Home for Christmas

I've left Cornwall and I'm back in the homeland for the next few weeks before heading off to South Africa in January!

Christmas and New Year this year are going to be really strange as it'll be the first time in probably 6 years that I haven't had to revise for January exams over the Christmas break. I went shopping today and was standing waiting for a bus just before 4pm wishing the bus would hurry up because I'd been out far too long and needed to get home and do some work... then I realised I actually didn't need to rush home and felt like a bit of a fool. The last term's been so busy that my brain is stuck in "must do work" mode!

My first full day at home was spent moseying round the shops and eyeing up the new Hobbycraft that's just opened in town. Sooooo much stuff I wanted to buy, shame I don't have limitless money (and shame it's fairly expensive...). I did get some cute little cross stitch kits though that I'll be making up when I've got some free time over the holidays. Guilt free crafting FTW!

So what have I got planned for the holidays?

- My brother's coming home on Friday (Christmas Eve Eve!), and he'll be staying until the day after Boxing Day
- Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day which will probably involve way too much eating and being incredibly lazy, but hey, it's Christmas, I'm allowed.
-  Packing for South Africa and trying to make sure all of my stuff fits in my bag - probably going to be a major challenge...
- Flying out to South Africa on the 3rd of January for 2 weeks in the sun... I can't wait!
- Back to reality and starting my last ever term of education!! Not going to lie, I'm more than a little bit excited that I've only got about 4 months until I'm finished.

I'm off to spend my evening curled up in bed watching TV and reading a book now that I can do so without worrying that I should be doing something else!

Oh, and I've updated my list of 101 things in 1001 days. 15 down, 86 to go!

101 things in 1001 days: number 85 - list 25 different species of animal I've seen in the wild

Completed: 11th April 2011.


While out in Cyprus in the first week of April (which I just realised I still haven't blogged about, fail) I did a lot of wildlife spotting. We had to compile species lists during the week, and when I remembered that I had this task on my list I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to tick it off.

So, here is my list of 25 different species of animal I've seen in the wild, during one week on the Karpaz Peninsula in North Cyprus (4th - 11th April 2011):

1. Hooded crow - Corvus corone

2. Collared dove - Streptopelia decaocto

3. Jackdaw -Corvus moedula
4. House sparrow - Passer domesticus
5. Common Swift - Apus apus
6. Egyptian fruit bat - Rousettus aegyptiacus
7. Crested lark - Galerida cristata
8. Marsh harrier - Circus aeruginosus
9. Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica
10. Eurasian kestrel - Falco tinnunculus
11. Red-rumped swallow - Hirundo daurica
12. Little owl - Athena noctua
13. Eurasian Scops owl - Otus scops
14. Cyprus wheatear - Oenanthe cypriaca
15. Northern wheatear - Oenanthe oenanthe
16. Isabelline wheatear - Oenanthe isabellina
17. Wryneck - Jynx torquilla
18. Hoopoe - Upupa epops
19. Blue rock thrush - Monticola solitarius
20. Black francolin - Francolinus francolinus
21. Short-toed lark - Calandrella brachydactyla
22. Cretzschmars Bunting - Emberiza caesia
23. Quail - Coturnix coturnix
24. Masked shrike - Lanius nubicus
25. Glossy ibis - Plegadis falcinellus


(Spot the one species that isn't a bird!)

101 things in 1001 days: Number 23 - Give blood

Completed: 24th January 2011
Tasks completed: 2/101
Days to go: 870


My first experience of giving blood wasn't as daunting as I'd imagined.

I booked my appointment only half an hour beforehand; I'd expected there to be a long wait as I'd left it so late before deciding I definitely wanted to do it.
They made me drink 2 pints of water while I was waiting (it raises your blood pressure making everything easier)... you're recommended to have 500ml but I was waiting for about an hour so I kept getting told to drink more and more and more, and the waterlogged feeling on top of my nerves wasn't the nicest!
Turns out the nurse who did my finger prick test was born in Isleworth, and his friend used to live in the house next door to the Harvester opposite Ashford Hospital. It's such a small world, and since then I've discovered another 2 people I've met at uni have links to home. Strange coincidences freak me out slightly...
Having the needle put in hurt (obviously, as it was pretty big compared to a standard injection) but not as much as I'd worked myself up to believe that it would. Once it was in it was fine, and it only started to hurt again towards the end of the donation, but it only took 7 1/2 minutes which is no time at all so it was bareable.

I got my donor card the other day and my blood type is O- which is cool because my blood can go to anyone of any blood type, so with my one donation I could've potentially already helped save someone's life which is a really rewarding feeling :). Only 7% of the population are O- though, so if I ever need a blood transfusion there's a significantly lower chance of there being blood available for me than if I had a more common group, but *touch wood* I won't ever need blood so I don't have to worry about it. But it makes me realise even more how important it is for people to donate. It's really simple, quick (the whole thing took about an hour, but that was only because only 4 people could donate at a time and it was pretty busy) and pain-free (other than the initial sharp scratch of the needle then a sort of dull ache towards the end, but that went as soon as the needle was out). Plus you get as much free tea, squash, cake and biscuits as you want, what more could you ask for? :P

So if you've never given blood before, or even if you haven't done it for a while, I urge you to at least consider donating. Your donation will be put to good use, either by saving someone's life or being used in treatment for other conditions like cancer. I think one hour of your time is something so small and well worth giving up to give people the chance to live.

Times are changing

Things that have happened in the past couple of months:

• I spent my entire Christmas holiday doing near enough non-stop revision. It was so hard and depressing, and I got to the point in the last week before exams where I really felt like I couldn't go on any more - picking up notes and books was a huge struggle, and even things like buying food and eating seemed like too big a task. But I got through it, just, and even though I completely missed the point of the question in one exam I still managed to pass and get a 2:1 or a first in all my modules. I got 70% in Biodiversity and Conservation ( a mark significantly boosted by using the example of how Australia and New Zealand keep their biodiversity high by strictly controlling animal/plant imports... which I learnt about on Nothing To Declare or some other program on Sky 3), 88% in Stats, 61% in Development and Diversity, and 60% in Functional Animal Ecology (which I was convinced I was going to fail because I couldn't keep the information in my head, I had no outside reading and I missed the point of the question. Yet I got credit for "creative use of examples", so I basically passed an exam based on the bullshit I came out with. Win.)

• Chris and I broke up. It's been a while coming I think, certainly from my point of view, as I think the distance and the fact that we lead different lives now was making everything far too difficult. I don't really know if I feel happier now, but I'm trying to pick myself up and hopefully I'm making some progress.
  

• Still battling on with the City & Guilds 7303 course. I'm doing my micro-teach (half an hour mini lesson) next week and I'm rather nervous, especially as we have to be videoed...

• I'm cramming yet more into my schedule by doing the St John PTA course. If I pass the assessment next weekend I'll get to use ambulance equipment and medical gases, yay :)

• House for next year is sorted. I'm living with Matt and Hugh, and my new room is probably at least twice the size of my current room, and it's got 2 big windows. Only a single bed mind, but it's a small price to pay for having so much extra space and I'm not really too bothered by it. It'll be nice to be able to spread my stuff out again and not constantly feel crammed in. Plus mildew's started creeping its way into my room (must've started at some point over Christmas) which is absolutely gross, and it makes the small bit of space I have even less because I have to make sure nothing's touching the front wall or it'll go mouldy :\
  

• I'm still progressing with my list of 101 things in 1001 days and I'm getting there... slowly. I'll post updates of my progress in the next couple of days.

The past 2 months don't really seem like that long when everything's written out, but it feels like they've dragged on foreverrrr. I really want it to be summer so I can get out and do things on warm days, and not have to worry about uni work!

101 things in 1001 days

A while back I stumbled across this website, The Day Zero Project, and was inspired to make a list of tasks to complete myself.

I've spent a lot of time mulling over which tasks I wanted to include - some of them were obvious and things that I've been wanting to do for a while, but after those I got a bit stuck and didn't want to include any old meaningless thing just so I'd get to the target of 101 quicker.

After spending ages trawling through the Idea Finder on the site, itching to start on my tasks but not wanting to do so until I'd finished the list, I decided that as much as I didn't want to I might as well start with an incomplete list and hope that ideas for the remaining 9 tasks came to mind along the way.

I started my 1001 days on the 6th of October (my birthday, seemed like a good day to start it on), meaning I'll finish on the 4th of July 2013 (by which point I'll be approaching the age of 23... scary thought!).

I'll be posting with updates on completed tasks/tasks in progress, but I've also added a page (which can be found here or at the top of the left sidebar) to give an overview of my project.

And so, without further ado, here is the list of 92 (hopefully soon to become 101!) tasks I am aiming to complete in the next 1001 days:

1. Write in a diary every day
2. Answer the “50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind”
3. Walk 500 miles
4. Take a photograph of myself every week
5. Visit the USA
6. Pass my driving theory test
7. Pass my driving practical test
8. Go diving
9. Go to Scotland
10. Visit 5 places north of London
11. Knit a garment
12. Sew a garment
13. Learn the phonetic alphabet
14. Sell at least one piece of jewellery
15. Read 101 books
16. Watch 101 films
17. Learn to touch-type
18. Complete my degree
19. Have a birthday party
20. Craft in public
21. Save £5 for every task I complete
22. Win NaNoWriMo
23. Give blood
24. Send a message in a bottle
25. Host a dinner party
26. Be a vegetarian for a week
27. Plant a tree
28. Write a letter to myself to open at the end of the 1001 days
29. Make a time capsule
30. Get properly fitted for a bra
31. Get a penpal
32. Go horse riding
33. Make all my food from scratch for a fortnight
34. Make a birthday cake for someone
35. Try 50 new foods
36. Crochet a granny square blanket
37. Watch all episodes of a TV series in order
38. Fill up my change jar
39. Make a recipe book
40. Make a new friend
41. Buy a copy of The Big Issue
42. Let a balloon go with my contact details attached and see where it ends up
43. Lose weight
44. Watch no TV for a week
45. Do the 200 sit-ups challenge (www.twohundredsitups.com)
46. Get a pet
47. Finish a Rubik’s Cube
48. Take pictures in a photo booth
49. Learn to cook 10 meals
50. Make a gingerbread house
51. Try Geocaching
52. Finish a 100o+ piece jigsaw without using the picture on the box
53. Make a list of 101 facts about me
54. Go camping for a weekend
55. Take part in a pub quiz
56. Make a family tree
57. Make ice cream
58. Have my fortune tols
59. Make a stop-motion video
60. See a dolphin in the wild
61. See a whale in the wild
62. Make a list of things I like about myself
63. Read an autobiography
64. Take a photo of a place through all four seasons
65. Write a haiku
66. Spend a night in a posh hotel
67. Have a picnic
68. Spend an afternoon reading outside
69. Complete at least 100 hours of voluntary work
70. Swim in the sea
71. Finish a knitting project
72. Go for a long bike ride
73. Give a handmade gift
74. Spend a day at the beach
75. Read all of Jane Austen’s novels
76. Eat at 10 new restaurants
77. Make a list of my 25 best qualities
78. Go one week without swearing
79. Get a job
80. Find a constellation in the night sky
81. Enter 10 competitions
82. List 101 things that make me happy
83. Go for a walk in a forest
84. Make a list of 101 of my accomplishments in life
85. List 25 different species of animal I’ve seen in the wild
86. Grow a fruit or vegetable
87. Document one month of my life in photographs
88. Send 25 postcards via www.postcrossing.com
89. Write a letter to someone who has changed my life
90. Pick one random word from a dictionary each week, learn it’s meaning and try to use it in conversation
91. Don’t say anything negative for a day
92. Start a new tradition

Any suggestions for things to add to my list will be very welcomed, I'm seriously stuck haha.