So it's been a while since I posted, and although it's a long time gone for 'keeping my hand in', I think it's worth an update. So I've redone the blog as well as posting.

I'm now living in West London, I've been here for about 6 months now, pretty much doing the same stuff in a different place. It's not the moving out or even moving away that's hard to do, it's building a whole new life that's been the toughest. I guess it'll come with time, as with anything. I'm settled and used to living here, but its not exactly home.

I graduated last year and have a degree, and thankfully no essays to do! That's big news for me. Although it is only an ordinary degree (ie not an honours one), I am really pleased that I got to the end of it and managed to pass. I'm the first one in my family to go to uni and get a degree, so its quite significant in that way too.

I don't know what the future of this blog holds, whether I'll keep coming back to it after a few months/years and release the contents of my brain on it, or whether it'll just fizzle out completely, but it doesn't really matter for now. We'll just keep plodding on.

This is a video Jon put together of the Pathfinders raising money for the Fairtrade Foundation, by waxing part of my legs and dying my hair. They raised over £200 and I'm really proud of them, even though i look like a twit and none of them would be seen in public with me and that hair.

NB here's the original video on which the above is based.

The story of my life.

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

Over the past month or so, I've come to realise how atheistic the internet is. I appreciate that the content of the internet is down to who uses it and who uploads what, but there definitely seems to be a bias towards atheism in most of the secular websites I look at. Usually ones which show videos of people falling over, clips of the best bits from favorite tv shows, and silly, addictive games, often have videos of Richard Dawkins or some other atheistic evangelist, or worse 'parodies' of Christian, primarily creationist videos portraying all Christians as two dimensional characters who think that science is witchcraft. I don't have a problem with them airing they're views (although I do disagree with them), but my main issue is how aggressive they tend to be. I'm not saying that every Christian is right or perfect in every way: I realise that the crusades were as good an example of religious extremism as we have seen in recent years, from people claiming to be doing the work of Allah by killing hundreds of people (which I believe is not what the true nature of Islam is).
I'm fed up of reading/watching/hearing the views of people who just insult a faith, often because they latch on to an argument given by their talismanic leader Dawkins or some other, but in fact have no idea of what they are talking about. I don't agree with some people's understanding of creation or another area of faith, but as long as they are just expressing what they believe, fair play to them. It takes a lot to stand up and say what you believe in these days, especially in the forum of the internet.
So kudos to you all and don't be drawn into the slanging match and start trading insults with critics.

Update:Thanks to Ian at Youthblog who has shown me this response to evangelical atheism.

Ok, so I'm in a slightly better position than last time, cos I've left myself with more time to do my work, but I'm completely uninspired and finding it really difficult to do anything. It's really stressful, cos I'm just staring at the blank space in the word document with no idea of what I'm doing. Worse still, I've realised that aside from the 10,000 words i've got to write in the next 2 weeks, I've also got to write an assessment of myself and my progress and make sure all my time sheets are in order. It's all a bit poo really. I'm not even going to start on the whole Chill side of the stresses. I'd better get back to that expanse of white that is my assignment.

I'm finished. I can't believe it but I'm actually finished. I think for the first time in my life, I've handed in two pieces of coursework ON TIME! I'm not sure if I ever got one in before, but two in two weeks-that's remarkable! And they were essays-3000 words each! I'm rubbish at them, and I only just got within the word count, but it still counts. I got less than 7 hours across the two nights before the deadline on both weeks, but I got it done. I think to celebrate I'm going to go to bed.
YES!!!