The last month or so has been one of the most hectic months I can remember since the start of university. It feels like everything has been crammed into the smallest space of time. It’s like the university decided that what all the law students needed was to have courseworks followed by moots, immediately followed by exams. Mental breakdowns were never far off the cards for most people I know. Luckily, all of us scraped by, but before exams had even finished, I had another thing to worry about and organise. A job. Now, this was obviously fantastic news. I spent a fair few blog posts shamelessly whining about how hard it was to find a job and how increasingly stressed and dejected I was feeling about the whole process. Now, if the firm had just called and offered me a job in say, August or September, it would not have been a problem at all. The phone call I actually got went something like this:
*Interviewer* Hi Charlotte, I am calling to give you some good news I hope.*Me* Oh?
*Interviewer* We want to offer you the job.
*Me* Oh my god amazing (something along those lines anyway)*Cut out lots of waffling about being surprised etc.*
*Interviewer* We want you to start on the 3rd. Is that okay?
*Me* Yeah! Sure.*Gets off the phone and looks at the calender* Oh sweet baby Jesus… I have 2 weeks to sort out a house.
Luckily everything sorted itself out pretty well. New landlady is nice. She was very surprised I offered to rent a flat without viewing it first. Honestly, that could have gone so badly wrong but I couldn’t be picky in the middle of exams with 2 weeks to sort things out. I am admittedly living in a flat about the size of a shoebox but for one, it is sort of ideal… Apart from the lack of washing machine… That is a nightmare.
Moving house was one hell of a strategic nightmare too though. I have acquired so much crap over the year that I managed to fill two cars and then had to find places in the aforementioned shoebox flat to shove everything. I mean… Where the heck am I supposed to shove a violin to keep it out of the way? It also begs the question: why did I buy it in the first place? I am in the flat for the third week and I still have a suitcase of stuff I haven’t even touched aside from moving it to the least awkward place in the flat after nearly breaking my toe kicking it. It does serve me right, I guess. I should have learnt and unpacked it but I can just see it waiting to trip me over again.
One of my guardians is still convinced I am going to be a social recluse. She made a point of telling me I should go and do things in Leeds. Join a club maybe. I think in her mind she thinks I will socialise as little as possible at work and then go sit at home staring at a screen without ever talking to people. This is not too far from the truth and yet I see no issue with it. Pfft… Social interaction… Who needs to see people.. Bleargh. I just don’t care… *aside* I AM SO LONELY! Kidding!
Starting a new chapter is always an odd experience. I kept referring to the start of the job as the new year because it sort of is. It is technically my third year of uni but it sounds weird in my head calling June the new year. Anyway, it is very strange looking back on the last two years and seeing just how quickly they have gone and knowing that the next two years will go just as quickly. Every time I hit a new ‘chapter’ I can’t help but review the last one and think about what I would change. While there are small things I would change, like maybe revising earlier, I am pretty happy with the first two years of uni. I spent a lot of the first term of the first year ill so I think I missed out on some social things then, but I don’t think that was massively detrimental. I still have awesome people around me… Well, admittedly not right this second since I am sitting on my own contemplating shutting the blinds because the sun is annoying me. It’s too darn hot.
I can’t really talk about my job too much because I don’t want to put anything that I am not allowed to. At the moment I am in a 3 month spot working for a part of the company that is based in Croydon, so as you would imagine, there are a few admin issues. It is sort of amusing. The job itself is repetitive but weirdly, I don’t hate it. It is not really challenging and I am glad it is only for 3 months to help catch up on the backlog of work, but I realise I actually like working. I like the clothes I have for work. I like going to work even if it means waking up at 7 and going to bed early (in my terms). But… The absolute best thing ever happened to me at work and it may be casting a golden aura around everything. Seriously… BEST THING EVER. You will agree. I imagine what I was feeling was something like when Charlie opened his chocolate bar and found the golden ticket or when Harry got his letter from Hogwarts. This was obviously on par with those literary moments. Wait for it… We must build the suspense for this.
I found…
A seventh Jaffa Cake in a little pack.
Best. Moment. Ever. At that moment, the Jaffa Cake Jesus was clearly looking down at me and smiling, saying: Charlotte… You are worthy of the seventh cake.
And on that note, I am going to wrap this post up because, let’s face it: nothing is going to top that.
Fraxi Speaks 