Victoria Age Championships

...Are less than 2 weeks away!
I've entered the 69kg class so I have to lose around 1.5kg to make it. FINGERS CROSSED!

Heavy week this week, I did big squats (for me) on Tuesday which was surprisingly easy.

S is coming to visit for a week! Looking forward to it!

I've develped some sort of RSI in my indx finger from too much typing/mouse clicking/writing which is making it hard to take notes :/

Gap Year and stuffs

Wow, another post! I must be procrastinating!

Ok so, I'm feeling a lot better because I've been talking to some to the faculty co-ordinators and stuff and I've worked out that the best thing for me to do is take a gap year next year, go home and do some light research work, get a part time job and study at my own pace for a bit :)
That way I can be totally refreshed for third year in 2014 and I can also have a life for once!

Also, I got a high HD on my latest assignment :3
I got a rubbish on one of my other assignments but that one was highly subjective (reflective piece) so apart from that, I have gotten HDs on all my assignments so far in both years :D

Exhaustion

I feel mildly bad about my lack of posting, I was supposed to be doing this blog shebang more often and while I have plenty of things I would love to write about, I just don't have time.

I am currently about to start my third week of semester, we are currently in the thick of haematology AND pelvis and franklin, I'm dead. Absolutely exhausted. I have around 30 contact hours per week at university and spend a good 25-30 hours studying outside of uni and I am so tired.

I might not have time to post for a while, I might find time tomorrow. Who knows?

If you're reading this, whoever you are, wherever you are, I hope you are well :)

Cupcakes Galore!

I admit it, I have a baking addiction.
Like, seriously. I can't stop. I have made four batches of cupcakes in the last week and luckily, living in a household of six (I'm home for the holidays - yay!), they get eated really quickly.

So I'm going to post so photos of my creations!

Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream

 I didn't realise at the time but the reason my buttercream split so badly was that the cream cheese I used was low fat (30% less) and the extra water in it separated out and wouldn't combine.

Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese buttercream

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

Chocolate Cupcakes with a Chocolate ganache glaze

Chocolate Cupcakes with Piped Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate Cupcakes with Piped Chocolate ganache

Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache and white chocolate buttercream topped with chocolate lattices

Soups and Cakes

Today was a busy day for baking and cooking, I made a 'Red velvet' chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting and two soups!

I made a basic chocolate cake, sliced it in half and while it was cooling, I made Italian meringue and cream cheese frosting. I used Whisk Kid's cream cheese frosting recipe and modified it to make Italian style buttercream as opposed to Swiss, which is a lot heavier and not so popular in my house, and slathered it on (smooth, fluffy deliciousness!) I then grated a piece of 70% Cocoa Lindt over the top.

Lets just say it went down rather well :p

(My iphone sort of killed the colours)

After dinner I decided to start on my soups, the first is a basic 'everything' soup so, onion, cabbage, carrot, parsnip, swede, celery, bacon bits and the leftover roast lamb, pumpkin, parsnip, potato and sweet potato from dinner as well as a litre and a half of chicken stock, large pinch of salt and lots of black pepper.

I am also making Ham stock for another soup. I got the massive stock pot and placed two massive ham hocks, 6 onions (in halves), 5 cloves of garlic, two huge pieces of celery, a carrot, a bayleaf and a sprinkling of black pepper corns and then overed it all with water. This is simmer gently for most of the night and I will strain and concentrate it tomorrow. :)

So much food! I am loving being back home!

Salmon and Eggs - A Match Made in Heaven?

Maybe?
Yes.
So, after my running around trying to find my best friend to go on our breakfast date, (we got the dates confused), I decided to spoil myself a little with some luxury food. And it is luxury, I had to go to three stores to get everything that I needed!
I picked up some smoked salmon from the Tassal deli (wonderful fish, easily the best salmon in the country), a bagel from the salamanca food store (bagels aren't easy to find in Tassie) and some spinach, dill and creme fraiche from Coles.

Yeah, I need a ladle to poach eggs. I kind of suck at it.

Wilted Spinach with a small knob of butter and a dash of lemon juice.

Plonked on some creme fraiche mixed with chopped dill

Draped the salmon on top. This is porn, seriously. 

Man, that was delicious!

Cloud Soufflés and Chocolate Disasters

Being alone in the house at lunchtime, I looked for things to make my lunch with. Nothing apart from eggs.
Soufflé it is then!
So I found a recipe that a friend had posted earlier in the year that I wanted to try; Cloud Soufflé.
 

Cloud Soufflé Recipe
Ingredients 

2 eggs, separated
Salt

2 chunks of butter
Grated cheddar

butter for my ramekins.
 

I had four eggs so I went to separate two of them. One of my usual methods is to carefully crack them into a glass and pick up the egg yolks with my fingers (I know, most of you are probably shaking your heads right now). These yolks obviously had the gift of precognition and broke as soon as the eggs cracked.

I set these two failed attempts aside and separated the last two eggs using the tilt method (tipping the yolk back and forth between egg shell halves until all of the white has fallen into the bowl. One of the yolks still broke but I was able to scoop it away before it did any lasting damage.
There were a few wisps of yolk in my whites but it whipped up fine.

Ok so I followed the recipe to a T except I used butter instead of cream as I didn't have any and omitted the pepper.

I'm a little sad to say that it wasn't quite as good as I expected but it certainly looked impressive.

The egg of top was a little rubbery rather than crisp as I expected, probably because it's pure protein rather than regular souffle which has flour in it (starches crisp up better).

The egg yolk was runny but some of it had fallen to the bottom and cooked, making the ramekin hard to clean and the cheese didn't melt.

But it's definitely a good way to get your toes wet in the sea of souffle making, it's a lot simpler and faster with much less mess. Just remember that it may not taste the same.

Now. My two broken eggs. What to do? Well, I've often been told that you can't whip whole eggs to peaks. I figured that I may as well try to see whether that is true.

After whipping for a good twenty minutes, this was the result:

Mostly whipped... Soft peaks formed :)

I poured it into the ramekin and put it in the oven for around 10 minutes, in hindsight, 5 probably would have been enough.

While it looked good, it was overcooked and was rubbery :/

But at least I sort of proved that you can whip whole eggs, I wouldn't go out of my way to but if accidents occur, you can do it :)

Mum's Chicken and Corn Soup

I made this soup this morning for my lunch at work :)

Photo courtesy of my Partner :)

This recipe is courtesy of my mother, for me this soup is the go-to for sick days, orthodontist days, lazy days, cold winter school lunches etc.

1L Chicken stock - Homemade is nicer but you can use a bought one. (To make your own, gently simmer chicken bones for 3-4hours and strain)

Bring the stock to a gentle boil and add 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/2 tsp grated ginger (or a few shakes of ginger powder), 2tsp sesame oil and 1-2 Tbs of oyster sauce.

IMPORTANT STEP (If you don't do this, all the egg will sink to the bottom): Get 1 heaped teaspoon (like, the spoon you use to stir your tea with, not a measuring spoon) of potato starch or 3 heaped teaspoons of corn flour and mix with enough water to dissolve it in a cup. Add to stock and stir until the soup thickens slightly, if you stop stirring too early, it may get lumpy, keep stirring and it should come right.

Crack 2-3 eggs into a bowl or cup and beat them with a fork for a few seconds, just enough to break the yolks and combine them a little.

Bring the soup up to a rolling boil and pour in eggs, stirring briskly (not too much or the egg will be too fine but enough that it doesn't form a huge clump).

Turn off heat and mix in 1 can of creamed corn (regular sized), careful not to splash the soup as the corn is quite thick. The soup should be the perfect temp for serving.

Makes around 1 medium pot full, it will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Quickie: Prawn Stirfry

I love stir-fry, it's cheap easy and very, very quick.

At College, Saturday night dinners arent'r provided so I have to make something up for myself.

On the way home from lifting I picked up a packet of shiitakes ($2.80) and a handful of snow peas ($0.20) from the Asian grocer and 150g of raw Thai prawns (~$2.50) and a large clove of garlic (10c) from Coles.

When I do stirfry, I sort of vaguely think about what I want to go in it and then I just chuck it in, I don't usually measure things so any measurements are an estimation.

The kitchen provided is a converted commercial kitchen and it has most of the things that I need. No wok though, makes me a big sad but I make do with what I have.

I set the frying pan to a high heat, wipe and de-stem the shiitakes, wash and de-string the peas and peel/dice the garlic. Once the pan is hot, I fried half the garlic in about a Tbs of oil until it started to brown and then added the mushrooms and turned them over a few times with a spatula. I poured in about 1/2 cup of shao hsing wine and a Tbs of oyster sauce and let it reduce down a bit. (I would have liked to add a tsp of sugar but there wasn't any :/)

While it was reducing I heated up another frying pan and chucked in some garlic and about a tsp of oil. I then threw in the prawns and cooked them until they went pink. I added them to the mushrooms and threw in the peas, tossing them around for a few moments before moving it all to a bowl.

I was rather lazy and not feeling like carbs so I ate them without rice.

Ta-da! Apologies for the rubbish quality, I had to use my phone to take the picture.

TSSSS!

Gosh, weightlifters make funny noises don't they?

I'm definitely not an exception to the rule.

I am a culprit for the loud 'TSS!' or 'TSAH!' at the end of my snatch/clean/squat. Yep, I am that person.

But I have a theory as to why I (and many others) do this.

When I lift, I hold my breath. This is to help me keep my core rigid by increasing my intra-abdominal pressure. This is part of the Valsalva manoeuvre, a technique where you expire against a closed glottis.

So I'm doing all of this hard work holing my breath, when I'm finishing my squat/clean/snatch, I will exhale but in such a way that I don't reduce my intra-abdominal pressure and compromise my stability.

Part of my theory is also that it helps prevent the drop in blood pressure that can occur when using the valsalva maneuvre which would cause fainting however, I'm not 100% sure so don't quote me on that.

Overall I think that it is a part of lifting that happens almost without thinking but it helps to boost the confidence of the lifter and being such a psychologically demanding sport, whatever you do to increase your self-confidence, whatever routine or ritual you have, keep doing it!

So don't mock the noisy ones, (unless you both know you're joking) it's beneficial to their lifting!

Seen Lee

Goal setting - Vic Junior Champs

The other day at training, my coach asked me if I wanted to enter the Victoria Junior Championships in September because it's my only opportunity to compete as a Junior (20 is the age cap).

Also because I need a goal to work towards. It also means I need to get a lifting suit. Bring on the unsexyness!

I am rather excited!!!

I'm also rather pleased because my snatch has been improving a lot and I'm hoping that it will get a lot better in the coming weeks although, I am a bit worried about the state of my technique while I spend a month away from Phoenix (home in 3 days!) because I won't be seeing my coach for all of that because he's going to London for 6 weeks.

I also found this funky diagram which shows some interesting things about technique. I have a friend who lifts as well, G, who loves maths; he would adore this picture:

On a side note, I watched the Australian Qualifiers on the AWF live-stream. That was very exciting although who would get the places were obvious. (Congratulations to Seen Lee and Damon Kelly!)

On an unrelated note, it was my 4th year anniversary today with my partner S, who I get to see on Wednesday! So very excited! Very much looking forwards to going home and seeing my family as well.

My last assessment is tomorrow, I will be very glad when it is over!

Much love ~<3

Interactive Biololgy

I thought I might just make a small post about my freelance biology articles.

I write for a free online learning resource called Interactive Biology. This handy website has many articles and videos that explain concepts in biology in simpler ways than you might find in your textbooks.

I have had a few articles published on Respiratory physiology and will have more to come in the future, some of which I may repost here.

For now, here's my profile which lists my published articles.

If you do have any questions about medicine or biology, please feel free to post them here and I will be happy to answer either here or maybe as an article at IB.

The Prince of Egypt

When I was little, I watched a variety of animated films and televisions shows, some of which were based off the bible and religious text.
I'm not particularly religious and I don't think that you have to be religious in order to enjoy biblical films.

One of my favourite films of my childhood was The Prince of Egypt, a Dreamworks cartoon film based off the tale of Moses. It is a beautiful film with a gorgeous animation style as well as an amazing score with many powerful songs. Whether you are religious or not, you can always appreciate a quality piece of entertainment that tells one of the most well-known biblical tales.

Here is the film part 1/10 on youtube that I found. Whatever you believe, put it aside and watch it. It is a really nice film and the songs in it are equally as moving. Sometimes I think that people put too much emphasis in upholding their beliefs rather than just enjoying the creations of others.

MYER's Stocktake Sale + Cookbook Splurge

So, today my sister sent me into MYER to pick up some perfume she wanted because it was sold out back home.

I trundled into Chadstone and wandered into MYER, it took me around 10 minutes to find (I'm not used to such a big cosmetics/perfumes section - I had to ask the MYER assistant to point me in the right direction.)

She wanted me to pick up two bottles of MOR, the Lychee flower and she'd decided that she'd buy my the Blood Orange flavour for my birthday (so she could justify buying both haha). Well, I sampled them both and I while I wasn't very impressed with the Blood Orange (it had a soapy undertone that was a bit icky), the Lychee was glorious!

Very sweet but light, without being sickly or cloying and boy was it fruity! It also lasted ages (I went at 11am and it was still there late into the evening). Edit: it was still there the next morning!

Man, that stuff is glorious, I couldn't stop sniffing it. I was like an addict huffing paint, I just couldn't help but sit with my wrist shoved under my nose taking deep sniffs of this stuff all afternoon!

I also couldn't help but go into the $5 book store near the cinema where I bought four cookbooks including 'Cooking for two" edited by Gina Steer, 'Soups' from the Woman's Weekly and two other small volumes with soup and one-pot recipes.

While I can cook reasonably well, cooking for less than 5-6 people remains a big challenge for me and while freezing food is an option, I do want to learn how to cook small amounts for next year when I move in with my partner. I also want to start my recipe book collection off and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

There is one book that I covet; Macquarie Dictionary of Cookery. My mother has a copy and it is like the bible of cooking. Seriously. Unfortunately it only ran two editions, one in 1949 and a reprint in 1991. I found a copy of the reprint on ebay which I promptly bid on ($15 with $13.80 postage - it's a massive book).

I am so excited for this book, like you wouldn't believe. It will become an heirloom I swear. I would say that about my mother's copy but it's so well loved that it wouldn't last for more than another generation or so before it completely falls apart. That being said, I will still steal it and copy all of my mother's revisions into my copy.

Eeeeh! So excited to go home, less than a week now!

Weightlifting in the public eye

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-13/aussie-weightlifter-refused-lift-over-cash-incentive/4067612

Recently at the Oceania Champioships in Samoa, an Australian weightlifter, Daniel Koum, originally from Cameroon, is accused of threatening to ruin Australia's hopes for a spot in the men's weightlifting at the London Olympics later this year. It is alleged that he demanded money in return for performance.

You can read the rest in the article/video of the news report by the Australian Broadcasting Company. Similar articles have been posted by many of Australia's other press.

While this story is disappointing, whether it is true or not, it has yet again drawn a tarnished reputation to the sport.

Like any story of an individual athlete whose conduct has been less than desirable, the ripple effect of the media attention on the story will draw negative opinions from the public both towards the athlete and the sport itself.

Weightlifting hasn't had much media exposure in the last few years however, much of the press that it has received hasn't been positive. This does not bode well for the sport as it deters potential sponsors and government support.

The other thing that is stirring comments from the public is that the lifter in question defected from Cameroon and sought refuge in Australia and it appears that he was granted citizenship with the intention that he would represent Australia in sport. Not only to win but to set an example of a person who has made a new, better life. There are other lifters who did the same and most have drawn criticism from the public for 'jumping queues' or not going through the proper channels.

Behaviour like this is not helping with the opinion that they don't deserve their citizenships and is likely to make it harder for foreign athletes to seek refuge in Australia.

I'm not necessarily condoning this as the best way to seek asylum however, it isn't fair that one person can ruin the chances of many others due to selfishness and unsportsmanlike behaviour.

3-Stage Snatches

Yep, another weightlifting post, I guess that I have a lot to say about it at the moment because it's the only interesting thing going on at the moment because of my exams.

The 3-stage snatch is my go-to exercise for when my snatch technique is lacking. I was taught it by my first coach but none of the other coaches I have trained under had ever heard of it but, once I had demonstrated it, they seemed happy enough to put it in my program when I need to work my technique.

The first stage

Starting position as normal, lift the bar as you would in the snatch but stop at the knee and go back to starting position.

The second stage

Starting position to second pull. No arm bending and shoulders shrugged up to your earlobes. This really demonstrates the triple-extension and the importance of the second pull.

The third stage

Full squat snatch.

Because my issue is that I 'kick' too early to get under the bar, this exercise really helps me 'remember' to feel and complete the second pull.

I actually haven't found any mention on the Internet or any videos or anything on this exercise so if anyone out there has heard of it or uses it, drop me a comment.

Do you have a go-to exercise for technique? I'd love to hear from you.

Olympic Weightlifting and Me

"I do weightlifting."

That's my usual response to "What sport do you play?".

Well, it is a much easier response than the other sport that I play.

But then comes the almost inevitable "So you're keen to bulk up then?"

No. No I'm not. In fact, quite the opposite.

Weightlifters are ranked in weight classes, the less you weigh vs the more you can lift = success.

Sure, I'll probably end up with a big, muscled bum and thighs but I'd probably have the same if I still danced.

Then there's the assumption that I am a butch tomboy which then for some weird reason leads to "Are you a lesbian?"

Yes, I have been asked that. Several times, by people who know that I have been in a long term relationship with a guy. Not that I really get offended by people assuming I'm a lesbian, it's not offensive apart from the fact that people are stereotyping.

People also tend to assume that I must 'wear the pants' in my relationship and that my partner is 'whipped'. Which is another of society's notions that ticks me off a bit.

Sometimes I say that I do Olympic lifting but then people assume that I'm training for the Olympics. You just can't win.

So, what got me started lifting?
My cousin who is a few years older than me did it when she was in college (year 11-12) so when I went to the same school, I figured I would try it out.

I did it for a year but with the death of my coach the following summer, I couldn't really continue.

I resumed training in November last year and have continued whilst in Melbourne at Phoenix Weightlifting Club.

Why do I do it?

The feeling of doing something powerful yet technical with speed and precision. Not something you'd usually consider when you think of weightlifting.

I have played team sports before and while they are challenging, social and a lot of fun at times, ultimately they were bad for my self-esteem. To be shouted at every session or told that you weren't good enough or you needed to work harder to keep up with the team is very disheartening, especially if you're juggling sport with academia. The truth was, I couldn't keep up with the team because I didn't have the time to train.

Weightlifting on the other hand, it's individual. All about you and your own abilities and goals.

When I lift, I feel confident, strong and good about my own abilities. Sure, there are heaps of things I need to improve, but there are also things I am good at. It is a very personal sport.

I've also found that it has been very good for me in terms of my health. I am hypermobile; my joints are very stretch and flexible which means I need a lot more strength to keep them stable. I have misaligned my vertebrae and pelvis, nearly dislocated my knee and my shoulder and rolled my ankles multiple times. I also had flat feet because my arches would just collapse.

Since I started lifting and other strength training, many of these things stopped happening.

Now, this was only possible because I have worked with trainers and coaches who knew how to tailor my training regime to me needs.

Currently, lifting for me is an outlet for the stress of this year's studies. Year 2 is one of the most stressful, busy years in medical school. But the highlight of my schedule is definitely getting into the gym and seeing all the friendly faces of my fellow gym-buddies and my amazing coach.

One of the highlights of lifting this year I guess were firstly, getting my own personalised program. Now, I mean a program that a coach has written down and given to me because they trust in my abilities enough that I can go and train without having to be supervised the entire time.

The other thing is praise. When you do something wrong, you get constructive criticism which is fantastic because you can improve what you're doing. But when there is something you do right, it feels great!

What feels even better is when there are several coaches who notice the same thing independently. I have a very deep squat due to my flexibility and I have a natural ability for the jerk (which is balanced out by the amount that I suck at snatching).

The one other thing is the feeling that you have when you work with a weight you have never gone to before. And you do it right. It's exhilarating, you feel really, really good about yourself and it's a huge confidence boost. Recently I went all the way up to 60kg for my Clean pulls. I have never touched a weight that heavy in my life.

When I trained in year 11, I was terrified of 35kg (green 10kg plates) and it was a huge psychological block for me. These days the greens are my best friends :p

I love the buzz of the gym and the vibrance of its people. It's one of the best ways that different people can mingle yet focus on the same things and you all understand each other.

I love lifting. I do. And it doesn't matter what people think of me for it, I will always be passionate about it.

Who am I?

This isn't my first blog; I've attempted blogging many times before and I'm a bit of a failure at it really. But I think my issue is that I was never honest with myself, I over-analysed my content to tailor an 'audience'. Which I've come to realise, isn't really my primary concern. Blogging to me is about self expression and writing about my personal experiences, but before I start talking about my personal experiences, I need to define myself in order to give them meaning. In the past I would focus on one thing whether it be my studies, hobbies or other interests, but that was always just one side of me. So who is me? Well, I don't really want to get too philosophical so I suppose I should answer that question.

I am 19, an Australian citizen by birth and the eldest of three girls. My mother is a second-generation Chinese ex-pat and my father is an Australian. Growing up as a half-caste Chinese-Australian brought its own challenges but I've never really given them too much heed.

I can't speak any Chinese apart from the tit-bits I learned in high school, which is more than my mother knows as she grew up very much immersed in the Australian community.

That being said, I grew up in what could be considered a typical immigrant Asian fashion blended with an old-fashioned Australian upbringing. I took private piano lessons and group cello lessons from a young age, I danced for many years with my mother making many fantastic costumes for the concerts I participated in. I attended weekend Chinese school for a few terms in primary school which really didn't teach me anything as all the other children could already speak Chinese. My father taught me mathematics and would test me regularly to see where my level of ability was and to make sure my school work matched my abilities. I also attended extracurricular maths classes for a time but dropped out because the class consisted of students who had attended the year before and had already covered the content, leaving me far behind.

I read. A lot. This was interesting because I was a relatively slow starter when it came to reading and writing but when I started, I really took off. It would have been around grade 2, I leap-frogged my class and began reading at a more advanced level. I read Lord of the Rings when I was nine, as well as many other fantasy novels; fantasy was my escape into imagination. My mother began buying books on a price vs. number of pages basis. By grade 5 I had the reading age of a nineteen year old.

In high school, I had already decided what I wanted to do when I went to university; to become a doctor. I continued with music, winning a state music scholarship when I was 15, allowing me to begin private tuition with one of the most prominent cello teachers in my area.

School work was never a huge challenge for me, I breezed through without much effort up until my final two years of schooling. Year Eleven was a first taste of heavy work loading; I picked up two folio subjects (music composition and creative writing) which required me to submit massive folios at the end of the year. While I struggled to motivate myself to do the work, I did get it done in the end and was rewarded with high marks. In year twelve I focussed on subjects that would get me into Medicine. I picked up two Mathematics subjects, Biology and Chemistry. I also picked up a UMAT entry program that helped me study for the university entry exam). While my marks weren't perfect, they were enough to get me into Medical School.

This brings me to another facet of who I am.

I am currently in my second year of Medical school at Monash University. At this moment I am trying to study for my mid-year exam - procrastination is winning.

I currently live in a Residential College as I had to move interstate to study at this university. (I was accepted into my local university however, the reputation of Monash was very attractive and it has proved to be beneficial to my future - more on that some other time.)

I may post more about medical school later on as there are many things about it that I feel are important that many people don't tell you before you get in or even once you get in.

While I am not writing much about it here, it is very much a huge part of my life.

In year 11 I picked up Olympic Weightlifting for a year for a bit of fun (it became a bit of an addiction really). My coach passed away at the end of that year and I had no other coach to learn from so I quit.

Late last year, one of my old friends from the gym convinced me to return and when I moved back to Melbourne, due to the close proximity of the Club to Uni, I have continued. I am currently making a lot more progress and it is probably one of the reasons I haven't burned out due to the stress of my course.

Over the last year I became interested in corsetry via youtube, mostly due to a woman called Lucy (bishounenrancher). I was fascinated by not only corsetry as a form of self-expression and beauty but as an artisan craft. There are many people that I am inspired by and I am currently working on a few holiday projects that I may post about later one.

Being brought up with an ethnic background exposed me to food. I have a huge passion for food and cooking and I may also post about those things when I go back home for breaks as my college has meals that are provided.

There is one more thing that really defines who I am and that would have to be my partner. We will be celebrating our fourth year anniversary in a week's time although our celebrations will have to wait until I return home. Yes, we are in a semi-long-distance relationship. He studies at the local university while living with my parents and we see each other when I have major holidays or he flies up to see me.

I am also quite keen on design and photography; I have a Canon 550D DSLR which I treasure. I hope to work on the layout of this blog over the break :)

Well, me in a massive nutshell, there you have it :)

P.S. I am a massive nerd.