Time to work

Here we are, in week 6 already!  So far this semester has been even better than the last one, learning lots and socialising lots.  My relationships with new friends continue to grow and deepen, and I know that some of them will be lifelong friends.  I have had so many fun times, as well as a couple of amazing and very humbling moments.  But I haven’t been doing enough writing!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m right up to date with all my work from class, have been doing all my reading and other homework, but I have not been working on any of my own stuff, and this is wrong.  I need to do more work on Edward, on Elvis, and am also ready to make a start on something new, although I can probably do this towards one of my assignments.

Tomorrow will be a great day, there are 10 of us heading to London to see Les Mis, but come Thursday morning I really need to start writing more.  But why wait, I can do some now!  So what’s first on the list... poetry? (gulp)

Times can be tough

Wow, would you believe it?  It is a month since my last blog post, and I didn’t even publish that one in case it upset somebody very special to me.  But although this post is long overdue, I have come to do it because I have something to say, not just because it is overdue!

University is a wonderful place, and I have lots of coursemates that have became really great friends in such a short time.  I cannot overstate how much it has meant to me to be accepted as ‘one of the gang’, and I love so many of you dearly as friends.

As our time here continues, and we are now well into semester 2 (week 4 no less), I know that some are struggling a little with living away from home, with studies, with friendships and with relationships.  Things can be tough at times, and while all our friendships have grown very quickly, they are also deep and close, and we can all be there for each other.  I’m not going to give you trite answers for any problems you are facing, but I will always give as much support and friendship as I possibly can.

My happiness is no act, and while my life isn’t perfect, I really am having the time of my life!  If I can help any of you to be a little happier at any time, please do ask and I will do my utmost to increase your smiles!  J

Follow that...

Many people have already posted about New Years and resolutions and goals and all that malarkey, and so I thought I should give my thoughts an airing in a complete lack of originality.

The year of 2011 has been easily the best year of my life.  My 6 months in Australia was full of fun, laughter, great new friends, new experiences, a thoroughly wonderful time.  Starting University has been great too, I have met more wonderful new friends, the course is really enjoyable, and Winchester is a nice place to live.  Add to this keeping up with old friends in Portsmouth and Poole, and I have had so many good times. Oh, and along the way I finished the first draft of one novel, and half wrote another.

I have 2 very simple resolutions for the New Year, but as I type this I have no idea whether I am going to achieve them!

1 – Write as much but better

2 – Have as much fun as in 2011

Have a happy New Year everybody, see you soon! J

An emptying university

The last couple of weeks of term were busy ones, with assignments due and social gatherings to attend.  As the last deadline of term was met with over a day to spare, I could smugly watch some of the unhappy posts on facebook from some of my course mates (sorry!).

A lot of friends left Winchester on Friday afternoon and Saturday, and so by Sunday the place was pretty quiet.  I spent a great day and night with some of my closest friends, enjoying delicious food, good wine, silly board games and Disney movies, and I already miss them all now that they have gone back home for Christmas.

So what is the university like with hardly anybody here?  The halls are very quiet, I think that I am one of 3 people left in my block, so it is not completely silent and empty and I still regularly hear the fire alarms going off in other blocks.  To be honest, the lack of noise from the building site next door is far more noticeable than the lack of students!

I walked through the campus this afternoon, and there were still a few signs of life, a couple of open doors, some lights still on, it may be different next week!

Although I am still living up here right through, I have so far only spent 1 full day here, and that is not gonna change over the next few days! And on that note, I’d better get off to Wimborne right now! Too-da-loo!

Searching for an answer

Today has felt like a strange day, but I'm really not sure why.  I spent a lot of it doing homework, I headed into Winchester and did a bit of shopping, so I'm not quite sure what is going on.
Maybe I got hypnotized yesterday, or maybe I was abducted by aliens last night?  If anybody knows the answer, can they let me know please!

One year on

Do you know what you were doing a year ago today?  Where were you on 17^th November 2010?  To most people this is not an easy question to answer, but to me that day was hugely significant!

The 17^th November 2010 was my last day working for the RNLI, my last day after more than 15 years of daily toil, weekly meetings, monthly paydays, quarterly appraisals and annual statements!  I left behind some great friends, but I also left behind some other people...

Since then I spent 6 months in Australia, travelling around, sleeping in hostels, camper vans, tents and swags.  I went diving with sharks, snorkelling with turtles, feeding wild dolphins, cuddling kangaroos, holding wombats, eating crocodiles, and a million other things too.  I met some amazing people, new friends from around the world.  I learnt of the history of Australia, and the oppression of the indigenous people.  I had a truly awesome time!

Now I’m back in the UK and having so much fun in Winchester.  Great new friends, and a really enjoyable course.  Winchester is a lovely place to live too.  This week I have visited a Wolf Sanctuary, run around Winchester with some friends and a video camera, and drunk homebrew into the small hours.  A-FLIPPIN-MAZING!

By a long long long way, this has been the best year of my life, the challenge now is to enjoy the next 12 months even more!

Age concern

I don’t want my blog to be exclusively about age (so why call it 40 year old student you ask), but I have been challenged about my attitude.  I have been full of joy (yes really) at how I have been accepted as one of the gang by my fellow students, but have I accepted them as adults in the same way?

Don’t take this the wrong way, I do not feel superior in any way (I’m more likely to think of myself as inferior), but do I really think of them as equals?

So on what criteria should I assess this?  Surely to think of equals then age must be completely irrelevant in every way, the fact that I may have experienced more of life than many students is just happenstance, and some of my fellow students have experienced things that I haven’t.  On a recent facebook survey I came out with a lower mental age than many of my new friends, maybe I should answer some questions of my own.

Do I get on well with my coursemates? Yes.

Do we have lots of things in common?  I would say so.

Do I enjoy socialising with them? Yes, very much.

Do I think of them as immature? Not at all, some seem more mature than I am!

Do I see some of them being long term friends? Absolutely, many of them.

Would I date one of them? Erm, this is where my ageism has been challenged!  In the incredibly unlikely event that somebody would be attracted to a 40(ish) year old with a potato-shaped head, how would I feel about dating a teenager?  I have more than one friend who has told me that it would be wrong to date an 18 year old, although at the same time other friends would give me kudos if I did ‘pull’ a teenager.  Many in today’s society would look down on me for it, but should that matter?  If you like somebody, should anything else matter at all?  I’m seeing my parents this weekend, and I know that one of the first questions my mum will ask me will be whether I’ve met any nice girls at Uni!

I guess I don’t know the answer, and it is probably irrelevant anyway, but just in case, for any if my female friends...

(in Joey’s voice) How you doin... ;-)