electives

it's a great feeling being this close to christmas holidays. have under two weeks to go to end of fourth year exams and as with most exam periods, life gets nice and simple. my inner aspergers'y kid doesn't like change, and enjoys routine. so waking up, having a leisurely breakfast, getting some revision done, heading to the shops, taking my time to cook dinner and calling it a night early is some kind of bliss. fortunate not to have anything / anyone else to care for, and to be able to retreat into this selfish self-indulgent world is a luxury i'm not counting on for much longer. 

as part of my arsenal of delaying tactics (oh yes, there are plenty!) i finally got round to elective proposals and risk assessment forms. such fun! and having been there, done that with a crazy exchange in stockholm, the wanderlust isn't as strong. stockholm was life-changing, and the best 6+ months of my life. it's still a period i reference a little too often in conversation, have friends (hopefully for life!) from, and languish in amazing memories of hazy corridor parties and the feeling of absoulute freedom. i've such a soft spot for stockholm and am almost scared to visit because i know things will be different, the people i'd grown to know and love aren't there any more, and the magic is likely to have faded some in the five years since. gosh! five years! feels like yesterday. so that's my roundabout way of saying that my last 'elective' / exchange, call it what you will, set the bar so high that nothing could ever top it. 

in a perfect world, i'd go on elective in the caribbean, sip rum and lie in the shade for a lazy eight weeks. but alas my inner workaholic (good friends with the inner aspie) wouldn't allow that to happen. there's also a husband in london to be with, and family in singers i've sorely neglected the past couple of years. reality, huh. thank you parents, for instilling this work ethic that i'm constantly at odds with. every time i want to take the easy way out and do absolutely nothing, i imagine their disapproval and get spurred on to make an effort. so much for self-motivation!