Before I start talking about what’s gone on recently, it’s worth mentioning that this year seems to pose a bit of a ‘date paradox’. How are we to pronounce the name? I got thinking about this as the New Year dawned. We had ‘Two thousand and nine’, and yet we’ll have the ‘Twenty twelve’ Olympic Games. Therefore, is this year called ‘Two thousand and eleven’ or ‘Twenty eleven’? At the moment it seems to be down to personal preference, but it got me thinking about other dates in history – how we always say ‘Ten sixty six’ for instance, rather than saying that the Battle of Hastings took place in ‘One thousand and sixty six’. To this end, I decided to make a tally of the numbers of times I heard various people on television addressing the year in a particular way. On one advert (for washing powder, I think) a man said ‘Two thousand and eleven’, so I marked it down in my column. However, throughout the course of the programme that I was watching, this advert was repeated each break, so the final scores I got didn’t tell me anything. Since then I have not pursued the issue, though it still occasionally makes me wonder.
Well, here I am sitting in my room in London. It felt strange to return this time, partly because the Christmas break had been longer and so I had been more involved in life at home. However, my break had been busy enough, and looking back it was a good time to get back into university mode when I did.
I had arranged to catch up with Mark after the new year, as has been usual over the recent holidays. The day was Tuesday, 4th January, and because of the continuous rain we went straight from our pizza to bowling. Originally we had planned on going in to school for a while, but as time and weather were not on our side, we stayed in the bowling alley for a bit longer. We played two games of bowling, during which I was doing rather well, if I may say so. I even got a strike in! We ended our bowling having won one game each. A winner would be sorted on the pool table; however, that too led to a one-one draw. Then we moved on to air hockey, which I won. As usual, we had such a fun time, which can only be fully appreciated by being there.
I realised that I had taken a whole day away from working on my dissertation, so I felt I couldn’t really afford to take more days out. After all, the project was due in February. Over the next few days I worked hard, longing for the day when it would be finished. My enthusiasm for the project had begun to wane somewhat, and so it seemed to be progressing very slowly. Furthermore, having a survey response rate of three didn’t help much when it came to making conclusions about the study!
On the Friday I had my driving test. The new version of the test was a lot easier than I had originally expected (“Follow the signs for...”), and by the end I was optimistic. However, soon enough my instructor was listening to the debriefing, and I was given yet another green test report for my collection. Yes, I had improved in many areas, but there were a few areas whether the examiner was not satisfied. The frustrating thing was that on another day I might’ve only received minors. Driving examiners all have different opinions, it seems, so to pass a driving test is very much down to luck on the day. The feeling of driving again made me want to be able to drive independently, so it was disappointing to know that it was still just out of reach. I felt capable of driving safely, and enjoyed being behind the wheel. How many more tests?
I saw Mark again on the Monday. This was a more spontaneous visit, as work was weighing heavily on my mind by now. However, to avoid feeling guilty about work, I decided I could spend the morning working on my project, and still meet Mark in town for lunch. He was heading into school afterwards for the CU meeting, so I thought it only right that I came along too. It was a fun afternoon, and I enjoyed having more time to spend catching up. One of my previous teachers, also the school Chaplain, would be retiring at the end of the year. This would possibly be a final chance to see him. After the meeting we chatted over hot drinks, but I hadn’t anticipated the time slowly ticking away. When we finally left, Mark told me we had to run if I was to catch my 6:05 bus. The time was fast approaching 5:30 and we were cutting it fine. As I tried to calm myself in the car, listening to various songs from Acorn Antiques: The Musical, and Les Misérables, I realised we were too late for the bus. (It didn't help that we were stuck behind a learner driver for most of the journey either!) Roles were reversed as Mark had to go, while I had to stay. I apologetically phoned home to explain, and waited as it began to rain...
A jump forward in time, and here I am in my room in London. Now my dissertation is finally done and submitted. I have two weeks to spare, and I can breathe again!
There was also more good news as I recently read an email from my school alumni association. Every year in March they hold a ‘London Dinner’, but this year was the first time they were holding it on a boat on the Thames. Being in London anyway, I had considered attending, but when talking to Mark I realised that we may not have known anyone (being comparatively recent leavers). Views changed however, when I read of the guests of honour (the Chaplain and his wife). Soon Mark was arranging a weekend sleepover, and we both had meal tickets reserved. At last I would have a friend to stay, and Mark could prove to my housemates that he wasn't in fact fictitous!
Come February, when lectures recommenced we would feel like proper students, only having to go in once or twice a week. This meant that I would be around all day on the Friday to welcome Mark when he arrived by train. Arriving early meant that we would have the evening together. One thought quickly led to another, and soon we found ourselves looking online at tickets for the West End, and one show in particular... Les Misérables. The chance of a lifetime, and a brilliant birthday present (for once we could celebrate together; albeit a month late), we booked tickets. I am pleased to say they arrived on Tuesday. I can’t wait!
Tomorrow morning the lads from church have a football match, and I have been assigned to take minutes. An exciting task, and one that might make me appreciate the game a bit more. As for today however, things are going very slowly and I’m just taking them as they come.
Before I sign off, let me leave you with a joke. Half of one, anyway.
“Knock, knock...”
“Who’s there?”
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Related photos can be viewed at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=589304&id=777915320&l=9a46e0c9e9
and
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=592918&id=777915320&l=2da767c07b
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