The Everyday Rhythm

Week 2 of my return to England is imminent, and so I thought a little catch up might be on the cards to let you know how I’m settling in. It’s been an up and down sort of a week to be honest, but let’s start with the positives because that makes us all feel better, no?

UP:

• Actually making it through Customs at Heathrow. Despite the fact I am doing absolutely nothing illegal, somehow the powerful stares of the Border Agency staff make me regret every decision I have ever made, particularly in the lead up to the moment when I’m asked to plonk my passport on their tiny desks. I made it through, as you may have guessed, and it was a GREAT MOMENT.
• Home. Bed. Cats.
• Wandering around Rochester and feeling both the foreigner and the local. An odd yet pleasing sensation.
• Picking up long awaited packages from the Post Office. Hello engagement present vouchers and Liz Earle Skincare. Nice to meet you.
• Having time to make dinner in the evening. I love to cook, so this is fun for me!
• Catching up with dear friends and feeling as if nothing has changed. Em, I adore you.
• Snuggling with Mr Hello in the morning for five more minutes before walking him into work.
• Getting excited for phase 2 of Operation Finish The House Before the Wedding. The phase where we freak out, that is.
• Exciting meetings with exciting people about future potentially exciting jobs. I may very well soon be an employed teacher! EXCITING.
• Catching up with Mr Hello’s folks. They are totally delightful and indulged my loves of their son, eating lots of delicious food, and looking at old photos. A Sunday well spent.
• Sitting in our study (above) and watching people walk past our house as I type.

DOWN:

• Turns out it’s not that much fun not having a job. On the one hand, there is more time for Parks and Recreation viewing, but on the other there is more time for getting the guilts about being a burden on society, and more to the point a burden on Mr H. Plus it’s a bit boring.
• No Polish passport as yet, which means no working until it arrives. A couple more weeks, but then hopefully I will have that burgundy booklet it my hot little hand!
• Missing my family. Goddamn it, why do I have to feel the feelings?
• Extreme hair has arrived. Something in the British water takes a while for me to adjust to, and in the meantime my hair freaks out in an unmanageable way, making me feel more self conscious than I already was. Thanks Life!
• To top it off, I am having a particularly bad skin phase, hence the timely arrival of the Liz Earle goodies.
• I have a wedding to co-plan in six months. How, where and why did that happen? Last time I checked, it was over a year away. God preserve me.
• It’s effing cold here and I am a delicate flower who has become accustomed to a certain level of UV radiation every day.
• This may well be the most boring thing in the world to approximately everyone, but last night I had a dream that Hannibal Lector (yep, that one) was showing me his latest victim, and opened up a hole in the ground to reveal a naked and screaming Jodie Foster within. I was subsequently stabbed. Got a bit freaked out by that one, I must admit, and it was only worsened by the fact that when I checked the time it was only……11:57 pm. Not even midnight, shamefully. I then had to calm myself down by reading blogs and looking at silly gifs on Tumblr until 2am. Whoops.

Hope all is well in your lives. Seeing as I am currently a member of the unemployed, I suspect I will be dropping in to HSGS Headquarters on a semi regular basis. Here’s to seeing a bit more of you!

Un/Ravelled.

Going Down:

An overwhelming inability to work solidly for more than 10 minutes at a time. Just as I progress into the hardest four weeks in all of my studying life. Thanks brain, it’s so great of you to come to the party like this. You’re also being tremendously helpful with your obsession with iPad games and staying up to 1am consistently. Honestly, what is my problem? Severely need to get my A into G, but this is looking less and less likely to happen. May or may not turn my late-semester stress levels up to 11. JOY.

I have been running (yes, running!) semi-solidly for five weeks now. Long enough that I can see improvement in my runs, but sadly not long enough that the poor, tender skin on the soles of my feet have been able to sufficiently harden up against the blight of the blister.  I am absolutely covered in the damn things, which makes me want to refrain from running to let them heal, which also makes me feel like a total wimp. Dilemma. What to do, oh wise internet? Send me tips etc, for running bliss. Sadly there has been no discernible change in my weight, which is now at an all time comfort-eating high. Ho hum.

My bank balance is at a near-ruinous level once again. No comment.

Going up:

I have had at least three rather delightful conversations with teacher recruiters for the UK, which is an oxymoron if ever I have heard one. I’m feeling decidedly positive about my work prospects, and in fact it seems like my return to my adopted home will in fact happen, despite the general never-ending-assessments feeling that has swept over me regarding uni work.

My first assessment for semester 2 came back with a (totally unexpected) fantastic grade. I am particularly delighted, because I was close to tears about it, practically from the moment we received the task sheet. I don’t, however, hold any high hopes for my latest effort.

I have a JOB INTERVIEW on Thursday evening for a teaching position next year. It all feels a little unreal, but it’s in the diary so I guess I better buck up my ideas and get preparing. Funnily enough I am having no trouble planning things for next year, which probably says something about my state of mind. My mother used to say ‘don’t wish your life away Sam’; rather good advice which I have faithfully ignored for approximately 15 years.

It’s all happening, so it seems, at HSGS Headquarters. But it’s a damn struggle, so many threads to keep track of. How’s life treating you?