one month till xmas!

seriously when i started this blog, i was dying for xmas to come and for winter to arrive, and it has!!
today month it will b xmas, and that week i wont be here in Malta but celebrating in London! yipeee!! cant wait, i havent been to london in like 10 yrs so i'm sooo looking forward to this!
i was told that my application to a hospital setting in Glasgow was rejected :(:( but was offered a place with children and adults with learning disabilities, i have no idea if i'm going to accept this or not yet, so we'll see what i'll end up doing. it does interest me, but it wasnt my first choice, i still have to do some more thinking and reading about this.
i have so much to do right now! and one super super hard assignment to tackle! and one ethics presentation and writeup, i have to film myself practicing being a social worker! sooo much to do, xmas break is going to come as such a godsend. im totally looking forward to it.
on the home front, everything if fine and everyone is looking forward to the holidays!
stay safe (who ever reads this blog anyways)
much love
xxxxxxx

november!

what already november?? seriously?!!?!
so october is over already, and in comes november thus bringing about my favourite time of the year, christmas and winter. although the latter doesn't seem to have arrived yet seeing as its november and we are still wearing t shirts and flipflops! lol.
so wat has been up since i last wrote? wellll...
ok so i applied for my internship at glasgow's hospital or some other health care setting.
i went to sicily this last weekend and had a great time and really relaxed, it was much needed.
started writing some of my assignments, but really have a ways to go on the presentation and thesis fronts. hopefully i'll get there!
november also had some important birthdays and celebrations! my brother's 30th and my dad's 58th! and my sister's 1st year anniversary! it's so amazing how fast just a year goes by and how many changes happen.
i almost forgot! we celebrate my grandmother's 85th birthday... wow, she has lived to see so much and i hope i can live as long as her and see the changes the world goes through.
on the same note, i can't be anything but happy that the americans have chose Barack Obama as their president. i am speechless and so glad, because he has some fresh and great ideas. Almost every country in the world depends on America for some reason or other, therefore it is important that the USA have an excellent leader which can bring stability and perhaps end the economic crisis we are in. Well done president Obama!
ok so i know that absolutely nobody reads this blog, but if there is someone, anyone at all, just post a comment.. please? thanks!
well its already 6pm and i have to get ready for tomorrow's lectures - yuck!
much love and tc!
xxxxoxoxoxoxoxoooo

eek!

already almost one month of uni has passed! EEKKK!!! i can hardly believe it!! in 10 days i'm going to sicily! i cant wait coz i really need a break from all this stress that i have been feeling!! goodness!
this week will b quite quiet i think, im getting over a bad attack of what has been dubbed the 'UoM (university of Malta) cold' and so i had to stay in all weekend :( boohoooo :(. oh well next weekend should be fun - chinese on friday and a birthday celebration on sunday and then on the next friday we go abroad! yey! well its not really abroad - i mean we go to sicily via a boat and it's only 3 hrs a way so its like we'll still b at home- I DONT CARE! im still excited haha.
yesterday one my parents' friends from canada phoned... my mum was SO excited - over the moon excietd. she made me want to immigrate to Canada here and now. i find it stange though when my parents talk of canada... its like a completely different life to the one they lead now. it kind of freaks me out a little how all their canadian friends know my name, and all about me when i have no clue at all who they r. but WOW this lady who phoned was like my mum's closest friend there, and my mum has been looking her up for ages... how bizzare is that?
anyways have a great week to whoever reads this (although im pretty sure noone does! lol)
much love
xxxxx

update

wow its been a while since i've written an entry properly!
well i've started back at uni - only twice a week so far though but it seems as if im going in every day for some reason or other lol.
I got accepted for glasgow which i am pleased about :) but im scared too. but i think its a good kind of scared u knw? i knw im going on an experience of a life time and experiences ARE scary! no matter at wat age you experience them! i'm waiting for all the formalities to be processed and then i'll be on my way.
On the thesis front i have to get down to reading volumes and volumes of material and infomation but i'll get there i hope.
Third yr so far has been uneventful, but i know i have to stay on top of my work so i know as the weeks go by i'm going to have to really knuckle down and concentrate on my studies and thesis work... im still taking it quite easy!
take care now and until next time!
much love!

update

i decided i would not update until i have some news! and some waiting is over!
i got my exam result and i passed! im sooo happy! coz so manay people failed, unfortunately.
i still don't have a reply about glasgow! hopefully next week! i hope it soon comes coz im sick of WAITING!
Tomorrow i start 3rd year... i have some mixed feelings... i hope all goes well and i manage to settle down and everything. There is some strike going on at the moment so we will see when we actually will start.
Well that's all the news on my front - i am a mixture of happiness and confusion lol.
till next time y'all.
xxx
much love!

still waiting

well today was a good sunday. my parents, bro, my grandma and myself went out for a nice lunch at the radisson hotel (there are 3 in malta)and we enjoyed our last weekend before school starts. Although i don't knw exactly when im going to start uni because there is a lecturer dispute going on over salaries. we'll see.
I'm still waiting for my exam result.. im soooooo nervous :( i just want to pass (please god) and move on with my life. i also want to know if i'm going or not to glasgow. i just want to know taht too. i soooo hope i go. :( im hoping and praying i go. i know that if this is for me, then it will happen. i'm trusting in God here. we'll see though.
much love
xxx

waiting

hey all
this week wasn't the best of weeks... it was full of anxiety and waiting ... and it is STILL full of anxiety and waiting. maybe i should explain myself better.
ok so remember last week when i said i can go to Glasgow? well today had a meeting with the erasmus chair man and i find out that at the last minute 2 people applied ... now i'm back to square one because i don't knw if im going or not!!! and i just want to knw! PFFF i hate waiting for these things! not to mention this means i am now in competition with my best friend ... which is something i wanted to avoid! well we'll have to see i guess. i really hope i go... i really, really hope i go! but i know that if i don't get chosen.. it would be for the best, yea, ill be upset for a couple of days but life goes on. either way i have an equal chance of getting in then i have of not getting in.
Ok so i made those phonecalls finally! i actually met one social worker today - she was SO NICE! i loved talking to her! tomorrow im supposed to meet someone else so we'll see if he is just as nice.
I'm on my way to finishing these formalities.. im actually really looking forward to writing this thesis! i hope i'll feel the same way when im half way through lol.
Anyways enough for today.. hopefully by th time i next write i will know if im going to glasgow and if i passed from my exam (the one i took last week)! we'll see!
much love
xxxx

wow!

WOW!!
this week has passed in a surreal blur. i cannot believe tomorrow is friday!
ok so on the thesis front i have to make a couple of phonecalls - probably tomorrow - i can't put it off anymore! but i have a feeling i will! ARGH! i'll do my best! i just want to get all these formalities out of the way and get started on the real deal!
Next - i got accepted for ERASMUS!!!!! this is a student exchange which i am very excited about it mean that i get to go to university of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland UK for 6-8 wks! i can't wait! It means a summer away from home but that can't be helped! i will be doing my placement (practice in a social work agency) there, which i think is a great experience! WOW! this is something i really wanted.. and what more - my best friend is coming with me.. say what!?!?!?? yes i knw, im one lucky girl! now i'm just praying all the formalities go smoothly! really i have to thank my mum coz she is funding all this for me... thanks mum u r the absolute best!

on tuesday i had my exam.. i dont think i did absolutely fantastic, but neither do i think i did horribly... i'm just a bit pissed off that i didn't do as well as i wished coz i studied sooooo hard, but the questions aren't very direct so i'm not sure i included everything the lecturer wanted... but i'll wait and see and PRAY!

This week has been hugely busy - getting ready fot the 1st semester which starts on october 1st! WOW! ill b a third year. in the mean time im helping my family get ready for their first day bak too. my mum and i went shopping for some new clothes, and den my brother and i went shopping for some new clothes too! it just brings reality to me that things in malta are SO expensive! oh my goodness! for jeans, a sweater and a shirt and socks my brother paid over 100 euros! that's quite a bit considering!

today i went to the beach with my friends - it's still excruciatingly hot here - heat rash in odd places hot! LOL. In fact i better go coz i'm cooking tonight for my sister and her husband and my brother. And i still have to have a shower coz im full of salt and sand. lol.

Have a great weekend everyone! i know i will :) lol.

much love
xxxx

keeping it simple

when i talk to my friends and family they are always clamouring for more. More money, bigger house, better jobs that pay more etc. It seems to me that people forgot how to keep things simple, and enjoy the simple things.
I lead quite a simple life, i live in a small appartment with my parents and brother and my cat, my parents both work, but it hasn't always been that way, and i am just a student. And i really wouldn't want to live any other way, right now, this is perfect :)
10 years ago, when cable first came to Malta, I was hooked on to this cartoon - Hey Arnold! and a couple of days ago, when i was at my grandpa's mass, some of my relatives wer complaining on how little money they have to spend etc. It really made me think of how we don't appreciate the things that we do have - enough food, clothes on our backs and a roof over our heads and people to love us - there are so many people who dont even have those basic needs... and we are always complaining for more, bigger and better stuff.
how is this related to hey arnold? well i remembered an episode where this song - the simple things - was sung and i decided to look up the lyrics because i feel as if they are very relevant to our lives at the moment. We need to take time to appreciate the things we have - not complain about the things we don't have.


"The Simple Things"
You can offer me a diamond-plated pearl;
You can send me all the riches in the world;
You can tempt me with the palaces of kings;
I'd give 'em back in a big ol' sack and keep the simple things

I've got the simple things; I've got the rain in spring,
Got spicy chicken wings, and French-fried onion rings

You can line me up a mile of limousines;
For me it don't add up to a hill o' beans;
I got no hankerin' for grabbin' your brass ring;
It's crystal clear - I'll stay right here and keep the simple things

I've got the summer breeze, got 16 cans of peas,
A two-speed window fan when it's 93 degrees,
So forgive me for not grabbin' your brass ring;
It's crystal clear - I'll stay right here and keep the simple things

much love
xxxx

this is what happens in Malta

When one watches the news or reads the newspaper they expect to hear bad news or good news such as russian troops withdrawing from georgia or else abolishing hunting. In Malta, expect to hear GROSS news.
Some background information before you read the article down below. On november 5th 2007 Malta opened the second ever hospital run by the governemnt and called it 'Mater Dei'. This hospital is a state -of - the - art one. it literally is the best of the best and the best thing is all health care is free to maltese citizens. Anyway this is the article... warning those of you with weak stomachs STAY AWAY!.

Nurse finds part of mouse's head in her plate - caterer destroys supplies, may sue supplier(Adds caterer's comments)

The Health Department said this afternoon that prompt action was taken after a nurse yesterday reported finding part of the head of a mouse while eating vegetables at the hospital canteen.

Health inspectors were on the scene quickly to verify the report . Since the vegetables had been imported from Belgium after being processed in the Netherlands, the Public Health Inspectorate informed the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed to investigate this batch on the European market.

Contact was also made with the supplier, the stores were inspected and the remaining packets of that consignment were sealed.

The inspectorate will be taking action against the person responsible, in terms of the law, the Health Department said.

The canteen caterer in a statement said that the vegetables served in the meals were frozen packed in the Netherlands and imported from Belgium.

All stock coming from the supplier concerned had been destroyed, all ties had been cut, and legal action was being considered.

The caterer explained that health inspectors happened to be making an inspection of the canteen on the same day of the incident. They had found the canteen and kitchen to be up to all the catering standards required by EU legislation.

The caterer said he was completely confident that the incident did not arise in-house.

The Health Department in a second statement said the caterer at the Mater Dei Hospital canteen who provided meals for the workers was not the caterer who provided the patient meals.

*************************************************************************************

All i can say is GROSS and poor nurse! Besides that i seriously doubt that this was the Benelux's fault it is clearly so Maltese for this to have happened in malta! everyone knows that the hospital food can kill u!
Till next time!
xxx

new month!

i can't believe it is september! like OMG! where did the summer go? I knw, I knw, i usually start my blog entries with utter disbelief about how fast the days are passing!but i cant help it, i can't believe summer 2008 is going to end in 1 month
:(.

Ok so this week is going to b very quiet. Today was spent studying and when i wasn't studying i was watching re runs of America's next top model (ok, ok i know i'm lame lol) i don't knw y i like that show! i mean it's dumb but i still love it. I cant wait till the new season starts on wedsnesday. actually i can't wait till grey's anatomy season 5 starts either. From reading this u might think i'm a TV junkie, but seriously i'm not! I watch these shows on youtube anyways because it takes forever for them to come on cable here in Malta.

Also this week will be quiet because my best friend is in scotland :( come homee! lol. if i didnt have to study i would have gone with her and we would have had a blast ... oh well. I applied for ERASMUS (student exchange) in glasgow, and she applied aswell so maybe we'll go together! we'll see. I have other friends to go out with, of course, but nothing beats ur BEST friend!

On Friday it will be my nannu's 1 yr anniversary of his death. I can't believe a whole year has passed (there i go again!). it just really goes to show how many things can change in just a year. Last year my dad didn't have a job, my grandfather was alive, my sister wasn't married, my cat was alive... and that's just to name a few! Anyway on friday my whole family (aunts and uncles and cousins) are going to hold a mass in his name with my nanna. I don't know if this is such a smart idea because it would be stirring up past emotions of my grandfather's funeral... well we'll see how my grandmother will react. on the plus side, I haven't seen my aunts, uncles and cousins since my sister's wedding which was last november, so it will be nice to catch up.

Ok that is all on my news front! catch y'all later!
xxx

summer heat

hey!
these past 2 days have passed in a flash u wouldnt believe how fast!
today was SO hot and SO humid i thought i would die! i went to sliema today (shopping town in malta - the brand named shops eg, Zara, maxmara, mango, esprit etc are there) anyways whilst me and my friend were running around buying the stuff we needed, we died of heat! and we also discovered that contact lenses only exist in packets of 30 (15 pairs) for 40 euros! expensive when all she needed was about 7 pairs!
anyway later we went for lunch and i met one of my old flings... it had been a while since i last saw him adn i invited him to come with us for a drink! we enjoyed catching up talking and what not. it will b nice wen we start uni again so i can see all my friends again, summer separates us!
anyway tomorrow i'll probably b off to the cinema and friday probably swimming! we'll see.
good night! i have some work to do

good weekend!

it was quite a good weekend! I'm a little disappointed that i didn't get everything i had in my mind done but oh well! there's always tomorrow.
Well yesterday i went to the cinema with my friends and we watched mamma mia! and omg how we laughed! it's a pretty dumb film with a practically non existant plot but it was such fun to take the piss out of it with some good friends!
today was a quite sunday as most sundays usually r! i woke up late and had a late lunch, i studied, watched a DVD, went to mass and had fun with my sister!
quite a good weekend overall!
lets see wat the week has in store for us!
much love!

summer lovin'

today has been such a great day.. it started off really slow but picked up momentum.
i realised that i have so much to be thankful for! my lecturer accepted to be my tutor so that is a load off my mind!
i went to the beach straight after that news! i HAD to celebrate with some of my greatest friends in the world! we had such a fantastic time and the sea was beautiful because now all the tourists and the students who come here to 'learn' english, left and the sea is clean and clear and just lovely.
today was truly a great day. i clearly have so much to be thankful for and i believe that with every bad thing that happens to me, a good thing will happen! i need to b more optimistic lol.
anyways i have some stduying to do so i'll just sign off here and now! good night
xxx

quiet day

well today was relatively quiet.. my family and i just cleaned the house from top to bottom and enjoyed some just plain family time.
On the thesis front i am very glad that i finally have a plan! thank god! now i'm just waiting for a final reply from one of my lecturers and if she accepts i'll be home free.... and VERY glad!
ahhhh! the joys of being a student! but i must say that this is the best time of my life and i am SO thankful that i passed my a'levels and achieved my matriculation certificate! sooo thankful i am at uni and that it's free and i actually get paid to study.
Tomorrow shoudl be fun because i get to go swimming with some friends and just enjoy beign young and being in the sun!
and the moment life is looking really great hopefully it will remain that way lol
lots of love!

tired

Today was another good but busy day! first i went to university to study with one of my best friends :) and i'm very glad to say we got a lot done in spite of the noise other students were making whilst drinking and eating in the library (even though food and drink are strictly prohibited... the librarian was fast asleep so she couldn't stop them!) one sounded like a blocked gulley when he was drinking! but after moving around we finally found a quiet spot and got to work and accomplished 2 hrs worth of work!
When i came home my mum felt like walking to the shops on our street (we live on the main road of my town) so we went and we found some great bargains and a suit for my dad! it was a very successful shopping trip. on the down side i was wearing 2 inch high wedges and my feet are now KILLING me! but they looked so cute on my feet and i love them lol. i loveee shoes :D similar to these:

lol except mine wer Y shaped!

Anyway that was my day! tomorrow will probably quiet helping my mum clean the house!
good night!

university

well another day just flew by! i can't believe how fast the days r passing!
today i went up to uni to check some notices and some formalities for 3rd year! i can't believe i'm going to be in third year as of october! it seems like yesterday i was in 1st year.. and all the emotions new places bring with them!
Anyway wher as i got things done i didnt manage to speak to the thesis co ordinator regarding my tutor coz she wasnt around! oh well i mean it is august and it was a holiday weekend seeing as friday was the assumption! oh well i'm just praying and hoping she answers my email.... fingers crossed!
At uni the faculty was filthy! i mean im glad that they are renovating it but come on! there was a pool of water and students kept stepping in it and sliding across the hall.. actually looking back it was pretty funny!
Tomorrow i'm meeting one of my very close friends for a good studying session at the library and hopefully for lunch filled with girly gossip and giggles. lol!
Wait we had a funny episode during supper tonight.. my dad was making us spaghetti with octopus (we LOVE sea food and fish) and my mum kept giggling at the shapes of the cut octopus.. i was like mummmm you r 57 years old! i did dat when i was 13! and she was all oh well i'm young at heart! and dis made us all laugh hysterically. At the moment we are just trying to enjoy wat's left of our summer! seeing as both my parents are teachers and my brother is a school librarian and i am ofcourse a student we all find october much more as a new year than january!

Anyway i better get some sleep seeing as it is already 11 and i have to wake up early tomorrow!

my family

this is my family :)we are quite a bunch and although sometimes i feel like bashing their heads into the wall i love them all dearly: from left: my brother in law, my sister, dad, mum, me and my bro.
i can't believe that it is already the 18th of august! time is passing by tooo quickly and summer will be over soon! tomorrow i have to go up to the uni to see some lecturers and some notices.. hopefully i will get things done!
today was a quiet day, i did some studying, napped went to church and then out for some ice cream with my parents since they have just came home from their holiday in Belgium. They got me some great stuff: 2 pairs of shoes (shoes r SO expensive in malta and they got me two pairs for 25 euros! yipee!) 2 winter tops, slippers, ear rings, several ornaments and chocolate of course! hehe. I find it weird when they leave me and my brother in the house alone since we r not used to them not being here! my sister still finds it strange that she doesnt live wit mum and dad so i expect when my time comes to leave i will too find it strange! luckily in Malta no where is far so i have that as some kind of consolation! even though i think Malta is too small at times, i find comfort in its size and familiarity. I like it that when i meet someone knew somehow he/she would be friends with either a relative of mine or else with another friend of mine! ok i kind of went off topic here lol wher was i? o yea the family...
Family is a huge issue here in Malta, almost all fmailies are huge which go back several generations. My mum has 4 brothers and 1 sister still living but originally she had 5 brothers and 3 sisters so u can imagine how many uncles and aunts and cousins i have!
My dad on the other hand only has 2 brothers but his mother (my grandmother ... in Maltese we call her Nanna) is still alive and is 85 years old! my grandfather (nannu) died almost a year ago at 87 so as u can tell Maltese live to be quite old!
It is a custom in Malta not to leave home until you get married ... which people overseas would find strange i think! but in Malta it is strange if u leave before u get married! go figure!
My family (nuclear lol) is different because both my parents left Malta in the 70s (these were BAD times for maltese... more detail some other time) for Canada, and there they got to experience a different life... a life which I am very grateful that they led as because of it they have taught me about unity in the face of diversity. they inspire me to venture out of Malta to learn more about myself and to broaden myself .. to become more independent. They have different ideas to the majority of other Maltese and for this I am eternally grateful for!They have encouraged me to go to university and to follow my dreams! where as the mentality here is changing it still definitely needs improvement!
Ok i think I'm rambling lol. anyway i'm going to call it a day and get some sleep! bye guys!

my cats!

this is my cat ophelia! yes we love shakespeare!

this is my other cat Nero ... he is helping me study :) lol.

new blog

ok so i am new here... i've had a blog before but i was quite immature about it lol! but now i'm gonna use this blog to document my life experiences and events
so i guess i should introduce my self?
I am 20 years old and i live in Malta... very small island in the mediterranean sea for more information go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta but i was born in Canada.. we moved to malta when i was about 4 so i really don't remember much! why did we move? welll my parents are both Maltese and they were missing their families!
I am a uni student studying social work at the University of Malta, but since Malta is SO small (it only takes 1hr 30 mins to get from one end of the island to the other and back) i commute and therefore I still live at home with my mum and dad and brother and of course my 2 cats! I have a sister too but she got married ! :(.
Basically I'm a small town (well country lol) girl who gets impressed veryyyyy easily by small things .. for example when i went to england for the first time when i was 11, i was very impressed that soft drinks came in plastic bottles and aluminium cans.. in Malta (up to last feb) they came in glass bottles.
I want to use this blog to basically look back at my student days and remind myself of how much i worked for my degree! but also of how many friends i made and how much i grew as a person. i love studying social work i really feel as if it is my calling and i would love to meet other social work bloggers!
that's all for now!