cut, but also do some Very Important Socialising with the immediate wedding party (Bride, Groom, Other Bridesmaid) and go to the pub with the locals (aka some of our other friends).
I can't wait.
Crazy life continues with a horizon of house moving and school visiting and MEd preparing etc etc etc...
Still, better to be busy than bored, right?
I can sleep when I'm dead.
I feel like that.
Immediately after the End of Term, this sleepy little life of mine kicked off like a small child on E110. I have been camping in Somerset (at New Wine - involving lots of God, new song singing, coffee drinking, life refreshing, tent building, soul renewing, wine drinking, book reading, cheese eating and all the good stuff); Hen Partying in Stamford (involving lots of map reading, clue writing, person hunting, water dodging, tea drinking and general merriment); watching Chicago in London (involving coffee drinking, cake eating, map reading, lost getting, phone calling, restaurant finding, dinner eating and show viewing); Hospital visiting (involving coffee drinking, book reading, cafe waiting, chunk-of-leg-extracting, thread breaking, stitch pulling and other uncomfortable situations); seeing ex-housemates in Cardiff (involving tea drinking, pizza eating, dress wearing, make-up applying, sambuca drinking, gay club visiting (accidentally), croissant eating, coffee drinking, train travelling and lots more food and drink besides).
And then today I passed my driving test! Wahoo! (They say those that pass fourth time make the best drivers...)
The next 3 days involve lots of marriage. Well, marriage prep. Well, wedding prep... Not mine. My best buddy's... This afternoon, I helped pick out pretty sparkly sequins and pretty paper hearts and pretty lovely photos for their guest book, and tomorrow I shall not only have my hair cut, but also do some Very Important Socialising with the immediate wedding party (Bride, Groom, Other Bridesmaid) and go to the pub with the locals (aka some of our other friends).
I can't wait.
Crazy life continues with a horizon of house moving and school visiting and MEd preparing etc etc etc...
Still, better to be busy than bored, right?
I can sleep when I'm dead.
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Latitudinous Joy
Man alive! All of a sudden, my sleepy life suddenly became not-so-sleepy.
Last week was full of house-hunting, house-finding, school-visiting, cheque-writing, train-journeying, staff-socialising, then LATITUDE! Wahoo!
We spent the weekend in a miniature tipi, clearly designed for a child shaped like a polo. Magically, we squeezed three twenty-something-year-olds around the central pole, contorting ourselves and our luggage around each other, putting any personal space inhibitions firmly outside the tent for two nights. Though our faces and feet layered upon each other, and if we so much as thought about moving, we would be rewarded with a shower of condensation from the non-fly-sheeted tent sides, and though our feet froze and our sides ached, we had fun.
In fact, we returned on the Friday night in fits of hysterics, which undoubtedly profoundly irritated a number of neighbouring tent-ers. (They paid us back, though. Not only by kicking a football against a fence at some unearthly o'clock, but also by cooking bacon right outside our nostrils, just as we were emerging damp-footed, sweat-drenched and famished in the early hours of Saturday...)
Leaky tents and bruised ribs aside, we had an exceptionally excellent time. We mostly perused the music venues, but also took a sneaky peek into the literature, poetry, comedy and theatre tents. I loved stumbling across the Love Triangles and the Day Like No Other postcards hidden in the forest.
All in all, I loved it.
And then this week has passed in something of a post-festival haze, what with non-uniform day on Monday (well done, SMT. Big mistake.) and two full days of off-timetable jollity. I have spent yesterday and today watching the kids play tennis, netball, volleyball and go swimming. I have also played approximately 300 minutes of badminton. I'd forgotten I enjoy badminton.
I've had to curb my competitivity (competitiveness?), though. Small children honestly don't deserve a shuttlecock to the stomach. Or a racket to the chin. Or... (I'd better stop, I'm giving myself ideas) But they played a good game, and I lost all vindictiveness and found myself thoroughly enjoying playing. Bravo, badders!
I now feel inspired and have of course decided to whip out the badminton net and rackets at home in m & d's garden as soon as I arrive on Friday. If we even have it anymore... Wait, did we ever have one?? Maybe it's a holiday I'm remembering. Or a childhood wish.
Anyway, I'm off tomorrow for various reasons. Which means... finito!! My time at the Toxic School is no more. Hurrah :-)
Excuse me while I do a little celebratory dance.
The end.
Last week was full of house-hunting, house-finding, school-visiting, cheque-writing, train-journeying, staff-socialising, then LATITUDE! Wahoo!
We spent the weekend in a miniature tipi, clearly designed for a child shaped like a polo. Magically, we squeezed three twenty-something-year-olds around the central pole, contorting ourselves and our luggage around each other, putting any personal space inhibitions firmly outside the tent for two nights. Though our faces and feet layered upon each other, and if we so much as thought about moving, we would be rewarded with a shower of condensation from the non-fly-sheeted tent sides, and though our feet froze and our sides ached, we had fun.
In fact, we returned on the Friday night in fits of hysterics, which undoubtedly profoundly irritated a number of neighbouring tent-ers. (They paid us back, though. Not only by kicking a football against a fence at some unearthly o'clock, but also by cooking bacon right outside our nostrils, just as we were emerging damp-footed, sweat-drenched and famished in the early hours of Saturday...)
Leaky tents and bruised ribs aside, we had an exceptionally excellent time. We mostly perused the music venues, but also took a sneaky peek into the literature, poetry, comedy and theatre tents. I loved stumbling across the Love Triangles and the Day Like No Other postcards hidden in the forest.
All in all, I loved it.
And then this week has passed in something of a post-festival haze, what with non-uniform day on Monday (well done, SMT. Big mistake.) and two full days of off-timetable jollity. I have spent yesterday and today watching the kids play tennis, netball, volleyball and go swimming. I have also played approximately 300 minutes of badminton. I'd forgotten I enjoy badminton.
I've had to curb my competitivity (competitiveness?), though. Small children honestly don't deserve a shuttlecock to the stomach. Or a racket to the chin. Or... (I'd better stop, I'm giving myself ideas) But they played a good game, and I lost all vindictiveness and found myself thoroughly enjoying playing. Bravo, badders!
I now feel inspired and have of course decided to whip out the badminton net and rackets at home in m & d's garden as soon as I arrive on Friday. If we even have it anymore... Wait, did we ever have one?? Maybe it's a holiday I'm remembering. Or a childhood wish.
Anyway, I'm off tomorrow for various reasons. Which means... finito!! My time at the Toxic School is no more. Hurrah :-)
Excuse me while I do a little celebratory dance.
The end.
Monday, 12 July 2010
Pollyanna
I've made a decision.
I am going to be joyful.
Yes, the kids at my current school can be obnoxious nightmares, but there are some lovely ones tucked away in there too that I mustn't overlook. In addition to that, one 12-year-old child told me I had "just got them on my side", and another insecure 15-year-old asked me to "do her a favour and not leave". In addition to THAT, I am going to a new school, where new relationships can be formed, new minds can be moulded and more fairy dust sprinkled.
Yes, I bear a massive grudge against my naked left hand, but I am going to be a bridesmaid for one of my best friends this summer, and she is so immensely happy and excited that I can't help but get caught up in it. In addition to that, there is actually hope for the future, and I am starting a new life pretty soon, in which there may well be ample opportunity for meeting people. In addition to THAT, I have learnt to live self-sufficiently (which actually is not wholly a good thing, but there must be something positive in it, so I'll count it as a good thing...)
Yes, I may have failed my driving test more times than I would like to admit, but through it I have learnt humility and perseverance and all the hard things. In addition to that, I might have a house for September (whoop!) which is within walkable distance from school if necessary, so has taken the pressure off passing the next time. In addition to THAT, it is in the area I have been learning to drive already, so to carry on learning there would not be too difficult. (It also has space for parking, if ever I do pass... see, I am learning optimism)
So you see, I am taking the Pollyanna outlook on life from now on, and choosing to find things to be glad about.
Right now, I am glad that it is the end of the day, because I get to go to sleep. Hurray!
I am going to be joyful.
Yes, the kids at my current school can be obnoxious nightmares, but there are some lovely ones tucked away in there too that I mustn't overlook. In addition to that, one 12-year-old child told me I had "just got them on my side", and another insecure 15-year-old asked me to "do her a favour and not leave". In addition to THAT, I am going to a new school, where new relationships can be formed, new minds can be moulded and more fairy dust sprinkled.
Yes, I bear a massive grudge against my naked left hand, but I am going to be a bridesmaid for one of my best friends this summer, and she is so immensely happy and excited that I can't help but get caught up in it. In addition to that, there is actually hope for the future, and I am starting a new life pretty soon, in which there may well be ample opportunity for meeting people. In addition to THAT, I have learnt to live self-sufficiently (which actually is not wholly a good thing, but there must be something positive in it, so I'll count it as a good thing...)
Yes, I may have failed my driving test more times than I would like to admit, but through it I have learnt humility and perseverance and all the hard things. In addition to that, I might have a house for September (whoop!) which is within walkable distance from school if necessary, so has taken the pressure off passing the next time. In addition to THAT, it is in the area I have been learning to drive already, so to carry on learning there would not be too difficult. (It also has space for parking, if ever I do pass... see, I am learning optimism)
So you see, I am taking the Pollyanna outlook on life from now on, and choosing to find things to be glad about.
Right now, I am glad that it is the end of the day, because I get to go to sleep. Hurray!
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