House
Well then.
Had an offer on my house, which I've accepted. Cash buyer. This is all going to happen quickly.
All so mad. All so very, very real!
Need to find somewhere to live now...hmm...!!!
House sale
Obviously my house is on the market due to my anticipated move to Canada...
Had a viewing this morning and the lady is apparently keen and will be returning for a second look with her mother. Planning on buying as an investment. Fingers crossed.
It's a bit odd as I think I'm more emotionally attached to the house than I thought. The prospect of not having a "base" of my own is a little un-settling, but I need to keep looking at the bigger picture. Maybe I should buy a camper van!? The house has, potentially, served its purpose - in that it's increased in value and means I can now afford to go to Uni full-time and study for what I really want.
Another issue is my cats. I don't want to re-home them forever, but I can't initially take them over to Canada as I'll be living in Halls. I need to find someone to foster them for a short while (1-2 years!)...someone I'm happy with taking care of them!
It's all becoming a bit real now, and while I'm totally happy about everything...it means it's...well...real!
Scary biscuits.
Pre-vet
Just got an email from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops - Canada.
They've sent a pre-acceptance letter in the post to me...
*faint*
Damn...
I realised this morning that I'd made a mistake with my requests for duplicate exam certificates (GCSE & A-levels). I hadn't requested my History A-level from the board I did the exam with...this means another month of waiting before I can finish my applications to Canada. Know idea what I was thinking (or not as the case may be) when I put the request in...stupid, stupid.
I spoke with the board on the phone to see if they could rush the request through. Got a flat no as an answer.
Planning on contacting the Uni's in Canada to see if they can at least give me an indication of my application progress, without the certificates - they know my grades, but they keep saying they want the official "transcripts" before they pass comment.
Aaaagghh....i'm having to learn extreme patience!
London Underground
It's off theme - but to hell, if I stayed on theme then this would be bloody dull (no comments from the back that it's dull anyway!).
Had to go up into London today for work. My original plan was to get a taxi from Paddington and not use the tube, but on seeing the taxi queue go on for about 8 million miles I decided to leap on the underground. Yes, I did give it a second thought as I ran down the stairs. I gave it a third thought as I bought my ticket and when I got on the train on the Victoria line towards Stockwell I gave it many thoughts. My destination was Vauxhall, one tube stop up from Stockwell and two up from the Oval. For those with poor memories - Oval was the destination of one of the failed bombs on 21st July and Stockwell was the station where the Brazillian, Jean Charles de Menezes got shot by police in error on 22nd July. I have to admit I was glad to get off the tube.
I then had to walk past the M15 building down near Vauxhall, past armed police and on towards my eventual destination. I got a taxi back to Paddington after my meeting...
Snake?
I just created my full profile and it says my Zodiac year is "Snake". Seriously? Who made that up? And who am I directing all these questions at...?
Obviously the cat to the left is not a snake. That's Desmond. He turns the grand old age of 17 on August 4th this year. Thought I'd better keep up with the cat theme...crazy cat lady person...
Desmond has the qualities (!) of a grumpy old man. Sometimes he doesn't even recognise me anymore - sort of just stares and tries to work out who the hell I am. So long as I have a can opener in my hand, he's happy. Open the door to a bedroom though and he's got the speed of a kitten on ...well...speed enhancing "things"...straight in, on the bed, asleep and unmoveable in under 5 seconds. Legend.
A better explanation!
So the last...and first...post was a little vague, was it not? I was explaining the name of the blog "Shortstopicus" rather than the proper title - which is "travels and learnings". It's a good thing my spelling has improved or the blog could have been called "travels and leanings", which would have been a whole different blog indeed! ;o)
Right - why "travels and learnings"? Simple really. I currently have applications in to pre-vet school over in Canada. I live in the UK and hope to be heading over the pond in Janurary. A few hicups so far with the application, namely I lost my darn exam certificates. Clever, eh?! I plan to learn a lot, travel a lot and fingers crossed and brain power holding - qualify as a veterinary surgeon sometime in 2010/11. Wow, seeing it written down sure does make it real. 2010...that's forever away! Mind you, if I don't do this now then it will never be there and I'll still be ambling around wondering what on earth I should be doing - all the time knowing. I should be training to be a vet!
I hope I haven't jinxed myself by creating this blog - don't know the results of the application yet! *jumps on the spot, spins round a few times and wiggles nose* That should hold off the bad luck...! Ahem...moving on...
I'm not going to tell anyone this is here just yet, but if/when/pleeeeease I get a place then I'll expose it to all...the blog...the blog!!
Why the name...?
That's why...
And now after comments saying I didn't offer a good enough explanation...
Shortstop is the name of my cat. The one seen above, falling off a chair. Therefore this blog is called Shortstopicus...an advancement on his name...
