"If I can't call you my own, I'd rather be all alone / than be with somebody else"

I can thank Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra for that lyric.

Moving swiftly on...

Has it already been 5 days since I last blogged? Time flies by when you're er...not blogging.


Photo: Tony Verdu Carbo (TonyVC on Flikr)


I've recently been giving a great deal of thought to how I spend my personal life. For whatever reason, I find myself sat in the house most nights feeling lonely. The life of a student is such that the hours are so irregular - and when I am at home, it's usually just to eat or sleep.

However, it's when I am home for the weekend and Jamie has his boyfriend over that I am reminded again how bad the romantic side of my life has been since I've come to university. I have yet to meet someone who I clicked with instantly.

-DISCLAIMER- This blog will not turn in to one of these "Woe is me, I'm all alone (and quite possibly desperate) blogs, because I'm not like that.



Photo: QueenSunshine

A good man in my mind must be:

-Clever
-Cute
-Intelligent
-Well read
-Humoured
-Kind
....and above all - not sexually promiscuous!

The problem is with this is that I honestly don't believe that Lincoln has this. The culture I know seems very...superficial. People I know who are in relationships cheat, flirt with others - and those who aren't get around quite a bit.

Of course, it would be rude and ignorant of me to make such sweeping generalisations, and in the interest of fairness I know a few people who aren't like that at all!

Herein lies the problem. A few weekends ago, I went to Leeds to celebrate the lovely Chris Cook's birthday shindig. I met the most lovely man. Let's call him "Dave". I had never met anyone like him before. We sparked like that (and I do recall after 30 minutes discussing Burmese politics!)

I left Leeds feeling more alive then I'd been in a while - however also very upset. Dave's job sees him travel all over the country, and as much as I would like to get to know him better, in reality given our workloads and distance this isn't possible.
I do however feel confident we will remain good friends - it would be criminal not to be.

It looks like it's back to the proverbial drawing board for me. After all, if people tell me I'm a nice guy - then it must be worth waiting for, right?


Photo: James Holden

There aren't enough hours in the day (or why there are but I complain that there aren't)

Photo: Mickie Flick

Note: This blog is also part of the subject I am blogging about tonight!

Many people will have often heard the phrase "procrastinators unite...tomorrow!" I feel this is increasingly becoming the case with myself.

The coming months will see deadline after deadline (and then some!) piling up and already I can see myself at the stage I was at last year - the stage I swore to myself I would never go back to.

Despite the fact I consider myself to academically able (and I can qualify that, I'm not just arrogant - much I did my English Language A level in a year and got an A) I have major, major problems with actually starting work! I don't know if this is a problem amongst all university students, or whether I over think things



...that's probably the case.

It seems to me far more convenient and easier to pin the blame for my lack of work on other things. I, more than anyone have a wealth of excuses to choose from. The Student's Union, my record collection preservation, Siren FM and housework (though not at the same time!) Particularly with the Student's Union, I find myself more compelled to say yes to whatever email or meeting request is sent.

I am also tempted to blame my working habits. I find myself most productive during daylight hours when there are a million and one other things to do.

I am by nature a friendly person - I interpret things like denying meeting requests or not putting in the extra hours in the office as a) a failure on my part and b) letting the SU down. For the first time in my life I have a situation where I would desperately love to help - and I probably put too much time in there - but I cannot because I have other things to do. I know I can do them, there just aren't enough hours in the day and it frustrates me :(

I am however, hoping that the looming deadlines will kick me up the proverbial jacksie and motivate me a bit more in the coming days. I do believe I am far too quick to criticise myself - maybe I have too high standards? In any case, I am quickly finding this blog a great place to nearly arrange my sometimes turbulent thoughts!



Also, since Dom McAndrew loved my last photo so much, here is another one I took whilst in Spain with my film roll. It was an open exposure night time shot :)

"Your next station stop will be Lincoln Central. All change please"

Wow, my blog title actually looks like it was written by a 5 year old. How embarassing. We all start somewhere I guess. Also, why do train guards say that?



It was rather cold and wet when my train pulled in. I'd been travelling for about 3 hours from Scarborough. I'd gone from views like this:

back to a tonne of stress - and I mean stress. It didn't help when the first letter I opened said "Dear resident, you have a house inspection today". Major FML moment there.

Looking back on my life recently there has been a lot of change. Looking at it with the "glass half full" mindset I am quite content about some aspects. My life in the Student's Union couldn't be any better. I love the job that I do, the people I work with and the general ethos of the environment. I can walk around university with my head held high when I wear that red hoodie.

It is quite often the case that people are too quick to criticise organisations such as this, but I can honestly say that after seeing the internal workings of the large creaking machine that is the SU, they honestly have students' best interests at heart which is nice to see.

Photo: David Daniels

I also believe I have changed a lot in other respects. For some bizarre reason I am now very houseproud. Having lived briefly with 500 books, a similar number of DVD's, and clutter coming out of my ears, I am not keen to do that experience again. My house looks very minimalist at the moment but I'm working on it!

I take more pride in my attempt to emulate the dashing look of the 1920's gentleman (hence the slick hair)and I've finally got myself another pocket watch (with chain) for my snowflake ball outfit finishing touch!

Just like the train which pulled into Lincoln Central the other day, I'm still rolling along (just!)

Now for no reason at all, here is a photo of where I'd love to be most right now. I took this photograph on my 1950's camera whilst in Spain. Simply adorable.