Graduation Day and Christmas Reflections

In the midst of the hectic frenzy that is Christmas, Thursday was a day of relaxed ceremony and celebration. After the studying struggles of this year, it was fantastic to finally put on the robes of a Master of Science and walk across the stage to receive my scroll.

I read a letter a few days ago from a friend in Africa who has recently also finished her Masters, and she was bemoaning the fact that receiving a qualification when you were older lacked all the excitment of those of your youth such as 11+ or GCSEs. Personally though, I have to disagree.

For me, the sense of satisfaction with my MSc distinction feels quite intense and profound. Having lived a lifetime when those small voices in my head have always said I was crap at science, "...stick to the arts - leave science to your brother...he's good at science..." I have now proved to myself, that whilst I'm no genius in that area, I am certainly no failure either. Its a good feeling.

So now it is the weekend before Christmas, and I can't wait. On Christmas Eve I head home to mum and dads. This year is special for us as a family I think, because mum has been so ill since September. Now, even though she is recovering well, the lack of her presence as a daily anchor in our midst has changed the family dynamic somewhat over the last few months. It is no bad thing - through strife we are closer, stronger - reminded of how much we love one another. Its good to be reminded.

Hello again

How long has it been....my blogging days earlier this year ground to a bit of a halt with all the pressures of life. But now, encouraged by the musings of a friends blog http://www.onlyhereforthecricket.com/ I am determined to get the keys tapping yet again.

Thankfully, life has become somewhat less pressured, partly due to work settling down, partly due to my own laziness, and que sera attitude. So time for an update on life:


Marathon Demon Died in Barcelona

Yes, in early March, on a bizarrely hot spring day I managed to stumble over the finishing line of the Barcelona Marathon. Not as fast as I intended, but in 24c heat, I think thats OK. A lovely city, and a great way to see it. Kilometres 20-30 were pretty awful, but with 10K to go, the wall was broken through and I cruised through Barcelonetta, the gothic quarter, and down Las Ramblas amid cheering crowds. All in all a great day, only marred by a good dose of food poisoning which kicked in just as I flew home :-(



Having put to death those voices in my head that told me I couldn't run 26 miles on my own, I dont really intend to run that far again for a good while. Maybe for my 40th birthday ( a marathon each decade seems like a good target to have).

The Dreaded Masters
Hand-in date is the end of August. Ho Hum. Having not done a great deal of work in between my last post on this topic (Feb) and May, I am currently having to live, eat and breathe computing stuff (arrgghh). Having been chastised by my tutor for my lack of enthusiam about coding ...quote 'this is a masters in computer science , not social science... you need to do some programming' I have begun to write some code. Much frustration, and frequent tears have followed. Only determination and hope will see me through....



The Uber-Trust is born
1 April saw all the Healthcare Trusts in Belfast merge into one. It was an anticlamactic day - having worked since the start of the year on all the communcations stuff to keep people informed and the branding stuff to make it look good, when it actually happened, everything kinda went quiet.


Anyway, now I'm in a new office, have a new boss, and am getting to work on some new stuff. All in all, its been OK....different.... but OK. If anyone is vaguely interested, our website is http://www.belfasttrust.hscni.net/ - dont be too critical of how it looks - it is a work in progress. Merging the sites of 6 large organisations into 1 huge organisation (22,000 people) takes some time.



The Glorious Twelfth!

It's that time of year again - hurrah! they cried. Well they would, if there was anyone left in the country. The annual ulster diaspora is upon us, and Belfast as with most towns and cities across the province is resembling a ghost town as the majority of people head off for a fortnight in the sun.

The marching season is a funny old time - flags go up; bonfires get built; bands tune up to an approximation of concert pitch; and households stockpile canned goods in preparation for the one day shops are shut.
Belfast City Council, in an attempt to make the 'festivities' inclusive have branded the whole thing 'Orangefest' . I love that - gives lots of advertising possibilities ' the futures bright, the futures orange' etc. Not sure it will take off though, but maybe thats me being cynical.

Study Time

I'm writing this from from the hive of academia that is the UUJ library. Not a bad spot really (apart from the packet of Tuna sandwiches that are festering in the bin beside -... gotta love those students...).

Beginning to panic about the fact that my Masters (once so full of good intention) has ground to a very definite halt, I have decided to take a few days off work and try to kick-start the process once more. It is now the end of day one, and I feel relatively self-righteous as I have put in a solid days work and feel once more like I could possibly finish some time this decade.

It is strange being in the university all day without any of the classmates that struggled through the first 2 years of the PGDip with me.
As a solitary student you get the chance to observe those around you, and I must admit that it is hard not to be a little cynical about the bright young things bustling around the mall. Maybe this is simply a part of getting older. The faces that surround me are for the most part 15 years younger than mine, and seem full of enthusiasm for all aspects of life (apart, perhaps, from the studying that they are here to do.) But I'm sure at their age, I was no different.

Tomorrow again I will return to the quiet serenity of the library proper. Whilst the LRC (the bit of the library with all the computers) is always busy and buzzing, the library proper(the bit with all the books) lies strangely empty, rejected in preference of the fast research guru that is Google.

For me, I like the serenity, the musty smell of books - some things Google just can't replace.

Born to run.... well not quite

One month until I hit the streets of Barcelona in an attempt to conquer my marathon demons, and its hard to stay motivated. The last few long runs are always the most daunting, because the fears loom big in your head about how hard the full 26 miles are going to be.

Lets face it, I'm not exactly Paula Radcliffe, so it will take me a good 5 hours to run the full distance. Now on Saturday I ran 18 miles which took me 3.5 hours, and although it didnt feel horrendous, the thought of adding another 1.5 hours to that run does not fill me with feelings of joy and wellbeing. But no point in dwelling on the worry, as it it such a false and worthless emotion.

So why do I run... I suppose because I can. I love the satisfaction it gives me; I love the way it trains my head to perserve, to endure, to enjoy life.

The Word Became Flesh

It's been a week of really good chats with people, which is pretty unusual for me as I'm usually pretty guarded in how much I let peole know about me. I have alot of walls that few get past, but when they do, there is a certain degree of relief.

Was talking to Paul on Wednesday night and he mentioned a quote from someone that had really impacted on him, and it is something that has been banging around in my head also for the rest of this week. And this is it...

'In the beginning was the word..... the word became flesh, and quite frankly most of us wish that it hadnt.'

My first natural reaction to this was to shout No!, not me...the fact that Jesus came to earth and lived as a man is at the very foundation of what I believe, and to say that I wish he hadn't, is just wrong.

But then I began to think about it in a different way - that to live under the law (word) is infinitely easier than living in relationship (flesh). Relationship demands so much more of us - our heart, our soul - not just our actions.

When all we had was the word, all that was required was obedience. Once that word became flesh we are required to love.

Dont know about you, but I reckon total obedience is so much easier than unconditional love.

As I reflect, I can say 100% that I am eternally grateful that the word became flesh, but the responsibility that this places on my shoulders weighs heavy by times.

Introductions

So who am I?

Lets not get into any deep stuff... on a superficial level, I'm Karen, a thirty something woman from Belfast in Northern Ireland.

To define me - I'm a Christian, a runner, a bit of an adventurer.

Oh and Maisie...she's my dog. A 2 yr old Mini Schnauzer.
Not bright, but very cute.

We're well met.

Beginnings

God spoke: "Light!" And light appeared. God saw that light was good and separated light from dark. God named the light Day, he named the dark Night. It was evening, it was morning— Day One.

OK, so this creation isnt exactly on the epic scale of the original, but it is a beginning nonetheless.

So here it is - Day One.