Monster catch up post!
Catch up time.
Well first off, ive been utterly crappy at blogging for well over a year now, and im hoping that I can get back on it. Not sure that anybody reads this but me, but i enjoy it nonetheless. A bit like a journal to just look back on an reminisce.
The last post here was April 2013, and in that last year and a bit now, its been a hell of a ride! Starting where I left off from April 2013, I went on my first two trips to the alps, one in early May time to partake on Mr Laurent's early season Slovenia paddling trip (but we made a whole two weeks out of it taking in Italy, Switzerland and Austria as well), another in the July time with York University Canoe club, covering France and Austria and a day in Switzerland. Each of these were incredible in their own ways, I was a bit too broken to partake in all of the harder rivers, specially the second trip as I properly gave my shoulder a twang and nearly didnt even go! The first trip was a smallish one with Rich, Mike and me heading out together and me feeling like I was going to my death. It was a fun two weeks, I'd not met Mike before but it was lucky that we got on so well :) Rich went off to meet Teresa in Venice so we stole the car and went to see Dave, Mark, Rush and Ben in Italy for a couple of days before heading to get Rich and go home via Switzerland, almost missing the ferry and getting ridiculously drunk on it after we made it in the nick of time! The second trip was the YUCC trip, and it was a bit of a stress at points, with Dave famously not stopping the car for hours even though Alec, Katie and I were dying for a pee and we didn't have any food that day hardly at all...then I threatened to stab Dave in the eye with a Mars bar to make him cheer up and pull over, at which point we all burst out laughing, and nearly burst our bladders too. Pretty funny. We paddled France, Austria and a day in Switzerland. It was great, and I can't wait to go back when I'm less broken this year! We also went for the obligatory week surfing in Cornwall with Clan Fawcett and the Lochwinnoch guys, which was awesome. Then perhaps in the August time, I applied for a job as a postdoc as a great opportunity arose to do laser stuff, in Glasgow which was amazing for me, as I'm able to live in Scotland with the highlands accessible, live with Dave which was lined up to be great fun and then get transported home to RAL to do experiments and see my family...win! So I took the job and frantically sat down and started writing my thesis!! So in December, I moved all my stuff to Glasgow to essentially be moved in with Dave (!) got myself really drunk at the SUCC xmas dinner that day and then flew out to Uganda the following morning!! It was mental! I'm sure ill write about that trip separately. So all in all, a year full of trips and exciting things and to me, life didn't get much better than that. I was buzzing off of the feeling that id done a lot of constructive stuff, even though I had taken 9 weeks out of uni (!) to do it all, but to me the having a good time part of life is far more important.
That brought me right up to new year, i flew back into the UK on the 6th January after a truly epic month away, it had its ups and downs and there are a few things that I would change given the chance to do it again but it was definitely one of the best trips of my life :) After that, 2014 was just, well,.....just a bit shit I'm sad to say! In theory, it was great, I wrote up my thesis which was single handedly one of the hardest, most tiring and personally one of the most testing things I've ever done, but I did it and then with a few weeks overlap - went off to Strathclyde to begin the job i'd taken the previous year. I joined the Strath guys in the middle of an experiment and it was a great laugh, within a few days i'd been a bit tipsy in the rec soc and had celebratory beers with the team twice and it was pretty fun. Moving to Glasgow was a strange experience - a new office, new work, new place to live, new person to live with, new environment, new friends, .... new everything.
Moving in with Dave, getting used to a new job and remembering the things that miss and realising that it was going to be a far more bumpy road than I had hoped...but I made it there and proved to myself that it could be done. PhD handed in, job in hand - in theory it was the best time!
Summer rolled in and we managed to get through several munros, about 30 in total i think starting at easter time, and finishing when I went away in late autumn early winter so a reasonable few i think ... not half as many as I would have liked but you know, I do have to work for a living!
In July I had an experiment on the Gemini laser facility as a kind of cross over between the old and new universities, but it was a very testing run! It was great for me though, so many groups and such a good experience and I came away thoroughly broken and tired but proud given the circumstances of what we did achieve! Almost straight away after that I was whisked away to Germany for a few weeks to work at the GSI laser facility, and then almost immediately after that, was back to Rutherford again for another TAP run for 6 weeks, running right up to the lab closing in mid-late December...so it flew by. An entire year went by so fast that I never really caught my breath! It was a whirlwind of new things in life and a bunch of testing experiences with work and a whole heap of personal stuff too, things you learn about yourself and others when you make a new start.
The new year 2015. Man I was glad to see this one in. It sounds all doom and gloom but I do think that occasionally, you'll have an absolute clanger for a bit of time, and then things get better - 2014 was my clanger and I'm hoping that it doesn't last into this year :)
Spending Christmas 2014 at home after being away the previous year was absolutely magic, and then boxing day at Rog's and a day out clay shooting with him before heading back up the road was really special for me.
It reminded me of how much I value everyone back home even if I dont get to see them much at all. Like when I was a kid, mince pies were magic, mulled wine was a real treat and being at home cuddled up in the warm with the christmas tree lights on was really humbling...and i only missed it for one year! Im pretty sad but I do love a good Christmas :) and even better when its followed by a family do for those we didn't see on xmas day on boxing day where we get even more fat and drink even more wine!
So that brings us right up to the new year then, there is a lot of stuff there and much has been missed out due to my lack of blogging over that time but honestly, I've just not been very motivated to. I felt a bit saturated with social media - constant Facebook updates from everyone reminding me just how boring I really am (!) and so I just kinda, switched off for a while I think. Im not particularly fanatic of the whole thing, but I have to say that I do enjoy having a nice record of fun times to look back on and smile about, even if it is a bit of effort! to keep it up. Any who, must endeavour to keep writing little things on here :)
The last post here was April 2013, and in that last year and a bit now, its been a hell of a ride! Starting where I left off from April 2013, I went on my first two trips to the alps, one in early May time to partake on Mr Laurent's early season Slovenia paddling trip (but we made a whole two weeks out of it taking in Italy, Switzerland and Austria as well), another in the July time with York University Canoe club, covering France and Austria and a day in Switzerland. Each of these were incredible in their own ways, I was a bit too broken to partake in all of the harder rivers, specially the second trip as I properly gave my shoulder a twang and nearly didnt even go! The first trip was a smallish one with Rich, Mike and me heading out together and me feeling like I was going to my death. It was a fun two weeks, I'd not met Mike before but it was lucky that we got on so well :) Rich went off to meet Teresa in Venice so we stole the car and went to see Dave, Mark, Rush and Ben in Italy for a couple of days before heading to get Rich and go home via Switzerland, almost missing the ferry and getting ridiculously drunk on it after we made it in the nick of time! The second trip was the YUCC trip, and it was a bit of a stress at points, with Dave famously not stopping the car for hours even though Alec, Katie and I were dying for a pee and we didn't have any food that day hardly at all...then I threatened to stab Dave in the eye with a Mars bar to make him cheer up and pull over, at which point we all burst out laughing, and nearly burst our bladders too. Pretty funny. We paddled France, Austria and a day in Switzerland. It was great, and I can't wait to go back when I'm less broken this year! We also went for the obligatory week surfing in Cornwall with Clan Fawcett and the Lochwinnoch guys, which was awesome. Then perhaps in the August time, I applied for a job as a postdoc as a great opportunity arose to do laser stuff, in Glasgow which was amazing for me, as I'm able to live in Scotland with the highlands accessible, live with Dave which was lined up to be great fun and then get transported home to RAL to do experiments and see my family...win! So I took the job and frantically sat down and started writing my thesis!! So in December, I moved all my stuff to Glasgow to essentially be moved in with Dave (!) got myself really drunk at the SUCC xmas dinner that day and then flew out to Uganda the following morning!! It was mental! I'm sure ill write about that trip separately. So all in all, a year full of trips and exciting things and to me, life didn't get much better than that. I was buzzing off of the feeling that id done a lot of constructive stuff, even though I had taken 9 weeks out of uni (!) to do it all, but to me the having a good time part of life is far more important.
That brought me right up to new year, i flew back into the UK on the 6th January after a truly epic month away, it had its ups and downs and there are a few things that I would change given the chance to do it again but it was definitely one of the best trips of my life :) After that, 2014 was just, well,.....just a bit shit I'm sad to say! In theory, it was great, I wrote up my thesis which was single handedly one of the hardest, most tiring and personally one of the most testing things I've ever done, but I did it and then with a few weeks overlap - went off to Strathclyde to begin the job i'd taken the previous year. I joined the Strath guys in the middle of an experiment and it was a great laugh, within a few days i'd been a bit tipsy in the rec soc and had celebratory beers with the team twice and it was pretty fun. Moving to Glasgow was a strange experience - a new office, new work, new place to live, new person to live with, new environment, new friends, .... new everything.
Summer rolled in and we managed to get through several munros, about 30 in total i think starting at easter time, and finishing when I went away in late autumn early winter so a reasonable few i think ... not half as many as I would have liked but you know, I do have to work for a living!
In July I had an experiment on the Gemini laser facility as a kind of cross over between the old and new universities, but it was a very testing run! It was great for me though, so many groups and such a good experience and I came away thoroughly broken and tired but proud given the circumstances of what we did achieve! Almost straight away after that I was whisked away to Germany for a few weeks to work at the GSI laser facility, and then almost immediately after that, was back to Rutherford again for another TAP run for 6 weeks, running right up to the lab closing in mid-late December...so it flew by. An entire year went by so fast that I never really caught my breath! It was a whirlwind of new things in life and a bunch of testing experiences with work and a whole heap of personal stuff too, things you learn about yourself and others when you make a new start.
 |
| Gardens in Darmstadt I think! |
 |
| Heidelberg - such a good day! We miss you David! |
 |
| Walk in the woods probably post-beer! Point 5 eV! |
 |
| Tour of GSI - such a huge place, PHELIX seems a tiny! |
Spending Christmas 2014 at home after being away the previous year was absolutely magic, and then boxing day at Rog's and a day out clay shooting with him before heading back up the road was really special for me.
 |
| Nan and Me 2014 - matching jumpers! |
 |
| Nan and the grown ups in xmas jumper style! |
So that brings us right up to the new year then, there is a lot of stuff there and much has been missed out due to my lack of blogging over that time but honestly, I've just not been very motivated to. I felt a bit saturated with social media - constant Facebook updates from everyone reminding me just how boring I really am (!) and so I just kinda, switched off for a while I think. Im not particularly fanatic of the whole thing, but I have to say that I do enjoy having a nice record of fun times to look back on and smile about, even if it is a bit of effort! to keep it up. Any who, must endeavour to keep writing little things on here :)
Comments
Post a Comment
Comments: