Queen Roya bids you farewell…

I am taking the opportunity to write one final post before my blog expires tomorrow, along with the rest of my university account. It will remain online, but it will no longer be live unfortunately.

Four years of university have passed since I started this blog, which is really hard to believe. I arrived at uni when I was 19 , fresh, open to stuff, and weirdly enough now I’m looking back on it, pretty innocent (although I realise few may believe that!) First year took care of that though, between living next door to a nympho, opposite a raging homosexual and down the corridor from a…a…i don’t even know the word…a trysexual?...no, i don’t think there is a word so maybe a description would be better…a boy who brought a tutu with him to uni and danced around in it down the corridors at night, and who chased ppl with his…bits. Yes, you all know who you are;) Anyway, first year went by, aided by DC++ providing unlimited access to all 10 series of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. to pass away those hours between (and possibly during) lectures, that is, the hours when I wasn’t napping.

After a summer spent in New York working for Camp America, second year came along, which was literally rammed with fun activities, events and people. I lived on Northway in Leamington with four others. We were all pretty weird so it worked out great. I joined JuJitsu with my partner in crime and met loads of new ppl and attended lots of socials, whilst learning little to no jujitsu! I worked on a project to help the local community, applied for tons of interships and got rejected from them all, and applied for Erasmus in a moment of madness, and met an amazing guy who was (much) later to become my boyfriend.

After a summer spent in China, I moved to Germany for my Erasmus year. I lived in a small town called Konstanz, right in the South on the border with Switzerland and surrounded by the Bodensee. That year is in close competition with my gap year for the title of “best year of my life”. With only 1.5 hours of uni a day, 4 days a week, a nudist beach, four beautiful seasons, and living in international halls with loads of other razzies, the year passed happily with more new friends, tons of parties and lots of cheap yet great beer.

!

After delaying it for as long as I could, it was time to return to Warwick for final year. In running with no other year, this one easily gains the title of “worst year of my life”. The work was relentless, many of my friends had already graduated, there was no spare time to make any new ones, and that’s just the start of it. And to finish it all off – finals. If this was Karma restoring itself, I must have seriously fucked with someone or something very powerful along the way! My exam timetable was diabolical – one after the other crammed into 4 days. I sufferd a panic attack in the first one and by the final one I’d literally give up. I started uni a 19-year-old; I finished with the appearance and nerves of a 90-year-old. Here’s hoping it’s the advanced aging is reversible!

So, I’m now 23 and I’ve just graduated. And despite the horror that was final year, I kicked some serious ass! After worrying I was going to get a 2.2 and subsequently lose my job offer, I ended up smacking them, achieving a 2.1 overall, but with some grades that led my own mum to describe me as “hot shit” :-)

Thanks to my new employer giving me the earliest start date possible, I’m now coming to the end of my final summer. I start work on Tuesday next week, so am enjoying my final three days of freedom. I know you must all be curious as to what my job shall be so get ready for it…I’m going to be…drumroll please…an auditor for KPMG!!!! Hahaha…I really never saw this one coming. It doesn’t seem a fitting end does it? Perhaps a tad serious for the “totalnutta” that I once was! But for now, I’m happy:)

So as you can see, so much has been packed in. No doubt I’m going to miss my cushy life as a student at Warwick, especially when I’m on the London underground at 8am every morning and 6pm every evening, with some sweaty mans armpits shoved in my face (Londoners, you know what I’m talkin about). But currently I feel ready to move on. So for now I will bid you adieu, and to anyone reading this who’s still at uni, enjoy your remaining years there, and to all my fellow graduates, good luck!

Onto the next phase…

: 22 Aug 2008 18:23 |  Tags: Goodbye |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Identity Crisis

It’s after 2am on a Friday night in the Easter holidays, yet I am lying in bed in my room at uni after finishing reading a chapter about the monetary system in Europe in the 1800s. This really upsets me. I think I’m having an identity crisis as people have told me I didn’t used to be like this, but I cannot recall such a time. I know that I used to be funny though, and that I used to have so many friends that I found it a struggle to keep up with them all, and that I was so busy having a life I didn’t have time to study, but I only know this due to tangible evidence, such as photos and diary entries. I have no actual recollection of such carefree times. Humpf. I am so tired yet I can’t sleep. Is anyone else suffering from such revision-related effects? I mean, any effects, e.g. you’re a loser, you’re more of a loser, you’re aging prematurely, it’s been so long since you were integrated into society that you now acutually have a phobia of socialising? Just wondering. Anyway, I should probably try and sleep. I wonder if finals are like child birth, and you forget the horror of them as soon as you’ve sat that last exam…

: 29 Mar 2008 02:23 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Problem of the moment

I’m so hungry

: 14 Mar 2008 00:05 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Warning: her pressure's dropping

I’m in the library. I came here to do reading for my seminar at five. But I just can’t summon the motivation. I want to sleep. Badly. I want to lie in bed and watch something fun, but I don’t have a TV and streaming is shit, and more to the point, I simply cannot be arsed to walk back home. I had no dinner last night, because I couldn’t be bothered to walk to Costcutters. So today I was starving, so I walked to the union and got a Liquid Lunch (that’s a smoothie for anyone who doesn’t know) coz I couldn’t be bothered to chew. Are you getting me? I couldn’t be bothered to chew. Then I went to visit my tutor but he wasn’t there. So I visited the undergrad office and then walked back home. I saw my cleaner and gave her an easter egg. Then found out my tutor was there all along. So I walked back to the Social Studies building to visit him again. This time he was there. Success. I feel dead inside. That is slightly dramatic. I’m finding it hard to adjust to having no pressure. Now all my deadlines are gone, I don’t know what to do. I have nothing to do. Boo. as in boo hoo. Not as in BOO! Anyway, moving on…

: 13 Mar 2008 15:37 |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Life Trend of Sponteneity

Right, there’s this trend that I’ve identified in my life. It’s pretty extreme, but I really can’t believe it’s me, as I am the type of peron who likes comfort and samey stuff, yet for some reason, I refuse to leave myself be in my comfort zone. I’m thinking this may be the cause of my ensuing madness. That and the fact that my dad always tells my my great grandmother was psychotic and that I’ve inherited her genes. Anyway, I digress.

So it started with me being planful. That means I spent time planning. For example, I knew I wanted to take a gap year, and I took the steps accordingly.
Step 1: Ignore parents and tick the box labelled ‘deferred entry’
Step 2: Attempt to deal with rage of aforementioned parents for a time period of approximately one year (i.e. time between ticking box, and departing on plane)
Step 3: Research into loads of organisations and select the best: http://www.aventure.co.uk
Step 4: Research into multiple countries and select the best (Kenya, naturally)
Step 5: Work for several months beforehand to gain some funds: http://www.securebase.co.uk
Step 6: Buy everything from online store Homeway. I mean everything. I’m talking portable washing lines to intravenous needles: http://www.travelwithcare.com/view.aspx. I also took healthcare very seriously, paying over £400 for Malarone, because I didn’t want to risk sunburn or psychotic episodes associated with alternative Malaria treatments.
Step 7: Had a goodbye party arranged in advance, got shitfaced, cried shitloads, and went home with no shoes.

Anyway, I think you get the point; I was pretty goddam organised.

Let us skip forward to first year. I received an email one day from an organisation known as Camp America: http://www.campamerica.co.uk. They were having a fair in London, and I happened to be going home for the Easter holidays that day, so I thought I’d pop in, see what it was all about. I walked up to a stall, a lady asked me why I’d be good at such a job, I sold myself (verbally), and was hired on the spot. Within 30 minutes of entering the building to look around, I had signed up and paid a deposit to spend 8 weeks in New York over the summer.

The madness continues. Skip to second year. I decided I needed an internship over summer, make myself employable, that kinda shit. I applied, I got rejected, I felt suicidal, and then I received an email. It was from an organisation called Evergreen International: http://www.evergreeninternational.co.uk. They run summer volunteer programs in China. I thought, “why not?”, and sent an email application. I received an invite to an interview in a coffee shop in Oxford. I thought “why not?” and decided to go along. My mum and dad thought I’d been duped and was going to a crack den in Oxford to be raped. Mother accompanied me, and I got offered a place. I thought “Why not?” and ended up spending the summer in China.

Wait…it gets worse…

Second year was wizzing by and I started to panic. I wasn’t ready for uni to be over. My close friends were taking years out – one to Spain, one to Watford – some people just get lucky I guess. I didn’t speak Spanish, n I already spoke London, so I thought I’d look into going to America. No programs existed. So I looked into Japan. No programs existed. So as a final straw, I looked into Erasmus.

One day, I had a spare few minutes between lectures, so I thought I’d pop into the Erasmus coordinators office. She was a mad woman. I can’t name her for legal reasons. She told me she had two places spare – one in Austria and one in Germany – and asked me which I wanted. I said “Germany” (I had German GCSE after all). She said, “So you speak German” I thought “Maybe I do. I took a refresher course last year after all.” She said, “you see these documents in my hand? I’m about to send them off to the university of Konstanz right now. Would you like to see a picture?” I said “Yes” and she pointed at a picture on her wall. It looked beautiful. I said, “i’ll take it.”

I stewed over my decision for an hour in a stats seminar (I got a 2.2 in stats that year) and after the hour I returned to the office of the mad woman and handed in my completed forms.

And that is how I ended up spending one whole year of my life in Germany: http://www.uni-konstanz.de/index.php?lang=en

To conclude. I am spontaneous and very cool and everyone I meet wants to be just like me.

Thank you for reading, and goodnight xxx

: 10 Mar 2008 23:57 |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

PUMPKING INSANITY

Yes…I know my title makes no sense. It’s not meant to. It’s meant to convey the fact that I feel like I’m going fucking insane. INSANE. Yesterday I spoke to myself. Actually, scrap that. Yesterday I spoke to someone else, who wasn’t there. I spoke aloud, in my bedroom, when I was alone. And I’ve noticed, that every morning as I make my way hurriedly to the traffic lights next to the accomodation, that I speak and laugh to myself. I used to think it was bad that funny memories would make me grin inanely in public and sometimes I’d even fail to suppress a chuckle, but this is just fucking mental. Anyway, that is all.

: 10 Mar 2008 23:22 |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Differences Between Deutschland and England / Konstanz and Warwick

People in Germany wait for the green man before they cross the road. They actually wait. There are no cars on the road, not even in the distance, i.e. it’s not even necessary to make a dash for it. There are no police around either. Yet they still wait. It comes back to the old question “If you shout but there’s no one there to hear you…” I mean what the fook are they waiting for? When I stick to my roots and dart across dodging cars left right and centre (I like to call it “Extreme Road Crossing”) they actually give me dirty looks.

Konstanz is a university town much like Leamington. But if you walk around the streets at night, there are no drunk students being loud, fighting or vandalising stuff. I find this a little unsettling, but also refreshing. Why is this? And just to clarify, it is not for lack of alcohol consumption, as beer is dirt cheap here and students love to drink. It is more like an inbuilt respect that is just lacking at home.

Germans don’t like to share food. English… (I don’t know the end of that sentence)

Germans are not overly friendly, in fact, some would go as far as to say they are just plain cold.

Men in Germany are HOT. Some of those are actually German, many are foreign, but regardless, most are hot. Men in Warwick are not so hot.

Everyone in Germany speaks English. Few people in England speak English. Germans place a huge emphasis on the learning of foreign languages. The English seem to think it is not necessary at all BBC Article re: School language decline

These are the main differences. I am interested to find out about more differences from those of you who are currently on Erasmus years or have just lived abroad in the past. What are your views?

: 26 Nov 2006 01:29 |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

ERASMUS Madness

Earlier this academic year I made a spontaneous decision to extend my course by taking part in Erasmus. I never actually wanted to do it, but I knew I didn’t want to leave uni so soon so I tried for ages to get a place on a scheme where I could study abroad in America and when that failed, I attempted to go to Hong Kong, but that fell through too. I finally realised Erasmus was my only hope of taking a year out. I went to see the Erasmus coordinator long after the deadline for applications had passed, and just happened to walk in her office as she was preparing to send the forms off. She told me she had one spare space in a university called Konstanz. She showed me a picture of the campus. It was beautiful. I accepted the place, never actually believing I’d go through with it. Well, it’s now Friday night, and I leave for Germany on Sunday morning. I have decided I’m going to use my blog as a diary for this experience. Right now it just does not feel real. I know it is so close but I have done zero preparation. The extent of my preparation is literally booking my flight. And even that is only a single! I have not opened a German book, and this scares me as I cannot recall any of my GCSE German or any of what I learned in my first year of university when I took a refresher course! I also have not done anything in the way of packing, although I did sort out some photos that I want to take with me. My focus is definitely going to be on nicknaks to make me feel at home rather than practical items like clothing. So far I am taking photos, my laptop and a towel! I just have no idea how to pack for a year. I shall update tomorrow when I hopefully will have packed. But if anyone has any experience in this area, please please please share your tips with me! Till the morrow then…

: 02 Sep 2006 01:00 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

A public apology, dedicated to my dear uncle Moosey

When speaking to dear uncle on the phone earlier today, he advised me that I should monitor/sensor the "sexy pictures" on my blog more carefully. As I have distanced myself somewhat from the blogging world over the past few months, I failed to bring to mind any photos that he could be referring to. So I took a few moments just now to review my blog (which might I add, is bloody fantastic!) and sift out some of the offending images. I have identified the following as particularly offensive due to their overt sexual nature, and would like to take this opportunity to apologise for them.

OFFENDING IMAGE NO.1
I can now see that the sight of my perfectly formed bottom may have been too much for some…

OFFENDING IMAGE NO.2
Or maybe it was the thought of girl–on–girl action that was the real clincher

OFFENDING IMAGE NO.3
However, it was more likely this unidentified sexual creature that really bothered you

OFFENDING IMAGE NO.4
But I'm pretty sure this is the picture that will have offended the most. It must verge on criminal to look this HOT!

I hope this is an acceptable apology. If you have any further complaints regarding images of an overt sexual nature, please click here to report them:

Complaints

(Whilst searching for a site for that link I subjected myself to many a disturbing sight. My next post may not be available for a while, as I feel the need to spend some time in therapy, and then to focus my efforts on suing Google)

: 25 Aug 2006 19:19 |  Comments (6) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

"Death to Freedom" I for one agree

Writing about web page

I have been inspired by recent events to vent my anger upon you all… I haven't blogged in a long time but here goes…and remember to comment!

There's no need for me to narrate the current situation regarding the backlash caused by cartoons published in a Danish newspaper, as there has been huge press and media coverage of it. So I'm sure we are all aware that some cartoons went to print that caused offense to Muslims. I am in no way denying that some people may have found this offensive. However, the reaction to these cartoons has not only astounded me, but actually disgusted me.

Since when has it been acceptable for British citizens (or otherwise) to stand on the streets of London holding placards scrawled with slogans such as "death to the West" and "Europe, you will pay, your 3/11 is on its way." How is it possible that no one was arrested for this? Surely this is a prime example of inciting hatred. However, there was one placard I did agree with - "Freedom go to Hell!". Indeed, the freedom of these people should go to hell. Why are we so scared of putting our foot down and saying no to such people? It makes me so angry. In Islamic countries, such protests would never be allowed. And please don't attempt to justify these actions with the old argument that freedom of speech is what makes Britain Great! This is not freedom of speech. This is not even a fine line.

The thing that angers me the most, is that the same people who are standing on our streets causing this awful hate-inspiring, scare-mongering atmosphere, are the same people who are quite happy to take advantage of all the benefits our country offers – free education, free healthcare, the right to vote etc. etc. They take everything they can get, and then turn against us. And who can blame them? Has the government made any attempt at setting boundaries? Not as far as I can see and events over the past week or so support this claim. The government needs to stop being scared of causing offence, and must categorically state that such behaviour is not acceptable. British Muslims who were involved in such activites should have been arrested, and any visiting foreigners should have been deported. Such actions have been taken for for lesser crimes than these.

If these people really do want us to suffer and die, and if they hate our ethos and culture so much, they should fuck off back to wherever they do consider their homeland. I consider it no more acceptable for them to stand in the streets and proclaim death upon me, as i do for myself to take such actions.

I would just like to clarify that in no way do I equate the Muslim community as a whole with these uneducated destructive pyschos. I actually pity Muslims for having to be associated with them.

As you should all know by now, I love to hear your opinions. Let me know what you think on this one – whether you agree or disagree, love my views or hate them!

link

: 06 Feb 2006 15:43 |  Comments (10) |  Close comments |  Report a problem