Stuff, I guess.
I keep thinking about writing here and then not doing it. It's not really the community it once was. I don't know if that makes it better or worse for me. Do I need an audience for internal musings... probably not.
So as of just before Christmas I am in a new flat, so far so good. Flatmate and I get on great, having my own space (and importantly privacy) again has been so incredibly valuable. So much so that the things of the past that would have driven me crazy (noisy neighbours, sharing walls, sharing driveways, having to listen to other people's music) are all just background concerns that only really worry me when they are directly preventing me from sleep (which so far, touch wood, hasn't been too much of a problem).
Of course I have had a crash course in the strange ways other people live. The neighbours to the side like to play their loud music from their cars with all the doors open and tinny speakers straining. The neighbours at the back receive all their guests in the driveway and stay standing there drinking for the duration of the visit... unless it rains and then they invite their guests into the open garage. So far I prefer my loud Indian neighbours to loud English-speaking neighbours because it is surprising how soothing it is to hear shouting and not have to actually understand it.
I have a nice place with a breakfast nook and a small garden (I'm growing herbs!) and a carpark and a room of my very own that I have decorated without negotiation. All in all I feel very happy and settled here.
Work has been good, albeit quite stressful this week with teething problems associated with the beginning of the academic year... hopefully once all systems are up and smoothly running (can I dare to hope?) it will all fall into place. This last week -and today have been sponsored by IT difficulties which is not really my job but which I none-the-less have to deal with. It is exciting because I am only functionally computer-literate... which makes me a genius compared to my colleague who is basically special-needs when it comes to computers... which is fine because it is not her job also!
I have a new distraction this year as I am now also doing my Masters of Fine Art. Why? Probably because I am super crazy. It's low residency so I have seminars four times a year and just contact with my supervisor in between. So far it has been interesting trying to juggle art making and research and work and trying to find time to have a social life too! I've not made as much art as I'd like, so I will have to be much more disciplined about how I manage time. And perhaps lower my expectations of having free time!
So as of just before Christmas I am in a new flat, so far so good. Flatmate and I get on great, having my own space (and importantly privacy) again has been so incredibly valuable. So much so that the things of the past that would have driven me crazy (noisy neighbours, sharing walls, sharing driveways, having to listen to other people's music) are all just background concerns that only really worry me when they are directly preventing me from sleep (which so far, touch wood, hasn't been too much of a problem).
Of course I have had a crash course in the strange ways other people live. The neighbours to the side like to play their loud music from their cars with all the doors open and tinny speakers straining. The neighbours at the back receive all their guests in the driveway and stay standing there drinking for the duration of the visit... unless it rains and then they invite their guests into the open garage. So far I prefer my loud Indian neighbours to loud English-speaking neighbours because it is surprising how soothing it is to hear shouting and not have to actually understand it.
I have a nice place with a breakfast nook and a small garden (I'm growing herbs!) and a carpark and a room of my very own that I have decorated without negotiation. All in all I feel very happy and settled here.
Work has been good, albeit quite stressful this week with teething problems associated with the beginning of the academic year... hopefully once all systems are up and smoothly running (can I dare to hope?) it will all fall into place. This last week -and today have been sponsored by IT difficulties which is not really my job but which I none-the-less have to deal with. It is exciting because I am only functionally computer-literate... which makes me a genius compared to my colleague who is basically special-needs when it comes to computers... which is fine because it is not her job also!
I have a new distraction this year as I am now also doing my Masters of Fine Art. Why? Probably because I am super crazy. It's low residency so I have seminars four times a year and just contact with my supervisor in between. So far it has been interesting trying to juggle art making and research and work and trying to find time to have a social life too! I've not made as much art as I'd like, so I will have to be much more disciplined about how I manage time. And perhaps lower my expectations of having free time!