h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm afraid I've been spending rather less time than usual on hootoo lately, but it's not you, it's me. Today marks the two-year anniversary of my coming to Ireland for a six-week work placement And while I've spent most of that stuck in the middle of nowhere courtesy of the National Trust, when I went back to being a student, I decided that this is the year when I finally have a social life, and signed up to as many clubs as possible. Too many to attend - I'm already missing out on the juggling club, sci-fi club, choir and tai jutsu, because they were at the same time as other clubs But it's settled down into a nice weekly schedule now.

Monday evenings, I go to my friend's for a riding lesson. Just two of us and an instructor, which is great, but the horse I ride isn't so great, it spends half the lesson humping because it's too tight in the back to move freely. But at least it's a horse.

Tuesday evenings is Dragonslayers night - the university gaming club, now the biggest club the university has, with the 400th member signed up last week!

Wednesday afternoons is the equestrian club meeting, usually a group riding lesson. Evenings alternate between gaming at Nerdtopia (a games/sci-fi shop and café) and hosting a role-playing night at my house. The latter has been put on the back burner a bit, partly because I still have to translate the next campaign from Dutch. Mostly, though, it's because I've been asked to join the musical branch of the Greenwood Players, providing live music (probably on recorder, possibly drum) for their Shakespeare production at the Lyric in April.

Thursday evenings, historic fencing with an SCA group - we'll also do archery once we have light outdoors in the evenings.

Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are pretty much free, though there is usually the opportunity for more gaming on Saturdays (sometimes a 24-hour session), a hack out on the impossible horse on Sundays, and a desperate scramble to finish a paper due on Monday Sunday night. (I did mention the whole full-time university course and looking for a job thing, right?)

But most weekends have been packed lately anyway. The second weekend in February I went to Galway for the intervarsity equestrian tournament (didn't win, didn't fall off, trousers stayed on!), the third was the absolutely wonderful Manchester meet and last weekend I had a cycle out to Comber on Saturday and the year's first Ulster Rural Riders hack at Castle Ward on Sunday.

I'm about to leave for a weekend near Enniskillen, for heavy fighting and combat archery practice with the SCA. I'm going via Springhill, to say hello.

Next weekend is a much-needed break, the weekend after that, I'll be away on a five-day field trip to Cumbria, and for the weekend after that, KB, Trig, Mini and I are descending on the Zens for a walking weekend.

So I'm afraid I've not had too much time online lately - I'm hard pressed to even get any guruing and a bit of drawing done, let alone simply talking to people.

But I still consider my internet weirdoes my best friends I'm sure I'll be back properly soon...

a lot to do. I spend most of my evenings with doing stuff for hootoo and feel guilty if I don't.

Have fun!

Lots of fun you're having, very intense

Have you considered staying there for another six weeks?

How do you fit so much in?! I just about seem to manage these days to keep up with E-mails, and make enough bread to eat... and seem to be spending less time on hootoo as well

And I thought my calendar was pretty well overflowing Well done Mala

I have detected your secret agenda. You wrote all this just to stick me with the "Enniskillen Dragoons"...

Just be sure you're sleeping well at nights to keep up with all these activities Mala. Don't get run down or you won't be able to enjoy them properly. Just being bossy here.

Have a good one.

Blooming eck sounds busy, and varied as well whereas my evenings are all filled with same activity (worse yet, the admin for it)

Right, just reading this is enough exercise for me for a week

Agree with the pirate... I feel worn out from just reading about it all!

Crikey, I wouldn't know if I was coming or going Glad RL is hectic & fun

Enjoy it all while you can Mala, there's nothing more likely to be a regret later in life if you passed a chance by.

Have fun!

True words, Lanzababy

Um. I appear to also have joined an aikido class on Fridays...

The weekend was great, though Quite surreal, though, in a lot of places. For example, we had to practice "defensive dying" to keep from being trampled in battle.

Nearly forgot the strangest thing about the weekend - the dinner on Saturday!

The likes to research and recreate really obscure historic recipes. The vegetarian main course was melon pottage - boiled melons with egg, cheese, pepper and cinnamon, served over rice

This chef - he didn't mention bondage ponies or chinchillas by any chance?

Sounds like a lot of fun, but like a very full schedule, too.