On [self-inflicted] frustration

(Another one from the drafts folder) “I hate satnags And traffic And running out of fuel And hotel receptionists who have to show you how the lights work in your room And not finding anywhere to park And people who don’t put signs up to let you know where you’re going And the lack of […]

On timing

Life could be so frigging easy! And yet it isn’t. Yesterday I received notification that I passed the project part of my last exam, and am invited to defend it on the 29th. That means sorting out a presentation. It’s almost 2 weeks away. No problem. Except. I’m away for a long weekend at a […]

On ice cream and no spoon

My younger self spent many (MANY) hours sitting on benches in various parks and town squares, eating icecream. Sometimes by myself, sometimes with friends, sometimes (and probably most often) with my siblings. This was such a common occurrence, that we each kept an emergency spoon in our bags or wallets. Yesterday I found myself alone […]

On therapy

The first session starts in 14 minutes. I feel totally unprepared, but I hope it won’t matter. I am also quite sweaty, which is worse than unprepared. The 18 degrees they promised us this morning when I put jeans on, have turned into at least 25, probably closer to 28, and the leisurely walk  I […]

On failure and other misfortunes

(Warning: contains a small amount of blood and a great deal of frustration) *** On Sunday I admitted failure.  I had failed to finish the book in time to send it to the printers before leaving to catch the plane, despite staying up all night to work on it. I was quite miffed (ok, a […]

On rainbows and double ended candle burning

I’m trying to finish my ‘book’* before Saturday evening. Or at the very very latest by Sunday morning. That would mean I can send it off to be printed before I go on holiday. ‘Holiday’ is used in the loosest form here – it’s more a chance to revise ALL the things than a chance […]

On not talking about Christmas

It’s the 25th of November. That makes it exactly a month until Christmas. I am ignoring that, and all other Christmas related things. Between now and then, I have: 4 exams to revise for a book to finish compiling and find pictures for and format and send off in time for printing 3 aquariums to […]

On winning the long way round

I had an idea at the beginning of November. People thought it was good but the people in charge thought we should put it on the back burner for later. For a couple of days it was prodded and stirred. Then it was put aside, to rest and wait for better weather. At some point […]

On leaving without saying goodbye

Ok, I get it. You don’t like goodbyes. I don’t think I know anyone who particularly enjoys them. You were – and are – well and truly finished here, you did your time, you ate the cake, you packed your coffee cup, you were ready to leave. There’s no real sensible reason to hang about […]

On driving across Berlin with a fridge

While it wasn’t nearly as cool as hitchhiking round Ireland with one’s miniature fridge, I’d argue that driving accross Berlin during rush hour with a nearly-full-sized fridge on the folded down back seats of your car is slightly more nerve wracking, especially if it’s dark, drizzling, and the rear windscreen wiper doesn’t clean the top […]

Quote – regrets

I would much rather have regrets about not doing what people said, than regretting not doing what my heart led me to and wondering what life had been like if I’d just been myself. – Brittany Renée (Just to fill a bit of the gap before I finally post one of the million half-finished posts […]