Trying to get motivated

I'm going away for this weekend. I'm off camping with the climbing club to Borrowdale in the Lake District. This year we're self catering, normally all club weekend are catered and that's great, you can come in from a day out and food is cooked for you (yes I do help sometimes, but I usually spend all day Friday driving people round, and drive a minibus up there Friday night, and one home sunday evening so I feel justified in taking it easy!).
The camping weekend however is different, for a start the caterers have to cook for 40 people on underpowered camping stoves, and it's just a hell of a lot more difficult than cooking in a regular kitchen. so as a result cooking for yourself can be easier and nicer!
Anyway I have a mountain of stuff in my room that I'm meant to be packing and I just can't get started, the food is all sorted, I have my priorities after all! However my personal kit is another matter, I've really not even started. I'm trying to pack light this year as I always always take too much stuff, and it's not working, I have more stuff than ever!
anyway the sooner I pack the sooner I can go to sleep.....mmmmm sleep!

Feeling proud

Just a quick post as I'm meant to be working... still!
I'm feeling so proud at the moment, one of the girls I coached as part of my job at the climbing wall, has just won one of the rounds at the junior regional climbing competition, and is through to the national finals where if she goes I have a feeling she'll do very well! The reason I'm proud is that no one else had bothered coaching these kids, they were content just to let them mess about and have a laugh. I could see some of them had talent and wanted them to do more so I started trying to make them think about technique and how to climb better. The other staff didn't believe in sending children that young to competitions so had never bothered. How many children missed out because of this?
Anyway while it's her brilliant achievement I'm still happy for me because her Dad has said he'll miss not having me there teaching her daughter, and he's grateful for how much I did for her, and the others. Here's hoping she goes to the national finals and does herself justice.

I'm so bored

Sounds really bad when there is so much shit going on in the world but I am so very bored! I'm sat in the library (well they call it the Informtion Commons, but that's the uni trying to be posh!) again. Last night I was here till 8pm, Monday night I was here until 7 at least, and in the past couple of weeks it's felt like I've lived here.
I think it's been worth it, I have a busy couple of weeks before all my deadlines, so really needed to get organised before then. I think I've managed it,
6000 word dissertation on teh mammalian family tree- check
1800 word essay on a named area of reproductive behaviors- check
Introduction for group talk- check

Why does it feel as if I've missed something, no one else I know is this organised yet, I know why I'm this organised, but it just feels wrong to have done your coursework for 2 weeks before the deadline!
In case you hadn't noticed I live a relatively dull ife, for so long my sole aim has been to get through university and gain a respectable degree. Now it looks as if that is going to happen it feels odd. I'll be starting doing a teacher training course in September but it will be a very different lifestyle to my current one of such self motivated learning. Having said that, I'm bored, I will never use practically any of the information from this year in my future, and I have a lovely £4000 debt to show for it!

Spring is here

I was just walking up from university after a long day in the library (far too much coursework, far too little time!) and it occured to me that spring is here. We've had 3 weeks of sunny, very warm weather but no rain, so all the trees still had no leaves on them. This weekend however it rained, and all the trees are suddenly covered with leaves. Although it's still raining it's a pleasant drizzle, and walking along in the rain was actually pleasant. Winters in the north can be a little unpleasant, when it rains it's usually cold, and very windy, so even umberellas aren't much use!

Scottish Winter Climbing

Chasing The Cold
Uploaded by gazOmarshall

Not something I personally participate in, but it's a very cool video, and lots of my friends think scottish winter climbing is the best thing since sliced bread!

Fucking George Bush

It would seem that American government is determined to erode more and more of it's citizens rights, and turn ordinary people in to criminals by taking away their human rights.
The supreme court has just voted to ban 2nd trimester abortions even if the mother's life is threatened. If you want to know more then you can read more here.
Basically this law only got through because George Bush filled the Supreme Court with Justices who are ultra conservative, and think like he does. Rulings like this are threatening the lives of women in the United States. As far as I (and most people) understand the ruling means a 2nd trimester abortion couldn't happen even if the mother was going to die imminently. If a doctor did perform the procedure they could be sent to jail. Even if it obvious that complications are going to continue to threaten the life the doctor couldn't only perform the abortion that would save her life, even if the foetus had problems that would mean it would be unable to survive. Basically George Bush is putting the life of an unborn, possibly enviable foetus over the rights of a living breathing mother. I think that is wrong. There are people who feel far more strongly about this than me, and know more about it than me on Cecilys blog. Cecily is only alive because her doctor performed a procedure that will now be illegal.

Every little girl wants to grow up to be a disney princess. At varying points we all realise that it isn't going to happen! While some of us do get our handsome prince to sweep us off our feet, pretty much all of us don't get the castle, dresses and fabulous soundtrack!
Anyway someone has come up with a lovely test to see which princess you would be, you can find it here.



Not that I've ever watched Pochahontus, oh well, no pretty dresses for me!