2011

Hi everybody.

Apologies for any lack of posting. My main reasons for it are a lack of time, energy and interest, a million other things to do and ~R having discovered this blog. I let her use my laptop and I think it appeared in my history.

As such I consider this blog semi-finished and myself semi-retired. My life seems vaguely on track now and it's time for me to start again on new projects. I think that I may pop on occasionally for my own benefit, but any updates here are going to be very, very infrequent. I like the idea of blogging so I may start a new one.

Anyway: here are my new year resolutions for 2011:

1) Get fitter, lose weight (same as every year, and same for most people)
2) Stop procrastinating. Just do stuff.
3) Blog on any one of my new blogs at least weekly.
4) Be happy.
5) Say yes more. Not all the time, but just more.

AcidCat

Happy New Year

Hi everyone! Happy new year!
No posts for ages, sorry. I've been really rather busy. I don't know if there will be a catch up post or not, but at least let's start the new year by posting stuff...

Summary of 2009

• Relationship with ~R - I had no idea I could get someone I had sought after for so long.
  
• Still at med school, passed all the exams but don't really know enough.
• Still on anti-depressants, mood still fluctuating.
• Went on an explore round bits of Asia. Mixed experience, but I learned a lot from it.
  

New year's resolutions

1. Be happy
2. Keep ~R happy
3. Be nice to people, especially my family
4. Work more efficiently - work when I work, play when I play: keep the two separate.
5. Get fit. Actually go to gymnastics and master the flips I want.
6. Make the most of where I am now. Don't compare it to where I could be/should be.

There's loads more things I want to do, (blog more regularly, see more friends, take up new activities, turn up on time to stuff) but they're less important. I think 6 resolutions are already too many, but then again they can be summarised more briefly to.

1. Be happy and appreciate how good my life is.
2. Be nice to people.
3. Be efficient.
4. Get fit.

Which seems much less over-whelming. 1 and 2 are most important, 3 and 4 may be more challenging.

Anyway, good luck to everyone, and may you have a happy, successful and prosperous 2010!

AcidCat

Chinese New Year resolutions

Just got back from a Tube station themed party (I pillaged the nearest hedge, and with the benefit of copious sticky tape and staples, went as "Bushey" - without realising that Bushey is only an overground railway station and not an underground. Sigh. The costume almost doubles up for Green Park or Wood Green) which I wasn't very keen on going to. I was thinking of ditching it as I wasn't in the mood up until climbing into the cab.

As you might be able to guess as I'm now writing this after 5 am, I had a lovely time, really enjoyed myself and was thoroughly glad I went. I received a lovely compliment from a friend (L----) who didn't realise I was having second thoughts about medicine, who said that I would make a good doctor and said I was very talented and that I had a lot of charisma which in his opinion was a large part of the battle with doctoring (this coming from a guy who is super-charismatic). The whole evening shows an advantage to saying yes.

So, in honour of this, and as I made so many New year resolutions that I lost track of them, here are my Chinese new year resolutions...

1) Be Happy.
2) Be Focussed (i.e. when working I'm going to work, when playing I'm going to play. I'm not going to mix the two).
3) If I don't know whether to say yes or no, I'm going to say yes.

3 resolutions seems reasonable. Let's do it!

AcidCat

Happy New Year!

It's Chinese new year today (well, technically as I'm posting after midnight, it was yesterday).

Anyway, happy year of the Ox to you all.

I've had a fabulous night out tonight with fun, food, fireworks, friends, flatmates and the fantastic one.

A bit of an awkward moment when my love life or lack thereof was discussed, right in front of my loved one, but it was a great evening all the same.

Let's hope this year gives me the resilience, willpower, and damned stubbornness of the Ox!

AcidCat

Back and badder than ever

Back to halls, ready to start a new term on Monday.

Timed quite nicely as I had a bit of a row with my mum, so was probably time to go.

I had a pretty good holiday. Not that rock and roll, not that relaxing, but it was a good one. Was very good to see my folks and see some friends. Job's a good 'un.

Now time to kick some medical bottom.

Bring the pain!

AcidCat

Resolutions

200th post!
I'm a big fan of New Year's resolutions. People who don't make them "as they'll just end up breaking them" come across as too defeatist. In my opinion, I'd rather try and maybe fail... and I've got plenty of stuff I'd like to improve in my life, so new year's resolutions seem like a good catalyst to spur me on.

So here are my resolutions for 2009:

1. Be happy and be positive. (The most important one)
   
2. Do constructive acts, avoid doing destructive things (inspired by a NYE conversation with K--).
3. If I'm not sure whether to say yes or no, I'm going to say YES (Danny Wallace rules!).
   
4. Be focussed and motivated (i.e. Work hard, play hard).
5. Get fit. (A perennial one, I've made some progress in the recent past).
   
6. Do unto others as I would like them to do to me... especially to my friends. (They deserve it. I've realised the friends who I can rely on are really wonderful).
   
7. Man up, grow a pair and suck it up! (As I said, not just a resolution, a way of life!)
   
8. Be happy with myself on my own, being comfortable as an individual and comfortable in my own skin. Be confident. (This one's the most challenging)
   

Let's go and have a fantastic 2009!

Good luck with all of your resolutions.

Love
AcidCat

Review of 2008

It's the end of the year, so I've been spending a fair amount of time looking backwards at how everything has been this year. This is a review of the how 2008 has been for AcidCat, not in general for most people... I daresay it's been a good year for British cyclists, and a bad year for Andrew Sachs and Russell Brand, but I digress...

• Finished my PhD!

This was a hell of a long time coming. It swallowed up 4 years of my life, and gave me a hell of a beating. On the other hand, it did help teach me resilience, and I met some fantastic people and it was a very thorough challenge. Also the viva was quite satisfying and enjoyable in retrospect. I'm very glad to have finished it and ended a major chapter of my life.

• Worked at AZ

I fell into the pharmaceutical job almost by accident, but ended up really enjoying it. I'll admit that many of the co-workers there weren't that friendly, but almost everyone I was lucky enough to share a lab with were incredible and made my time there very enjoyable. My boss was brilliant and extremely supportive (I've been very lucky on that front historically), and even his boss was nice to me. It also gave me the chance to allow me to redeem myself to chemistry (and for chemistry to redeem itself with me). I realise that I was a good chemist, and had there been a job available for me there, I could still be there now (having said that, I don't think very much of Loughborough).

• Started at medical school

This was a scary experience. I'm still not sure I've made the right decision on this one - maybe I should have stuck with the chemistry. I don't know if I feel smart, dedicated or hard-working enough or even if I'm cut out to be a medic. Having said that I do enjoy the challenge, and its certainly not boring.

• Started to feel happy again and made new friends.

When I got my place at med school, it said that the halls were in shared accommodation. I dreaded this when it happened. I haven't had a single experience of shared accommodation where everyone who started in the house together left as friends. I know the petty annoyances that happen, and I know that other people annoy me, and they get annoyed by me. Recipe for disaster.

However, the flatmates I've been given have been a real blessing. For the first few weeks where I really felt homesick and that I'd made such a bad decision, J-- kept asking after me, and chatting to me and making me stick with it for a little while longer. The real turning point was when my flatmates discovered my birthday which I was feeling depressed about so didn't tell anyone about (combination of not wanting to get older and not thinking any friends would do anything if I did make a big deal over it), and they threw me a surprise party. I was completely blown away by it and it felt fantastic that people would do that for me. It made me feel that I fit in, which is something I've been chasing all my life. I've had so many fun, crazy evenings with the kids in my flat - my birthday, the discos, the dance lessons, making apple crumble, the dinners (Xmas dinner was a real highlight), the ice blocks!

I've met some really lovely friends in general (mostly fellow coursemates and friends of flatmates), who are kind, fun, clever, funny, sweet and generous. They've been wonderful and often say such kind things about me. If they keep this up, I'm in danger of increasing my self-esteem and confidence.

• Getting over my ex, fell in love again

One person in particular has been in my thoughts heavily this term. She's fantastic, and she's helped me realise that maybe my ex wasn't the only person out there for me, and there are other people I would love to spend the rest of my life with. It's really helped my healing, even if my chances of getting her aren't brilliant.

All in all, it's been a good year for me. 2006 was a complete bitch for me. Getting dumped basically summed it all up for me. 2007 was the hangover from 2006. 2008 was where things started getting better. Things have just been going quite well for me. The Prozac does help with coping when things go pear-shaped, but life is just getting better, which is making me a happier person. Let's hope 2009 continues this upward trend!

Love to you all, I hope any new year's eve celebrations you may be attending are fun!

AcidCat

Happy new year

Hi everyone.

Last post of 2007.

I made it through alive.

I'm having a quiet evening in. Subjecting my long-suffering parents and kind brother with my presence.

To all of you who are not having a riotous new year party, I'm thinking of you.

Happy new year to everyone. Let's hope 2008 is better for everyone.

Love
AcidCat