So what ... for summer?

I like summer. I always have. Quite a lot of people do. In the crowd of people who like summer, I am on the "insane fan-boy" end of the spectrum. There are many strange and complex reasons why, but thats not what this is about. This is about what I am actually going to be doing this summer - or to be more accurate, what I am waiting to do once summer is over. I am going to be going back to college. This is not news, but it is a set-down date, and something that I have been planning towards for a while now, right down to making budgets of how much money I need to earn to be able to pay for it, and how many spirit-crushing dinner shifts I will need to work to make it possible for me to throw myself back into education. I am pretty confident the water isn't over my head on the practical preparation side of things - at my head, maybe, but at least I can breathe without needing a bamboo reed (though any further additions to the I'm-hiding-from-real-life fund are always appreciated).

Now that I am, tentatively, set in terms of what will be happening from the back end of September onwards, I'm quite keen to get started, partly so that I am able to avoid the late August panic and over-thinking which is by this point in my life a routine part of the year. But while I want September to get here, I also want to have a summer, and be able to enjoy it (while sticking to my brilliant money earning schemes). I've been that focused on what will be happening at the end of the summer that I have done a solid job totally ignoring the chance of having any kind of a life. There are also some at least reasonably important decisions to be made. Among them are:

• Do me and Erykah commit to at least another 12 months in our current place? (If we do stay then I may also need to make sure I find someone to rent my dad's place so that my stepsister doesn't move there - and yes, I am just that petty)
• Should I try to find something more accurately fitting the description of 'proper job' or continue with what I have now, as I know that I will be able to fit it around my college commitments come the autumn? If I do stick with what I have, I certainly need to invest in some new work clothes - this is entirely for vanity, I'm tired of wearing things that make me look like I borrowed clothes off someone bigger than me. Seriously, I look and feel more than a little silly - which is an achievement when dressed all in black.

I'm sure you will agree, these are not exactly uncommon points. But they are points that I have neglected, through laziness, desire to avoid having to make a decision, wanting to continue to see that girl I met at work who I kinda like but blah blah blah. Every cliché in the book.

Then there is the insightful and awkwardly accurate comment from a relative of mine that I seem to be lonely, and spend an awful lot of my time alone, or only interacting with people through my computer. This is true, and much more of a reality than I have ever really wanted to admit. It isn't really a pleasant experience noticing that a fairly off-hand comment in a conversation forces you to pay attention to the elephant quietly snacking on peanuts in the corner of the room, even though you are so aware of its presence that peanuts have been factored into your food budget. Pushed the image a little far, but I think you get my point. Especially since it has been that long since I had a proper social life, where things were not all planned out in advance and put in Facebook events to which I was then invited, that I do not really know how it all works. So, real-world friends, at some point can you explain how real friendships work, how their social interactions are observed, then shall we go do some of them?

So what am I going to do for summer? I'm going to try and actually live it, and when September arrives, then I will start to think about how the next chapter will pan out.

Moving house and an update on life

Ok then.
In a couple of days I will be moving house. This as an action is nothing new really, since it's been happening every few years of my entire life. The only difference this time, and I think the reason I am so excited about it, is that this is the first place that I am moving to where its not just for convenience but because I want to live there. The flat is pretty cool, my room is massive and the location is great. Looking forward to moving in with Erykah - or rather her moving in a few days after I have. Hopefully the "your moving in with a girl therefore you two are an item" stuff will disappear soon. The narrow minded views of some people are spectacular at times.

With the new place being where it is, it means that pretty much entirely by coincidence I am now living closer to my sister than I have in the last 5 years. I don't think that this will be a problem, though I see more requests for my epic dog-sitting abilities over the next 12 months or so (one of the easier tasks in the world since they spend most of the time napping). The thought that is slightly more concerning is that its possible padre and his woman may be returning to the area in the next few months depending on jobs and house sales etc. With the combination of the mothership returning to the homeland at the end of September, we will all be in the same country for the first time since about 2002, and most of the family could end up within 2 miles of each other - albeit with a large hill in the way. How father and his plus-one will be able to do the move if the spawn is still in Luton is undecided - but somehow I think rehab destinations don't really factor into the relocation plans. Oh well.

Also at the start of October I will be starting my MA in Ensemble Theatre, again at Rose Bruford, having got a 1st in my BA. Since I thought all the way through my time at college that I would do 3 years and be out the door, the MA has rather crept up on me, but its a new course, with some new ideas and it gives me the chance to test myself in a few different capacities. It also gives me license to read whatever books and plays I like - which is always a good thing. One of the sets of plays I have read recently was the works of Sarah Kane. I know she is not everyone's cup of tea, and some of the staging ideas are challenging to say the least (sunflower bursting from the floor being a decent example), but not only has she become one of my favourite playwrights, but also her work is, at this moment, what I would most like to be involved in creating. I'm not going to go into all the details of exactly how now, partly since some of the later themes and ideas I am still playing with in my brain, but once a more complete picture has emerged then I might put something down on paper - even though I severely doubt the other members of the Ensemble (who I have yet to meet) will be too keen on Kane as someone to look at. We shall see.

The interview for the MA was an interesting experience, with the highlights being:

• Told by one interviewer they could not see me being a professional SM
• Same interviewer informed me later that both of them were aware that I was "playing a part" during the interview so I didn't let on too much.
• The question: If you had a time machine and could go anywhere to see any show, what would you see? (My answer: Opening of Blasted by Kane in the 90's, first performance of the Berliner Ensemble in Britain in the 50's and the premiere of Osborne's Look Back in Anger in the 60's. They seemed to go down well)

Interested to know what anyone else would have picked for their choices on the third one.

Time to go finish packing!