That's Dr to you!

It's (un)official! After 4 years of working, ranting, tears and stress (and quite a lot of beer...) I'm going to get a PhD! Now I just need to get a job, and at some point maybe I'll be a proper grown up!

Where to go next?

I'm starting to believe that I might one day finish my PhD and get to go on holiday! Only problem now is that there needs to be a decision regarding where to go. I'm currently thinking hot and not too touristy, preferably in a self-catering villa and not too far from the beach. Any suggestions?

If you say the word costume, I'll run away

The university dance society show has, once again, come and gone. Usually I'm sad when a show's finished, because all that work and that really fun/pretty dance is probably never going to be danced again (at least not by me anyway). But the end of this year's show does bring with it an element of relief.

For some stupid reason, when ballet costumes were mentioned I came out with "if you tell me what you want, I can probably make skirts". Now there's a line I may never utter again! Not that I didn't enjoy making them, but when you're (still) trying to finish a PhD, 14 ballet skirts are possibly a little more work than is advisable... And then came the mention of leotards. My ballet teacher seems to be one of those people who can be a little away with the fairies at times, and didn't seem to have really considered how we were getting leotards that would go with the incredibly awkward colour she'd chosen for the skirts. It seemed to be one of those things that would just magically happen. So, in a fit of more than slight panic, a whole load of white leotards got ordered, as did some cold water dye. But 14 leotards obviously can't all be dyed in a washing up bowl unless you do them 2 at a time, and given the need to leave them in the dye for half an hour, that didn't seem a feasible option. My (exceptionally helpful, I must add) boyfriend, came up with the suggestion of a giant builder's bucket which could be put in the bath to keep any splashes off the floor. He also then had to go out to Avonmouth to pick the leotards up, so that I didn't have to drive out in my lunch time.

All in all, it was remarkably successful. I ended up with something reminiscent of a giant yellow cauldron in my bath, and an attempt to get 14 leotards on one clothes horse at once (following which they ended up on various radiators all over my parents' house), but thankfully it did all seem to work in the end. But next time someone says the word costume, expect me to make a bee-line for the nearest cupboard!