Sunny Scotland

I'm spending 2 months staying at my parents house in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Fresh air, quietness and a dog all make a nice change from the bundle of stress that is my regular life. Gives me lots of time to write with a pen and paper, read the books for next semester and go for walks along the beach. Also work in a local bar. In a few weeks I may be not so optimistic about all this.

Sofa surfing

It's almost like a milestone. That moment of your life where your relationship goes badly wrong, you lose your job, can't stand your housemates, are between flats, need a place to crash for a few days....or whatever the reason for finding yourself sleeping on your mates' sofa. This is the second time for me; of no privacy, cats attacking whilst I sleep, suitcases spilling out all over the place and just a general disorientation. This time it is just for 2 weeks until they let me loose into my new flat, not some disastrous life event. However, there is nothing like sleeping on a sofa to make you appreciate your own space when you finally get it- not to mention a real-life bed. I think I drove my first sofa-offering friends a bit mad with my untidiness; not that I actually made lots of mess. It was merely the awkwardness of living out of a suitcase and lots of bags, meaning that in order to find something to wear, or anything atall really, you have to empty the said suitcase to find the item-which then means clothes, DVDs and socks strewn all over the room. Then you put it all back and  five minutes later realise you need the very thing placed in the bottom of the bag. Sods law. I am currently blogging from my sofa with all my belongings piled in the corner and being attacked by even crazier cats, such is life.

Locked indoors

Luck seems to be against me right now. This morning I was leaving the flat; I arrived at the bottom of the stairs to go out the door only to find it had somehow jammed itself shut! I kicked, pulled and rattled it for a good while but it wouldn't budge. So I had to leave via the garden; involving climbing through somebody else garden which I doubt they were happy about but hey- had to be done. It is now 19 days until moving out day and I still haven't got a new place sorted- maybe now is the time to start stressing...

Flat hunting joys.

Eek, 3 weeks till I have to be out of my flat and have not yet got a place to live! Last year I got the flat, plus 3 flatmates together in less than 2 weeks so I'm hoping for a similar stroke of luck this summer. On the plus side I have my moving in buddies sorted; my partner and a good friend- so now I just need a place which matches my rather picky criteria. Must have: space, decent sized rooms, seperate kitchen and lounge, kitchen table, light, close to city centre, somewhere nice....not asking for much am I? Saw a really good place online today which had come down to £600 per month and it looks massive plus it's in a gorgeous area; the downside is it's unfurnished. I'm hoping that through the miracle of freecycle.org and ikea, not to mention the pound shop, we could get the essentials together for not too much hassle or cash. Wish me luck, or I will be blogging from the streets in a couple of weeks!

Paris-bound

Looking outside my window at the rainy Scottish weather, I can't help but wish I was somewhere else. Me, who has never been out of Britain, is about to get my first passport and I'm hopping with excitement at all the places I want to go. My first trip abroad is going to be on a very tight budget but I have already found a cheap place to stay- with a hostel chain that I have used before and a budget airline to get us there. I informed my fiancee that we are going to Paris for the weekend in February but I don't think he realised I was being serious- I've bought a guidebook and everything. France is not that far away for my first excursion out of the country, plus i've always liked the idea of seeing Paris. I decided February because who goes on holiday then? Plus it's my least favourite month of the year and this should brighten it up- not to mention the weather over here at that time of year.

On a different subject, I'm using google chrome now and it's constantly telling me that I am spelling words like "realised" wrong when i'm not. It wants me to put a "z" instead of a "s". American spelling?

Glasses? never, I can see just fine!

I took the plunge and had my eyes tested 2 weeks ago- for it got to the point I couldn't vaguely make out what it says on the board in classes and I was beginning to squint at street signs and bus numbers. It was truly a traumatic experience for me though, as I in no possible way suit glasses or want to have a pair. After the eye test- where they blind you with a horrible light trying to take a photo of your eye- I was taken round the store with the sales assistant to try on frames. I did warn him. I hated every pair. There was one or two which looked slightly better on so I came back a week later, slightly less traumatized, to pick one out. They were finally ready yesterday for me to take home and wow, I had no idea just how clear everything looks with glasses! But I still look very unsightly with them on, I spent the night in my bed with several budweisers, biscuits and the Twilight saga: Eclipse on the TV to drown my sorrows.

Summer jobs

It's that time of year again which seems to lead me back to the same job from the previous summer...and the one before that..etc. My friends mum owns a cafe in the city centre and it's probably the most laid back job i've ever had plus I get fed which is fantastic. They get massively busy over the Edinburgh fringe festival, so we'll be packed out with tourists as usual. They always ask the same questions: what is haggis, what is irn bru and where is the castle/royal mile? I don't blame them, if it were me i'd probably be asking a million questions too, but it does get a bit tiresome pointing people in direction of the castle when it is actually facing them.
I am quite looking forward to September for university to start, just so i'm not faffing around with 3 jobs (the one mentioned above plus part time in a pub 5 minutes from my flat and a care home where i'm called in when they need shifts covered.) So i've got another fun 6 weeks of not much social life- go me!