19 for almost a week.

So it was my birthday last week, and it was nice :)

A family occasion, meal out etc and some really nice presents, as well as enough money to keep the whole 'no-money-I'm going-to-be-screwed-in-a-few-weeks' issue at bay. However once these expenses have been paid I intend on paying myself back :).

The family meal was followed by a pub outing which branched into more childish shenanigans involving a playground at night. Followed by lying on an overly large slide and having long, (not so) in depth conversations about life.

So yes, my birthday was a success despite not planning anything for the day.

I had a pretty slow week, only one day of work, involving playing with lego to create an animation. Oh how I love my job! Typical though that after removing everything inappropriate from sight in my room ready for work, I decided it was getting warm so utilised my fan - complete with the following message on the side:

'This is NOT Rawlins property! If you steal this then I shall find you, shove it up your arse, and turn it on. Regards, Dan.'

He then went home to his mum and repeated this hilarious message word for word. Luckily she found it amusing!

I'm having a house party tonight, so I've been prepping for that. Firstly, a much needed haircut.

It never fills you with confidence when the hair dresser is working on a bit for ages and eventually looks at it, laughs, shrugs and then moves onto the next bit. But oh well, what do I expect for 7 quid?

Then I came home to sort the house out. I removed everything breakable (just in case) and then replaced them with sticky labels describing what was there. I wonder how many times I'll have to explain why the word 'Badger' is on the wall..?

I then removed the coffee table and replaced it with an old chest of drawers as I do believe mum and mark would go mad if they got home to rings all over the surface of their new furniture, as well as covering the tops of other surfaces.

Finally, the fun side! I rigged up my laptop to the big speakers and set up some awesome lights. (Not usually very house partyish, but I thought I may as well use them as I have them!)

So now it's time to wait! Chill out for a bit, try and sort out my bad hair cut and wait for the funtimes to happen later!

Flan x

Life in the LE11 hood.

On departing London reluctantly on Sunday, I realised that I was not going back for quite a while - back to Loughboroughland! Without any of my stuff...

My room is bare and I just have clothes and my laptop to keep me going. To be honest.. do I really need anything else? Nahh.

I had my first day of work on Monday - it was truly awesome. So easy and a lot of fun! On Tuesday I went to Rainbows to start working with the young people there to produce a video time capsule about the hospice. I really get some feel good feeling which I can't really explain when turning my work around to suit these people - it's a really awesome thing to do!

After Rainbows I had some mates over to make use of the free house (mum and Mark are on holiday). We made a ridiculous video entitled 'The top 5 most unfortunate things to happen in your life, featuring such ailments as 'constantly being on fire' and 'having a man constantly in your life playing the vuvuvzela'. These made the cut, ones that didn't included 'extreme paranoia of identity theft' and 'having the urge to roll everywhere'.

I went to see Toy Story 3 today, and besides the film being really good - I also confirmed the fact that with the aid of my contact lense, I CAN see 3d! Woo!

On Friday I have my first proper Session with my second direct payment person who has Cerebral Palsy. Will see how that goes - 6 hours is a long time to fill!

And then... it's my birthday on Sunday! I feel old... eugh.

Nothing planned atm, probably going to do something when mum and mark are away with Chloe in a few weeks time :)

Woo!

Flan x

More sofa, heavy lifting and content.

Here I am in our new house. Wooo!

It's been a hell of a journey getting here (not literally it's just up the road) but in stress it's been miles bigger than the majority of things i've done in the past.

Yesterday morning I woke up at 7 ready for the postman who had the tenancy agreement we needed for the move. He came at 12.30 - 5 and a half hours of irritable waiting later. We head over to the estate agents to hand in the form, and to pay. The place stank of weed, and we're pretty sure the guy who took the payment was high. The fact that my bank balance hasn't yet changed backs this theory up... for now.

We got the keys and the move began - starting with the previously mentioned sofa. We ended up attaching it to the roof of my dads car (which by the way I am now used to and don't hate so much). This was an amusing, and slightly worrying sight, as documented below.

The following 5 hours consisted of endless journeys between Eltham and Charlton moving various awkward and heavy items.

There was also THE classic moment of the year. Something that you would find on a sitcom. So we couldn't get the sofa into the living room, so after consideration, we decided to take the door off. Once the door was off the frame, Andy received a call telling him the landlord was coming round in 5 minutes. Oh the hilarity!

Then came the actual setting up of my room. A lot of cursing, cuts, scrapes and allen keys later it was 2am, and I couldn't go on anymore. I went to sleep.

Today consisted of final touches, wiring and picking up small things that I'd realised I'd forgotten. We also did some cleaning and bought some essentials from the good old 99p store!

Now I'm sitting in our new living room watching Fawlty Towers!

Speak soon!

Flan x

The move, Sofa, and superior henchness.

Well it's been a busy and stressful week. I never knew there could be so many hiccups involved in moving house; emails not being received, papers to be signed by various people who are all over the country, 1500 quid randomly disappearing for 4 days etc...

But finally! The money's in the bank, the paperwork's done and it's move in day tomorrow! So excited!

So I've been driving my dads car as it is bigger so I can more my stuff more easily. I'm going t be honest - I hate it. The steering feels like I'm constantly dr

iving on ice it's that light, and in these hot days, opening the windows initiates a small scale hurricane within the car when travelling over 20 mph. I'm getting used to it now I guess, but I'd have my Fiesta back any day! We went to Croydon the other day to go to Ikea. Meatballs, swedish gravy, cranberry sauce and chips. Now that's what I'm talking about. Then I bought a chest of drawers and a new desk - not nearly as exciting as the fine blue and yellow cuisine! Haha.

Then yesterday saw the worlds most ridiculous task. Picking up a sofa. So although i'd made the effort to employ this larger car as my own for a week or so, in order to move such awkward items with ease; it just wasn't happening. After numerous attempts, and the sofas previous owner getting more and more visibly frustrated with us eating up his time, we decided that this monster of a sofa was never going to fit in the car. Ever. So, with reluctant groans, sweat already pouring off us after removing the sofa from a first floor flat with newly painted walls, we walked the Sofa through Eltham back to my house. That was a painful journey. Blood, sweat and tears were literally shed.

Then came the mammoth task of getting the sofa into my already over furnished, claustrophobic house. The sofa took up the entire hall and then wouldn't fit through the door into the living room. Armed with a hammer, we removed the 2 inch feet from the bottom of the sofa and after rearranging the house, rammed the sofa into position. Luckily it's only here for two days!

You would have thought; 'phew! it's done' at this point, but no! We had to go back and pick up the car.

Still, for a fiver, this sofa is immense. So unbelievably comfortable, despite the pain it caused.

With all this heavy lifting and moving about, we shall be hench. Muscles popping out everywhere! GET ME SOME SPINACH!

Speak to you on the other side!

Flan x

Longest chill out of all time... yet still stressed.

If you've known me long enough, you will probably know by now that I can't just do nothing. My mind NEEDS to be continuously stimulated, even if that is by lazing about in a field chatting with friends.

Naturally this ridiculous 6 month break was a terrifying thought for me - 6 months, of potentially nothing. It doesn't help that seeing as last terms loan is long gone, and I'm already in my overdraft in order to pay for the new house (which I will get onto later); I have no money. At first, I thought to myself that you don't need money to have fun, only terribly materialistic and spoilt people think like that. However I've learnt to see things from a whole new angle. In this day and age, even a quiet, chilling walk through a country park can't be done without having cash.

Firstly, there's the petrol money, which this year seems to have increased to some almighty sums, just the other day I saw petrol being sold for £1.26.9 a litre. Absolutely scandalous. Then, once you've filled your car up, you have to pay to park.

Of course there are other past times, but everything seems to cost you money in some way or another. There's only so many times you can see how far you can walk from your house, or go cycling to some 'far off distant land'.

So with this in mind I've decided to put the whole cash flow issue aside, and although still being really careful, the 'no spend' limit has gone out the window.

I start work soon, I met George, a guy with Cerebral Palsy who I'm 'befriending' over the summer the other day. It's really difficult, in all honesty. Although I know it will get easier. With my sis, Chloe, she makes it VERY clear what she wants in some way or another and considering I've grown up with her, I can understand her speech, even if to others it sounds like some kind of alien Language, but George isn't vocal, and you have to work with 'Yes / No questions', or at least thats how I have to start until I get a better grasp upon how to communicate well. Although my first meeting was quite awkward, I'm looking forward to starting. It will be a really good experience, as well as being highly rewarding, and needless to say, helping with the money situ.

I'm also starting with my guy with Asbergers soon, which I'm also looking forward to. I'm running a film making course with him, to hopefully inspire him into something other than trouble making.

I've been back in Loughborough for a bit now, and it's weird...

...I feel like in many ways things arn't the same anymore. I feel drifted from the old friendship group, and for the first times we're all shouting to each other from different levels of maturity. I don't know what it is, but the spontaneity and 'randomness' isn't there anymore, and although I hate to admit it, maybe we're all just growing up? I'm 20 next year - eugh.

I went to the pub last night, and saw a load of people I hadn't seen for a long time. After the night was though, and I'd decided to 'let my hair down' after a long spell of going without, I got home, covered in mud after rolling around in Quorn park, or what was Quorn park and falling asleep. I woke up this morning feeling dreadful, and have decided to stop drinking. I hate myself drunk, like really genuinely hate how I act so although it's not a complete cease in drinking, the student cultural thing of drinking till you can't remember is leaving my lifestyle.

Back to London in a few days! Moving house, that's gonna be fun. There's a hell of a lot of cash exchanging hands next week, but our new house is amazing and I really can't wait to move all my stuff in and explore etc... I'm driving my dads car there so that I have more room to move stuff about. Wish me luck!

I've just realised that this is probably the longest entry I've ever done... so I'm going to stop blabbing! I'll write after the move with some pics!

Loves!

Flan x