There's no place like home | Days 79-90

Last time we spoke, I was in Germany and under the impression that the dreadful illness had passed. How wrong I was. It continued. I worked for a week, but my time away had gotten off to the worst possible start and my mind set was terrible. So I brushed off the dust, shrugged off potential judgments from everyone else, and made a decision that would benefit my health. I came home. I knew when I made the decision that I'd regret it on and off when I got back, but in the end I knew it was what I ultimately wanted. I've gone through my entire life making decisions according to what people would think of me and how they would react; it was finally time to make a decision for myself. So that's what I did. 
Since I've come home, I've felt infinitely better. I've seen a few friends, burned a lot of incense, had some wonderful bubble baths and generally cleansed myself of a lot of ill will. In response to CVs I sent out before I left for Germany, I've even had a job offer for "Bilingual Customer Service Assistant" at the international desk at a local company. I start on July 1st. So it's home sweet home and quids-in. There have been moments where I've kicked myself for catching that plane back, but I know it was the right decision for my mental well-being, so I don't regret it. The happy days have continued, and here's what's happened since I last saw you guys.

As before, that's all of my instagram snaps since my last post. They were all happy snaps, so why spare you the joy, hey? It's worth noting that they go backwards in chronological order, so from the bottom up you can follow me home from Lübeln to Salzwedel, to Berlin, to the sky over England, and back to sunny Somerset. It's actually hotter here than in Germany, so that's a one up!    Until next time,

Bugs Ahoy | Days 76-78

Well darlings, I've had a terrible weekend! After arriving in Lübeln on Friday evening and preparing myself for a good five weeks of hard work and sunshine, I woke up at 3am with a stomach bug. This monstrous bug didn't release me until late yesterday; hit me so hard I couldn't even watch Criminal Minds; and left me with the mother of all stomach aches. Luckily, I'm feeling a little better today, so I've been at work in the kitchen and garden. 

So I've gotten rid of my bug, and hopped into the garden with the real bugs. Perfect. I'm sure things will pick up soon, but right now I'm definitely feeling a little homesick!
Until next time,

Ort Hopping: Three Cities and a Village Later | Days 47-74

I'm back! Apologies where they're due, I know it's been almost a month since anything even touched this blog; exams loomed and everything got a bit stressful. But that's over. And I'm in Germany! I finished exams, and with them my first year of University, and now I'm at a job in Lübeln. Rather than post 30 full size instagram photos to catch you up, I'm going to put some mini pictures of everything I've put on instagram since the last post. Easier and fast for us both. Here it is!

So from the top down, you see me burdened with exams and longing for a night out; my beautiful big sister's 22nd birthday; booking flights to Germany; the Flat K finale (end of exams celebration); house-sitting for my sister (cat and wifi included!); leaving halls; and the last 9 are dedicated entirely to Germany. 
I stayed for a night in Berlin - as you can see! - before every train in Germany, a bus and a taxi to reach Lübeln. More on Lübeln later. I'm back in business!

Amidst Exams | Days 41-46

Exams, exams, exams. Life's not too fun during exam season. Still managing to find some joy in my days though!

Caught Big Brother watching the moon

Retail therapy to ease the exam strain

Time for tennis with the niece and nephew

Fresh after a downpour

Discovered a funky new building in Manchester

It's finally sunny and they've boarded up our windows!

On the up side, I'm half way through my exams! Only three weeks left and then I'm completely done. Believe me, I'm counting the days. On a lighter note, I saw the new Studio Ghibli film, The Wind Rises, a couple of days ago; so expect a review!

Pies & College Tries | Days 35-40

The battle of the assignments is over, and 3/8 exams have come and gone. What does that mean? More revision! Not as exciting as it seems, right? Here's what I've been up to:

A Level History followed me to Uni

Last Essay knocked right out of the park

Reenacting Figlmüller's Viennese schnitzel with Libbi

Only 4 weeks left in this beautiful building

A trip to Pieminister was just what the doc ordered

Didsbury really is a sight for sore eyes

I have noticed that my 100happydays is slowly being overtaken by food, and it doesn't help that I've not had time for the gym for a few weeks. But unhealthy habits aside, with these assignments off my back, I've been able to put some more time into revision and the long awaited Locke review. So keep your eyes peeled - Hardy will be here before the week's out!

AFK and Assignment Overload | Days 27 - 34

Apologies are in order! I've been Away From Keyboard for a little over a week now, but some serious work has been in order. After arriving back in Manchester I realised how little time I had to do a veritable pile of work, so I had to knuckle down and give DormDiary a break. But I've kept up with my happydays, so I'll bring you up to date!

Currywurst at Bierkeller

My new home - Ashburne Library (with a side of Suits)

Staring out at the sun whilst being locked in the library

A post-Easter gift from my sister (gone in 5 minutes!)

The cutest gift ever from Lily - from Cambodia!

A break from study - a lot of laughs

One of my favourite Hopper pieces from May

Nostalgia for last year's travels to Budapest

While I've been seriously at my studies, I've still had time to live [apart from a couple of days spent in the library]. I'm going to be posting my happy days every fourth day for a few weeks - just until I've got a break in exams. Regarding the Locke review, it's in slow progress but it is on it's way - there's no way I'm missing a chance to plaster DormDiary with pictures of Tom Hardy. No way.
Have a good weekend chickens!

Locke and Lemonade | Days 25 & 26

Back in Manchester obviously means back at the cinema, so yesterday me and my sister went to see Locke. It's Hardy's new film, and consists of no less than an hour and a half of nothing but Hardy's face, with intervals of Andrew Scott's (Moriarty, BBC's Sherlock) voice. What could be better? Nothing at all, that's what.

Gotta love the smell of fresh cinema

Cloudy lemon-limeade for a cloudy day

More on Locke later though - a review is in order. Today I've not done much but started watching Suits [which is scarily similar to The Good Wife] and made myself a bout of cloudy lemon-limeade. I was trying to coax out the sun, but it didn't work. What did I expect from northern England?

Last Days and Homeward Trains | Days 23 & 24

I'm back in the city of eternal rain! To be honest I'm pretty chirpy about it too. I can't pinpoint why, but this visit home felt a little weird - I think Manchester is swiftly becoming "home", and it's strange when I'm back in the south. That said, I've had some very happy days over the past week:

Bulmers with my bud

Me and my sister looking particularly elegant on the train

It wasn't a long stay in the south, but I managed to see friends and have a decent amount of free food, so mission accomplished, really. The British sun decided to grace us with its presence on Monday, so me and Lantz graced the pub with ours! Fruity cider in the sun + gossip and a catch up always equals a good day. Today, on the other hand, was groggily begun at 6:45am. An early train was definitely not what the doctor ordered, but it was a relatively calm journey with my sister, and I've even managed to migrate to the library for a few hours and whack out part of an essay since I've been back. Success!

On another note, me and Libbi are headed to get our fill of Tom Hardy (who has been sorely missed on the big screen) tomorrow in Locke, so watch out for a review. Gorgeous pics of Hardy will be included.

P.S. August: Osage County review hits DormDiary tomorrow!

Banana Pancakes on Easter Weekend | Days 21 & 22

Hello chiquitas! I hope everyone's had a wonderful Easter, or just a wonderful weekend if you don't celebrate. You probably know what's coming up... Food-filled happy days photos, that's what.

Banana Pancakes in the making

A roast fit for a king

I've had a delicious weekend, that's for sure. Banana pancakes are my absolute favourite thing [and remind me of that great song by Jack Johnson - a super simple recipe kindly donated to me by my big sister which only has two ingredients. One egg, one banana. Mash the banana, whisk the egg into it, and cook like you cook pancake mix. Perfect. For our Easter Sunday we had a family dinner in a local railway station-turned-pub. They've got a cute old train carriage out back which they've converted into a restaurant area, which is really nice for a family dinner. The roast I ordered was actually a lot bigger than it looks in the picture [needless to say I couldn't finish it]. It's been a lovely, if very filling Easter weekend on my part, how was yours?

About Town | Day 19 & 20

I'd forgotten how much I missed people (and dogs) in Somerset. Actually, I knew I missed them, I just don't think I realised just how much. The snaps from the past 2 days:

My beaut of a best friend enjoying some spicy chicken

My beaut of a bear enjoying some quality time

Yesterday I went to town with Alice and we stuffed our faces with Nandos and Shakeaway [with intervals of shopping], which always makes for a good day. You can imagine my despair when I found out Mum had cooked a roast for dinner! Today was spent mainly lounging around with my beautiful black labs - Chrissie is in the picture; Poppy, the older one, is a little more camera shy! 
I do love seeing these loonies, but I'm still missing Manchester! 

Cityscapes and Skyrises | Day #16 to 18

Three days later and finally a blog post appears! I've been busy with packing and travelling to come home for a week, so I've been AFK for a few days. So it's three photos in one day today.

Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna

Owen's Park, Manchester

Sunset, Bath

That last one is definitely my favourite [see it better on my instagram] in terms of aesthetics, but the first is in terms of happiness level. Schönbrunn Palace was seriously beautiful; one of Vienna's biggest landmarks. It was a boiling hot day when we visited, and the hill you have to walk up to get there is an absolute killer, but it was definitely worth it. The middle is Owen's Park Tower in Fallowfield, and in front of it are my halls. I know that we're conditioned to think that cityscapes and skyrises are eyesores, but sometimes the tower can be pretty - especially this spring. The last is a picture from my bedroom window. I came home today, and while I'm ecstatic to see my puppies, my sister and my best'un, and soak up some long-awaited sun, I can't help but miss having an Ethernet connection [therefore flawless internet] while I'm snuggled up in bed, and corner shops open round the clock. I guess it's going to take a day or two to adjust away from city life? P.S. The Dallas Buyers' Club review is coming tomorrow!