My boyfriend makes oi laff...

Now you'd think a Computer Science student would be completely obsessed with his err.. equipment; and you'd be right! Don't get me wrong, he loves his toys and gadgets, but I'd never have thought one so technologically-minded would refer to his computer as a 'piece of shit' quite so often.
I work on the assumption that if you're nice to the nice computer, the nice computer will be nice to you. Ok, so I'm wrong, but I'm not doing too badly; I've had my laptop for 4 years (cue a complete breakdown) and so what if the disk drive is broken and Office is completely screwed for no apparent reason? I use an external or USB drive if necessary and have Open Office. Oh and for some reason it won't go into standby mode, it just releases blue screns of death instead. Odd, but manageable. I just have to cope with it being either on or off.
I don't mind. The boyfriend, however, gets really mad at his whenever something goes wrong for no apparent reason. I'm beginning to think he likes it though (I certainly don't mind, he's really cute when he's angry at inanimate objects, it makes me giggle); he's always so proud when he works it out and fixes it. That's what he's good at. Amongst other things, of course.

Arrr!

My pirate name is:

Mad Charity Kidd

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
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Back in the veritable saddle

I've been back in Wales for a few weeks now. I had an amazing time with the boyfriend's family, I stayed for nearly a week, and I've already been back to see his siblings perform in their play, which was hiliarious. I really genuinely liked all of them; I hope they liked me back. They were brilliant about the whole vegan thing; his Dad kept coming up with more and more exciting ideas and they all ate it too so I was very grateful for all the effort they made, not just with my diet but with me as a person. It was a shame I still had so much work to do; and that I ended up finishing it all last minute and that it was awful; but I guess it was all in on time so that's something. I had my only exam yesterday and luckily, although I felt completely unprepared, it was ok, the questions were as kind as they could be so if I've done terribly badly it's all my fault.

Now all I have to do is the paper. I'm desperately angling towards getting my column back in the magazine; I really liked having my own column and was imensely proud of it. The fact it's been changed has really got to me. I get it; there's good reasons, but I'm disappointed, and blame myself and feel that if I was better then clearly, I'd still have it. I'm being selfish, and spoilt and generally not having a positive attitude about it, I know, but I am actually quite cut up about it. I'll get over it, but in the meantime I'm going to try to get back in there. The editor's having none of it. But I'm going to keep trying.

The paper itself; I've had a bit of a day! This morning's interview was a complete waste of time. You win some, you lose some. I think I've got enough content. I think. In any case, it'll all be done by Friday morning; hopefully Thursday evening, and then it's back into lectures from next week I guess.

I'm having an evening off tonight; I'm going to enjoy it.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!
I hope, very much, that this is going to be a happy year for me, and for everyone I know. I am aware that there are a lot of decisions to make, a lot of things to do and challenges to meet. I haven't really made any resolutions; in all fairness I usually do that at Halloween anyway, but the most useful thing I think I can resolve to do is to not be afraid of all the changes and decisions which are about to face me.

My family is going to face a testing time as my parent's divorce and financial settlement comes through; and my father's decreased mobility is going to mean we need to make plans for the family business. But I hope that once the divorce is through we can finally find some closure, and move on and make plans without the uncertainty about whether or not we the plans will be scuppered by a crippling divorce payment, or whether we'll actually lose the house and business, which is how we've been living for nearly three years.
I really hope the pressure will lift so we can all move on.

This is also the last part of the last year of my degree. I am having to come to terms with the idea that I will not be in Swansea next year. This is sad, because I love it, more than I thought I would. Swansea and Wales in general can rest assured however that I will not be gone for long whatsoever, even if I don't get a place at Cardiff in September.
However, I can't imagine my degree is going to be a fantastic one - I hope I can get something respectable, but in any case, university has done a lot for me. I have, with the help of the uni rag, decided to persue journalism; fed up of being cautious and throwing away dreams, I'm going to go for it and give it everything I've got.

As to my personal life, there has been a lot of upheaval but; I am very happy. I sincerely hope that my life will continue in this happy way, and that it is the same for my friends; I am acutely aware that many of my friends have had difficult times recently.

This past year has been difficult, and productive, and wonderful and terrible at different times, and I am aware that this next year is very important and will not be easy; but I am lucky in that I am now closer to my family than I have been for some time and I hope that this will only get better. I am also blessed with many loving friends who have been supportive, and tolerant, and downright marvellous; I hope I will be there for them too when they need me.

The only last thing to note is that I have a good feeling about this year. I think I'm ready to do this. I hope I am, it's coming whether I am or not!

Here's to a happy and successful new year, with my love. x