These days...

[Powderfinger playing in my mind]

I keep waiting for the perfect moment to sit down and start blogging. Yet it just occurred to me that there is no perfect moment and the only way to start is to do just that. So here I am. (Again)

I have so many posts swirling in my head. What have I learnt from going back to uni so many years after undergrad? What have I learnt moving countries? What have I learnt being out of the workplace for 15 months? There is a lot I can write about on any of those topics. Many silly little observations I have made in recent months. Like: I have worn the same two pairs of WINTER pyjamas for 15 months straight (bar one single hot week in July). Maybe this is not big news for some people but for a former frequent customer of Peter Alexander this is a big deal for me!!!

Okay, so that was a strange aside, but seriously I feel there is a lot I can share about my last year and when I'm so far from home a blog seems the perfect way to put such thoughts out into the universe.

Today was the first day at my new job. Dissertation written and submitted. Studies completed. Processed through the streets to graduate. A few months unemployed. Then, can you start work on Wednesday?

It has all moved so fast. Starting a new job in another country for the first time. It still feels like a holiday, somehow unreal, as even though it is all the same it is also all completely different. I wonder when being in another country will start feeling like life rather than a holiday? Does this just mean my previous job was too stressful (quite possibly as many of my colleagues would attest)? Nonetheless, there is something about being overseas which seems temporary even if there is no plan, no timeline, no going home date.

So many questions. So many thoughts.

What to write next?

L'autunno

Summer has come and gone and yet I feel I never really captured that summer spirit. Through June and July I was writing my thesis, confined to the library and my study. There were sunny days, I ate lunches in the college gardens, soaking up warm rays when I could escape to the outdoors. I wished they were lazy days, but word counts called and deadlines loomed so it was never long enough.

Come August and I seemingly had all the time in the world to enjoy the sunshine and warmth, and yet it barely appeared. Many days had patches of sunshine, but never long enough to get outside and 'laze' as I had anticipated myself doing once freed from the thesis deadline. Thankfully, the weekends were mostly beautiful and P and I took to cycling around Cambridge and surrounding villages on newly obtained bikes, as well as tennis on the college courts.

I've spent much of Summer wishing it would arrive, rather than appreciating the time I had to myself. Now Summer has passed, and any sunny warm days are a bonus, unexpected. Perhaps it is an important lesson of moving to a new country; rather than looking for what one is used to, time should be spent appreciating the differences.

L'Estate

The last time I wrote we were seeing the first signs of Spring here in Cambridge. Now we are in June but Summer is not yet here. Every month is a marvel to me, learning about the climate of my new home, every season reveals something different about its rhythms.

These first three days of June have felt less summery than some of the days we had in Spring. I've needed an umbrella many times, but then had to battle with the wind to keep it upright. Today I went out to buy lunch wearing a merino jumper and a scarf, wondering when this chilly weather will end and the mercury will rise above 15 degrees.  However, walking home the sun peeked out and suddenly I was too warmly dressed. The afternoon has continued like this - cold one moment, then pleasantly sunny the next.

To cheer me that summer is on its way,... a few lovely roses captured at Windsor Castle last week.

La primavera

The seasons here are so much more tangible. The phrase 'spring has sprung' is a cliche but it comes to mind. The feeling is palpable. Squirrels going about their business with so much energy. The ducks that I see daily have come to life, no longer snoozing under reeds but swimming vigorously and quacking exuberantly. The air, though still damp, has a sweetness to it and sometimes warmth. 

I had my second exam today. One of four this term. Today was the warmest day so far this year, almost twenty degrees. Cycling through the common field over to college I felt privileged to be here. Fields bathed in sunlight, daffodils nodding at me. To sit for a peaceful hour in the well manicured college garden, with a few bees buzzing happily nearby. The peace at odds with the pace at which I was trying to cram the last few ideas into my head. I wanted to stay out in the garden, not go in to the exam, pretend it wasn't happening. But go in I did. Afterwards, I knocked on a friends door armed with left over Easter treats and we went and sat in the last of the warmth drinking tea and indulging in a few sweet bites. A well earnt break before the next subject looms. 

Now, to work. 

Musings

I still take too many* photos of clouds and sunsets.

I'm living in a new country and enjoying the seasons flipped around (Christmas in summer still wins).

I'm back studying after graduating over 8 years ago. Fulfilling a lifelong dream. My own carpe diem moment, which I feel very lucky to be able to do (thanks to a very supportive husband who is my cheer squad).

I never stopped reading blogs, but comment very rarely - even though I feel like we could be the best of friends! (Shout out to Cherie and Kerri, just to name a few)

I'm still lamenting the loss of Google Reader. Old school blog reading. Why? Why? Feedly has to do the job these days (I like the magazine view).

I hope reigniting this blog will help me to reconnect with the blogging community. Hello all!

*In my honest opinion there is no such thing as 'too many' photos of clouds and sunsets

Leap Year

Happy Leap Day!!

Sent from my iPhone

Resolutions

Happy New Year!!

1/1/11 It's 2011!! Another year. Not sure what this year has in store but I want to do my best to make it exciting! I have spent a lot of time reading blogs and scrolling on twitter but very rarely do I blog or tweet. Twitter is not my kind of platform but blogging is. I don't often make resolutions but this year I will.

I want to -

- blog more
- exercise
- take part in more activities - painting, horseriding, language courses

You get the idea. I will have a think about the specific things I want to achieve and perhaps write a post soon so I can keep track of what I achieve.

Here's to a fabulous year!