at your wit's end?

Ok so I reckon that many people will be feeling a bit stressed and worn out by the time it comes to the Christmas holidays. I have a funny knack of always getting sick just before Christmas. Maybe it's my body's way of saying "whoa! slow down there pal! you need to be careful!"

But isn't that what we should always be saying to ourselves? My friend recently told me of an experience where she felt her late grandmother was telling her to slow down while she was driving. She did slow down and narrowly avoided a severe accident.

"Slow down?" It's easier said than done. How many times have you just stopped to enjoy the view? I often come across a spectacular sunrise/sunset or view and it makes me gasp.

There are so many wonderful things in the world that people are just too busy to stop and enjoy. It is much more necessary at this time of year to stop being busy and just take in what Christmas is all about - a wonderful gift from God to all of us.

So next time you feel at your 'wit's end' just think "whoa!" stop and smell the roses........

have a wonderful, restful, spectacular Christmas x

I'm back

well, it has been rather a long time since I last posted a blog. I'd like to say that things have been really hectic and I've been too busy but that would be a lie! In all honesty it was more a case of putting it off and doing other more immediate things (procrastination maybe?). Anyway, to go with the new look, an update on my current position is needed I think:

• I now have a job as a speech therapist working with adults in Lanarkshire, 
• my sister is engaged, 
• I have been in my longest running relationship so far and am still happy, 
• the houses beside us are now almost completed (picture to follow), 
• I have been teaching dance for the past 4 and a half months but will soon be almost retiring to begin my new SLT job in January.
  

And it's only 1 week until Christmas! Time seems to be flying past in a blur of indistinguishable shapes and colours. It really makes me appreciate the time I have to just stop and think about all the wonderful things that exist in the world and people who make them even more wonderful. I'm very grateful for the time I have to enjoy these things as I'm sure I won't have as much time in the future to think...

hmmm......

The End

Well, I have finally reached the end of my university course. For those of you who don't know, I've spent the past four years studying Speech and Language Therapy. It is one of the toughest courses out there (believe me I know!) but it's finally over.
I have to say, I'm actually quite sad that it has finished. I was only just beginning to get used to the idea of being a student. Come to think of it, it's only been in the last year that I've really gotten to know the other girls on my course (albeit there were only 11 in my class this year). They have become really good friends to me and I cherish the time we have spent together.
It is also really scary being finished. It's like all of a sudden I have to grow up, become an adult, start working in a real job, earn a salary, be responsible... I don't know if i'm ready for that! But at least I have the summer to be a student (my student card doesn't expire til September so I can still use it to get discounts on my shopping!).

I don't know what the future holds for me, but I like it this way just now.

I'll just have to wait and see what happens!

Under Construction 2

You may remember I posted a picture about the site being 'under construction'
well, the photograph featured there was taken from my bedroom window. I am currently living next to a building site. However, that was the view a few weeks ago.

This is the view now:

This is the 3rd house to be built so far. It's amazing how quickly these guys can throw together a 'luxury villa' for someone to live in. Believe it or not, there are 16 luxury villas bein built on this site, so my family and I will have to adjust to having neighbours. We had gotten so use to being quite isolated and surrounded by open space. But now, it feels like nothing is going to be private anymore.

It will take some getting used to!

You may also notice that the beautiful, old beech tree has gone too. This saddened me the most. I love to rejoice in the beauty of the world, I think that is the reason that God created the world to be so amazingly diverse and rich in nature and colour and beauty, but it upsets me when something so beautiful can be destroyed in only a few seconds. And believe me it was detroyed! I guess that goes for a lot of things in the world though. The most beautiful and innocent things are the first to be destroyed and eliminated by man's destructiveness. I hope that out of this destructiveness can come some creativeness.
I plan to plant some tree seedlings in my garden after all my uni work is finished to try to restore some of the earth's beauty. Wish me luck!

cherry blossom and pigeons

As promised, a photo of the beautiful cherry blossom trees that I have the pleasure of seeing on the walk from the train station to my university campus.

Something I also had the 'pleasure' of seeing on the way to uni was a rather unfortunate dead pigeon. I happened to be looking up as I was passing under the railway bridge - you see, if you don't look up, you run the risk of being 'splatted' by the pigeons sitting there, as they tend to use people for target practice - and there was a pigeon lying belly-up in the net under the bridge.

It inspired this poem:

'Ode to a pigeon'

Oh dear pigeon, so grey and white

If only you knew of your terrible plight.

Maybe it's wrong, or maybe it's right,

that you should have died there some time in the night.

How did it happen? Did you die of fright?

Or did you get caught up in somebody's kite?

Who would have thought that your final flight

would have ended sadly in this awful sight

Oh dear pigeon, grey and white

I hope that you flew towards the light.

(c) Ailsa Cunningham, 2007

An old man sat in a chair

I recently visited an elderly care home as part of my uni course. When I was there I got to know some of the residents and learned a bit about their histories.
This story is adapted from something that happened while I was there.

An old man sat in a chair. He didn't speak for he had no need. He passed the time watching television or slipping quietly into his memory. He dreaded mealtimes. Incapable of feeding himself, he had to face the embarrassment and frustration as piece by piece fell into his lap. Then came the 'thickened fluids', like drinking wallpaper paste. All to ensure he stayed healthy.
An old man sat in a chair. No family, no friends, and only the nurses to pretend to care. He waited. Every day he waited for the monotony to end. Endless games of bingo, old music,and made-for-tv movies. No longer able to wear smart trousers and shirts, he was forced into jogging bottoms and mismatching sweatshirts, as the end of his dignity crept nearer.
An old man sat in a chair and his world went dark.
An old man sat in a chair surrounded by old men and women. All huddled around one bright light as the room got colder and darker. Men hammered and drilled in the darkness as food and drinks were distributed among the rest. Heat escaped and the daylight faded as his hope began to fade. He drank his wallpaper paste and ice cream, for sandwiches and cake would choke him.
An old man sat in a chair.
A young man sat on a chair striving to restore the power. Darkness seeped in as heat escaped and hope began to fade. And then a spark as light returned, power had been restored.
An old man sat in a chair as a young man entered the room. The old man looked and a spark ignited a fire in his mind. The young man looked at the old man and joy beamed from his face. For this young man was the old man's son, hope had been restored.

Sometimes, when we think that all our hope is gone and we have nothing left to do, God will show us that there is always something left to hope for.
This story was based on an actual event. I cannot describe the look of joy on the old man's face when he met the young man. It will live with me forever.

foxes and cats

I saw two foxes crossing the raiway line today while I was waiting for my train home.

I also saw a really big siamese cat crossing the railway line. It jumped off the platform at one side and leapt easily onto the platform at the other side. It seemed completely unphased by the train rapidly approaching...

cherry blossom

i love this time of year because the cherry blossom is so beautiful. walking up to uni in the morning is not a fun task, especially when there is so much work to be done but the cherry blossom makes me happy, cheers me up and calms me down, ready for a hard day's work!
it is also a great stress reliever on my way home from uni after working really hard.

also, the chestnut trees are green. the leaves have grown from buds to nearly full leaves in the space of a few days, making the world so much more green and luscious.

it's amazing to stop and look. to see the beauty of nature, the simplicity of leaves and cherry blossom.

you should try it.

stop and look at the cherry blossom

(*picture to follow when I remember to take my camera with me)

Under Construction!

I have unfortunately been subjected to a horrible illness which took over my life for some time. As a result I have been left with a mountain of work to do for my university course as well as many other committments. Therefore, I do not have time to update my blog regularly (no time to even procrastinate!). So it shall remain 'under construction' for a few months until I am free of the constraints of the institution I have sadly grown to dislike so much. I do take some pleasure in knowing that it will all be over soon after the final push, but it's the final push I really don't want to have to go through. Maybe I'm just being lazy, maybe I'm trying to avoid doing any work. The truth is I am not a studious person, I'm a practical person. I'd much rather spend my time doing something with my hands/body than sit at a computer and write (oh the irony).

Anyway, I hope that you (if anyone actually reads my blog) will look out for some serious blogging by the end of May!

Here's hoping!

xxx

Princess of Procrastination

I was going to write about this earlier but I kept putting it off!
Isn't it strange how we find anything else to do other than the thing that actually needs done? I have 2 essays due on Monday and instead of writing them I find myself doing something - anything- else!

Anyway, I should get back to work...

Virus update

this may be getting slightly boring now but I have been asked to mention that it was my dad who fixed the computer :)
Thanks dad!

the weather

it's snowiiing!!!

check it out!*












(* not an actual depiction of the current weather condition
outside, but a view from my garden of snow in 2005)

well, today I am blogging from my own computer! It has been resurrected (although it still can't run off the battery). What a relief!

unfortunatey, I have a lot of work to finish, so I can't write more today.

Stay tuned for some stuning pictures of the picturesqu town of Strasbourg in the East of France, near the German border.
Here's a wee taster to whet yout appetite!

enjoy

virus: update

Well, I have recovered after 20 days of illness (it's longer than it sounds). Sadly, Bob has not. I feel I may have to lay him to rest, grudgingly, although backing up all my files may prove to be a huge task - especially when the processor only works for 2 out of every 5 minutes!

Oh well, anyone fancy lending me some money?

Viruses :(

Well, I am currently recovering from a slightly debilitating virus that has lasted for about two weeks, leaving me tired, cranky and full of mucus (yuck). Unfortunately, I was unable to enjoy Christmas or New Year as I had planned due to my illness, but luckily I have many people to look after me and I am now on the mend! The downside of this is that I have two lovely essays waiting to be written by monday, plus the next part of my dissertation along with several other projects :(

My well-used and faithful laptop (known as bob) is currently suffering from a similar ailment, in that it is unable to perform any tasks in less than 4 hours - including opening a folder on the desktop - and, when he does work, he does so with an infuriating slowness that I have been tempted to throw him out of the nearest open window (which happens to be about 15 feet above a concrete and gravel ground). Bob has fallen victim to old age. Purchased in October 2003, he now has no battery life and requires to be plugged in before starting up. I have already had to pull the plug twice today because he has frozen and refused to do anything except beep aggressively when a button is pressed.
At the moment I am running a thorough Virus scan. It's been going for about an hour, has scanned 15417 files and is only at
C:\Documents and Settings\Ailsa... ! That means It'll take several hours to complete. What are the chances it finds nothing?

You're probably thinking 'no wonder it's taking so long, cos she's writing this at the same time, using up available memory etc.' but I am actually working on my dad's very swish new(ish) apple
MacBook. Yum! It's very lovely and I want one to replace bob (sniff). Unfortunatey, I don't have a spare £749 to get one :(

Oh well, just have to stick with bob for a while longer. Hopefully it will have finished scanning by the time my dissertation is due in May.
Here's hoping!

(we're now at 15588 files scanned!)