6/6

6.40pm- Hello everyone! This is a celebratory post as I have just finished my last summative essay for this year. I only have the exam essays to write now...! I've even done some reading for my seminar tomorrow and am now going to relax for the next week and a half. We went out for a friend's Birthday last night so I'm quite tired today. I didn't go to my lecture today in order to make sure I finished my essay. I made sure I popped into town however to send my Mum and Grandmother Mother's Day cards and grab some fruit from Tesco. Tomorrow my friend and I are going to a pancake cafe with the other girls and then we'll be going out to celebrate my Birthday tomorrow night. I had the first of my Epiphany essays back today and I'm happy because it was a high 2.1 and I didn't think it would be anywhere near that. We have a talk tomorrow morning about exam preparation and revision. I can't wait for the Easter break but know it will have to include a lot of revision for the exams in May. At the moment I'm just feeling very happy that I've managed to get everything done by my Birthday, and the deadline on Friday. I can definitely say it's an improvement on last term! I'm going to skype my best friend from home tonight and it will be great to catch up with him. Now that work is out of the way I feel I can enjoy all the end of term events such as concerts and society parties. I even managed to watch the news on iplayer just now! Much love to all.

Early night

11.30pm- Hello everyone! I've had a strangely lazy feeling night tonight. I ordered packed dinner from John's this morning so that I wouldn't have to go to dinner and could eat and work in my room instead. I changed into what I call "essay clothes" (leggings and a hoodie) when I got back from lectures and have only left my room to make tea! I've now finished the reading for the fifth out of my six essays and will start to write it tomorrow. My personal deadline is to finish both by Sunday. My friend and I are both celebrating our Birthdays next week and so I know that I won't get much work done after Monday. I am very excited to finish and am starting to get the end of term feeling. There are various events being held in the next few weeks and there's a general feeling of people starting to look towards Easter and going home. I can't wait until the break. I'm now especially excited as I've discovered I will be seeing a number of AC friends and I truly can't wait! I'm going to Formal tomorrow night and I'm really looking forward to it. It's a special formal- Jazz Formal which means there'll be music during dinner and then a Jazz-themed event afterwards. Quite a few of my friends managed to sign-up too so there'll be a nice group of us. Well there isn't really much else to say apart from the fact that I've been busy working quite a lot. I'm very tired therefore for the first time since I'm not sure when, I'll be in bed my midnight! Love to all.

Half-way there

11.50am- Morning everyone! I realise it's been a fortnight since I last wrote on here so my efforts to write regularly this term haven't been very successful! I've just come back from my last seminar of the year (!!) in my African module. I love that module and so am actually sad that we won't be having any more seminars. Most of my other modules seem to have at least one more seminar however. I've now written three out of my six essays this term, although I did all the reading and wrote the one that was due on Tuesday on Monday! I had a small lapse into last term's ways...! I am now reading for my Reformation essay and I have set myself a deadline for Saturday. I'm quite busy these next couple of days however so we'll see how that works out. I ran Toastie Bar last night and we had a great group of people in the kitchen so we danced a little and had some good laughs whilst also working quite hard. Tonight is the John's JCR meeting and despite saying last time that I wouldn't go again, a close friend is running for an Exec position and so I will go along to support her. She's going for an uncontested role however so I'm sure she'll get it but she still has to hust (seems rather unlucky!). I went to Newcastle with one of my friends and her sister last weekend and we had a great time. It was so good to relax, explore somewhere new and get out of Durham for a while. Everyone is talking about the fact that we finish for Easter relatively soon and I can't wait. At the same time however, in my head that also means I have more essays to write! I'm looking forward to having a week at the end of term when all my essays will have been submitted. I've just picked up my glasses from the opticians! I booked an appointment last week as I've been getting headaches and finding it hard to read for a long time (which is a problem for historians!). The optician said not to wear them too often and only if I'll be reading for a long time yet I was shocked at the difference when I tried them on earlier. Reading was so much easier and I think I may now actually be able to concentrate for longer whilst working! I can hear the Cathedral clock striking which means it's time for lunch! Love to all.

Work and play

11pm- Hello everyone! Time seems to be flying and the approach of the end of term means one thing- deadlines! I am trying to be more organised than last term as regards reading for my essays but I still seem to find myself rushing to do seminar work. I had forgotten that I had a seminar at 10am this morning until yesterday afternoon! I'm trying to balance my time between seeing friends, going to various events and working. This week I have spent lots of time skyping with old AC friends. I always love talking to them but I was having a period of definitely not loving John's earlier this week and so I think I naturally wanted to talk to those who know me best. I'm very lucky in that I also have some wonderful friends here however and it's hard seeing everyone as much as I'd like! Yesterday I visited a local hospice and will now be working on a project organised through John's to volunteer at the hospice. I found it a very fulfilling and exciting afternoon for a number of reasons. One of those is that I met some lovely fellow Johnians from other years whilst walking to the hospice. I always love meeting new Johnians and there are definitely some great people here. We were given a tour of the hospice and told about the various ways we could potentially help- directly with patients, admin etc. I definitely want to work with people if possible but am very much looking forward to taking the project forward in whatever way possible the next couple of weeks. My voluntary work was one of my favourite things at AC and I know that doing something similar here will make me feel more fulfilled and happy. The results of the JCR Presidential elections were announced at President's Formal last night. I didn't sign up for Formal as I was doing Toastie Bar. News of the result spread quickly however and although my second choice candidate won, I am still happy with the result. I think the new President (aptly called John) will be a very good one indeed. Incidentally, he will now spend 5 years at uni as the Presidency is a sabbatical and he was already doing a 4yr language course! Am feeling rather tired so will say Good Night now. I love Fridays and tomorrow I'm having the usual 'Friday Lunch' with one of my best friends and then we're going to do a little shopping before heading to a fundraising event showcasing African music at a local club tomorrow night. Night all.

Sun after the snow

10.30pm- Hello everyone! I'm in a rush but today has been a good day. I woke up early this morning but instead of going to breakfast decided to go for a walk in the sunshine. It was definitely the right decision as this beautiful city looked wonderful in the snow. The photo below does not do it justice but does give you an idea of the wonderful views I see as go about my life every day.

On another note, today was extraordinary as we finally found a house!! We're very happy and excited and feel that we have found somewhere we all love. Bring on next year! Night all.

Snowy Days

Hello! Durham somehow seems to have managed to escape the snow which is affecting the rest of the UK. I find it rather ironic that the South suffers its worst Winter in a number of years when I move up North! We've had snow on the ground here for over a week now but from what I've heard it's nothing near as bad as the amount that's fallen down South. I'm getting rather fed up of the slush and grey skies and would really appreciate a little sunshine now! I've spent the past couple of days house hunting, which is proving to be both rather hard and exciting in equal measure. We went on a long wander around some popular student areas of the city yesterday and are now trying to settle on a house which offers the best value for money. I think the tea and cake break that we had in the middle of our trip is an indicator of things to come next year! We then had an unplanned house bonding party last night- lots of good music and games before heading out to town. I'm having a busy but great week spending time with lots of different people. Even my 10am seminar after a night out wasn't too bad this morning! Tomorrow I have two lectures, instead of the usual one. My BWS lecture was postponed from last term will be at 4pm tomorrow. I'm meeting a friend for our now traditional 'Friday lunch'- a sandwich or panini and a good chat somewhere in town in between my two lectures. As I write this I can hear the usual sounds at this time of night- drunken voices from Cuths trailing off down the Bailey as well as cars turning because of the dead-end outside my window. Add to this the cathedral striking every 15 minutes and it makes for quite a performance! I'm happy to be snuggled up inside with a cup of tea and listening to the Les Mis soundtrack whilst slowly falling asleep. Night all.

Epiphany term

7.30pm- Hello everyone! I have been back in Durham for almost a week now. I was not especially looking forward to returning after spending a month at home for Christmas. I had a lot of time to reflect over the break and eventually managed to overcome some doubts I had about uni life. I have come back re-energised and determined to make the most of my time here. It has been rather strange getting back in to the John's routine but I have started feeling more settled now. I am going to ensure that I'm involved in a wider range of activities than last term. I have just completed my CRB check and will start helping out with a project that is being set-up between John's and a local hospice in the next few weeks. I also attended my first Durham Union Debate last night (which, incidentally, was on gender equality in the workplace) and a few friends and I have decided we are going to make it a Friday night routine to go to the Union. This week I have spent time having coffee and cooking with John's friends and also catching up with people in my lectures. I am determined to be more organised in regards to work this term however I have not got off to the best start. We're having to sort out houses for living out next year which is quite time consuming. My housemates and I are going to start arranging viewings on Monday but it is difficult balancing budget limitations with location requirements and requires a lot of patience! I am very happy with the 5 friends I will be living with however and that is the most important thing. Ironically it appears as thought the North East has escaped the worst of the snow which is affecting the rest of the UK. There has been snow on the ground here all week but it has been a little heavier and more consistent since last night. Walking down the Bailey as snowflakes gently fell in the orange glow of the streetlights must be one of my highlights of my time in Durham. The weather has affected the catering in John's and so we had a "picnic" dinner- soup and salad (served by the Resident Tutors instead of the kitchen staff) on polystyrene plates with wooden cutlery. It was quite amusing trying to eat soup with a tiny wooden teaspoon! I am off to watch Chicago in the college DVD room with friends now. Love to all.