Wow - after only 2 days in Southampton we have our phone line all set up and... internet access! I'm currently doing pay as you go, but no doubt we'll be getting some sort of 'all you can eat' deal soon.

Everything's great - we went into town (only a 10 minute walk to the centre!) today and bought a couple more things we needed for the house (door mat, phone...) and some nice food from Asda. We also went into the pet superstore... we're looking at getting a hamster, and spent aaaages just watching them sleeping, yawning, washing... I love hamsters. :)

Right... gonna go cook some of that nice food from Asda... fresher spinach and ricotta tortelloni with mozarella anyone?!

As of about 3 hours time, Ben's and my 'home' will no longer be Guildford. We've both been here for almost 5 years, so it quite strange to think that we'll be visitors next time we come onto campus. My last day at work yesterday was very strange, and it still hasn't hit me that I'm not going back. Saying goodbye to the other sabbs was very sad, especially Chris, as we've been close friends since our first day at University when we both moved into Twyford C1. He's looking at jobs in the south, though, so could be joining us in Southampton!

My parents are coming down to Guildford in a couple of hours, and we're going to load up their car with the remainder of our stuff (there's actually quite a lot of it - hope it fits!) and drive down to our new flat. It really hasn't hit me that Southampton is going to be our home this time tomorrow. It's very exciting, though i'm a little scared about my new job.

So, if you're one of my friends in Guildford, a big goodbye and thanks for making the last 5 years the most amazing of my whole life. Please please stay in touch, and i'll miss you all loads.

Love from Sarah and Ben X x X x X

On Sunday evening Ben and I came back from our 2nd trip to Southampton in about 4 days... the flat is wonderful, and I really can't wait to go back for good on Saturday. We moved most of our stuff in on Tuesday, came back up to Guildford on Wednesday, then went back down on Saturday to do some more unpacking and show off the flat to Ben's parents. Everything's unpacked now, and all we have left to do is move the final few things down on Saturday...

... and then Southampton is our home!

It all feels very real, but I really can't wait for the next chapter in our lives to start. Southampton seems a lovely city, and I'm excited (and a little scared) about my new job.

It's the final week of handover now, and I spent a really good afternoon with Catherine yesterday, showing her the ropes and answering lots of questions. We're doing more one to one handover this afternoon, and a bit tomorrow, so I hope I can fit everything in. My job is huuuuge, so there's so much to pass on!

Last night I went to the VC's BBQ with the new and old sabbs, and had a really great time. We had the football on, so it was quite cool to see lots of University staff in 'casual' mode, cheering on England (the VC's chant of "Engerlaaaaand" was classic)! It was the best night I've had in a while, and the only thing missing was Ben, who was at home in my room playing his new cricket game.

Right, off to do more work. Only 4 days until we're in Southampton!! :)

... and so moving day loometh! I'm really excited. This time tomorrow Ben and I will be in our first home. :) Wow, writing it like that makes it sound even more exciting. I really can't wait. We spent the weekend packing all his stuff (which is now in boxes around his room) and my stuff is on the way there. Not sure how we're going to fit it in the new place!

It's Ben's birthday tomorrow, so I'm going to take him our for a meal tonight to our favourite restaurant, for some yummy pizza. I'm really looking forward to it. Everything's so great at the moment... I'm a really lucky girl - I've got the most amazing boyfriend in the world. :)

So much for a 'quiet' handover!! I have SO much to do before I finish, and I'm really worried that I won't get it all done. The annual report is taking about twice as long as I planned that it would (plan=2 weeks!) so that's pushed everything out of the way, and I still need to do more on handover, enter loads of bf writers for the media competitions, do a report on why we need a Comms Advisor in the Union..... and more...

Ben and I have done a lot of packing in our individual rooms over the past few weeks, in preparation for moving to Southampton in... 4 days! Yes, on Ben's 23rd Birthday we will be off to our new pad in Southampton, and I'm really excited. Ben and I are both getting a bit stressed with everything (jobs, packing, moving...), but it's going to be great when we're there. Our own flat - wow!

I'd better get back to Annual Report, then head back to Ben's house, to watch the Big Brother (fake) Evictions(yes, we're on the way to becoming addicts)!

Yesterday Ben picked up his final degree results and....

he got a 2:2!!!

I am so so proud of him. He does did Maths with Business, and the maths side is pretty tough, so it's a really great mark. He worked so hard this semester, and we're both so happy that he has the degree he wanted.

I was almost as nervous about picking up his results as I was a year ago when I got mine, but Ben chose to watch Tim Henman playing tennis on TV over picking up his results, so we went down a couple of hours after they'd been put up. I really can't describe how happy I was when he pointed to his URN and the words net to it saying he had a 2:2. He'd thought he was right on the border between a 3rd and a 2:2 but he did sooo well this past semester (just under a 1st) that he pulled his mark well into the 2:2s.

So, we have 3 weeks left in Guildford, and handover for the new sabbs starts on Monday. It's a little odd thinking of passing all this onto the new team, but i'm not sad about it. I really can't wait to move in with Ben in Southampton - in 3 weeks time we'll be in our flat! I'm going to enjoy these next 3 weeks, and make the most of them, but it's definitely time to move onto something new, exciting, and amazing...