and it’s been a happy househould these past few days. It doesn’t escape me that I’m soon going to have to worry about university fees (other than my own). After seeing the scramble the A level students went through last week in a bid to secure their place at uni (any uni) before the new fees kick in next year. I’m not relishing when our time comes.

The Open University has just announced that they also plan to put up their fees from next September in keeping with all the other universities, and that those who registered this year will only have to pay the old fees for the next five years, as long as they’ve registered their degree of choice, so at the very least I’m glad I got in there early. I’ll just have to make sure and finish mine within that time frame, although by my calculations an OU degree will still be cheaper than a regular university; approx £5,000 for a year instead of £9,000. Great timing on my part, at the moment it’s only £1,500 for a year.

As far as work goes, just a couple of bookings this week, including one scrumptious Frenchman here on business, otherwise the phone has been quiet, as it usually is during the month of August. Not unless you count the text I received this morning; “Hello darlin’” That’s it, nothing else. Not sure what I’m supposed to do with that.

It’ll be a quiet bank holiday weekend as I make a start on my next assignment. I’m glad that the Notting Hill Carnival is going ahead, despite calls to cancel it after the recent riots. I can’t see what good that would’ve done, to effectively shut down a tradition that’s been going since before I was born, just because of some cretinous idiots. It’s been a while since I last went. You really need the stamina of a horse to last the day, the kind of stamina I no longer possess. But it’ll be fun watching it on the telly. Hope Mayor Boris has a grand time.

Happy Bank Holiday.

Well, I’ve had my webmistress put a few new pics on my website. Almost a full new gallery on the first page, 1 new pic on the facesitting gallery. If I’m to be honest I was quite critcal of myself and out of all those taken I thought these to be the best that showed off my assets. Poor Twiggy was the epitome of patience in taking them, but maybe next time I shouldn’t wait until the morning to pose for photographs. Believe it or not, it turns out on an overnight there really isn’t a best time to take pics. You want some action before dinner, then dinner, then you’re too full and comfortable after dinner for posturing, then bed. Hope you like them.

Wish me luck for tomorrow. My essay results from the Open University are posted in my mailbox on their website sometime tomorrow. I’ve had to wait two months. To say I’m on tenterhooks would be putting it mildly. Good or bad I’ll let you know.

In other news, the Kindle is within reach of my fingertips. I ordered it yesterday morning (sorry Twiggy, I know your feelings on said “abomination”) and of course I missed the delivery today. I’m not long in from Work and I felt a sense of foreboding when I saw the familiar “While you were out…” notification lying on the door mat. So it’s off to the sorting office at daybreak. I’ll run people over if I have to, I have no qualms. Slow-moving people had better watch out tomorrow morning. In the meantime, the warrior that is Adorable Amy tells me that I can buy books from the Kindle e-store which are then downloaded on to the Kindle when I switch it on. I’m off to surf for e-books with a petulant lower lip.

I know I’m usually chattier than this and write a couple of entries a week, but last week was such a blur I can’t even remember most of it. I was absolutely knackered.

The jet-lag took longer to get over than I anticipated. I didn’t feel so bad on the Monday when I had to go grocery-shopping and do a bit of a top-up of what was in the house. But by Tuesday it hit me big time when I went for my training course for my Other Job. I had to apologise to my tutor in case she thought my constant yawning was a reflection on her teaching skills. Fortunately she understood. I’m horrified to say I even nodded off a few times and it was all I could do not to take myself off to a corner of the classroom, curl up and fall asleep.

Wednesday’s training wasn’t so bad, but then tiredness swept over me again by Thursday. I did have a cancellation and I sent silent thanks to whichever diety might be listening that day. I did my weekend shop…and that was it the whole day. I had a three hour booking the next day with a regular client, so I used the Thursday as an excuse to conserve my energy and I finally felt better by Friday, in time for my long booking. I had another booking on Saturday afternoon for an hour and it was all I could manage.

I was actually panicking over the weekend because I hadn’t finished my essay. It was supposed to be due in last Thursday, but I did write to them requesting an extension due to special circumstances, sending my e-ticket as proof that I’d be away. They gave me another week, which meant this coming Thursday 20th, but as I didn’t get any work done at all last week, which was the plan, I started panicking. I wrote to the OU again, explaining my situation and bless ‘em, they’ve given me another two weeks. But I really want to get it done this week and posted off by the end of the week/beginning of next week if I can. It’s the only way I’ll be able to exhale.
I think the reason why I’m in such a state this time around is because, if you’ve done an Open University course, you know that the final assignment is the one the OU marks you on, this is where you get your credits for your course. The other assignments are just practice ones you send to your tutor for marking. They critique your work, send it back to you, then go on to the next one. But this goes straight to the OU where they mark you and award you your credits.

So I’m actually home again today, instead of at my Other Job as I normally am on a Monday. Although I got some work done this weekend there’s more to do, and my tutor is calling me this evening for my tutorial, see how I’m getting on and what help I might need. All going well it may be finished by this Friday.

So this is what I’ve been up to. Feeling like a zombie this past week. I just wanted to write a line or two, to let readers know that I’m still here, just. At least now I feel like my old self. I don’t think it helped that the whole week I was away I never completely slept through the night, on any night. What with the bugs, as I mentioned before, plus the fact that it wasn’t my own bed, I reckon I must’ve been on auto-pilot that whole week. I even brought my work with me, and the one day I relaxed, I kept dozing off whilst I was trying to read. I think that week took more out of me than I thought, physically and mentally.

Things will be more back to normal this week. I’ll be back at my Other Job tomorrow and I have a booking this Wednesday with my Yorkshire bloke who was twice thwarted by the snow. If anybody else would like to make a booking, please feel free to drop me a line or give me a call.

I’ll get there in the end.

My package arrived from the Open University on Wednesday. I am now officially a “mature student”.

I haven’t had the chance to go through it yet, but I got a lovely canvas carry case to go with the books, along with a dvd. I may walk about with it so I can look bookish and studenty,lol.

I’ve yet to be assigned my tutor though, but as the course doesn’t officially start until Sept. 1st, I guess there’s still time. I’m new to all this and not sure how things are done.

But here goes. Wish me luck.

Has anybody noticed the date yet?

Well, as my 12pm didn’t confirm I’m going to venture out and pop on over to  Borough Market. I haven’t been since last summer and I’ve just had a look at their website and see that there are some new traders that are definitely worth a visit, including an Italian guy by the name of Sebastiano Accaputo and his missus who’ll be trading in nearby Jubilee Market, part of what makes up Borough Market.  It sounds like there are some delectables I may definitely be interested in. I’ve been trying to summon up the energy to also pop into the Tate Gallery, but it’s been such a busy week, I think I’ll just have to give it a miss. It’s been a good week work-wise and what with Manchester I think I’ll have a lazy evening tonight.

In other news, I went to look at a car yesterday. It’s a lovely little runner, a ’99 Volvo S40 for £380. Not bad eh?! Apparently the list price on AutoTrader was incorrect, less than the intended price, but the seller, nice as he is, is honouring it. I had a runaround in it and it’s a bit of a difference to my behemoth that is my 20yr old banger. It still has to have its MOT though, but failing that I should have it in my grasp this weekend. Wish me luck.

Wish me luck again because I’ve also sent off my application and payment for the Openings course at the Open University. I know I left it a bit late as the closing date is Monday (16th) so I gave them a call yesterday to see how many spaces were left. The kind lady I spoke to told me there was about 50. I didn’t want to chance it so I popped back out to the Post Office yesterday and sent off my application along with my Tesco’s school voucher. I even paid extra for next day delivery to be signed for, as said kind lady advised that the voucher is considered cash and it would be best to register it. The course starts September 1st. Oooooooh!

This past Sunday I broke my no bookings on a Sunday rule and I made an exception for an old customer whom I hadn’t seen for about a year and a half. And I’m glad I did. Don’t ask me why but the words “yum-yum” sprang to mind when I opened the door to him. I think I’d forgotten just how gorgeous he was.

My training for my voluntary job is going very well. I feel like I’ve especially had a good couple of days. Mind you, I’ve not long come in from the job and I’ve been given more homework, to be completed by next Tuesday. So I’ve been cursing a few soft epithets. I think I’m just faffing about on here before I get down to doing some of it. You know, procrastinating.

And yesterday afternoon I went to an Open University open day at Croydon Library. I spoke to an advisor who was very helpful and put some new ideas into my head concerning my course. Although their website is user friendly and manoeuverable, it can be quite frustrating to a newbie. The advisor showed me one of the books that I’d have to read. I think I pee’d myself a little. I swear it was as thick as a step. I coulda done aerobics on it.

I picked up some more prospectuses (is that a word? prospecti?) so I can take my time and have a read of exactly what’s on offer within the degree I want to do.

Looks like I’ve got a lot of reading to do this week.

I think I may go ahead and start it a bit earlier than anticipated.

I’ve taken another look at the Open University website, obviously reading more about the Criminology degree that I want to do and there’s an Openings course on “Understanding Society”, which is kind of a segue into the more fully-fledged course I’m going to start in October. It’s a short course for those (like me) who haven’t written an essay in some time. In my case over 20yrs (eep!) so I reckon it’s a good idea to start right from the beginning. And it does count towards the degree.

It starts in June, which is good timing, as I can register for it when I get back from New York in April.

Wish me luck.