It’s your time to shine, readers! :)

So. I have to do a report for my Personality and Individual Differences class, which may involve doing a shortish personality inventory with willing individuals. Anybody willing? I know you guys are notoriously bad for being a silent audience (i.e. NOT commenting/participating in my blog!) but would anyone be interested in helping me out? 

I am hoping to get a general feel towards how much participation I would get, to help me decide if I want to take that route or if I’d rather write a boring old essay because I can’t get enough data to draw meaningful conclusions!

Oh, Deer! (Richmond Park)

Well just a week ago today I spend nearly an hour on the tube, twenty minutes walking to, and four hours walking within Richmond Park. It’s wayyyyy on the west side of London, past Olympic Park and everything! We had to there for my Behavioural Ecology class, and had to be there by 9:30AM! My instructor’s main focus is deer, so we had the assignment of going to observe Red Deer and/or Fallow Deer and gather some behavioural data. The Red Deer were in the midst of their rut, but I think the Fallow Deer still had a little while before theirs started. So my instructor brought us past a few spots he knew deer to be, explained his expectations, and we were off! 

Long time, no blog!

I bet you all thought I forgot about my poor blog, didn’t you?! Well I’ve been thinking about it, there just hasn’t been too much going on! Finally in the swing of things as far as school goes, just finished week 3 (already!) and still haven’t turned in any homework! When is my first assignment due? Not until October 25! Yikes!!! Thinking about school and grown up things, I’ve taken to cooking large quantities of chicken at once, so I can freeze it and thaw as I eat it! Just cooked 18 chicken breasts yesterday! Flatmates thought I was a bit crazy, but guess who doesn’t have to actually cook anything for the next couple of weeks (at least)?!

Dana (sister) leaves this Tuesday so I’ve been spending a LOT of time with her! We did a pub quiz last Wednesday with one of Dana’s friends and another group of 3 girlfriends, and didn’t get last! We did get second to last, but hey, someone did worse than us! In our defense, a LOT of the questions were British current event type things, and football (soccer) questions. There was an American Football question since the Vikes played in London recently! What else have Dana and I done? Read more and see!

…and £4, the cost of clumsiness.

During my Starbucks venture, I dropped my water bottle. I had it in the cleverly placed side pockets of my backpack, but it’s a little topheavy (it has an insertable ice pack that rests in the top). So naturally, as I was swinging it off my back to set it down, the water bottle and physics teamed up and resulted in the launching of my water bottle onto the floor, some spilling, and some ego check on my part (no Nikki, you aren’t that smooth). So I gathered up the water bottle and my slightly bruised pride (my banana was untouched) and grabbed some napkins to wipe it up. I realized after I’d finished coffee and was headed towards the class I was crashing (since I wasn’t actually in it yet) that my water bottle had actually cracked. 😦 it served me well for a good week. Guess I’ll just use the free one I got at the fresher’s fair! Also, there’s a big University of London fresher’s fair on Friday, and since I’m part of the University of London system (and love alliteration) I’m gonna go get more free stuff!

45p, the cost of cultural differences

Well, my school has a Starbucks counter in the cafeteria, and I thought to celebrate my first morning class (well, the class I’m aiming to get into) I would grab a coffee. They make them iced, but don’t blent it, so I thought I’d get a shot of caramel flavoring, because hey, I am celebrating here! However, I still am a massive  baby when it comes to coffee so I asked for creme, and the lady said it would be an extra 45p. OK, OK. So she brings it back and it had whipped cream. And cream already in the bottom. So I explain to her and she says “oh, the milk?” She offered to make me a new one but I figured I’d take the blow for that one! No need to make enemies! Plus now I know the difference between cream and milk!

But wait–there’s more! (wading through the British Higher Education System)

Uffda! If I thought it was hard getting responses from instructors in the past (sometimes took a day or two–or a second email), I don’t know what to think now! One thing I’ve noticed about here so far is that if something seems to be all sorted out, it probably isn’t. For example: Last week I got a module registration form listing all the classes I’m signed up for this year. Already, two of the courses I’d requested, I wasn’t placed into. Those were semester 2 courses though so they weren’t top priority, but seeing as we need to have these forms (with any changes approved) handed in by October 4, I decided to be proactive and get a move on.

Lovely London Things

Didja miss me?! So last week I got my student oyster card (1/3 off on all London transit) so I figured to celebrate I’d head down to Forest Hill to see my sister! I arrive at the tube station at about 9:30 on Saturday, hoping to get the remaining balance on my old card transferred to the new one. I wasn’t counting on things opening later on weekends, so there was nobody at the window for another 30 minutes. The general staff person there, though unqualified to hop behind the counter, listened to and (mostly?) understood what I was saying, so he let me through to the next station, where someone could help me out. I got to the next station and talked to the same type of person there, who patched me through to the outside area (I couldn’t tap out since I hadn’t actually tapped in!), where a woman was able to help me. I’ve come to understand in the UK that customer service people aren’t the same as in the United States, so I wasn’t expecting sugar coated niceties. The woman was direct and helpful, and not impolite, so I took it as a small victory. 

As I was leaving the station in New Cross to meet my sister, I stopped in a cafe. Sitting, people watching, I saw someone walking throw something in the trash, see that they’d missed, and went back to put it into the bin. I’m not sure what I was expecting to happen but it put a little smile on my face catching that moment from across the street! It makes me happy to see little glimpses of humanity in such a huge city, where it’s easy to forget everyone around you has a past, present, and future, and aren’t merely fillers in your own life! 

When life (and fresher’s fairs) give you lots of paper…

Well, I went to the Fresher’s fair (involvement fair) today! Walked past a poster sale on my way there and back, thought about my barren walls, and inspiration hit as I was lugging a free bag full of paper encouraging me to go there, or do this. Instead, I made this…

Please send hate mail to: Flat 11, Pooley House.

Why You might ask? Well, I’ll tell you. Between the hours of 4-8am this morning, the fire alarm went off 5 (yes, count ’em) FIVE times. The Fire Brigade attended three of these early morning evacuations, and one stopped about 10 seconds after starting. Two were back-to-back, meaning I hadn’t even have a chance to get inside before it went off again. Of course the fire brigade had left, so they had to return not even 15 minutes after packing up shop. The alarm at 8am almost(?) seemed rehearsed, though I would venture to say that was the worst time to have a planned fire drill (if the last was planned) because by that point I think many students just stayed in bed! Apparently, every time the alarms went off it was because of someone in Flat 11. The rumors have been circulating (smoking, trying to cook, etc.), but I think they should have known better after, say, the first time?! If, indeed, all of these alarms were due to people in Flat 11, it is my firm belief they should be tarred and feathered, and submitted to a raucous game of ding-dong-ditch for the remainder of their days here, which after all of the hullabaloo last night, I would put in the single-digits.

Apart from those RUDE awakenings, school-type stuff has been alright. Apparently, school doesn’t even start until next Monday, September 23. I find it a little absurd to have over a week here without classes in session, but I suppose it’s good for freshers trying to navigate the university system for the first time. Also for international students, trying to navigate the confusing labyrinth of the British University System! My first term classes are set in stone, but I am still working on sorting out two of my classes for term 2. These two biology classes I had initially been denied entry into, but with no clear reason, so I am currently working with the study abroad liaison in the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences program to sort out why that is. And, if I get into those two classes, I need to drop The Universe. This is a shame, but I feel that I should be taking advantage of courses more oriented toward my intended career path than electives I find interesting! Not sure what I would add to my schedule in lieu of The Universe yet, that’s a pretty big black hole to fill! (da dum tissss)

Well, food here is expensive, which was a given. Also, my pictures keep falling off the wall. 😦 But I do get to attend a welcome to the History department (for my British Horror class) tonight, with FREE FOOD! There is also the Fresher’s Fair tomorrow, essentially an involvement fair encouraging Fresher’s to join stuff and handing out free pens and such. Seizing opportunities, seizing free stuff.

Once again, hate mail, Flat 11. As much as I would love happy mail from everyone, my sleep deprived self is feeling mischievous and hoping to shame Flat 11 for probably a total of 3 hours/sleep per person last night, with about 350 students likely in their rooms, Flat 11 is responsible for a total of 1,050 lost hours of sleep. make them pay.

I’m sure when I’m better rested I’ll post on a lighter note, so please do look out for that! 🙂

Backtracking- September 9 & 10

I can’t believe I forgot to blog about these two days, they were two of the most action-packed/fun days here yet!

Monday the 9th we went to Hint Hunt. I don’t want to say too much about it but you’re given an hour to find/solve clues to open a door out of the room you’re locked in! Sadly, we didn’t make it. 😦 But in our defense, both my mother and aunt forgot their reading glasses in their bags outside and didn’t make it known to the room moderator, who would have let the mothers get their glasses! That was such a fun day! If you’re ever in London I would recommend it, but book in advance–it’s currently the hottest tourist attraction here!

Tuesday we closed ranks on London Bridge/Tower of London.