Transition State

Today, I have woken up in a sauna.

There was the most glorious sunrise and now I'm freezing and jittery. Perhaps the latter is down to the excess of the chemical I've consumed this morning, but I guess I can't know for sure, because I don't know what I'd be feeling if I hadn't taken it. Paradoxical.

The seventh day is intended for rest, right? Alors, no trip to the bibliothéque today. My right shoulder feels about three inches shorter than my left and it's odd that I automatically use imperial measurements to describe that.

It seems I've got that one-week-in feeling where it's not quite new enough to be glad of the change, and not quite old enough to be glad of the good bits. The stresses are getting to me but on the plus side, my hair looks fabulous.

Exams start in two days.

On the jukebox: Pink ~ Just Like A Pill

Ponderous Pauses

Today, I have had an awkward encounter.

You know how you spend ages trying to forget about or get over mistakes you've made, and then three crop up at once? Thoughts collide inside your head - I could have played it differently; what it would have been like if I had? how should I handle the situation now; what do I even say? - making it ever so hard to focus.

There is a hobo living in the library. He has dreadlocks down to there and he walks around in bare feet. Not socks, but bare feet. He looks in his late twenties, but maybe the beard makes him look older, and he sits alone. It makes me wonder who he is and where are his shoes?

Today has not been a very productive day and my back aches.

On the jukebox: Newton Faulkner ~ Foundations

Ready Reader

Today, I have read the newspaper.

A welcome break from Statistical Thermodynamics and Reaction Kinetics, it's easy to just pick up a paper and skim an article or two before cracking back on with the work.

Usually it'll be The Metro in the morning anyway, 'cause, hey, it's free, so why not? However, I have also taken to splashing out on A Proper Paper - priced around a pound, but slashed to 25p for a strapped-for-cash student like me. I like to read something new, even if it's not all that different from day-to-day, there may be something that strikes a chord, something that makes me think of something in an alternative way.

I like to read: articles, novels, blogs, letters, people... I just like to read.

On the jukebox: Daniel Bedingfield ~ I Can't Read You

Library Life

Today, I have been livin' it up in the library.

Every day this week so far I have been to the place was described to me by a fellow frequenter as akin to Azkaban. They say there are invisible demons within that building that suck the soul out of you.

Currently, I disagree: I like the library. With a tidy desk , a comfortable chair and an appropriate frame of mind, I can settle down to work in a suitably serene study setting. I hope it stays that way. Alas, as exams draw ever nearer, the fear factor heightens and it's likely there'll be an uneasy sense of restlessness in the atmosphere as the tests start to tear people apart.

On the jukebox: S Club 7 ~ Reach

Big Picture

Today, I have analysed the label cloud.

You may have noticed there's been one added, I certainly did. Smiles and Student are what seem to stand out and they're generally good things to summarise a self, don't you think? The latter is a simple fact; who would I be without that? As for the the former, well smiles are the nice of life.

A wink

and a smile,
can go a long way,
to think
for a while
that it's a better day

I'm smiling because I Want It That Way is being sung at full volume beside me and I managed to change a light buld without electrocuting myself, despite the two shots of Russian vodka in my system.

I'm so ready for a 7am start tomorrow.

On the jukebox: Spice Girls ~ Stop

Winter Daze

Today, I have woken up in the dark.

Out at dawn, in at dusk. A far cry from those summer ni-ights, when it'd be the opposite situation. Bright, breezy and bitterly cold, but no precipitation, which was good.

Fresh air, a litre of water and a warm night's sleep set me up for a successful study stint. It's best not to discuss with my peers exactly how much was achieved, because it's not cool or polite or PC or whatever the reason, we don't like to flaunt how much work we've actually done and instead lament the fact that the day has been spent with Meredith Grey and her anatomy. I guess maybe if we fail we won't feel so bad that way.

I walked home in the twilight; winter sunsets are wonderful. There was post with my name on it. Photographs and poetry make me smile a secret smile and stickers are my favourite.

On the jukebox: Snow Patrol ~ Take Back The City

Happy Blogday

Today, I have put on four pairs of socks.

Last night, I wore gloves in bed and there are mushrooms growing in the bathroom. I have a new butterfly diary and new dates to put in it.

Three exams, three events.

Three weeks to go. Three hundred and sixty-five days of blog been. Time, there's always time, time for two thousand and nine. It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life...

And I'm feeling good.

Happy New Year!

On the jukebox: Muse ~ Feeling Good