I Love You, Now Let's Go Shoot Zombies!
New journal style! Yay! Also, while I'm talking journally stuff, there's some interesting debate and discussion going on in my previous entry ("Writer's Block: It's Women's Equality Day!" - 26 August 2011 @ 08:28) - thank you truearisa and ladyadeone for giving me the chance to exercise my brain before I go to university! I think I need some healthy debate to prepare me for my course.
The weekend so far has been absolutely brilliant! Jason's obviously stayed over at mine Friday to Saturday, and today I've had a nice relaxed day to myself. Today I've mainly been reading, looking around the Internet for cool things to do on Minecraft, and working my way through the stack of junk food that he always seems to leave behind.
On Friday, since I had a bit more money with my bus tickets being refunded, I did a bit of shopping to pick up some warmer clothes for university, what with winter being on its way and most of my clothes are more summery. Most of the details about Friday I've already written about, right up to actually being in the station, waiting for Jason, when his mum Maria and brother Lee showed up to meet him as well.
So, Maria and Lee had showed up. We talked a bit as we waited, mainly about the insane weather we were having and how suddenly it had come on, and a train arrived at the platform opposite.
"That'll be Jason's," Maria said, and I felt a little jolt in my chest.
We couldn't see who was getting off because the train blocked our view, but moments later there he was, walking towards me with his arms outstretched and I couldn't keep this huge, stupid grin off my face, I was so glad to see him again. He held me tight for a few moments, told me how much he'd missed me and then started telling his mum and Lee about the journey back. He let them take his bag (except for a few things he'd need at mine) and then, once we'd decided it might be a smart idea to borrow an umbrella, we headed out into the downpour.
There was absolutely no point in borrowing an umbrella. The rain was so heavy and the wind was blowing it into us - we got soaked anyway. Stood in KFC waiting for our food was a brief refuge but we were soon out in it again, heading off to get the bus. The 34, happily, was turning up just as we reached stand 1, so it wasn't a long wait.
During the ride home, Jason started telling me about the kind of work he'd done in the first week. Even though it was an 'induction' week, the main induction stuff was done on the first and second days - health and safety, paperwork and all that jazz - so for the last three days they got down to a bit of theory and some practical stuff.
I can tell you this: years ago I used to think Horticulture was one of those 'dumbed down' kind of courses - pruning trees and digging holes. But there's actually a lot to it; you've got to learn how to use equipment for starters and a lot of what you learn crosses over into Biology - how plants work, the anatomy of them, how to care for different kinds - there's different types of fertilisers and their chemical composition... this is just what I can recall, but there'll be a hell of a lot more and it'll get more and more technical as time goes by.
Don't knock Horticulture, kids; I'll bet that the vast majority of people who do wouldn't know what the hell to do if they were asked to trim a hedge or tie a timberhitch knot.
So, Jason and I spent the night as usual - playing Minecraft, having tea, having tea, watching silly videos on YouTube (a classic example being my brother's Shoe Reaction.mp4 - guest-starring me - you'll see the hem of my dress as I walk past in the upper-right corner!) and stuffing our faces.
I was planning to go to the flea market the next day - if the weather would be nice to me and improve - and when I was lying in bed the next morning it looked alright outside. But as Jason and I lay there in idle chit-chat it turned dull again. When we got downstairs and Dad went out before we could ask him to drive us to Earlestown, it started chucking it down again. I decided to wait until he came back but Ashley told us he was getting the car fitted with a new exhaust, so would probably be gone a while.
Jason and I actually made an attempt to go out that morning, when the weather seemed to have brightened up, but as soon as we'd got our shoes on rain spattered the window again - it was pissing it down. The second time, we actually got out and as far as Earlestown - but when we'd emerged from the clothes shop next to Morissons, QSExtra, it was pouring down again.
Happily, while we were getting food in Morissons, Dad and Ashley showed up out of the blue so we had a ride home - no getting soaked for us! We stocked up on more junk food and bought the stuff to make a Chicken Arrabbiata.
Afterwards, Jason asked if we could have a go on Left 4 Dead. I'd suggested this to him before his week in Exeter, that we should try a two-player co-op, and now was the time. A campaign of Left 4 Dead, with two inexperienced players, one of which wasn't even an experienced FPS player (that's me - Jason's used to FPS games!)... so you can imagine it was pretty chaotic. Technically I should have been dead seven times over (max. health is 100 and I lost over 700hp during the campaign), we were both just running off being grabbed and vomited on by zombies... twas insanity at its finest!
And then I played Fable II, which I haven't played in a long time, trying to break the world record for bigamy. Cue a bunch of bickering aristocrats who were seduced, married, and then dumped in a caravan site in Westcliff.
I'm not quite sure how to go into the next part of the entry. As long-time readers know, Jason and I have been going out almost five months now. There have been ups and downs around us (i.e. the Tom incident, mainly), but our relationship has been smooth sailing - not a problem. Still, five months is peanuts for most relationships, and I'll be the first person to stand up and say that rushing into things is definitely Not a Good Idea. Even if the two people involved are patient with each-other, get on unbelievably well and have a whale of a time whenever they're in the same room. However...
Yesterday, when Jason and I were up in my room, he said: "I'm going to get really mushy on you now."
I grinned at him. "Oh yeah?"
"I love you so much and our relationship has come so far," he told me, "I think I want to marry you. Not now, obviously - I'm not ready - but when you're done with uni. I can see myself being married to you in future..."
I used to think marriage was a farce, with divorce rates being as they are, all these quickie marriages that seem to go on and fall apart like stars in a time-lapsed universe and this obsession with celebrity weddings. But when I met Jason and later on realised what we had in each-other and what we could have, I decided that marriage is indeed a beautiful thing - with the right people involved. So when he said this, I was indescribably happy. It's not an immediate proposal - it'll be a good few years before anything comes of it - but it's brilliant to know that he thinks I'm the one for him, like I think he's the one for me.
See, it's a long way to come in just five months. And I can envision you all sat by your computers reading this, rolling your eyes and thinking 'She's just nineteen! They've not even been going out half a year! How naïve could she get?!' - if I wasn't myself - instead someone who only knew me through my journal - I might agree and say the couple needs more time before the idea of marriage is even thought about.
We have both agreed that we aren't ready yet, but it's something to consider in a few years once I've graduated and moved back to England. It's not like we're going to get married next week. So we have a few more years to see how my being away will impact us, to let our relationship develop and then to see if we still feel the same way.
Honestly, though? Jason and I are such patient people, so tolerant of each-other and get on so well that I think we'll handle the three years brilliantly. Of course it's going to be painful and I'll miss him terribly but seeing him during holidays will be that bit sweeter as a result. I think we're going to survive my time in uni, and I think that when I'm done marriage will still be an option.
We'll see, though. I can't be sure until closer to the time.
Jason got the last bus home, and I was absolutely shattered so as soon as I got into bed, I was asleep. Today, I'm missing him and I have a headache, but thankfully it's a bank holiday Monday tomorrow so I can meet him in town at around half twelve instead of after work at five - more time together! I can't wait to see him. For now, though, a couple of painkillers are in order. Then a good long soak in the bath. :)
The weekend so far has been absolutely brilliant! Jason's obviously stayed over at mine Friday to Saturday, and today I've had a nice relaxed day to myself. Today I've mainly been reading, looking around the Internet for cool things to do on Minecraft, and working my way through the stack of junk food that he always seems to leave behind.
On Friday, since I had a bit more money with my bus tickets being refunded, I did a bit of shopping to pick up some warmer clothes for university, what with winter being on its way and most of my clothes are more summery. Most of the details about Friday I've already written about, right up to actually being in the station, waiting for Jason, when his mum Maria and brother Lee showed up to meet him as well.
So, Maria and Lee had showed up. We talked a bit as we waited, mainly about the insane weather we were having and how suddenly it had come on, and a train arrived at the platform opposite.
"That'll be Jason's," Maria said, and I felt a little jolt in my chest.
We couldn't see who was getting off because the train blocked our view, but moments later there he was, walking towards me with his arms outstretched and I couldn't keep this huge, stupid grin off my face, I was so glad to see him again. He held me tight for a few moments, told me how much he'd missed me and then started telling his mum and Lee about the journey back. He let them take his bag (except for a few things he'd need at mine) and then, once we'd decided it might be a smart idea to borrow an umbrella, we headed out into the downpour.
There was absolutely no point in borrowing an umbrella. The rain was so heavy and the wind was blowing it into us - we got soaked anyway. Stood in KFC waiting for our food was a brief refuge but we were soon out in it again, heading off to get the bus. The 34, happily, was turning up just as we reached stand 1, so it wasn't a long wait.
During the ride home, Jason started telling me about the kind of work he'd done in the first week. Even though it was an 'induction' week, the main induction stuff was done on the first and second days - health and safety, paperwork and all that jazz - so for the last three days they got down to a bit of theory and some practical stuff.
I can tell you this: years ago I used to think Horticulture was one of those 'dumbed down' kind of courses - pruning trees and digging holes. But there's actually a lot to it; you've got to learn how to use equipment for starters and a lot of what you learn crosses over into Biology - how plants work, the anatomy of them, how to care for different kinds - there's different types of fertilisers and their chemical composition... this is just what I can recall, but there'll be a hell of a lot more and it'll get more and more technical as time goes by.
Don't knock Horticulture, kids; I'll bet that the vast majority of people who do wouldn't know what the hell to do if they were asked to trim a hedge or tie a timberhitch knot.
So, Jason and I spent the night as usual - playing Minecraft, having tea, having tea, watching silly videos on YouTube (a classic example being my brother's Shoe Reaction.mp4 - guest-starring me - you'll see the hem of my dress as I walk past in the upper-right corner!) and stuffing our faces.
I was planning to go to the flea market the next day - if the weather would be nice to me and improve - and when I was lying in bed the next morning it looked alright outside. But as Jason and I lay there in idle chit-chat it turned dull again. When we got downstairs and Dad went out before we could ask him to drive us to Earlestown, it started chucking it down again. I decided to wait until he came back but Ashley told us he was getting the car fitted with a new exhaust, so would probably be gone a while.
Jason and I actually made an attempt to go out that morning, when the weather seemed to have brightened up, but as soon as we'd got our shoes on rain spattered the window again - it was pissing it down. The second time, we actually got out and as far as Earlestown - but when we'd emerged from the clothes shop next to Morissons, QSExtra, it was pouring down again.
Happily, while we were getting food in Morissons, Dad and Ashley showed up out of the blue so we had a ride home - no getting soaked for us! We stocked up on more junk food and bought the stuff to make a Chicken Arrabbiata.
Afterwards, Jason asked if we could have a go on Left 4 Dead. I'd suggested this to him before his week in Exeter, that we should try a two-player co-op, and now was the time. A campaign of Left 4 Dead, with two inexperienced players, one of which wasn't even an experienced FPS player (that's me - Jason's used to FPS games!)... so you can imagine it was pretty chaotic. Technically I should have been dead seven times over (max. health is 100 and I lost over 700hp during the campaign), we were both just running off being grabbed and vomited on by zombies... twas insanity at its finest!
And then I played Fable II, which I haven't played in a long time, trying to break the world record for bigamy. Cue a bunch of bickering aristocrats who were seduced, married, and then dumped in a caravan site in Westcliff.
I'm not quite sure how to go into the next part of the entry. As long-time readers know, Jason and I have been going out almost five months now. There have been ups and downs around us (i.e. the Tom incident, mainly), but our relationship has been smooth sailing - not a problem. Still, five months is peanuts for most relationships, and I'll be the first person to stand up and say that rushing into things is definitely Not a Good Idea. Even if the two people involved are patient with each-other, get on unbelievably well and have a whale of a time whenever they're in the same room. However...
Yesterday, when Jason and I were up in my room, he said: "I'm going to get really mushy on you now."
I grinned at him. "Oh yeah?"
"I love you so much and our relationship has come so far," he told me, "I think I want to marry you. Not now, obviously - I'm not ready - but when you're done with uni. I can see myself being married to you in future..."
I used to think marriage was a farce, with divorce rates being as they are, all these quickie marriages that seem to go on and fall apart like stars in a time-lapsed universe and this obsession with celebrity weddings. But when I met Jason and later on realised what we had in each-other and what we could have, I decided that marriage is indeed a beautiful thing - with the right people involved. So when he said this, I was indescribably happy. It's not an immediate proposal - it'll be a good few years before anything comes of it - but it's brilliant to know that he thinks I'm the one for him, like I think he's the one for me.
See, it's a long way to come in just five months. And I can envision you all sat by your computers reading this, rolling your eyes and thinking 'She's just nineteen! They've not even been going out half a year! How naïve could she get?!' - if I wasn't myself - instead someone who only knew me through my journal - I might agree and say the couple needs more time before the idea of marriage is even thought about.
We have both agreed that we aren't ready yet, but it's something to consider in a few years once I've graduated and moved back to England. It's not like we're going to get married next week. So we have a few more years to see how my being away will impact us, to let our relationship develop and then to see if we still feel the same way.
Honestly, though? Jason and I are such patient people, so tolerant of each-other and get on so well that I think we'll handle the three years brilliantly. Of course it's going to be painful and I'll miss him terribly but seeing him during holidays will be that bit sweeter as a result. I think we're going to survive my time in uni, and I think that when I'm done marriage will still be an option.
We'll see, though. I can't be sure until closer to the time.
Jason got the last bus home, and I was absolutely shattered so as soon as I got into bed, I was asleep. Today, I'm missing him and I have a headache, but thankfully it's a bank holiday Monday tomorrow so I can meet him in town at around half twelve instead of after work at five - more time together! I can't wait to see him. For now, though, a couple of painkillers are in order. Then a good long soak in the bath. :)