One last time...!

Checked in. Waiting on the paraffin budgie to take me home. Put on the survival suit in 20 minutes. Walk up to the helipad and get on the chopper home. Probably fall asleep.

No more early morning starts. No more Bristow's breakfasts when I'm delayed. No more helicopter flights. No more having to share a cabin with some stranger. No more having to fit in with a bunch of strange men. No standing out just because I happen to be female and have been known to talk about testicles and bowel movements!

It's been interesting, exciting, boring, aggravating, annoying, enlightening, educational, useful, demoralising, frustrating, amusing and different.

No more offshore tigress...back to being a pussycat!

Career change awaits...I wonder what?!

Freecycle...yeah!

Freecycle is great! Just managed to get rid of 2 sofas, 2 telly's and some old darkroom equipment that I haven't used in the 5 years I've had it.

Now - if only I could strike it lucky and get a spinning wheel on there...

Offshore Tiger no more...!

As of next Tuesday I shall no longer be an offshore tiger. I have my last trip to the Claymore on Monday and after that my sub-contracting days offshore are finito...for the foreseeable future anyway. After 5 years I've reached the stage where I've lost interest in what I'm doing out there and I've had enough of sharing my time with strangers when I'd rather be at home with people I'd want to be with.

I've got a new village and home to settle into. I've got studying to finish before Christmas. I've got a house to decorate. I've got a wedding to organise. I've got a honey to keep happy. I've got to work at getting a research job. I'm going to get back to my running. And I have some me-time to catch up on so I can knit and take photos and get some creativity going before I stagnate.

I'll miss some things. I enjoyed the helicopter flights - landing on this small bit of metal in the middle of a huge pile of water is exciting and the skill of the pilots is something else. I have met some really fine folk though I've also had to deal with an awful lot of ill-educated numpties...and educated numpties as well! It has probably increased my self-reliance and independence to know that I can do an awful lot of things if I have to turn my hand to them. It's given me the confidence to go and try a lot more different things. But it's also taken me away from people I want to spend time with and at the end of it all it's much more important to spend time with them than it is to work away all the time to pay for a lifestyle you don't need or want. Most importantly, it's taught me how to pack a bare minimum of stuff to go away with so that when I go on personal trips I can get off with carry-on baggage only ;-)

"9. Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.

You may never reach the summit; for that you will be forgiven. But if you don't make at least one serious attempt to get above the snow-line, years later you will find yourself lying on your deathbed, and all you will feel is emptiness."

Gaping the Void

Fit's happening like?!

It's been a wee bit busy these last few months to say the least but there is finally a wee glimmer on the horizon. So, to summarise...

1. Did the Baker Hughes 10k in May and managed it in 1:06:19 which was 2 and a half minutes faster than the Balmoral. Wanted to get under 1:05 but until I did the race I never realised just how pigging depressing those 3kms along the Beach Bouley are, especially when you look over towards Seaton and Pittodrie and see the fast sods heading on their way back. Ach well - got the Loch Ness 10k up in Inverness on the 4th October so I'll kick in with the training again in a few weeks and aim for a better time at that.

2. Went to Rockness and had a pigging ace time. ERol Alkan, Bassment Jaxx and the Prodigy were all ace. Was most happy that my honey took to the dance music in a big way. Roll on next year as I reckon Rockness will be the only festie we'll have time for. TUNE!

3. Went to TITP. 2 Many DJ's, Blur and Seasick Steve were all amazing. We even made it into the mosh pit and on the telly during Seasick Steve. Cool. My honey is working his youth in reverse ;-)

4. Holidayed in Orkney with DB and the boys and didn't end up killing each other. My first holiday in "Mum" mode.

4. Had someone offer to buy my house at a sensible price only for them to pull out on the day they were due to sign the missives...bastards!

5. Decided to rent out my house instead so that someone else can pay the mortgage until the market finally recovers enough for me to sell it. It went in a week! Now busy getting stuff ready for storage, packing up stuff to go to DB's house and chucking/sending to charity/Freecycling the rest.

6. Finishing off study for a Postgrad Cert in Performance Coaching. Assessments are due in 4 days after I move and we have to give a presentation on one of our papers on the 5 Sept!

7. Bought my wedding dress - or at least option no 1. If I see something else between now and next year I'll sell this one on Ebay.

8. Off to London in October to Ally Pally to collect craft stuff for the wedding - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. Need to save pennies!

Think that's enough for now. I reckon I should be a lot more regular on all this once I've actually shifted. Think I'm going to collapse on the 6th September...! But it's all going to be worth it as I move to be with my honey and make a new home and a new stage in life.