i'm challenging myself. though not through choice!
right now i am talking to three people on msn, writing this blog, writing a letter, sending an email, eating my lunch and making a picnic. quite impressive i thought.
i wonder how many men could do that? no, sorry that's mean and sexist. men can multitask, just not in the same things women can! but then i wouldn't be able to do a load of office things all at once like my dad can!
i love how men and women are so different!
sorry this is short, but have lots to do. love you all. x
Friday, June 30, 2006
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
me and edd
just thought, for lack of something to write that i'd put in a photo of my and my brother at our murder mystery party. we were a rich italian brother and sister from 1914. 
hee hee. i love this picture!
hee hee. i love this picture!
Sunday, June 25, 2006
life, the universe and everything
Hello from sunny Harrogate.
I've just been reading everyone elses blogs, whilst eating pancakes, and it would be so apt for me to add my thoughts on the year, coming home, being in Durham/not being in Durham. We have all written very much the same thing, that the year has been amazing and we're all feeling melancholic having left, and we are all going to be facing various issues over the summer, for the most part, alone away from each other. University life is such a strange concept, we are all forced to live two lives and it is very hard in many ways to equate them both.
One of the things that was talked about in church today was how everyone wants to lead a profitable and fulfilling life. We all want to see the purpose and feel the fruits of our actions and lives and I guess one of the difficult things about coming home is having to get new goals and actions from the ones we have in Durham. But I think there is something pretty important to learn here, that our goals shouldn't really change that dramatically. If I think about the things I want to achieve in my life, and the kind of person that I want to become, it really is a challenge to strave for that just as much in Harrogate, where nothing much happens, as in Durham where I feel my life is 'lived' much more fully.
I've said this before, but a philosophy I want to have is that in view of the fact we can never get back a single minute of life lived, surely the most important way to live is so not waste a single minute of the life we have.
I've just been reading everyone elses blogs, whilst eating pancakes, and it would be so apt for me to add my thoughts on the year, coming home, being in Durham/not being in Durham. We have all written very much the same thing, that the year has been amazing and we're all feeling melancholic having left, and we are all going to be facing various issues over the summer, for the most part, alone away from each other. University life is such a strange concept, we are all forced to live two lives and it is very hard in many ways to equate them both.
One of the things that was talked about in church today was how everyone wants to lead a profitable and fulfilling life. We all want to see the purpose and feel the fruits of our actions and lives and I guess one of the difficult things about coming home is having to get new goals and actions from the ones we have in Durham. But I think there is something pretty important to learn here, that our goals shouldn't really change that dramatically. If I think about the things I want to achieve in my life, and the kind of person that I want to become, it really is a challenge to strave for that just as much in Harrogate, where nothing much happens, as in Durham where I feel my life is 'lived' much more fully.
I've said this before, but a philosophy I want to have is that in view of the fact we can never get back a single minute of life lived, surely the most important way to live is so not waste a single minute of the life we have.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Boys and Toys
it fascinates me, the phenomenon of how drastically boys change when around plastic guns, swords, or plastic little green and blue men and horses and canons. i played Risk today with some friends, and the buys suddenly became these war driven soldiers on a mission to take over the whole world. why is it that these things promote such a major change in a boy? is it the primeval instinct to invade and conquer? or maybe the macho image of power? whatever it is, give a boy a little toy soldier and he becomes a ruthless, power hungry maniac!
it does make me laugh when i see my friends brandishing plastic guns at me because i've said something to wind them up, but on a much more sober note, how easy it is to transfer the playful fighting i see in my friends, to the real life fighting in some countries of the world. when young children are given guns and told to shoot... to kill. it seems there is a part of us all, but i think, not sexistly, particularly in men, that can be converted into a killing machine. and that frightens me. alot.
it does make me laugh when i see my friends brandishing plastic guns at me because i've said something to wind them up, but on a much more sober note, how easy it is to transfer the playful fighting i see in my friends, to the real life fighting in some countries of the world. when young children are given guns and told to shoot... to kill. it seems there is a part of us all, but i think, not sexistly, particularly in men, that can be converted into a killing machine. and that frightens me. alot.
Monday, June 19, 2006
when the day sets itself against you...
... oh the things that can happen!
it would take me a long time to do justice to yesterday, sunday 18th june, but as amie so aptly put it, it was an intense day. and nothing happened the way we had wanted it to.
to begin with, we had decided not to go to mary's day because it was £7.50 and looked pants. we planned to get all dressed up and go drink pimm's and eat strawberries by the river. of course that good plan sort of fizzled out when it rained all morning. so, not losing spirit we decided to picnic out in the cloisters, it's pretty out there. but, predictably, there was a band playing there for mary's day. so we went up to the chapel where it's nice and quiet and very beautiful. however, in a fit of conscience we wound up eating just outside the chapel so as not for anyone to think we were being disrespectful. we had a great time, pimm's, crisps, dips, ciabatta, carrots... some great photos.
then the next plan was to go on a boat on the river, there were enough of us for two boats so we got all competitive as you do and started talking about races. we did split up the actual rowers, helen, helen and amie just to make it fair. we got down to the bridge... and the boats we not open, apparantly it's not possible to row in the rain. so, after attempting to jump onto the prince bish as it went under the bridge... on to brown sugar for a hot chocolate yay! but not surprisingly brown sugar was packed. after a great deal of discussion and 'no i don't like that cafe' we settled on esquires, giggling on the way down about how much that day had not gone according to plan but how much fun we were having all the same.
once there we guzzled the strawberries with nutella and cream from the coffees, and talked and laughed and sang and just generally spent time being 'us'. not long before we were thinking of leaving, a man came up and was peering into the window (we were sitting outside, extending the cover overhead with umbrellas!). we started talking to him, and found out his name was michael. he has lived in durham most of his life, but he hasn't had a house or a job for a long time. he looked in a pretty bad way really. amie bought him a coffee and ffi got him some more rizlas, and we talked about all kinds of things. i was shocked to discover that there is nothing for homeless people in his age group in durham. the nearest shelter is newcastle, and there don't seem to even be any soup kitchens. i felt ashamed to be drinking a mocha and eating nutella.
michael asked us if he could come to church with us that evening and we said of course. on the way back we prayed that whether he came of not, he would remember us and would feel something of God's amazing peace and love for him. i love knowing that God loves me and you in exactly the same way as he loves michael. our God is amazing. michael did come to church with us, and two rows back from him was his godmother he hadn't spoken to in years. coincidence? not at all.
an intense day indeed. i'd learnt that morning that my grandad was in hospital again, it's nothing to worry about, but it's there in my mind all the same. my dad got hit a few weeks ago on the motorway and the car is totally ruined. my dad is ok. these are all reminders to me of how little control we have over the events of the day, but also of how much control i believe God has over every single event. it's a humbling thing to realise.
when the day sets itself against you... the things that can happen!
it would take me a long time to do justice to yesterday, sunday 18th june, but as amie so aptly put it, it was an intense day. and nothing happened the way we had wanted it to.
to begin with, we had decided not to go to mary's day because it was £7.50 and looked pants. we planned to get all dressed up and go drink pimm's and eat strawberries by the river. of course that good plan sort of fizzled out when it rained all morning. so, not losing spirit we decided to picnic out in the cloisters, it's pretty out there. but, predictably, there was a band playing there for mary's day. so we went up to the chapel where it's nice and quiet and very beautiful. however, in a fit of conscience we wound up eating just outside the chapel so as not for anyone to think we were being disrespectful. we had a great time, pimm's, crisps, dips, ciabatta, carrots... some great photos.
then the next plan was to go on a boat on the river, there were enough of us for two boats so we got all competitive as you do and started talking about races. we did split up the actual rowers, helen, helen and amie just to make it fair. we got down to the bridge... and the boats we not open, apparantly it's not possible to row in the rain. so, after attempting to jump onto the prince bish as it went under the bridge... on to brown sugar for a hot chocolate yay! but not surprisingly brown sugar was packed. after a great deal of discussion and 'no i don't like that cafe' we settled on esquires, giggling on the way down about how much that day had not gone according to plan but how much fun we were having all the same.
once there we guzzled the strawberries with nutella and cream from the coffees, and talked and laughed and sang and just generally spent time being 'us'. not long before we were thinking of leaving, a man came up and was peering into the window (we were sitting outside, extending the cover overhead with umbrellas!). we started talking to him, and found out his name was michael. he has lived in durham most of his life, but he hasn't had a house or a job for a long time. he looked in a pretty bad way really. amie bought him a coffee and ffi got him some more rizlas, and we talked about all kinds of things. i was shocked to discover that there is nothing for homeless people in his age group in durham. the nearest shelter is newcastle, and there don't seem to even be any soup kitchens. i felt ashamed to be drinking a mocha and eating nutella.
michael asked us if he could come to church with us that evening and we said of course. on the way back we prayed that whether he came of not, he would remember us and would feel something of God's amazing peace and love for him. i love knowing that God loves me and you in exactly the same way as he loves michael. our God is amazing. michael did come to church with us, and two rows back from him was his godmother he hadn't spoken to in years. coincidence? not at all.
an intense day indeed. i'd learnt that morning that my grandad was in hospital again, it's nothing to worry about, but it's there in my mind all the same. my dad got hit a few weeks ago on the motorway and the car is totally ruined. my dad is ok. these are all reminders to me of how little control we have over the events of the day, but also of how much control i believe God has over every single event. it's a humbling thing to realise.
when the day sets itself against you... the things that can happen!
Friday, June 16, 2006
Smells
as in good smells not bad ones!
i was walking earlier today along thinking about smells and scents that make you feel like you've suddenly been transported somewhere quite different. i'm sure most people know what i mean when i say this, and i began to think about the things that transport me to other places. for example, the smell of buttercup syrup reminds me of going skiing because the medicine bottle spilt over all our things. The smell of freshly cut grass makes me think of summer and rain makes me think of New Zealand. Lynx Africa takes me back to the first guy i ever fancied, and the smell of magazines makes me feel sick because it's the smell of dentist waiting rooms and i hate dentists with a fierce passion. dusty roads smells of Peru and Calvin Klein Be smells of Tim to me.
the point i'm making is that i like smells, i love it when i smell something that takes me somewhere else, it's like i was talking about in a previous post, it brings back all sorts of memories, and if i close my eyes and think hard enough, sometimes i feel as though i really have been transported back to the place of that smell.
i was walking earlier today along thinking about smells and scents that make you feel like you've suddenly been transported somewhere quite different. i'm sure most people know what i mean when i say this, and i began to think about the things that transport me to other places. for example, the smell of buttercup syrup reminds me of going skiing because the medicine bottle spilt over all our things. The smell of freshly cut grass makes me think of summer and rain makes me think of New Zealand. Lynx Africa takes me back to the first guy i ever fancied, and the smell of magazines makes me feel sick because it's the smell of dentist waiting rooms and i hate dentists with a fierce passion. dusty roads smells of Peru and Calvin Klein Be smells of Tim to me.
the point i'm making is that i like smells, i love it when i smell something that takes me somewhere else, it's like i was talking about in a previous post, it brings back all sorts of memories, and if i close my eyes and think hard enough, sometimes i feel as though i really have been transported back to the place of that smell.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
PRAGUE ROCKS!!!!!
oh i have had the most awesome few days in prague, and it would take me years literally to explain everything properly, and you would probably get bored and jealous of my ranting, so here is my prague experience in a bunch of words/phrases:
beautiful architecture, fantastic apple strudel, absinthe, singing the same songs over and over in my head, amazing gothic cathedral, lots of walking, incredible views, laughing until almost sick, dancing in ma-hu-sive klute-like club, negociating scary trams, trying to stop Gary from punching waiter, too many sexual inuendos, rusks, great food, beautiful scarves, late nights and early mornings, sunshine, cocktails, wonderful icecream from Dream and Cream (hee hee), delayed flight, new and closer friends, arriving home in daylight!, highlight of the year.
well, just read over that, is a pretty random list of stuff, but there you go, would be shorter than writing it all out! this really is a flying visit to durham, off to CU houseparty tomorrow to the lovely wensleydale and i'm really looking forward to that. this really is 'the time of our lives' if i can say so without the cliche, which is admittedly pretty hard, but i am trying! i remember when i was younger, like around 14/15, someone telling me to grab every opportunity that comes at me in life with both hands. my one greatest ambition is to get to the end of my life and know with all my heart that i wouldn't change anything i did in my life if i were to go back and start again. i want to know that i've lived my life with every ounce of energy i had, and to enjoy every moment.
right now i feel pretty good. i have had a wonderful term, i'm being given so many opportunities to do things here, and even though i am so unbelievably tired it's getting hard to focus on anything... i am so so so happy.
i love my life!
x x x
beautiful architecture, fantastic apple strudel, absinthe, singing the same songs over and over in my head, amazing gothic cathedral, lots of walking, incredible views, laughing until almost sick, dancing in ma-hu-sive klute-like club, negociating scary trams, trying to stop Gary from punching waiter, too many sexual inuendos, rusks, great food, beautiful scarves, late nights and early mornings, sunshine, cocktails, wonderful icecream from Dream and Cream (hee hee), delayed flight, new and closer friends, arriving home in daylight!, highlight of the year.
well, just read over that, is a pretty random list of stuff, but there you go, would be shorter than writing it all out! this really is a flying visit to durham, off to CU houseparty tomorrow to the lovely wensleydale and i'm really looking forward to that. this really is 'the time of our lives' if i can say so without the cliche, which is admittedly pretty hard, but i am trying! i remember when i was younger, like around 14/15, someone telling me to grab every opportunity that comes at me in life with both hands. my one greatest ambition is to get to the end of my life and know with all my heart that i wouldn't change anything i did in my life if i were to go back and start again. i want to know that i've lived my life with every ounce of energy i had, and to enjoy every moment.
right now i feel pretty good. i have had a wonderful term, i'm being given so many opportunities to do things here, and even though i am so unbelievably tired it's getting hard to focus on anything... i am so so so happy.
i love my life!
x x x
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz...
... well that is if he lives in Prague, which I'm not sure about, I'll have to get back to you on that one. But anyroad, this is my last post for a while, because I'm off to Prague! Yay. Very exciting. We're singing a couple of concerts and then sightseeing and partying til Friday. I was thinking this morning that I've never been anywhere in the world where I didn't at least vaguely speak the language. In other words even though I've travelled a fair amount, I've acutally only been to English, French or Spanish speaking countries. So it'll be an experience for me to practice my non-existent Czech!
Well, this can't be any longer I've still got a load of stuff to do. I hope I've got everything! Passport Bridget. Pants.
Well, that's all I really need really at the end of the day!
Enjoy the sunshine and I'll see you all soon. Provided I don't get hijacked anyways, but it's ok, my insurance covers me for that! Not sure who gets the money seeing as I will be locked up somewhere... maybe my family? Ah well.
Chao.
x x x
ps... we here he is a wiz of a wiz if ever a wiz there was.
Well, this can't be any longer I've still got a load of stuff to do. I hope I've got everything! Passport Bridget. Pants.
Well, that's all I really need really at the end of the day!
Enjoy the sunshine and I'll see you all soon. Provided I don't get hijacked anyways, but it's ok, my insurance covers me for that! Not sure who gets the money seeing as I will be locked up somewhere... maybe my family? Ah well.
Chao.
x x x
ps... we here he is a wiz of a wiz if ever a wiz there was.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Friends
aren't friends the best things ever? well at least since sliced bread.
but seriously, i don't know where i'd be without all my friends. and it's only since coming to durham that i've realised how amazing true friends are. how there are people here that love me and accept me for who i am and would do anything for me. how incredible is that?!
last night we had a very girly girly night with the 'mildert lot' and it was soooo much fun. proper post-exam destressness. (which btw totally is a word, i looking in the dictionary.) and not only was it fun and brilliant to just chill out and go wild, but also i was given a place to sleep, and shampoo to have a shower (thanks vicky!) and it was awesome to be around such great people! i know this doesn't sound much, but my friends here in durham, all of them, are such an important part of my life, i just feel so privilaged and blessed by everyone.
so yeah, here's to all my friends.
but seriously, i don't know where i'd be without all my friends. and it's only since coming to durham that i've realised how amazing true friends are. how there are people here that love me and accept me for who i am and would do anything for me. how incredible is that?!
last night we had a very girly girly night with the 'mildert lot' and it was soooo much fun. proper post-exam destressness. (which btw totally is a word, i looking in the dictionary.) and not only was it fun and brilliant to just chill out and go wild, but also i was given a place to sleep, and shampoo to have a shower (thanks vicky!) and it was awesome to be around such great people! i know this doesn't sound much, but my friends here in durham, all of them, are such an important part of my life, i just feel so privilaged and blessed by everyone.
so yeah, here's to all my friends.
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