Hi everybody!

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Hello everyone! - Just wanted to check in and say hi and see if anyone remembers me?! lol I have been busy working hard for quite a long while and had to seriously curtail my internet activities because of that, but I haven't forgotten about you all and just wanted to say hi! {{hugs}}Starfish

Of course we remember you! The shock is to find how long you've been away. Where have I been for a year?

Originally Posted By: IneligibleOf course we remember you! The shock is to find how long you've been away. Where have I been for a year? Ah that's so sweet Ineligible, thank you! I had a book to write and some head-mess to sort out also; I sorted the former and got as decent a handle as is possible on the latter, lol!There's just been so much going on. I decided I wanted to exit-stage-left on my career, i.e. I didn't want to be a journalist anymore. I had just, for the longest time, been finding it so deeply uninspiring, so I had decided to give myself fully to what I really wanted, and that takes time. The eggs-in-both-baskets situation just wasn't working, so I felt I had to get it together and dedicate myself seriously, which I feel I am finally getting close to; and also I feel I'm DUE a bit of free time! - so how have you all been getting on? What news have I missed? (Hit me with this last years news - like I say, I've got a bit of free time - LOL!)

I've had some similar experiences myself - I found my work last year was just too stressful, with too much effect on my health, to be worth going on the same way. There are times when we need to move away from the simple option and do something new.

Well its about fecking time!!

hugs Welcome back!

Hey Rach... Glad your back. We missed you too. I hope you worked everything out. I honestly can tell you most of us have been in the position at one time in our life. I personally am making some huge changes in my life becasue I can't continue to deal with the stresst caused by other people and the lack of poor planning. Drop me a line and let me know what's going on.-Roc

OMG! RACH!I thought you fell off the planet! I been smoking extra wondering about ya! j/k, but I have wondered what happened to you.Glad your getting something you want, life is so much better when your doing something you enjoy!hugs Keep in touch better..lol

Hi again all and thanks for the welcome backs! Bob - Me oul shegosha; forgive me, I'm sorry I took so feckin long! lol Of course you could always just have buzzed down the feckin road and had a feckin pint or ten so there's no feckin excuse for you it's not like you'd have had to swim the feckin Atlantic! - So feck off! lol Pepsi, Lisa & Roc; it's nice to see some friendly faces around here still. No I didn't drop off the planet Peps, but I did a damn good impression of it, didn't I? ha ha. I felt, on top of everything else, that I'd been spending too much time on a2a, to the point where I was wondering if it was another manifestation of my addictive personality, so when I sense something like that the only thing to do is to cut it clean, although I mightn't necessarily want to; I learned that lesson during my drug abusing days.Also I've made a decision recently that's really cleared a lot of things up in my mind. I've decided to go back to college, I've applied for the Masters in Creative Writing in our two top universities here in Dublin and it'll be weeks and weeks before I know if I got in. If you all could have seen me Thursday two weeks ago, Jesus Lord, it was the day before the final deadline for applications in my first preference college and I only found out THE DAY BEFORE!!! that the 5000+ word piece of prose on which my application would be judged was due in with the application forms. I had gotten some misinformation and had thought that that work was due in months down the line, if and when I got through the interview stage - not so! I had a single day to put together the 5200 words that will be the deciding factor on whether or not I get into my first choice of these two colleges. I typed from the afternoon till 3.30am - so please keep your fingers crossed for me people, I REALLY want to get in!I'm pissed off though, because I had no time to polish it, and the Masters in Creative Writing is a notoriously difficult course to get onto as it's extremely popular and the class sizes are tiny (12 places in one college and 14 in the other) with hundreds of people applying. Having experience in writing is no biggie either as most of the applicants do. So yeah, say a prayer for me people!So what's been happening on a2a while I've been away? Any particularly interesting threads I ought to look out for?

hey i remember you! last time i remember you being here was when we had a disagreement involving SteveA although we did fix that, and im glad to see you back and i hope you get in to where ya wanna go as for interesting, not particularly the place has been a lil dull lately

Originally Posted By: Dantekhey i remember you! last time i remember you being here was when we had a disagreement involving SteveA although we did fix that, and im glad to see you back and i hope you get in to where ya wanna go as for interesting, not particularly the place has been a lil dull lately Thanks Dantek, yeah I remember that too; how stupid was that?! lolThanks for your well wishes; I'll certainly come on and let you all know if I get in or not. I'm eaten up with anticipation over it to be honest; there's only roughly a one in twenty shot of getting in, so they're not good odds! Oh well.. time will reveal all!

exactly, whats more stupid is that i remember it! my mind works in mysterious ways...

Originally Posted By: Dantekexactly, whats more stupid is that i remember it! my mind works in mysterious ways...lol It's embarrassing to me actually, remembering arguing over stupid and pointless things with someone I've never been face to face with. We humans do find the most mundane ways to fill our time! I'm glad we got over that stupidness anyway, lol So what are you up to yourself thesedays?

eh finally got a job in september with a temp agency and havent worked since a few days before christmas, although thats partly due to the 3 weeks i was inactive, though i had a hernia and most of what i do there is heavy lifting so i waited til i got back to the doctor, but that was a month ago that i brought them the note saying i could work and have queried about work since thenmy old computer died in december so i bought myself a new one which i was very proud of, and my immediate family has had a complete fallout with my mothers first child resulting in absolutely no contact with my nieces for almost a year

If you're going to Trinity, I will piss on you myself!

Hey there,Biggest thing to happen in recent times is Helm's leaving, and deletion of all his posts, a big loss.

Originally Posted By: bobalicious

If you're going to Trinity, I will piss on you myself!

Ha ha - we'll here's to hoping you have plenty of urinating to do Bobs! I've applied to Trinity and UCD; am hoping for Trinity because it's about half the distance, has the slightly better reputation and has stronger literary links. Also UCD's Creative Writing Masters is not taught on the main Belfield campus, it's taught in Blackrock, which is even further. Still, it's a great course and I reckon I'd dive on it if I got it, minus an offer from Trinity.

Or do you have any views on that Bob? Do you think maybe I'd be better off deferring for a year if I get an offer from UCD just to touch for Trinity again?

And what are you up to yourself thesedays?

Originally Posted By: Dantekand my immediate family has had a complete fallout with my mothers first child resulting in absolutely no contact with my nieces for almost a year I'm sorry to hear that Dantek, that's fukin awful. It's a pity the way a lot of adults allow their issues to unnecessarily involve the kids, isn't it?That happened in our family many moons ago and I have vowed never again.

Originally Posted By: kmrobinsHey there,Biggest thing to happen in recent times is Helm's leaving, and deletion of all his posts, a big loss. Heya kmrobins! Wow, Helmsman is gone along with all his posts! What happened there?

Hey starfish...welcome back. Best of luck going to college. Don't know if you've been before, but it's a trip through strange territory. Enjoy it!