my year in facebook stati

26th December: Christmas in Notting Hill, Boxing Day in Westfield and watching Sherlock Holmes, Sunday with family near Windsor and Monday back Rosenheim
23rd December: Eleanor Nevill has put aside her knitting, cranked up the volume, opened a beer and is ready to pack and tidy ... London!
15th December: aktuelles Wetter in Rosenheim: leichter Schneefall, gezählte -4°, gefühlte -9° - winter is here and tbh I am loving it!
8th December: Eleanor Nevill is almost on her way to Nottingham. In Mooch this evening, ceremony tomorrow at 11am and then back to Rosenheim.
7th December: wooooohooooooo boingboingboing lalalala Notts here I come ♥
6th December: Eleanor Nevill is happy that tomorrow is Monday! Why? After Monday comes Tuesday (pints in Notts), after Tuesday comes Wednesday (graduation), after Wednesday comes Thursday (MO'P xmas party) and after Thursday comes Friday (weekend).

30th November: graduation is next week already! christmas is just over 3 weeks! 2010 not much further away! scary how soon the future will be the present.
29th November: Eleanor Nevill can't believe 57% of Swiss voters said yes to the ban on minarets.
28th November: Glühwein am Rosenheimer Christkindlmarkt, Weisswurstfrühstück an der Prinzregentenstrasse und jetzt ab nach München.
17th November: Eleanor Nevill is already excited about: Lena's visit, Glühwein, graduation, graduation gowns, Christmas, New Years and 2010. No particular reason why..
15th November: homemade Zopf, homenade arm warmers ... there is an old woman hidden inside my young body!
13th November: Eleanor Nevill trägt Marc O'Polo. I am corporately identical.
5th November: Bayern München in Basel? Wurum nit umgekehrt, he?
an apple a day keeps windows away
4th November: MSc
3rd November: "Ich weiss sehr genau dass ich von morgens bis abends angelogen werde. Wenn ich die Wahrheit wissen will frage ich den Pförtner." (solche Zitate kommen von Leuten die schon zu lange arbeiten)

31st October: Wayne's World vs Austin Powers
26th October: Eleanor Nevill got the bus back from work and is now using the washing machine that apparently occasionally leaks - what an adventurous day!
20th October: mountain view
15th October: Eleanor Nevill walked home across the fields from her first day at work with snow whirling round the outside of her head and information whirling round the inside. Great mountain view from the office though! There is now snow lying on the ground and it is oh so cold and my laptop only has 60% battery and I need to find an adapter before it runs out.
14th October: Eleanor Nevill is on a farm in Bavaria, in the snow, in the middle of nowhere - beautiful but inconvenient. First day of work tomorrow.
12th October: last day in Basel - tired and busy
9th October: Eleanor Nevill finally has her contract - now need to go book a train ticket and think about packing again..
5th October: so much to do, so little time
1st October: krankenversicherung, heimatsschein, papierkram, eugh

30th September: Eleanor Nevill is in Basel. Ächt. Ohni öppis z sage. Nämligg.
25th September: Eleanor Nevill bought a slice of bakewell pie from a transvestite. there is a first time for everything.
21st September: knitting, fish & chips, cup of tea, sea air
18th September: Eleanor Nevill is preparing for some sea air in the luxurious south coast resort of bexhill-on-sea... going to hang out with a bunch of 90-year-olds more like.
15th September: Eleanor Nevill climbed liverpool cathedral tower, took pictures of the cavern, and went into the vivienne westwood shop. on to london tomorrow.
12th September: goodbye Nottingham, hello life ... or Liverpool for the moment!
11th September: the more I pack, the more stuff I seem to have! argh!
9th September: Eleanor Nevill has handed in!
8th September: 4.5 days left and so much to do: finish dissertating, bind and hand in dissertation, go to one last pub quiz, do lots of washing, pack everything i have into one big backpack, get rid of books, bed clothes, kitchenware and other random items, say goodbye to many people, sort out bank account, ......
7th September: index, abstract, formatting, references, appendices, summary, communication with organisation, supervision log, copies of letters, proposals, page numbering, powerpoint, portfolio, title sheet, CDs, .....
4th September: überraschenderweise in Winterthur
3rd September: "Ich kann vieles und will nichts. Wozu soll ich vorwaertskommen? Wofuer und wogegen? Nehmen wir wirklich einmal an, ich sei der Traeger einer Funktion. Wo ist das System, in dem ich funktionieren kann? Es ist nicht da, und nichts hat Sinn." Fabian ♥
1st Steptember: summarising executives

31st August: Eleanor Nevill does not know how any subsequent interventions should be evaluated.
27th August: "When stuck in the river, it is best to dive and swim to the bank yourself before someone drops a large stone on your chest in an attempt to hoosh you there." (Eeyore)
"If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear." (Winnie the Pooh)
26th August: "When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it." (Winnie the Pooh)
25th August: "Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes cartoonist)
19th August: Eleanor Nevill wants a large piece of carrot cake.
15th August: Eleanor Nevill LOVED her day out in Lincoln - good company, stunning cathedral, beautiful sunshine and delicious truffles, bread and ginger cheese!
12th August: Eleanor Nevill was going to colour in her templates but then couldn't decide whether to use five colours for the main themes or 16 for the meso-themes and so wasted ages trying to find 16 sufficiently different colours without actually deciding what to do. Silly arts and crafts/dissertation. Might just go to the gym.
8th August: Eleanor Nevill is artfully developing interplay between herself and her research and thinking that if I did actually psychoanalyse the relationship between us (especially having said that thing about interplay) the result would undoubtedly be sexual.
6th August: Eleanor Nevill has had to take her knitting apart again cause her knit one, purl one looked horrible.
4th August: Eleanor Nevill feels like she is doing arts and crafts not thematic analysis

30th July: Eleanor Nevill is excited about going to Anglesey!
27th July: j'ai rien à vous dire
24th July: Eleanor Nevill needs more tea, a lot more tea, or something else to get my brain working properly.
20th July: three days in Suffolk
18th July: Eleanor Nevill wonders why they guy in the Audi advert who says "Vorsprung durch Technik" says it as if it was an illness (with a strong English accent).
14th July: Eleanor Nevill is exhausted after transcribing about 3 minutes of interviews and annoyed by her own voice. I will have grey hair and bags under my eyes after the next couple of weeks. Or possibly no hair if I have pulled it all out.
13th July: Eleanor Nevill wants to become an academic so she can use made-up words like superadditivity in a journal like the academy of management journal without anyone questioning her.
8th July: Eleanor Nevill would also like to know where she will be in September but she doesn't, so there.
5th July: Eleanor Nevill crossed the Rhine, had wine on a beach on top of a parking garage and danced under the stars.
3rd July: sommer-balkon-fondue-plausch

27th June: Albanifescht, Winterthuuuuuuur
24th June: Eleanor Nevill is enjoying properly cold beer and sunshine by the Rhine ♥
19th June: Eleanor Nevill is thinking she might be slightly mad - jumping out of a plane at 10'000ft for no particular reason other than thrills! But mad is good, so WOOHOOO & Eleanor Nevill is qualified as competent in level a & b occupational testing... woooweeee!
18th June: Eleanor Nevill has apparently been awarded a Union Prize by the UoN Students Union! Not quite sure how that happened but thank you veryveryvery much to whoever nominated me!
17th June: Eleanor Nevill is happy with her results :)
14th June: Eleanor Nevill ♥ Edinburgh
12th June: Eleanor Nevill threw Paulina's car out of the window.
6th June: Eleanor Nevill 's wellies are waiting to be worn to the summer party!
3rd June: Eleanor Nevill had her hair straightened for the first time ever and thought it was slightly pointless but quite likes the new haircut.

30th May: Eleanor Nevill is knitting a hat.
28th May: revision, gym, revision, exam, PUB!
25th May: Eleanor Nevill had a zombie dream last night that was worse than most zombie films she had ever seen.
21st May: "interview" is a film by Theo Van Gogh, a magazine by Andy Warhol and John Wilcock, a concept album by British progressive rock band Gentle Giant, a native C++ toolkit for the X Window System, a compilation album of Bob Marley & The Wailers songs, a 19
17th May: schöööölölölölölölöööööö !!
12th May: Eleanor Nevill is fascinated by a guy who has obviously never used a hole punch before.
11th May: preparing for another day of lectures, library, and gym. My life is on my bookshelf waiting to be picked up again.
9th May: Eleanor Nevill bathed Buddha!

19th April: Eleanor Nevill just found an entry for Motörhead in the index of her statistics textbook :-D
8th April: Eleanor Nevill would like a job in London from September! Please?

27th March: Eleanor Nevill says: "Would you sponsor me for a 10'000 feet skydive for charity?"
26th March: Eleanor Nevill loves her Lapsang Souchong, the zebra fish (Henry, George, Fred and Gertrud), and her magic mug of flat 6!
25th March: Eleanor Nevill had a great Birthday! Thanks everyone for all the greetings, prezzies, and for coming out and dancing the night away! Bop-de-bop.
24th March: s fluusi im tschackuusi mitem grosse buusi!
16th March: Eleanor Nevill can't believe she is saying this but... ich vermiss d UB :(
10th March: Eleanor Nevill saw two herons fly past the library window.
7th March: Eleanor Nevill can't decide where she belongs in the world.
4th March: Eleanor Nevill thinks Jenny Joseph makes being old sound like fun - rock on!
3rd March: Eleanor Nevill is thinking about going into late hibernation.

28th February: Eleanor Nevill had a good day in Leeds (thanks to the only poet I know)
25th February: fasnachtskiechli, tuubeschiss, mählsuppe, kääswäie, liiterwiis bier, faschteweie ... *schwelg*
22nd February: Eleanor Nevill LOVED rock city but thinks English ice hockey is a bit, well, gay.
20th February: Eleanor Nevill is exhausted and needs to start drinking again soon.
18th February: Eleanor Nevill is mystified by herself.
15th February: Eleanor Nevill walked on a locked wall, had the greasiest fish n chips, and generally had a great day in York, but a slighlty disturbing drinking expierence at the JA.
11th February: the hobbling goblin wants some rum - now!
9th February: Eleanor Nevill has butterflies inside and it has nothing to do with luurve.
5th February: Eleanor Nevill is feeling sophisticated because she is listening to Jazz...7pm snow fight again Cloisters?

31st January: Eleanor Nevill had a wonderful day at Sherwood Forest and the gardens of Newstead Abbey, and is also happily reunited with her black hat! Yay!
25th January: Eleanor Nevill quiere Mango... cortado pero sin sal, porfa! Nevill, E.R. (2009). Monday the 26th January will be one of the best days of my life. Journal of Exam and Essay frustration, 985(3), pp. 230-298.
22nd January: Eleanor Nevill thinks it would be typical if the fire alarm went off today.... el cielo esta llorando ...
21st January: Eleanor Nevill wants to bicycle from London to Paris.
19th January: Eleanor Nevill busca el camino en mi alma pero no se puede encontrar suficiente claridad para verlo bien.
18th January: oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day *träller* (= Eleanor is not in the mood for writing essays).
15th January: Eleanor Nevill has survived (3 exams down, 0 to go) and is going to hug a pony.
10th January: Eleanor Nevill thinks sticking pictures of friends and family on her wall was much more important than revision even though it has made her a bit sad. I miss you all :(
8th January: Eleanor Nevill is feeling cognitively dissonant... or maybe more like distant...?
5th January: Eleanor Nevill is wide awake and writing a telenovela.
4th January: Eleanor Nevill survived jumping, eyebrow waxing, then had her nails done, her hair cut and now is ready to go back to Nottingham!
1st January: Eleanor Nevill has made it to 2009. Phew.

31st December: Eleanor Nevill would like to know what 2009 is like from anyone who has already made it...

two months later

I can't believe I haven't written even the shortest post in almost two months! Now I don't even know where to start!

Let's start with work: Work in general is good. I am responsible for application management in the international recruiting at MO'P. Sadly there aren't many open positions so there are also not many applications so I don't really have that much to do. I fill in much of my spare time working on small projects related to personnel marketing, developing assessment centres, etc. However frustrating it may be that sometimes I have nothing to do it has its positive sides as well as it has given me the opportunity to get to know other parts of HR that I would never even have considered doing previously namely payroll and contract management. The processes behind how we get contracts and how we pay out salaries are much more complex than I would ever have imagined and require detailed work with words or numbers, respectively. However from January I am moving from the international into the national HR team where I will still have the same responsibility but a lot more work. On the national level there are more open positions especially as there are 17 internship positions that applications come in for all the time. I am a bit nervous about this mainly because even though theoretically I have been doing the same work in the international team, some things I only had to do once or twice over the whole period I have been here rather than every week. The first week will probably be hard work but after that I am optimistic that it will all turn out well. Other than that I really like my team and am a bit sad that I am leaving them (although only two doors down the hallway but still) but in the new team there is another intern who I get on particularly well with already so that should be good fun. Last week it was the MO'P Xmas Party where many people got very drunk and boogied the night away in front of their coworkers. I danced and danced but the left when everything was stilly shiny and brilliant so no embarrassing stories to tell. This week was our team's xmas dinner, which was very nice too.

Just thought I would mention that the weather here is absolutely f-ing freezing. If it is already this cold now what will it be like in January!! The temperature has not been above 0° in the last week and currently it is about -13°! brrrrrrr. however I have to admit there is something beautiful about this kind of weather - the snow stays white and crystal-like, the air is incredibly clear and it is certainly christmassy. Getting dressed in the morning does take somewhat longer though as layers are a must-have.

Outside of work life is also good of course. During the week I am usually only home at about 6.30/7pm so by the time I have shopped, eaten, chatted to flatmates and checked my emails it is about time for bed. At work I spend all day in front of a computer so quite often I am not so keen on writing emails and stuff in the evening, which is possibly why I failed to update my blog. Anyhow I have also managed to go jogging a few times with Dimitrina (before it got this cold), and borrow a few films with the ladies (Dimitrina, Julia and Nici). Nici has sadly finished her internship and is now back home. At the weekend I usually either do not much or a lot. When I do a lot it is because I have a visitor. This has occurred four times already since I've been here! Incredible! My first visitor was Mike: our adventures included wandering aroudn Rosenheim for hours, going out in Rosenheim in the evening and dancing until the early hours and then heading off to Munich the next day (my first trip to Munich). My second visitor was Ester and the adventures were similar: Saturday in Munich sightseeing, eating and drinking - my first visit to a Rock Café! After a couple of beers and Glühwein we headed back to Rosenheim where we continued with a little pub crawl. Next day the weather was hothothot (yes, seriously, about 20°, tshirt weather) and we went for a long walk along the Inn. Third visitor was Lena. Lena arrived on the first day the Christkindlmarkt (xmas market) was open so we had some Glühwein and then a beer and a long chat at home. Saturday we headed to Munich where before exploring the city centre we headed to Schloss Nymphenburg, a previous summer residence of the royalty. Very impressive as instead of being built high it is built incredibly long. Of course it also includes massive gardens (including a botanical garden), a river, and a few curiosities like the witches cabin. After that we headed into town and did some more sightseeing and eating and drinking and by the time we got back to Rosenheim it was midnight and we were exhausted. The next day also took as for a walk along the Inn before our legs gave up from too much walking. My fourth visitor was Sämi for a Blitz-24h-visit, which obviously didn't allow for a trip to Munich but did allow a visit to the Christkindlmarkt, supper out in the Stockhammer and some wandering around Rosenheim. Oh yes, the only visitor that didn't get a Weisswurstfrühstück was Mike (sorry) so I am now quite expert and baking pre-baked Brezen and cooking Weisswürste (although the Weissbier is usally too much).

When I didn't have visitors I spent most of the time, like this weekend, knitting, walking, shopping, watching tv, sleeping and chatting. This Friday there were lots of people here so we had Brotzeit together, which is basically what we called bread and cheese at home. It somehow reminded me of Roman times as there were about 15 of us sitting at a long table and there was an incredibly consumption of bread, cheese, sausage, salad, etc.

Even if I spend a lot of time doing not much I am never really bored as long as I have my knitting. I am literally becoming addicted to this hobby. I am amazing myself with the fact that I have started something like this and not given it up again within a short time. Currently I am massproducing wrist-warmers. Thankfully there is a knitting shop almost across from my house! I go almost every weekend (it is already shut by the time I am home in the evening).

I think I have already written far too much but I just want to say what my plans are for the next couple of weeks: on Thursday I head to London for Christmas. I am staying with Vicky and Johanna until early on the 27th and then heading to Aunt Emma's where Granny and Grandpa will already be and Dan, Andy and Flora and the boys will also join us. On the 28th I fly out of Heathrow back to Munich. I'm working the 29th and 30th and then heading to Winterthur on the 31st to spend New Years in a Pfadi-hut with no electricity and no running water. Hm, yes, seriously. On the 1st January 2010 (I like saying that) I am going to Basel and then on the 3rd returning from Basel to good old Rosenheim.

That is it. xxx

next new home

just a short post to say I have moved into town, town being Rosenheim, into a lovely old appartment shared with four others (only two of whom I have met so far). I love the flat and living in town is great (although shopping is a great temptation) and the flatmates I have met so far are really nice and there is a wool shop just across the road that sells reallyreally nice wool andandand. all good things so far! I am now rather tired from moving, buying stuff, and generally wandering around but still made it out to the cinema with Julia (who I lived at the farm with) and Nici (another MOP intern) to see 500 days of summer (in German, boo hiss). time to try out my new bed. had to buy myself a duvet and bedsheets and a towel in a funny shop called Mömax (Möbel Max), which has styled itself to look exactly like IKEA except that their colours are bright pink and green rather than blue and yellow. very amusing. it is funny to hear noises from outside again (other than the odd tractor passing and cow mooing) but also there is a guy in the flat underneath who has some kind of mental issue and shouts/screams/groans a lot during the night. thankfully I had been warned about this but it is still slightly eery. ooh, just remembered, one hour extra sleep tomorrow! my germanisms are worse when I am tired. better go to bed. buenos nachos! xx

moving into town tomorrow

my stuff is still spread around my room in a vaguely artistic way but sadly rather far away from being packed into my rucksack. as you can tell, instead of packing, i decided to update my blog. gotta love procrastination. anywhooooo, i have now been in Oberbayern for about 1.5 weeks and was starting to settle in - was because by moving again tomorrow lots changes. in the last 1.5 weeks I got used to walking to and from work whatever the weather was like: snow, rain, fog, frost, mud, sunshine. i got used to views of the mountains, walks down to the lake, complete darkness and almost complete silence in the evenings, a house heated by a wood oven, occasional fresh farm produce, etc. with my move into town I will try and get lifts to work with other people, be able to go out all the time, go shopping all the time, but hopefully also become involved in a more active social surroundings again. although maybe not so much for the first month as I don't really have any money, hehe. Rosenheim boasts shops (including at least two wool shops it seems - more knitting, yay), a cinema, a swimming pool, a library, a dinosaur exhibition, a couple of small museums and galleries, restaurants, and the Inn - the river that also runs through Innsbruck in Austria. more random knowledge: apparently the Austrian border is only about 17km away and it has been recommended that I visit Kufstein, one of the nearest towns in Austria, somewhat surrounded by mountains. talking about visiting, if I one day in the near future have some money again I not only want to see München but also Salzburg and, if Milan sticks around, Bratislava (only about 5-6 hours by train in the opposite direction to Basel). but yes first i need to move. then i need to settle into my new home, buy a duvet and bedclothes and a towel, and get to know my new flatmates. then hopefully it will be end of november at some point and the money situation will be looking up and life will pick up again. also of course at some point i need to think about what i am going to do after these six months. currently i have no idea. i am still playing with idea of doing a PhD, I actually rather like this idea, just no sure I have the time or energy to write a research proposal. otherwise I am thinking about staying in HR and maybe looking for a graduate/trainee scheme to join. sound good? maybe. what else? have met a couple of new people, work is picking up as I can do more and more without someone looking over my shoulder and spend less and less time looking over someone else's shoulder. although I have to remember I have only been working for just over a week so it is no wonder that I still have a million questions and am not capable to do everything and anything. Tuesday there was a "Musterverkauf" at work where they sold off some of the pieces, which were made but not put up for sale i.e. early versions of things that were later on changed before going to the shops. I bought new sunglasses and two armbands. a couple more sales coming up apparently so another reason to save a few pennies on other activities (although preferably not wool or swimming). ah yes, went to a delicious pizzeria on Monday with part of the international HR team, which I am also part of. yummyyummy. didn't honestly expect such delicious pizza in Oberbayern. usually I eat a proper meal in the canteen for lunch and then just have a bread and cheese and salad for supper but it seems I will eat the occasional meal out in the evening as well. not good for the budget. as you can tell I am currently somewhat obsessed by money or the lack thereof. i will survive, some would say. what other news? still not quite sure if I am going to graduation. sent off the form saying I would come but of course I only sent it off today (deadline was yesterday) so who knows. for Christmas I will be in the UK as well from the 24th to the 28th December, then back to work for a couple of days, and then possibly Switzerland (maybe even Basel) for new years. also looking forward to visitors coming here to see me, hopefully sooner rather than later - subtle hint everyone! ok, seems like I can't think of anything intelligent to write so maybe I should pack and then go to bed. xxxxxxx

p.s. pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=154610&id=663901806&l=bad975c856

climate change and other vaguely related topics

above all this is for Jenny but also as many of you know I have an opinion on everything so I will write a little comment on climate change.

I don't really want children anyway but if I did I would worry about what kind of world they would grow old in and what kind of world their children might be born into. I don't think it should be taken lightly that some of us have seen the Aletsch Gletscher in its current state (or its state many years ago in some cases), that we have dived stunning coral reefs and currently that it is snowing down to a few hundred meters above snow level in Bavaria in October. although I suppose people like most of us will somehow be able to afford a reasonable life. tbh I don't actually seem to have a strong opinion on climate change or at least I am not the eco-type as I know I love my laptop too much but there a few related things I believe in possibly slightly stronger than the average 23 year old: buying local products - importing exotic fruits from places like chile and south africa has a massive negative impact on the environment and unless they are fairtrade there is no reason to do so. fairtrade and organic do not rule the food world but buying locally should. ideally in the (veryveryvery) long run this would also encourage third world countries to learn to live off their own produce rather than importing unnecessary rarities (this I experienced first hand in Honduras). secondly, using public transports and bicycles more - quite often it is so much faster especially when travel is associated with larger cities. it also makes people move even if it is only walking to the bus. imagine how much money you could save by not owning a car. thirdly, not having electrical appliances that are hardly ever used plugged in and i promise I try and remember to unplug my chargers and suchlike when they are not charging anything.

this is as far as my opinion currently goes in these matters. as I said this post is for Jenny and for Blog Action Day www.blogactionday.org

snow in Bavaria

Thursday, 15.10.2009, 20:50, Baierbach, Stephanskirchen, Bavaria, Germany (almost Austria), snow is lying on the ground, the last fruits were rescued off the trees, the geese are being killed tomorrow, the mountains are hiding in the clouds but are beautiful when they appear and my room is very cold as I opened the window for a bit.

For everyone who still doesn't know: I am in Bavaria for six months interning with Marc O'Polo international in their HR department. Marc O'Polo make clothes, nice clothes, somewhat expensive if you are not employed by them, check out the homepage if you want to get an impression (www.marc-o-polo.com I think). Currently I am living on a beautiful old farm in the middle of nowhere, which for all its beauty is very inconvenient for which reason I am moving into town hopefully as soon as next weekend. Town being Rosenheim, largest town in Oberbayern (after Munich obviously) with 60'500+ inhabitants. Back to civilisation. Baierbach where I currently live probably doesn't even have 100 inhabitants and also doesn't even have a village shop and the bus only runs a couple of times a day. In the snow without a car life is not so interesting here but at least now the internet works so I can communicate with y'all.

Today was my first day of work and my brain is still trying to process the complete and utter information overload. I have a whole folder of stuff, info, processes, etc that I need to understand and be able to use and have been shown many things on the computer already too and even attended a meeting. I think it will take me about a week to get past this stage of just soaking up info and doing what I am told like a robot. At least everyone in the team seems really nice, I even got a little welcome plant for on my desk, hehe. The Swiss chocolate was also highly appreciated and hopefully increased their appreciation of me too.

I have so much I could write about I don't even know where to start. Having neglected the blog of the summer there is so much time missing where I wrote my dissertation, surpised Lena in Winti, went on holiday to Liverpool, spent one day here in Bayern to be interviewed for my position, went back to the South coast of the UK and soaked up some sun in Bexhill and Brighton before returning tp Switzerland for two weeks where I mainly spent time with friends, eating, drinking, and being merry. And now here there are so many things I could tell you about like how beautiful the Simssee is (one weekend destination: the Herreninsel on the Chiemsee but that might have to wait until the Spring) or about the other girl living here who talks so much but I am so appreciative of as being here alone would be incredibly lonely or many other things. As I don't have the energy to write about everything or even decide what few things to write about I am just going to leave it as it is.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

sunny Saturday in Lincoln

I can hardly believe it that two weeks have already passed since we were on Anglesey. Where is time going? In five days I want to have finished a first draft of my dissertation for my master's degree and it doesn't feel that long ago that I finished school, graduated in Basel and came back from Honduras! The future is almost open me and I don't know where it will take me!

Enough philosophy and a few more facts from my recent past. Yesterday I spent a delightful day with some friends in Lincoln. Lincoln is an hour Northeast of Nottingham by train. Most people wondered why we decided to go there but we soon knew. Following pretty cobbled streets we made our way up to the top of the hill and its majestic cathedral and Norman castle. The road up leads past commercial shops to be found in every city but gets more interesting the further you go up with traditional sweet shops, antique shops, book shops, arts and crafts of every kind, chocolate in all variations and little tea shops where people were tucking into tea and scones. Up on the square between the castle and the cathedral there was a delightful little farmer's market where Paulina and I were delighted to find real bread (and later saw even more in other bakeries - Nottingham is definitely missing a proper bakery) and the others tucked into ostrich burgers. Lincoln cathedral was once the tallest building in the world with spires towering above the height even of the pyramids in Egypt but sadly they didn't last long. Before the spires were built though it had already gone through many changes, which a lovely lady told as about on our tour of the roof of the cathedral, which took us up above the nave to see original beams. Quite impressively the Lincoln cathedral conservation people had decided to take conservation literally and not use modern techniques but instead continue restoration using the same techniques as had been used originally recycling material in the process. After the tour we had a short break before some of us went back for a second tour up the central tower in which Peregrines had been nesting again this year. Much cause for celebration by the RSPB. This tour took us up 338 steps in total first to see the clockwork, then the bells of which the biggest one is the 13th largest bell in the UK and then all the way up onto the top of the central tower where thanks to strong winds and sunshine we had the opportunity for not only beautful views but also a bit of a sunbathe. We then headed back down to the bells just in time to be deafened by Great Tom chiming 4pm. We then crossed the square and entered the castle where we first looked at the exhibition about the Magna Carta and admired not only one of the four remaining original copies of the Magna Carta but also one of the few remaining copies of the Charter of the Forest: the Magna Carta's predecessor. The castle prison has also been well preserved by the Friends of Lincoln Castle. After visiting these gruelling sights we ventured back out into the sunlight and made our way round the castle wall getting fantastic views of the cathedral and Lincoln and the surrounding countryside. Having accomplished a group picture and taken in all we needed to it was already 5.30pm and time for a cold beer in a local pub before heading back to Nottingham by train. The whole day Paulina and I had kept ourselves sustained eating expensive but well worth it truffles in different flavours and cheese scones bought from the baker. We also bought ourselves some cheese to go with our bread for supper. I bought ginger flavour (sounds odd but is most tasty) and Paulina bought tomatoe and basil. Other flavours were: apricot, mango, hot'n'spicy, lemon and pepper, onion, garlic and herbs, apple something, etcetc.

As you can maybe tell it was a delightful day and now I feel I should maybe think of somewhere to go for a day next weekend. Possibly Chatsworth House as I haven't made it there so far and it would be a shame not to have seen it!

xxx

P.S. all pictures on: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=136423&id=663901806&l=1d519c904d

Sunshine on Anglesey

Just back from two beautiful days on Anglesey, freshly armed with the resolution to visit Wales again and explore more of the "mountains", the beaches, the castles, the lighthouses, the flora and fauna, diving, riding, cycling, etc.

But first things first, this trip: Sophie's grandparents have a cottage on Anglesey near LLanddona and the beautiful red wharf bay beach. We rented a zippy little car and headed off in that direction on Friday evening, arriving there about 22h. After watching a bit of tv we all soon turned into worms in our sleeping bags ready for an early start on Saturday. We woke up to patchy blue sky and after breakfast/showers/etc. headed off for a walk near the cottage that first took us down the road to the beach near red wharf bay, a laaaarge stretch of sand leading down to an even larger stretch of water. After the obligatory million pictures of the sea and having all picked up a couple of shells those of us in wellies waded through the reeds to get to the path along the sea wall and those without made there way round the outside to it. In the warmth and sunshine (seriously!) we wandered along for a while then turning up inland to have a chat with some friendly horses and then setting off across fields on public footpaths. This is where Sara got a little bit unhappy cause her trainers were getting a wee bit muddy und those of us in wellies/boots were probably looking raaather pleased with ourselves. Over mud and stones and through forests, past streams, natural wells, and beautiful views of the beach we made our way back round to the cottage.

Later we set off to Beaumaris to get some lunch and do some sightseeing. Lunch ended up being well-deserved fish'n'chips (or similar) on the front overlooking the people crabbing on the peer. We then went to explore Beaumaris castle, a national heritage site and one of Edward I's castles. It was never quite completed but did have rooms to accomodate royalty and still has a pretty chapel and impressive walls and manymany latrines. After that we had delicious home-made icecream from an icecream parlour - I had New York cheesecake and lime flavour! - before heading off towards Penmon, the lighthouse known by Sophie's family as George the Dong and puffin island. No puffins around at this season sadly so good thing we didn't do the puffin boat tour really. We did do some rockpooling though and even caught some shrimps and some fish but not enough for supper so after lazing around on the rocks for a while we headed back to Beaumaris to get bbq stuff for supper. Back at the cottage we summoned up our remaining energy to light the bbq (using rather damp coal so quite an achievement) and eat burgers, sausages and cook the chicken (but it took so long that no one wanted it in the end) before a bit more tv and then bed.

This morning we were up bright and early again (i.e. about 9ish, hehe) and decided to set off to Holyhead with the aim of seeing South Stack lighthouse. The way there took as past the place with the longest name in the world: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch - translation: St Mary's church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red cave.



We carried on to Holyhead, an at the first view somewhat unspectacular town mainly known for its harbour and the ferries to Ireland. After a little wander we had some lunch and then drove on to South Stack lighthouse and the RSPB nature reserve surrounding it. We climbed approximately 400 steps down to the lighthouse, which still functions but now of course automatically. At one point apparently there were three cottages on its tiny little island and there were adults, children, goats, and chicken living there. We learned more interesting facts on the tour up to the top of the lighthouse like why there is a curtain rail there (not cause of the war, which was my guess).. After climbing back up the steps, admiring some brave rockclimbers and feeling rather blown around in the wind we wandered over to Ellin's tower, which now belongs to the RSPB who have a great list of things that have been spotted there before but we saw mainly seagulls.. After all that it was time for well-deserved icecream again! Ah, I should say the coastline around South Stack is spectacular. Stunning cliffs falling into the sea with caves welded into them and on top hills covered in gorse and heather and stone houses and sheep and just absolutely beautiful!



Time to head home already. Slight detour via the cottage to turn off the main water tap and then to Menai Bridge to have a look at the nice old bridge before rumbling back to Nottingham where apparently it has been raining most of the day. How ironic. All in all, it was great! Thank you Sophie for organising and being our guide and thank you Ellie for driving and thank you Petrus for the weather! I'll be back one day I hope!

3 days in suffolk and many happy memories

Very early train on Monday took me via Ely (beautiful huge cathedral) to Ipswich where I was picked up by personal taxi (Mum and Grandpa) and driven to Waldringfield where Granny and yes hard to believe even Dad were waiting. Hadn't see him since Christmas so it was good to see him although his jokes never change.

Lunch at the Maybush - the Waldringfield pub on the Deben - consisted of big chunks of lobster, crab and other things that came out of the water somewhere locally. And of course delicious deserts. The first storm missed us by about 30cm, the second hit us full on but locally we were done and could just run for the car. Afternoon walk along the river and up to the church: people scrubbing boats and crabbing.

Dad left Tuesday morning and we then set off to Aldeburgh to go to the summer craft festival - Mum of course could not resist buying an admittedly delightful print or etching or whatever it is called of the Cat and the Owl in their boat in the waves - and then on to lunch at the lighthouse: fish soup, lamb burger with feta, and a shared lemon and raspberry tart. We had been to farm shops on the way to buy veggies, chocolate cake and all that is needed to survive and went to a butcher that had been visited by royalty nonetheless because of its delish pies on the way back. Wednesday we went for a wander to see Marjorie - one of my grandparent's old friends in the village who always likes my brother's legs. Somewhat depressing I think but hey-ho. More food at home for lunch: parsnip crisps, chicken and sweet potatoe mash, tesco's finest belgian chocolate mousse and chocolate cake later in the afternoon. Transcribed my last interview and then got engrossed in Antony Beevor's account of D-Day, which I then could hardly get my nose out of all the way home in the train. Got the train that evening via Norwich. 3.5 hours later I was in Nottingham after having enjoyed stunning views of the English countryside and open skies (it helps that everything is veeeeery flat around there).

Back "home" now and need to get down to work with dissertation and PhD application. xx

things done and things to come

wow, two months since my last post. I don't even know where to start on things that have happened since then. Maybe a list would do:

• all assignments handed in including project proposal
• project proposal accepted and ethics cleared
• three exams
• all assignments and exams passed with reasonable marks
• celebrated exams over and was ill all next day
• knew two instead of the usual one answer at the pub quiz (out of 40 questions)
• PGSA summer ball
• UoN summer party
• qualified at BPS level A & B in occupational testing during a two week, fairly intense workshop
• BGP summer formal with delicious Asian buffet food, chocolate fountains and great entertainment by Britains got talent almost-winners Signature and Faces of the Disco
• weekend in Edinburgh with the PGSA - beeeeautiful city that I would love to go to again! drank some whisky, walked up a hill, did some sightseeing and bought a hat and some wool ( http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=119099&id=663901806&l=80118d7830 )
  
• went SKYDIVING! absolutely overwhelmingly incredibly AMAZING! words cannot describe the feeling but it was beautiful and I will nevernever forget it! ( http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=120424&id=663901806&l=6866f6d2d1 )
• got awarded the UoN students union award 2009 for outstanding contributions to the union
  
• went to Basel <3>
• 
• seeing friends, drinking cold beer by the Rhine, swimming in the Rhine, going to Winterthur, and even doing some work for my project! ( http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125550&id=663901806&l=d9dd4e3622 )
• got a tattoo
• went boating on the lake and had a proper and very yummy sunday roast

That was a very short version of the massively busy past two months and here is what is still to come in the next two months:

• write my dissertation!
• go to Anglesey (Wales)
• go to Brighton to see Steffi
  
• go to Suffolk to see parents and grandparents
• go to London with Cynthia
• go to Leeds to see James
• find out what comes next
• move out of Cloisters and leave Nottingham :(
  

a good choice

Someone asked me recently if I had made the right choice in coming to Nottingham. My answer was that I don't know but what I do know is that it was a good choice.

I will never know if it would have been better to go to LSE or Exeter or even Bern to do a Masters. Or maybe I should've looked for an internship? Or stayed in Central America?

But I know that I have met lots of great people here and so far it has been an eventful year. I have seen new parts of England and am planing to go to Scotland in about a months time. I have made friends from all round the world some of which I will hopefully stay in touch with wherever the future takes me. I have been to two formal dinners (with a third one coming up), dressed up for Halloween, played ring of fire, bought take-away for supper, and am the proud owner of two hoodies (and more have been ordered). I have learned a lot; personal things, study-related things, and random things.

And the summer is yet to come! Barbecues, formal dinner, birthday celebrations, Edinburgh, sky diving, Switzerland, research, etc. First it is time for exams though. Wish me good luck!

my Easter break

I have been back over a week and only now am I taking the time to write a post about my Easter break. A lot of people probably know a lot of bits of what I am going to write about but I figure this blog is also a good way of keeping memories for the future. You know they worry about how everything is done electronically nowadays and there will be nothing about our times for people in the future to read but blogs are a perfect example of how that is not true. There are thousands and thousands of blogs and although I am sure mine won't become the Anne Frank's diary of the 3000s maybe someone will be interested in my fairly average comings and goings. You never know!

OK, Easter. As announced in my last post I was going aaaall over England. Considering I was doing a lot of travel by rail, I feel obliged to say that I am very impressed with how well the English rail system works considering all the bad things one hears about it. I only missed one connection (and still only arrived half an hour later than planned) and had to get on one rail-replacement bus (and still arrived on schedule). First things first, on Monday the 30th March I traveled across to Liverpool. My uncle Dan kindly picked me up at the station and took me back to their lovely house on Mossley Hill where I spent a few hours relaxing and reading before the red-haired bundle of energy a.k.a. my cousin Flora came back from school. This was the beginning of never-ending colouring sessions, visits to the field across the road and discussions about boyfriends, embarrassing parents, eating rabbits (preferably not actually), and many other interesting topics. And of course early morning violin practice including a private concert while I was still in bed and barely awake at about 7.30 in the morning. Good times! (Yes, seriously) Tuesday and Wednesday I spent a few hours each day wandering around the centre of Liverpool and visiting some museums and galleries (and a few shops of course). Tuesday I went to the Fashion and Sport exhibition in the Walker Art Gallery and also saw the exhibition of the pictures of George Melly whose autobiographies I am now reading and thoroughly enjoying even though I really know nothing about him (and after reading them I will probably know more than I wanted to know). I then carried on down to the world museum where I had a look at the football exhibition. Quite interesting but I am not interested enough in football (especially not the English league - if the Swiss league had featured more often however...) to find it especially interesting. I also went to FACT where they were running a swop shop where you could basically take something along and swap it for something else. Some things that were there you could only use there and some things you could borrow and had to take back. Dan had given me two CDs to swap. One of them I kept for myself and the other I left there although I did not take the book with me that I really wanted as it was a rather large book about spying and secret stuff written in about the 60s - it was GREAT! But my baggage was very limited so I decided to leave it even though it almost broke my heart. Thankfully I then discovered Bold Street, which I also fell in love with as it has lots of fantastic little shops on it and also a not so little Oxfam shop, which I spent quite a while in. Charity shops have quite generally become one of my new interests even though I hardly ever buy anything (thankfully or my room would be full of randomness). On Tuesday evening (I think - to be honest I might by lying about when I did what but who cares) Dan and I went to the theatre - lets make it short and painless: thanks to a few glasses of wine we had the odd giggle but actually the theatre was rubbish. It was supposed to be a farce and was originally written by someone who Andy approved of but whoever the theatre company was had ruined it. Wednesday I made my way down to Albert Dock through a few shops (mainly part of Liverpool One - the huuuuge and fairly new shopping area down near the water) to go the Tate and the Slavery museum. Last time I was in Liverpool I went to the slavery museum and it was full of schoolkids. Thankfully this time it was not and I enjoyed it much more. In the Tate I went to look at the special exhibition by Glenn Brown. There were one or two pictures I quite liked but I was generally not impressed as everything was rather sci-fi and had totally unfitting names usually with some sexual connotation even if the picture was in no way sexual. Thankfully I did not have to pay. On Thursday it was time for the longest part of my journey: Liverpool to Bexhill-on-Sea to see Nanny Peggy. This was the journey where I missed my connection but it only added on 30 minutes to my journey so that was fine. Seeing Nanny Peggy again was wonderful, the weather was nice and the food abundant and tasty. On Friday we went to Rye and had a wander and lunch in the same restaurant as always (Kent hop sausages, mash and green beans followed by warm chocolate fudge cake with ice cream) and then we went to the arts and crafts shop and bought some wool as I had decided I needed further entertainment and was going to have a go at knitting (I had not knitted since primary school). The scarf is now completed and I am very proud of it as it is rather nice. Too bad the weather is so warm and I can't wear it. Saturday we were going to go to Eastbourne but then the weather wasn't too great so we hung out in Bexhill and had fish and chips and a look in every charity shop (and there are quite a lot). The sun had come out by lunch time and in the afternoon I went for a walk along the front and NP headed back to relax. The evenings were taken up by having a good chat while watching television and knitting. Sunday we went down to the fron for a walk together and then all of a sudden the sea mist came in and Bexhill disappeared but we still found our way to the Northern for Sunday lunch. In the evening we went for a little walk around the Manor Barn gardens. Or was that Saturday? I don't remember. On Monday it was time for the shortest bit of my journey from Bexhill to London to stay with Vicky and Johanna for a few days. I fall in love with London every time I go. It is so vibrant yet quiet in the right areas, so multicultural yet still always the same, and everywhere you look there is something happening. Tuesday I went to the V&A where there is a fantastic exhibition about hats. I spent about three hours in the V&A wandering up and down and around and around looking at exhibitions on fashion, photography, jewellary, classic art, modern art, and also immensely enjoying their museum shop - although I did not buy anything! How restrained. From there I walked up to Harrods, which I dipped into as it is worth it just for the atmosphere and to see the people buying small things just to say they had done so. Well I can now say I walked through, and that will have to do! I then walked back aloong towards Kensington High Street past the Royal Albert Hall where there was a photoshoot with burning cars going on to Vicky's office to meet up with her to go the cinema with Johanna. We saw Duplicity, which I think they enjoyed more than I did but I do like Julia Roberts even if she is looking skinny for her age and also whatshisname Clive Owen. We then went out for a deeeeelicious dinner at a very nice restaurant - I especially remember the dessert (what a surprise), which was Eton Mess i.e. rhubarb, lots of whipped cream, and crushed up bits of merengue mixed up together, yummy! On Wednesday I wandered up to Portobello street and then just carried on wandering until I had circled round back to Kensington Gardens where I sat for a while in the sun reading my book and watching people and worrying that a bird might poo on my head as I was sitting under a tree. I then went back to Vicky's office to interview her for one of my assignments. Very interesting it was as well even if Vicky was rather daunted by the prospect of being interviewed about her job. That evening we were invited for supper with Mike and Philip where we also got to see a video of their cruise to the antarctic, which was very interesting and impressive (especially the landscapes and the fauna). Thursday I got stuck even further into the tourists (it was Easter week so London was full of people) and went to Nelson's column, the National Portrait Gallery, Covent Gardens, and then Oxford Street. Phew. It was a lot to take in but I loved it all! Then it was already Friday and time to move on again to Waldringfield (Suffolk) where my other grandparents are to spend the Easter weekend with them. This meant many walks down to and along the river, a lot of time to read and the odd trip to a farm shop or Woodbridge. Mum and Mark joined my in Waldringfield on Sunday so things got more lively (or should I just say louder?) then. Jill and Barrie joined us for pub lunch on Tuesday and on Wednesday it was time to go back to Nottingham. Simon was in Ipswich with his family for Easter and kindly gave me a lift back to Nottingham by car, which was very nice as it would have taken me a lot longer, so, Simon, I am very appreciative.

Since then I have got stuck back into work as much as possible and have been going swimming and to the gym, been to a few committee and other meetings, and even a lecture. I have about a ten different assignments of one kind or the other and exams coming up too but a big part of my thoughts are spent thinking about my research project, which I am really looking forward to so I worry that it will not work out as I hope it will. Ah well.

I am planning to be in Switzerland from around the 5th to the 19th July and need to book cheap easyjet flights asap. Might do that now. Gosh already half past nine. There is much more I could write about but I will leave it for now and (as always) try and write another post sooner than usual.

xxxxx

adventures and visitors

Again almost 25 days have passed since my last post and of course many things have happened! It is always the same sort of story in these posts only my adventures and visitors and things change slightly.

I'll have another go at going through it all chronologically: On the 6th March Aurelia came up from London for a day to visit so we had a great day of shopping, some sightseeing, pub lunch (Lasagna, yummmyy) and ale in Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem. 7th March - day trip to Manchester. I rather liked Manchester - more than I thought I would - with its slightly eclectic mixture of massive old buildings and modern glass constructions. I saw some great exhibitions (especially one about the Black Panthers and civil rights in the US) and did some shopping (new trainers and a jumper I am very much in love with) although I could have stayed there for a day or two in order to also visit the huge science museum and maybe have a look at Old Trafford but it is not that far away so might go back again one day. Then on the 10th March it was time for the next formal dinner - this time James Bond style! After travelling for ages by bus we had a delicious dinner, some rather strong Dry Martinis (out of a jug - not shaken or stirred), watched some fireworks and danceddanceddanced. After just a few hours of sleep I had to get up for my second group meeting with my supervisor about my research project and then in the afternoon went on to Sneinton Library to do some more reading with the kids but we couldn't compete with the arts and crafts afternoon on at the same time!

Just over a week later it was already time for Steffi's visit and before then I had plenty to do for uni (coursework, coursework and more coursework) as well as supper in town, more telephone meetings about my research project, and the odd lecture. On the 21st Steffi arrived from Geneva and we spent the afternoon looking around town and deciding which shops to go into when we came back and there were less people, Sunday was a beautiful day so we went to Wollaton Park and walked around the lake there then on to main campus and over to Beeston to go to Sainsbo's. In the evening we went out for a few drinks at the local pub which lead to a lie-in on Monday and then an afternoon shopping, pub supper, and cinema in the evening. We watched the Young Victoria and both madly fell in love with Prince Albert and thought it was a fantastic film with the actress playing Victoria capturing her very well and have I mention Prince Albert was adorable? Tuesday we went to Birmingham for the day. An interesting city although not one of my favourite from the many I have visited recently. It seems to be fixated on shopping, shopping arcades, shopping malls, markets, etc and less focused on its history, and other attractions. We were quite amused when it took us about 20 minutes to find a canal after reading in the Lonely Planet that there were more canals than in Venice!! We then went to the Millenium Point, which sounded interesting but turned out to be a building slightly in the middle of nowhere full of art/fashion/dance/theatre-faculties of the various universities and colleges and also a rather overpriced science museum and IMAX cinema...

Theeeeeeen Wednesday - Wednesday was my birthday! I woke up very early without realising how early it was (about 6.20) and opened my birthday cards and my package from James (the book Tom's Magic Garden - a fantastic read, which I have now read once and plan to read again especially chapter 5, which is my favourite (don't think I have ever had a favourite chapter before so this book must be speical)) and was very excited. Then went back to sleep for a few more hours, got up checked my emails, had breakfast, and then baked about a million cupcakes. Yes, I baked my own birthday cakes, and no, I didn't mind at all as they were very good and I rather enjoy baking. In the afternoon we went for a walk onto campus - the sun was shining and the campus is looking beautiful with trees flowering, and daffodils, and everything generally looking green - and on to Beeston (again) to get some drinks and snacks for the evening. For my birthday supper we had Chinese takeaway - my first time ever! It was a good choice especially as I didn't have to cook for another two days or so afterwards thanks to all the leftovers! After that my flatmates surprised me with a wonderful little collection of gifts: four different varieties of tea, biscuits to go with the tea, and a magic mug that is black when it is cold and when you poor hot water in it goes white and a picture of our whole flat appears!! Oh yes, and a scrubby fish, and four real zebra fish called Henry, George, Fred, and Gertrud who are currently living on our kitchen window sill but will have to go because our hall management does not approve. Very sad... After a few drinks and some excellent magic tricks from Graham we went on into town to the Bodega Social Club and Electric Banana where we danced the night away until 2am!! Altogether a fantastic birthday so thankyouthankyouthankyou to everyone who particpated and helped make it such a wonderful day!

On Thursday it was sadly already time for Steffi to leave for Switzerland again but she left me with a webcam so I can see here whenever I like (well technically whenever we are both online on skype) and I am very pleased with it so if anyone else has a webcam please let me know and I will give you a little wave and make sure not to pick my nose while you are looking! Thursday afternoon I met up with Damon from the local branch of the Red Cross who I will be doing some Volunteer Coordinator work for and after that decided to myself take part in one of their Challenge Events and instead of going for hiking, swimming, or golfing I decided to go for skydiving! Yes, I have registered to do a tandem skydive for charity out of an airplane from 10'000 feet!! I am very excited already but have to raise a minimum of £325 so please do sponsor me with a few pounds if you can afford to: www.justgiving.com/eleanor-skydive

Yesterday I did some more sightseeing/being a tourist and went on a trip to Stonehenge and Salisbury! Rather a long trip from Nottingham but definitely worth it as Stonehenge is impressive especially thinking about the effort of building something like it without modern tools like cranes and tractors and the precision with which they managed to build it by hand! Salisbury has a beautiful cathedral with the highest spire in Great Britain (123m) and which houses one of the four remaining original Magna Carta! Other than that I have spent lots of time printing off a rainforest worth of articles to read on my journey. I am off to Liverpool tomorrow to see Dan, Andrea and Flora, on to Bexhill on Thursday, then to London to stay with Vicky and Johanna on Monday in a week and then to Waldringfield on the Friday of the Easter weekend where Mum and Mark will join me in staying with Granny and Grandpa for a few days.

Phew. As always life has been quite busy and is going to carry on being busy but I do rather like it that way.

So, please sponsor me - any size donation helps - and do keep in touch!

xxx

oops, nearly forgot to give this post a title

Nearly a month has gone by since my last post - I can't believe how the time is flying past at the speed of a Concorde! As usual, quite a few things have happened. I must say however that I do believe that this blog makes me sound a lot busier than I actually am. The truth is that my time management skills could do with improving so I spend a lot of time procrastinating in between being busy. The best days in my opinion are days like yesterday where I had lots of place to be and was running in between them but the problem is that those are the days where I get the least work done...

So what have I been up to since the 11th February? Well, I have continued looking into different options for volunteering to fill up some time in my week that I would otherwise use for procrastinating. I had a meeting with someone from the local Red Cross office and will hopefully be doing some volunteering for them as a volunteer coordinator and fundraiser. Sounds good, huh? Also, yesterday, I went for the first time to Sneinton library to be a Reading Auntie. Basically this means that I get to hang out in the library for an hour and have kids read books to me! How much better can it get? I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definately be going back next week!!

I have also started work on my applied research project (i.e. my dissertation). I had a meeting with the lovely lady who is now my supervisor and we discussed my ideas and came up with a good piece of work to do. What is most exciting is that after getting in touch with the company I want to do it in they told me that they were just starting a project that it is in the same area as my research and they would like to get me involved in it! Wooo! Anyway, the title of my project so far is: Cross-cultural comparisons of perceptions of diversity policies and trainig in a global organisation. I will hopefully do a few interviews and send out a bunch of questionnaires and get back lots of interesting data, which the company can then use to discern where they stand in terms of implementing their new project and I can use to write up into a nice little portfolio.

Next, days away from Nottingham: Firstly, we went on the PGSA trip to York, which would have been better if we hadn't got stuck in traffic and therefore lost a lot of time and also if it hadn't been Valentine's day and the rest of the world hadn't also been there BUT York is beautiful! I will have to go back one day to explore some more and go into some of the many little shops and look at some of the many museums. The minster is very impressive and so are many of the other architectural quirks around the town. This past weekend I went to Leeds to meet up with my godfather James who I hadn't seen in about 10 years and I spent a fantastic Saturday there getting to know his life a bit and talking a lot about books, dogs, and all things him and I both seem to love.

Visitors: Lena was here!! Oh yes, and Andi, Christian und dr Zürcher :) We enjoyed various pubs in town and I have now been in most pubs that are proclaimed as old and famous and whatever and I have also drunk a lot of ale, seen English ice hockey (not at all impressive!! but it is quite funny that although we thought it was bad, five of the Nottingham Panters players have been nominated to play for the English national team...), and danced at Rock City! It was a fantastic weekend and was over far too quickly... Tomorrow I will have a brief visit by Aurelia who is currently hanging out in London and then in about two weeks Steffi will come for about five days to celebrate my birthday. Hopefully we will manage a day out to the east coast (Skegness) in between parties.

My course is still going well. It is interesting and I am looking forward to the research project and also the workshops coming up in the summer. In the meantime I have an incredible number of essays to write, a workbook to work my way through, and a portfolio to do. And of course - don't forget reading for exams! We just had a consultancy workshop the other week, which was interesting as it gave more insight into how the speakers got to where they are now and what their experiences have been as consultants as well as teaching us or making us aware of necessary skills for the real world.

Hopefully I will be able to get quite a lot of reading and thinking done while travelling in my Easter break. I am planning to go to Liverpool for a few days to visit Dan, Andy, and Flora then travel all the way down to Bexhill (possibly stopping in Brighton just to have a look) to stay with NP, then to London for a few days of relaxing with V&J between grandparents and then on to Waldringfield to stay with G&G and hopefully also catch up with Mum and Mark!!

Before then there is the Broadgate Easter formal, more ARP meetings and teleconferences, reading in Sneinton, lectures, bday celebrations for various people, visits to Manchester (this Sat) and possibly Stonehenge and Salisbury at the end of the month, seminars, film nights, and then of course Steffi's visit. Plent of stuff to do - maybe I should write a list and then not follow it or scribble things in my diary I then won't do.

I am still very sad that I missed Fasnacht but am hoping that my research in the summer will take me home to Basel and I will have the opportunity to catch up with more people then. I miss everyone a lot (even though it has been said that I have a heart of stone, pah, American bitch, you know it was you).

xxxxx