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Another year has passed, with ups and downs

Funnily enough, seems like spring is a time for reflection. I always seem to come back to my blogging during this time, even though I think about often and miss it.

I was looking at buying a typewriter and having a go at more regular diary blogs. That is for another time though. Since the last time I wrote, a lot has happened.

I will start with the passing of my dad, he aged in a year enough for an entire life and unfortunately left us way too early. He was only 54, I left 3 days after my last post last year, on the 8th April, early in the morning after going to the Easter mass and saying goodbye to him, telling him I would be back in May.

A week later on the 16th April, he decided it was time, even before my mom called me, I knew it happened and a sharp pain went through me, even 2000 km away, something broke when he left this physical world and he took away with him. That has been probably the most important event of this year for me. I think about him all the time and I miss him like crazy, but I know and hope that he is with me and proud of me everyday, and sometimes laughs at me, my mom and my sister.

In July I became an aunty to a beautiful baby boy, Raducu. He is so much like my dad and brightens my days when I get to video call him and my family back home. He will soon be 1 and I will be going home in May for my sister's 30th :)

I have also started a part-time MSc in Computer Science and the University of Bath in October, sponsored by my work and that has been making my life even more hectic than usual. I am in full coursework season, that will be followed by 2 exams in the middle of May, I managed a very good result for the first term so hoping it will be the same for the second. After that, it will be done until October, hooray! I have been promoted in January and am now an Associate, so hardwork does pay off :)

I was lucky and got to go to Legoland in Billund, Denmark, which was amazing, and so was the Lego House. Also got a few days away to Malta that is a great place to relax and disconnect, as we went in winter, but still plenty of things to do. It was quite sunny so the sightseeing and Gozo were perfect!

The holiday planned for this weekend to Malaga, Spain has been delayed, due to weather and some other circumstances, however, I am excited to be going to the BCSWomenLovelace Colloquim, and be a finalist in their scientific poster competition. It will be in Manchester, and after that I will quickly go to Glasgow to look at a house, yes, I might become an actual settled adult. In the mean time, I am waiting for my British citizenship letter, which will make me a dual citizen.

On top of that I am now a GitHub Campus Expert and part of an amazing community, have been working on my personal site/blog hosted on GitHub, which might mean that I will migrate all this content over to there as well :) Google shutting down Google+ is making me nervous about saving the content only in one place.

Life is wonderful, sometimes sad, sometimes heartbreaking, always changing, and mostly blessed. I hope it won't be too long before the next post, but sometimes, this is what you need to really reflect on a year that has passed.

Love and light,
Alex


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