Here!

No more days!

Moving went pretty well. My mate Dave took me down and we got everything in his car. I really like my room...


Shelves



More of....



Bed!



Bathroom



Doors!

Been for a little wander around - didn't go far because by the time I was unpacked and sorted the internet out it was nearly 9pm. Going to have a proper look around tomorrow. That means an early start. That means I should get some sleep soon!

18 days...

I had far too much fun at the weekend! Saw a lot of wonderful bands (Hawkwind, Krankschaft, The Starfighters, Here & Now, Tarantism, Tribe of Cro...) and made lots of nice new friends on the Isle of Wight. It was a really nice, relaxing weekend and I did manage to forget all about Uni for a few days!

Got home to find my Welcome Pack has turned up from Nottingham - just about to sit down and start reading through it.

Brushie's to-do list (before the next festival!):
-Read the Welcome pack!
-Go through the "What to bring" and "What not to bring" lists.
-Plan my packing - already talked to my sister about this last night, but we need a trial run to see if it'll all fit in her car! (It should!)
-Get my teeth sorted out! I seem to have lost a filling and it's really annoying me! I'm not holding out much hope of finding a dentist in Nottingham, so I'll probably stick with the one at home!
-Bank accounts. I'm veering towards NatWest. I don't know if I'm a bit late for opening a Student account though?

25 days - and I'm off!

This was never meant to be an everyday blog, but I will be taking a short break over the weekend. I feel odd about going away this close to Uni, but I'm not sure why...

I'm setting off to see Daevid Allen tomorrow night, followed by a bus down south and a ferry over to the Isle of Wight for Hawkfest!

Where I live at the moment is a little out of the way - only four busses a day, and that's if they feel like turning up! Nottingham is going to be so different. I've been there a fair bit (I have friends that live in Nottingham) so I've got at least a vague idea of how to find my way around. But the public transport system there still amazes me! When I got the bus up to my interview, it was one that came along every 15 minutes (I think?) and it announced where the next stop would be - very useful if you're heading into a part of the city that you don't know that well!

The cost of public transport has always been a bit of a problem for me. At the moment, it costs me £5 to go to the nearest town (return) and that's before I can get anywhere else. When I chose my accommodation, distance was a big consideration... I wanted to make sure I could walk it if I ran out of cash. I didn't realise that there was actually a *free* bus between where my halls are and the main campus! That's going to be a big help!

I quite like reading TSR because it allows people to share information which I find really comforting. I've found out how to look at my timetable for next year and know what to expect when I get there now because of what others there have posted. I spent most of last night looking through pictures of other people's rooms in halls - it's not strange, I promise! It was interesting to see the difference in rooms between universities, some were tiny and some were massive rooms! Some people also included pictures of the view from their rooms as well. Very interesting stuff!
I do get quite disappointed in some of the more "general" threads though. There seem to be a handful of threads each day involving the same people and ALL are obsessed with other people's weight and appearance (especially the former...) - I can't understand this obsession at all. It really makes me uncomfortable to hear some of the things that are said against total strangers based entirely on their size - do they have no other attributes you could possibly judge them by? It's all very strange and disappointing. Now that I've worked that much out, I can avoid those threads pretty easily, but it still seems so strange that they think they can tell everything about a person by their dress size!

Speaking of appearance, I need to dye my hair this evening - it's red and green at the moment, so I think I need more blue and purple!

26 days and counting!

I've been trying to keep track of what I've done so far and what I need to do. There's a nagging feeling of "I've forgotten to do something" that just won't go away. So I've been double-checking my done and to-do lists...

Done:
-Gotten my acceptance letters from Nottingham Uni and UCAS to confirm I am defiantly on the course.
-Signed, returned and heard back from Student Finance about my loan/grant. I know how much I'm supposed to get and when it should turn up.
-Applied and had a confirmation email about my accommodation. I'm really happy I got my first choice for accommodation. It *is* one of the more expensive halls, but it looks so nice and everything is included, so even if I over-spend I still get dinner and internet!
-Filled out and sent in the form for my Uni card (dodgy photo and all!)


To-do:
-Sort out a new bank account. I'm still comparing at the moment. I'm considering either Lloyds or NatWest - although I've had horrible problems with NatWest in the past.
-Bursaries. I'm not too sure what to do about these - I don't think I can apply until I get there, but a bit of extra cash would be nice if I'm eligible for it!
-Packing. I'm trying to keep down the amount of stuff I'll be taking. I think two bags of clothes and two boxes of other stuff (books and gadgets mostly!) should be enough. And two guitars - I play in a band where I need my electric, but I'd like to have my 12 string acoustic with me because it's my favourite!
-Pick my modules. I have a choice between learning Ancient Greek and Latin or "Working With Translations". I'm very tempted to take Greek and Latin - even though it sounds like more work and I'm terrible with languages anyway! I'm hoping there'll be someone I can talk to before I decide or at least someone that'll tell me if I can switch if it all gets too much...
-Shop. I don't need much - pens and paper, a couple of books (it looks like there's only two books I really *need* this year) and new socks - I'm really running out of socks at the moment! There are a couple of other things I'd really love to have, but don't really *need*. I've been looking for nice posters - I know there are always posters for sale when you get there, but I've got my heart set on the sort of stuff they probably won't have. Been looking for a poster of the cover of Hawkwind's "Space Ritual" album (either version) - not much luck so far! Another thing I'd really like is a couple of really big floor cushions - just so I can turn my bed into a sofa and feel like a proper grown-up! Finally, silly as it might sound, I'm trying to figure out if I need a chair or not! There's a desk in the room, but I don't know if there's a chair and I'd feel a bit strange asking! I'm planning on taking my camping chair just in case - at worst, I can make do with that until I can pick up a nice, cheap chair from somewhere!

I'm still not sure what else I need to be doing!

Hello, internet!

My name is BrushieDuck, and I am going to University soon! Let's start with the basic things:

My name isn't *really* BrushieDuck... I just like ducks and toothbrushes. I'm 25 years old. Yes, I am a complete Grandma! I'm sort of glad I didn't go to Uni earlier, because I don't think I'd have made it through the first year. I would probably have picked a subject I didn't get on with, a Uni I wasn't happy with and wouldn't have put nearly enough thought into it. So I waited!

I'm going to be studying at Nottingham University. It wasn't my first choice until I went there... I'll be studying Classical Civilization - mostly Ancient Greek & Roman stuff - because it's what I find interesting. My other choices were all Egyptology. I like old history!

I like music. A lot. A bit too much... I do tend to act foolishly and put off important things like paying bills in order to see bands I like. This is a terrible habit and I'm trying to stop it. So far, it lasted all of an evening - then I bought tickets to another festival...

I'm looking forward to University a lot. I'm a bit worried about a lot of things though:
-I feel very old. I've been reassured by a lot of people that I will *not* be the only person there in my 20s, nor will I be the oldest person there. I still worry that I'll turn up and be seen as the creepy old person. I promise I'm not creepy!
-I feel rather dumb. I didn't go to Uni straight out of school. I didn't do much of anything when I got out of school really. Most of what I did when I was *in* school involved avoiding doing any work of any kind - I was bullied horribly and the less time I could spend there, the better. I'm worried that because I missed so much, I'll be far too stupid to complete my course. I've already done two years of Open University and got decent (not spectacular, not terrible) marks - but I still worry.
-I feel rather poor. I've never had a job that was more than part-time and I've got little in the way of savings. I've filled in all the forms for Student Finance and will investigate bursaries when I get there. I still worry what will happen if I run out of cash.
-I feel very confused. I'm pretty sure I've filled in all my forms now, but I worry there are other things I am supposed to do before I get there. I haven't begun to pack because I'm unsure what to take. I'm very worried there's some big, important thing I've forgotten to do...

Today, I signed up to http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk (as BrushieDuck !) which has been fairly helpful! So far - but I'm still finding my way around!