Quick - post!

How quickly I forget! Days have passed and I haven't typed a word. To be fair, they have been busy and lovely days and I wouldn't have taken time from any of them to sit here and blog. However, I'm sorry I didn't compose a Christmas greeting or recount these events sooner.

Even now I don't have time to go through everything in detail because this afternoon I'm heading out West (Bristol -ish) with my 'housies' (housemates) to visit their extended family, and we get back on New Year's Eve. I'll just say that I had a lovely time with Housito's (male house mate? or something?) family on Christmas Day after church, and a lovely time with Housita's family yesterday. I was able to Skype my Mum's side of the family late Christmas night - or early Boxing Day morning - which was fantastic. No snow! But apparently it's more likely in January or February anyhow.

This morning I sent off an application to transfer to a Bachelor of Education (Primary) through UNE, so hopefully I will hear back sometime in the new year I'm guessing and get myself enrolled. A friend has offered to loan her first year textbooks which is fabulous, and if anyone else has anything that could help, let me know!

Better finish packing. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

Smattering

It's almost Christmas and it is not snowing, but absolutely miserably grey and windy and wet.

I haven't been writing because I don't feel that much has happened, but actually I know that my mind never stays the same for a day and I'm always examining myself and trying to figure out why I feel the way I do. Perhaps I should make myself write every day. A new years resolution? But I'll start early while I have the yes-let's-do-it. Don't worry, I won't publish anything I don't feel is worthy.

I had a lovely few days with my Aussie friend. We went to Camden Town (markets) on Saturday and then the Natural History Museum which is stuffed with taxidermy animals (pun intended). Birds! I love birds. Over lunch we had a good old d&m about life and God, and that was great. She came to church in the morning and the carols service at night. And now it's my turn to have a quick trip to Paris! One day...!

I didn't get that interview for the job I really wanted. I'm actually not as disappointed as I might have been. I wasn't very confident in the first place so I guess it's no surprise and so easy to bear... That sounds a bit despairing. Yes I really want to be a teachers assistant before I can be a real teacher, but maybe I just have to get something else in the mean time like live-out nannying or... McDonalds. Please, no. Not maccas.
The next thing I have to do is enroll myself back in university and change my course to Primary Ed.

...

Half an hour ago I opened a new tab to figure out student loans and HECS and distance study and all that kind of thing, and I'm still at it, so this is me signing off. Till tomorrow.

On Depression

I wanted to share this video. Please watch it, I found it incredibly insightful.
http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_solomon_depression_the_secret_we_share.html

Pretending to be a Local Londoner

At the end of Year 12 I went on Younglife Study Camp, and met a girl called Lucy; since then we have kept up as pen pals. She is living in France at the moment and has just begun a tour of Europe - starting in London. Yesterday I met her at Kings Cross and took her on a tour! (because I am such a knowledgeable guide.) We were quite lucky to be in the right places at some points of time in the day (pun definitely intended - see below).

Trafalgar Square but not the main bit

Horse Guards Parade

Contact! That's my knee he's on.

But I had no food so he lost interest.

Going past Buckingham Palace

The Serpentine - I think

Houses of Parliament

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

Tower of London

Overlooking London from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich

Greenwich Meridian Line - Longitude 0 degrees

One foot in the East & West!

British Christmas Flavour

Carol singing

One Christmas dinner - more to come

Just dwelling on the blog itself - I wrote this a week ago

I've said this before, but sometimes I ponder the direction this blog is taking. Is there even a direction? I'm not exactly traveling, so it's not a travel blog. I don't have any projects, so it's not a documenting blog. It's just a life blog I suppose. And I happen to be in a country that's not my own. This is my journal. My thought processor. I didn't want to go to sleep feeling yucky tonight so I kick started my laptop (it took three goes! Don't die on me Horatio, I need you for my degree!) and after several browser crashes I'm here... I planned to edit out the bits that needn't go public, and it turns out it all had to go and so what you've just read was initially a concluding paragraph. That's OK. I feel a bit better now.

The reason I'm putting thought into the purpose of this blog is because there are a lot of cheesy "life journey" writings out there, especially Christian ones. Am I unknowingly skipping towards that path? Or am I deliberately avoiding material that might affiliate me with members of the pink-churchy-teenager crowd who combine devotions with fashion tips and try and tell you that you deserve the best husband and he is in fact waiting at a bus stop near you but God will bring him to your door step at the right time... if you commit to quiet times and love straightening your hair. Sorry for the cynical stereotypism (made up phrase [MUP?]), but if I ever have to use content like that to draw an audience I should give up writing.

I think I want the people of the world to be a bit more real and face the realness a bit more. A lot more, actually.

More crunch