– {Insert Title Here} – (Jeremy)

DID you ever hear the story of the man who left the rainforest and travelled to the desert, to look for a tree? Or perhaps the story of the woman on the beach, searching for a shell to put to her ear, so she could hear the ocean? You probably haven’t, because I just made them up, but in one sense, over the last semester, that has been me. The guy who’s been looking far, far off into the distance and didn’t really stop to look around him.

For a couple of months (well, ok, two-and-a-half) I have been chasing somebody who, in the finish, wasn’t worth my tears and effort (and believe me when I say that not half the story gets on the blog, so don’t jump to any conclusions about either of us). Was it her, the reason why nothing happened between us in the finish, or was it me? I think that the eventual answer is that it was us; she wasn’t what I needed and I wasn’t what she wanted and it took us both quite a while to realise that; I don’t blame either of us in the end. I was the man chasing the mirage in the desert; I ran a long, long way but still couldn’t find what I wanted, because it didn’t exist.

Every Maths lecture, ever since Dylan (probably my best mate at the Uni) left for the 12.00 stream (and let’s face it, who would get up for the 9.00 stream by choice?), I always stood around – or vice versa, depending on who arrived first – to wait for Kim. We were good friends, nothing more – although we were every inch the odd couple; Kim, the quiet, smiling and determined young woman, me, an energetic walking word factory. It went like that every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning; we’d catch up and have a quick chat before lecture, sit together, laugh at the guy who always, without fail, walked straight in without any books and fell asleep, and shoot each other puzzled looks whenever the lecturer went on about something we didn’t understand (which was more often than not). I really only got to know her in the very last week of term, when we grabbed a coffee together (Maths tute? What’s that?) and it was nice to have a chance to get to know this softly-spoken girl.

On the Sunday before the exam, Dylan, Kim and I arranged to catch up for a little maths revision, with just one slight problem; that Dylan had a family thing, and was going to be two hours late! Kim and I looked at each other, said “Stuff maths” (or words to that effect, I think we phrased it differently), and began to chat. I think it was then, somewhere between the ice coffee and Dylan’s arrival, that I realised just how much I liked this girl. Later that week I asked her out, and the rest is history.

Without wishing to lock myself into rambling mode, for the sakes of both not boring you all feckless and not embarassing poor Kim, the question needs to be asked; why her?, and the hardest part of the answer is not what to say but instead where to start. She is socially quite shy and introverted; she keeps to herself somewhat and above all she is just nice, nice nice, all three of which of course make her the total opposite of me. She may well be quiet, especially in a group, but sometimes she has the ability to knock me over with what she does say. She treads lightly on tiptoe in places where I would run in blindfolded and that’s no bad thing. Above all, she is the definition of sweet and generous and kind and I would rather listen to her for half an hour than almost anyone else for a whole day. I think that last sentence sums it up best, because that’s how I realised that I liked her so much; by listening to her and what she had to say. That’s the best part about talking to her; it’s the listening. Might I just add as a quick postscript that she’s a cute looker and her family rocks; I have just done the whole “family thing” and I think they’re fantastic. That’s a relief.

So, in the finish, did you ever hear the story about the man who wanted to see the sun, so he spent months looking at its reflection on a pond? I have, and I can tell you the ending. He realised what had happened, and so he woke up, turned around and sat on a hill to watch it. He doesn’t know when or if it will set; but what he does know is that he doesn’t want it to, and he’s still only young, and he’s going to make the most of the sunlight. And, dammit, it’s warm in the sun, and he doesn’t plan on leaving anytime soon.

Enjoy your holidays guys;

w.love from jez