Suddenly I have a social life ;o)

It's been such a busy week here. Even last weekend was busy! I'm looking forward to things being a bit more restful this weekend and next week.

The weekend turned out to be themed around Oscar Wilde. It was totally by luck, not intended at all. On Saturday, G and I met up with my wonderful colleagues, Anna and Philippa, and their wonderful partners to go to see "The Importance of Being Earnest" at Regent's Park Open-Air Theatre. We were so lucky with the weather. After it being rubbish all week, Saturday afternoon was lovely. The performance was great - very well acted and wonderfully funny. We had a lovely picnic afterwards, which involved loads of Bubbly, canapes, cupcakes and so many different salads that I lost count. It was wonderful day and we were all well fed and watered.

On Sunday, I inflicted Matthew Bourne's Dorian Gray on G. I say inflicted, as it's not really his kind of thing (he prefers plays to dance performances). I certainly think he was still impressed. I really do love Matthew Bourne - he has a way of making things his own without losing the message. Dorian Gray was no exception - it was funky and modern, while retaining the disturbing elements of the novel. The skull mirrorball was an excellent touch!

The rest of the week has been completely mental. G's family seem to have descended on from all over the world. On Monday, we met up with his aunt and cousin from the US for yummy tapas. Wednesday was meze with his cousin from Australia (who's currently living in Mexico). Combined with Tuesday's ATS class and yesterday's trip to the hairdresser, I feel like I have never stopped!

Tribal Fusion workshop tomorrow with the wonderful Darkstar. We're focusing on arms and upper body technique. I'm really excited about it, as my arms need a lot of work.

June catch-up

June was a busy month for both of us. Here's what happened:

• My Parents visited for a weekend. We went to Greenwich, as Admiral Nelson is one of Dad's heroes and he wanted to see Nelson's jacket in the Maritime Museum. On the Sunday, we visited the Wetlands Centre, which is just amazing. It was a glorious day and the ducks etc were out in full force.
  
• We got involved in the Story of London festival by taking full advantage of their Living History weekend. On the Saturday, we celebrated the marriage of Henry VIII and Katherine Parr at Hampton Court with a picnic and fireworks. On the Sunday, we celebrated Britain's victory at the Battle of Waterloo at Apsley House. The highlight was a re-enactment of the Battle using vegetables - very funny indeed!
  
• I started my new job at work. It all seems good. Much busier than the old one and a lot more challenging too. Should be a good way to spend my last few months there.

The elephant in the room...

Well, it was a month before I could pluck up the courage to post that last post. I've been debating whether or not to mention my Mum's cancer, as I know that she sometimes reads my blog. However, I'm not sure I can write things and pretend everything is fine, while something which is utterly not fine is happening. Thankfully, everything seems to have gone well. Mum's surgery was a success and she is now on the mend. She goes to see her Consultant this week, and we're all hopeful that it's good news. I'm going to Scotland to visit my Parents in a few weeks and am very much looking forward to seeing them. Being here in London while all this has been happening has been incredibly difficult.

The rollercoaster that is 2009 continues!

2009 has been one heck of a year so far. Just when I think I'm getting the hang of things, there's another curve-ball coming right at me.

On a personal level, 2009 is shaping up to be a pretty good year. I've had my promotion at work and on top of that, I've just been accepted into the NHS Clinical Scientist training programme. It's come as a bit of a surprise as I didn't expect that they would take someone who had been out of the lab for so long. However, it seems that it may have actually helped me to show that I had really thought about what I wanted to be doing. So, in October I will beginning to train as a Clinical Scientist in Histocompatibility & Immunogenetics. I am so excited about being in the lab again and actually doing something that matters! I can't wait to get stuck into the science too.

I'm also really happy in myself and my life at the moment. I honestly think beginning ATS again was a major factor, as I now have something fresh to learn and goals to focus on. My class and teachers are wonderful and because you have to dance together, it's easier to get to know people. I'm also managing to attend a lot of workshops and try loads of new things. I'm even beginning to see the benefit of living in London (shock, horror).

In addition to this, G has just passed his "part 3" examination, meaning that he is finally an architect. I'm so proud of him. It's a fantastic achievement and he deserves it after all his hard work. It's a huge weight off both our minds that he doesn't have to go through it all again.

However, it's not all perfect. There's some family stuff going on that's worrying, mainly in terms of my Mum's health. She was diagnosed with lung cancer a little while back, and there's been a long period of "not knowing". Thankfully, she has been very lucky and the tumour has been caught at an early stage. This weekend she goes in for surgery to remove the tumour and part of her lung, so we're keeping everything crossed for a good outcome.

Back from the 'burgh

We had a lovely few days in Edinburgh and at my Parents catching up with people. Thankfully, my Dad is much better after being in hospital, which is an immense relief. I think he'll have to take it easy for the next month or so but at least he's on the mend. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to see my Gran who has been very ill also. I had some stomach bugness going on over the weekend and I couldn't risk infecting my Gran with it.

As always, going away made me realise how much I miss my family and friends. G and I had a chat on the train about the possibility of moving back or closer, at least. It's odd but I just get all confused whenever we discuss it. I don't want either of us committing career suicide by moving back to Scotland, as I can't see how that helps anything. I'm also worried that my general inability to settle here has been due to a lack of direction in the career department. I don't want to spend my life running away from problems instead of solving them. What I do know is that I don't have the social network here that I need. I also know that I don't feel any sort of deep connection to London and I'm unsure that I will ever manage to make one.

*confused*