Wow, over two years since I last posted! And what a crazy two years it has been! As it is your 9 year anniversary, let me fill you in on the highlights:

Lucy's Travelling

About 1.5 years ago, Lucy went to work in New Zealand! She worked in a hospital in Greymouth for 6 months and did a lot of travelling around New Zealand and Australia. It really sucked when she went, I remember saying goodbye to her at the station right before work then going to the work toilets to cry. Back then we didn't know how long she'd be away for (up to 9 months) and we had no idea how it would affect our relationship. Despite our daily texts and video calls twice a week, I missed her like crazy, especially as I was living on my own just doing my PhD every night and she was having the time of her life. It was really hard times, especially when she came back for her interviews in the UK because her head was all over the place and I thought she might dump me. But she has been home for a year now and last week was our 6 year anniversary (although she was/is currently in Thailand/Vietnam travelling with her NZ friend, which brings back bad memories for me!). Our relationship is stronger than ever, and we both agree that being apart for so long strengthened our love. Also on the bright side, I had a cool trip to Australia / New Zealand to visit her!

Australia Holiday

Imagine my excitement as I set off to Australia on my own to meet Lucy after months of being apart! I had never flown on my own or ever left Europe! And I was about to go on a 24 hour flight via China. I was scared by the excitement carried me through it. We had been planning this holiday for months and had so much planned! I remember getting out at Sydney airport and seeing Lucy's beaming face. The jetlag probably enhanced how surreal it all felt, but again my excitement kept me awake... Until I could hardly keep my eyes open in the restaurant!

Our schedule was totally packed! A little too packed actually. A few days to chill would've been nice!

The holiday was amazing, of course! Apart from Lucy got very ill with a skin infection and had to take antibiotics which made her very sick! Typical! But she pushed through so well and we had such a great time together. Here are a few photos:

New House!

That's right, Lucy & I bought a house!! We had been looking at houses several months before she went travelling. Then she found out she was definitely going travelling and we started to doubt whether buying was a good idea. But we have been here over a year now and we love it! While she was away, I was battling the solicitors (who took 5 months before I could move in!) Then, with help from Phil (with his van) I finally moved in 3 months after Lucy was gone.

The house is three floors and three bedrooms. It was a new build, so it took a while to make it feel cosy. But now that Lucy has been back we have made it our own. I have surprised myself with how much DIY I have done! And we haven't ruined anything yet, thankfully!

New Baby Niece!

8 days after I moved into our house, my baby niece was born! This beautiful little lady called Kimmi:

It is amazing watching her grow. She called me and Lucy "itch" and "ee!"

New Cats!

Our house has been graced with two cute pussy cats called Mimi and Bobcat! They are sisters and were just over 1 year old when we bought (for free!) them off Gumtree. I love them! Even if they are slowly destroying our lovely house, it's somehow worth it!

PhD Finished!

Can you believe it? There were times when I thought it was impossible, but somehow, after 3 years full-time and another 2.5 years working on my commuter train and evenings/weekends, I have finally conquered the beast! I am now officially Doctor Coombs! I have my graduation ceremony this summer, where I shall dress in silly clothes!

The viva exam went very well and my supervisor was very impressed! But despite that, my examiners were very meticulist and gave me 10 PAGES of comments to correct! It was the last 10 weeks I would ever spend on my thesis, and I am so glad to see the back of it!

New Job!

With my PhD out of the way and boredom at work setting in, I started looking for something new. I had three interviews and eventually decided to go for Dyson as a robotics software engineer! I have been there just 2 weeks and already love it! It is such a cool place to work, so much better than my last job. Not to mention a 25% pay increase! The average age is probably my age and everyone seems nice. The place is huge! It's easy to get lost, but there is so much interesting stuff to look at, it's like a museum! It is a very secretive job so I can't say much, but the work is so much more interesting and suits me far better than my last job. Good times!

New Car!

The only down side to my new job is that it is out in the sticks a bit, so I need a car. So yesterday, I bought my first ever car! It's a Fiesta Econetic! Pretty cool, eh??

Lucy will also have a long commute soon as she has accepted a GP training course in Swindon for 3 years. Hopefully we can endure the commute as we really don't want to have to move! But we'll see.

Wow, so much can happen in 2 year, eh! I wonder what I will be telling you about next time....