Midnight has been met with the shame of being hungry, which is appalling considering everything I’ve eaten in the last few days. I’m being tempted by a Lindt chocolate reindeer in my bag, which my good conscience is flatly denying.

My Christmas vacation has been good. Unfortunately I’m having an academic vacation which isn’t the same as a vacation in the canonical sense: it involves having to do (gasp!) work. Needless to say, my motivation is whimpering in the face of port, Christmas cake, chocolate reindeer and good TV. All of those have been indulged, and work has limped along.

As for good TV: I really enjoyed watching Misery, a gripping psychological thriller based on a novel by Stephen King, and Summer Heights High, an Aussie ‘mockumentary’ which is very, very funny. In the last few years I’ve ignored TV and film for reasons I’m not sure: it’s just taken a backseat to the entertainment foraging I do online. I need to catch up on lots and lots of films and I’m not sure where I should begin.

I’ll keep the mandatory reflective bit brief.

2009 delivered amazing adventures and some amazing disappointments. It’s been the same as every year up to now: a mixed bag. Positives: I made new friends, travelled, learned stuff, started a course I love in an amazing city.

• Goals for 2010: Maintain good work-life balance (emphasis on work). There’ll be time for life when this MSc is finished, right? Other goals: strive to be the best person I can be; push myself academically; get better at public speaking; get a distinction.
• Goals for 2011: Travel lots. Re-visit Hong Kong. Re-visit San Francisco. Say “yes” to stuff. Pounce madly at opportunities.

I’m in the middle of an intensive two week project: working in a team to redesign a library checkout desk and self-service kiosk. The end result will be a 3D model made out of cardboard that is to 1:1 scale.

Learning applied ergonomics is the point.

The other point is team-work.

Navigating personality conflicts, communicating well, and trying to understand everyone’s take on how to solve a problem.

I’m getting to know everyone in the team well. Everyone gives feedback on each other’s performance, participation, strengths and weaknesses. I’m pushing myself to learn from this — which we’re encouraged to do: it’s supposed to be a reflective learning experience.

Reflecting on the term, it’s been amazing. I’m pushed academically and personally. I’ve met fantastic new friends. I love UCL. I love London. At the same time, I’m a little restless for the future. But it’s heavily outweighed by just enjoying life at the moment. Happy.

(Not mentioning, definitely not mentioning various possible futures in short and long term: travelling to Hong Kong, Beijing, Guangzhou, San Francisco, New York, PhD…)