Taking the next step

Today was a busy day. I had my mock viva in the morning and my doctor's appointment in the evening. I was tense about both but after a really good HIIT cardio session and some core work I felt a bit better ... Or more honestly, I felt that even if nothing else went well the rest of the day at least I got in a good workout [in addition to briskly walking to and from campus & the train station in windy, rainy weather!]

The mock viva was tough and scary. I think I did ok ... The main thing I realized was how much more work lies ahead. It's hard not to let that overwhelm me, but I know that panicking is not going to help me - I just need to get the work done. It's as simple as that.

I left Canterbury around 3 pm to head into London for my doctor's appointment and didn't get back to my hotel until just after 9. Needless to say I was exhausted. The appointment was ok. I found out that I need to have surgery again - it's the same surgery I had three years ago. I was told back then that it would be likely that I'd need to have the surgery again, but they were saying maybe in ten years. I should not have to deal with this so soon. The recovery was so painful - I don't want to go through that again. Anyway. There's nothing I can do right now. I won't have the surgery until after I get my PhD - after that I can figure out what I want to do.

So now it's just about taking the next step and moving forward. I'm going to use my time at the airport tomorrow to come up with a reasonable schedule for the rest of the month. It's been a challenging day, but I survived ...

Now, to end on a bright note. I discovered Holland and Barrett's today! I had walked past the store several times but had never gone in. I didn't really know what to expect, but I was very pleasantly surprised! They had rows and rows of completely natural fruit and seed bars, different types of whole grains, and a whole bunch of natural food products. I had never seen such a wide selection before! I had to resist buying tons of stuff since I can't carry it all back, but I did buy a few different kinds of nutrition bars to try back home. Can't wait :)