Back in the Rainy City
22.12.05, 12:57 pm

I�m back in Manc Land � my dad came down last night and took me home. I�ve brought all of my notes and my two heaviest textbooks with me (Neuroscience and Molecular Biology of the Gene, oh what a FUN FACTORY) and will probably be starting revision from tomorrow onwards. Okay fine, I�m not overly optimistic about that actually coming true, but maybe writing it down will make it more likely. Yeah, shut up.

I�ve had horrendous sinuses again for the last two days, which saw me being slightly crappy company and in a lot of pain. It going to get a little gross here, and I do apologise for that, but life is unfortunately gross at times. Monday night I decided I�d had enough of the continual knife-like pain and went for a good hock in the sink, and the stuff that I hocked up was mostly blood. Is that even normal? Afterwards I got to taste blood for forever, which was also incredibly unpleasant, and I was mildly concerned that I was actually silently haemorrhaging inside. And then I fell asleep, so I guess I couldn�t have been that worried really.

Michelle and me watched 6 hours of 24 on Monday night, pausing halfway through only for me to make us both a fishfinger sandwich at midnight. We then watched 4 hours the next night. 24 is too addictive and needs to carry some kind of warning on the box. In other chez Sheffield news, Lisa came up on Tuesday morning. I�d agreed to meet her at the train station, and at half ten I was half awake and watching something shit like An American Tale II. I then got a very chirpy text stating: "Hey chick, on the train now, be about twenty minutes. You still coming to get me? xx" I have never gotten ready so fast in my life; I ended up actually running down to the tram stop with a piece of dry bread in my hand. Got there only five minutes late, which I�m very impressed by. It was hugely lovely to see Lisa again though - we went to the Interval, which is a bar-type place in the Union, and ate cake and drank tea and it was just like she�d never been away. Except she had me banging on about my housekids stress for about fifteen minutes, which was probably the most boring fifteen minutes of her entire life.

So, back to chez Manchester. Good things about being at home include free food, free central heating, existence of a bath, double bed to sleep on and the company of my two cats. I�m actually enjoying being back, but I have the feeling that this will fade relatively quickly, and I will once more long for the rain and grit of South Yorkshire. My dad�s blatantly missed me though, and is all happy because I�m home for a while. Get in! I�ll also give that about a week before it fades and he gets sick of me leaving mugs everywhere and singing too much.

Got up at the crazily early time of 7:30am this morning and got a lift into Manchester with my sister on her way to work. I love how my sister goes off to her stupidly high-paid actuarial job wearing smart clothes, boots and long stylish black coat, and then tops the outfit off with blue and white striped gloves with fold-over mittens. I was in before 9am though, so went into Boots to kill time and bought myself some moisturiser (whoa, slow down! Shopping with me is just a little too exciting!) Did all my Christmas shopping with minimal crowds of people, so I am all smug and satisfied now. Do you know how much the bus cost me on the way home? Two pounds sodding forty. That�s �2.40 to get from Manchester to my little half-town just past Eccles, so we�re talking about five miles here. I hate First buses, they just suck the ultimate big one.

Knew I was home as the bus slowly filled with chavs wearing HUGE gold hoped earrings, and then about 95 grannies got on at the Salford Shopping Centre, otherwise known as The End of the Earth. I can handle the Manc accent, although it�s not the best of accents, but for some reason town was rammed full of Scousers today, and consequently all I heard around me was �Y�alright Kylieeee�. Run for the hills! Still, it�s nice to finally get the decent Look North-West Tonight with Gordon Burns again.

Last bit of news. Got this email this morning from Mini Boss after I emailed her asking if she got my report okay:

Hi Holly,

Yes, the report was fine. I am currently going through all the data, so as in the New Year we can put a report together with Channa's work and get it published. I'll let you know how we get on with it - as you will be included in the list of authors!

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year,

Janine

Ohhh, well in! I won't force you all to read the journal, don't worry, but I may make you all look it up on PubMed, just to see my name on the list of authors.

Right now I�m going to go have a bath, simply because I can, and then maybe play with my new moisturiser. The excitingness of my life does scare me a little sometimes.

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