April update

It generally seems to be the case that once something in your life starts to pick up speed, everything else does too. My life has changed quite a lot over the last week or so and I'd like to think that it's all pushing me in the right direction.

Well, to kick things off, I submitted my dissertation last week! I was editing it until the minute I sent it to the printer and I still feel like I might have missed something. I'm not too bothered about the grammar etc on my blog posts, but I can be extremely pedantic about the smaller details when it comes to my academic writing. References in particular are a pain, especially when you have six pages of them! Now all I have to do is make a poster version of my dissertation and present it at the student conference in a few weeks and then it really will all be over and done with. I have to say that seeing it bound made it all worthwhile (although in the photo below you'll notice that I tactfully covered the corner of the right-hand copy because I had a bit of a technical mishap with the binding machine), but I won't be writing anything like that again in a hurry. On the plus side my next essay seems like nothing. (3000 words?! Pssh! That's child's play!)

A few days after that I moved house. The original plan was to move back to our hometown after I'd finished uni, but we've actually just moved a few streets down the road! A new Tesco Extra is being opened here in Lincoln and it's provided a great opportunity for Alex as they're trialing some exciting changes, but that means that we really have to stay here for a while longer. We've moved in with a couple of friends to cut down on the cost of living (which is extortionate, by the way), and that'll also help us to save money for our big trip to New York!

We've only been living in the new place for a few days, but already I get the impression that we're going to be quite happy here. I'm going to miss the flat, and personally it's been a little difficult for me because I'm so sentimental about these things, but the memories aren't going anywhere. The flat was a wonderful first home for us and I'll never forget the times we've had there over the last three years, but it's okay to be starting a new chapter. I'm always so wary of change and I shouldn't be.

I took a few terrible photos of the flat before we cleared everything out. This was one of them.

On a similar note, now that my time at university is coming to a close it's time that I started looking for a job. I've already had one interview - it was the first one I've ever had for a paid position so we'll just have to see how it goes. Even if nothing comes of it, the experience of having an interview was useful. I've learned that volunteering at uni is just invaluable because it gives you plenty to talk about even without work experience - I really pushed myself over the last couple of years to make more out of the opportunities that were around and I'm so glad that I did. The fact that I was uncomfortable with getting myself out there to begin with was the exact reason that I needed to, and I think it's done me the world of good.

...so that's it for now! I'm planning on writing a couple of book reviews soon(ish) so keep your eyes peeled for those!