Rolling in the deep...

... of a planning frenzy.

Currently, life is dull. I have some Anglo-Saxonist creative writing to be getting on with; I am spending most of this week alone in my parents' house; and the University term restarts next Monday with more work to do - ugh.

Nevertheless, my mind is brimming with ideas and plans for so many future events that I can't help but be excited! The reality of planning a wedding has set in today, after I made some appointments to visit some local venues. I'm not just going to pop in and have a nosy at the grounds, I am actually going to TALK to the scarily titled 'wedding co-ordinators' and be given official tours of houses and grounds. Eeeeek! It has all become so real. And I can be excited now because Dad seems to have come around to the idea that we want our marriage to take place next year. Even more eeeeek!

We did some last-minute investigating at a few places on the weekend which was pleasing to me and Mum, but Dad was not enthusiastic at all. He wavered between deliberately aloof or stubbornly antagonistic. If one of us mentioned 'next year' he would mutter 'or the year after...' It was so irritating: if you have a problem, communicate it maturely and in a way that allows everyone else the chance to understand things from your perspective, don't just mumble and groan like a child. Argh! My Mum and I were becoming incredibly frustrated.

Anyway, he went away on Sunday night for work and when he returned on Monday evening he was much more enthusiastic and chipper about the whole situation. He encouraged me to contact venues and caterers and start booking appointments to visit possible locations - something that he would not have dreamed of doing at the weekend. I guess he just needed time to himself to reflect and come to terms with the fact that his little girl is all grown up! And my engagement is not a vague hint at something more, it is the beginning of a long, probably arduous process of planning, booking and paying for a wedding. An actual wedding.

Other thoughts that are swimming around my head concern less exciting, but just as important things. The big D (dare I say the full word?), aka the dissertation, is coming up fast and I have NO idea what to write about. I'm not even sure which period of literature I want to focus on, let alone which writers or topics to research. When I breathe and think about it rationally I know that I have plenty of time to decide on all of these things. But, that doesn't alleviate the worrying that is beginning to set in. And considering how quickly this year is passing me by, I'm sure "D-Day" is preparing to leap up and bite me on the ass sooner than I'd like.

Finally, I was supposed to use this break from classes to make a substantial start on my creative writing portfolio for my Old English module. Yesterday I finally had an idea for an Anglo-Saxonist short story, inspired by the speaker of an Old English poem, but today I have no motivation to take it any further. Avoiding the academic guilt that is so close to destroying my positive mood, I am being productive in other areas. Updating blogs, booking venue viewings, and other internet-based research that I should be doing for various non-academic (and therefore non coma-inducing) purposes. I may even do some ironing for Mama Sidhu. Maybe...

Now that you are also rolling amidst the depths of my excitement and/or sleep-depriving stress, I can end this here blog entry.

Stay safe. Peace.