And I’m back!

Well, this post is nearly a week late but I’ve been hurrying about on my feet and heart for the past five days and I’ve finally had a chance to catch my breath- this morning, at least. Here I am poking my head out of the seas of exam preparation, working late shifts, recovery from post-holiday fatigue and the other 998 things I have to sort out on my proverbial list of 1001.

How were the holidays?

Pretty darn good and boy, am I grateful to God for taking control of my holiday plans since the beginning. I initially intended to be home for the past two weeks but that melted down quickly and morphed into an apparent tour around europe then finally into what turned out to be a quiet, refreshing personal retreat of sorts after spending a weekend with good friends and a week alone hillwalking all over an island off the West Coast of Scotland.

Manchester/Rochdale was good. I would go out on a limb and say that if I didn’t have as much dim sum as I had (Look, it was good, on many levels), the trip would have been just as good. Sith Lord MRCP/FRCR and I were up to our old antics again- hiking all over a national park with five hours of sleep and two cans’ worth of Red Bull coursing through our veins between us (I really have a caffeine addiction problem, don’t I?) , shooting terrorists in full Source: Engine glory, gorging on dim sum, manly window shopping (mostly me, for suits and outdoor equipment- manly, see!) and much needed laid back male conversation. Of course, we were pretty grown up and spent just as much time talking about professional exams, career development, mutual funds and other investment vehicles, commercialized debt and well, grown up stuff.

The weekend with our friendly neighbourhood radiologist was immediately followed by the Isle of Bute off the coast of Wemyss Bay in Argylle and (wait for it..) Bute. Hotel room was pretty amazing, two walls (windows weren’t tiny, they weren’t) gave me the opportunity to take in the view of the coastline which was not a mere hundred yards away from my bedroom door. Yes, bedroom door, not hotel entrance.

Oh but of course, I was in Scotland. Where it is custom to rain at the most inconvenient of times (usually all times, but it was early autumn then). The daily early morning rain came without fail to scupper my West Island Way plans- or so it thought. I managed to do half the 25 mile walk over two afternoons through mud and swamp; which due to the rain, was what was left of the marked official trails. Imagine my disappointment when I climb a ridge 80 feet above sea level, eagerly anticipating the apparently serene Loch Na Leugh, an oasis of wildlife and lush surrounding greenery, only to be greeted by an overflowing dark green stagnant pool of what I was only just convinced to be water. The rest of the walk was pretty darn amazing- photos on flickr soon as I get them all post-processed from RAW! It was good to be outdoors again after too long and I’m pretty chuffed about managing this entire walk alone in such poor weather conditions.

Birthday celebrations were quiet- an average steak, a glass of pretty decent red wine and a long walk along the coast made for good company while I turned twenty four.

All in all, it was a good break from the humdrum of the World. As time slowed down a little, I’ve managed to recoup my Focus and centre my heart and eyes on the small but important things. Things that cannot be covered in this post, I’m afraid.

So I’m back, refreshed in more ways than one. (Still) Happily covered in mud but glowing inside with a sickening cheerful disposition, content with the way Life has turned out over the past few months, grateful to a God who made the effort to stake His claim in my life and heart again. Now to shake off the post-holiday fatigue and get through this 12-day shift!