I’ve spent the day with Dougal, my sister’s new pug puppy and my family. He’s only 12 weeks old, and what a bundle of energy he is!
I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship… On my part anyway!
Want to follow more of his adventures? You can see him on my Instagram page http://www.instagram.com/suzie81speaks
I’ve never been married, but after attending many over the years as a guest or as part of a string quartet, I have a decent idea of the sort of wedding I would like.
Picture this: a Christmas theme, held in a beautiful hotel in the countryside, with lots of candlelight, a simple ceremony and beautiful food, celebrated with a small group of our closest family and friends.
It turns out, one of my oldest and dearest friends, Charlotte and her partner John, clearly have similar tastes, and The Bloke and I have just returned from one of the most stunning weddings we have ever attended. Continue reading
In 2010 I was lucky enough to supervise a trip to America. With 58 students and 7 other staff, we visited three cities – New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. and as we were only there for a week our itinerary was jam packed with as many sightseeing opportunities as we could possibly could manage. (We actually ended up being stranded in D.C. for an extra week after the volcanic explosion in Iceland grounded all flights, but that’s another story).
In New York, we went to the Museum of Modern Art, which I was really excited about. During our visit we saw that there was a retrospective taking place, during which Marina Abramović, a Serbian artist performed a thought-provoking piece named ‘The Artist is Present.’ Sitting in silence, she invited viewers to sit directly opposite her at a table. Anyone and everyone could participate, but nothing would be said if they chose to do so. Intruiged, some of our students joined in and sat down for a few minutes. I noticed that after each person left the table she would close her eyes until the next sat down.
A few weeks ago, a story about the performance appeared on Facebook, and I instantly clicked on the video because of the memories I had of it. What I saw moved me very deeply… Continue reading
I had a nice day today. I wasn’t needed for any supply, just a small amount of freelance in the afternoon where I get the opportunity to work with some of my favourite students.
Consequently, today has been predominantly a day of doing very little. While I have always been more of a night owl sort, I am beginning to love the very early morning time that I get to myself on these days after The Bloke has gone to work. It’s quiet and peaceful and while I can hear my neighbours taking their children to school or heading for work, I can often be found wrapped in fluffy blankets and reading in my jammies, or watching make-up tutorials on YouTube. Bliss. Sometimes, it’s just nice to do nothing.
After I had finished my ensemble work (which always gives me a huge buzz), I spent some time talking to one of the older students. I’ve known her for a number of years now, and watched her grow from a squeaky teenager into an intelligent, articulate and talented young woman, and we have developed quite a rapport. She told me about a fantastic opportunity that she has been offered to spend time studying in another country, but she was torn about what she should do as she has spent the last two years preparing for university. Of course, putting off university for a year is no big deal – I took a year out myself before I started my first year – but I can see why she is a little daunted by it all… It’s certainly not something I would have had the nerve to do at her age.
However, it did get me thinking about her life in direct contrast to mine. She’s working hard and setting the foundations for her future. She has plans, goals and ambitions.
I remember when I was the same. I had a set of ideals as to what I wanted my life to be, and planned a series of medium and long term goals to reach by the time I was 30. And do you know what? I bloody well achieved them, only to realise that when I had reached the place I thought I should be, it wasn’t what I wanted at all.
I think the conversation this afternoon made me realise that I don’t really have any goals or ambitions anymore, for the first time in as long as I can remember. Instead, I’m happy to sit back, relax and do nothing. I like the idea of not having to go anywhere or plan for constant activities. I don’t mind living from day to day without a secure and permanent job. I’d rather live with less money and sleep soundly at night instead.
Odd how priorities change, isn’t it?
Cheers!
After The Bloke was given bad news last week, we were feeling a little anxious about what the future held for us, particularly with the enormous job change I’ve been going through myself recently…
However, it seems that the gods (or, as like to think, my grandfather) were looking out for us, and within the last few days everything seems to have gone in our favour. It turns out that there was a ‘misunderstanding’ and an ‘administrative error,’ which resulted in The Bloke receiving paperwork that he, apparently anyway, shouldn’t have been given and thankfully his job is safe, secure, for now at least. Yay!
Similarly, I went for a meeting today at a primary school that I have worked with previously, and have been now been employed in my second freelance contract in as many months. It’s taken a little while, but things are starting to take off, and I couldn’t be more grateful. After all of the worries, things can hopefully get back to a sense of normality, and I am hoping that this is sign of things to come. Thank you for the unbelievably supportive messages I received from everyone – it really was a comfort and much appreciated! Continue reading
It’s November, which means that #NaBloPoMo is officially underway, and for once I’ve decided to throw myself into it instead of hopping in and out.
The idea of posting every day for a month initially seemed quite daunting, particularly as I know that I’m going to be busy at work, so it’s a good thing that this last week has been filled with tales of family and friends, an epic blog party, a break up (not mine), wedding plans (not mine), How I Got Away With Murder and a large hall full of Lego.
However, it’s late and I’m up early for work tomorrow, so I thought I’d introduce you to the newest addition to the household. I bought him this afternoon, and can’t decide a name for him… Any suggestions?
It’s the end of my trip to Barcelona. It’s a slightly strange feeling – it doesn’t seem to have flown by, and yet at the same time only seems like it was two minutes ago that we landed.
I think, considering that we knew nothing about the city, we were incredibly lucky in our choice of hotel (despite the concierge adopting a permanent expression that reminded me of a young child sucking on a lemon), particularly for it’s easy access to the main metro line, the beach and the Gothic Quarter, which fast became my favourite place. Continue reading
It’s the first day of September, and there is a change in the air. It’s colder and raining, and my social media feeds have gone from pictures of smiling faces, barbecues and ice-cold drinks to desperate status updates that plead for a little more time before everyone has to get back into their daily routine.
For me, it’s slightly different – my summer isn’t quite yet over and I have a week in Barcelona still to look forward to… but what a summer it has been!!! At this point last year I was anxious, agitated and disappointed with myself at my lack of effort or achievement during the holidays, but at this very moment I can look back on an incredible time and be proud of everything I have done and the memories that will stay with me. I’ve travelled, visited friends, eaten beautiful food, and above all, I’ve laughed until my stomach hurt. Continue reading
I received the final wage slip from my school today.
Eight months ago, I made the decision that I needed a change. I handed in my resignation, started saving up and have been as frugal as possible in that time, but this morning as I opened the envelope I had quite a frightening realisation.
This is it. I’m on my own. Sh*t just got real.
The confidence I’ve been building up has withered a little – I know that I have steady work lined up, and if I’m very careful it will be enough to live on, but what if? What if it all goes wrong? What if the work dries up? What if I get to Christmas and find that I won’t be able to pay the rent? Continue reading
Happiness.
Ask those around you what their ultimate goal or ambition is and most will inevitably give the same answer: to be happy.
It’s something that everyone seems to aim for, and yet, nobody can give a specific definition as to what happiness actually is, predominantly because it means something different to each individual. It can’t be measured or compared. I see endless amounts of blog posts about it on a daily basis – where to look for it, how to find it, lists of advice and projects to achieve it. Indeed, I’ve done a number of these sorts of posts myself. I also have no doubt that I could visit my local bookstore or go online and find thousands of books on the same thing. So many of us, myself included, are constantly reflecting on our existence and making a conscious effort to examine the levels of happiness we feel in a specific moment or a period of time in our lives. Continue reading
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