25/09/14: Working hard/hardly working

Okay. I give up. I give in. I have put up ample resistance but I see now that that was futile. The perceptible shiver that ran through me as I left the house this morning has confirmed my suspicions. It's officially time to resign myself to the inevitable. I've been trying to avoid it for weeks with multitudinous combinations of dresses beneath dresses, shirts over t-shirts, cardigans over sleeveless blouses, midi skirts & socks, denim jacket wedged over four layers beneath. Today, however, I saw the error of my ways (i.e my breath suspended in mid air as I wrestled my keys out of my satchel) & realised that only a pair of opaques would do it. 

It's tights season, folks. 

Ding dong, summer is dead. Well, we all had fun, didn't we? That also isn't to say that there isn't plenty to be looking forward to with the change of the seasons. This recipe for simple ribbollita soup that popped up on my ever-favourite Green Kitchen Stories blog looks perfect for the rainy afternoons we've been having. I can kindly evict the moths that have taken up residence in the majority of the jumpers stashed (read: crammed) into the top of my wardrobe. I also confess that I cannot be too bereft of my summer holidays since soon it, in all honesty, feels as if I'll soon be embarking on another one. In a couple of days time, I will have finished my last week of full time work for two whole years. Yikes.

 It's quite something to see that typed out like that. Flip through any of my recent posts & this won't seem like particularly surprising news seeing as I've been anticipating starting my Masters degree for quite a while now. It's only come Saturday at six o'clock, however, that this prospect becomes all the more, well, real. I realise that I'm very lucky to be able to, not only go back to my studies, but also to be employed by people that realise the value of booksellers being able to study books. I'll be working just two days (two days!) a week from October & I could not be more excited to be able to strike a hopefully healthier work/life balance. Balance is the operative word here. While I'm looking forward to working less & will only be at university for one day a week, I'm also weary of lapsing into the restlessness that characterised the initial weeks of term as an undergraduate before I was overwhelmed with essays. To help ease such anxieties, I've been thinking about what exactly I'm looking forward to as the way in which I wile away my days is significantly different.

Lots of reading (duh) 

I'm looking to really commit myself to keeping on top of the course texts that I've received thus far (hello Joyce, I'm not certain that I've missed you a bit) - I got pretty good at this by the end of my previous degree but I'm hoping for a 95-100% success rate seeing as I've really no excuses. I'm also keen to read around the books that I'm studying to ground myself in the contexts in which they were written, I'm planning to get them most out of my library card over the next couple of years...! I would also like to read increasingly, when & where I can, for pleasure, particularly the short story writers that I've been enjoying lately from old favourites such as Raymond Carver to newbies like Lydia Davis (who I fangirled at at the LRB recently) in the hope that some of their genius might rub off on me in my own creative endeavours. Like I said, a lot of reading to be done, ho ho.

Spending more time in the kitchen

Also evidenced by previous posts, I'm trying new recipes all the time (despite needing more of a spicy hit, this creamy cauliflower passanda with sultanas & whole almonds from Jack Monroe was last night's latest success) but I'd like to spend more time stirring pots that isn't exhaustingly between the hours of seven & nine o'clock (ten if you include the washing up at the end of it all) in the evening. Breakfast has long been my favourite & most neglected meal of the day (a piece of fruit & a cereal bar eaten covertly at the till most days just isn't cutting it) but I'm hoping that that will change as I reclaim the time between waking & dressing. There are so many great vegetarian & vegan breakfast options that I'm keen to try, the Sunday buckwheat porridge with newly-discovered oat milk, cinnamon & banana just there -> is hopefully a sign of things to come. Since having to heartbreakingly give up my subscription to 'Growing Communities' because of university funds, I'm also looking forward to being able to buy my fruit & vegetables seasonally from markets now that their opening hours fit with my schedule. I consider this to be a compromise & one that will hopefully leave me with a few more pennies in my pocket too...!

Making time for more people more often

I've been worried for a while now that I'm getting something of a reputation for being unreliable in my keeping in touch or spending time with people - be it old school friends, my boyfriend or various family members- & that's something I hope will change. While I am working the antisocial (or rather very social) days of Friday & Saturday, I hope that I'll have more energy & thus enthusiasm to make plans & keep them with these important people.

Exploring places near & far

Budget allowing I'd love to see more of London & even further afield in the time that I no longer spend commuting to & from work. While I was very lucky to be able to visit some far flung places with family (see Sorrento & Cornwall, both beautiful parts of the world) this summer, it's been a while since Andrew & I visited anywhere outside of zones 1 & 2, let alone beyond London. The two of us are, however, already planning a couple of days in Brighton for our three year anniversary(!) come November & I love the thought of getting the train to somewhere like Hastings for an afternoon digging through the charity shops & seeking out a slice of cake. I would also like to better acquaint myself with the museums as I find my afternoons free for myself, including a visit to the Horniman & Somerset House, especially seeing as the latter is playing host to an imminent Egon Schiele exhibit. Andrew & I finally made it to the Virginia Woolf exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery on Monday - small but perfectly formed with plenty of art of the period, a handful of beautiful Hoggarth Press first editions & the writers' own walking stick, I was so glad that we were able to cast our eyes over these objects for an hour or two of an afternoon.

I suppose I'll have to let you know how I get on...!

What do you look forward to with the changing of the seasons?

Speak soon - O.