I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. Thats one of the few good things about my job. I have time to sit and think. And I've come to a conclusion.
One way or another the majority of my 20's have been a bit of a disaster, from one thing or another. When I was 10 I remember making a list of things that would have happened to me by the time I'm 25 (as I considered that grown up and old)

1 - I would have my own place.
2 - I would have lots of animals. At least one pony
3 - My house would have a swimming pool.
4 - And a Helicopter.
5 - I would either be a top class showjumper/vet/author.

Well here I am rapidly approaching 26 and its very much time I dug myself out of the rut I'm in at the museum and did something with my life.
So. Before I'm 30 I plan to have achieved the following.

1 - I will either own my own place or be living away from home.
2 - I will have that maths GCSE.
3 - And a horse.
4 - I'll have a good job to pay for said horse.
5 - I'm gonna go back to the old driving and very determinedly pass the damn test.

So. I plan to enrol back in college in September and do that GCSE, as an evening class. I may fail it completely again. In face its very likely that I will fail it. But I think just attempting it again will be an accomplishment, due to my fear and sheer panic when faced with any number higher that 20.
After I have completed the course, I am considering doing teacher training. Despite loathing children. I want a job with weekends off again. I want to do something where I can go home and think I've done something worthwhile with my day. And of course the decent pay and all the holidays encourages me more. I may change my mind. I'm certainly not giving up on the dream of working with animals. I figure that the 6 months of GCSE may give me time to get that job, but its time to be realistic. I'm 4 years since graduating and nothing has worked out. Maybe I'll go into vet nurse training. I can if I have that GCSE. I will have more options, even if I have to deny the degree.
Welshy's flat contract runs out in September. We may, no will look for a place together. I dont know how we'll afford it on my pittance and his casual work, and the fact that we cant agree where to live. But they're irrelevant. I want to live with him. I want to be independent again.
So we'll aim for those targets by September and maybe from there I can reach those goals I've set myself before I hit 30. Which most definitely has to be grown up.

Welshy was supposed to go back home today for his sisters birthday, only because of the tube strike, it was virtually impossible for him to get up there in time for the train, as all the buses were crammed! at like 6am!
anyway he reached there just to find the train pulling out of the station and because he had a saver ticket, he is only allowed to use them on the specified train. so i rang up and asked if they'd make allowances for this, as he left a lot earlier than needed.

After they refused and basically said he could either buy a new one at 60 quid or he should have slept at the station!

So I rang back and made up this huge lie about how he had a dying cousin and had to get up for her last birthday and that they had ruined this for him.

And yet they still didnt wanna change their minds! How can you be such heartless bastards?!
And how can i make up such a lie? Going straight to hell. yup.


oh and the weefit today told me i was 31 :(

Mother brought a wiifit thingy at the weekend. I prefer to have it known as a weewee.
Spookily it knows I have a tendancy to trip over lots. And it can measure your BMI (Ideal since you ask! Fuck knows how!) and weight (8 and a half stone).
My aim, is to get it done to an even 8 stone. Not that I consider myself overweight. Hopelessly unfit maybe, but there's something nice and right feeling about being a proper stone and not these piddling quarter and half efforts.
The other main thing it tells you is your "WeeFit Age" Which started off at 69.
Oh.
So my number one goal is to get that down to 25, which I feel is a happier sum as its my real age.

I did have it down to 27 yesterday, but then I went riding and now i'm stiff and sore.

I rode a new horse yesterday, a pure fully trained Arab ex-Racehorse. I dont think I've ever gotten on anything and felt so much power and muscle under me. She was amazingly responsive, eager to please and just a pure joy to ride.
Not to say that she's without her problems, due to her background. Everything needs to be done at a fast pace and I hate having to constantly remind or nag (hehehe geddit?!) her into going at my speed. A happy medium paced trot is all I ask for, but from her reaction you'd have thought the world had collapsed around her. Standing still doesnt exist in her world and she nearly bit my ear off when I ducked my head to tighten her girth. I felt the air get displaced and heard her teeth snap shut a few inches from my ear!
She's kinda spooky, but again thats due to this all being new to her. I'm a bit worried about that first real fright as I have no doubts that if it came down to it, she would take off and I would have no way in the world of stopping her.
I'd love to get her in a real dressage test. Well if I could convince her that standing still is good.

http://www.nmm.ac.uk/explore/podcasts/ontheline/ yeah check me out! I'm the link about Jack Cornwell VC, bastarding museum still managed to spell my name wrong though!

I had the best fun at work today. I so love public speaking, once you get over that initial fear its the greatest thing in the world!
I debuted a new talk on the HMS Challenger and some of the pickled specimens taken from it. It was awesome, I got 25 people on my 2nd go, which is a massive crowd for the museum, but a fair average one when I used to be at the Aquarium. admittedly 11 were a school group, but that made it more fun!
We carried out simple experiments on water pressure, we dissected the inaccuracies in Finding Nemo and talked about the gruesome way octopuses feed, the bizarre sex life of Anglerfish and how some species of crab can be half male and half female and fertilise their own eggs.
And of course a round of applause makes the talk!