2007; A Year of Contrasts
2007 started badly. I was still too unwell (with M.E.) to work, and so was just existing. Hardly living at all. Small day-to-day tasks would really exhaust me, and my sleep pattern was …pattern-less!
By February 14th I had started to feel better, and was offered a job with Fruitful Media Ltd – a newly formed Online Marketing and Web Site Design company, as their Technical Manager. This felt great at first. I was finally doing something (and perhaps, what made me feel even better, was that I was earning once again!). Money was very tight at this point, so having a job again was a massive relief. All of the claim forms were binned! You know, I really don’t understand how benefit fraud exists! I mean, I, with a genuine need, and the help of former colleagues and close friends, struggled to file a claim (and so gave up).
I worked here for a few months, when I decided, I really couldn’t spend all my life sitting in front of a computer, I resigned. I needed a new direction. I idealised my Dads job – a really intellectual job, but you still get to climb ladders and pull cables and stuff!
Having resigned, I took a long break. I mean, I had just spent the last 6 months of my life in bed – but strangely, It’s exhausting and very boring. Now I actually had energy, I wanted to do stuff. Live, not just exist.
Summer of 2007 was amazing! I had the best time of my life!
I was invited to join my best friend, Charlotte, and her family on their summer holiday. We flew out to Barcelona, where we stayed in a hotel for 4 days.
Barcelona was an amazing place! I really loved it here, and we often stayed up late, soaking up the night atmosphere – even walking along the beach in the early hours of the morning!
We then took a taxi for the very short journey to the dock in Barcelona, where we boarded the Norwegian Jewel. They forewarned me the ship would be big, but ‘big’ was a massive understatement! It must have been bigger than Castle Mall and Chapelfield (the two shopping centres in Norwich) put together… twice, no thrice over!
From the outside it looked huge. From the inside, it was like a Tardis – inside it seemed even bigger still.
With NCL, we cruised around the Med. Starting with Sicily (I climbed Mt Etna!) we then cruised all way up the West coast of Italy, stopping at some amazing sights such as Rome and Pompeii.
The ship then spent one final day in Cannes before returning to Barcelona for us to return home.
Whilst away, I had an email from UEA (University of East Anglia) in response to my application, inviting me to go for an interview.
Before my holiday, I had applied to UEA. I always said I wanted to go to university, and now I was feeling better – why not? So I was nagged and nagged by close friends to apply, and so in the end, I did.
This is where 2007 becomes really amazing (for me anyway!).
I was given an unconditional offer to study BSc Computing Science at the University of East Anglia, Norwich!
And so ends 2007. I’m very very happy at UEA, and I’m doing brilliantly well. So far, pretty much all my grades have been way above the grade needed for a ‘first’ – and even got 100% in some of my coursework!
2007 ended well, with good friends, living my life (and not just existing), and heading in a positive direction – towards my ideal career as a postgraduate of UEA!
