Summer Holidays!

Ah, three months of nothingness is in front of me, and I'm not quite sure how we'll cope. 

We've submitted our portfolios, gotten them back, and now we're just waiting on the results, which should be up by next week. Then we'll find out if any of us have to work a little more and resubmit, or maybe resit the entire year (fingers crossed I'm clear on all counts). 

We went to watch Derren Brown a few days ago, on Tuesday. The show was in Edinburgh, so four of us took the train and met up with another friend over there, and headed to the show after a very late (I'm talking 17:00-late) lunch. It was at the Edinburgh Playhouse, which is this grand ole theatre that was really lovely. 

Have you ever watched Derren Brown? Because you should. You should be able to find him on Youtube. His stuff online is amazing, but seeing him do it, live, is simply mind-boggling. No idea how he does it. I won't reveal exactly what he did (he actually asked the audience not to, since it would spoil it for the rest of the world should they go see him, and makes sense once you watch the show), but just know that I was blown away.

I've always been attracted to magic, and people who have mastered the sleight of hand. It just signals quickness, and intelligence, and witticism, and I go a bit weak at the knees. And Derren Brown - hooo boy. I was shrieking and clapping as soon as he walked onstage, and he hadn't really done anything yet but bow. 

I'm heading back home on the 23rd of this month. Looking forward to it, but kind of not at the same time. I've spent a whole year with these people, and to leave them for three months is a bit odd. And I'll miss them all for that time. I've never really been a person who texts or chats on Facebook very much. I'm good for talking (Skype, or phoning me up), but chatting online irritates me for some reason. I tend to appear offline for the majority of the time, unless I need to talk to someone specifically about something. 

Lately, I've been feeling a bit...restless in my personal relationships with people. I'm not entirely sure what's causing this, but I'm feeling like I'm pulling away from people without quite meaning to. I spend the same amount of time with them that I normally do, but I seem to feel this distance opening up at the same time. I feel kind of...disconnected. Like things are happening around me, and I'm just standing there and witnessing it all, not really a part of it. I want to break out of whatever it is, but having been unable to truly identify the problem, I can't exactly find the solution.

Hopefully this will all just sort itself out.

Stephen and I signed our lease the other day. We're officially moving in together, and I'm completely excited to be living with him. He's a lovely person, a snappy dresser, and an amazing cook, and we get on really well. We've always clicked. Early on in the course, we would work together until four in the morning, laughing and talking and working. I adore him, and I think the next year will be so much better with him being around. 

And to be honest, quite a few of us will be close by. Maybe a 5 minute walk away, 10 minutes if you're walking slowly (which I do, so let's just say everyone's a 10-minute walk away). Gavin will be, and a few more of my close friends. Some of them are ages away, I'll admit, but I'll just be seeing them in studio anyway. I'm so glad Stephen and I are in the same flat.

We're already planning our flat-warming, so that should be good. I'm quite looking forward to it.

But anyway. That's me for now.

Ciao.

It Actually Happened.

Summer holidays are finally drawing to a close.


The results of the exams were released two days ago, at 3 a.m. on the 11th. I was a mess the night before; I had a serious case of the shivers, and for hours I felt like I was about to throw up. While the rest of the family dozed, I stayed up until about midnight before deciding that I really should hit the hay. 


Not that I got much sleep, in the end.


I'd set my phone to wake me up at three, and jolted awake when it did. I turned on my computer and headed straight for the results website, simultaneously looking forwards to and dreading what I would see. You know what happened?


The damned website wouldn't load.


It was beyond frustrating. Due to the number of people, all over the world, currently logging into their respective accounts to check their results, I couldn't get through. I checked facebook though, and saw that Bhavesh had gotten his after a lot of refreshing. I hadn't even thought of that. 


So I set about refreshing the page like a mad woman, praying I got through, and then thinking again and praying I didn't. At any rate, after about a half hour of that I managed to get in. 


And I got the grades. *epic grin here*


I squealed and shrieked and leaped out of bed to relay the news to the rest of my family. Mum was already up, preparing for Suhr (we're fasting), so she started jumping up and down in joy as well. Dad was still in bed, so when I went running in there he was quite groggy. Nevertheless, he woke up enough to congratulate me before he burrowed back into the blankets. I didn't bother telling Aehshaan until he had gotten up proper for Suhr - he gets grumpy beyond belief if you disturb his sleep. 


Since I got the grades, it means that I keep my scholarship to the University of Dundee. It means that I'm going to Scotland! I have never been so excited in my life. Or maybe I have, but people tend to believe that a singular point in the present is when they're feeling the most of any extreme emotion, I think.


So now I'm shopping. College shopping. This, I feel, is a vital part of the college experience. Especially if you're a girl. 


I have to get through the boring and tedious stuff, such as filling out visa application forms and buying earplugs and hangers and sheets.


And then there's the excellent stuff that I am enjoying immensely, which is shopping for clothes and shoes and that sort of thing. Better yet is coming home and trying them on with the stuff I already have, and then strutting around the house like a peacock on booze. It's absolutely brilliant. AND I have a legitimate excuse to buy all these new clothes now. Plus I get to wear a trench coat, since Dundee has snow, and I've wanted to wear a trench coat since I saw this chick in France wearing one and looking bloody fantastic.


I think the downside that I'm feeling right now is that I'm only allowed to carry 30 kilos on the plane with me. I've no idea how I'm going to fit everything I need into 30 kilos. Which is why I'm hoping that my parents' visa applications come through, because I can take up their luggage as well. It's not like they'll be staying very long.


And Fresher's Week! How I'm looking forward to Fresher's Week!

I don't know half the people they've shown in the video, but it looks just epic anyway!


And then there's the fact that I'm about to start my University life. Which is just about amazing in itself.


So.


Congratulations to me, for doing much, much better than I ever expected. And congratulations to all of you who got into your respective universities. I love you, and you've done all of us proud. *proud-parent sort of grin* We always knew you could do it.


To reiterate, the summer holidays are finally drawing to a close. But our lives? Well.


They're only just beginning.

Do Bow, Dear Sir.

Yesterday, while I was meant to be studying for my Biology/Maths exams, I felt like I needed to do something productive. Yes, yes, studying is productive, I suppose.


It is also tearfully dull.


So. I decided to train Bruno to do something, since I haven't trained him past any of his usual tricks. He can sit, go down, heel, come, and more recently, sleep and bow.


I taught him Sleep about a month ago, when I had another of these I'm-so-bored fits. Yesterday, I taught him how to bow. It took me a while, but I maintain that he is the smartest dog in the world - he got what I was trying to teach him pretty quickly, really. I'm quite proud that he remembered the command today as well. I think eventually, I'll turn it into a whole martial-arts sequence. Make him bow, and then go into combat. That sounds cool, no?


The video I've put up was taken today - this morning, in fact. You can see for yourself how well he's learnt. There were a few hiccups, of course, and I had to repeat a couple of commands - but do bear in mind that he is, in addition to being intelligent, hopelessly stubborn. Stubborn enough that you have to literally drag him out of a room via his rear legs if he decides he's too lazy to stand up and move himself.


And. Mum says to please ignore the laundry in the back. I think it proves we're a normal household, but apparently not. *shrugs* Up to you.

Enjoy.

In other news, Physics went alright. You know how you think you did pretty well, and then people start talking about it and you're like, "uh, shit. I'm failing"?


Yeah, well. My advice? People. Stop, for the love of all things ice-cream-related, talking about the exams. The paper's over. There's no need to make the rest of us feel so shitty.


Recently, I wrapped up some loose ends with some old friends. We'd been in an argument in which I was in the wrong. I wrote a massive apology though, sent it, and all seems to be well. I'm glad. I'd really prefer not having any enemies or such when I leave for Uni. Fresh start and all that.


Anyway. Biology beckons.


Ta.