Ok so I know I haven't posted here for a while, but moving to Manchester takes a lot out of a girl! I've settled in pretty well to my job I think, everyone is really friendly and good fun, and I know my way around a lab better than I thought I might.
My wee flat in Manc is getting really cosy now that I've unpacked and bought a bit of extra furniture etc. Mum, Dad and J were down last weekend for a visit, we went to the Lowry and did some shopping. It was good fun, and visitors are always welcome, so if anyone fancies a trip to Manchester then let me know! As a caveat though, I must say that next weekend is my only free weekend until January! Book early, book often. Or something like that...

In other news, I went to see Alice Cooper at the SECC in Glasgow a couple of weeks ago. This was the second time I have seen him live, and he was amazing! The support acts were also far superior to last time, Motorhead and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Last time we were fobbed off with Twisted Sister. The only thing that wasn't so great was that it was all standing, and I had a really bad cold and had traveled up from Manchester that afternoon. Still, I had been looking forward to it since April and it didn't disappoint!

Well I would just like to say that I haven't been ignoring this because I have nothing to say. I have a whole lot to write about Christmas/New Year etc. In fact I was really busy. The problem is, I'm still really busy so I haven't had time to write it all down.

Briefly, Christmas was fun, the whole family were at our house for Christmas day. This lead to the usual fight for somewhere to sleep although this year not everybody stayed so I ended up on a bed (!), in - wait for it - a room with a door! A vast improvement on last year.

I came back through to Edinburgh on the 28th and Nic arrived that evening. We went to see Mum and Dad, went to the beach (twice, but different beaches), went to the Night Afore event on George Street with Jamie and a couple of his friends, went to Jamie's flat for Hogmanay (great fun), nearly got blown away on Regent Road on the way to Jamie's flat, helped out at the service at St. John's on New Years Day, went ice skating in the gardens and then drove down to London on the 3rd.

London was great fun. I got to indulge my not-so-inner geek at the Science Museum, explore Dulwich park (and take lots of photos of geese...) and meet lots of people, including Nic's choir. On the train journey back up to Edinburgh on the 7th I even managed to get lots of reading done for my essay, which is thereason I'm still so busy. I have a 5000 word Review Essay due in at the end of the month and there is a lot of information to go into it. It's quite hard filtering out the things I can afford to avoid while not missing out anything glaringly obvious and making myself look like a right idiot!

The title, in case anyone is remotely interested, is The Role Of Chromosomal Factors In Antibiotic Resistance.
It is really interesting but I really need to start writing it today so what I'm doing writing here instead I'm not sure.

Oh and I really did take loads of pictures of geese. An example is below, along with a picture of one of the crazy flying machines from the Night Afore event and a photo of Watson and Crick's original model of DNA! I was really excited by that...yes, I know...

More cow bagging today, haven't uploaded any pictures yet though. Also signed the lease on a new flat, which is quite exciting! And was offered a job interview tomorrow. Not really sure I want the job, but beggars and all that.
I think I may be going out for lunch tomorrow with the family as it is ickle bro's 18th. Quite scary really. I can remember the day he was born and, yes, there is a story attached but the curious amongst you will have to ask me in person about that one.

Quick update:

    Exams are nearly over, just Immunology to go tomorrow.
   
    I got a party invitation through the post today (from my 5 year old cousin).

    The temperature in my living room is on a par with that of the Arctic.

    I'm too stingy to put the heating on.

    The joiner still hasn't finished filling in all the holes in our skirting boards. We called them in September. (Note for pedants, we called the joiners, not the skirting boards.)

    I haven't done any Christmas shopping.

    I'm going to see Fred MacAulay give a Christmas lecture on Wednesday night.

    My last ever deadline for this year is on Friday, then I'm free!
   
I think that is all.

I hate revision. I like my subjects and I enjoy labs, but only having a week of study leave and then three exams in as many days is not fair. especially as the next three will be worth exactly the same but will have six weeks off before them. How is that in any way sensible?

I'm nearly done with Microbiology though, got most of my notes down. Just Jimmy D's lectures to go now and they should be ok since I have his book.

I missed two days of revision at the weekend because I went to St. Andrews to stay with my Gran. The house seems really empty now it is only her. She is very lonely and not at all keen to stay in the house on her own at the moment, so everyone in the family is talking turns to go and stay. I went on Friday and left on Sunday after church and somebody else was going up on Monday or Tuesday.

Right, Immunology. Time to find out how much I don't know!

I was in St. Andrews this weekend. It was odd.

I need to revise.

The funeral is on Monday in St. Andrews. I'm going through on the Monday morning to Dunfermline which will be odd as I haven't seen my family since Grandad died on Tuesday. The funeral will be at All Saints and then on to the Crematorium in Kirkaldy, apparently the nearest one. I don't think I'm going to go,it will be a 2 hour round trip for 5 minutes. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing anyway.
I went to see my Director of Studies yesterday to tell him I would need the day off on Monday. He already knew Grandad was ill because I was supposed to go up to Dundee yesterday to see him and had asked for that off. Obviously that didn't happen. he told me that he had a friend who died from bone cancer a few years ago and that it was probably best that Grandads illness wasn't more drawn out as his friend was in a lot of pain by the time he died.
I guess every cloud has some kind of silver lining.

On Tuesday night, after I phoned Dad I was sitting in the flat on my ownso I called a very good (and more to the point tolerant) friend and went for a drink. We ended up going back to his flat for a bit of food and to watch a film. He was great, I know he was supposed to be going out but he cancelled and let me pester him the whole evening. I'm so grateful to have a friend like that, I feel really lucky.

He died yesterday afternoon.

I just spoke to Mum, our now daily phone call. She spoke to a doctor today at Ninewells who basically said there is nothing they can do for him other than give him palliative care. He isn't even well enough to be moved from Dundee back to St. Andrews. I'm missing labs on Thursday to go and see him with Mum.

There is really nothing else to say.

So as well as all the good stuff hapening at the moment other things are not so good. After the weekend in Airth for my Grandparents' 80th birthdays, my grandad was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.He has been there ever since and on Monday night we discovered that he has bone cancer. Apparently this is spreading from somewhere else in his body but the doctors have not worked out where yet. Obviously this is hard for the whole family and I wish could be at home with them a bit more. Unfortunatly I have exams in December and many deadlines before then so I can't miss any uni. So if I snap at you, I apologise in advance, I don't mean it.