So what's up with me? I bet you're dying to know.

Yesterday, James and I had a productive day as what his mother would call it. Since being ill for two weeks and mending my right kidney, it was great to actually be out to town again with James. At 11, we were in SpecsSavers for my sight test, which my mother-in-law has booked for me. She had been wishing I'd go for an eye test since noticing that I squint when I look at her when she speaks to me. And I admitted that I could not make out her facial features at a certain distance, that I would not recognise her until she utters a word. She felt I needed to see an optician, and that's what I did. After a series of test, mostly reading letters and telling the optician which looked clearer to me as she adjusted each picture, (which made me really dizzy and I wouldn't doubt if the test made my sight even worse) the optician has told me that I definitely need to wear glasses, especially if I start driving, and she would suggest wearing them at all times so it doesn't get worse. My prescription states that my right eye is worse than my left, -1.25 and -1.00, whatever that means because nobody really bothered explaining it to me. I'm guessing I'm short-sighted since I find it difficult seeing distant objects.
Now the dilemma is whether to get glasses or not. If it were up to me, definitely NO. Firstly, Prescription glasses may cost James up to £150, which is really ridiculous. Secondly, glasses don't suit me, and thirdly (to counter Maddie's suggestion of contact lenses) I hate contacts! I have tried them before because I looked cool with grey eyes, but it's a huge pain in the arse to put in, let alone to take out. My vision was perfect before I got here. My mum was amazed how I can read really small text on the computer from the far side of her bed, and now I can't even watch the telly properly. I think it's a side effect of the contraceptive I have been prescribed. This all began when I started taking them, and I noticed a week later that I could not see my own reflection in the mirror, and I even told James that I can't see people's faces when we went to the supermarket the following day. Maybe my doctor can change my pill and my sight will be back to it's normal perfectness. But no glasses for me, thankyouverymuch.

We were just in time for my appointment in Pitman Training with Carla, good job it's just around the corner from Specs. Carla was a very tall woman, a bit plump to my standard but probably normal to James's English one. But she was very nice and friendly and polite. She not only explained the courses to me, but also suggested some things we could do to hasten the process. It's flexi studies so I make my own schedule, and just let them know. You know the feeling when you just want to get things done and over with, that's exactly what I felt, so I said I will sign up for the secretarial course which will run for 180 hours, over a period of 6 weeks, but I was told if I find a job during that time, they are open to make adjustments, but I doubt it. So at the end of the course, I shall have a diploma in Secretarial Course, and an OCR certificate from Pitman Training, but of course I would need to pass the tests after each unit. I get to choose two electives which is cool, I said I want to study Flash/Photoshop expert and Carla said I may do that but neither are really useful to being a secretary. I perfectly know that, me not being a complete idiot of course, it's just something I have always wanted to be good at. But anyway, my electives can be decided on much later in the training. So I start on Monday, quite happy about it actually. My parents-in-law paid for the tuition fee. £2,500 for a 6week-course and one diploma.The £5,000 tuition fee in Chesterfield College for an ICT course over a period of a year sounds cheaper to me now, to be honest. I never thought they will be so generous to me. I expected them to just be a snob and blame me for their son's failure to complete University. I mean, after all, if not for me, James would be getting his degree in Biology this year. He is very lucky to have a pair of wonderful parents. His upbringing is the best he could ask for, really. Sometimes it is so overwhelming that saying "thank you" is not barely enough, but I guess it will have to do.
It's just started raining here now, and I think I will finish my book by Penny Vincezi called "An Absolute Scandal" which is proving to be really engrossing.