Before I get started… Today there is a General Election in the UK. Please, if you are in the UK and registered to vote, do it! Even if you hate all the parties and don’t think it will make any difference, a spoiled ballot sends more of a message than simply not turning up. I mean, I’d rather you’d vote for the party with the policies that best match your own politics, but the important thing is to stand up and be counted. So, go vote. Please. For me? Oh, and if you get a selfie outside the polling station then BrewDog will give you a free pint. Ok, lecture over. Let’s get on with it.
Technically, thanks to a little luck with annual leave, tomorrow is my last day of work at Glasgow University. I’ve been learning and working in the Kelvin Building, which houses the School of Physics and Astronomy at Glasgow, for 10 years now, so it’s safe to say that I’m a little emotional about leaving. Fortunately, no one seems intent on preventing me from visiting in the future (and I’ll almost certainly gatecrash the Christmas party if I can).
However, on a more cheerful note, I don’t start my new job as a trainee patent attorney until 17th July. That’s in 37 days. It’s just over 5 weeks away. I have 5 weeks to do whatever I want. It’ll be like the long summer breaks I used to have when I was a kid and I am extremely excited about it.
I do have a few events to break things up. The week beginning 19th June will be busy because I have my graduation ball, my graduation, and a hen/stag do to attend. I also plan to go home for a bit at some point – quite possibly the week after graduating. Oh, and I’ve promised to give a talk on 30th June and I have a few other smaller events as well. Most days, however, are currently unassigned.
I’m ok for cash, but I don’t really have enough to go travelling. I will probably spend a lot of time reading, playing video games, gardening and going to the cinema. I hope that I will work out too. Perhaps I’ll dig out old abandoned projects and make some progress on them. Maybe even take a couple of driving lessons. I am not promising anything. Mostly, I will be having what I consider to be a well-earned rest. It is going to be glorious.
Here’s a sample timetable for how I hope my typical day will go vs how it will likely go if I don’t plan it carefully ahead of time:
See what I mean? One or two mostly wasted days wouldn’t be too bad, but five weeks worth would be kind of a shame. Still, I’m looking forward to being the only person I have to answer to if I’m wasting my time. Plus, it’ll probably be a good thing to get some rest before my new job starts, by all accounts it’s likely to be challenging. Luckily, I’m a big enough nerd to be looking forward to that as well.
In Becky's Head 
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