Student Blues

[Ms Piggy]

*siiiiigh* For some reason this half of my Uni year has been really hard slog. Lots of reasons I guess - what seems like a never ending cycle of essays due, lack of money, owing money, knowing I have 2 more years of this and other stuff life related but not study related.

I know there are some other Uni students on this site and I just wondered if you get the same "This is just too hard!!!" feelings some time. It's not about the study itself being too difficult and it's not even about wondering if I'm doing the right degree...I guess I'm just getting a little over whelmed by it all :mellow:

I owe around 4 grand to my bank and Study Link - that doesn't include my student loan. The 2nd half of next year (my 3rd year) and my 4th year I probabaly won't be able to work at all and without work I'll barely have enough to get by on.

I'm not looking for sympathy...ok I am! :crybaby: But more than that I'm just wondering how other students cope. :spudwhat: I'm 33 (soon) and feel like at the end of my degree I'll have a career but not much else - at this rate I don't think I'll ever be able to own my own home, I haven't even travelled overseas yet and I'm feeling a little miserable about it all and I can't even blame it on PMT! :confused2

[aff-man]

Hahahaha lets see this time of year for the last 3 years it's been the same. Information overload. I don't even want to look at the size of my loan and i havn't had a positive bank account for the last couple of months. I need to work but don't have the time with the amount of work i need to do for uni. Feeling bogged down is all part of the uni experience i suppose, why do you think us engineers are famous for beer consumption :innocent: . And when the fridge is empty cause you got no money :crybaby: :crybaby: :crybaby: . oh well it has it's ups and downs but you gotta get the paper i suppose. All though i had some interesting and deadly thoughts about what torture i could do to my maths modelling lecturer sort of an eye for an eye thing.

What course you doing???

[Posh Tourer :P]

Well, I'm doing a BSc, which is almost a BA... :wacko: So I'm also working about 30 hours a week, to save for an OE. I now have 5 assignments due in 5 weeks, and no time to do them. However, its not all bad, because I have the carrot of the holiday, and it is my last semester.

Questions: I suppose that being in the social work field you should know about what you can get in terms of allowances etc. I take it you are getting your entitlement of student allowance.
What sort of work are you doing? Get a higher paid job and work less hours.... :D
I find the key is to reward yourself - make sure you are doing something that you enjoy at times - eg I fence twice a week for a couple of hours. Very good stress release.Also, make sure that you dont keep pushing yourself to work constantly. A good work ethic is good, but make sure you get the breaks you need. 10 mins every hour, a whole day every now and again, a few hours sunbathing once a week etc....

I find I work much faster when I am feeling on top of work - and a half hour off, often makes me feel guilty enough to rip into it quickly when I get back to the assignment - and I get it done faster overall too

[Posh Tourer :P]

And the happy post :D

Don't worry though, I went through something similar towards the end of last semester, so i decided to aim at a holiday as soon as I finished. So it all gets better, the closer you get to finishing. I also found I really enjoyed the content this year, as it is really relevant to what I want to do, and is quite applicable as well - not only does the end get closer, it gets more interesting too :yes:

[toads]

cheer up csl, you will be glad of your qualification, lets face it retirement in this country is something only a few will be able to indulge in and as long as you have your health there is no reason you will have to consider retirement until you are in your 70's if you choose to, this being considered you will well and truly have got your money's worth, one day you will have your own home and all the luxuries your efforts will have afforded you. I can sympathise with your feelings however, but I really think you are doing a good thing for your future and whatever hardships you are suffering now will all be worth it in the long run. hang in there, you will get time off study after exam time and you should be able to get a bit of work in and hopefully some dollars saved. :cool2:

[jrandom]

I'm not looking for sympathy...ok I am! :crybaby:

Here, have a virtual :hug:


I'm 33 (soon) and feel like at the end of my degree I'll have a career but not much else

You chose your degree and career precisely because it'll give you so much more than a soulless rubber-stamped entry into the economy.

Don't be bothered by being 33. You have the enviable privilege of not having been forced into a cookie-cutter, pressure-cooker career path at a tender age, only to burn out, coping only with large quantities of alcohol and/or turning into an utterly awful person. I've know plenty in that boat, who, on the surface, had all the career tickboxes checked. Mostly lawyers. How can I put this... let's just say that if I had to prioritise oxygen, I wouldn't give it to them over you.


at this rate I don't think I'll ever be able to own my own home, I haven't even travelled overseas yet and I'm feeling a little miserable about it all

Owning a house comes with its own unique set of horrors. I, for instance, can't get away from the necessity of slogging toward it, but why would you need to worry? You can't take it with you.

And travel... is great. But, IMHO, the most meaningful experiences in life come from within our own minds. Make of that what you will, but I think your psyche is perfectly capable of being whatever it wants to be, wherever it happens to be at the time.

Don't give up.

[Ms Piggy]

Thanks guys & gals :disapint: Yu've made good valid points. I guess I'm just feeling a bit bogged down cos I have 6 essays/asignments due in the next 4 weeks and then f*ckin' hell exams, as well as 1 final essay! I feel like I'm always behind the 8 ball, there never seems to be enough hours in a week to actually study as well as do essays and actually take in anything I'm learning! :brick:

I'm lucky I do have a good job with good pay and they let me only do 8hrs a week.

Just a bit of a melancholy today. I'm sure it will passssssssss

[jrandom]

actually take in anything I'm learning! :brick:

Once you're out, you'll realise that you weren't supposed to.

It's just a trial by fire to make sure you're capable of doing a job. Once you're out, the learning starts all over again.

[MikeL]

Something's radically wrong here. You studenty types shouldn't be getting stressed out - that's supposed to happen to middle-aged white collars who have been working at meaningless jobs for so long they've forgotten what freedom and fun are... In my day students might get temporarily depressed becaused they failed a paper or something, but they'd just go out and get drunk or go on a protest march or join a new club and the next day the world would look good again. Looking ahead to the future meant making sure there was some money left over for Saturday night's party...
It's really sad that the most exciting years of your life have been turned into anxiety-filled drudgery. Of the various sacrifices made in this country over the last 20 or so years on the altar of the god of economic efficiency this is perhaps the most unforgiveable.
I can't offer a solution except to encourage you to hang in there.

As for me, impending redundancy opens up the possibility of becoming a full-time student again next year, if I can work out a way to survive on about $50 a week. Or even if I can't. Sometimes when opportunity knocks, you've just got to open the door...

[JohnBoy]

oh the student life....
i am studying Civil eng and the first semster was a killer, the only way we found to relieve the burden was to go down to the local and sink a few pints!!
nothing like a mid day beer to make the afternoon just fade away! :apint:
but, i must agree that come new tyre, service or what ever its hard to dig deep!
just be thankful that you have a solid bike, i had a CB250RS as my first bike and was awsome on fuel and tyres (until i parked it into a drain).

[dhunt]

I know there are some other Uni students on this site and I just wondered if you get the same "This is just too hard!!!" feelings some time. It's not about the study itself being too difficult and it's not even about wondering if I'm doing the right degree...I guess I'm just getting a little over whelmed by it all :mellow: Yeah I'm in my 3rd year of a BE degree and this last semester it has felt like I'm a bit out of my league and I've been tempted to quit but I figure then I've payed my money so I might keep at it even though I'm not particularly enjoying it at the moment. Hopefully in the future I will look back and think that was worth while.

The biggest thing I hate about studying is you have to bring it home with you, where as work when I've finished for the day I can come home and forget all about it. I work 14 hours a week and I fine that much more enjoyeable than studying, this probably too many hours and at times I really feel it, but it has ment I've got through uni debt free which is a really nice feeling.

David

[jrandom]

The biggest thing I hate about studying is you have to bring it home with you, where as work when I've finished for the day I can come home and forget all about it.

Um, dude. You're doing a BE...

You'll end up like me, as I am right now. Sitting at the computer in your gargre at a quarter to ten on a Sunday night, filling out endless lawyer's forms for engineering docs on a patent application while you intermittently waste time on a biking forum and your wife is out visiting friends because you couldn't provide decent company.

I can just see the placating emails I'm going to have to send in the morning as I explain why it's not *quite* ready yet, just give me until lunch time, really...

[James Deuce]

You sound like me! The time pressure for this latest assignment is killing me. The student loan thing sucks too, I've sold heaps of "crap" through trademe to get some extra cash to try and knock some of the loan on the head and of course to get some bike stuff.

I envy you though. I wish I could have had a student experience like yours. It all probably seems a bit crushing now, but there are plenty of greater burdens, which you seem to want to experience. Strange. :)

Chin up, old girl!

[jrandom]

As for me, impending redundancy opens up the possibility of becoming a full-time student again next year, if I can work out a way to survive on about $50 a week. Or even if I can't. Sometimes when opportunity knocks, you've just got to open the door...

I don't recall you mentioning whether or not you'd done a PhD already, Mike. But surely, by now, you'd have enough material to construct a thesis in virtually anything within the humanities or soft sciences with both eyes closed and one hand tied behind your back. And a doctoral scholarship at Auckland pays $20K a year plus tuition, and only needs about 20 hours a week, if the amount of stuffing around that most post-grad students engage in these days is taken into account.

If you couldn't bag one of those, the world is even *more* of an unfair place than I think it to be.

The *best* doctorates are awarded to those, like you, who already know what they're talking about, and wish to contribute to the field while learning more themselves. Not by feckless youths, doing them because they don't want to get a real job...

Although, that said, I'm reminded of a rather elitist joke that a colleague (with a PhD, of course) told me on Friday:

Q: What do you call a person with the crappiest PhD in the word?

A: Doctor.

[jazbug5]

Awwww, Cath!

Thought you'd be at that BBQ tonight, mate. Sounds like it's all a bit heavy going at the moment; but really- it will go faster than you think. It's good to do well on these things, but the most important thing is your fundamental understanding of the thing you are actually interested in doing after it's all over. Marks are marks, but... just that. Not to be confused with learning at the sacrifice of enthusiasm. And you'll be fiiiiine. Everyone has student debt these days, so you'll fit right in.
Anyhoo, there is the Waikato ride to look forward to next month. Me & Stonechucker really missed you today; I swear mine was the only 250 I saw all day..!
See ya at the ol' Dominion during the week, then. And if you fancy going for a quick evening blat after work, just leave a note on her. :msn-wink:

[dhunt]

Thanks guys & gals :disapint: Yu've made good valid points. I guess I'm just feeling a bit bogged down cos I have 6 essays/asignments due in the next 4 weeks and then f*ckin' hell exams, as well as 1 final essay! I feel like I'm always behind the 8 ball, there never seems to be enough hours in a week to actually study as well as do essays and actually take in anything I'm learning! :brick:
Hey I forgot to mention, summer holidays aren't very far away. I'm really looking forward to them. Summer can't come sooooonnn enough. Summer=No Study=Riding :ride: + Work = More relaxing + less stress

David

[Mr Skid]

Something's radically wrong here. You studenty types shouldn't be getting stressed out - that's supposed to happen to middle-aged white collars who have been working at meaningless jobs for so long they've forgotten what freedom and fun are... In my day students might get temporarily depressed becaused they failed a paper or something, but they'd just go out and get drunk or go on a protest march or join a new club and the next day the world would look good again. Looking ahead to the future meant making sure there was some money left over for Saturday night's party...
It's really sad that the most exciting years of your life have been turned into anxiety-filled drudgery. Of the various sacrifices made in this country over the last 20 or so years on the altar of the god of economic efficiency this is perhaps the most unforgiveable.
I can't offer a solution except to encourage you to hang in there.

As for me, impending redundancy opens up the possibility of becoming a full-time student again next year, if I can work out a way to survive on about $50 a week. Or even if I can't. Sometimes when opportunity knocks, you've just got to open the door...

What happened a couple of years (IIRC) before I started Ak Uni was semesterisation. Previously you could go to lectures in the first few weeks and last few weeks, sit the final exam and pass the course. You could spend the rest of the time drinking away your course related costs and student allowance at Shads, as you had no internal assessments to worry about.

Nowdays, most people are keen to get into uni, and get the hell out, rather than enjoy the experience of being there. As for protests, you might find a few hardy souls at Victoria uni still prepared to make some mischief, but no one really cares too much at auckland uni. There will always be a core group of fanatics involved in the students association/sociology department, but your common student has little understanding of the country's political climate, and is happy to accept the status quo as far as tertiary education issues stand.

These points notwithstanding, if you come back to tertiary study I'll still be happy to buy you a beer in Shads and reminiss about storming university buildings and my on campus dealings with police as a young impressionable 18 year old :innocent:

[SPman]

What happened a couple of years (IIRC) before I started Ak Uni was semesterisation. Previously you could go to lectures in the first few weeks and last few weeks, sit the final exam and pass the course. You could spend the rest of the time drinking away your course related costs and student allowance at Shads, as you had no internal assessments to worry about. You still had to pass terms...I tried that - had to repeat maths 1 thought - no sweat, I 'll just turn up to the last few lectures of the first term,,,,,,they changed the sodding syllabus...new maths....sets and things....so that fucked that year . had to goout and do a few more protests!


Nowdays, most people are keen to get into uni, and get the hell out, rather than enjoy the experience of being there. As for protests, you might find a few hardy souls at Victoria uni still prepared to make some mischief, but no one really cares too much at auckland uni...............

These points notwithstanding, if you come back to tertiary study I'll still be happy to buy you a beer in Shads and reminiss about storming university buildings and my on campus dealings with police as a young impressionable 18 year old :innocent: Well, my son got arrested at Massey last year, storming university buildings :niceone: ...so theres still something happening down there, but, Aucklands just a big, conforming,souless, degree factory, these days!

[Mongoose]

yep, what the others said, sounds like you need some "me time" to do what YOU want. OK, you're like me and not got a lot of dosh but that does not stop Ya having time out, go visit someone, splurge on some gas and go for a good ride. I am sure there would be a KBer give you a nights kip if you go for a looooong ride.
Just remember to look after you
Cheers

[Slim]

Don't forget that your student "blues" may also be compounded by simple biology.

Spring is here, finally, and the days are getting noticeably longer, at last, and your body will finally be getting enough sunlight to make you a happier person.

NZ Herald Story this weekend (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?thesection=news&thesubsection=&storyID=3592468)

So just hang in there for another couple of weeks, and you might find your outlook getting better.


In the meantime, take even just an hour out & do something for yourself. Soak in a bath with a good book, the phone off and a bottle of wine, or go for a ride to a nice cafe & have yourself a coffee & muffin, or any number of other free or cheap solutions to your problem. :) :grouphug:

[Ms Piggy]

Awwwwwww shucks :o Thanks again. :grouphug:

[Holy Roller]

Don't forget that your student "blues" may also be compounded by simple biology.

Spring is here, finally, and the days are getting noticeably longer, at last, and your body will finally be getting enough sunlight to make you a happier person.

NZ Herald Story this weekend (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?thesection=news&thesubsection=&storyID=3592468)

So just hang in there for another couple of weeks, and you might find your outlook getting better.


In the meantime, take even just an hour out & do something for yourself. Soak in a bath with a good book, the phone off and a bottle of wine, or go for a ride to a nice cafe & have yourself a coffee & muffin, or any number of other free or cheap solutions to your problem. :) :grouphug:


Sure your student blues aren't winter blues as Slim said. I heard on radio pacific the other night that there is a formula to take that helps minimise the yuck feeling associated with the winter blues. Thompsons put out a product called mood manager avaliable in all good chemists as the blurb goes, all natural products. It may help but if symptions persist....... :apint:
only one though you still have to study.
Gordon

[jrandom]

I heard on radio pacific the other night that there is a formula to take that helps minimise the yuck feeling associated with the winter blues.

Damn tootin' right there is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/upload/thumb/2/28/200px-Ethanol-structure.png

[Ms Piggy]

Sure your student blues aren't winter blues as Slim said. .

Yes could well be, I am a sun lovin' gal and I've been neglecting my walks lately...hmmmmm, now that I think about it I didn't actually even go for a swim last week. :wacko:

Ok better get into it!

[Posh Tourer :P]

Damn tootin' right there is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/upload/thumb/2/28/200px-Ethanol-structure.png

Ethanol? I would hope you'd combine that with summat else, say dihydrogen monoxide, and various other distillate products of Triticum/Vitus (whichever takes your fancy).

Otherwise it'd become a fairly permanent solution to winter blues.....

Part of the issue can be something called "seasonal affective disorder" which is to do with your body not getting enough sunlight at the right times - there are qquite a few processes in the body that require sunlight as a trigger. Also a few that require some exercise to help things along. I suspect that regular exercise speed up your metabolism, making you feel more awake (and eat more)

[MikeL]

I don't recall you mentioning whether or not you'd done a PhD already, Mike. But surely, by now, you'd have enough material to construct a thesis in virtually anything within the humanities or soft sciences with both eyes closed and one hand tied behind your back. And a doctoral scholarship at Auckland pays $20K a year plus tuition, and only needs about 20 hours a week, if the amount of stuffing around that most post-grad students engage in these days is taken into account.



No, I don't have a PhD yet. My Mum always wanted me to be a doctor, and it's now or never.

I did actually start a doctorate years ago at a French university but ran out of money (and enthusiasm) with it about 2/3 completed.

I'll look into the possibility of a doctoral scholarship and that combined with some part time teaching might be enough to get by on. The satellite TV might have to go, though. Just don't suggest that I get rid of one of my bikes...

Main problem is to decide what to do it in. The psychology of religious belief, perhaps??

[mangell6]

Ethanol? I would hope you'd combine that with summat else, say dihydrogen monoxide, and various other distillate products of Triticum/Vitus (whichever takes your fancy).

Otherwise it'd become a fairly permanent solution to winter blues.....

Part of the issue can be something called "seasonal affective disorder" which is to do with your body not getting enough sunlight at the right times - there are qquite a few processes in the body that require sunlight as a trigger. Also a few that require some exercise to help things along. I suspect that regular exercise speed up your metabolism, making you feel more awake (and eat more)

That "dihydrogen monoxide" is dangerous stuff, hundreds of people die each year from inhaling the stuff. Did you know that it is also the largest component of 'acid rain'.

:o

[Milky]

Often it seems hard to get motivated, but if you can manage it, do a full week of late nights/all nighters to get your assignments out of the way. You will thank yourself so much when the due date approaches, and you only have to fill out a cover sheet or do some spell checking before you hand it in. For me anyway, stress is a great motivator. I seemed to get so much done in the last few days before an assignment was due, and I thought to myself "why not give myself a due date BEFORE the actual date, and bust a gut to get it done then?" It does make a difference... Spread your workload as much as possible.
I imagine you might find it hard being a mature student at Uni. For me, there are heaps of like minded people of the same age/same interests/same situation, and I guess it would be a greatly different social climate for you...

[vifferman]

That "dihydrogen monoxide" is dangerous stuff, hundreds of people die each year from inhaling the stuff. Did you know that it is also the largest component of 'acid rain'.

:oIt's a wonder that in D'Auckland they go on about pollution, traffic, etc. and yet entirely neglect to pay proper attention to the problem of excessive amounts of dihydrogen monoxide in the air. Plays great havoc with trying to ride a bike safely.

[vifferman]

Damn tootin' right there is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/upload/thumb/2/28/200px-Ethanol-structure.pngThat's all very well, but it's also a notable depressor of the central nervous system. I have a feeling I will probably have to stop self-medicating with it, now that my liver's had such a hammering from less pleasant medications...
But Friday's still on, regardless. Unless....

[Ms Piggy]

I imagine you might find it hard being a mature student at Uni. For me, there are heaps of like minded people of the same age/same interests/same situation, and I guess it would be a greatly different social climate for you...
Actually Milky within my degree there is a huge age diversity. We range in age from 19 to one woman in her 60's and all ranges in between, my 2 closest friends are in their 40's.

I guess the thing with me is I don't handle stress very well and tend to get depressed about it & I find that very unmotivating.

But I also realise now that last week I didn't really do any physical exercise. I'm sure that was a big contributor my blues.

[jrandom]

That's all very well, but it's also a notable depressor of the central nervous system.

Well, I figure my central nervous system is responsible for most of the crap in my life, so it deserves a good punitive depressing every so often, just to remind it who's boss.

[Ms Piggy]

Main problem is to decide what to do it in. The psychology of religious belief, perhaps??
Yes!!! I'd love to read it when you're finished! :niceone:

[wari]

... I just wondered if you get the same "This is just too hard!!!" feelings some time. ...

I GOt that in the 3rd forme ... :spudwave:

CHin uppe mate ... it'll be worthit in the nde ...

SOrry if somneone else has already said this ...

[Mongoose]

Yes!!! I'd love to read it when you're finished! :niceone:

Was having a second think about what you originaly wrote and thought "Hmmmm, sounds like a bit of time management to me" then burst ourt laughing. Well, in a way I was probabley right but its bit ripe coming from some one with the worlds worste record for personal time management. Does that make me an expert at it? I know all the dont do's

[aff-man]

Here is how the last five minutes just took place
Read posts on this thread

Thought about what i need to do for my papers assignments and supervised project

Went and got beer from fridge and started daydreaming about riding

i.e. :mellow: :eek: :wacko: :beer: :drinknsin :drinknsin

[wari]

Here is how the last five minutes just took place
Read posts on this thread

Thought about what i need to do for my papers assignments and supervised project

Went and got beer from fridge and started daydreaming about riding

i.e. :mellow: :eek: :wacko: :beer: :drinknsin :drinknsin

SO what are we drinkin ' .. ?

[aff-man]

Dirty export cause that's all that's left .......

Unless i decide to go have one with my good mate jim.. :killingme :killingme :killingme

[Posh Tourer :P]

That "dihydrogen monoxide" is dangerous stuff, hundreds of people die each year from inhaling the stuff. Did you know that it is also the largest component of 'acid rain'.

:o

Causes billions of dollars worth of loss to the economy - I mean just recently there was a big outbreak of it - not that you'd know, they keep these things pretty quiet.....

Also, a large proportion of murderers and rapists have used the stuff within 24 hours prior to committing the crime

Just quietly, new research indicates that it is involved in a large proportion of the world's drownings......

[Indiana_Jones]

lol from reading this, I don't want to goto uni :D
Plus they don't really offer seamenship courses :apint:

-Indy

[aff-man]

:killingme :killingme :killingme :killingme :killingme :killingme :killingme :killingme :killingme

[Andrew]

Gee and I thought I was the only one!!

I've lost count of the number of times i've wanted to give up. If I wasn't a student then I'd just want to be a full on bum. Trouble is after a while that really sux.

I get though by setting goals and rewards for achieving those goals.

I take one step at a time, while not forgettin the big picture all together.

But most of all I'm trying to make the most of my student days. As much as I do like it at times, I only wanna go thought it once!! :eek:

One of my goals is to graduate and become a professional bum. Any takers?

[wari]

...


One of my goals is to graduate and become a professional bum. Any takers?



A GIGALO ... !!! :spudwhat:

... :moon:

NOt me ... thanks anyway ...

[jrandom]

One of my goals is to graduate and become a professional bum. Any takers?

It's worked for me, so far.

[Ms Piggy]

Gee and I thought I was the only one!!?
There are many of us! A sad little band are we.


One of my goals is to graduate and become a professional bum. Any takers?
Maybe we could start a degree for bums. I personally wanna be a beach bum. Lie on the beach all day drinking g'n't's, getting massaged by some bronzed man called Sven, watching the sun go down & not having to do anything except lie around on the beach etc, etc, etc.

Ok back to reality now! :eek5: Thanks guys & gals for all your words, PMs and one wonderful KBers generosity :2thumbsup (you know who you are). I really think now it was actually due to lack of exercise. Not that I'm a fitness freak but, I've been suffering from OOS (although it's not called that anymore, aparently it's a pain in my left arm) and that on top of all the other things made me really miserable, then I didn't go swimming and had only gone for a couple of short walks with my dog. Result = miserable, mournful, self pitying me.

Thanks for not giving me shit or making light of my sad little story. When I'm a rich social worker I'll have a big party, so keep sometime in 2006/2007 free ok. :laugh:

[Mongoose]

There are many of us! A sad little band are we.

Thanks for not giving me shit or making light of my sad little story. When I'm a rich social worker I'll have a big party, so keep sometime in 2006/2007 free ok. :laugh:

Glad to hear things are back to normal(ish) but any chance you give us a reminder of the party closer to the date, not sure my memory will last that long. :killingme

[Milky]

I really think now it was actually due to lack of exercise. Not that I'm a fitness freak but, I've been suffering from OOS (although it's not called that anymore, aparently it's a pain in my left arm) and that on top of all the other things made me really miserable, then I didn't go swimming and had only gone for a couple of short walks with my dog. Result = miserable, mournful, self pitying me.
It really does help actually... Maybe it is the complete break from thinking about work that helps. Glad to hear we have infused you with a slightly more positive outlook on events. Keep the chin up and the results you deserve will follow :msn-wink:

[LB]

Glad to hear things are back to normal(ish) but any chance you give us a reminder of the party closer to the date, not sure my memory will last that long. :killingme
.
Put me on the "reminder" list too pse!

Glad things are getting a bit better.
.