I don't really have any news lately. Whenever people ask me if there's anything new I just have to shrug. Right now I just work in the pub, look after anyone who needs stuff from my dad's store, and watch lots of old movies (just finished Andrei Rublev and now cracking into 2001: A Space Odyssey). I've actually had a good few extra days at the pub this month - nice to have a bit more pocket money. But I am increasingly starting to feel like I've been at home for too long. I'm not sure what the next move is, but I think leaving this town is a goal in itself. My dad's store is basically a warehouse full of pipe and fittings. Thankfully, it's not kept open - people call and my dad goes down there. He's in the Philippines at the moment so I've taken over; it's mostly fine, but I don't know what anything's actually for because I'm not a plumber, and I don't drive so I've ended up walking out 2 or 3 times some days (30 minute round trip; five minutes in a car). I don't mind doing it but I'm worried this is my dad's way of roping me into helping out at the store. I suppose from his point of view I look like I've given up on life. I wrote a little bit in the book for the first time in weeks. It's been getting a bit ridiculous. But to be fair, I was extremely busy for the late few months, and only now am I having a few free days. Excuses are easy to find, I guess! I was planning on quitting smoking recently (yeah, yeah, we've all heard that), but a guy I know just brought back a few pouches of tobacco for me from Spain, and I've never been the "chuck the fags in the bin" type of quitter. What a terrible state of affairs! I made an absolute hames of repairing my little one-man tent - globs of glue all over it now. Still as long as it's waterproof it doesn't really matter, I'm not exactly trekking to the north pole. Planning to walk across a nearby mountain range soon if the weather permits - it's the largest unoccupied area in Ireland but would only take a couple of days to cross. The question is, do I take the trail in the valley or walk peak to peak and earn myself some views? An ex-girlfriend of mine recently messaged me out of the blue and we exchanged a couple of up-to-speed messages. She said if I ever happen to be in her city to give her a bell and go for a coffee. Now, I wasn't exactly planning on going down there, but I do have some family I've been meaning to visit for ages, so maybe I will happen to go down sometime in September. Or maybe it's best to let sleeping dogs lie.
Haha, I'm tempted now Steve! We'll see about that. It's only a matter of time, after all, before I head to Colorado to buy you a pint.
I've seen something kinda similar happen to students in my research group. When new students come in, they typically get handed a small project that they can contribute to that gets them some experience doing research, their name on a publication, and a bit better idea of what the field is about. If they don't make much progress on coming up with their own project, their advisor pushes them to take the next step on that initial project, and the next, and so on. Even if it's not what the student really wants to be doing, that kind of project makes sure that they don't end up spending a decade getting a PhD. I guess my point is that if your dad is leading you into helping out at the store, you should feel happy that your dad cares about you, but if that's not ultimately what you want to do, you should be taking steps to figure out what it is you do want to do.I don't mind doing it but I'm worried this is my dad's way of roping me into helping out at the store. I suppose from his point of view I look like I've given up on life.