Be in a TV audience - DONE

Not only was this in itself a fun and exciting task, it was even more exciting that it was for one of my favourite programmes and it all just fell into place. I found a website where you could apply for audience tickets, I applied for a few shows and thought it wouldn't amount to anything but a few days later I got an email containing 2 e-tickets for 'The Last Leg' on channel 4. Whoop!!!
The Last Leg is a comedy panel show with three anchor comedians, Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe, and 1 special guest each week. However we were lucky, we had David Mitchell as the official special guest and a little cameo by Jonathan Ross for a special rant! It's generally quite satirical as they discuss current events with features like 'The Bullshit Buzzer'.
Being in the audience was actually quite surreal. At times I found myself thinking more about how weird it was than actually paying attention to the show. And an occasional camera in the face made me quite self conscious and losing focus. And it felt a lot more quick paced than it does on TV. Granted we'd been there a while but when my friend and I watched the show back (yes we'd both recorded it) both of us had totally forgotten about some of the material and topics of discussion at the beginning of the show because it just seemed as though it had happened forever ago!
Never the less it was a very fun way to spend a Friday night, another huge perk of living in London and it was free! Highly recommend applying for TV audience tickets.

5 Random Acts of Kindness - Number 2

Don't actually want to go into much detail about this one. But what I will share is that it was Christmas Eve and a stranger was at the point of desperation. I decided to embrace some seasonal goodwill and I'm glad to say that others followed my lead.

That's the thing about kindness, more often than not it generates more kindness. A ripple effect. I know it's a bit of a cliche that it was Christmas Eve, kindness should be demonstrated every day of the year but spreading goodwill during the festive period is better than not spreading any at all. We can never have too much happiness, kindness and goodwill in the world and more often than not it's free to pass on.

Move out of my parents'...again! - 4/30 DONE!

Ohhhhh it's been manic, but I've done it. I've moved to the city that for years I was convinced I'd never want to live. London!

When I applied for the job that brought me here I was feeling extremely adventurous and happy-go-lucky...and the more trips I made to London during the recruitment process the more confident I became about spending time here and ultimately living here. And I realised I've actually got quite a good social circle in London, something that in my line of work you need. Well I think it's fair to say you need it in any line of work; that was something that was missing towards the end of my previous career and as I became more miserable in my work life I lacked people to turn to over a pot of tea or bottle of wine. Ultimatey I think that the lack of support I had around me just amplified the misery I was experiencing at work. Looking back maybe it was for the best, after all, if my work related misery had been subdued then I may have stayed there longer and my life wouldn't be as exciting as it is today! 

Anyway, I digress! I've moved out of my parents house (again), left my home town (again) and moved to The Big Smoke!

I'm currently in staff accommodation just while I find my feet and while it's almost like being back in halls (less parties I'm glad to report) it's OK for now. My room is spacious enough for everything I crammed into the car but the facilities are really basic, to my horror there's no wifi and haven't even got a signal from the likes of BT or O2 cloud...at times I do wonder if I'm a really in London! But I'll be moving again so it's fine for now.

The task was to move out of my parents' house and while I've achieved that I've not found a home yet...but that will be rectified in the next month or two :)

Graduate - DONE

Well there have been times I thought this day would never come. It has been a long journey with a good measure of turbulence along the way and occasions I was tempted to go back to my old life in retal...but a larger measure of excitement, happiness and fond memories. And I'm very happy that I stuck it out, completed this degree to become a midwife!

Today was graduation. It was lovely to see my cohort and catch up in person rather than facebook, most of them have already started their jobs; throughout our course we'd share stories of our placements "this happened, then that, and that other thing was kinda scary,but OMG this other thing was soooooooo amazing!" And those exact same conversations were aplenty today.

 
I was told by a wise midwife, that soon after they became a NQM they had been reassured by an even wiser midwife. Jobs like this are like learning to drive; the real learning begins after you've passed your test and you start flying solo. So I am just going to keep telling myself that and constantly remind myself that when I first drove after passing my test I was terrified, I made errors, I learnt from those errors, I stalled all the time, took ages at junctions and hill starts and used to always ask for help/direction with parking. But now I'm a very good driver and a great parker who advises my sister on how to maneuver the car into tricky spaces from odd angles. I still stall sometimes but it's OK.

So no matter how often I stall as a NQM, it won't happen forever and I WILL get to the point where I'm helping and advising future NQMs.

I just wish I'd realised sooner that I'd be graduating from the University of Slytherin!!!!

Next on the list - Move!

the big build up

I've not deserted my blog, promise.
It's been a mix of things recently, had the worst and longest cold imaginable which put me in hibernation mode. Further delays with starting work so I've been getting poorer and poorer and more frustrated twiddling my thumbs and crazier with cabin fever and boredom. But it's all about to kick into place...or start to at least.
In the next fortnight I'll be graduating, moving to London and starting my new job. So it'll soon be all go! Things are about to get intersting :)

5 Random Acts of Kindness - Number 1

I was given this bag as a first year student midwife by my niece at Christmas. I was overjoyed she'd bought it for me as I'd seen it online months prior, liked it but hadn't purchased it and regretted it. So a bag, a fairly normal tote bag, I was as giddy as...well, a child at Christmas lol! And this bag came to uni with me, digging into my shoulder as I hauled around the likes of Mayes' Midwifery (one of the bibles for midwifery students). And stuffed to the brim during placements with food, personal learning logs, lighter textbooks, uniform and the sexiest orthopedic-looking shoes imaginable. This bag was almost always with me.

When I finished my training I figured it's time to shed the L plate. I was a bit sad, I love this bag and shared my sorrow on various social media platforms that it was time to stop using it. And someone got in contact asking where I got the bag from, they were about to start their midwifery degree and said they LOVE this bag and need this bag. Well there was only one thing to do. I sent the bag to them, this inconspicuous bag can see another midwifery student survive the hard, long slog of three years with L plates!

The spinster!

This tweet came up on my twitter feed and really made me laugh. 

The town I live in is almost 10 years behind the times! I tell people I don't have kids and their response is either of surprise or "Oh, I'm sorry." I don't need an apology or the tone of pity in your voice, my baby-maker isn't broken...well I've no indication to make me think it is. I was once told by a midwife I know that it's easy enough, I don't need a man in my life but I should crack on and get my head out of the clouds waiting for love! This was a rare occasion I found myself speechless. 

I've been asked so many times why am I still single, don't I want a family, am I the other way inclined?! My answers are I don't know, yes, no but why does it matter?! 

As Kelly's tweet suggests, times have changed and in most forward thinking places it's perfectly acceptable to be 30, career focused but still want a family. Just as it's equally as acceptable to be settled and secure with family life.  Whatever you choose just make sure you're happy! 

P.S. Happy 30th Birthday Kelly Osbourne 🎂🎁🎉, welcome to the club, it's pretty cool!