Sunday, September 30, 2012

lots of things

lots/not a lot going on this weekend that i shall enlighten you with.

yesterday was our active freshers' fayre - basically, (nearly) all of the sports clubs held session at the sports park so that everyone could come have a go at ones that they might be interested in joining.  it was a little less of a mob scene than friday, but still quite hectic.  there was a horde of people waiting to get gym memberships but i got to jump the queue and join at the front desk because i pulled the "i have an american credit card, will it work?" line.  heh.

i also got a free t-shirt.  winning.

at active freshers', i tried out trampolining (lots of fun!) and - wait for it - cheerleading.

as this is a recent blog many of my avid readers (lol) might now know my life story, but to give you a little snapshot, i was a cheerleader for all four years in high school including a brief year on a competitive squad.  i also have done gymnastics (mainly tumbling) on and off all my life.  although trampoline was a lot of fun to try, i really want to have a go at cheerleading again.  there are tryouts for the competition team at the end of the month - so fingers crossed i make it!

today i did a lot of sitting around in epic soreness from yesterday.  netflix and i are bffs, nbd.  then i made enchiladas which was a great success!  yum yum.  mixed beans were tasty but i still miss my black beans.

i should really get to assessing what project i would like to work on.

brb.

Friday, September 28, 2012

freshers

ahhh, the english term for freshmen (also termed "frosh" in the US).  today was they freshers' fayre, or as i like to call it, the activities expo.  i went out and slapped my email on a few lists, despite being a freshman, and wandered through my own personal hell.

so.  many.  people.  get.  out.  of.  my.  WAY!

mob scene is the only way to describe freshers' fayre.  all of the clubs and societies shoved under a giant tent with people pushing this way and that.  some going one direction, some going another, some completely stopped for now apparent reason in the middle of the walkway.  how am i supposed to find the clubs i'm interested in if i can't even see their group names?!

i managed to find cheerleading (yes, judge away!), trampolining (might be fun with my gymnastics experience), and snow sports - although i'm not quite sure where english people go skiing or snowboarding around here.  oh well, my board's back in the US anyways.  i wanted to find the biology club but somehow missed it.  after seeing facebook pics, i now know exactly why.  there were two signs in back of their booth that looked like they might be for some sort of ballroom dance club (really, they were to highlight the club's gala later on in the year).  in front of the booth was, i suppose, their actual signage but trying to get through that crowd was near impossible to find anything.

so, maybe i will join one of these clubs.  maybe.  and maybe i will make some friends finally.  hopefully.

brb.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

i love you, black beans

by some magical fairy, i was able to find all of the tasty ingredients i like to use to make enchiladas (shout out to vanessa for teaching me how to make them like her mom:) ).  the only ingredient i had to be "creative" with was black beans.

i walked down the canned veggie aisle to see shelves upon shelves of every type f bean you could imagine - except my fave, black beans.  this i do not understand.  there were about 20 varieties and brands of baked beans, then a bunch of red kidney beans, and even some black spotted beans, but no delicious black beans.  i ended up settling for a can of "mixed beans in spicy sauce," whatever that means.  the spicy part sounds yums.

now i just need a baking dish.  guess i'll be off to TKMaxx this weekend.

nothing else eventful to report.  my pseudo-classmates and i (pseudo because they group my programme with another programme for the basic training sessions and whatnot) got stood up by out lecturer.  it was annoying, but NBD.

i want to buy a hoodie from the students' unions but i wish i knew if they took credit cards without walking my lazy ass over there.

brb.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

programme

so i found out today that my programme (let's start using english people english, shall we?  yeah, i'm a tool, but i do honestly need to get used to it not that i'm here for the next two years) only has 6 or 7 people.  i say "or" because the programme directors were a little confused as to whether or not one individual was actually taking the course.  to add to that, only 4 of us actually showed up today.

and i was the only full time student.

let me describe my programme a little.  it's a 2 year MSc where i only take classes on wednesday - so even though i'm full time and the students i just met are part time, we still have all the same classes together.  they just work at their lab jobs the other four days while i work in a lab at the university on my research project.

i do like the three other classmates, so hopefully i'll eventually feel uncreepy enough to facebook friend them.  we all grabbed lunch and then sat through a 2 hour lecture on statistics so i think that qualifies us as bonded just a little.

school should be good - i'm glad i actually got to do something school-y today.  now i just need to pick out a research topic.

brb.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

give me a cell phone, please.

just to warn you - there's going to be lots of wah wah wahing in this post.  moving to england is, apparently, quite difficult - or at least it has been for me.  i doubt it's like this for most people, but the last few days have been more stressful than one would like.

let me start with the easy one: lack of cell phone.  first world problem, this his proved to be impossible.  i want to get a monthly plan with, for me personally, better phone options, prices, and data packages.  to do this, i need a uk bank account - ok, 4 days later due to the weekend and that's finally set up...but i can't actually get the phone because i need my debit card which won't arrive for at least another 7 days.  obnoxious.  having a phone might have helped in situation number two -

EPIC BATHROOM LEAK!  okay, maybe not quite so epic, but nonetheless, a leak.  i suppose my upstairs neighbor ma have just moved in sunday, but the last two nights have been  2L water flood out of the side of my shower.  after two complaints, many waste container fillings and pourings down the drain, the maintenance men finally (hopefully) fixed the problem at 4:30pm today.  it's lucky i didn't write about this sooner, my post probably would have involved lots f rage and swearing.

and situation number 3.  apparently, i need to pay to go to school.  imagine that.  well, lucky for me, i got the cash flowing compliments of the US department of education way before i left.  unlucky for me, they don't disburse my cash money until october.  wouldn't you know, my first bill is due on 27 september?  right, ok, sorted that out but it took lots of tears and a few emails (thanks for nothing, FAFSA website contact us form!).  another situation i hope is resolved but still am rather wary on.

wouldn't it have been nice to have a phone last night at 11:30pm when water was flooding my bathroom?  or perhaps today when a financial counselor didn't know anything about US loans and suggested i ring them up?  right.  moving on.

i get my classes time table tomorrow.  i'm hopeful to be able to squeeze in a free language course in german, trouble is, they're all on wednesday and if my regular schedule doesn't fit, then no language class for me.  can't wait to meet my classmates since my flatmates are less than social.

brb.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

let's rant, shall we?

my favourite part of my trip to the uk has to be the 2 hours i waited in line at immigration.  "first time students" have to have extra identification and such, which means it takes longer - so they put us all in one line (from perhaps 8 flights that had just landed) with only 3 people working.  based on my own experience, i doubt i was the only one who did not have all of the appropriate documentation which only added to the wait.  were there other officers open and doing nothing?  why yes, yes there were.

a girl two behind me was given a time card when she got on line.  even one of the woman who worked for the border couldn't believe it took us 2 hours. "that's bad, that's really really bad." - quoted from the worker.  i think she even went and told her supervisor in disgust.

does this happen the same time every year?  yes.  did they know this volume of students would be entering?  yes.  did they do anything about it?  god, i felt like i was at the DMV back in the US!

ok, rant aside, my room is pretty legit.  private bathroom and bigger than i expected based on pics.  i have 5 flatmates (only met one of them, although i have a feeling two haven't moved in yet) and we share a kitchen.  i walked into town yesterday, where i've been once before when i came to look at the school last year, and threw down mad dough on life's essentials - a hair dryer and a flat iron.  i really need to go to the supermarket but i think i'm going to nap.  even though i slept a record number of hours for myself last night, i still feel jet lagged (out of 30 hours, i slept for about 4 of them).

i also need to rant about not having an iPhone 5...but we'll save that for tomorrow.  or later today.  whatever i decide.

brb.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

i made it!

celebratory i moved to england post!

ok, that's enough of that.  i'm don't even know how i'm still awake i am sooooo exhausted.  ugh.

brb.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

moving to england, brb.

ok, so i'm finally in the airport and thank jesus they have free wifi otherwise i'd be real bored.  i'm very sad to be leaving the bf but i'm very excited to be moving to england (finally!).  the grand total:

1 checked bag = 22kg, or 48.5lbs
1 checked bag = 22.6kg, or 49.8lbs
1 carry-on bag = two laptops, an external hard drive, a disc drive, a bajillion cords, make-up bag, yoga pants
1 carry-on personal item = giantass purse, BU leather interview folder, passport, liquids bag stuffed with liquids, pants, umbrella
2 jackets i carried on

i feel like the packing champion, although i am definitely missing some stuff.  i hope nothing breaks.  my mom needs to mail me some stuff but it's going to cost $45 for a tiny box!  dumb.  the bf is bringing my winter jacket to a wedding we are attending in november.  i have too much stuff.  ugh.  UGH.

well, it's about that time to start gathering my things.  and buy a magazine.  and a bev.  and take my anti-sick plane drugs.  i suppose i can finally say this, as well:

moving to england, brb.

Friday, September 14, 2012

first world problems.

i hope i'm not forgetting anything.  i am approximately 99% packed - tomorrow i will be in boston until tuesday when i finally leave for england.  i have an unbelievable (or, knowing me, quite believable) amount of crap.  clothes clothes clothes clothes clothes - and i'm barely bringing half of what i own!  ugh.  i'm still depressed about having to pull out those shoes.

on an angrier note, i wanted to preorder me the iPhone 5 today as that was going on - but guess what?  i can't.  FML.  apparently my credit card needs to be registered at the address that i would be charging the account to but vodafone wouldn't let me enter an international address online and my credit card company wouldn't let me change my address to an international one!  this is unfair.  i need to get my hands on the iPhone!

#firstworldproblems

moving on.  last week i began instructions for my mother on how to use such devices as the television and our netflix account.  i predict disaster.  even with my carefully prepared 2 pages of info, she still had to take notes and add things - like the fact that i didn't explicitly write "turn TV on."

wow, i'm pretty whiny today for the fwp's.

brb.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

blanky!

ok, one thing i cannot sleep without - or rather, i can sleep, it's just not as enjoyable - is a vellux blanket.  i have been through probably 5 or 6 in my lifetime and can happily say that i have just added my newest blanket to my collection.  i am breaking it in tonight.  the new navy twin size blanky will, of course, be accompanying me to england!  yay!  and thank jesus for space bags.

I WANT ALL THE COLOURS!!!


last minute items, a visit to my grandma's, and dinner at my sister's.  today was much more productive that usual.

we have hit the 5-days-to-go mark.  still no clue who i will be living with.  eager.  anxious.  nervous.  some other emotions.

i really need to read up of my potential professors...

brb.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

bye bye, shoes

sweet baby jesus, this packing thing is awful.  i already had to sacrifice packing two pairs of shoes taking my total from 14 down to 12 (not including the pair i will be wearing), two long sleeve sleep shirts AND a sweater cardigan form the first suitcase to ensure that it is under 50 lbs.  the second one is going to prove harder... the thing is approx. 10% larger.  ugh.

#firstworldproblems

ok, enough for the whining.  i had the "i'm freaking out' phase last sunday and now i'm really ramping up the "OMG SUPER EXCITED!" phase.  just a few last minute things to pick up tomorrow and the second bag can be officially packed.

i bet you're wondering how i'm weighing these bags.  i was hoping my dad had a large scale used to weigh deer (no, that is not a typo) but we had to settle for a fish scale... which we then proceeded to break after my dad climbed on a chair and the bag snapped the scale.  whoops.  we then busted out the bathroom scale for some real scientific measurements: my dad got on, weight read, then we added the bag, scale read, and found the difference.  #scienceFTW

i really need to not hashtag my blog.

brb.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

one week.

well it has come down to the one-week-tip-moving mark and i have sucked at keeping this blog updated.  i suppose i should do better once i actually move there.  packing has become ridiculous.  i was going to bring two large bags, then decided one large and one small, but after attempting the small one i realized i was an idiot.  i have too much stuff.

must bring large bags.  sigh.

i do not know any of my housemates yet nor can i find them on facebook so this college move is super old fashioned - at least when i did undergrad the school gave us their names!

i really need to get back to packing.  maybe i'll take a pic when i'm "done" so that i can share with you my pains.  le sigh.

brb.