Tuesday 18 September 2012

Less than a week!

Definitely time to start packing! So far, all I've done is wash things (how are ALL my clothes dirty?!) and sort my "filing cabinet" (i.e. a canvas bag full of files containing all my boring, grown-up paperwork...).

Wednesday: pack towels and bedding.
Thursday: pack books and makeup/bathroomy stuff
Friday: pack clothes.
Saturday: pack anything that isn't packed yet!

I can't wait!

Tuesday 11 September 2012

12 days to go!

Moving day is still almost two weeks away, but I've started getting ready already! The most interesting (to me, anyway...) bit is my NEW FILOFAX!!! A purple, personal metropol.


The new toy is on the left here, next to my old filofax. The little brown domino baroque pocket filofax has served me well over the last 4 years, but it's always been a little on the small side and the elastic closure is starting to loosen. 
Been dreaming of a personal-size filofax for some time, but with most of them around the £30-40 mark, it's been a purchase that I've had to keep putting off. I love the metropol (snap) closures as well, feels a lot nicer than the domino (elastic) closure, and as you can see in the picture above, after a while the elastic can loosen. A few days ago, someone posted on TSR posted that there were some cheap filofaxes (or is it "filofaxen"?) in TK Maxx - I went along to the one in Sheffield to investigate and hit the jackpot! My dream size and style of filofax, in my favourite colour and less than half price! £12 is a hell of a bargain! For that price, I assumed there would be bits missing and last year's diary, so it was even more of a shock when I got home and found that not only did it contain a brand new July 2012-December 2013 diary, but also two lots of spare paper! 

As it turned out, the timing was perfect as well. Got my timetable through email this week, so that went straight into the new toy! Looks like a nice full week with Fridays off! Although I haven't sorted my seminars out yet... The extra dividers have come in handy as well - not only do I have the "today" marker, but now I've got my diary divided up into three terms - that's going to come in very handy when term starts! 



Tuesday 4 September 2012

19 days to go!

Getting excited now. Still feels like a very long time to wait before I get to move back to Uni, but should really start packing now to avoid last-minute chaos! Going back into halls again for my third year, so that means I know more or less what I do and don't need to bring. Started today by washing all my uni bedding (I've got a single bed there and a double bed at Mother's house, so need different sized sheets and stuff!) it's the first rainless day in a while, so had to make the most of the opportunity to get things dry! Already started my dissertation reading as well. Made a start on it at the end of last term, but it sort of dwindled a little over the summer, so I'm trying to build up the ammount of work I'm doing again before I get back so it's not too big a shock when I get back to uni and start again properly! Only doing a couple of hours a day - feel like I should have gotten a lot more done over the summer. Worrying a little about the ammount of work coming up - it's sounding like a lot of stuff to do. It'll be interesting to see where I can find the time to do it all!

Tuesday 13 September 2011

A little rave...

If you go looking for information from people who have had to deal with Student Finance, there is one word you will get used to seeing very quickly: "Useless". I know so many people that have had horrible problems with Student Finance that there seems little point in saying much more here. They are notoriously slow, difficult and hard to deal with. Adding to the already plentiful list of negative comments about Student Finance seems pointless.

Instead, I want to talk about something good.

The Student Support service at the University of Nottingham have been consistently brilliant. University can be a hugely stressful experience if there are problems and having the ability to solve those problems quickly and efficiently is a wonderful luxury. Every time I've had a problem, I've found the Student Support staff to be friendly, approachable, knowledgeable and practical. There has never been an instance of being told that something is "not their job" - a response that can often throw up obstacles when trying to resolve an issue - instead, when this has been the case, they've put me in touch with someone who is better-suited to help.

Peace of mind can mean everything at times, and the Student Support team seem well aware of this. There has never been an instance where I've been made to feel as if I'm asking a stupid question or being over-cautious. The reassurance that this reliable, approachable and efficient team are there can make a world of difference.

The counselling service is another incredible resource for those who need it. There's a short waiting list due to the huge number of people who use it and the limited resources they have, but they make sure that the service continues to run as efficiently as possible.

It's not something that most people consider when choosing a University, but it's something that has really impressed me while I've been at Nottingham.

Monday 5 September 2011

19 days to go!

Getting VERY excited now! Under 3 weeks until I get back to Uni and I can't wait!

Reading
I managed to locate reading lists for the modules I'll be starting this term. Making a start on reading any of the books on the list that I already own as well as anything that might prove useful. Right now I'm reading The Histories by Herodotus (which has it's good points, but some of it is SO tedious!) and The Ancient Greeks for Dummies by Stephen Batchelor because it never hurts to go back to basics and see if there are any gaps in your knowledge!

Packing
I've not actually started packing yet, but I am planning it! Trying to decide which guitar to take this year - last year I took my 12-string acoustic, but I'm considering taking one of my electric guitars this year instead. Decisions! I need to wash all of my bedding as well. I've got a double bed at Mother's house and a single bed at uni, so I can't use my uni bedding at home! I think it was clean when I packed it all up, but it's been packed up all summer, so it'll probably benefit from being freshened up a little!

Social life
One of the other reasons I'm looking forward to going back is all the going-out things to do! Where my Mother lives is pretty remote, so nights out are usually hard work! In Nottingham, most things I want to do are within walking distance - or a short bus ride at the most! Looking forward to having a few interesting nights out!

People
Of course it's going to be good to see the people I met last year again (apart from The American, who has gone home to America... It won't be the same without her!) but also looking forward to meeting new people. Lots of new people in halls and maybe some new people on my course too. It's going to be interesting to see who's around!

Modules
I think I've posted about this before - but I'm really looking forward to some of the modules I'm doing this year! Last year was mostly general Greek and Roman history, but this year I get to focus a lot more on the things I'm really interested in! Very exciting!

Thursday 1 September 2011

It's September!

I think I'm officially allowed to get excited now!

I don't move back into halls until 25th September, but at least I'm in the right month! I've been trying to get a bit of extra reading done in preparation for going back, but it's hard to know what is going to be useful!

I'm SO tempted to start packing my clothes now - I've got all the boxes and bags ready to be filled up already!