How much is too much?  How do you know when you’re taking on enough tasks to stop?

After trying to priorities my life, to a certain extent, I’ve come to realise that I might be trying to do more than I can handle.  It started off with university and work, which was fine because it’s like having an 8-hour a day job, 4 days a week.  I do also have the Charles and Colvard competition which ends on the last day of June - that’s going well as I’ve finally got the hamster wheel spinning.  Now my dad wants me to use my - now extinct - Visual Basics knowledge from college (3/4 years ago) and create a program for his business.  I’m not intentionally procrastinating but I’m either doing other work or I just want to relax.  I’ll try and get it done ASAP though because he keeps asking about it.

Not long ago a fellow classmate asked if I could help him build a site for selling his biker jewellery.  I told him I’d give it a go (knowing just how competent I am in that area).

On top of those I also have two sites to maintain but that’s not such a big issue.

Time to leave for uni. now.

P.s. No hamsters were hurt in the process of thinking.  :P  Sorry…bad joke.

Well, I’m not really but my university doings would have suggested otherwise. Now, from the following images you tell me what it looks like?

So suspicious, right?

In truth the powdery substance is, I can only assume, bits of the material used in the casting process. The grey and, apparently, straw-ish looking thing is my escapement file. It’s what I had to use the poke the powder out.

Woo, my brooch is currently in queue for being set. I have pictures of the stones but the photos are bad quality so I haven’t put pictures up.

This post has won an Annie Award for being the most pointless.

[edit @23:03] Oh and many thanks goes to Bali for supplying the stones. Now, if only I remembered the names of the gemstones. Let’s see…

• Pink sapphire
• Green emerald
• Tourmaline (greens and orange/yellows)

Gah, I can’t remember the others - that’ll bug me until no end. I’ll go find them out, my manager will know.

Thanks should also go out to Alan, who is going to set my stone despite have tons of other repairs to do. A final special thank you goes to my manager, Andrew for sponsoring the stones (if it weren’t for him the brooch would still be bare, heh). Thank you all very much!

Okay, this is beginning to sound like an award speech. Annie out. [/edit]

My tutor told the whole workshop, today, that there will be people coming on Monday to do a documentary on the final year students. Apparently a couple of students from each course will be chosen. I really hope it’s not me…I fear cameras. (For the record, no I’m not literally scared of cameras nor have dreamt of huge cameras chasing after me, hah).

I’ve already avoided being by the ITV cameras (last Tuesday). As soon as I saw the camera crew…I “flew” the other way “going to buy solder”. Then, on a separate occasion I managed to avoid a photographer guy. I went down to the basement, buying solder to pass the time… I got the solder for free, which did the opposite so I had no choice but to return to the workshop. He (photographer guy) was still in the room but on the opposite side…phew!

Camera shy much? I know I’m not the only one, anyone else got any ideas on how to avoid being shot (hah) because I can’t keep “buying solder”?

At the age of 20 and almost at the end of my course, it’s time to really make a decisive decision on my future.

For months I’ve been debating whether or not I should continue to the higher level of my current course. My path is not clear yet; I have no decisive answer as to what I want to do.

Reality has hit me today that I must make a decision and I don’t have a lot of time. Earlier this morning I received a letter from my university, making me a conditional offer. I know I’m not guaranteed a place yet because my final project will be the defining one. You’d think, since I’ve been thinking about it for over a year that I’d already have an answer but I don’t. I’m stuck in two mindsets. I could only wish that my answer was an easy one.

I want to apply but there are problems. Money being the main obstacle. Although I have a job (very fortunate because it’s hard getting into the jewellery business) I’m still not gaining any income and with petrol prices increasing right before my eyes (at the moment it’s 104.9p), it’s going to cost me a horrendous amount of money for travel alone. Going by train won’t make much of a difference. Putting travel aside, I still have to pay for the course, precious materials, tools and potentially more.

Although I’ve managed to get through the two years and still holding the passion from my second week of starting this course (let’s face it, the first week always seem slow) I still don’t feel as if I have the backing of my parents. My dad doesn’t say much to me in terms of university but he’s one of these dads where you have to read his facial expressions to know what he’s thinking. My mom wasn’t too keen on me taking this course anyway, as she was worried that it wouldn’t guarantee me a job for the future. She’s right but that counts for any course, right? Although they seem alright with it all now I still don’t think I have their happy with my decision.

If it weren’t for my colleague (from my first job) and my cousin I’d probably have listened to my mom. Also, if it weren’t for my job then, I wouldn’t have been able to pay for this year or last.

I was going to see how the situation with work went - whether I’d be offered a full-time job because I’ve been getting subtle hints :P. However, I have under a month to respond to the letter.

What to do? What to do?

[edit on 22/04] I’ve sent the application form. [/edit]