Enrolment (double hockey sticks for 'Mericans!)
I am officially a University student.
I received my very first text book in the mail: 'Introductory Ecology'. I flipped through it and saw a panda and some camels. It should be a good read.
They took my picture for a library card and it was all very fast and surprising. I somehow ended up with an eyebrow raise. And I was wearing black. Pretty much I look creepy, but humoured. So it's all good.
I came home and did something from 'The list of things that you'll probably never get around to doing'. I like to dog tag pages in books and keep track of words I don't know. I have pages of words in my journal with no definitions next to them. So I looked them all up! It has made me incredibly curious about Latin. I'm thinking perhaps it would be wonderful to learn. It is so very interesting! Though, I'll probably never use the word 'ossify'. Or maybe I will. I suppose I have to now.
----
I'm enjoying cycling around and getting lost. I'm even riding on roads. And British roads are notoriously tiny. Or perhaps you didn't know that. British roads are narrow. Very, very narrow. I didn't realise it until coming back from the states. Even as a passenger in a car I would subconsciously lean towards the centre of the car. But on a bicycle I feel so free and graceful! It is an absolute pleasure.
After cycling to the photo developing place, I went to a 'Fresher's Fair'. Supposedly lots of free things and a chance to sign up for clubs and things. I arrived and was bombarded with leaflets which is, in itself, terrifying! Colourful advertising, big fake smiles, lots of voices. I was a little scared. As I was cruising your standard 'Act on Poverty' stand, I started listening in on a conversation between an army kid and the person running the stand. He was asking where the money went and whether anything actually got to the people. She didn't know too much.
So I approached the guy afterwards and introduced myself and starting asking about his time in Afghanistan. He was really, really young. He joined the RAF when he was 16 and got shipped off. He told me stories about kind locals and suicide bombs and death of innocents. He was really just an innocent. He talked about death so easily and it made me a little sad inside. He lost his best friend his first week out there, and saw it too. He's still in the forces, but he's studying theatre. He said he might go back if he doesn't know what he wants to do. Even after everything he told me!
Though I was a little sceptical when he said that 'the Taliban were all Russians and Czechoslovakian'. I believe it when he says the weaponry were Russian, but the Taliban? Oh, dear.
I don't know. Being able to sign up for war at 16 is ridiculous. The whole conversation irked me a little.
----------
After that wee event, I went to pick up the photos. They were quite old.. I had orange hair! There were lots of lovely ones of the house and people and I'm going to stick them next to my bed. A tiny Fever Ray off in the distance, a black photo a bright street sign - GAY street!, maple festivals, and quite a few nipples. Oh, dear, oh, dear.
I like disposables.
I like living alone. I like cooking for one. Co-op slop rice and lentils that lasts for a week.
I think things will be okay. I may hate the whole idea of education (did I mention that the matriculation was horribly elitist?(matricula - Little list!)) and I may wonder why the hell I'm here... Why aren't I off doing what I want to do and travelling and living on farms? I really don't know the answer the that question. I know I like science and I like learning. So I'll stick with it for a while. If I don't like it then I shall fuck it. Right up the arse! Perhaps it's family pressure, societal pressure, personal pressure. Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear.
But I think it will be okay. I contacted a freegan, off-the-grid farm in the middle of the woods about 40 minutes from here and the guy said that I could go and help out any time I want. It might be tricky with the winter, but I'm going to visit it for the day this weekend. If I'm here for 3 years, the chance of a farm to run away to could be extremely useful. And lifesaving.
This weekend there is a meeting about an eco-village, too.
Yeah. Things'll be alright.
I received my very first text book in the mail: 'Introductory Ecology'. I flipped through it and saw a panda and some camels. It should be a good read.
They took my picture for a library card and it was all very fast and surprising. I somehow ended up with an eyebrow raise. And I was wearing black. Pretty much I look creepy, but humoured. So it's all good.
I came home and did something from 'The list of things that you'll probably never get around to doing'. I like to dog tag pages in books and keep track of words I don't know. I have pages of words in my journal with no definitions next to them. So I looked them all up! It has made me incredibly curious about Latin. I'm thinking perhaps it would be wonderful to learn. It is so very interesting! Though, I'll probably never use the word 'ossify'. Or maybe I will. I suppose I have to now.
----
I'm enjoying cycling around and getting lost. I'm even riding on roads. And British roads are notoriously tiny. Or perhaps you didn't know that. British roads are narrow. Very, very narrow. I didn't realise it until coming back from the states. Even as a passenger in a car I would subconsciously lean towards the centre of the car. But on a bicycle I feel so free and graceful! It is an absolute pleasure.
After cycling to the photo developing place, I went to a 'Fresher's Fair'. Supposedly lots of free things and a chance to sign up for clubs and things. I arrived and was bombarded with leaflets which is, in itself, terrifying! Colourful advertising, big fake smiles, lots of voices. I was a little scared. As I was cruising your standard 'Act on Poverty' stand, I started listening in on a conversation between an army kid and the person running the stand. He was asking where the money went and whether anything actually got to the people. She didn't know too much.
So I approached the guy afterwards and introduced myself and starting asking about his time in Afghanistan. He was really, really young. He joined the RAF when he was 16 and got shipped off. He told me stories about kind locals and suicide bombs and death of innocents. He was really just an innocent. He talked about death so easily and it made me a little sad inside. He lost his best friend his first week out there, and saw it too. He's still in the forces, but he's studying theatre. He said he might go back if he doesn't know what he wants to do. Even after everything he told me!
Though I was a little sceptical when he said that 'the Taliban were all Russians and Czechoslovakian'. I believe it when he says the weaponry were Russian, but the Taliban? Oh, dear.
I don't know. Being able to sign up for war at 16 is ridiculous. The whole conversation irked me a little.
----------
After that wee event, I went to pick up the photos. They were quite old.. I had orange hair! There were lots of lovely ones of the house and people and I'm going to stick them next to my bed. A tiny Fever Ray off in the distance, a black photo a bright street sign - GAY street!, maple festivals, and quite a few nipples. Oh, dear, oh, dear.
I like disposables.
I like living alone. I like cooking for one. Co-op slop rice and lentils that lasts for a week.
I think things will be okay. I may hate the whole idea of education (did I mention that the matriculation was horribly elitist?(matricula - Little list!)) and I may wonder why the hell I'm here... Why aren't I off doing what I want to do and travelling and living on farms? I really don't know the answer the that question. I know I like science and I like learning. So I'll stick with it for a while. If I don't like it then I shall fuck it. Right up the arse! Perhaps it's family pressure, societal pressure, personal pressure. Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear.
But I think it will be okay. I contacted a freegan, off-the-grid farm in the middle of the woods about 40 minutes from here and the guy said that I could go and help out any time I want. It might be tricky with the winter, but I'm going to visit it for the day this weekend. If I'm here for 3 years, the chance of a farm to run away to could be extremely useful. And lifesaving.
This weekend there is a meeting about an eco-village, too.
Yeah. Things'll be alright.