End of Summer Blues...Well Kind Of

Finally (is that even the correct word? Maybe I should perhaps change it to 'regrettably'), what seemed like a never-ending summer has started to give way to chilly mornings and blustery showers. Autumn is on its way, along with everything that comes with it. This is one of the reasons why I love the UK - I could not live anywhere that didn't exhibit at least a hint of the four seasons...although global warming, if true, could put a stop to this worldwide! I love nature's colourful display of burnished oranges and golds, accompanied by crisp mornings and the first frost. I am a knitter so naturally indulge in the opportunity to make any item of warmth, as well as being very partial to a pumpkin spice latte or marshmallowy hot chocolate. Jumpers and scarves take up well over half of my wardrobe. Definitely a cold weather person here! Not that I don't enjoy summer and not freezing my arse off on the commute to uni. However, there are some bloody awful things about this time of the year too, mostly to do with rain and sludge. I don't want to get out of bed at 6am and leave the house whilst it's still dark only to get back well after nightfall! And don't even mention the Scaling an Icy Hill to get to an Exam incident. I actually feared for my life.

Anyway, to welcome the season in, I've started reading the Song of Ice and Fire series and embarked on a new knitting project of making a Slytherin scarf for the bro. Double Knit weight wool is a little bugger. I've also stocked up on stationery things for the new academic year (I'm an addict) in an attempt - however futile - to organise my life after the months of being at home. The first book (A Game of Thrones) is reading very well so far. I'm actually quite surprised that I enjoy this type of book because I was convinced that it was going to be very Lord of the Ringsy (even though I haven't even attempted to read the trilogy!). However, the language and the layout of the book is pretty different and also satisfies my over-active imagination by being set in a fantasy world with all sorts of weird creatures and lands.

Most of all though, I'm really looking forward to starting third year. I can't wait. My aims for this year are to be involved more in my societies and I'm even toying with the idea of setting my own one up. The prospect of having some hard work coming my way seems to excite me, probably because I'm slightly bored of bumming around with no concrete plan for the majority of the summer. My house this year is just beautiful and full of period features: high ceilings, fancy plasterwork and stained glass. Not bad for a student house! Of course I will miss my family and pets greatly (saying goodbye is usually a messy affair for both parties...definitely an occasion for the good old waterproof mascara) but I suppose that this is an unavoidable inconvenience of living away from home. Thankfully, I have a lot of things to be looking forward to back at uni so it kind of makes up for the gut-wrenching feeling of leaving home!

Another Day At The Pharmacy

Trust me, if you work in a pharmacy (or any health-related job) you are bound to witness some massively classic situations. They range from annoying to downright hilarious. The most frequent one involves being accused of losing someone's prescription and I must learn to keep a straight face when people pronounce drug names wrong. 

The staff don't help the 'being serious' problem either: half an hour this morning consisted of making suggestive and perhaps slightly vulgar jokes about Rolf Harris' recent charges...obviously there weren't any customers around! 

However, it's the interesting and funny things that keep me satisfied with working in a pharmacy. It breaks up the monotony of constantly dispensing and doesn't lead me to dread the job! There's nothing more satisfying than helping someone to solve a problem, especially when they show some gratitude, and even when they don't it's still a pretty nice feeling! 

Bank Holiday

Isn't it funny how when there's minimal structure to your life, the days just kind of blend into one and you have no idea what day or date it is?! This is me at the moment. I couldn't tell you what date it is today without looking at my laptop. It probably isn't helped by the presence of the World's most mundane assignment, which I'm currently trying to slave through. 

Along with the assignment, I've been frantically trying to sort out some finance things so that NS&I don't keep on sending me God knows how many forms through the post every week. I haven't been able to ride my horse either because the farrier couldn't shoe her last week. First World problems. 

However, along with all these annoying things, I have managed to finally set in stone my future life/career plans. Grad entry medicine is my main goal, so my action plan now is to ace my degree (surely knowing loads about drugs can only be a good thing for med school?!), increase my experience portfolio and just suck up the fact that it's going to be at least 2 more years until  can finally go to med school. In my opinion, I feel that having more life experience and a related degree under my belt will prepare me for medical school a lot more than going straight there after A levels. 

Anyway, I'm off downstairs to munch on some banoffee pie (diet will start tomorrow!) and wind down! 

My Week #2

Hi All, so this week isn't remarkable with regards to both events and presentation of my diary! 

In fact, the only thing this week's entry is useful for, is to show you what a typical mid-summer (non-studying) week looks like for me. Pretty uncluttered but rather ugly. I didn't see the point of colour-coding anything because I'm not majorly busy. Most of my weeks involves my horse and trying to complete miscellaneous to-do tasks! 

I'd say that the highlights of my week were:

• Finally deciding for good and telling my family what my future career plans are. After being unsuccessful at gaining a place at medical school 2 years ago, I have decided that I'm not going to give up and want to pursue GEM. 
• I got a beautiful lamp for my new house. It's a coral anglepoise and is gorgeous!
• I managed to do half of one of my assignments that I'd been putting off for ages. 
• I went for a fantastic ride with my horse - the first time we'd managed to gallop in about a month! 

What I'm Reading: August

Considering that August is the only month where I'm completely free to read whatever I want, I haven't made much progress with my growing list of books to get through!

Earlier, I read Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. Now, I must confess that I'm a complete Dan Brown addict so obviously enjoyed this book very much. It was focussed around a different character than in the da Vinci series and had a more modern twist, which was a nice change. Even my mum commented that I had turned into a book recluse whilst reading it...it was extremely gripping!

Then I tried to finish The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. For an unknown reason, I'm really finding this book hard to get through. It's an interesting book but I just seem to get distracted or too tired. Here's to hoping that I'll finish it before uni starts again!

As I've been spending more time with my horse, I've been refreshing my knowledge of equine behaviour by dipping into Kelly Marks' Perfect Partners & Perfect Manners, as well as  Monty Roberts' From My Hands To Yours. Fantastic books if you're into horses. Some of the points mentioned in Monty's book about body language and herd behaviour are absolutely fascinating.

So yes, I've still got a backlog of books but I'm making a little bit of progress!

Less Mr. Grumpy & More Little Miss Sunshine

Yesterday, I found this on Tumblr:

As I read through both sides, I (worryingly) noticed that more and more of my current personality traits were matching up with the portrayal of the unsuccessful person on the right hand side. Not everything matched, but quite a bit. This was not a good. It made me realise that I'm focussing on the current difficulties in my life instead of long term goals.

I'm too wrapped up in what I've failed in and how seemingly unfair parts of my life have been. However, what I failed to realise was that being in a constantly negative state of mind is not going to help me achieve my goals any quicker, or benefit my mental health in any way! 

So from now on, I'm not going to dwell on things and I'm going to strive to become more like the person on the left hand side. I need to stop criticising people as much as I do and start focussing on my own downfalls! 

Filofax or Lilly Pulitzer?

First of all, sorry for my huge lengthy absence! All I can say is that end of year exams + full time internship + being lazy = no posts! 

For a while, I have been seriously considering using my filofax as a more overall planner to include finances, family engagements, etc. So basically a desk-bound reference planner. For this to be practical, I would need to get another planner just for my academic stuff. The problem I have with using the filofax (personal size) for university is that I just can't fit assignments, classes and everything else on one day. I am also reluctant to lug around a bigger filofax due to the already-heavy weight of my bag! 

In high school, I was a massive fan of the Paperchase academic diaries, but my American friends are absolutely raving about the Lilly Pulitzer agendas. I don't blame them either. The designs are beautiful and they even come with stickers (appealing to my, perhaps dominant, childish side!). The colourful layout and inspiring quotes even encourage you to want to organise your life! 

Image from devonalanadesign.com

"Well why don't you just get one, then?" I hear you saying...one problem: I'm in the UK. Lilly does not ship outside of the States. The handful of companies that do ship charge a hefty £16.59 postage charge, on top of the price of the agenda, which is considerably more than your average Smith's diary. 

So, do I just bite the bullet and fork out the £30 something, or just make do with a UK one?! Have any of you guys had experience with the Lilly agendas?

The Wardrobe Diaries: Workwear Addition

In less than a week, I'm having my first taste of full time big-girl work. Very scary. The child in me wonders how the hell I've grown up so fast - it only seems like yesterday when I was taking the 11+, let alone facing a 7 week professional training post! Anyway, seeing as my clothing repertoire seems to mainly cover sloth-mode and party clothes, I had the perfect excuse to go and splurge on some new stuff. This was easier said than done - the drawbacks of being hourglass! - but I have managed to get some core pieces which should complement each other. 

I tried to buy clothes within the same colour palette in order to be able to mix and match and therefore save some money. One of my favourite pieces is the New Look crochet-shoulder cardigan (I think it was about £18) because it seems to 'pretty' up any outfit! Cardigans will be one of my staples as there is a 'bare below the elbows' rule - this also rules out any bracelets too. 

The idea of having a capsule wardrobe has always interested me, so hopefully I can put it into practice.  I also bought a black skirt and already have a dress. The lacy cardigan (£14.99 H&M) in the picture above is not actually black - it's this enchanting dark purple colour and is fantastic for  summer because it is very airy! 

Shoe-wise, I have a range of ballet pumps (black leather, cream suede (although these ones rub like a b*tch), pink leather), some brogues and a pair of mid-heeled patent court shoes. 

Being someone who is near useless with anything fashion-related, I'm quite proud of my purchases!

This Month's Necessities: May

Most of May has been taken up with revision and end of semester exams, so I have been residing in my bedroom cave underneath a pile of notes for the majority! Therefore, my favourites this month have come in useful more towards the end of May after exams. Here they are:

#1: Stabilo Mini Point 88 Fineliners

These pens have been an absolute godsend to me during revision week! My paperchase sign pens were OK, but I found that the tips blunted after a while, leaving you to play a guessing game on how to hold the pen in order to get a consistent flow of ink! These were £5.99 from Ryman and are perfect for carrying around in my bag due to their size. The range of colours not only made my notes prettier, but also (hopefully!) more easy to remember. 

#2: 17 Lasting Fix Nail Polish

For a fairly cheap polish, it's actually pretty good! My most recent purchase was the colour 'Forever', which is a beautiful oyster pink: very nude and perfect for summer. I wasn't expecting it to last so long. I put 3 coats on (no top coat) last Sunday and it is still going strong today even after a deep clean of my kitchen and various other gruelling activities! I'm in love with the colour too and am so pleased that it comes out the same colour in the pot. The photo below shows my nails tonight, and there is virtually no chipping! 

#3: Star Trek TOS Season 1

For non Trekkies, TOS equals The Original Series. This was my post-exam box set of choice and will always be my favourite Star Trek. I think it's something about the freshness of all of the characters and how young they are. The first season definitely sees the development of the Spock-Bones relationship, as well as an obvious retro vibe. Absolutely fantastic! 

#4: Soap&Glory Arch de Triumph Brow Pencil

My brows are dark naturally but I still like defining them a little more, especially if I'm a bit reckless with the tweezers! This pencil combines a natural dark brown shade with a creamy highlighter which really makes the brow bone stand out. The pencil is smooth and I have no trouble applying it. I've also found that the highlighter end can be used for cheeks too! I would definitely recommend this for fellow brunettes - I think it was about £9 from Boots, so not too pricey. 

#5: Scholl Party Feet Invisible Gel Heel Shields

These may not look too pretty but they saved me from embarrassing trip overs and awful blisters at the Summer Ball! I have narrow feet and slim ankles, so find it very hard to keep court shoes on. However, I was not willing to admit defeat when I found a beautiful pair of towering Kurt Geigers in this style. So I raided the footcare section of Boots and found them. The heel shields grip the back of the foot, preventing it from slipping out of the shoe. I think it's safe to say that they did their job very well - no falls or near misses! 

On another note, I've finished reading Under the Jewelled Sky. I couldn't put it down. It was bitterly heart-breaking as well as glittering with some fantastic imagery. Everything was so well described from scenery to the villains; I felt as though I was there in India. Definitely a recommended book! 

My Week #1

This is my first ever 'My Week' post as part of Paperloverstory's blog posts. This week's been quite an odd week because it was the last week of exams. I still had two exams left, so the majority of the week was spent revising for them! There's also the end of year Ball at the University to get ready for. All in all, it was a hectic but (almost) enjoyable week. It's so refreshing to not have to get up early in the morning and revise any more! You may have noticed that there's an abundance of cat stickers...I may be slightly obsessed with them!

My Filofax Setup

As a form of subtle procrastination, I have recently been tweaking certain parts of how I organise my filofax. I'm still not 100% happy with it though. I think the main trouble I'm having is managing to fit all of my lectures in to the pages as well as everything else, without it becoming an illegible mess! I'm seriously considering upgrading to a an A5 size for next semester or changing to a 2DTP diary, because I'll also be doing my dissertation too. I would also love to implement some kind of colour-coding system! Anyway, back to the layout. 

So, say hello to my loyal personal Chameleon in black! It's been in use for about a year and has weathered all of the chucking around etc. pretty well! I mainly use it for the diary/organisation side of things, as well as lists and other stuff. However, I don't really use the address section because I already have an address book.  

                                            

As you can see, I fully utilise the card holders - it's my purse overflow! I also keep my Paperchase cute animal sticky notes and some classic heart shaped post its stashed away too. The front is just decorated with patterned tape, although I am tempted to experiment with pictures and scrapbooking stuff too. 

                                          

Here is a (rather shoddy) example of what one of my term time weeks looks like. Usually it's busier than this, but all the lectures and other classes take up so much room/looks really messy! I like to space the lectures out on the page according to what time they are at so that I can more easily assess whether I have any blocks of free time for work or meeting up with friends/going to the gym. Saying that, my exercise regime has been steadily declining in quantity...not good! 

                                         

As well as having a WO2P diary, I also have a monthly one further back which lets me quickly scan for any events etc. The two tabs behind this are for my blog ideas, lists of things (books, wishlist, presents for people) and exercises. 

I hope you liked the tour and I would be very grateful if you have any ideas about organising my main diary pages more efficiently! 

Mental Illness and How We Try to Ignore it.

Browsing on BBC News earlier tonight, I stumbled across a quite frankly disturbing article. It described how Indonesia treated their mentally ill - by locking them up in institutions and chaining them to wooden platforms. Naturally, I was shocked by this. But then I thought, this isn't wildly different to how people with mental health problems are treated in this country. Disgusting does not cover it.

In the UK, it is deemed perfectly normal to visit your GP with a problem along the lines of mental illness. As long as nobody else finds out. The stigma still hanging over mental illness in this country is still staggeringly large, regardless of the recent publicity ads by Stephen Fry and other well known people. It just doesn't seem to make a difference. It still seems that the moment that you mention you have a mental illness, people back right off and (maybe unconsciously) view you as being some kind of emotionally unstable psychopath. Having only had limited experience of this type of illness, I am not fully qualified to start spouting off about what people should or shouldn't do. However, what I did notice was how keen doctors were on antidepressant medication even for mild cases. This almost gave me the impression that they still want to hush the disease down with minimal effort. Studies show that long term counselling is the way to go with depression, not just a bit of CBT and 'wonder drug'.

I find it fascinating how we can talk about people breaking bones or having non-psychiatric illnesses as freely as they can talk about the weather, and yet an awkward silence almost always sets in when things like schizophrenia or depression are mentioned. They are no different to any of the other diseases - the person suffering didn't make themselves get the disease and aren't 'contaminated' either. Just because it involves the mind, these people are subtly discriminated against. This should not be the case!

What I'm Reading This Month...

Now that work is about to calm down slightly (last exam of the year on Friday!), I wouldn't mind getting on with a bit more reading. I used to be a prime example of a book worm, but the ever increasing workload of a pharmacy degree has gradually stripped me of this title. Saying that, I have read two very good books this academic year: Captain Corelli's Mandolin and The Glass Blowers by Daphne DuMaurier. There's something about DuMaurier's work that makes it near impossible to put down. However, books seem to be collecting on my shelves at the rate of knots, so here is a list of my 'to read' list, along with several other titles.

1. Bad Science by Ben Goldacre. I purchased this book after jumping on the bandwagon at a book-signing after a lecture presented by Ben at my university back in March. I am hoping that it will prove to be a useful read, seeing as I've tailored my uni modules next year to favour Epidemiology and Drug Safety. The book basically exposes how the Pharma industry is ripping people off (and perhaps risking peoples' health) for profit, carefully hiding any dodgy clinical studies and trials. Sneaky.
2. Mere Christianity by C S Lewis. This book isn't very substantial in quantity, but a lot more so in quality. As the title suggests, it is a Christian book mostly outlining Christian morals and the reasoning behind them. Do not expect to be bombarded with backless wardrobes and various talking animals: this is a serious book. So serious, in fact, that I'm struggling to finish it. I'll have to chivvy along a bit though, because I'm sure the friend who lent it to me will want it back before the end of the semester!
3. Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth. Again, I started reading this book a few months ago when there was a lull in workload. The beauty of this book is that the chapters are relatively stand-alone, so it can be dipped in and out of. It is a fascinating view into the life of a post Second World War midwife and kind of makes me want to travel back in time. 
4. Under the Jewelled Sky by Alison McQueen. This is my Aunt's new book which is set in India around the time that British colonialism was falling apart. From what I've read already, it's a lovely flowing read with a spark of romance, and very accurate on the historical part too.
5. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. A birthday present from my house, in addition to the lethal food blender (0-fingers hanging off in 4.5 seconds).

There are various others, but this should stand me in good stead for at least the first part of the summer holidays, and will be an extremely welcome break from the (easily) foot high pile of textbooks sat next to my desk. 

Half Marathon Tips for Novice Runners

I must say that I'm more of a sport and yoga person, so when I decided to run the Bath Half, this was going to be my first competitive run. I learned quite a lot about what ideas are good and bad and thought I'd share them with you.

1. Start training EARLY. By early, I mean at least 12 weeks in advance of the race if you are already at a good level of fitness. If not, you're probably looking at about 20 weeks. Building up stamina is extremely important and will be extremely beneficial on race day. Build up the distance gradually - five to ten minutes each week is probably best.
2. Vary your training. Do 2 shorter runs a week followed by one long run, and maybe add some speed work in there as well. Also, add cross training to your plan. During training, I was playing rugby, going to the gym and doing occasional weights which probably helped maintain my overall fitness and didn't make me get bored of just running!
3. Don't worry if you miss a week. Missing runs because of injury or work commitments is definitely not the end of the world. Your fitness levels are very unlikely to decrease just because you skipped a run or two, and especially where injuries are concerned, it is important to take the training at your own pace. 
4. Food. Make sure that you're eating enough carbs to support your running - your muscles will thank you! On the days before the race, be a pig and eat more carbs than usual to develop a good reserve of glycogen for the race. More carbs, less meat is the way to go on these days. I personally ate bowls of pasta and porridge which seemed to do the trick. On the day of the race, get up early and have breakfast, as no one likes running on a full stomach. I made sure that mine was mostly carbohydrates (plus the obligatory peanut butter...I have a problem!) 
5. During the race. Try and enjoy it! Pace yourself and don't start off too fast. I promise that the adrenaline and crowds will spur you on to keep on running, and the feeling at the finish line is extremely rewarding! Listen to your body and don't push yourself too hard. Most importantly, do not compare yourself to anyone else - It's you and your time that matters, not anyone else's.
6. Afterwards. Get some liquid and a high calorie snack (mars bars or bananas are perfect) down straight away. This will prevent any nasty dizziness or faintness. 

The Bath Half!

So I did the Bath Half on Sunday. It was bloody fantastic. What I mean by that, more precisely, was that it was one of the best experiences of my life. Some of it was excruciatingly hard, but it has definitely taught me to persevere and carry on even when I least feel like it. This time last year, I would never have even guessed that I would have completed a half marathon. It is just amazing what our bodies are truly capable of if we challenge them with stress; this definitely shows that the mind has a lot of involvement in successfully completing tasks.

When I first arrived at the Runners' Village, I felt somewhat out of place in comparison to the lycra-clad, sinewy regulars with my fluorescent socks and high school hoody. However, during the race, an odd sort of camaraderie existed between us runners. Each of us were encouraging the rest and the crowd wouldn't stop cheering. I still think that it was this combined with countless prayers that got me through the whole 13.1 miles. The atmosphere was absolutely incomparable to anything I've ever experienced before.  

Afterwards, my legs felt like badly set jelly and I couldn't stop shaking. After a Mars bar and a supersize supper, I was feeling better but this did not prepare for what I was going to experience the next day. Stiff would be a huge understatement. Walking down the stairs took about 10 minutes and bending my knees were out of the question. 4 Voltarols later, I am completely recovered apart from a bit of quad pain. Massive respect to my body! 

So, would I do it again? Of course! 

My Filofax

Getting a filofax was probably one of the best decisions I've made in my life. I am naturally a quite disorganised person (if I let myself), but am easily motivated to organise myself as long as it's not too much effort. I bought my filofax at the beginning of my second year of undergrad, and have been using it ever since! After finally deciding on which one I wanted, I ordered the Personal Chameleon in black. I would have gone for a slightly more exciting colour, but at least black goes easily with everything and looks smart. The leather is of good quality and lies flat when open. 

That's probably enough filofax loving for one post, so I shall now proceed to tell you why it has been so useful. To me, this binder is an absolute Godsend if you are at uni or have a busy life. It gives you no excuse whatsoever to be lazy and disorganised. I can write down all of my deadlines and classes in the weekly diary, with a better view of the month available in my month on 2 pages section. The diary allows me to properly organise my week, meaning that I don't miss lectures and make the most of my spare time. The extra note sections also means that there's ample space for jotting down blog ideas, exercise plans, shopping lists...and the list goes on! You could argue that a smartphone would do a better job. You may be right, but never having been at one which technology, the pen and paper system definitely suits me better. 

The Bible in a Year

Having been born into a Christian family and becoming more in touch with God over recent years, it seems slightly odd that I haven't read the whole of the Bible. Actually, I haven't even read half. I decided that I really must do something to address this in order to explore my faith more, and this was when I came across The Bible in a Year. 

This Fantastic book is part of Soul Survivor's range, although I'm sure there are others available. It is organised so that you read a passage from the Old Testament, the New Testament and Psalms/Proverbs every day, breaking what seems like a daunting challenge into bitesize chunks. Having previously found some of the books of the bible quite hard to understand and apply to my life, this book helps by linking each day to the Soul Survivor blog, which gives more information and allows you to reflect on each chapter. 

I definitely recommend it!

"Be very, very careful about what you put into that head, because you'll never, ever get it out."

Thomas Cardinal Wolsey's well-known quote seems a little pessimistic at a glance, but is actually one of the most accurate facts on paper. It can work both ways. Memories are fantastic things. In fact, I regularly enjoy reminiscing about my childhood and am grateful that some moments I can still remember vibrantly. However, as always, there is a flip-side to our brain's fantastic ability to cling on to information. 

One cruel, self-spiting thought can quickly transform your mind into a very hostile place indeed. That one thought has the potential to ruin a life, or at least make it impossible for people to reach their full potential. Negative body image, non-existent self esteem and self-loathing are nasty little buggers who slyly wheedle their way in to even the most distant nooks and crannies of a person's head and cause carnage. Please, please don't let it. Your soul does not deserve to be ridiculed and belittled. 

Think of it as being a little bit like feeding a plant weed killer. After a while, the plant will diminish and shrivel up, unable to function properly. If it is cared for and fed nutrients, however, this plant will flourish and burst into magnificent bloom, developing a deep network of roots to support it. If you want a more fulfilled, joyful life, start with being kind to yourself. 

9th February 2013: Feast Day of St Apollonia and Others

Hello everyone. Long time no write. Why, I wonder? Well, to tell the truth, writing about my daily running progress and nothing else was getting slightly mundane. As they say, variety is the spice of life and all that. To get the ball rolling, I'm going to start with announcing events/incidents that are of some significance or amusement.

1. I made a lemon meringue pie last weekend. It may have looked slightly deformed, but it tasted bloody good. 

2. The next day, I managed to fall into a train. Yes, you read that correctly. I bucked the trend of just stepping onto the train from the platform with tremendous style. Tea went everywhere.



Ok, that's it. Unfortunately my life does not resemble a soap opera.

Training has been going reasonably well, as has my degree. I also managed to bash out a mini rant about body image and eating disorders for the newspaper tonight whilst sipping my cocoa. Good times.