Wednesday 9th December 2009

11.45pm - Random ramblings!

The last few months have really flown past me in a flash, I can't believe it is December already and so so so so long since I last blogged. I am deeply sorry about that but as you know, last year I failed my first year of Uni and this year I vowed to take it a lot more seriously. So far, I am doing excellently, much improved on last years performance but have had to put in a lot of time and effort.

Need a little vent I'm afraid here goes: I am feeling major Burn Out to be honest. I feel exhausted. Diabetes has totally kicked my ass and everything is just such a huge mission now. I guess I'm just run down but it's hard all this keeping myself positive when I feel tired at the end of the day. In the morning I will feel differently, all keen and spritely as normal but right now I'm wiped out. My brain wants to go but my body says no, lol.

I don't think I have much news but I'll just start blogging and see what happens. I've been pretty busy lately not just at uni but socially too. I seem to have a group of really lovely friends. David, Vicky, Steve, Kev, Clare, Talan, Rob, Anne, Jonny, Peter, Laura etc etc. Here is how it goes:

Mondays I have maths but not until lunch so I get a much needed lie in and the night off, Tuesdays I have a day off but the last 3 have been spent doing maths in the Chaplaincy, tuesday nights are Christian Union if I can make it, Wednesday is supposed to be a day off too but the last 2 have been spent doing maths with Tom in the chappers, every other Wednesday I go to Xalt when I know someone that will be there, Thursday is my super busy day lately, maths lectures and maths with Tom in the chappers, Christianity Explored in the evening, Friday I go to Bible brunch if I can get up early enough then get the afternoon off. Saturdays I do all my house work and washing late into the evening, mumsie comes over on Sunday for dinner.

The rest of the time I'm catching up on Facebook, except this week I went to Church on Sunday night. I'm trying to make myself go into uni every day for as long as I can manage so that I really appreciate my time off and am ready for the increase in subject and difficulty after Christmas that threw me last year. I was doing just fine until the second half of the year when I didn't understand a word when I had missed lectures.

I haven't had chance to get on here to blog but I have been reading Hollydaze! I always read the email one when I get my uni emails and comment if I get chance to go on blogspot at the same time which alas is not as often as I would like. My plan of action for this year was just to nail maths get it out of the way so that I don't have to go to maths after christmas. I have one more test to do and then I am done so the plan is to get it done before I go on holiday. Oh! my holiday I haven't really told you about that yet, I got asked to go to visit my family over in Abu Dhabi! Aren't they lovely? I was so so grateful! I am going on 30th December with my Nan and staying there until 28th January. I can't wait!

Anyway, since I passed Bio 005 and Chem 005 I only had to do maths this term (semester?) but I didn't pass Bio 006, Chem 006, Stats or Maths for the second part of the year so after Christmas I am back to a whole timetable after only having maths right now. If I can reduce it to Bio, Chem and Stats then I might have a chance of completing this year and getting onto my actual degree which will be a lot more fun because it's a subject I'm actually interested in. I was very close to passing bio and chem last year so fingers crossed. I'm hoping the work I did last year will count towards my final mark but I have yet to confirm that with my tutor Dave Harwood.

I have an enabler this year called Tom who has made the hugest change in my whole uni experience. I no longer have any stress when I go to a lecture. He walks me to my lectures and sits through them with me then spends hours on end one to one patiently explaining the simplest of things that I just don't get over and over. Bless him. Maths is like a foreign language to me apparently I have something called Dyscalculus? (I am guessing you know what that is.) Perhaps I rely on him a bit too much? Anyway we sort of just got on so well right from the start that I feel like I have known him forever and I don't know how I managed anything last year. While I am on holiday he might even be sitting through all my lectures note taking for me for when I get back home! A combination of Tom and feeling so very much at home in the chappers is making uni a real pleasure.

I chatted with Alysha tonight for the first time in years. It was lovely. Really reminded me of the good old days of chatting with her, Vicki, Becca and Angel all the time instead of once in a while. We both really miss those days, it was nice to catch up. She asked me if I ever talk to you and I said not exactly, lol. I said that we read and comment on eachothers blogs but that I still feel the same as I did when we chatted for hours on the phone every day. Perhaps I will get the opportunity to call you over the christmas? I will try my best. I'd love to come and visit you and meet Holly. Angel has invited me to go to visit her at Easter or what you call Spring Break. I am hoping to have enough money to do that. I talk to Angel on Facebook all the time by the way, she is as lovely as ever :) I haven't heard from Becca in nearly 3 years now I think. Have you?

I'm sorry to say that I started smoking again recently after having given up for over 11 months and now I am going through the giving up process again. It's such a difficult thing to do, I can't believe I was stupid enough to put myself through it twice. I have to take tablets that make me feel like I have morning sickness twice a day. They stop me from having cravings. Well they work like a treat during the day, I don't smoke at all but evenings I can't kick it just yet. It's all just habit breaking, I'll get there again. I'm not taking tobacco with me abroad so that will be the end of it.

I can't wait to get in the sun I have missed it so much. It's freezing cold and always raining here in Plymouth at the moment. It is the worst time of the year weather-wise, October - April really. We have 2 months sun usually, 3 if we are lucky. The cold isn't so depressing it's the constant year-long rain.

It was Sams third birthday yesterday. It was fun we had a birthday tea and he loved his presents. He was in a great mood and a good time was had by all. He is so big now and just so handsome and gorgeously cute!

Hope your knee is better now by the way!

It's late now so I'm going to get going. I promise to be on facebook but I will get on here whenever I can, sorry. Finish uni 21st not going on holiday until 30th so I'll try and get on then again. xxxxxx

Wednesday 30th September 2009

Time flies by so quickly I hardly noticed it has been over a week since I posted a blog and I was trying to stay up to date too! Oh well. I've been so ill this week I had three days where all I really did was chat with people on Facebook and keep up to date with my games. I had my hair cut and as promised took some pics.
Tuesday Vicky and I sat in the chaplaincy and chatted with Kev Blake. I wasn't feeling too well though and didn't go back as planned for the event in the evening. Wednesday all day I was proper ill and spent most of my time just facebooking but I did pop down and see Heidi and the girls a few times. Thursday I was feeling a little better but still stayed home to rest. My mum came over and I cooked a stew. I have pictures but don't want to traumatise you so I'll just put them on Facebook where you can avoid them. Later in the evening Katie brough Sam over for a little visit while she went down her friend Andreas who lives right near me.



Friday I was ill again and stayed home all day resting and napping. Saturday I felt better and wanted some fresh air after being cooped up so met Vicky in town for a little shopping. She bought some cooking things, I got another t-shirt, this one was black with Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Elvis, Jim Morrison and a few others on the front saying Legends. With my very handy student discount of 20% it was only £4.80 which I was very impressed with!



Saturdays are always crazy busy in town and this week we had a farmers market to add to the chaos but I was actually ok with it and had a really good time. Vicky and I went to a little cafe and had some lunch which I forgot to photograph then we continued shopping, ending up in the christian book shop that we love.



We spent hours in there, going through and checking out almost everything on offer. It's such a cute little shop above another shop tucked away and fun to browse. Vicky bought a wrist band and an inspirational poster and I bought a book written by the Bishop of Durham on Marks Gospel, a daily inspirational book and a New Testament. I have many different versions of the bible but none that I would want to write in so even though I have many New Testaments I wanted one to cross reference and write notes on whilst reading the 'Mark for Everyone' book. I've really been enjoying these books so The Lost Symbol is on the shelf for now. I did read a few pages of it on the bus when I bought it though and what I read was very good!
On Sunday I went to mumsies and we had cottage pie before she had to go and babysit my stepsisters children.

It was nice to be out of the flat even though I wasn't feeling very well at all. Good to see mum and get a change of scene, the cottage pie was gorgeous too! Monday I was feeling worse then ever and stayed home from Uni. By then I knew I had Bronchitus at least as I just couldn't stop my barking cough for even a minute and my inhalers were barely working anymore. I spent the day chatting on Facebook inbetween naps and slowly got worse and worse as the night went on, developing a severe pain all down my right side. By the morning I couldn't bare the pain and went down to Heidis to phone the doctors. I had really scared myself by then and was thinking the worst that I might have pneumonia so got as early an appointment as I could. Daisy was in a great little mood that day, she was very good at cheering me up. I went to the doctors even though I was thinking I should go to the hospital and I'm glad I did because she said it was indeed just Bronchitus and I had probably just strained my muscles coughing but to come back if it got any worse. She prescribed me some much stronger antibiotics than the ones I had the week before, some Ibruprofen for the pain and a stronger inhaler for the 'rattle' in my chest. I layed on the sofa most of the rest of the day feeling sorry for myself and nearly coughing up a lung, lol. The cats kept me company though. Tuesday was much of the same although I wasn't so tired and the Ibruprofen was working enough for me to get back on Facebook and not feel quite as lonely. I chatted with Vicky who kindly offered to come over and asked me if I needed anything from the shop etc. She said everyone was missing me in Uni which made me a little sad. I had promised to be in that day but just wasn't well enough. I was up very late that night as I found it hard to settle and go to sleep so I kept getting back up. I chatted with Angel for a little while which was nice so I was then glad I had stayed up late enough to catch her. Today Vicky came over to see how I was and to be honest I have been feeling much better. The antibiotics must be very strong and the Ibruprofen is perfect. I wasn't quite up to going out still but I made a sausage casserole and we watched Scrubs, Friends, Judge Judy and chatted, it was lovely.



She really cheered me up. I seem to now be a lot better, only coughing every so often and not as bad. The combination of strong tablets, good company, plenty of rest and decent food seems to have worked a treat. It is now 3am Thursday and I think I am well enough to go into Uni today which is great as I have Maths which I don't want to miss then this evening it is the first Christianity Explored of the new study year so I would have been sad to miss that too!
I will definitely take pictures even if I don't manage to blog so that I can catch up later. As long as I'm going to be in Uni today I will anyways otherwise the pictures will all be too samey, lol. Much love xxxxx

Monday 21st September 2009

This morning I woke up at 4.30am panicking that I might have missed my alarm. I couldn't get back to sleep so I got up instead. After making sure I had everything ready for Uni it was too late to go back to sleep so I got dressed, grabbed my bag and went down to see Heidi, Lily and Daisy. Monty knew that I was off out when I grabbed my bag and assumed the position, lol.

When I got to Heidis, Daisy was in bed still and Lily was already dressed in her uniform, eating breakfast. Heidi then did her hair.


The taxi arrived and off Lily went.
Heidi made me a coffee and we chatted for a bit before Daisy got up.

Far too soon the time had gone and I had to get off to the bus stop and get to Uni. I really didn't want to go but I forced myself.
The first person I saw when I arrived at Uni was David, closely followed by Vicky. I forgot to take pics as we were too busy chatting. I helped David with his bags and the three of us walked up to the Chaplaincy.




There were a lot of people milling around as you would expect as it is Freshers Week which makes me very nervous and anxious so it was nice to take some time and have a coffee before we had to go to our Introduction talk. At 9.45am Vicky and I took a walk over to the Rolle building to meet up with the rest of our class. I couldn't go in at first but Vicky coaxed me in.


There are 130 people in my class but we were lucky enough to be some of the last people to enter so there weren't too many people hanging around, they were already going into the lecture theatre.


We took our seats and sat through two hours of mind numbingly boring drone. It was the same talk as last year, nothing new. We were given our Lab books. They are full of safety instructions for when we are in the Labs. We had to fill out forms to say we had read and understood them. Afterwards Vicky and I went back to the Chaplaincy where we saw Steve, Kevin, David, Anne, Maureen, Dominique, Michelle, Sam and a few other people who I don't know the names of. Loads of familiar faces though and by then I was totally comfortable with being back at Uni. Quite a success really.

About an hour later we left, Vicky going off to the library to do some printing and me off to the city centre. I met up with mumsie and we did a bit of shopping.




I picked up my preordered copy of Dan Brown The Lost Symbol and bought two tshirts, a plain black one and a great Jimi Hendrix one. Mumsie bought some bits and bobs then I left her in town while I went home tired. Here are a few pics from the bus stop in town.


When I got back home I popped into see Heidi, Lily and Daisy again as I promised Lily I would see her after school. They were having their dinner.

I stayed until the girls were in bed then came home and chatted with mumsie on Facebook for a little while. I checked in with my farms but couldn't get on Fish World because they are updating their servers tonight. I have another early start tomorrow so I'd better get to bed. Tomorrow I am having all my hair cut off in the evening so I thought I would add some pics of my hair down to show before and after. The other day I had my hair band in too tight and a large amount of my hair broke off while I was in bed so I am having it pretty short to try and get the whole lot thicker and a uniform length.

I will try and write more tomorrow but I'm busy busy busy with Chaplaincy events in the evening and all. I will take pictures, including my new hair when I remember so I can write a blog another time though if I can't do it tomorrow. Love and hugs as always xxx