Christmas in the Sun

I have just arrived back from spending the last week in Lanzarote. I have wanted to go somewhere abroad for Christmas for a really long time and it was soooooo nice to spend it somewhere warm and sunny. In fact it wasn't just warm but hot, hot, hot! There was a very long delay in leaving Gatwick and instead of boarding at 8.10am we boarded the plane at 7.30pm. Having to hang around in the airport for that long certainly wasn't a great start to the holiday and our tempers were beginning to fray by the end of it! I had taken my pack of Uno cards with me and we were thankful for those eventually!


As the plane was so late we got to lanzarote in the middle of the night so didn't see anything of it until we got up the next day. And Lo and Behold it was chucking it down with rain! In fact it continued raining for all of that day and through the morning the next day! It did brighten up though and for the rest of the week it was very hot at about 25 degrees. Having left England in the snow it was glorious to be in the warmth! We spent Christmas on the beach and opened our presents on the balcony. My friend got me a book called Wreck this Journal. I am very anal over my books and hate even breaking the spines of a page getting bent! The point of this book is to completely trash it by doing things such as breaking the spine and scribbling in it and so on! I had fun doing that!


While in Lanzarote we went to Timanfaya which is where the volcano erupted for 6 years. It was amazing and it looked like a completely different planet. Supposedly a lot of the films which are set on the moon are filmed there because of the landscape. It was fascinating to see the lava flows and molten rock. The land was so hot that just putting some straw on the earth causes it to set fire in just a couple of minutes! I loved looking around and getting a feel of the place. I still can't get my head around the explosion and what it must have been like.




The holiday was really nice and I have come back feeling relaxed and sunned. Finally here's a picture of the view from the road outside our apartment:

Naomi House

My Charity this month is Naomi House. It is a local charity to Winchester and is a hospice for Children with disabilities and life threatening illnesses. They give care for the children and respite for the parents. They unfortunately lost a lot of money earlier this year due to banks collapsing and this made their future look very uncertain. They have managed to get some of this back but not all. They are a charity and are always in need of more finances and with the economy as it is and the bank problems earlier this year they have never been in more need. If you'd like to find out more about them then click here!

Britain's Got Talent!

I received an email today with tickets for 4 people to go and see a Britain's Got Talent Audition in February!! I have signed up for loads of tv shows so that I can get to be in an audience and I haven't had any luck yet. I was beginning to think that I wouldn't get any and now this has come! I'm so excited. I love Britain's Got Talent and what makes it even better is that Ant and Dec are the hosts and I luuuuuuuuuuuuuurve them! Now I just need to find 3 people I know who are able to come to London on a Wednesday in Feb with me to come along and I will have completed another of my tasks! Wow so exciting!

A Weekend of Time Travel

Ok so no I haven't actually been time travelling but wow that would be fun... Maybe I should add that to my to 30 and beyond list of things to do!

I have watched a couple of films from the 50 films to see list this weekend. Having not watched any for ages I thought I should catch up with them. I was babysitting last night so took the opportunity to get comfy in front of the settee with a big slab of chocolate and watch Back to the Future - hence the time travel! I have seen this film a huge amount of times but I can't remember the last time I watched it all the way through from the beginning to the end. It's a film that is always on and so I'll just dip in and out of it when I come across it on telly. It was a good opportunity to watch it from the beginning last night and actually remember the sequence of events in the correct order! The people I babysit for have everything you could ask for when it comes to an entertainment system. They have blu-ray player, dvd recorder and of course Sky HD. I was going to watch Boyz n the Hood on dvd but I couldn't work out how to get the sound to be the dvd and not sky! I'd managed to get the dvd player working but for some reason I could see the dvd but still hear the sound from the telly - frustrating! So in the end I flicked through sky and found Back to the Future was on Sky Anytime and chose that.

I have spent this morning exactly doing what Sunday mornings were made for - lying in bed! I had some chocolate left from last night so I put Donnie Darko on the dvd player in my room and lay in bed watching that while munching dairy milk. I hadn't seen this film before but it was a good one. It also included a bit of time travel in it so I feel all knowledged up about it now and feel i'm almost ready to start a bit of it myself - thinking i may go back to see some dinosaurs!

Toys r us, toys r us, toys r us

I finished my Christmas Shopping this evening. 1st of Dec and I'm all done! I think this is the earliest I've ever completed my Christmas shopping and it feels good :) I went to Toys R Us this evening and blitzed the place! It was a pretty traumatic event by the end of the evening. I set out with a good feeling optimistic that I would be able to buy all the presents for my 6 nieces and nephews in one go without having to traipse around loads of shops. Well I did manage to do that but only only 2 and a half hours £80 later!! It was harder work than I thought to choose between so many toys and games. It then got to the final two presents and I started to become a bit of a trembling wreck. My sister said to me before I went that if I began sitting in the corner rocking I was to leave - I should probably have listened to her advice! The problem I had was that I'd found something for my two nieces but it was the same thing and that particular brand were doing an offer of buy 2 get 1 free. This would normally be great but I had the problem of then having a third thing and no one to give it to (I had already chosen things for the other 4 kids and didn't want to change those) and I didn't want to just get two and not get something free!! This is where this challenge comes into it. In order to decide what I was going to do I had to speak to my sister and my mum to find out what they had got the children and ask what my sister thought would be the best thing to get her boy. You see how I'm linking this?! To speak with all of my family members each month! One of my brothers had phoned me earlier on to speak to me about football tickets for a match we're going to later this month and I had rung my other brother to ask him what one of his children is in to at the moment. So while in Toys R Us I actually managed to speak to every single person in my family - maybe I should go more often!!!

I have been doing well with keeping in contact with my family since starting this challenge. I get on with my family anyway but I can go for months on occassions without talking to them, especially my brothers. This is mainly just down to all of us being busy and living in completely different places across the country. It's not a huge problem but I thought that as I was doing this challenge and trying to fit something for each areas of my life it would be good to do something to strengthen my family relationships. It has definitely made an impact on my relationship with one of my brothers. We have met up a couple of times since I've started the 30 things which is more than I would've done in the past. His wife is having their first baby next year so I am excited about that (yeah my 6 nieces and nephews are all by my other brother and my sister as they have three each. Next Christmas I'll be having to buy for 7!).

Well November has ended and I completed all my monthly tasks which is good. I also didn't spend anything on my credit cards so that has increased that total to 2. Unfortunately I'm not going to make that 3 months in December as I paid for Toys R Us (ok so maybe it wasn't the entire shop even if it felt it!) by credit card this evening. That's not too much of a shock though as Christmas is an expensive time and I knew that I would have to cover some things by card. I will be donating to charity a bit later in the month this time round. I'm going to be getting my benefits just before Christmas so I will give then as I have a couple of Christmas outings I need to pay for before then! I have already decided who I'm going to give to this month but I will post about that when I do it!

Tis is the Season...

With December starting tomorrow I started making my Christmas cards at the weekend. I have some photos which I had taken back in March when it was snowy here which I am using. I went to a craft shop on Friday during my lunch break and had fun choosing cards and stickers and decorative paper. I've really enjoyed making them and if I may say so myself they've come out looking really good! I've made 15 so far so only about another 10 to go which I'll do over the next couple of days. I like to start sending them towards the end of the first week of December.

December is an exciting month for me with my holiday to look forward to. I can't wait to reach the warm sir and sunshine that is waiting for us in Lanzarote! Going on holiday over Christmas is one of my tasks that I included because it is something that I've wanted to do for a long time. It feels good to have one of the larger tasks coming up as it's something more exciting than swimming twice a month!

You may have noticed (prob not!) that one of my tasks has changed. Instead of having to pay off all my credit cards I have changed it to not using my cards for a month 12 times. Paying off my credit cards is not going to be achievable. My debt is larger than what is a sensible amount to try and pay off in that time scale but I do want something regarding the debt on here as it is something I do want to get on top of. I have now not used my cards for 2 months in a row (including Nov) and it feels good to not be increasing my debt for the first time in years. I now have another 10 months to not use them at some point over the next 22 months. If I don't use them for months than that it will be an even bigger bonus!!

Bit of a set-back

I have just received an email letting me know that I didn't get the job I interviewed for last week. I am very disappointed but am ok. At least I have a job that I normally enjoy and don't mind doing. This was my first application for a library job so I will just have to keep trying. I didn't get any feedback but I will ring and ask for some as that can help for future applications and possible interviews. They had interviewed a lot of people with two days of interviews being run. At the moment there are very few jobs with a lot of applicants so I will just have to keep my chin up and keep applying for jobs when I see them.

Waiting to hear...

Well i had my job interview today for the library assistant post. It was THE shortest interview I have ever had. They asked me just 5 questions and it was over in 15 minutes if not 10. When I was 18 I had a job interview to work in WHSmiths for 4 hours on a Saturday and that interview was a whole day one! When they asked me if I had any questions I was so shocked I was speechless (and trust me that doesn't happen very often!!). I had prepared all these answers to the questions about my strengths and weaknesses and other questions you expect at an interview to find I didn't need them!

Other than the length of it I felt it went fairly well. It did disconcert me a little bit but then my boss said to me that they HAVE to ask every person they interview exactly the same questions so it would only have been the same length for everyone else. I received an email this afternoon saying they hadn't yet made a decision and that I would hear from them next week. This feels quite a long time to me but it's not a straight out and out no so that's one good thing. I will now sit back and try and forget about it and just wait and see. If I don't get it I will ask for feedback so I can use anything useful for future opportunities.

Cross Stitch

About 6 years ago I completed a cross stictch of a bright coloured cat. There is a series of 3 of them and I wanted to do all of them and then make them into cushions. It took me about a year to complete the first one and then I didn't start on the second one for a year or so after that. This is a picture of the completed one:



I haven't done any cross stitching in years. Unfortunately I found it easier to just sit on my butt chatting online in front of the tv instead of stitching. I used to really enjoy stitching and found it quite addictive! I enjoyed just sitting in front of a tv programme while working on a cross stitch. So I picked it back up again a few weeks ago. I have made some progress on the second cat one but still a long way to go. Hopefully having it as one of the tasks for this challenge will give me the motivation to keep going with it!

Swimming

I got back in the pool today after what felt like a long break. The last time I went was in Cheltenham and that was my only swim last month. It was good to be back swimming again although I only did 20 lengths. It is harder to motivate myself to go when the weather is cold. When it's the summer I always want to go swimming just to cool myself down! It's worth really pushing myself to go though as I do enjoy it when I get there like this morning.

One step closer

I have an interview!!! I applied for the library assistant job going at the library in the university I work at and have now been asked to an interview. I am really excited but am trying desperately not to get my hopes up! I would absolutely love to get this job but I know that I can't count on getting it. I reckon that my chances are fairly high, and being an internal candidate can be a help, but there will be other people applying as qualified, as enthusiatic as me and probably with more experience than I have. I have little experience directly in the library but what I need to focus on in the interview is all the relevant experience I have by working in the university for nearly 3 years. I will be very disappointed if I don't get this job because it is something I really want and it will be a step towards my future librarian career but I also need to be realistic about it being the first library job I've properly applied for and the lack of library experience I have. If i don't get it it will be important for me not to let it get me down!

I seem to have gained a life!!

Since starting this challenge and with my friend doing a 101 things in 1001 days I seem to be doing lots of things. I got a little confused the other day when I looked in my diary and there seemed to be writing in it! I'm not used to being so busy and it suddenly dawned on me that I seem have actually found a life from somewhere!!

There are lots of things that I'm doing that aren't part of my list but are cool things to do and I would quite like to blog about them. I enjoy blogging as it keeps a record for me to be able to look back over and remind me what I've done. My 101 friend has started a life list blog which is all the things she wants to do not on her 101 list and as she inspired me to do my 30 things challenge I have taken another leaf out of her book and started another blog for all my other things! I have called that blog To 30 and beyond as I have no particular time scale to do them in and I may do them before I'm 30 or I may just wait until I'm 70! Either way I plan to do them either because they sound like fun, I think it may be a challenge worth doing, my friend talks me into it or because I've always wanted to. It will follow a very similar lay out to this blog but of course will be inifinite in length as it will be to update throughout my life!

Take a look here if you are interested! http://to30andbeyond.blogspot.com/

Edinburgh Festival

I am very excited! I have just booked a youth hostel in Edinburgh for four people for a weekend in August next year. This will be to go to the Festival. I have two friends who have said that they would like to come and my sister has said she'd love to but can't say for definite yet as she has 3 children so all depends on family holidays etc etc. I decided that I'd book a place for four as you can book rooms just for four people. That way we won't need to share with strangers! If my sister isn't able to make it then we'll either find someone else or cancel that place.

It is exciting to book things in advance. Knowing that I have things in place gives me something to look forward to and get excited about!

Rainforest Foundation UK

The Rainforest Foundation is my choice for November's charity donation. I saw on tv the other day that Sky tv are raising for a rainforest charity at the moment and it gave me the idea. I haven't given to Sky's promotion but looked online to see what charities are out there. The Fainforest Foundation doesn't just campaign for the Rainforests but work with the local communities as well. I thought that it looked a pretty sound charity so they are the ones I chose!

End of October

I have had a good October. I ticked off a couple of my tasks and enjoyed myself doing them. I loved the Cheltenham festival and will continue going to literary festivals when I get the opportunity. There seems to be a lot of them around!

I didn't get my swims in though for October. I did go for a swim once which was when i was in cheltenham. For some reason I have been feeling very tired over the last couple of weeks. I think the clocks going back didn't help. Anyway because of this I've not been swimming for the second time. I will aim to go an extra time this month to get up the number. I'm not going to beat myself up about it because that's not what the list is about! I have enjoyed going swimming and I will continue to do so and that is what counts most!

I have been doing a lot more in my life because of this list but also as my friend is doing the 101 challenge and I've been doing lots of things with her. I am living life to enjoy it. I love being out and about doing things with friends and today I went to Oxford. I had a great time. We went to the Castle and I got freaked out by a man dressed as a monk pretending to be a ghost!! We then went to Christ Church College and had a look around there. This is where parts of Harry Potter was filmed but I was more interested in just taking a look around the place. I tried to imagine being a student at a university like that but couldn't quite get my head around it! The library wasn't open to the public but it looked amazing through the windows! I would like to visit the Bodlein library but unfortunately it's not open on Sunday's to the public so that will have to wait for another time!

The most exciting achievement and working towards a task was the library job at work coming up. I would love to get the job but am trying not to get my hopes up too much. I handed my application in on Friday and the closing date is tomorrow. I will hopefully hear by the end of the week, if not the beginning of the following week, whether I've got an interview or not. Not to blow my own trumpet but I will be surprised if I don't get an interview as I did meet all the criteria in the person spec and I made sure I referred to all of them in my application. Getting the job though is a different matter! Anyway whatever happens just having the opportunity to apply for it has been exciting. I wasn't expecting to get in to a full time library job so soon in the challenge so if it does happen it's going to be a very happy bonus!

My best achievement for October has been not spending any money whatsoever on credit cards. This has been the first month I've done that and will aim to not spend on them again over November. With Christmas coming up I'm envisaging it's going to be tough but I will just rein in spending on myself!

I now have November to focus on. This month I will be choosing another charity to give to and hopefully get in at least 2 if not 3 swims. I don't have any other particular plans for any of my other tasks this month. I've got my brother and his wife coming to stay for a weekend this month and we're going to a football match so I won't have any spare money to do anything else special. Having said that I am hoping to book a youth hostel in Edinburgh for the festival next year. I have got two friends who are up for coming and I've seen hostels cheaply for a room for 4 people so I'll find one other person and pay a deposit for it. You need to book early for somewhere to stay over the festival and the deposits are minimal so there's not much to lose to book it now!

Fancy Paying off Credit Cards?!

Ok so with this post you are going to have to bear with me. You will have seen (if you are a follower of my blog or have just glanced down my list of tasks) that one of my challenges is to pay of my credit cards. Well this is the one task that is proving more difficult than the others. In fact difficult is not really the word I need...impossible fits it better! I have debts which amount to just over half my yearly salary which I have accrued by basically spending too much money on things that I see in shops which at the time look beautiful or useful (of course when buying things I follow William Morris' Golden rule of "have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." In fact I have found by having just one house that you rent it cuts down on your spending than having 'houses'). If you know me you probably don't think that I spend lots of money on myself. I don't wear glamourous clothes or own 100 pairs of shoes (just 50 pairs) and I don't go out every night of the week or even every weekend. What I do buy though are a lot of books. I also went part time at work at the end of last year due to health reasons and for several months ended up having to live the end of each month on my credit cards until I was able to sort out benefits. Ok so that's enough about how my selfish living has got me into this debt.

How I've been paying it off is like this:
I've been paying the minimum repayments which amounts to £280 a month. This is actually now an unmanageable amount and I can't afford to keep this going. I have contacted one of the credit cards and have reduced the repayment of that one by £100. This has made the repayments a bit more manageable for me but still very difficult. They are also still charging me interest so the amount is going up not down and will do for the next two months until they stop the interest.

As you can see my repayment plans is not working and it's going to take me a lot longer than two years to pay it off. In fact as it is it's going to be at least 10 years if not longer. So,

Here's how I plan to now get out of this debt before I'm 30...



By using you! You probably don't think this as a very good way of me paying off my debt but please continue reading and you never know you might just get caught up in the excitement I am feeling about this project! A colleague of mine is currently reading a book by Karyn Bosnak who basically got into a lot of debt, lost her job and then set up a website asking people to give her just $1. Sounds stupid? Yes maybe but don't laugh yet. It worked! After 20 weeks she had raised $13000 of the $20000 she needed. What I plan to do is instead of coming up with some fanciful new idea I will recycle a perfectly working plan. Afterall doesn't the saying go if something's not broke don't mend it?! If you wish to find out about the cheeky Karyn have a look at www.savekaryn.com (she's not asking for money now as the sale of her two books is probably doing her just fine!). If you wish to give me some money then please do feel free to do so. Here are the instructions how:

Log in to your Paypal account (If you don't have one go to www.paypal.com)
Click on Send Money
In the box there is an option for purchase and personal. Click on Personal
In the to field type in gouldylock@yahoo.co.uk
In Amount type in £1 (or more if you are feeling extra generous but really just £1 would be great!)
Click gift
Click on continue

You will then see my update on this blog letting you know how many other kind-hearted, generous and a little insane people are donating for the Alice Gould Charity.

Ok so you are giving what do I promise in return.

1. I will not spend on my credit cards (i have already stopped doing this)
2. I will not apply for any more credit cards
3. All money donated to me through this scheme will go to pay of my credit cards.
4. Once debt free I will buy you a pint/a cake/chocolate/a coffee (please delete as appropriate!) - in fact this means you will NOT be GIVING to me but rather INVESTING as many of these things are worth more than £1 (just in case 10,000 people do end up donating I may need to waiver this promise as I'll end up getting in more debt than I am now just buying cakes and pints for people!)

My Reading Habits

Ok so this isn't totally connected to my challenge. In fact it's not connected at all but it's something I've just seen on another blog and liked it so thought I'd steal it and where else but my blog am I going to share it?! So here goes (my own answers obviously!):


Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?

I'm always a bit scared that I might get food on the book but I read during my lunch at work other than that I don't particularly have a reading snack. Chocolate and sweets are always good for snacking on in general!

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

Completely horrifies me!!

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?

Laying the book flat?! Dog-ears?! NO WAY!!! Bookmarks all the way! I HATE creasing the spines of my books. I don't open them fully even when I'm reading them so I don't break the spine!

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?

Fiction, fiction, fiction.

Hard copy or audiobooks?

Hard copy. I view listening to books as cheating!

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?

I will try to read to the end of the chapter but I am happy to stop mid chapter if need be.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

No, I can normally work out what it means by context.

What are you currently reading?

The Scent of the Night by Andrea Camilleri

What is the last book you bought?

I buy so many I can't remember the last ones I bought but recently have bought Something Might Happen by Julie Myerson.

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?

One book at a time.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?

I always read before I go to sleep at night in bed. In fact bed is my favourite place to read. If I want to read in the middle of the day I will go to bed to do so!

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?

I'm not sure that I have a preference.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

Patrick Gale and also "the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" just cos I love the name and it was a great book!

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)

All in alphabetical order of course!

Another Signature!

I went to yet another author interview this evening. No I'm not still in Cheltenham!! Sadie Jones, author of The Outcast, was in Winchester this evening. I bought tickets to go along as I have read The Outcast and enjoyed it. She was yet again another brilliant speaker/author! I found it really interesting. The one thing that I have picked up from all the author's I've listened to over the last week is that they all make it sound so easy!! I would love to write but it just feels all so difficult! Sadie Jones said this evening that she finds it really difficult and hates it when her writing first becomes public and that it doesn't ever get easier. But she manages to do it and I take my hat of to her and all the other great authors out there!

Signing off for the night while watching Alan Davies (man I still love him!) on The Week!

The Perfect Job!

At work today I was looking at the jobs available where I work and they are advertisng for a full time library assistant. This is exactly what I've been looking for. A lot of library assistant jobs seem to be part-time. Well the ones i've seen have been!

I have always wanted to be a librarian and I am planning on doing an MA in information and library management but to do that I need some experience! I worked for a day in the library at work earlier this year. Working in a university is great because we can work shadow in any of the departments we'd like to which is a brilliant way to get experience. The day in the library confirmed that I do want to pursue a library career. To do the MA there are a couple of different ways into it but one way is to be working in a library and study distant learning through Aberystwyth (or however you spell it!). There are a couple of library assistants in the uni library who are doing it this way. The person specification says that it's essential that the person wants a library career so it sounds like they'd support them to do the distant learning course.

The rest of the person specification fits me perfectly. I meet all of the essential skills and all but one of the desirable. The desirable point i don't meet is knowledge of library systems such as dewey and in fact I do have an awareness of it and was shown a bit about it when I was in the library for the day earlier this year. This job is exactly what I want and I'm really excited about the opportunity to apply for it. The closing date is in two weeks and the interview is two weeks after that. If I don't get the job I won't mind so much as I'm really enjoying my current job at the moment too but obviously I'd love to get it!

The job is going to be doing the general library duties such as counter work, shelving etc but it will also include specialising in the school resources. With all the different departments in the library I think the school resources one will be the most interesting as it'll be all the project packs and books etc for our teaching students to use in the primary schools they have their placements in. Anyway I'm going to try not to get my hopes up too much and do my best with the application!

What a Weekend!!

Well the Cheltenham Literary Festival has been and gone and I was there for the last weekend of it and had a brilliant time! I drove to Cheltenham on Thursday and had booked a B&B for 3 nights. On the way up I went to a mine where Iron was mined and still is to this day. It was called Clearway Caves and was pretty amazing to go around. It was a damp day and the caves really did just feel like an extension to this. Also when I got there a tour of people had just finished going round and so I ended up going round on my own! This was a really creepy experience. The dark, dripping water and just plain lonely mine was enough to make me a bit nervous without then coming across a sign talking about the old miner who haunts it!! It was fun though and a lot of the cave was great to see. I've added a couple of photos I took (they're a bit dark but it was very deep underground and lacked natural light!)











After going to Clearwell Caves I made my way to Cheltenham. The B&B I had booked turned out to be really nice. The owners were an old couple who were really friendly and they had put me in the large twin ensuite room. This meant that I had an armchair and large TV instead of just a bed! This worked out quite well as I was there on my own and were times I just wanted to sit there and watch a bit of tv! And of course the beauty of B&B's is the full cooked breakfasts in the mornings! I took full advantage of those.


Well getting to the festival itself! I went to 7 events; Kate Atkinson, Alan Davies, Lisa See & Xinran, Jack Dee, Philippa Gregory, Al Murray and finally Patrick Gale & Marina Lewycka. I was most looking forward and excited about the Alan Davies event. I have always loved Alan Davies and fancied him to bits! Ok so he's a bit old for me but still very gorgeous! I wasn't disappointed in the slightest and not only did he autograph his book for me but I also got a photo of me with him!!! I totally acted like a teenage girl faced with her favourite boyband member. So much so I could barely say two words to him!! So funny but definitely my highlight of the weekend!

The session I was most disappointed with was Jack Dee. It was obviously a book promotion event and I'm fine with that but the interview was quite dry. He literally just went through some events that he's included in the book and wasn't even particularly funny with it. I think it was probably more to do with the guy who was interviewing him than Jack Dee himself. I say this because when it was opened up to the audience for questions it went a lot better and he was really funny. Not only was the whole thing not that funny the cost of the ticket was expensive. Most of the author events were between £6 and £8 with Alan Davies being quite a bit more at £12 and Al Murray was £10. Jack Dee skyed this completely at £18. For an event where he is just promoting his book I reckon that's an extortionate price especially as they then expect you to buy the book for the same price! Don't get me wrong I did enjoy it it was just the one event that was not as enjoyable as the others and not as good as I was expecting!

Apart from meeting Alan Davies and getting to listen to him for an hour and a half the best event was Patrick Gale and Marina Lewycka. When I saw that there was an event with both of them being interviewed together I was a bit surprised. I read both of their books but could not get any connection between them at all. I wouldn't have thought that putting them together at an event would work but I was proved wrong! It turns out that the two of them know each other and they worked so well together. They bounced off each other and it was a really interesting interview. They both read a bit from their latest books and it was great to hear them read their own books. It confirmed 'their voice' in my mind! They both seem really nice people and they were funny too! I got autographs in my books from both of them like most of the other people I saw!

As well as going to a literary festival one of my tasks is to get 4 books autographed and I totally did that over the weekend! I got books signed by Kate Atkinson, Alan Davies, Lisa See, Xinran, Philippa Gregory, Patrick Gale and Marina Lewycka. So I think I am safe in saying that I have completed that task! I also got some books signed for Christmas and birthday presents for people I know.

While in Cheltenham I also went to Gloucester one day. I wasn't very impressed with the place! In fact there isn't really much I can say that's good about it. Although I didn't go in it the Cathedral did look impressive but that's as far as the attraction of Gloucestor goes! I went swimming on the Saturday morning at the Leisure Centre in Cheltenham which was good. I enjoyed the swim and to get to the centre I walked through a really nice park. There was a lot of people walking dogs and there was a pond that went right through the park with ducks in.

Going away to Cheltenham has taught me that I have got to do the things I enjoy whether I have others to go with or not. I enjoyed having the time to myself and to be able to do the things I wanted when I wanted. Not being with someone else meant that there wasn't someone else I had to make sure was happy. I was completely selfish for 4 days and enjoyed it loads! I went to bed when I wanted (including an afternoon nap!), I ate what I wanted where I wanted when I wanted, I traipsed round the shops I wanted for as long as I wanted, and I went to the events I wanted. I chatted to various people around the festival which was good too. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't want to do things by myself all of the time but it was a breath of fresh air and fun to do it for that little bit! In fact I did the one thing I never thought I'd ever do on my own and that was go to the cinema!!

Soooo excited!

I'm feeling pretty giddy generally at the moment for some reason but today I'm really really giddy! Am off to Cheltenham for the book festival later this morning. I don't know why I'm so excited but I am! I'm particularly looking forward to seeing Alan Davies especially I have now found him on Twitter and he's said the tickets are all sold out!!

At the moment I'm sitting in an online queue to register for £5 tickets to see Robbie Williams at the Electric Proms next week. When the tickets originally went on sale for it I sat on the computer for an hour in a queue to get tickets the second they went on sale. Needless to say I was unsuccessful and they sold out before they sold me any! They are now offering 10 pairs of tickets for each show for £5 and the registration opened this morning until Sunday. I'm away at Cheltenham until Sunday now so I've gotta register this morning and yet again I'm in a queue!!! I'm not hopeful that'll i'll even get them once i do get chance to register. In fact I know I won't but I can't not try. I looooooove Robbie and if I get to see him for my see a live gig task then I would just die of excitement! lol. As I said at the beginning of this post I'm really giddy at the moment! I seem to be finding life all a bit too exciting for me at the moment lol. I think maybe this 30/30 challenge is just giving me too much of a life!!!!

Cancer Research

I have decided to donate to Cancer Research this month. This is obviously a very common charity and is the biggest one profile wise that I have given to since starting this challenge. The reason I have chosen this one is that it is something quite close to me at the moment.

Last year my Gran died of cancer. It was a fairly sudden thing although she had had cancer in the past. This was obviously a big loss to my family. Last year she was diagnosed with secondary cancer and this is what caused her death shortly afterwards. Last month my parents went to visit my late Gran's husband, Frank (my Grandad died when I was 8 and at 16 my Gran remarried). When my parents got to Frank's he said that he was feeling really unwell and after talking to him my parents decided to call a dr out. The dr came straight out, examined him then sent him straight to the hospital for further tests. It turned out that he had bowel cancer. They have thankfully caught it fairly early on and he had an operation two weeks later. I spoke to him on the phone a couple of weeks ago and he sounded well. They are hoping that he won't need any more treatment but will know more once he gets some tests done next week. As well as losing my Gran to cancer I have lost an Aunty to it also.

There has been huge progress made over the years in the area of cancer treatment and I think this is fantastic. Cancer is something that effects so many people and I don't think that any charity for the research into treatments and prevention of cancer could ever get too much money! This is why I have chosen Cancer Research for my charity of the month.

2 years to go!

Well September has been a slow month in terms of my challenge but this month has a few things to work on. Yesterday was my birthday so there is exactly two years left to go until the end of the challenge!

As I September has been slow. I have done all the monthly challenges I have set myself though so at least I'm still on track. This month I am going to Cheltenham book festival. That is in a couple of weeks left and I'm really looking forward to it. I had asked for money from my family for my birthday so that I can pay for a b and b in Cheltenham. I actually received a lot more money than I was expecting - mainly down to a relative (a rich one at that!) I wasn't expecting anything from! So I will now have enough money to pay for not jsut the b and b but all the others i may want to do in Cheltenham including buying food to eat while there! As it is a book festival and I have booked tickets to see lots of authors I should be able to get some autographs for my other task! There is also an author that I like, Sadie Jones, who is going to be in Winchester later this month so I am going to try and get a ticket to go and see her and I will be able to add her autograph I hope to get in my book by her to that task!

I have yet to make up my mind for the charity to give my donation to this month. There are a few ideas going on in my head at the moment so I think I will decide over the weekend before making that payment for October. I like that task because it is making me think about more than just the 'usual' charities. It's giving me chance to think about my interests and my values and how I can contribute to helping others within those 'fields'.

So although I haven't got anything exciting to say I've done in regards to the challenge I am feeling that I'm in a good place with it all at the moment. I'm feeling good and I'm definitely doing a lot more with my free time than just sitting in front of the tv or computer which means I'm getting out there and spending more time with others. I feel that I've been working hard but also playing hard and that's what I want my life to be about!

Brazil

Last weekend I sat down to watch another of the 50 films I am to watch. It was dreadful. I watched over an hour of it and still didn't have a clue what was going on. It's called Brazil and was full of stars but I just didn't understand it one slightest bit. It is also a very long film. I had another 2 hours or so to watch of it and I couldn't bear to anymore so I switched it off! I am counting it as having watched it though as the point of this task was to broaden my film viewing and discover films I haven't seen before that I enjoy. It is not about watching films for film's sake when they're dire!

Malta SPCA

My charity for this month was the Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Malta. A very good friend of mine lives in Malta and she volunteers each month at the charity. Because it is a small island it is a small charity and they can do with every bit of help they can get. I don't often give to animal charities as I would rather give money to help people in general so it is nice to use this month's charity donation for animals especially as it is more personal with a friend working there.

On top of the charity donation I have made some progress on one other task this month. Well I say I have made progress on it really I should say a friend has made progress on it for me! My holiday over is Christmas is booked!!! I'm soooooooo excited! Me and a couple of friends are going to Lanzarote from 22nd Dec to 30th Dec. It is all booked and paid for. Well my friend booked it all for us this morning and she used a 0% interest credit card to pay so I have until May next year to pay her back - plenty of time! I have wanted to go away for Christmas for several years now and I have only ever talked about it. It's nice to know that my dream will finally become a reality this year! My mum asked me yesterday whether I'll like not being around here at Christmas. I think it will be nice. It's something different and it is only one year. I have spent every Christmas until now with family and no doubt will be doing again from next year. I enjoy Christmas and I always have done but why not make a change once in a while. It'll be cool spending it with friends and I'm really really looking forward to some warmth in the winter months! On average it is around 20C to 25C in December in Lanzarote. That is just going to be bliss after a long blustery British autumn!

Raising Arizona

Have just watched the third film from Channel 4's 50 films to see before you die lie. Raising Arizona is an 80's film with Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter. It was funny and a good light film to watch on a Sunday evening.

I have been working on starting some other challenges on the list this week. I am planning to go away over Christmas this year. A friend of mine and her boyfriend is up for coming and it looks like it's going to happen. We are planning on Lanzarote where my friend has found a good deal. It is going to cost us about £300 each for our flights and accommodation. I'm really excited and it'll be so nice to have some winter sun. The temperature around that time of year is on average 17 - 20 c. We are going for a week from around 22nd December. It will be strange to not have a British Christmas but fun to do something different.

Another task that I have planned to start working on is to do a creative writing course. A college near me runs an 8 week course called writing Children's Stories. I have sent of the application form and it starts in January. I have had a Children's story in my head for such a long time and at one point did try to sit down and write it but I didn't get very far. It'll be interesting to do the course and see if it'll help with getting something down on paper! It didn't cost too much either as it is only a short course. After so many years of wanting to write a children's book it will be great to do something about it. I don't know if it'll end up with writing the book but at least I'll be able to say I've given it a go!

Chicago - First target ticked off!

I can finally cross of the first completed task from my challenge! I went to London with a friend over the weekend and did lots of things! It was a very busy weekend and we certainly gave our legs a good stretching!

On Friday we went to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace before heading to the Tower of London. I had been to the Tower a few years ago but we went on a tour with a Beefeater this weekend and it was really interesting to hear some of the historical stories and history from him. He was also the Beefeater in charge of looking after the ravens so that was pretty cool. That evening we went to see Troillus and Cressida at The Shakespeare Globe. It was a play that I hadn't heard of before so was unsure what to expect. It turned out to be brilliant though and it's so good being able to stand so close to the stage. We were standing throughout so it was pretty tough on our legs especially after the full day in London before! Matthew Kelly was in it and he was so good. Definitely made for the stage rather than the TV.

On Saturday we continued on our mammouth trip of London. We went to the Globe exhibition and then a tour of the Rose Theatre. This is another theatre of the Globe's time just nearby to the Globe. They found the foundations of the Rose in 1989 when excavating the ground to build an office block. The office block has been built but the Globe Trust owns the basement of it with the foundations. They have had to recover the foundations so that they don't crumble away but they hope to be able to open them up again over the next 18 months and preserve them with a glass cover so they can be on show. They then plan to make a theatre on that spot so the foundations can be seen. The theatre will obviously not be open air like the original because of the office block but it is still exciting to have a theatre back on the original site. It was great to hear about the area during that time in history. It was very rural and stinking with very marshy ground. It would've been where all the entertainment of the time would've been such as brothels, gambling dens and theatres which not only put on plays but also were the venues for bear baiting.

After the Globe exhibition we walked a little further up the river and went to the Tate Modern. Again this is another place I've been in the past few years but it was nice to go back. They had different exhibitions on display and we had a good laugh. Following that we went to Planet Hollywood which was on my friends list to do (in fact she ticked of 7 things on this trip!). It was really nice food and I enjoyed it but it was a very very noisy place to eat!

Now comes the bit where I can cross of one of my targets. On the Saturday morning we passed through Leicester Square and went to the TKTS Booth there. This is where you can purchase half price theatre tickets. We got some fantastic tickets to see Chicago for that evening. I had some vouchers for the theatre so it worked out we only paid £7 for each ticket in cash and we were sitting 5 rows from the very front! I didn't know the story of Chicago before this but it was a brilliant show. All the singing and dancing was so much fun. It is definitely a musical of all musicals!

What with the Shakespeare play of Greek and Trojan Battles and Chicago with half clad men I think my overall lasting picture of my trip to London is of very fit men's torsos!

34 lengths, 7 events and a london show!

I've just been for my first swim of the month. I realised yesterday that it was nearly half way through the month and I hadn't yet been for a swim and this week i'm moving house and next week I'm going back to work so thought I'd better get started!

The swimming pool opposite me, as I said before, is closed for this month. I'm actually quite glad about that as I don't really like it and I have now found a nicer one. It is a gym and swimming complex in Southampton and it has a fun pool and then a lane swimming pool. The length of it is 25 metres which is 5 metres longer than the other one also. This morning I did a whole 34 lengths which is 14 lengths more than before and it is also an extra 5 metres per length. The pool had music playing which I really think helped. It's not so much the energy that I have the problem with but boredom and I didn't get bored at all this morning as I could just listen to the music. I think I will probably make it my regular pool.

I got the tickets through yesterday for the Cheltenham festival. My friend can't make is so I am going on my own. I'm looking forward to it and have booked the events I want to go to and I have the tickets so it's all going ahead now! I just have to make sure I can get the time off work now!! The people I'm going to be going to see are: Kate Atkinson, Alan Davies, Lisa See & Xinran, Jack Dee, Philippa Gregory, Al Murray, Patrick Gale and Marina Lewycka. I have chosen a good mixture of authors I like as well as comedians. It works out that I will have Thurs, Fri and Sat day times to go out and about exploring the area and then Sunday I have a session to go to in the morning, afternoon and evening.

I am going to London on Friday for the weekend with a friend of mine. She is doing 101 things in 1001 days and some of her tasks are in London and I said I'd go with her. I have got some Leisure Vouchers which can be spent on theatre tickets so on the Sat we are going to go the Tkts booth at Leicester Square and see what they have available for that evening. This will tick off my see a London show task which will be cool.

Cheltenham Book Festival

The programme for the Cheltenham Book Festival, which is in October, came out this week. You can't book for any of the events until next week unless you're a member but I had a good look at it and decided which events I would like to go to. They've got some really good people there including a couple of comedians. I have found a few days in a row where there is at least one person I'd like to see so I have found a B&B and reserved a room there. I'll be going from a Thursday until the Sunday. I'm really excited about it all. I have invited someone from work to come along too and she is going to let me know next week. It'll be nice if she can come as it'll be more fun. We'd be able to make it into more of a girly weekend but even if she can't I'll still enjoy it. I've decided that as a single person I am going to have to become more brave about doing certain things on my own. I can't always rely on friends wanting to and being able to do the same things as me and if I want to do the things I enjoy I will have to do them on my own. In one way going to the festival alone will feel like a bit more of an adventure!!

The Island

Last month I read The Island by Victoria Hislop. It was an amazing book set in the 50s on an island just off Crete. This Island was a place where anyone with leprosy was shipped off to the island so that you couldn't contaminate anything else. A cure was found and eventually the people were let of the island. It is definitely a book worth reading if you get the opportunity.

The reason I'm posting about The Island is that it has helped me choose my charity for this month. At the back of the book there was a little blurb about www.lepra.org.uk. This is a charity that works in developing countries where leprosy is still a problem. I have just donated my £10 for this month and have discovered a new charity!

The End of the First Month

Well it's July 31st so the last day of the first month to my challenge. I think it's been a pretty good start to the challenge.

I did a couple of things today to complete my monthly targets as I got paid today and I'd run out of money to do them earlier! I went for a swim and done another 20 lengths and I also took my car to the car wash and cleaned the inside also.

The one task that I haven't managed to do this month and I will have to rethink is the no spend week. I found that actually getting this in is more difficult than I thought it would be mainly due to things such as weddings and birthdays which require money being spent! I will probably still keep it as a no spend week task but not have it as often as once a month. Just having one no spend week full stop is probably going to be a challenge enough!

I've enjoyed this past month thinking about this challenge and doing the tasks. It has made me think a lot more about where I am in life and what I want to get out of it. The swims have definitely been beneficial especially today as I had to really push myself to get out and do it. This month has been a little unusual in that I've been off from work sick throughout it so have had more time to do more things. I go back to work towards the end of next month and it will be interesting to see if that affects it at all.

Anyway all in all I am pleased with the tasks I have chosen and I'm looking forward to the next month ahead of me!

Quest Seekers

One of my tasks is to work in a library. I want to do an MA in Information and Library Management which is something I've wanted to do for a long time. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be a librarian and then when I was doing my A-Levels I decided that in fact I would become a youthworker instead! I did my degree in youth work and spent a few years doing full time youthwork until I then came out of that and got the job I do now which is working in a university doing admin. I enjoyed being a youth worker but decided I wanted a more 9 to 5 job which is what I love about the job I do now. Anyway I now feel that it is time to start working towards my dream of being a librarian!

It is my aim to be well on the road to doing the MA by the time I am 30. I have never had any experience working in a library except for one day in the university one a few months ago (which i loved!). So I am planning on doing some voluntary work in libraries while looking out for a job in a library before then applying for the MA. There are a couple of ways of getting onto the MA. One is just having some work experience in libraries and another is to actually do a graduate job in a library which is applying for people wanting to do the MA. Either way I need the experience!

Today I did my first volunteering stint in Winchester library. They are currently doing a holiday reading quest where the aim is for children to read 6 books over their school holidays. As a volunteer it is my job to speak to the children as they bring back their books about what they enjoyed or didn't enjoy about the book and then give them a sticker for their Quest Seeker poster until they have got all six. I am going to be working just 2 hours every Wednesday morning which is perfect for me. I really enjoyed the 2 hours and they flew by.

The task of working in a library means to work more than just these two hours so I will NOT be ticking it off! Maybe in a years time when I have been doing regular hours and have a regular voluntary post if not a paid on I will be satisfied with having achieved that post but for now I will be enjoying my time in Winchester Library!

King of Comedy

Watched another film last night. I won't keep watching them as this pace because I'll have seen them in a couple of weeks at this rate! I went to a friend's last night and we watched King of Comedy which is an 80's Martin Scorcese film. It was quite slow but it got better as it went along. Me and my friend made the comment that older films often are slower than newer films. They don't necessarily as much action in and require more thinking. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. They are generally a lot shorter too. Both of the films I've seen now have been only an hour and a half long. I just went to see Harry Potter 6 which was nearly 3 hours long. I don't have a very long attention span so I like it when films are short. I don't know what the obsession is with film makers now wanting to make the longest film ever or something!

Badlands

I watched number 50 from Channel 4's 50 films to watch before you die list last night. It was called Badlands. A 25 yr old guy kills his girlfriend's father in front of her. She is only 15. The two of them then go on the run and in the meantime shoot and kill any people who see them. It is an eerie film yet enticingly good. There is not much more to the story than that but it manages to draw you in through the characters' personalities. Well worth watching.

Oceangram

A friend has just told me about a really cool website - www.oceangram.com

It's basically a site where you can send a cyber message in a bottle and read others! Ok so it's not really what I meant when putting send a message in a bottle on my list but it's still cool. I will still send a real one but thought I could do some practise cyber ones first!

20 lengths

Don't worry I haven't forgotten about my challenge! I know I haven't posted at all much but this month has been a bit crazy and I've been away for a couple of weeks. I have however made a start on one of my challenges today. I have just been for my first swim of the challenge. The swimming pool is opposite my house and it was really nice to be able to just pick up a towel and go out of my door for a swim and then saunter back home again for a shower. I did 20 lengths which isn't a great deal as the pool is only 20m but it's a start. I could have done more but it's the boredom factor with me! I'll aim to do 25 lengths for my second swim this month. Unfortunately the swimming pool is closing throughout the summer so I will have to find somewhere else to go during August then I will have moved house by September so I guess I'm not going to have the ease of living opposite the pool anymore!

I'm pleased that I've put this as one of my challenges. I'm not very good at exercise because I just can't make myself do it very easily. Once I get there and I've started I'm fine it's just the act of getting of my butt! Having swimming twice a month on my list will hopefully be enough incentive to get me there. Who knows by the time I'm 30 I could be doing 200 lengths!

Charity Donation

I have just donated my £10 for this month's charity donation. I have given to the Rose Road Charity via my housemate. The Rose Road Charity is based in Southampton and they work with children with disabilities. Take a look at their website by following this link http://www.roseroad.org.uk/

In September my housemate is doing a cycle ride from London to Paris and is raising money for the Rose Road Charity. So not only is it a worthy cause but a lot of sweat and pedal power is also going into it! If you'd like to contribute to his fundraising you can go to his Just Giving page: http://www.justgiving.com/ashbolton2/
He needs to raise £1250 and so far has £498.50 so he's not doing too badly at the moment!

Day 2 and nothing to tell!!

So my challenge started yesterday. I haven't yet done anything on the list so there is little to say. I have actually gone away to stay with my sister for a week or so which has meant I haven't thought too much about the challenge but I will make sure that I get the monthly tasks done! It was pay day two days ago so I will be making my charity donation in the next couple of days while I've still got some money! I will put a link to the charity that I decide to give to this month.

Can't wait to begin

Well as you can see I have completed compiling my list for my 30/30 challenge. I'm looking forward to starting but have a week to wait before I do. A big reason for why I'm doing this challenge is because a friend of mine is doing 101 things in 1001 days. I've done a few of the things on her list with her and it's inspired me to come up with my own list. I didn't think I'd be able to come up with 101 things or that I would be able to do that many in that time so thought that as my 30th is only just two years away I would do the 30 things. I've enjoyed coming up with the tasks and the first 20 came to me really easily.

I have just made a spreadsheet so that I can easily keep an eye on my progress and what I need to do each month. I'm sure that without it I'd forget one of the monthly tasks half way through and I'd be gutted!! Ok so maybe I'm just a bit of a sad case and love any excuse to do a spreadsheet!

I have just discovered that Film 4 are showing one of the Channel 4's 50 films to watch before you die films each Tues at 11pm. I have just turned the channel over so that I don't see one too early (don't fancy having to re-watch it!).

I will take photos for the tasks that have something to take a photo of and upload those to make it more interesting as well as adding any relevant links etc.

So I guess that's it for a week. A good way for me to learn to be patient!