Absence...

Well, it has been a while, hasn't it?

In fact, 514 days if we're splitting hairs on it. A lot can happen in such a time. I should say, a lot has happened in that time. To give it a quick summary:

I progressed through Year 12 International Baccalaureate with some apprehension. In retrospect it was probably the best choice I could have made; the skills and qualities that I developed have aided me greatly in university (bit of a plot spoiler there) and most of all... Some of it was actually fun. I may sound a little crazy there, but I enjoyed a large amount of my time. That being said, there were days where I wanted to find the nearest hole and quickly dispatch myself in samurai fashion, but as always the good comes with the bad. In the end, I sat my 15 exams (an average of 2.14285714... per subject) and came out of them feeling fairly optimistic. This optimism was repaid with a sterling score of 37/45, the breakdown of which is as follows:
Biology HL: 5/7
Chemistry SL: 6/7
English HL: 6/7
French SL: 5/7
History HL: 6/7
Maths SL: 6/7
Extended Essay: A
ToK: B
[Combined A,B = 3/3]

What was surprising was that my two best subjects (Bio & French) became my two worst, and vice versa (Maths & Chemistry). Nonetheless, this all equated to a TER of 97.6, which managed to get me an offer to study a Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of International Studies (Double Degree) at the University of Adelaide.

Uni life is... well, fantastic. I didn't really experience uni culture and society per se until my second semester - the first i spent reveling in the ability to piss off from lectures and tutorials and grab a coffee in town, a mere 4 subjects a semester, only 2 of which had exams, and a comfortable 12 contact hours a week.
I also started a new job, having been offered a Shift Manager position just after I finished my exams. I actually work more than I study, with an average 20.5 hours at work a week. Still, the money is nice.
Back to uni: in second semester I decided to be more of a 'uni student'. I was more likely to be found in the UniBar playing pool than my lecture halls (although I only missed tutorials if I had a major clash) and I enjoyed myself a lot more. There wasn't the same amount of stress, although time will tell when it comes to results time (my 1 exam is in a few days). Nevertheless, I met a lot more people, a greater variety of people, and had an absolute ball along the way.
After starting at uni, I eventually hunted down the Adelaide University Rugby Union Football Club (AURUFC) or "the Blacks" for short. I started well, scoring a try against their archrivals, Old Collegians in my first game. The season went well, and I finished up as Best First-Year Player in Reserve (2nd) Grade, as well as being offered a scholarship to Armidale, NSW for a rugby camp in January. This should be fun. Other co-curricular pursuits included running for a position on the Law Students' Society (which I missed due to some deft political maneuvering) and playing pool, drinking, etc.

But by far the biggest impact this past 514 days has been my relationship. Of course, I'm saving the best until last. About 3 posts backwards, my latest 'fling' had drawn to a long, painful close. Repeating cycles of break-up and reconciliation were completely fucking with my schoolwork, my life and my sanity, and so it was ended permanently. Coming out of this relationship there wasn't a whole lot of support, apart from one girl who by chance I had met through the relationship - don't be judgmental, the relationship with 'other' followed its predestined course and ended naturally.
This girl is quite possibly the sweetest thing I have ever known. When she hardly knew me, she listened to my woes, gave me advice, but most importantly, she gave me her friendship unconditionally. We ended up hanging out a bit, and on the 31st August started dating. What followed was, in a word, immense.
I had realised her patience and friendship before we started dating, but in my time with her I have never ever been so happy. Of course, it had its ups and downs, but that's life; the good always comes with the bad, otherwise the good is never noticeable, non? We both made several mistakes, and we both hurt each other a lot, but the most important thing was we loved each other and wanted more than anything to perfect ourselves for each other. Unfortunately yours truly made a mistake he couldn't handle, and without explaining it to the girl, ended the relationship in such a way it appeared her fault. This was just short of a year being together.
However, as someone very close to me said, "When two people are meant to be together the universe will alter their paths so as to become one." Or words to that effect, at least. As fate would have it, our paths did cross again, some two months later. Both of us had done things we regretted immensely, but on the same token, both of us had realised so much about ourselves and each other, that things felt... right.
And here is where the pages are blank, because I am currently with this fantastic girl, and we are writing our own future...

[I'm also writing a book, but that's another story for another time...]

Until I have time to kill.

~Coops