I'm back again! With more good news!
Surprise, surprise! An LJ post from me, FINALLY! :D Gosh, why do I always tend to disappear once March comes along? Mh, maybe it has something to do with spring? You know, I actually wrote two entries that I meant to post here, but I didn't find the time to and then they just got old and I had to edit them, but I couldn't, so in the end I didn't post any of those two entries. D: And then it suddenly hit me that it's MAY and I should really update my LJ! Not to mention I've been really missing you guys!! So here I am! ♥
I've got lots of news - mainly great news, with a few bad news. I'll start with the great news first - I'll try to give you a short summary... though it might not be short at all. XD;
First of all. I WAS ACCEPTED AT THE UNI I WANTED. ASDFGHJKL NO AMOUNT OF KEYBOARD SMASHING/CAPSLOCK CAN EXPRESS MY HAPPINESS. ♥ I couldn't quite believe it at first. It's such a big thing, y'know - one of those big things that you're so happy and it all seems so surreal that you can't even fully realize it's real. (... if that did make any sense.) But eventually I did realize that it's happened when I went to visit the uni in April, just before Easter! That's right, that's another great news - I went to Scotland! I went to Edinburgh! I went to the UK for the first time, finally! Okay, okay, you get the picture. XD
My gosh, I was so excited to go. The journey wasn't so bad, except for the fact that we had to take two planes every time - so we took four planes in total and that really makes you tired. I'm not a big fan of airports and going through all the security every time is so tiring. I'm not a big fan of airplanes, either - I'm always scared that the plane is gonna crash or something, not to mention I'm also scared of heights. XD; My mother didn't know I was afraid of heights, so she laughed a lot when she found out. XD;
Anyway, I had to take care of everything - the tickets, talking to people, asking for information - I felt like I had a big responsibility on my shoulders. (That's because my mother can't speak English and my father didn't come with us because he had to take care of the shop back home.) We didn't get lost though, and even when we had to take the bus to go from Edinburgh to Dundee, we didn't have any problems. We came home safe and sound and now it seems that my mother finally believes that I can handle the whole trip on my own. (Honestly, I knew I could handle it, it was not the first time I took a plane, nor the first time I went on a trip on my own, but I'm glad that now she knows it, too. She won't be worried when I have to take a plane on my own.)
So, let's get to the interesting part. I loved Edinburgh. ♥ I had never been there on my own, though everybody has always told me that it's beautiful and I have to agree - it's really a wonderful city. Scotland in general is wonderful. The old buildings, the houses, everything is so different from here. I couldn't stop looking around. Unfortunately, we couldn't spend much time there - we stayed in a hotel there only for a couple of nights and the day after our arrival we spent the whole day visiting the uni. Though I definitely want to see more of Edinburgh in the future. ♥
And, of course, the uni. It's not in Edinburgh, it's actually in Dundee, a little city north of Edinburgh. It takes approximately one hour and a half to go there, so it's not even that long of a trip. I really like the uni. The campus is quite big, I think the rooms are good (they're all single rooms, but I like that you can actually walk in there - the single rooms of my old school had space enough only for a bed), I like the way they plan on teaching the course - in general, I really like it. ♥ I spoke to a couple of teachers and they were really nice and answered all my questions. I spoke to a couple of students and they all said they enjoyed living there and that the city is nice, and even a couple of Law students came to talk to me. Oh, and I also met another Italian girl! Somehow, the thought that I won't be the only Italian student there kind of comforts me, haha. XD She's one year younger than me and she has yet to take the final exams at her school and right now we're keeping in contact through emails. Yeah. I just... I really don't know what to say about the whole situation, except that I can't wait to go there once September begins. XD
My gosh. To think that some months ago I was so worried that nobody would accept me - and now I'm going to the uni I hoped to go. I seriously didn't think it would have happened. I am just so happy that all of this is happening for real and that it's not just a dream. ♥
Another good news is that I have a new computer! I couldn't use internet for a week because I had to transfer all my files from my main hard drive to my external hd and that literally took days! Not because the files were a lot (I just had to transfer my sites/fanlistings folder, along with my fanfictions and LJ icons folders, and a couple of other things), but my old computer was just so slow, it took him a whole day just to transfer one folder. I'm just glad I have a computer that is faster now - my old one sometimes really made me want to bang my head against the wall.
Also, I think my father might finally be adjusting to the idea that I'm going away from home to study. You know, I think at first he didn't really think too much about it, because the fact that somebody could accept me was still somehow 'probable' but not 100% confirmed. But I think it really hit him when my mother and I went to visit the uni. Since then he's been asking me questions such as 'Are you sure you want to go?', 'Why did you choose to go to Scotland?', 'Why didn't you apply for a uni in London?' and blah blah blah. And I always keep telling him the same things over and over again - that I'm 100% sure I want to go, that Scotland is beautiful and that a university doesn't have to be in London to be good - the university of Dundee is a good uni for studying Law and there are tons of other good universities out there that are not necessarily located in London. Geez, I know my father loves London, but he's gotta understand that there are other great universities and that, most importantly, I was lucky enough to be accepted by one of them! I think he should focus more on the fact that I got accepted 'without cheating' (let's put it that way, I wouldn't know how to say it otherwise), as in Italy it doesn't happen a lot. As for my mother... she's really happy for me. ♥
Um... I don't think I have any more great news, though I could be missing something. The uni is practically the only thing I think about every day, nowadays. XD;
Though I do have some bad news. I wouldn't say it's really 'bad', but I wouldn't know how to say it otherwise. You see, since February started, I've been working at my parent's shop, where I helped my mother and dealt with the costumers. Of course, because I am their daughter and I almost never spend money (my mother gave me 25 euro in January to spend in case of emergency and now that it's May I still have 5 euro in my wallet - and I never asked for money since that time. If my friend didn't bring me along with her when she wanted to go out, I probably would still have all of those money with me), I told my mom not to give me any money for my 'work', as I think that it's our whole family who gains money from the shop, so it would be pointless to give me money, as I don't even spend it. I kept on helping my mom with the shop as usual - sometimes I would help her in the morning, other times during the afternoon. Until a week before we went to Scotland.
At that time, my mother had some serious back problems - she couldn't move and both her back and her legs ached terribly, to the point that I even had to help her with injections, which was the only way to cure the pain. Now she's feeling a lot better, thankfully, but still, it took her a whole four weeks to recover completely. When she first got sick, I had to stay home to help her and go to the pharmacy to buy her medicine - so my father went to take care of the shop. However, while my father was working, some inspectors came in and basically said that he couldn't work there, because the shop didn't "belong to him on paper", or something of the sort (apparently on paper, only my mother is the rightful owner of the shop), so he actually had to close the shop for two whole weeks, even though at the time he still was my mother's husband 'on paper' (they're divorcing 'on paper' this month, making it official).
Anyway, bottom line is - I can't work/help my mother at the shop anymore. If I wanted to help her at this point, I'd have to sign an 'official' contract that will make me able to work with her. It really sounds silly to me. I mean, I know I'm going to study to have a different job one day, but I'm their freaking daughter - I could be the next owner of the shop in the future and I need to have a freaking contract to help my own mother at our family's shop. Am I the only one who finds this silly? I just find it stupid that I can't help my mom when there's no one else who works there - it's just her and me. :/ Why can't a family member help another family member with their work (without a formal contract) in a shop that is run only by the family and no one else? Bah, some things just don't make any sense to me.
Right now I'm also in the process of helping my father expand his business with his site. He told me what he had in mind and what kind of site he wants. He knows I love making sites, so of course, I accepted to help him with it. To make the kind of site he wants, I'll definitely need to use php, so I've been studying more of it for the past week, while also trying to come up with the design he wants. I think I'll be focusing on that for the next weeks, while trying to keep up with my hobbies, like fanlistings and such. I've never done a 'professional' site before, I just hope I don't do anything wrong/stupid. XD;
And... yeah, that's all I can think of at the moment. I wanted to keep it short, but instead I rambled a lot... and I don't think I've said all the things I needed to say. XD; I need to catch up with all of you and start re-using twitter (I forgot to install TweetDeck on my new computer and thus forgot again about twitter /fail orz). At least now you know what has been going on in my life. I'll try to keep you all updated, if not by LJ, then at least by twitter. :)
What else...? Oh, right. I can't wait to talk to all of you again!! ♥
I've got lots of news - mainly great news, with a few bad news. I'll start with the great news first - I'll try to give you a short summary... though it might not be short at all. XD;
First of all. I WAS ACCEPTED AT THE UNI I WANTED. ASDFGHJKL NO AMOUNT OF KEYBOARD SMASHING/CAPSLOCK CAN EXPRESS MY HAPPINESS. ♥ I couldn't quite believe it at first. It's such a big thing, y'know - one of those big things that you're so happy and it all seems so surreal that you can't even fully realize it's real. (... if that did make any sense.) But eventually I did realize that it's happened when I went to visit the uni in April, just before Easter! That's right, that's another great news - I went to Scotland! I went to Edinburgh! I went to the UK for the first time, finally! Okay, okay, you get the picture. XD
My gosh, I was so excited to go. The journey wasn't so bad, except for the fact that we had to take two planes every time - so we took four planes in total and that really makes you tired. I'm not a big fan of airports and going through all the security every time is so tiring. I'm not a big fan of airplanes, either - I'm always scared that the plane is gonna crash or something, not to mention I'm also scared of heights. XD; My mother didn't know I was afraid of heights, so she laughed a lot when she found out. XD;
Anyway, I had to take care of everything - the tickets, talking to people, asking for information - I felt like I had a big responsibility on my shoulders. (That's because my mother can't speak English and my father didn't come with us because he had to take care of the shop back home.) We didn't get lost though, and even when we had to take the bus to go from Edinburgh to Dundee, we didn't have any problems. We came home safe and sound and now it seems that my mother finally believes that I can handle the whole trip on my own. (Honestly, I knew I could handle it, it was not the first time I took a plane, nor the first time I went on a trip on my own, but I'm glad that now she knows it, too. She won't be worried when I have to take a plane on my own.)
So, let's get to the interesting part. I loved Edinburgh. ♥ I had never been there on my own, though everybody has always told me that it's beautiful and I have to agree - it's really a wonderful city. Scotland in general is wonderful. The old buildings, the houses, everything is so different from here. I couldn't stop looking around. Unfortunately, we couldn't spend much time there - we stayed in a hotel there only for a couple of nights and the day after our arrival we spent the whole day visiting the uni. Though I definitely want to see more of Edinburgh in the future. ♥
And, of course, the uni. It's not in Edinburgh, it's actually in Dundee, a little city north of Edinburgh. It takes approximately one hour and a half to go there, so it's not even that long of a trip. I really like the uni. The campus is quite big, I think the rooms are good (they're all single rooms, but I like that you can actually walk in there - the single rooms of my old school had space enough only for a bed), I like the way they plan on teaching the course - in general, I really like it. ♥ I spoke to a couple of teachers and they were really nice and answered all my questions. I spoke to a couple of students and they all said they enjoyed living there and that the city is nice, and even a couple of Law students came to talk to me. Oh, and I also met another Italian girl! Somehow, the thought that I won't be the only Italian student there kind of comforts me, haha. XD She's one year younger than me and she has yet to take the final exams at her school and right now we're keeping in contact through emails. Yeah. I just... I really don't know what to say about the whole situation, except that I can't wait to go there once September begins. XD
My gosh. To think that some months ago I was so worried that nobody would accept me - and now I'm going to the uni I hoped to go. I seriously didn't think it would have happened. I am just so happy that all of this is happening for real and that it's not just a dream. ♥
Another good news is that I have a new computer! I couldn't use internet for a week because I had to transfer all my files from my main hard drive to my external hd and that literally took days! Not because the files were a lot (I just had to transfer my sites/fanlistings folder, along with my fanfictions and LJ icons folders, and a couple of other things), but my old computer was just so slow, it took him a whole day just to transfer one folder. I'm just glad I have a computer that is faster now - my old one sometimes really made me want to bang my head against the wall.
Also, I think my father might finally be adjusting to the idea that I'm going away from home to study. You know, I think at first he didn't really think too much about it, because the fact that somebody could accept me was still somehow 'probable' but not 100% confirmed. But I think it really hit him when my mother and I went to visit the uni. Since then he's been asking me questions such as 'Are you sure you want to go?', 'Why did you choose to go to Scotland?', 'Why didn't you apply for a uni in London?' and blah blah blah. And I always keep telling him the same things over and over again - that I'm 100% sure I want to go, that Scotland is beautiful and that a university doesn't have to be in London to be good - the university of Dundee is a good uni for studying Law and there are tons of other good universities out there that are not necessarily located in London. Geez, I know my father loves London, but he's gotta understand that there are other great universities and that, most importantly, I was lucky enough to be accepted by one of them! I think he should focus more on the fact that I got accepted 'without cheating' (let's put it that way, I wouldn't know how to say it otherwise), as in Italy it doesn't happen a lot. As for my mother... she's really happy for me. ♥
Um... I don't think I have any more great news, though I could be missing something. The uni is practically the only thing I think about every day, nowadays. XD;
Though I do have some bad news. I wouldn't say it's really 'bad', but I wouldn't know how to say it otherwise. You see, since February started, I've been working at my parent's shop, where I helped my mother and dealt with the costumers. Of course, because I am their daughter and I almost never spend money (my mother gave me 25 euro in January to spend in case of emergency and now that it's May I still have 5 euro in my wallet - and I never asked for money since that time. If my friend didn't bring me along with her when she wanted to go out, I probably would still have all of those money with me), I told my mom not to give me any money for my 'work', as I think that it's our whole family who gains money from the shop, so it would be pointless to give me money, as I don't even spend it. I kept on helping my mom with the shop as usual - sometimes I would help her in the morning, other times during the afternoon. Until a week before we went to Scotland.
At that time, my mother had some serious back problems - she couldn't move and both her back and her legs ached terribly, to the point that I even had to help her with injections, which was the only way to cure the pain. Now she's feeling a lot better, thankfully, but still, it took her a whole four weeks to recover completely. When she first got sick, I had to stay home to help her and go to the pharmacy to buy her medicine - so my father went to take care of the shop. However, while my father was working, some inspectors came in and basically said that he couldn't work there, because the shop didn't "belong to him on paper", or something of the sort (apparently on paper, only my mother is the rightful owner of the shop), so he actually had to close the shop for two whole weeks, even though at the time he still was my mother's husband 'on paper' (they're divorcing 'on paper' this month, making it official).
Anyway, bottom line is - I can't work/help my mother at the shop anymore. If I wanted to help her at this point, I'd have to sign an 'official' contract that will make me able to work with her. It really sounds silly to me. I mean, I know I'm going to study to have a different job one day, but I'm their freaking daughter - I could be the next owner of the shop in the future and I need to have a freaking contract to help my own mother at our family's shop. Am I the only one who finds this silly? I just find it stupid that I can't help my mom when there's no one else who works there - it's just her and me. :/ Why can't a family member help another family member with their work (without a formal contract) in a shop that is run only by the family and no one else? Bah, some things just don't make any sense to me.
Right now I'm also in the process of helping my father expand his business with his site. He told me what he had in mind and what kind of site he wants. He knows I love making sites, so of course, I accepted to help him with it. To make the kind of site he wants, I'll definitely need to use php, so I've been studying more of it for the past week, while also trying to come up with the design he wants. I think I'll be focusing on that for the next weeks, while trying to keep up with my hobbies, like fanlistings and such. I've never done a 'professional' site before, I just hope I don't do anything wrong/stupid. XD;
And... yeah, that's all I can think of at the moment. I wanted to keep it short, but instead I rambled a lot... and I don't think I've said all the things I needed to say. XD; I need to catch up with all of you and start re-using twitter (I forgot to install TweetDeck on my new computer and thus forgot again about twitter /fail orz). At least now you know what has been going on in my life. I'll try to keep you all updated, if not by LJ, then at least by twitter. :)
What else...? Oh, right. I can't wait to talk to all of you again!! ♥