One more sleep.....

Ok, so there is one more sleep (if you can constitute it a sleep considering the time I have to wake up) until I leave the country for a year (lol, I originally accidentally wrote month.... imagine).

So yeh, wow this is scary, like really WOW, this does not seem real, there are no words. All my things are packed, all (ok, well most) of my things have been sorted out, copious amounts of people have been added on skype.... other than sending off various information to student finance (and lets me honest most people probably have menial tasks like these they chose to ignore), everything has been done. I am ready (physically to leave, but am i ready (mentally) to leave?

I think i have gone through every emotion in the past two minute, let alone the last couple of months. Fear, excitement, the feeling i could throw up at any given minute, sadness, to name but a few.

To be honest i'm not really sure what I feel and I am really not sure what I have got myself into. Every body keeps on insisting that i will be having the best time of my life and have an unforgettable experience, but the uncertainty is killing me. How can they be so sure and have so much faith when I, myself, do not? 

However I have decided to embrace every experience, take every opportunity and have a little trust in the people I know and love and believe them when they say it will be ok. 

So for now, I must dash as I have paperwork I need to sort (gosh I sound so mature) and things i need to do before my departure. No doubt there will be some sort of panicked post from me tomorrow or Thursday when I am alone and stressed/tired.

But for now Bon Voyage!!!

Lucy  

p.s. follow me on twitter @lucytillett if you are into such things....  

Cleaning, revision and other such nonsense

So my last post was on NYE which was two weeks ago today. Been lacking in the posts a bit but I HAVE been a busy bee.... (I probably can't talk about it all because of the sheer boredom i would be imposing on you... and as some of you will know, i defiantly won't be able to remember it all....) 


So yes, since the new year on my 'to do list' I have done a fair amount, not as much as initially planned, when to be honest when does that ever happen for anyone anyway? 


I started the new year with a step in the right direction... I actually made it to the library!! Where I looked at some books for my dissertation. However this is the only work I have done for my dissertation and although I did read a good amount I still feel I have absolutely no CLUE what I am doing. Apparently I'm meant to be finding primary sources, but how am I meant to know what ones I am looking for? I can't just simply type in 'good primary sources about religious Anglo Saxon women' (I know, I know, my topic is more than a bit loser-ish....and yes I did pick it myself). To find good/relevant primary sources you literally need to read through them ALL, and pick out the best, however at this point in time i really am not sure what constitutes as a good one :/ .... so I'm in a bit of a pickle over that. But at least I have started now :)


In the first week of my new year me and my mum also decided to clean my room, which was a massive task to say the least, but 4 bin bags, 2 sacks of clothes to sell on ebay (added to the four I already have going...) and 2 bags for the charity shop later (which was a long time later, 5 and a half hours to be precise) my room was amazingly clean! 

Obviously the photographs have all been taken from different angles  (and the top one is a before and the last one is an after!), but i think you get the picture (please ignore the dirty clothes on my bed as well, cringe).
I also rearranged my room (something I love to do, much to peoples annoyance) and now i have moved the bed to its original position which is nice as now I can reach the light switches and house phone without moving from bed (score). 


Later in the week my two friends (I shall call them Bev and Buckeroo for the purpose of this blog)  visited, which was absolutely AMAZING! On the first night we met up with some uni friends and then afterwards the two girls and I hit up Faces, a standard Essex night out 10mins away from where I live. My friends were shocked to realise that the scenes from TOWIE are not as fake as they originally thought and the luminous orange colourings isn't just the editors playing with the contrast. We all had a splendid night out and partied until the early hours of the morning. The next morning (at 6am, which i was most defiantly not pleased about) Buckeroo caught her train/ferry to Holland (yes, Holland in the Netherlands (she is also on a year abroad)). So it was just Bev and I left for the rest of the weekend. To be honest we spent all day in bed and on the sofa recovering from our night and then decided to go out again, this time, to Shoreditch. To be honest I'm not really sure what me and Bev spent the whole night doing besides running around and causing havoc (something which i am known well for doing on nights out at uni).  


So many random things happened, such a Bev pretending to own a bar and attempting to chuck out some people to us conversing with a security guard for 10mins about the pros and cons of each club and trying to guess his name (which we didn't get right needless to say).


I have been trying to meet up with as many people as possible before I leave, I have successfully been to the pub several times, been for some lovely meals and also been to one of very good friends 21st, all in aid to try and get quality time in before I leave. To be honest this whole leaving for a year thing has really really put into perspective who my 'real friends' are. It's sad that some friendships have ultimately come to an end, but hey that's life and you gotta do what you gotta do! 


What I am finding very difficult currently is trying to balance meeting up with my friends, revision and sorting out everything in my life before I leave forever (well for a year, but to be quite frank it feels like forever). Its been getting really stressful because every time I chose seeing my friends over revision as I know it could be the last time I seem them for a year, however I don't seem to have any voice in my head that spurs me on to study (earlier in the week my mother caught me in the pub when I said I writing an essay, not my finest hour). But I am slowly making progress (my exam is on Friday... less then a week probably should try to speed up!),  AND earlier in the week I did complete an essay.... so I'm not ALL bad.


I am doing two history and film modules so there is a lot of viewing material I need to get through (Ben Hur is currently on in the back ground...have no been paying attention at all so I fear I may have to restart it), however watching films never really feels like revision and I do feel like more than a bit of a revision failure. However I did do some PROPER revision today and although it took ages it felt good, I actually feel like i might know what I'm doing in an exam for once... (saying this i will probably fail it now....)


Anyway I think I have waffled on enough, sorry about the length of this post, maybe if i post more consistently they will be shorter and more entertaining. It is now under three weeks until I leave, so hopefully these blogs will become more Australia based.... and I will have some more, exciting news to share with you all....


But for now, I am going to watch Ben Hur ( when i say that I mean play on my iphone with my new photography apps a la 'instagram'), and love every minute of it.... 


Lucy xx

NYE 2011...

So, it is NYE 2011, and unlike the majority of the population my age in England I am sad to say I am not glamming myself up or already drinking for the night ahead.


NYE in my eyes in a bit over rated especially in London as it is SO expensive and SO crowded which is part of the reason I have not attempted to sort out anything, but also in my eyes tomorrow is just any other day, my new year does not begin until the 1st of February when I embark on my adventure across the globe.


Since my last post on Thursday I have not done much on my to-do list however I have managed to actually create lists of things I need to get through for revision and I have also looked through some past exam papers. Everything now, seems much more manageable (well the exam revision does anyway, I'm still working on organising the dissertation and planning my essay...)


I have also managed to sort out my baggage being upgraded from 20KG to 30KG which although is certainly not enough, it much more acceptable in my eyes. I might actually be able to bring more than two pairs of shoes now. So that is something else which I have also achieved


Tomorrow/tonight (if i don't fall asleep first... which is quite likely to happen before 12pm, (my mum is already snoozing on the sofa)) I will be watching some DVDs for uni and then do some reading on said films so hopefully that will kick start my revision (I am feeling more organised by the second).


I am also VERY excited for next week, two of my best best friends will be visiting me in London so I want to get some work done before then so I don't feel too guilty about spending all my time drinking, laughing and messing around. Therefore after that I will have much more interesting things to tell you all (hopefully), and maybe my blog will live up to its name (without the abroad part yet, obviously..).


Anyway I hope everybody had a wonderful holiday season and has an amazing NYE whatever they are doing...


Lucy :)

Just to add..

Also, just to add as a side note. Upon reading some articles on Hotmail today I found this ...http://news.uk.msn.com/uk/12-things-to-look-forward-to-in-2012

note:


'Total solar eclipse...These don't happen too often, and this one should be spectacular. The bad news? You'll need to fly to Australia to see this wonder of the natural world in all its glory. A total solar eclipse, which occurs when the moon passes between the earth and the sun, will take place on 13 or 14 November, depending on where you are in the world. It sounds like the place to be will be Cairns, which will experience two minutes of totality just an hour after daybreak. Let's be honest though: this will be a television event for nearly all of us'

Just saying....

Lucy

33 days, 20 hours, 12 minutes, 58 seconds

33 days, 20 hours, 12 minutes, 58 seconds is the amount time until I leave for Australia about,38732 minutes. 
Does that sound like a lot to you, because it defiantly doesn't to me...


Maybe I should explain my plans a bit more (for anyone who doesn't know...).
I am currently in the first half of my third year at the University of Leicester, studying ancient history and history. However on the 1st of February at 10:55 I am jet-setting across the globe to Australia to spend a year there studying, ( I am completing the last half of my 'third' year in February 2013).


I have created this blog to keep people I know updated on the going ons in my life whilst away (as inevitably I will be rubbish at keeping in contact no matter what i promise), but also so people can try and see what it really is to go abroad alone. I will try and update this as much as possible, but you are warned i am crap at this sort-a -thing!!


Ok so not it's only 33 days, 20 hours, 7 minutes, 14 seconds until I leave and with every second I am growing more and more worried/scared/excited/anxious and things are becoming more real.
My flights are of course booked, my visa has been sorted out obviously, I have been covered by the universities insurance, I have been accepted for my accommodation, I actually have a little money in the bank now, however I still feel so ill prepared. 


I am actually travelling to Singapore for 3 days and 2 nights (by myself) and to Melbourne for a week (by myself),  and I am beginning to think that this was an awful idea. Although i have been travelling before (with my friend Sophie for 2 months around SE Asia), everything seems really new and daunting. I have no idea where I will be staying, what i will be doing for these 10days (so if anyone has any ideas PLEASE let me know!). And on top of these anxieties over the holidays (which I am already a week and a half into) I have an essay, two exams and a dissertation I need to sort out (naturally have not started any of these), plus working a job (as i am poor and want to afford to have fun in OZ) and seeing my friends (for what could be the last time in a year!). I also have to sort out all my medical records and ensure I can get all the medications I needs prescribed to me. Needless to say I am a nervous wreck, but not many people know it. I am like a swan... no more like a duck.... composed on top but struggling underneath to keep everything going and paddling for my life. 


But today is the day things change... (I hope). I am going to make a revision time table/tick list of all the things I need to ensure I look at (if my printer ever decides to work again), I have also had a massive clear out and have thrown away about half my wardrobe so I can begin tidying up my room and finding everything i need to pack for OZ (i found my Hollister hoodie and a top which have been  been missing for months WHOOP!) , I am also going out to see some of my beautiful friends tonight and have a good time before my stress levels hit the roof, i have picked up my prescription of medicine i need to take with me and i will also begin making a comprehensible folder of all the 'important' documents and information I need to take with me abroad. 


This is only the beginning of sorting out my life/degree however I think I need to think of things in little chunks so I can handle it all, the big picture at the moment is just TOO big for me! 


Anyway, if anyone wants to help me organise my life of be my personal assistant until the 1st of Feb please speak up now, if not, please wish me luck! I will post before I leave to give everyone details on how everything is going! 


Lucy 


p.s. Its only 33 days, 19 hours, 46 minutes, 10 seconds now....