I worked at the Next Sale for a few days in the holidays, on top of studying, and on boxing day I had a shift from 6am to 1pm! Luckily, I was treated to an afternoon at William's afterwards, so he let me chill out and restore my faith in humanity. Present exchange was cute, as per. He got me a proper hand warmer, that stays warm for 9 hours and then you can reuse. What a dream :')
I was also lucky enough to go and see my wonderful older brother in Germany during the holidays, and it was a necessary and appreciated pick-me-up. We went for long walks, including a 3 hour walk up and around a mountain, ate delicious dinners in Alex's apartment, and had one meal at a nice restaurant. We explored the town, saw some pretty cool monuments, and mum and I had coffee in a chocolate shop when Alex was poorly. We even went to Luxembourg to see the new Hobbit in 3D (it was in English with French and German subtitles)! Naturally my hands nearly froze off every day, but my expensive, thin but super-warm coat kept my body temperature warm enough for my brain to convince my blood to remain in my hands. So it was a very cold, quite short, but successful trip. I miss Alex already. And mum, now that I'm back at Uni.
My family -1
It's me up a mountain. So freaking happy at that moment. Just look at that hat.
Different part of the same mountain, feat, myself, Alex, and the dog
Since then exams have come and gone, and now I'm waiting for the term to begin, so I can be crushed under the pile of books that I need to read again! We're doing The Importance of Being Earnest this term though, so I am super excited about that!! I love that play, and Wilde generally. I'm also going to be studying Fitzgerald and Hemingway, so I'm hoping that is going to be good. I've already started reading Oliver Twist, and am surprised by how much I am enjoying it - I didn't realise Dickens was hilarious!
The only real downside to things right now is that I damaged a muscle in December, and have been banned from doing any exercise that isn't walking. So my gym membership is going to waste, and I haven't done any yoga or dancing since the 23rd December. I'm starting to get a bit desperate now, but I saw the nurse yesterday and she said I need to keep off exercise for another month. Stressed.
So I'm darning my pointe shoes even though I can't really use them...
Speak soon.
