September 26th - 30 Plus Something

I better start my 11 day away retun entry by wishing my brother a very happy birthday. We'll have a bit of a family get together tonight and I think the old man has got me lined up to cut a tree down tomorrow , so we'll be out of Bournemouth for at a couple of days.

All is well with the univeristy and all that. Jewel finished her English course and got her unconditional offer, so, finally, it is 100% guaranteed that she can get on her MA course nect month. Same can be said for me - just need to wait 14 days to have my loan cleared and put into my account. And it couldn;t come sooner.

Looks like the weekend is going to be a bit of fun aswell, with a bit of a 10 year reunion for a couple of us old Roehampton graduates. Golf, curry and comedy clubs ar eon th emenu, so all veyr manly and should be great fun.

So, anyway, I think this September blog is going to drift on till then end and then October might herald the return of some sort of substance as I moan about all things studenty. Can't wait!

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September 15th - Getting Nailed

I phoned up the bank to re-arrange my loan the other day. Turns out that if I pay the whole of my course fees in advance, I get a 5% discount. Can't go wrong there, I thought. Turns out that if you want to phone your bank and tell them they need to pay less for your course fees, things can go wrong.

So i phoned them, told them and helpful man on the other end of the phone told me to wait whilst I re-applied for my loan. I told him not to bother re-applying as I'd rather give the uni too much cash and get a bit of a refund from them than be rejected for my life saving loan. He mumbled something and pretty much brushed off my worry. Easy for him.

Turns out it was all OK, and the very much scripted 'congratulations on getting a Barclays loan' really didn't give me an urge to celebrate. So all things are go for the course now then. Life as a born again tax dodger starts in full on October 4th.

Beside the obvious 'I can't get a job' another reason for getting back to the books was the lifestyle aspect. No, I don't want to go and get blind drunk on 50p shots of vodka anymore (I told you, I stopped drinking!) but the whole having free time during those precious few hours of daylight in a British winter also appealed. I figured, for the umpteenth time, that now was a good time to make my lardy arse move a bit faster than a snail and start on an exercise regime.

Cheap universoty gym membership + plenty of time = no more excuses about being fitness shy. Although I am sure I'll find my way around that pretty soon.

I've taken the initiative already, though, and am alternating between cycling and running to try and get that rusty old ticker of mine pumping again. And it's going pretty well. Sort of.

I'm not in any way religious, but I still sympathise with any man (or son of God) that was called Jesus and nailed to a cross. And while I wouldn't suggest that my pain is made more bearable by the fact that I am cleansing man of his sins, I still feel some kind of bond with th ewhole getin nailed in the joints of my limbs thing.

These old knees of mine ain't what they used to be. Each time I set off, even on the lightest of light runs, ther is an invisible roman soldier running alongside me hammering in 12 inches of steel to my almost non existent knee cartelidge. And boy does it smart.

Mother natures way of telling me to go back to the sofa? Probably.

But as usual, my MP3 is on far to loud to hear her telling me what to do. I never listened to my own Mother - sure aint going to listen to one I've never met.

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September 13th - One Step Closer

Job hunting is still going nowhere fast. To calrify, looking for meaningful work is proving as difficult as ever. Maybe I expect too much, or maybe I'm just not good enough.

So the best option seems to be back to education, as I mentioned before.

I've been accepted on to the MSc course, I've been given a nice big loan to pay for the course and a few extras and it is all due to start on October 1st. Unless something changes dramatically in the next 2 weeks, I will officially be a tax dodger again. Woo hoo!

So if you've been waiting till the last minute to offer me tons of cash, the perfect job or a winning lottery ticket now is the time to let me know!

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September 11th - September 11th

I don't think there is much I can say today. On the radio, in the newspapers and on the TV (I assume - I don't have one) there are many much wiser and learned people opining and discussing this infamous date, the whys, hows and what has happened since.

Listening to people from all across the specturm is intersting, at times frustrating, often heartbreaking and more often than not it is almost depressing to hear such polarized thoughts. In the darkest hour, hope is the one thing that we are meant to hold on to.

I love my life - I feel I am a million miles away from the darkest hour. And maybe that is why a feeling of hope is not one that is striking me right now.

And, perhaps, therein lies the problem. The majority of us average folk are surrounded by the problems, but we aren't involved with them. How am I going to pay this month's rent? Is my son going to be safe on his walk home from school today? These are our real concerns.

So after the silences, we'll get back to doing what we always do. We'll all just 'get on with it'.

The significant minorities at either end of the divided opinion will also 'get on with' their respective agendas. The life cycle is just that - a cycle. History repeats itself and, as a collective, we make the same mistakes time and again.

Life goes on.

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September 9th - Stepping Back To Go Forward

Deciding on what to do next has proven to be a bit difficult since my return from China. I've kind of tumbled along, trying to get started in somethign with a future and since coming to Bournemouth have bee nlooking particulalry for 'real' full time employment. So far, unfortunately, it's been nigh on impossible to find something appropriate. So what to do?

Well, Jewel is going to study a Masters Degree...so why shouldn't I?

So I put in application last week and was fortunate enough to be accepted. Great. I hadn't really considered going back to full time - itnever occured to me that it was an option. But when I started thinking about it, I recognised that it was (just about) possible and, practically speaking, probably the last chance I would get to do it. From vague possibility to definite opportunity within a week.

I'm still keeping an eye out for good employment opportunities in the meantime, but if nothing appropriate comes knocking before the end of this month (and assuming I can get a big enough loan!) the 1st Ocotber could well see the return of James The Student.

Could be interesting...

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September 4th - De Ja Vu?

If you've been a reader of this Blog for some time (unlikely, I know) then reading what I am about to write might have you thinking "You know what? I've heard it all before Mr. Hampton". And You would be right - I've spouted this sentence out a few times before...

...I have started running again.

Yes, my sporadic attempts at pretending to be fit have started again. Been running a couple of times, out on the bike a couple of times. It's all good fun, apart from teh excruciating pain in my achilles. And this time round I've even managed to get Jewel involved a bit

We went for a little run on the beach at Studland. Very nice place (might have a couple of photos, depending on how they turned out). We ran right next to the sand, on really beautiful soft golden sand, and as we rounded the corner we were greeted with a full frontal from a rather large and sunburned red man.

Yes, we ran straight into the areas local naturist beach.

It was a bit chilly and the rain was definitley on its way in, but this old guy was braving it like a trooper.

There looked to be a few more off in the distance, so I did a quick U-turn and dragged Jewel away before her curiosity got the better of her.

Think I'll stick to the local park in the future...

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September 1st - How Succesful Are YOU???

I read a couple of reports today, saying that women regard men earning £50k a year are deemed to be succesful. And 1 in 10 see a £100k a year salary as 'successful'.

Hard to find a word low enough to describe me on this scale then!

However, my thought for you for the day is this:

'Success isn't aout how much you earn, but about how little you owe'.

I feel better about myself already ;)

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