Lectures and Societies

I have, as of today, experienced my first two lectures as a university student. Oh dear lord. To say that they were dull would not entirely be correct, they would probably have been interesting enough were it not for the fact that it was about 100 degrees in the lecture room (even next to the window where I was) add in easily 50 plus people and you have what is essentially an oven.  I found myself looking out the window, hoping and wishing for a breeze, even a slightly warm one, to float its way into the room. For goodness sakes, it’s September and the weather is carrying on like we’re in the middle of July! Equally making the lectures less than simple was the fact that the topics were completely obscure, it’s like they were related to nothing at all. It felt a bit like we had been thrown into lectures more than a week in without any warning and the assumption that we would catch up. Maybe they’ll all be like that, and I’ll always be shell-shocked in the afterhours. Who knows? I’m hoping that the prose workshops / lectures will make much more sense to me than the poetry ones at least. Prose makes sense to me a good amount more than anything poetry related, so I will live in that hope.

After a few sleepy hours of lectures it was time to choose my societies, once I managed to escape a very excitable rep for the cheerleading society that is, who seemed convinced that she could persuade me that I had always wanted to jump around in very little clothing waving pom poms. She seemed put out when I told her that I really wasn’t cheerleader material...twice. The societies fair was pretty interesting though, you can apparently become a member of as many societies as you like, but I have stuck with two. I first joined Knitter Knatter (the knitting society) which seems to be entirely made up of girls so it should be a lot of fun; they give me free wool and needles just for becoming a member. Membership was only three pounds! It seems like a good deal to me. There are no trips planned, no strange excursions, just weekly meetings where we sit, and chat, and knit away to our hearts content. Hopefully there will be large amounts of pattern swapping and technique sharing. I still need someone to teach me how to cable knit.

 I have also signed up to the BSL (British Sign Language) society. While I had planned to join some kind of knitting group I hadn’t really considered joining a signing group, as I only know the basics of sign these days and even then my precision is, well, imprecise. The group will offer lessons and teach us all a bit about the deaf community. Might even be some volunteering work in it, who knows. I think it’s pretty darned important that people learn at least enough sign to have a conversation with someone who is deaf, even if they’re with speech. I’ve just felt a little rude expecting them to lip read all the time, expecting them to cater to us. So I’m doing something about it. Maybe enough others will do the same someday and we can finally move towards some kind of worldly equality. Ok, so I’m not entirely hopeful about that bit, but it will be good to learn all the same.

I think it’s now time to make myself a cup of tea, then snug myself up in bed with a book and read till I pass out. No mad parties for me tonight. I’m just too tired.

University Life

It struck me today that I’ve been rambling on about being at uni without actually taking any pictures of the place. So today is going to be a photo blog! I will try to make these more often, with pictures of nights out and other interesting things, but I’m not great at remembering to take pictures so this might not be a regular thing.

The campus is seriously beautiful, there are trees everywhere, and the buildings are old and really quite pretty. There’s even a lake!  I’m pretty certain I’ve walked the whole campus by now; I’ve found a few nice places to sit and read (as well as a few trees to climb). I guess all in all I’m settling in quite well. I’m still without a roommate, I might get one at some point later in the year, or I’ll just get really lucky and not end up with one at all. That would be nice. I’m still not certain how well I would do sharing a room with another person, I guess I would manage but sometimes it’s nice to be able to shut the door and not have to see anyone. Especially when you’ve not had a great deal of sleep.

So this is my little room. It’s twice the size of everyone else’s room, but there are two beds and two desks in it so the actual floor space available is pretty small. I’ve managed to squidge everything in so far, but it’s not very tidy! Though I never have been a tidy person. Some of the things in here could go upstairs now that I know and trust my flatmates, (well mostly trust), but I’m used to having it down here now. If I took it all upstairs I would only forget what I had done with it. All I need now is a tiny fridge so I can have a pint of milk up here. Tea first thing in the mornings is definitely a necessity.

That’s it; this is my world for the next year. Lectures start properly on Monday and I will just have to let the wind take me. I might just find something interesting to say one of these days.

Nights out and Freshers Fairs

So I wasn’t planning on going out last night. My housemates had other ideas. After about half an hour of persuading I was escorted downstairs by three girls and they helped me choose my outfit. I ended up in a red flowery tube thing, with heels...and makeup. There are thankfully no pictures of this venture. When I walked back into the kitchen one of the guys that I live with didn’t recognize me for a minute. Thankfully everyone has decided that tonight will be a quiet night inside. I might even get some time to work on the book, something I’ve so far not managed. While the student union is awesome, and the drinks are cheap, I don’t think it’s something I would be able to do every night.

We had introductions to the courses today. Everything seems to be what I expected, though philosophy and religion aren’t joined, I have to pick one. That’s a bit of a strange concept, I’m not sure that it’s really possible to ever fully separate philosophy and religion. Maybe that’s something we’ll cover during the course. The groups seem to be a good size though, not overly large. I don’t think a huge class would be a good thing. The tutors are all nice people, they seemed happy to answer even the most obscure questions about the running of the course. I think a few of the people in the classes themselves might end up annoying me, but that happens with anything. I think the first year will go pretty much as was planned. Now all I have to do is pick societies. I’ve been told that there’s a knitting society which might be worth a look. I really love knitting!

Just chilling in the kitchen now, listening to some music, thinking about what to have for tea. Such big decisions we students have to make!

First night

So I survived my first night at Uni. Hurrah. I am so far sans roomie, but that might change today. More people are apparently moving in so we never know. Everyone else in the flat seems to be nice, though they’re all somewhat hung over this morning. Makes me quite glad that I don’t really drink that much, I don’t entirely think I would want to be in the same state as them this morning.

Last night was pretty good fun. Went down to the union to see what it was all about, and actually managed to have a fairly good night. There was a jazz band on who were seriously brilliant, even Charlie danced. Charlie never dances. There was some kind of plan to drink but we gave that up after one shot of Tequila. Note to self, I really don’t like tequila. I ended up being fairly boring and coming home about one. After a day of moving boxes and sorting things out I was pretty shattered. Not sure why I thought I was going to be able to sleep, everyone was still partying around me. Eventually I managed to drop off; with the duvet over my head. It almost felt at home. It quietened down about 2am. I really should have taken some pictures of the night. Would have been a fun start to the year. I’ll remember that for tomorrow’s blog.

Time to have another tidy up, just in case the roomie does arrive today; I don’t want her thinking I’m too messy. I have a lot of stuff to fit into a fairly small space though...

I'm BACK

What’s this? A blog post?

I know I know, I’m a terrible blogger, and it’s been forever since I made a post. I promised I would up my game, but...I didn’t. This will change!

Mostly because I’m going to university tomorrow! I know! Managed to pass my A levels, 5A’s and a B. Oh Hell Yes. So I’m carting my arse off to Bath Spa for three years. Religious Philosophy and Creative writing, it’s going to be something of a rough ride, but it will more than likely be fun. Everything is packed into the Mother’s car, except my pc...because I’m typing on that...and tomorrow morning we’ll set off for my new life. Hurrah. I’m excited, but I’m nervous. I mean, living away from home for the first time. Sharing a room with someone for the first time, that’s probably not going to be fun.  Well it might be, I don’t know. So much responsibility, so little time.

Choosing what to take and what not to take was a bit of a cow.  I bagged up SO MANY CLOTHES to go to the charity shop along with bags and books and those little bits that I didn’t really need but wanted so badly to hold on to. Still, it’s all gone, all in the past. I couldn’t take everything with me, so it was a case of deciding what’s really important. Needless to say, all my shoes have been packed. No shoes will be left behind. Equally all of my corsets have been packed, I don’t care who disagrees with me, corsets are vital if I am to survive three years in uni. I have also stuffed all the blankets I own into the car, I figure if I have to choose between heating and food I can still be warm. I’ve had to leave a lot of knitting behind for the time being. – Insert sad face here – I just haven’t got space for it all. So until I figure out how to get it all into my fairly small shared university dorm room it will be living with Papa.

So that’s that. Tomorrow I set off for a new chapter in my life, and I will do my best to drag you all along with me!