Reality Bites, But Only Because It's Hungry and Needs Attention

Much has been written recently (by myself more than most) about the impending rebirth of the university/college drag and today's post is going to be very much along the same lines. After all it is just around the corner for most of us and therefore the feelings are running a little bit higher about it than at any other point in the summer break. For me, today signals the 2 weeks notice until I pull myself out of bed at some unfamiliar hour for lectures that are going to twist and stretch my brain power to the max - this year never said it was going to be kind to me. My timetable for the year ahead was released last week and it looks pretty ugly - think Shrek after being hit over the face by a thick textbook. The reality of my situation is that the days are going to be longer and the stress levels are going to be elevated. The thing is that I knew it was coming and that's the reason why I think that I'm going to be able to take it in my stride. This is where I'm coming from in today post: if you prepare yourself for the reality of your situation and don't ignore it, it won't be quite as hard to deal with.

My Favourite Day of the Year

For people that are not fond of football or just don't follow it as much as most people, today will be like any other day of summer to them. Depending on where you are reading this the sun might well be shining and whatever you had planned for today will invariably have been pretty common - it's only a Wednesday after all. The thing is however, that for football fans across the globe and particularly in Britain, this day carries a lot of significance: it is (of course) transfer deadline day. I'm writing this post at about 5pm on the 31st August 2011 and it's killing me that I'm away from the TV at the moment. There are very few days like this that will capture the imagination of so many people and I, unashamedly, can admit that it is my favourite day of the year.

The Wrath of the Beer-Belly

I enjoy a good pint and I'm not afraid to admit it. I've grown to love the taste of a crisp, cold pint of beer or ale in the last few years and let's just say that I've had enough experience to lead me to this stage. When I started out drinking, beer was more or less all I would drink. After a few bad experiences with spirits and a deep loathing for cider, I settled on beer. At the time when I was just getting into drinking I over-indulged myself on quite a few occasions which is the norm with young adults. I've seen it all in the last few years: having to drink in people's houses because your not 18 yet and then when you turn 18 riding it for all it's worth. That in turn has led to many a teenage hangover of which I have had my fair share. The thing is that the hangover (which was not always a guaranteed outcome thankfully) was the only problem that I would have with drinking too much. Now that I'm a bit older I'm starting to fear the specter of many a beer drinker - the beer-belly.

Why the E-book is Ruining My Dreams

We all have little dreams that we play around with in our heads that we turn into something huge. I think that it's a shame that people don't talk about their dreams that often because I would love to know what everyone pines after; what makes people get up in the morning. Some dreams always stay just the way they are - far off desires that are ultimately unattainable (Mick Jagger knew what he was talking about) - but others come to fruition. If I was list my dreams in some kind of ranking system the first thing I would notice is probably just how ambitious I am and whether or not I can translate that ambition into something valuable. The next thing that I would notice is just how many of the things that I dream about having one day are attainable with some good old hard work. One of the the things that is right up there for me is having my own library. For those of you that have seen Frasier and have watched it as much as I have, the kind of room I'm talking about is the library that Niles' has in his apartment (watch this to get an idea). Sadly I don't think that I'm ever going to realise such an ambition. Not because I don't think I'll ever have a house that's big enough or a collection of books that's nice enough. No, I just don't think there is going to be any books in publication by the time I get there!