First week over

Well I actually started University, I enrolled and everything.

So how was my first week?  Good...I think, it's hard to say as it wasn't really my first proper week.  What I mean is that with all the enrolling and introductions the course certainly the first few days could have been crammed into one longer day.  And unless you missed the pre-course days they ran earlier in the year the first day was a complete waste of time which is fine if you live in Sheffield and have just walked but for those of us who had to pay money to come in ad travelled almost two hours it did seem a little silly.

But that said the people on my course that I have met are great and the lecturers seem like they know what they are talking about (which is always a positive sign) as well as seeming like they can have a laugh.

So will post again at the end of this week which starts on Wednesday as I have no lectures on Monday or Tuesday this week.

Dean

It's been a while

Well I haven't posted for a while, back now though.  An update of things going on so far:-

Training - Not happened and hasn't for the last 2 weeks as I have managed to pull my back which means I have another week possibly two until I can get started again and I am on tablets for it.

Uni - Start a week on Monday, really looking forward to it.

Since I last posted me and the family discovered this amazing thing called CAMPING.  Love it, going this weekend and got ourselves a massive tent.  It's a 4 bedroom, 8 man tent.  Hoping to pick it up tonight.

Anyway more to come once I start Uni!

Dean

I've only gone and got man flu.....!

I have got man flu and my daughter has a cold, so we are both sat on the sofa watching Peppa Pig.  Great programme, makes a change from The Little Einstein's which is good as I couldn't watch another episode of that.

Anyway no training tomorrow unless I suddenly get better, but luckily I got my workout done yesterday so I can afford to miss one training session.

Not long now until the start of my university course, around 5 weeks I think now, can't wait.

DEAN

Update

Well it's been a while, haven't really had much going down to be honest, last weekend it was my wife's birthday which we celebrated by going to Pizza express with our daughter and my wife's parents.  Really enjoyed it, it's been a while since we have been out for food.

This weekend it's my dad's birthday so I am off down to my home town of Dronfield on Saturday night for a few cheeky beers with my dad and stopping the night.  Looking forward to it.

Only six weeks until my course starts at uni, not long at all.  Really can not wait, will be a great experience (I hope).

Also fitness regime going well, can see progress and sticking to my clean eating really well; although I have started having one meal a week as a 'cheat' meal for my sanity and also it is what is recommended to stop your metabolic rate flattening out and getting used to what you are trying to do.

Check back soon

Dean 

Me...a nurse.....what?!

As I sit here waiting for my PS3 to do a system update and listening to the dull sound of Timberland and Justin Trouser snake coming up from underneath me (my wife working out in the garage), I think to myself what a wonderful world......oh no sorry that is from a song.  I think wow in under two months I will officially be a STUDENT NURSE, after Christmas this year I will be let loose on an unsuspecting public (god help them).

As much as I am loving my time off I really can not wait to get cracking, from learning new things to meeting new people, it's all so exciting.  Well I have a pre-course day on the 18th August which is when we apparently get given our vaccinations, like the dog when you take them to the vets we will be lining up for them.

Just thought I would bob in and have a little blah blah blah on here.

Dean

A month gone!

Well a month has passed since I started my fitness regime and amazing I am still going strong.  I have thrown myself into it and am starting to see results, after taking photo's at the beginning and took more yesterday, the difference was clear to see.  

Will be taking more in a month to compare again and fingers crossed I will look even better.  Wanna get ripped big time, too long I have been in this body that I have not been happy with knowing what the possibilities could be.  Hoping to start cardio soon but been focusing on weight for the last month and am starting to see veins in places they were not which I love to see as in my previous gym days I had more than I currently have and was much bigger.

Maybe mens health will do a fit nurse (male) bodies and I could enter ha ha!!  

Anyway currently bidding on a book for uni so I can get started on my reading, which will get me all excited.  

Post soon.

Dean

Just checking in

Hello to all who read.

Just to let you know diet and workouts going well, feeling really motivated.  Took delivery of protein shake and thermopure (helps strip fat with a healthy diet and exercise programme) today which gives me an extra push, I will be ripped, I will be ripped, positive thinking and all that.  Ryan Reynolds watch your back ha ha!

Anyway will report back once I have some news and to let you know how the products are working.

As for the nursing side of things, still awaiting reply from NHS regarding bursary (have had a reply just to say I forgot to put in the original of my birth certificate - doh!), fingers crossed its a good figure and also need to get some reading done, which of course means buying a book, which of course means money.  Leading nicely to.............................................................hoping to get some work over the next 3 months as a bank axillary at the hospice I currently volunteer in which will be extra money in our pockets and more importantly experience under my belt so when I first have to clear up something not so nice or help a patient wipe their bottom it wont feel too odd.  I hope!

Until next time keep it healthy!

Dean

All done!

Well college do was last night, a good night had by all I think. Well done to Karen and Jayne for managing to arrange something despite people not making it easy for them.

Had a few drinks (which due to my current training I am not used to), 4 pints and I was a little tipsy. This is not the old me who used to have 8 minute pints with his friends in the old days. Oh well, at least I am a cheap date these days ha ha!

Time to knuckle down now and get this body in shape for the end of summer (hhmmmm, my timing could have been better, maybe to get it sorted for the beginning would have made more sense, never mind).

While writing this I have a 1/2 pint of skimmed milk in my hand (proper hardcore me ha ha) and am listening to little einstens who are flying SUPER FASTTTTTTTTTT!! Woohhoooo!!

Dean

The final day

Of college is today. Well actually it was a few weeks ago but today is presentation evening for my access course which means after today I am finally 100% finished and have my university course to look forward to.

Should be a great night, will see all my class mates who I haven't seen for a few weeks and say our farewells. Hopefully we will all stay in touch and meet up now and again to see how we are all doing as I feel I have made a few good friends on the course. Also I will be seeing some of them at uni anyway with some going to Sheffield Hallam to do adult nursing which means I will be in some lectures with them according to the uni lecturers.

Hope I don't have to smile for any photo's, hate having my picture taken.

Will post and let you know how it all went.

Dean

Time to get fit!

After years of on/off gym going and lots of random diets I have decided (with the blessing of my lovely wife) to really go for it between now and the start of my university course. I have never been slim but never been really fat either, I have always been over weight. But at the same time I am not just fat because of the time spent at the gym there is some muscle which bulks me out, but this has reduced in the last 3 years since I haven't gone to a gym in that amount of time.

Reason for doing it are:-

- Want to feel more confident in my body and happily take off my shirt to reveal a ripped body (hopefully).

- I think going into a profession as a nurse means you should promote health yourself which many (no offence meant) health professionals don't.

- Want my wife to look at me and think ffwwwwwwooooaahahhhhh go on then ha ha!!

So I have started a healthy diet, no crap, no alcohol, just lots of water, veg and protein with a reasonable amount of complex carbs. As well as this I am doing weight training 5 times a week (Monday to Friday, exercising a different muscle group everyday) and going out running at least 2-3 times a week.

Will be sure to keep you up-to-date with how I get on. Have some good motivation on the forums at Bodybuilding.com, great site!!

Dean

Stethoscopes

Now I am truly settled into holiday mode I decided to have a little look at equipment I may need for when out on placement.

I joined the site Student Nurse, which for anyone out there wanting to get into a health profession is a great site. From that site I came across a great site for equipment called Medisave they sell all sorts, but what I was most interested in were Stethoscopes. Their are many different colours and you can choose between normal or paediatric as well as even get special covers for the kiddies like bear covers to make the Stethoscopes look fun.

Anyway thought the link above may help someone.

Bye for now

Could have been such a great weekend....

Had a busy week this week, getting jobs done around the house while I am wait to start uni in September. Main thing I got off my chest was the completion of my NHS bursary which has been sent to be checked, hopefully will receive confirmation of it being okay soon. Towards the end of the week my excitement grew and I was serious looking forward to a weekend of sport, F1 cheering on Button and obviously the big game cheering on England.

Well not a bad start Mclaren getting get 2nd and 3rd (Hamilton then Button), then gearing up for the big game with the pre match nervous to go along with it. Well I did not need to be, I should have not bother watching, it was embarrassing to see England play. I have never seen England play so bad, the fans deserve much better and I feel the players should have to all put to and pay the fans back who went to support them in South Africa, after a passionless performance like that I am ashamed to be English.

Anyway, hopefully next time I post I will have got over it and maybe some light will have been shed as to why we were so bad.

Bye for now!

College........DONE!!

Well that is finally it, college is over and as mentioned in my previous post just the presentation evening to look forward to now. Uni starts towards the end of September so have a few months off now which is nice.

Overall I enjoyed the access course and would recommend it to others who have been out of education for a while. Don't get me wrong their are things I would change about the course and I think that really you could get it done in half the time it takes (which is a year), but some people may not have had the same time to dedicate or may have found it very difficult in comparison to me.

Monday I handed in my finally piece of work which was a huge weight off my shoulders and enables me to enjoy the (hopefully) sunny summer this year as it may be the last one I get to really take advantage of for the next 3 years. I have got 63 level 3 credits (although until presentation evening it isn't official), and 15 level 2 credits. To be accepted onto the BSc (HONS) Degree at Sheffield Hallam this year I needed 60 Level 3 credits so have done it with a few to spare. Could have got more but opted out of practical and the final essay for biology.

England, what is going on, one of the favourites and now 2 draws and need a win to secure advancement to the next stage, not good. Here's hoping the lads can do us proud and start to pay the people who have spent lots of money going to South Africa to support them back and give us some good football to watch.

Come on ENGLAND!!!!!!

My prediction = England 3 Slovenia 0

And now the end is near..............

Well the time is nearly here for me to say bye bye to Barnlsey college, as I sit here drinking an ice cold Magners I ponder the past and future. How did my year at Barnsley college go, how will I find uni, will I manage the work load and do I really have the capacity to get through the degree.

I could have done much better on my current course that much I do know, I got mostly distinctions and merits but through little effort made. this has shown me that I can do it but I will have to make changes to get through the degree.

So by the end of this week I will be done and can chill out a little and look forward to the presentation evening. The world cup is now on and lets be honest the first game for England could have been better, but that said 1966 started with a draw.

I leave you with that.

Enjoy the next game. COME ON ENGLAND!!!!!

I got a what?!

After recently handing in an essay for health studies (a subject on my college course which I will go into more detail about in the near future), I told the teacher I am not happy with it at all and that I expected to get it back. So its clear I wasn't a happy bunny, but something totally unexpected happened...

First post....time for some history!

Don't worry I am not about to starting telling you about ancient Rome or anything so bear with me, just want to give you a little background on me.

Okay where do I start..... ah yes, I was born on 28th March 1983 in Sheffield, the son of Anthony and Dawn Robinson. Living in Sheffield until I was 7, we then moved to a little town called Dronfield which I always tell people who don't have a clue where it is 'it's in between Sheffield and Chesterfield'. It was in Dronfield where I have my fondest memories (don't really remember my time in Sheffield to be honest). Oh forgot to mention I have a sister who is 3 years younger than me. I then met my wife Lorraine at work (more on that later) in 2004, we moved into our house in Barnsley and it is here that will serve as my base for my years at Uni.

Now onto education, moving into Dronfield I first went to Dronfield Junior School which was ACE, they even had Kriss Akabusi come into our school on sports day, what a legend! Then came real work which did not agree we me at all, at age 13 the last thing I was interest in was doing homework which is what secondary schools demanded from me, I just wanted to enjoy life and play football or tennis with my mates. This then is more than likely why I didn't do very well in my school days, results day came and went bagging myself a poor 1 C grade for woodwork which to be honest my dad turned around from a disaster into something okay in about an hour (cheers dad).

Of course a year or two before the exams we were asked 'what do you want to become when you are older?' and having grown out of the old answer 'a formula 1 driver' I really had no idea, nothing seemed to float my boat. Most of my mates were the same, me and one of my best mates Paul 'Hitman' Raymond Hart decided bugger it lets carry on the party and go to college and do something that at the time was sought after......we went and did a GNVQ in I.T. at the Chesterfield College. We had a great 3 years there, meeting good people and having great nights out, watching the world cup 2002 (as I write this the world cup 2010 is almost upon us......COME ON ENDLAND!!), it was a really great time of my life with no worries at all, no responsibilities which let's be honest between the ages of 16-19 is probably for the best. After completing my courses I then got a job at Henry Boot PLC in the I.T. dept. where I stayed for 4 years, it wasn't the most exciting job in the world but I loved the guys I worked with, a big shout out to Tomo, Mr P and Double D. It was while working in this department that I met my wife Lorraine, she worked for the construction arm in case you hadn't guessed it was called Henry Boot Construction, we met in October 2004 and moved into our nice new build house in April 2005 (moved pretty quick). Lorraine made me see there was more to life than going out and getting drunk every night, I decided to get a job in the construction arm of HB which after finding out the kind of money you could made even more sense, I became a assistant construction planner (when I met Lorraine she was a Planner), this suddenly turned me from a poorly paid I.T. worker into some kind of superstar or so it felt. Suddenly I was a wanted man, the construction industry was booming and they happily paid silly money for me. So to say my school grades had held me back would be a lie, although I wish I did better than I actually did.

So life was great, then in July 2008 we had some shocking news, good but shocking......we were........PREGNANT. Yep I had actually made another human being, I couldn't believe it. After the initial shock I was over the moon. I have always wanted to have children so although not planned it was a great feeling. I have also failed to mention me and Lorraine married in October 2006, a lovely day only surpassed by the birth of our baby. 9 months later out popped a beautiful baby girl who we named Isobel which Lorraine picked and always liked after reading a Barbara Erskine book I believe it was, either way we both loved then name and now we had a beautiful baby girl to give it too. Isobel Lorraine Robinson was born on the 31st March 2008, she was due on the 23rd which funnily enough was the same date I was due. In mid march Lorraine finished work and I also finished work to give the stay at home dad thing a try. It was an amazing experience but after 3 months the time had come for Lorraine to try to find work, I also had decided as much as I loved spending time with my daughter at home, the house work was not such a nice job or a job I was good at plus I needed something to stimulate my brain which felt like I was going downhill quickly which for me was a bigger problem than most.

I decided to look into jobs I wanted to do that wouldn't be boring or the same day after day. After exploring lots of options I made the decision that Child nursing was for me. I had to go to Barnsley College to study towards an access to heath and nursing to meet the requirements for Uni due to my grades at school. Got my place now I just need to finish the college course and start Uni is September. Really can't wait.

Anyway, can't think of much more I can tell you to be honest, if you want to know anything else please feel free to ask. I will try to update as often as I can or when I have something worth blogging, once I start Uni I would hope to be able to give you a run down of how things are going at least weekly if not more often.

Bye for now!