This is 'The Imp'. 'The Ripple' got nicked last year. Me and the Imp are having a right good time together though, better than things ever were with the ripple.
This might be the start of a new blogging phase....
It's funny looking back at my last blogs...so much has happened since then. For instance, I am writing now from my new life in my new bed in halls in New Cross, London. For those of you who don't already know, I accepted my offer from Goldsmith's and started university just 2 weeks ago! Exciting stuff...it has been. Met the most people and some of the best people I have ever met in my life. I'm wondering whether I can/should keep this blog going. It is only now, a day when I'm so sick I can barely get out of bed, that I have time to write. Not many readers either, although it's good for personal reflection anyway. There is some irritating loud bass coming from somewhere a block down, and some odd noises coming from upstairs (i think) but it's generally ok. Apart from the fact there is a school playground right outside my bedroom window, and they often have whole days of PE in it. They can hardly call it a 'study bedroom' can they? But the library is great. I've been spending alot of time there. At first when I was given all the reading and assignments I have to do this year I freaked out a little bit, and still do on occasion, but when I got stuck in I thought - finally how refreshing it is to study something interesting. Which Anthropology most certainly is. So I'm looking forward to getting into the swing of things. This sickness being a minor blip. I have the nicest flat mates though, we are 8 girls from all over england, asia and america and we all get on so well. My bestie Soundus, who is in the room opposite mine, is especially brilliant and lovely and stayed in my room all last night looking after me when I was being sick. Don't really know what caused this but hopefully it will pass. Not had the dreaded swine flu yet - touch wood. So yeah, London is great so far, although I haven't ventured a lot further than London bridge and Greenwich. But that is mostly due to so much happening around here. I've joined just about every society, the ones I actually have been active in being Women's football, the Feminist Society and the Palestine Twinning Campaign. Last night we had a PTC hip-hop night at the union, and there is an annual trip to Palestine at easter which I think would be a great opportunity. I also have to write a letter to senior management of the university questioning their decision to give the university less scholarships for palestinian students than finally agreed upon after the students occupied the Deptford town hall last spring. I've been to an English session in Greenwich which happens on tuesdays (along with just about everything else I want to do) which was nice and friendly. Took along a German friend and a Norwegian. I have made good friends with many swedish people here and think this is great because we talk Swedish most of the time so hopefully I won't lose it. I am also joining Camden clog, which takes place this tuesday as it happens, but Michael Rosen is coming to speak at the student union for the Goldsmiths: Not for profit campaign. I would really like to go to that, so we'll see. Haven't met up with folky friends in London yet (well apart from Esbjorn from sweden who I've played with a few times), but there's plenty of time for all that. So maybe one day I'll get round to telling the stories of my summer and all that, but for now I'll leave you with some of my ideas which I thought were some of my better ones: bringing my thermos flask and dictionary, getting a sainsbury's nectar card. I wonder if I'm going to be sick again.
I do not know what happened there! It seemed like I would have time - I definately did have alot of time - to blog. Maybe just not much to put in it. Ah well...life seems to have got some order back into it after a hazy patch of sleepy oddness! And being on the doleness. I have a spare bit of day in Cath's new abode in cambridge, and I just happen to be arsed to do this.
Some of the things I remember from the last 4 months...
Firstly boring things: I have a job in oxfam bookshop on wednesdays, I have a proper job in my local pub/hotel otherwise which is not great but the only thing I could get really. It'll do for a bit. I'm still wondering what to do in september.. deciding whether to take up the offer from Goldsmiths to study Anthropology (not entirely a boring thing but trust me it's getting that way).
Not quite, though I am putting some pages back in order after she left the window open and the wind blew everything over. It's entertaining enough along with facebook while she's teaching her lecture.
Cambridge is really fun, especially cycling everywhere! Especially at night, after a few drinks! Only a few minor injuries...
So we've shopped, ate and drank in lots of nice places, saw some student music, met some friends, went to a session, and saw an amazing light display (for the cambridge university 800 year anniversary), and watched some Tom Hanks (always). Video soon. Cambridge university seems a really nice place, shame I got 3 Bs!
Well I sat for about an hour by the radiator spinning pennies, talked mental and put stuffed animals in a bin bag for charity. Then I had a bath and watched hollyoaks.
I have thrown away LOOOADS of my stuff.
That's interesting.
Isn't it just.
I wonder what they are doing in Bollnäs.
Tomorrow i'm going to ring the dentist. Rowan's coming back. We're going to see 'The Reader' and go for a family meal. Then we're going to a session. On Thursday I will teach my first violin lesson. On Friday I will go to the job centre. Then maybe me and Rowan will play at a gaza benefit gig. On Saturday I will go to cambridge. I will come back on Tuesday. On Wednesday I will have my first violin lesson back with my old classical teacher. On Thursday I will go to Newcastle. On Friday I will go to Edinburgh. I will see James. Maybe I will come back on Monday. On Tuesday I will go mental again.
I decided on sunday night (a bit out of the blue) not to come back to Bollnäs after christmas. For various reasons. I had already booked a flight home (with ryan-bastard-air) for friday the 19th, thinking it would be ok because i'm not taking too much stuff. OOPS! I didn't think I would be taking most of my stuff back again, on ryanair's 15kg limit. So I ended up carting boxes of my shit to the post office, on a little trolley, like an old man, and sending it. It was much cheaper that way. Also it means I don't have to carry it with me all the way home, major plus! Now my big suitcase is about half full so everything will wobble about but hey, as long as I don't have to pay massive overweight bills. So all week since I made the decision, it feels all i've been doing is eating, sleeping, packing and waiting to go home. Not practicing enough. But only today has it become a difficult decision, as i've realised there are people here who I will miss alot, and lessons I will miss from Fröken (classical teacher) and Jonas Brandin (folk teacher). SPELMANSLAG (which i've annoyingly missed the past 2 weeks). :( It feels like I won't be able to find teachers as good as them elsewhere! But that's probably largely because I am here now. What makes it harder though is that Fröken said to me, after the string orchestra concert tonight that I could begin classical after christmas and that I would be welcome in her class. ARGH! But I know that there aren't enough reasons for me to stay here, and that it wouldn't be worth it (also I have no money anymore, Cath is paying for this and it's expensive, probably a reason why I have guilt dreams most nights). Tonight was the school christmas concert, which was really good, and afterwards a jazz kvintett played a cosy concert just for us, they were really really good. I will miss things like that, they are just so nice! I think thats what started me off... I am worried that I won't play as much and therefore keep improving, but I also know you need to be more happy and inspired to feel like playing. I feel like i've had this experience and i've done it now, moved to another country, learnt another language which is a big thing really. Learnt things. I am a little worried as I don't know what's next but piss that, who ever does? I'll just have to see. I think it's quite exciting, like next I can do anything! Well it's exciting if i think about it like that, if you think i'm stupid, whoever you are, then shut the fuck up for always telling me to think positively because thats what that is OK! Normal anna would say i'm going back to shitty england to sit about at home trying to get some shitty job with nobody even in the shittiest place wanting to employ me. Somehow I find it possible to be in between positive/negative? Anyway, party time now, i'm not the only one leaving, Lina is too. I could pretend it's my goodbye party too, though only a handful of people know i'm leaving. The rest probably couldn't give a shit. I'll leave you with some videos of ethno this summer. Watching these, it hit me why there were cameras hovering around the whole week. See if you can spot me and matty and joe! And the end of the second one is cool, england plays out! And check out Marit's speech. Amusing. Ugh, memories seem to crop up an awful lot.
