Happy Sunday, kids! I'm writing this on Saturday morning because I'll be in Bristol all weekend doing the Race for Life* (there's still time to sponsor me WINKY FACE go on, you know you want to) but I wanted to show my face around these parts since I've been absent all the weekdays for about a month. Life has become disturbingly busy and I can't see it letting up any time soon, so please just bear with me- I do have one and a half blog posts written in a notebook, so one of those might even get typed up this week! We'll see.
So, why is life so busy? I'm working less days but more hours now, which means that, while I get Wednesdays and Thursdays off work (WOOP!) I also spend almost the entirety of my waking hours on Monday, Tuesday and Friday either travelling to and from work or actually at work. Added to that this week has been going to the hospital nearly daily (I took a mental health day on Thursday) because my papa is back in there (BOO) because no one really thought to check if the infection he had last time had cleared up properly. It had not. BUT, he seems to be on the mend now, so fingers crossed he'll be out soon, not really for my sake but for his own, obviously! What all of this means, anyway, is that on Wednesday and Thursday I spend my time catching up with things I've let slide for those first couple of days of the week, then suddenly it's Friday and I have no idea what I'm doing with myself. Hence the lack of blogging, reading, or really most things that are fun.
(I have found the time to watch most of the first season of House of Cards with my housemate though. What a mind fuuuuuck!)
So that's my life right now, and it's only going to get busier from September because (and this is what I've been holding out on you guys about. Never again, I swear!) I'll be doing a Masters at Royal Holloway in Shakespeare! SURPRISE! I didn't want to tell you, firstly until I got accepted, and secondly until I got money stuff sorted out, but I paid my deposit on Thursday, and I'm really excited about it! I've felt like I've been drifting along kind of aimlessly ever since I left university, and this feels like the first really big decision I've made about what I want to be doing with my future since then. I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to do it, and I'm determined to work really hard, be a big important academic type person and still say fuck a lot on the internet.
This must be what actual ambition feels like- I think I thought I didn't have any, but it turns out I just didn't know what it should be aimed towards, and I'm pretty confident that this is it. Or it feels like the right thing for right now, at least. I'm really excited, and really scared I'm not smart enough, and a lot of other feelings at the same time, but mostly, it's just that gratitude thing. And I GET TO STUDY SHAKESPEARE FOR A WHOLE YEAR! In case I haven't made it clear yet, I kind of love that guy. You know, a lot.
So that's my whole big deal. All of my 'I've been doing something important this week that I can't talk about's, and my 'Exciting news! But I can't tell you yet' has been this, and I'm sorry if I've made you not care with all my teasing but this is it and it's a giant thing in my life right now. Annnnd now I'm rambling and I don't know how to end this so so so have a great rest of your weekend and do epic things and then tell me about them!
*Obviously I won't be running all weekend, it's only a 5k, I'm not that slow!
YAY and congrats to Shakespeare studies! Any specific play or aspect that you're particularly interested in researching?
ReplyDeleteAnd I wish your father a fast and smooth recovery :)
Oh man, I don't even know yet, but something tells me my dissertation will involve feminism in one way or another!
DeleteAnd thank you very much! Word on the street is he'll be home tomorrow, so that's something :)
That's so awesome about Shakespeare!! I really want to do a Masters one day.. Might have to wait til the kids are bigger though! Sucks about your dad but glad he's on the mend :-) if you want a beach day anytime we're totally up for visitors now
ReplyDeleteNaaaah, I bet Masters are so easy, you can do them even with two tiny children! (I am joking, I'm totally shitting it. GAH, Bex. GAH!) And BEACH DAY! Yes. As discussed :)
DeleteWhooo! Go you! Royal Holloway is a gorgeous college (my parents met there) and it'll be a lovely place to study Shakespeare. I wouldn't mind doing that MA. (I will go back to uni. One day.)
ReplyDeleteAwwww, how sweet! Maybe I'll meet my co-parent there! (lol, optimism!) COME AND DO THE SHAKESPEARE MA WITH ME! They don't seem like they're that picky ;)
Delete(I just published that then realised it sounded really bad! I mean they're not picky because they're letting me do it, rather than because you're not good enough! You're more than good enough!)
DeleteThat's amazing about your Masters! In Shakespeare! It doesn't get better than that. I can already tell you're going to make me want to go back to uni...
ReplyDeleteUh oh! Am I going to start a chain of people going back into education? I HOPE SO! (Nah, all my posts will be like 'I haven't posted this week because I am DYING OF BRAIN ACHE' or something! AGH, so scared and excited!)
DeleteWonderful news about th masters! Very happy for you :). Hope that good news has a rainbow effect on your dad.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! And hopefully it has- he's feeling pretty good at the moment, I think, and should be coming home from hospital tomorrow :)
DeleteCONGRATULATIONS YAYYYYY
ReplyDelete*dances about*
THANK YOU! Your dancing is v v good.
DeleteThat's fantastic news!!!! :-) I bet you're going to kick so much ass. I daydream about going back to college sometimes... but only as a part-time I-like-to-learn thing, not an amibitious, full-time thing. And it sucks about being busy, but we'll all still be here. (Everyone has been awesome about me being MIA, so I feel ya.)
ReplyDeleteOh, and best wishes to your dad!
Thank youuu! I'm so going to try and kick ass, I think this is really what I want to do with my liiiife! (I think... I'll let you know in a year!) I'm still keeping my job so I'm slightly apprehensive about being so crazy busy- I know for sure that the blog is going to suffer, but I think I can deal with it, and I know no one else will mind! It's just, you know, I like it round here!
DeleteAnd thank you! I will have to pass on all of the internet's best wishes :)
OH MY GAWDDDDDDDDDDD. So exciting Laura!!!!! Congrats and congrats and all of that other stuff.
ReplyDeleteI know about life being busy and I can't even imagine what I would have done if I knew about book blogging or twitter (or even Facebook) when I was in grad school. Sudoku puzzles were devilish time sucks enough. I hope that you'll share more with us!! But don't stress about it. Or anything. Maybe just instagram it. That doesn't take any time. :P
THANK YOU, lovely Trish!
DeleteI definitely want to keep some kind of blog time over the next year, just because I LOVE EVERYONE and I don't want to abandon anyone or anything. But I know I'm going to be so busy- I'm almost too busy now, and I'll still have the same job next year PLUS a shitload of reading and writing and whatnot. I might die. Or just literally read nothing but Shakespeare. Oh, the fun I'll have! (OMG)
Wonderful news Laura, this is so exciting! Congratulations! I think the year I did my masters was the most tiring but also the best year of my life.
ReplyDeleteOh and best of luck at the race!
Thank you so much! I am already imagining it being incredibly tiring, but I'm still pretty excited! I'm definitely going to have to hit up all my friends-who-have-done-even-higher-education on the internet for advice/reassurance that I'm not going insane, this is just what a MA is like! I'll come to you first :)
Delete"This must be what actual ambition feels like- I think I thought I didn't have any, but it turns out I just didn't know what it should be aimed towards, and I'm pretty confident that this is it. Or it feels like the right thing for right now, at least." THIS! This is what I need to find, Laura. Now that I'm not in imminent danger of doing something stupid, I really need to start looking forwards to What Comes Next. I just don't know what it is. I do know that I wish I could drive because many opportunities involve travelling for more than five minutes and public transport in the near-countryside sucks. What do I want to do? Who do I want to be? I DON'T KNOW - but I'm very glad that you've found your next step in life because it's the best feeling in the world. Congratulations muffin! :)
ReplyDeleteOhhhh honey pie, I know your feelings exactly- I've had them for the last 4 years- and they are the absolute pits. I'm so happy that I've decided on this as my next step, even if I'm slightly apprehensive of 'ooh, is it the right one though?' but OMG me, seriously, sometimes you just have to take a leap. Not that you should absolutely take a leap, (well, you should once you figure a thing out!) but it feels so exhilarating, and so terrifying to have done it. It's pretty cool. We will figure out your liiiiife! (Ok, you might need to be the one who does that. But I will help in any way I can!)
DeleteYAY for Shakespeare and everything finally going through!!! Huzzah huzzah!!
ReplyDeleteYAY INDEED :) :) :)
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