(no subject)
It’s been such a long time since I last updated my journal, as always I don’t really know where to begin. It doesn’t take long for events to turn into distant memories, and it’s hard to remember how I felt at the time. My journal usually does end up becoming a record of a few events, sometimes I even miss out very important events, and I genuinely regret this.
Next week I’ll begin University Year 2, attempt 2. I have a very strong conviction about doing extremely well this year and I know that because of that, I’ll not only complete it, but I’ll complete it in style. I have a sense of excitement and nervousness about starting back there... Part of this is that I do enjoy being at University; a place of learning and study. I’m nervous because I partly know what to expect out of this year and that I’ll be with entirely a new set of students. Though I barely knew the previous lot, you do get used to familiar faces and names. I’ll miss Jon and Mitch’s company and really wish I’d spent more time at University in the first and second years just to enjoy their company and build a stronger friendship. Recently I’ve been feeling a bit uneasy about student finance, my own personal debt which is ever increasing, and what the Conservative government is likely to do when they get their grubby mitts on England’s public finances. Even now there’s talk of increasing student fees at Universities, which typically go up year-on-year anyway. There’s also talk of not providing students with “interest-free” loans. Although I still feel having a degree will be worth-while... If only because it seems like almost everyone is wondering around with one, then surely I should have one too? It seems by pushing young people into the idea that a University education is what we all need the government has created a big problem for themselves, how do they finance it? This year there’s been a massive increase in applications, so much so that thousands have been declined places. And that’s only set to increase, which in turn means we need increased lecture halls, lecturers, support staff and also more money to supply loans. It does make you wonder if it’s worth it, perhaps vocational positions in industry have more real value to offer for young people. But there aren’t many of these available now we’re in the “middle” of a recession. When I went to Poole with my parents a few weeks ago I saw a fellow computing-student, Richard, serving at Wetherspoons and he’s been unable to find an industry placement (part of our sandwich course). According to Richard, when talking to the “higher-ups” he found out that the industrial placement is not required to get the Bachelors degree with honours. The only difference it will make to our certificate is the omission of a sandwich in parenthesis! I do feel as though the staff grossly mislead students into thinking the year’s placement is required, and that it’s what adds the “honours” aspect of our degree. It is an interesting revelation and one that I intend to check for myself.
It hasn’t been long now, but I’m back at home, after having lived at Market Close, Poole for almost two years. I can’t say I’m pleased about this change. The property was not affordable as it was, I wouldn’t have stayed there any longer. But had it not been for University, then I would have found a new place in that general vicinity. I genuinely loved the convenience of living in Poole. Access to shops, twenty-four hour supermarkets, and public transport; all of that on our doorstep! It’s something I’m missing on a daily basis, though living back at home has its perks. Not all of my memories from Market Close are good, sometimes I was very upset with things that were happening around me; but bad memories fade more and more and I’ll hang on to the good parts and the lessons learned. Living with Ashley was easy, what with him being a very laid-back character in general. Having the room to have guests and having Rachel stay over two summers was fantastic. I’ll never forget how wonderful it is to have that amount of space, coping now with a lot less is difficult and annoying; I still haven’t found homes for all of my belongings (primarily books). This week I should receive what’s left of our deposit back from the agency, and I’ve managed to salvage quite a lot; we had about twelve-hundred pounds and I’ll be expecting almost one thousand pounds back. They did realise that we hadn’t paid all of their administrative fees, though we felt wholly justified in having not paid them since they hadn’t stated on the agreement that these were required. Since we weren’t given any indication about them; our property manager did the decent thing and wavered the fees entirely!
This summer, with Rachel and my parents, I revisited my favourite part of England, North Devon. I asked Rachel to hunt around the Internet for places to stay and take down website addresses and telephone numbers. We managed to get an excellent deal for a cottage in Ilfracombe, paying about three-hundred pounds for the entire week. We visited Ilfracombe town, went on a boat ride along the North Devon coast (where we happened to pass David Hasselhoff directing, or well, waving enthusiastically at us on the way past, though I’m sure he was there primarily to direct and not to entertain). We went to Lyton and Lynmouth, and walked along Watersmeet (to where the water met). Visited the beach a couple of times, although perhaps not as much as we had liked. Also we visited a historic house and went to a museum in Combe Martin. A fantastic week, if only we could have stayed for two. I love the countryside there, the roads and the overall peacefulness, the food, emphasis on cream teas, and fudge! Rachel and I travelled on our own though not as much as the previous year. We visited Cheltenham and Cirencester in search of Regency-style architecture in particular those built by William Jay. It was fun and enjoyable as it always is to visit towns and cities with Rachel by my side. We had a delicious meal at Bottelino’s and I hope to return to one of their restaurants if I’m ever near one again. This year we spent more time at home, although this year we didn’t have Dr Who on BBC iPlayer to keep us company. Eventually the time came when Rachel had to go home. The next day I knew I had to start packing to move out of the property. A great feeling of pending change came over me that was very saddening, almost sickening. Saying goodbye was strange, as it always is. You can’t really get your head around the idea that your partner won’t be back the following day, or even the following week. It seems alien.
Next week I’ll begin University Year 2, attempt 2. I have a very strong conviction about doing extremely well this year and I know that because of that, I’ll not only complete it, but I’ll complete it in style. I have a sense of excitement and nervousness about starting back there... Part of this is that I do enjoy being at University; a place of learning and study. I’m nervous because I partly know what to expect out of this year and that I’ll be with entirely a new set of students. Though I barely knew the previous lot, you do get used to familiar faces and names. I’ll miss Jon and Mitch’s company and really wish I’d spent more time at University in the first and second years just to enjoy their company and build a stronger friendship. Recently I’ve been feeling a bit uneasy about student finance, my own personal debt which is ever increasing, and what the Conservative government is likely to do when they get their grubby mitts on England’s public finances. Even now there’s talk of increasing student fees at Universities, which typically go up year-on-year anyway. There’s also talk of not providing students with “interest-free” loans. Although I still feel having a degree will be worth-while... If only because it seems like almost everyone is wondering around with one, then surely I should have one too? It seems by pushing young people into the idea that a University education is what we all need the government has created a big problem for themselves, how do they finance it? This year there’s been a massive increase in applications, so much so that thousands have been declined places. And that’s only set to increase, which in turn means we need increased lecture halls, lecturers, support staff and also more money to supply loans. It does make you wonder if it’s worth it, perhaps vocational positions in industry have more real value to offer for young people. But there aren’t many of these available now we’re in the “middle” of a recession. When I went to Poole with my parents a few weeks ago I saw a fellow computing-student, Richard, serving at Wetherspoons and he’s been unable to find an industry placement (part of our sandwich course). According to Richard, when talking to the “higher-ups” he found out that the industrial placement is not required to get the Bachelors degree with honours. The only difference it will make to our certificate is the omission of a sandwich in parenthesis! I do feel as though the staff grossly mislead students into thinking the year’s placement is required, and that it’s what adds the “honours” aspect of our degree. It is an interesting revelation and one that I intend to check for myself.
It hasn’t been long now, but I’m back at home, after having lived at Market Close, Poole for almost two years. I can’t say I’m pleased about this change. The property was not affordable as it was, I wouldn’t have stayed there any longer. But had it not been for University, then I would have found a new place in that general vicinity. I genuinely loved the convenience of living in Poole. Access to shops, twenty-four hour supermarkets, and public transport; all of that on our doorstep! It’s something I’m missing on a daily basis, though living back at home has its perks. Not all of my memories from Market Close are good, sometimes I was very upset with things that were happening around me; but bad memories fade more and more and I’ll hang on to the good parts and the lessons learned. Living with Ashley was easy, what with him being a very laid-back character in general. Having the room to have guests and having Rachel stay over two summers was fantastic. I’ll never forget how wonderful it is to have that amount of space, coping now with a lot less is difficult and annoying; I still haven’t found homes for all of my belongings (primarily books). This week I should receive what’s left of our deposit back from the agency, and I’ve managed to salvage quite a lot; we had about twelve-hundred pounds and I’ll be expecting almost one thousand pounds back. They did realise that we hadn’t paid all of their administrative fees, though we felt wholly justified in having not paid them since they hadn’t stated on the agreement that these were required. Since we weren’t given any indication about them; our property manager did the decent thing and wavered the fees entirely!
This summer, with Rachel and my parents, I revisited my favourite part of England, North Devon. I asked Rachel to hunt around the Internet for places to stay and take down website addresses and telephone numbers. We managed to get an excellent deal for a cottage in Ilfracombe, paying about three-hundred pounds for the entire week. We visited Ilfracombe town, went on a boat ride along the North Devon coast (where we happened to pass David Hasselhoff directing, or well, waving enthusiastically at us on the way past, though I’m sure he was there primarily to direct and not to entertain). We went to Lyton and Lynmouth, and walked along Watersmeet (to where the water met). Visited the beach a couple of times, although perhaps not as much as we had liked. Also we visited a historic house and went to a museum in Combe Martin. A fantastic week, if only we could have stayed for two. I love the countryside there, the roads and the overall peacefulness, the food, emphasis on cream teas, and fudge! Rachel and I travelled on our own though not as much as the previous year. We visited Cheltenham and Cirencester in search of Regency-style architecture in particular those built by William Jay. It was fun and enjoyable as it always is to visit towns and cities with Rachel by my side. We had a delicious meal at Bottelino’s and I hope to return to one of their restaurants if I’m ever near one again. This year we spent more time at home, although this year we didn’t have Dr Who on BBC iPlayer to keep us company. Eventually the time came when Rachel had to go home. The next day I knew I had to start packing to move out of the property. A great feeling of pending change came over me that was very saddening, almost sickening. Saying goodbye was strange, as it always is. You can’t really get your head around the idea that your partner won’t be back the following day, or even the following week. It seems alien.