A little humour to get me through my 40 minute and counting marathon call to British Telecom. Overcharged our broadband by 200%. Have just been transferred to my 4th department. Argh! On a plus note, first day at work today, went really well, lovely team, looking forward to the change of pace. Exams - two down one to go, definitely passed the first two. Need to do way more study for the last one! 

One down, two to go!
Stats exam is out the way. Totally passed it. Cheeky buggers changed the format from previous exams and made us do calculations not required in any of the previous 8 year's worth of exams (which I've been studying). But I could still do them! Cursing myself for forgetting to take the square of the standard deviation, but I'd shown I knew the formula and included all my workings out, so should still get a few marks for that question.

Wednesday - psychobiology. My strong areas are memory and amnesia and asymmetries of brain hemispheres and functions and stress. I also know a bit about visual processing. Our brain structures are really quite impressive!

Star Wars Revenge of the Sith premiered in Leicester Square today, so I wandered down on a study break to have a look. Was vaguely surreal reading a statistics book with 20 storm troopers in front of me while I waited for interviews live on stage with Christopher Lee, Antony Daniels and the guy who played Boba Fett! There was a life size X-Wing fighter too. Very cool. Nerdy, but cool! And now I can tell you all about the 5% significance level, standarad deviation, inferential and descriptive statistics! Tomorrow I begin my review of parametric testing...I can't resist: 'May the force be with you'! 

I just couldn't resist....! 

Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) being interviewed... 

"I am C3PO, Human Cyborg relations". Antony Daniels the man who played C3PO... 

Meet Mr Fearless Squirrel.... 

Mr Fearless Squirrel made an appearance on our bedroom balcony this morning. (Or, as Stu likes to call him, ‘Squirrel McBastard’, the bastard cousin of Squirrel Nutkin, who never made it into the Beatrix Potter series). I have a peanut feeder hanging from the balcony door, and most mornings we are graced with the presence of a mumma and baby red robin – the baby sits on the balcony mouth wide open waiting for food from mum. He hasn’t learned the caution of an adult robin yet, and will often sit and study me while I sit on the bed and study his colouring and fluffy little feathers.

This morning however, there was an almighty banging of the feeder against the door, and upon opening the curtain Squirrel McBastard was clinging on upside down, bushy tail against the glass, trying to crack open the feeder! Even after I banged the glass the furthest away he jumped was about 30 cm from the door, at which point he turned and just stared at me! Eventually he realised I was on the other side of the glass and he was safe, as he sauntered back up to the door and proceeded to try to jump back onto the feeder. He was actually quite cute, in a rodent-like way! And certainly very brazen!

In loving memory of my Aunty Jan, who passed away early last week, too young. Going through all my memories, from childhood to adulthood, I remember you with a smile and laughing, even when life was hard. Say hello to my dear Poppy up there in heaven. There'll be a candle burning for you both in St James's church, Marylebone, London. With much love. 

I did a fire walk. What does than mean? It means I walked barefoot over 8 feet of red hot coals. Why? Well why not?? 'Are you insane?' I hear you (and pretty much everyone else!) ask. No. I was really really scared, making excuses why it was a waste of time before I even got there, and I chickened out the first time I stood in front of the coals (the voice in my head said 'you can't do it' and I believed it), but I wanted, needed, to push through my fear, I'm tired of fear, of making excuses why not. I wanted and needed to push myself, to make myself take that first scary step, to believe in myself enough. And, also because it was an opportunity I couldn't see myself having again any time soon! So I went to the back of the queue, psyched myself up, gave my body strength, centered myself, used a strong tone of voice, powerful language, listened to the drums beating and let something elemental, some life force energy flow through me, shoulders back and head high, and you know what? I damn well did it. I took that first step and stormed across red hot coals with no burns, not scorching, nothing. I did it. I found strength and resources in my mind and body I didn't know I had. This photo is not of me walking, but it's the nearest I could find on the internet showing what the coals looked like. Some fire walks take you through flames, I just did red hot coals. What has surprised me most is people's reaction to it. Some people don't believe I actually did it (sorry but I've washed the ash off my feet now, you'll just have to take my word for it), some people think it was a mind trick and that the coals weren't real/hot/whatever, some people throw scientific explanations at you about how you were never going to get burned because of the sweat on your feet on the conductivity of the coals, some people don't understand why I felt the desire to walk across the coals, and in some people it's caused unease, even a sense of feeling threatened. I never considered how people would react. I accept now that it challenges people, it challenges belief systems, and it goes against what people believe should happen when you go near something scorchingly hot. One thing I realise now is that what people say to me in response tells me a lot about who they are. I am the same person, with just a little bit more knowledge and belief in my inner strength and power. I've not turned into a swami or new age psycho or lunatic. I took that first step and then walked over coals, that's all. I did this for me, and while I didn't appreciate the thoughts and emotions it would kick off in others, I have done it! So while we're here, we may as well talk about it! 

Moi relaxing on Parliament Hill, Hampstead Heath... 

This happy little ginger fur ball was spied trotting about Hamsptead Heath, where we went for a walk/lounge about in this afternoon's sunshine... 

Enjoying the May sun on a long weekend...the first really lovely sunny day I've been able to get out into and enjoy! 

We decided to christen our terrace on the long weekend with a BBQ, and purchased this, er, little bbq at our local Somerfield supermarket. It was 4.99, but we didn't quite reckon on it being such a teensy little thing (It came flat packed and Stu put it together)! It only just reached my knees!!! 

Stand back...the official 'first lighting' of our 'mini-me' bbq... 

Cooking on coals... 

Stu munchin his prawn, pineapple and capsicum kebabs, sausages, peppered steak, cous cous salad, green salad, cucumber mint and gherkin salad...and coleslaw! 

The sky under which we ate... 

Family portrait. Anyone would think I liked pandas!