Twelve weeks + 4

So Neil and I spent about 2 hours last night first listening to a talk about what Will needs to do  about applying to colleges etc, then wandering around a little exhibition of those said colleges having a chat. I'm really glad that I went because the options he has are amazing, just within the borough. We came home with lots of information and decided to sit down with him straight away and chat. Now Will is a laid back kind of soul and doesn't rush anything. He thought he could just apply to one college (the one his mates are planning to apply to) and either get in or not. He hadn't thought of a back up plan, and certainly didn't think he could apply to more than one. So next week is going to be a little busy, we have two open evenings Tuesday and Wednesday, one at a Sixth Form (trust me that took some persuading) and one at the college that he thinks he wants to go to. Then on Thursday we actually have his parents evening, although that all seems the wrong way round to me and that we should have started with the parents evening, then at least we'd have known more about how they expect him to do in his exams. After all that he may have to start applying really soon as some of the application in dates are the beginning of December, oh well it keeps us on our toes. As we said to him last night this is all new to us too, so we're finding our way through the process with him, trying to work with want he wants and not dictate what we want, pretty diplomatic for me don't you think.

You know I was starting to panic about having an essay to start work on, and I dreamt it had to be handed in next week which just added to my panic, well I'm an idiot I checked the module guide yesterday and my first essay isn't due until Nov 15th, so I can at least postpone my freaking out for the immediate future. I had a really good meeting with my lecturer too, well actually she's my tutor for the History in the Community module (Summerhill) and my tutor for my Independent Study (dissertation) so we killed two birds with one stone and sorted out what I need to do for both of them. So at least for the immediate future I'm feeling quite positive, which is a rarity for me. She asked me how I was, as she's one of the few lecturers who knows  some of my medical history, and I always feel uncomfortable answering the question. Do I just lie and say fine, do I tell her about the operations in July as she wouldn't know about those, I mean I am at the moment sporting a huge bruise on my hand from the cannula they inserted on Monday to deliver the contrast dye so it's there on my mind, and the evidence on my body. So I gave her a brief run down of the situation, and said I was trying really hard to put all the health stuff out of my mind and concentrate on my Uni work. It meant we could just do the same with the conversation, but it still made me feel uncomfortable.

So to today, well I've got Uni at lunchtime and a date after with Malarky. I am still really enjoying the time I get to spend at the field with him, even if it's not always as long as I like. He looks so happy just munching away at his food and the grass it's so very peaceful, and good for my soul I guess. How deep and meaningful I am today. I have to remember to book Neils car in for an MOT, I was supposed to do it last week and forgot, I also need to ring the stupid Student Finance people to find out where the heck my money is, but that's another battle, that all students out there will be familiar with. Then I have to get back to planning Saturday, what started off as a family visit from Laura and her two foreign students has turned into a full blown boys event. Laura is bringing her two boys, Nathan (visiting especially from Uni) and Brendan, and the two students who are lodging with her, Riccardo and Theo (Italian and Belgium, and probably not spelt right). Then Will said he was bringing over a couple of his mates too, so now I think I'm going to have a house full of boys I really need to plan what to feed them, and if, as Will says, they are going to be gaming (XBox & Kinect in the living room) I think buffet food they can eat on the run would be the best idea, with an International flavour in honour of our foreign guests. I love planning a feast, I usually start planning Christmas Dinner in October I am that sad!

I'm off now to water my orchid, as it's Wednesday.