Thank you so much to everyone for the birthday wishes, presents and cards.

Dear Sister Sahra - I am glad you are of the same mind as I - never too old to drag one's birthday out for months on end :)

Schemida - I plan to put your gift to pracitcal use in the very enar future - be warned! ALso, I am SO sorry I haven't been as, er, punctual about sending a parcel your way. I swear it's been sitting here for ages.. Gah, I suck, I am sorry :(

Father/Daddy -I have decided that indeed I do like the colour pink very much when it is in certain forms. Next time I call you, I'll try not to mistake Greg for you..whoops! Anyways, I gave him a wee update about life over here. .. hope you are enjoying Halifax!

Rana - Thanks so much! I hope your summer is going well..keep me updated and we'll catch up when I get home :)


Hmm..so that's that. I am now officially 25 years of age. I am a quarter of a century. Wow. I like ot imagine that the next 25 years of my life will pass by at a slower pace and be filled with more adventures and experiences than I can even fathom at the moment. I mean really, when you think about it, its not as though the past 25 years have been 25 ADULT years. Here's my crazy Shannon Logic:

The first 5 years of my life were namely involved with learning how to talk and walk (it should be noted that I still haven't mastered the art of walking and am quite sure I will sprain my ankle one of these days as a result. I need REmedial Walking 101 classes please!)

Then the next 12 years of my life I was thrown, quite against my will, into the public school system where I learned some things, but can't remember most of them. I do receall spending most of my spare time reading, biking around N Granville, abhorring Barbie Dolls and collecting My Little Ponies. These were, evidently, development years.

So really, I've only been living the adult life for the past 7 years. For some reason I felt it necessary to spend a further 5 of these years developing my mind (and, unfortunately, expanding my body). So - yeah it's been a long journey to the 'freedom' of adulthood. Phew. I'm tired just thinking of it!!

Given this mathematically unchallengable logic, I'd say I am only about 7 years old, which really means I have about 3x over this until I am half a century.

Some goals & aspirations for the next two and a half decades:

- Stay Alive & Healthy
- Find and Hang Onto the Love of my Life
- Discover my True Calling and Be Brave Enough to Follow It
- Wear Clothes that I Fit into When I was 20. Ahem. ANything is possible!
- See 3 or 4 more continents
- Find out how they get the caramel in the Caramilk Bar (OK, sorry I already know this)
- Write and Publish something that Informs & Inspires Change
-Wear Orange & Purple together and Look Good Doing It!


OK, think I'd better stop there. That's enough for now. Note the rather haphazard use of Capitals :)

Tonight I am gorging...again. We are going out for dinner in celebration of my aging. Dinner for 8 at Bar Italia. Funnily enough, I've only been to this restaurant once before and it was when I lived in Dublin and came here on holiday. Pam & I had dinner while rather inebriated so I can't really recall whether it was good, but the Italian waiters were entertaining to say the least.

Last night I went to see two musicals - Aida & Footloose, performed by American high school students. I much preferred Footloose but the acting was superb in Aida. How wonderful to be able to showcase one's talents at such a young age!

Um..ok one month from tomorrow. is DE day (Depart Edinburgh). The countdown begins. I am excited and just a little bit apprehensive. I mean - what am I doing next?? I don't know! COuld I ask a favour? Could people avoid asking me this question unitl I have a light bulb burning brightly over my head. I need some time to sort through it all - my head and heart are all confuzzled at the moment and I really hate answering a question with 'I don't know', it makes me feel kind of stupid! Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding :)