Apologies for another Monday post (though it should say Saturday). This is because I wrote the first draft on Saturday then forgot to write the concluding paragraph on Sunday because I was essay planning. This means that this post is in two parts. One written on Saturday, one written on Monday with new news.
Part 1:
Amazingly, Wednesday was the first day I've been out in Birmingham centre to do some shopping/browsing since I moved here. I've visited before briefly but never really had a proper look round. Wednesday was Neon Night at Gatecrasher so my boyfriend and I took the train from the University station to New Street and browsed the centre of Birmingham for anything that might be of use. We also walked through Brindley Place (gorgeous) to the NIA in search of a way to buy tickets to see the Stereophonics in March without paying extortionate booking fees. The box office was closed so that was a failed journey. (And the tickets were bought online as soon as we got back to the flat.) After that we sampled a few shops in Birmingham and had a browse round the city.
I'm not yet acquainted with the city enough to report back about it properly but I have noticed that a shopping trip at home in Doncaster takes me about an hour in which I can buy several (about 6) things whereas in Birmingham it takes me far longer because the place is so huge and the variety is epic. I went today to buy a sewing kit for myself and a coat for my boyfriend and it took us about three or four hours of browsing and shopping. The time does fly because there's so much to see and so many shops to look through (Selfridges is AMAZING!) but I was amazed at how many hours it took us to buy so little. The sewing kit purchase was because I've been allocated to do costume for Vinegar Tom (a play by Caryl Churchill, performed by the third years) so figured I may as well get equipped. We took ages browsing random shops like Claires and Debenhams before finally found a Cath Kidston section in Selfridges where I found a kit for £12.
Nothing particularly interesting has happened in lectures, classes and seminars this week apart from essay talk. In several lectures I've been given advice on writing the essays that've been set. I have one for the 10th, one for the 17th and one for January. Generally, its good to have the essay finished at least a week before deadline day so you can leave it for a few days and reread it to see if your points make sense and your argument is understandable after a sleep or three. It's also advisable to get a trustworthy flatmate to proof read it on paper (not screen) and see if they understand it (though obviously the theory may not be as understandable to them as to the person who will be marking it). A bad way to approach it is definitely the last-minute method that needs only an unhealthy supply of Relentless and one evening/night/morning. I won't be doing that any time soon.
Part 2:
So yesterday (Sunday) I spent a good few hours planning my first essay. I say planning, what I really meaning is planning the planning. That does make sense: allow me to explain. For every essay at University, you have to do proper references with a bibliography at the end. There are plenty of helpful guidelines on WebCT, the online database for documents (well organised for your subject), so there's nothing to worry about. The guidelines serve as a really good skeleton for adapting your own references (just replace their titles, authors, dates etc with your own from your reference). What I'm getting at here is that my method at the moment is to figure out which books or articles I'm going to reference and use in an essay, write a list of them, find out where they're going to be found (in the library, on the web, in a reading pack, my bookshelf, Amazon etc) and use that to direct my essay. I would publish my list but I think that would be some form of cheating so I can't really do that. I will say, though, that I've listed about four to six books from the library, a handful of weblinks including reviews and interviews from The Guardian and The Times and a few articles that are part of the essential reading on the course. This, I suppose, could give you a rough idea of what is expected. With that planning of planning done, today I'm off to the Main Library (fun fact: the university owns 2.5 million books including its Special Collection of over 80,000 pre-1850 books and 3 million manuscripts dating from 1471 - thanks to Thom Straw for that one) to find said books and make use of my highlighters.
On that note, I'm going to make myself some lunch. I did fancy spaghetti bolognese but I'm lacking in the fresh meat department and I'm very confused about how much money I have left this week (Week 6 budget fail) so it's just spaghetti and tomato-ey sauce for me. Student luxury!
Saturday 31 October 2009
Monday 26 October 2009
Week 4: Remember that 'work' thing?
This week was a revelation week for me. It hit me that I have to keep on top of my work. Over the weekend I did take some work home with me (a huge anthology of drama and a folder for a module) but I still felt rather behind when I returned to classes on Monday afternoon. This can become an issue. Well, it effectively is an issue. Within the Drama freshers, one popular topic of discussion is 'how are you doing with your reading?'. The usual answer is 'I'm behind'. This isn't at all due to laziness but it's the change from sixth form to university.
For some people it hits a bit harder because they either have taken a gap year or did a course that didn't carry a large workload. I'm aware of how limited my experience of workload is here because I'm writing from the point of view of a Drama student. To give a wider outlook, from what I know, the person in my flat with the most work to do is Dan, a psychology student. Hearsay has it that psychology is one of the most work-intense degrees anyway so that's to be expected. Nathan, studying political science, has quite a bit of reading to do. Katy, studying Sport and Exercise Science, often has work to do that is quite complicated (at least from my point of view). I haven't asked Sarah (Geology/Geo Science) about her workload but she goes home every weekend without work to do, comfortably. Mike has the least amount of work to do, being an economics student. Today he showed how much work he has to do by playing basketball on his iPhone in the kitchen. He did look absolutely ridiculous so that evened out the bitterness of having a nice pile of reading waiting for me in my room.
In any case, the jump from sixth form (or college) to university is a shock for most people and its understandable to get a bit worried about the workload. It's Week Five now (the post title is retrospective because obviously week five hasn't completed yet) and I'm trying to get on top of my reading. It really is hard work and sacrifices must be made (that wonderful social life I had in Week 0, 1 and 2) but its satisfying when I can tick something off the to-do list.
For some people it hits a bit harder because they either have taken a gap year or did a course that didn't carry a large workload. I'm aware of how limited my experience of workload is here because I'm writing from the point of view of a Drama student. To give a wider outlook, from what I know, the person in my flat with the most work to do is Dan, a psychology student. Hearsay has it that psychology is one of the most work-intense degrees anyway so that's to be expected. Nathan, studying political science, has quite a bit of reading to do. Katy, studying Sport and Exercise Science, often has work to do that is quite complicated (at least from my point of view). I haven't asked Sarah (Geology/Geo Science) about her workload but she goes home every weekend without work to do, comfortably. Mike has the least amount of work to do, being an economics student. Today he showed how much work he has to do by playing basketball on his iPhone in the kitchen. He did look absolutely ridiculous so that evened out the bitterness of having a nice pile of reading waiting for me in my room.
In any case, the jump from sixth form (or college) to university is a shock for most people and its understandable to get a bit worried about the workload. It's Week Five now (the post title is retrospective because obviously week five hasn't completed yet) and I'm trying to get on top of my reading. It really is hard work and sacrifices must be made (that wonderful social life I had in Week 0, 1 and 2) but its satisfying when I can tick something off the to-do list.
Monday 19 October 2009
Week 3: Dealing With Freshers Flu
Apologies for not writing an informative post last week. Even bigger apologies are due because I thought that week I was unwell but it got even worse this week which made the other week, in comparison, look like I had as much inconvenience as swatting a rather annoying fly away in a big room. Either way, I've just about recovered and I'm back with a post. This week it should be useful because it's going to explain how I dealt with the dreaded Freshers Flu (which the other week was Freshers Sneeze Attack). Unfortunately I have a time limit (again) because I'm at home in Doncaster. The time is 10.22. My taxi to the train station is at 11.25. And I have other things to do. On with the post!
Upon arrival at the University, I was bombarded with calls of "Register for a Doctor!", "University Medical Practice!", "Dreaded swine flu!", "Death will be on you if you do not register for a Doctor!", "Do it nooowww!". Perhaps they didn't get as serious and forceful as the latter two but the former three are pretty good measures of warning. I knew how important this was but it took me about two or three weeks to actually do something about it, though I had planned to do it in freshers week while I had no pressure to actually work. It's the thought that counts, right? In any case, I registered which took me about half an hour at a push. I could've completed the forms in ten minutes but I had to keep a flatmate out of the flat for a certain amount of time so the rest of the flat could prepare for her birthday without her knowing. But that's not the point. The forms asked the expected questions about jabs and dates of said jabs. It's obviously important because they wouldn't ask otherwise but I couldn't remember which I'd had and when I'd had them so I asked if this was an inconvenience but was told to just leave them blank. I had my NHS card with me anyway so they could check it on my records, which is handy. There's nothing to worry about with the forms apart from the dreaded height and weight input. This means you're faced with having to actual find out. That's alright if you're happy with both statistics but for a lot of people they're not pleasant things to write down. C'est la vie.
Having registered at the University Medical Practice (which is on Prichatts Road, for anyone who really wants to know the details), I had them at my fingertips. To see a doctor or nurse, all I had to do was either phone up or visit and ask for an appointment or turn up at the appropriate times (check them, not me, for the right time slots) for the drop in clinic. As this week progressed, my cough and bunged up nose got worse and worse, along with the lovely conjunctivitis which decided to hate my eyes are various points and not warn me about this, so by Wednesday night I was forced to do the honorable thing: I phoned my Mum and moaned. I was warned when choosing my university top five that wherever I end up, however awesome the university is, if I get ill I will feel ridiculously homesick and if I'm down in Exeter (that was my favourite choice until I was persuaded to Brum's side by various credible sources) then I'd have to reach into my pocket, fork out £80 and get on a train for six hours. Because Birmingham is so central that once I'm in New Street (about five or ten minutes away from the university train station) I'm only one hour forty-five away from home. It's far enough to feel the buzz of being away from home but close enough to bridge the gap whenever I feel like it. It doesn't break the bank, too, at just under £30 for a return train ticket. I bet if I booked two singles a month before I could knock £10 off the price. You know what you can get for £10? I don't know yet, I haven't done my weekly shop. ...but I bet you could get quite a bit at Aldi (which is just 25 minutes walk from Tennis Court and 30 minutes walk from Shackleton).
And so onto the important bit of dealing with Freshers Flu: balancing it with University. As I'm not one who sees minor illness as an excuse out of duty (i.e. work, school, college, university etc) I tried not to miss any classes or lectures whilst suffering with such a disease. On Mondays I have a class in Theatre Practice, which involves practical group work in a big studio space that requires getting very close to everyone. To get to this session, I usually walk. Under such bodily attack I could walk only to Tesco Express (20 minutes from Tennis Court) where I usually get my lunch and/or fruit. When I was walking out of Tesco, I spotted a shining beacon of hope: a pharmacy! Being a rather eccentric and imaginative person, I shimmied (I didn't actually shimmy, I was feeling very ill at the time) up to the counter and asked if they had any 'magic' to cure me of my disease. I was shown the range of cough medicines and chose one that suited my wallet (by cost, not by design, that would be silly) and was advised of the wonders of lemonade ("It has sugar in it so it gives you energy and the lemon is really good for the throat"). I raised my eyebrow at this but remembered it for a flatmate who is unlikely to agree with my Mum's remedy of a cup of honey and lemon juice with hot water. Leaving the pharmacy, I found a bus stop up the road and managed somehow (this doesn't always work) to get the 61 for free.
When I arrived at SOVAC (Selly Oak Visual Arts Centre), I'd managed to work up a nice sweat just from sitting down. That's how bad flu is, kids. It was from this that I judged my available level of participation: zero. TP requires you to meet up with your group in a separate rehearsal room in the SOVAC to do a warm up together that is choreographed by the group using ideas from the classes, from books and from previous experience. I sat out of this week's fun and games and explained to Caroline, who runs TP for our group, that I couldn't take part in the fun this week. She graciously let me sit at the side of the room and take notes. I took this as very much a positive as it meant I could still be in the room and didn't have to clock up an absence. It also gave me a new perspective on the class, having always been in the action. I heard Stephen Fry quote once 'the spectator sees more of the sport'. Perhaps true.
The walk back from SOVAC was awful. I took the free bus as usual but even the five minute walk from the bus stop to my room took much concentration. It was this journey that made me realise that I could not do that again. I had to stay in bed on Tuesday. This is a good opportunity to explain what to do when you have no choice but to miss a class (note: not skip - miss). The proceedure for the Drama department is as follows: contact the office, not the person taking the class. This could be through phoning or emailing but must be done in advance. It can be done on the morning of the day but if you're sure you have to miss a class the night before, do it then. I do. Julie, in the Drama office, is very understanding if you have a proper reason to miss a class and passes the message on to the right person or people. When you return to classes, you have to fill out a medical form that is basically a self-certification. After a certain number of days in a succession, you have to have a note from a doctor or an approved extension from the department. I've had to email in three times so far to warn about missing classes and each time has been received politely and without any annoyance or stress. I suppose they expect that at this time of year there are plenty of people coming down with Freshers Flu.
I'm aware of the time right now so have to speed up to the climax of my dreaded disease. On Thursday morning I phoned the medical centre and booked an appointment. It is very important to actually phone in the morning because when I was sat waiting to be called in (at about 11am), I overheard someone trying to book an appointment but all was full until the afternoon where there was only a slot of about an hour. My doctor was very understanding and extremely sympathetic. She gave me a prescription for my friend Mr Conjunctivitis (which has gone, yay!) and suggested Solpadeine (which tastes disgusting but really does the trick) and ordered me to go home. She actually meant home rather than the flat, too, because she was worried I might spread flu round my flat and course. It was the best thing a doctor has ever told me to do. I took the first train of Thursday afternoon and got into bed at about quarter to four which was the best feeling in the world of feelings. There's nothing quite like spending four nights at home being looked after your Mother.
And with that, my taxi will be here in five minutes so I need to double check I have everything and prepare myself for taking back the epic bag I came with and the extra epic bag I've been given. Vegetables, yay!
Upon arrival at the University, I was bombarded with calls of "Register for a Doctor!", "University Medical Practice!", "Dreaded swine flu!", "Death will be on you if you do not register for a Doctor!", "Do it nooowww!". Perhaps they didn't get as serious and forceful as the latter two but the former three are pretty good measures of warning. I knew how important this was but it took me about two or three weeks to actually do something about it, though I had planned to do it in freshers week while I had no pressure to actually work. It's the thought that counts, right? In any case, I registered which took me about half an hour at a push. I could've completed the forms in ten minutes but I had to keep a flatmate out of the flat for a certain amount of time so the rest of the flat could prepare for her birthday without her knowing. But that's not the point. The forms asked the expected questions about jabs and dates of said jabs. It's obviously important because they wouldn't ask otherwise but I couldn't remember which I'd had and when I'd had them so I asked if this was an inconvenience but was told to just leave them blank. I had my NHS card with me anyway so they could check it on my records, which is handy. There's nothing to worry about with the forms apart from the dreaded height and weight input. This means you're faced with having to actual find out. That's alright if you're happy with both statistics but for a lot of people they're not pleasant things to write down. C'est la vie.
Having registered at the University Medical Practice (which is on Prichatts Road, for anyone who really wants to know the details), I had them at my fingertips. To see a doctor or nurse, all I had to do was either phone up or visit and ask for an appointment or turn up at the appropriate times (check them, not me, for the right time slots) for the drop in clinic. As this week progressed, my cough and bunged up nose got worse and worse, along with the lovely conjunctivitis which decided to hate my eyes are various points and not warn me about this, so by Wednesday night I was forced to do the honorable thing: I phoned my Mum and moaned. I was warned when choosing my university top five that wherever I end up, however awesome the university is, if I get ill I will feel ridiculously homesick and if I'm down in Exeter (that was my favourite choice until I was persuaded to Brum's side by various credible sources) then I'd have to reach into my pocket, fork out £80 and get on a train for six hours. Because Birmingham is so central that once I'm in New Street (about five or ten minutes away from the university train station) I'm only one hour forty-five away from home. It's far enough to feel the buzz of being away from home but close enough to bridge the gap whenever I feel like it. It doesn't break the bank, too, at just under £30 for a return train ticket. I bet if I booked two singles a month before I could knock £10 off the price. You know what you can get for £10? I don't know yet, I haven't done my weekly shop. ...but I bet you could get quite a bit at Aldi (which is just 25 minutes walk from Tennis Court and 30 minutes walk from Shackleton).
And so onto the important bit of dealing with Freshers Flu: balancing it with University. As I'm not one who sees minor illness as an excuse out of duty (i.e. work, school, college, university etc) I tried not to miss any classes or lectures whilst suffering with such a disease. On Mondays I have a class in Theatre Practice, which involves practical group work in a big studio space that requires getting very close to everyone. To get to this session, I usually walk. Under such bodily attack I could walk only to Tesco Express (20 minutes from Tennis Court) where I usually get my lunch and/or fruit. When I was walking out of Tesco, I spotted a shining beacon of hope: a pharmacy! Being a rather eccentric and imaginative person, I shimmied (I didn't actually shimmy, I was feeling very ill at the time) up to the counter and asked if they had any 'magic' to cure me of my disease. I was shown the range of cough medicines and chose one that suited my wallet (by cost, not by design, that would be silly) and was advised of the wonders of lemonade ("It has sugar in it so it gives you energy and the lemon is really good for the throat"). I raised my eyebrow at this but remembered it for a flatmate who is unlikely to agree with my Mum's remedy of a cup of honey and lemon juice with hot water. Leaving the pharmacy, I found a bus stop up the road and managed somehow (this doesn't always work) to get the 61 for free.
When I arrived at SOVAC (Selly Oak Visual Arts Centre), I'd managed to work up a nice sweat just from sitting down. That's how bad flu is, kids. It was from this that I judged my available level of participation: zero. TP requires you to meet up with your group in a separate rehearsal room in the SOVAC to do a warm up together that is choreographed by the group using ideas from the classes, from books and from previous experience. I sat out of this week's fun and games and explained to Caroline, who runs TP for our group, that I couldn't take part in the fun this week. She graciously let me sit at the side of the room and take notes. I took this as very much a positive as it meant I could still be in the room and didn't have to clock up an absence. It also gave me a new perspective on the class, having always been in the action. I heard Stephen Fry quote once 'the spectator sees more of the sport'. Perhaps true.
The walk back from SOVAC was awful. I took the free bus as usual but even the five minute walk from the bus stop to my room took much concentration. It was this journey that made me realise that I could not do that again. I had to stay in bed on Tuesday. This is a good opportunity to explain what to do when you have no choice but to miss a class (note: not skip - miss). The proceedure for the Drama department is as follows: contact the office, not the person taking the class. This could be through phoning or emailing but must be done in advance. It can be done on the morning of the day but if you're sure you have to miss a class the night before, do it then. I do. Julie, in the Drama office, is very understanding if you have a proper reason to miss a class and passes the message on to the right person or people. When you return to classes, you have to fill out a medical form that is basically a self-certification. After a certain number of days in a succession, you have to have a note from a doctor or an approved extension from the department. I've had to email in three times so far to warn about missing classes and each time has been received politely and without any annoyance or stress. I suppose they expect that at this time of year there are plenty of people coming down with Freshers Flu.
I'm aware of the time right now so have to speed up to the climax of my dreaded disease. On Thursday morning I phoned the medical centre and booked an appointment. It is very important to actually phone in the morning because when I was sat waiting to be called in (at about 11am), I overheard someone trying to book an appointment but all was full until the afternoon where there was only a slot of about an hour. My doctor was very understanding and extremely sympathetic. She gave me a prescription for my friend Mr Conjunctivitis (which has gone, yay!) and suggested Solpadeine (which tastes disgusting but really does the trick) and ordered me to go home. She actually meant home rather than the flat, too, because she was worried I might spread flu round my flat and course. It was the best thing a doctor has ever told me to do. I took the first train of Thursday afternoon and got into bed at about quarter to four which was the best feeling in the world of feelings. There's nothing quite like spending four nights at home being looked after your Mother.
And with that, my taxi will be here in five minutes so I need to double check I have everything and prepare myself for taking back the epic bag I came with and the extra epic bag I've been given. Vegetables, yay!
Monday 12 October 2009
Sunday 4 October 2009
Week 1 of Semester 1: A Very Complicated Week
From now on I'll be prefixing each post title with the week and semester number, just to be ever so organised. This addiction to organisation is a very handy tool for university because it means that everything (apart from my study/room) is neat and tidy. It also means I'm likely to not be snowed under with all the work I'm getting.
So last week I forgot to post about the fairs that went on every day at the Guild. As it's a week late, I'll just briefly explain: On Monday and Tuesday the Guild hosted the Freshers Fair which is, in one word, 'FREEBIES'. Companies from all over Birmingham flock to the Underground and Underground Lawn in the Guild to give away free stuff and promote whatever they're selling or advertising. For example, various pizza takeaways were giving out a free slice of pizza and lots of leaflets with discounts and student offers. Asda were giving out a food bag with essentially a three course microwaveable meal and a leaflet of student offers and vouchers. There was a majority of clubs and bars giving out vouchers and encouraging freshers to sign up to their mailing lists for queue jumping and discounted entry fees as well as raising awareness of student nights and drinks/food offers.
Tuesday was also the first day of the two-day Jobs Fair. JobZone, from the Guild, came down to raise awareness for their services (they help students of any year, any subject, any degree level, to get a job or work experience in any field) joining various companies who were looking for students to employ. The majority of jobs available were in retail and catering so they didn't appeal to me but I did pick up details from the Birmingham Hippodrome about volunteer work (which gives me the advantage of discounted tickets and, if I work as an usher, seeing a show for free). The job centre also had a stand and had with them lots of printed sheets with details of available jobs (surprising!) and a system to use to apply for them (find a job that appeals, write down the code, go back to your flat, think about it, go on the website, type in the code, apply). The one job from their list that sticks out in my mind was 'Occupational Therapist'. Not quite the same as 'Shop Assistant', really! A few of the jobs, including the aforementioned, paid very well whereas some were minimum wage or £6 an hour. It really did depend on the type of work, which is fairly obvious anyway.
Wednesday was the second Jobs Fair but I don't think I went to that one because I had a very busy day of Drama. Thursday was the Volunteering Fair and Societies Fair. I browsed the volunteering section and saw nothing of personal interest but I do remember seeing various companies from other countries who were promoting working abroad during summer, as well as one or two Forces stands. I think I saw something a bit bizarre like a company who were wanting students to promote volunteering by volunteering. I wasn't quite sure how they earned a profit through that but perhaps my flatmate, Mike, who is studying Economics and has a fascination with money making schemes (he joined the Poker society), could explain that. The societies fair was even more packed than both Freshers Fairs (yes, I went to both because I wanted a lot of freebies... and I wanted more to write about in here) AND it was stretched over two days. University of Birmingham is big on extra activities which is fantastic. I didn't hang around for a long time for the first day of societies because I knew exactly what I was looking for: GMTG (Guild Musical Theatre Group). It set me back £4 to join the society but I didn't have to pay to audition for the performances they set up. The joining fee meant I could go to the workshops, was on the mailing list and could have access to all the socials and outings they plan. Their first performance will be in a few weeks time and they've just finished the audition process. Its Sweeney Todd. I went to the open audition but found out the day later that I couldn't be cast because my Theatre Crafts backstage allocation clashed with the performance week. I wouldn't be able to make it. I spoke to the choreographer (who happens to be performing in Vinegar Tom, which was the clash) and she empathised and encouraged me to audition for the showcase in Week 4 because she thought my audition was really good. If I get a place in the showcase, I'll get to perform something on my own which is even better than a possible casting in Sweeney. As well as GMTG at the Societies Fair, there were several sports clubs and various 'pointless' societies which bring together people with similar interests and provide a cool way to meet people or develop skills. I was told there were lots of martial arts societies. The full list can be found here. What's great about the Guild is that if there is any society that you think is missing from the list, you can set up your own (provided that you find a certain amount of people who are also enthusiastic about the chosen topic). The most random societies, in my opinion, are: Ginge-Soc, Vegetarian, Neighbours, Tricksoc. There's even, I've just found out this second, a Wilderness Medicine society. That actually sounds really interesting. The brief description says they are a society who are interested in emergency medicine, trauma relief and practising first aid in remote areas. Useful! The sports clubs at this fair were a mixture of casual teams and university teams which were more serious. My flatmate Katy tried out for the tennis team and was so good that she got a place. This meant that she had to pay £210 for membership at the Priory Tennis Club (normally about £800) which is where the training and matches are played. She has training twice a week and tells us that she's not very good but to get onto the university team is a privilege so we'll see about that when her first match is scheduled. Friday was the second half of the societies fair. I didn't go to this one because I'd already signed up for the Musical Theatre society but I could've gone ahead if I wanted to. My flatmate Nathan is a member of several societies including Debating, Redbrick (the university newspaper) and various other things I've forgotten already. Most societies keep in touch via Facebook groups where they can advertise their next meetings, workshops, events and socials as well as news about the society, about anything linked to it and other random things.
And so onto this week! I should've really included all the above in last week's post but it doesn't matter now.
This week was the first official week of term. This meant that the frivolities had to be calmed down and studying began. Because I'm studying single honours Drama and Theatre Arts, I had to sign up for a MOMD (Module Outside Main Discipline). This meant reading up on the various modules available in various subjects and making sure the ones I was interested in would fit with my timetable. As I had an interest in studying religion, from taking R.E at GCSE and A Level, I chose a module from Theology: Introduction to Christian Theology. To sign up for the MOMD, I had to go to the MOMD Fair in the University Centre building on the main campus, collect a sign up sheet, fill it in with the correct codes and details, get the staff from the subject to sign it and hand it in to the admin desk. During sign up, you have to choose a first choice and second choice. This is because some modules are more popular than others and get filled up fairly quickly. Other modules don't have a cap (limit) so it isn't a problem to just turn up. I couldn't afford to wait for confirmation for my MOMD sign up, though, because the first lecture was on Monday (only three or so days after I signed up). I turned up and it was very interesting indeed. The lecturer (Dr Marius Felderhof) managed to make the basics sound really exciting and I was pleased I'd chosen that module. As the MOMD option was sprung upon me in the first induction for Drama, I was a bit lost as to how it worked so had to follow up the lecture with an email to Marius to ask what work I would have to do and what research would be relevant for me. I got an almost instant reply with the relevant documents (reading list, schedule, lecture notes for week one and two) which were also being uploaded to WebCT (the online network/library where important documents are uploaded for students to save and view, saving on paper and keeping things perfectly organised).
Before the Theology lecture on Monday, I had my first Theatre Practice class. This was in the Selly Oak campus (as are all my Drama classes, lectures and seminars) so it took me about 40-45 minutes to walk over. There's a free bus (got my bus pass/card from the Aston Webb building on the main campus) for students but I've yet to research the times that leaves in the morning, from Edgbaston Park Road. Also, walking over there is a nice way to keep fit and wake yourself up bright and early, though the route isn't very scenic (down Edgbaston Park Road, pass the Guild, turn right, up Bristol Road). In this class, we were given some reading for next week and told that we need to start arriving half an hour early to meet in the second rehearsal room to organise our own warm up routine. We would be teaching that to ourselves through our past experience and anything we wish to research. That'll be an interesting way to bond.
On Monday night we all went out to The Custard Factory to see Zane Lowe do a DJ set. He was fantastic! The whole club was a very bizarre arrangement because there was a massive (and fairly empty) room, with a DJ set, that you had to go through as you arrived, then down some stairs to and outside area where there was a pool/pond and an outside bar. Down one side was a disused factory building and round one corner was a burger bar. Further down, through what looked like the entrance to a shopping centre (but wasn't) was a two floor lounge area with toilets, another outdoor pool, another DJ set and two posh-looking bar areas which was packed. Past the first outdoor pool and bar was an odd looking DJ set which had a wall of colour. Through this area was the main room where Zane Lowe turned up at 2am. Before Zane, the DJ was playing indie tracks which I appreciated so much after the majority of nights out had included music just outside of my taste. The only really bad thing about this club was that the floor was covered in empty bottles that people had just thrown there. I had to shuffle my way out because I may have slipped on a bottle and seriously hurt myself. That's always something to look out for on nights out: make sure the floor is empty before walking normally.
I had Tuesday off because I had a timetabled seminar, which is pointless without the reading and lecture preceding it, so it was cancelled for the first week only. I exploited this spare time by finally reading through one of two plays (Greek tragedies) I was given to read for Friday. This one was the famous Oedipus the King. I would recommend reading that, if you have a tolerance for mild gore and shocking tragedy. I'd describe the play as strung out episode of the BBC's 'Who Do You Think You Are?'. You'll understand if you've read it.
Wednesday was a full day for me because there was an introduction to library services lecture in the OLRC in the Selly Oak campus as well as the PTPC lecture in which I was told to go and see a piece of theatre (of my choice) within three weeks, for a 1500 word analysis. There was a two and a half hour gap between PTPC and the library lecture which meant we had time to have lunch and socialise. Wednesday night was another night I was looking forward to: Skool Disco @ Risa. Unfortunately I didn't quite enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Risa is a fairly small club but it has something I haven't seen yet which is a chill room where you can go to relax and sit on some really comfortable sofas to have a break from dancing the night away. As it was Skool Disco, the selection of music was '90s cheese'.
Thursday was another free day, for me. I mostly hung out in the lounge with my flatmates and read the 'essential reading'. I had a night in, too, because I didn't fancy going to Gatecrasher. The guys ordered pizza (see, the freshers fair was useful) and probably played Poker or Rummy (I stayed in my room to read and chill). Friday was more full, though another night in for me and night out for the rest of the flat. As my course involves a lot of practical work in the university theatre, we had to endure a day of safety training. My schedule started with a talk about fire and the correct extinguisher for different fires which ended with various people in my group testing out their fire-fighting skills. A few people seemed to enjoy that a little too much. Next followed an hour talk about Manual Handling by Danny, the sound (literally and metaphorically) guy. After that was a talk about Risk Assessment. These two talks were in the HD Cinema area of the theatre (George Cadbury Hall), which, we are told, the BBC like to use. The final talk was about the production allocation project we were briefly told about at the first induction. For this, we have to keep a running log describing what tasks are allocated to yourself during the allocation. First years have to work on either costume crew or other crew. I've been allocated to be on the costume crew for Vinegar Tom, which I mentioned earlier. Each production is performed by third year students and the backstage crew is run by second year students, making performance week a hectic student-filled experience.
In the evening, everyone, minus me, in my flat went to see Calvin Harris at the Guild. I couldn't go because I've been suffering from Freshers Flu since about Tuesday. Thankfully, its going away so I'm feeling much better than before. I sold my CH ticket to a friend who didn't have one so it wasn't a complete loss. One of my friends came over, too, and we played a few card games and generally did a good job of procrastinating before I gave in and had to send him away so I could finish reading (yes, there's lots of reading to do in university).
Finally, Saturday (yesterday) was a very good day for me. I woke up after midday (finally!) and did lots of studenty things like turned my monitor round so I could watch the BBC iPlayer in bed, which works perfectly, by the way, with my free internet connection. From late afternoon onwards we decided to have a night in: just the boys and I. Katy and Sarah had gone away for the weekend to see their families. Mikey had gone away to see his girlfriend. We played Poker, which is a regular occurance in the flat, now, Jenga, and had custard with bananas (99p for a fair bunch at CostCutter).
And now I'm absolutely starving because I've been a dedicated blogger and stuck out writing this whole post without any breaks. I reckon it's spaghetti and spinach with a tomato pasta sauce, for me, today. It's amazing what you can make with very little food/skill.
So last week I forgot to post about the fairs that went on every day at the Guild. As it's a week late, I'll just briefly explain: On Monday and Tuesday the Guild hosted the Freshers Fair which is, in one word, 'FREEBIES'. Companies from all over Birmingham flock to the Underground and Underground Lawn in the Guild to give away free stuff and promote whatever they're selling or advertising. For example, various pizza takeaways were giving out a free slice of pizza and lots of leaflets with discounts and student offers. Asda were giving out a food bag with essentially a three course microwaveable meal and a leaflet of student offers and vouchers. There was a majority of clubs and bars giving out vouchers and encouraging freshers to sign up to their mailing lists for queue jumping and discounted entry fees as well as raising awareness of student nights and drinks/food offers.
Tuesday was also the first day of the two-day Jobs Fair. JobZone, from the Guild, came down to raise awareness for their services (they help students of any year, any subject, any degree level, to get a job or work experience in any field) joining various companies who were looking for students to employ. The majority of jobs available were in retail and catering so they didn't appeal to me but I did pick up details from the Birmingham Hippodrome about volunteer work (which gives me the advantage of discounted tickets and, if I work as an usher, seeing a show for free). The job centre also had a stand and had with them lots of printed sheets with details of available jobs (surprising!) and a system to use to apply for them (find a job that appeals, write down the code, go back to your flat, think about it, go on the website, type in the code, apply). The one job from their list that sticks out in my mind was 'Occupational Therapist'. Not quite the same as 'Shop Assistant', really! A few of the jobs, including the aforementioned, paid very well whereas some were minimum wage or £6 an hour. It really did depend on the type of work, which is fairly obvious anyway.
Wednesday was the second Jobs Fair but I don't think I went to that one because I had a very busy day of Drama. Thursday was the Volunteering Fair and Societies Fair. I browsed the volunteering section and saw nothing of personal interest but I do remember seeing various companies from other countries who were promoting working abroad during summer, as well as one or two Forces stands. I think I saw something a bit bizarre like a company who were wanting students to promote volunteering by volunteering. I wasn't quite sure how they earned a profit through that but perhaps my flatmate, Mike, who is studying Economics and has a fascination with money making schemes (he joined the Poker society), could explain that. The societies fair was even more packed than both Freshers Fairs (yes, I went to both because I wanted a lot of freebies... and I wanted more to write about in here) AND it was stretched over two days. University of Birmingham is big on extra activities which is fantastic. I didn't hang around for a long time for the first day of societies because I knew exactly what I was looking for: GMTG (Guild Musical Theatre Group). It set me back £4 to join the society but I didn't have to pay to audition for the performances they set up. The joining fee meant I could go to the workshops, was on the mailing list and could have access to all the socials and outings they plan. Their first performance will be in a few weeks time and they've just finished the audition process. Its Sweeney Todd. I went to the open audition but found out the day later that I couldn't be cast because my Theatre Crafts backstage allocation clashed with the performance week. I wouldn't be able to make it. I spoke to the choreographer (who happens to be performing in Vinegar Tom, which was the clash) and she empathised and encouraged me to audition for the showcase in Week 4 because she thought my audition was really good. If I get a place in the showcase, I'll get to perform something on my own which is even better than a possible casting in Sweeney. As well as GMTG at the Societies Fair, there were several sports clubs and various 'pointless' societies which bring together people with similar interests and provide a cool way to meet people or develop skills. I was told there were lots of martial arts societies. The full list can be found here. What's great about the Guild is that if there is any society that you think is missing from the list, you can set up your own (provided that you find a certain amount of people who are also enthusiastic about the chosen topic). The most random societies, in my opinion, are: Ginge-Soc, Vegetarian, Neighbours, Tricksoc. There's even, I've just found out this second, a Wilderness Medicine society. That actually sounds really interesting. The brief description says they are a society who are interested in emergency medicine, trauma relief and practising first aid in remote areas. Useful! The sports clubs at this fair were a mixture of casual teams and university teams which were more serious. My flatmate Katy tried out for the tennis team and was so good that she got a place. This meant that she had to pay £210 for membership at the Priory Tennis Club (normally about £800) which is where the training and matches are played. She has training twice a week and tells us that she's not very good but to get onto the university team is a privilege so we'll see about that when her first match is scheduled. Friday was the second half of the societies fair. I didn't go to this one because I'd already signed up for the Musical Theatre society but I could've gone ahead if I wanted to. My flatmate Nathan is a member of several societies including Debating, Redbrick (the university newspaper) and various other things I've forgotten already. Most societies keep in touch via Facebook groups where they can advertise their next meetings, workshops, events and socials as well as news about the society, about anything linked to it and other random things.
And so onto this week! I should've really included all the above in last week's post but it doesn't matter now.
This week was the first official week of term. This meant that the frivolities had to be calmed down and studying began. Because I'm studying single honours Drama and Theatre Arts, I had to sign up for a MOMD (Module Outside Main Discipline). This meant reading up on the various modules available in various subjects and making sure the ones I was interested in would fit with my timetable. As I had an interest in studying religion, from taking R.E at GCSE and A Level, I chose a module from Theology: Introduction to Christian Theology. To sign up for the MOMD, I had to go to the MOMD Fair in the University Centre building on the main campus, collect a sign up sheet, fill it in with the correct codes and details, get the staff from the subject to sign it and hand it in to the admin desk. During sign up, you have to choose a first choice and second choice. This is because some modules are more popular than others and get filled up fairly quickly. Other modules don't have a cap (limit) so it isn't a problem to just turn up. I couldn't afford to wait for confirmation for my MOMD sign up, though, because the first lecture was on Monday (only three or so days after I signed up). I turned up and it was very interesting indeed. The lecturer (Dr Marius Felderhof) managed to make the basics sound really exciting and I was pleased I'd chosen that module. As the MOMD option was sprung upon me in the first induction for Drama, I was a bit lost as to how it worked so had to follow up the lecture with an email to Marius to ask what work I would have to do and what research would be relevant for me. I got an almost instant reply with the relevant documents (reading list, schedule, lecture notes for week one and two) which were also being uploaded to WebCT (the online network/library where important documents are uploaded for students to save and view, saving on paper and keeping things perfectly organised).
Before the Theology lecture on Monday, I had my first Theatre Practice class. This was in the Selly Oak campus (as are all my Drama classes, lectures and seminars) so it took me about 40-45 minutes to walk over. There's a free bus (got my bus pass/card from the Aston Webb building on the main campus) for students but I've yet to research the times that leaves in the morning, from Edgbaston Park Road. Also, walking over there is a nice way to keep fit and wake yourself up bright and early, though the route isn't very scenic (down Edgbaston Park Road, pass the Guild, turn right, up Bristol Road). In this class, we were given some reading for next week and told that we need to start arriving half an hour early to meet in the second rehearsal room to organise our own warm up routine. We would be teaching that to ourselves through our past experience and anything we wish to research. That'll be an interesting way to bond.
On Monday night we all went out to The Custard Factory to see Zane Lowe do a DJ set. He was fantastic! The whole club was a very bizarre arrangement because there was a massive (and fairly empty) room, with a DJ set, that you had to go through as you arrived, then down some stairs to and outside area where there was a pool/pond and an outside bar. Down one side was a disused factory building and round one corner was a burger bar. Further down, through what looked like the entrance to a shopping centre (but wasn't) was a two floor lounge area with toilets, another outdoor pool, another DJ set and two posh-looking bar areas which was packed. Past the first outdoor pool and bar was an odd looking DJ set which had a wall of colour. Through this area was the main room where Zane Lowe turned up at 2am. Before Zane, the DJ was playing indie tracks which I appreciated so much after the majority of nights out had included music just outside of my taste. The only really bad thing about this club was that the floor was covered in empty bottles that people had just thrown there. I had to shuffle my way out because I may have slipped on a bottle and seriously hurt myself. That's always something to look out for on nights out: make sure the floor is empty before walking normally.
I had Tuesday off because I had a timetabled seminar, which is pointless without the reading and lecture preceding it, so it was cancelled for the first week only. I exploited this spare time by finally reading through one of two plays (Greek tragedies) I was given to read for Friday. This one was the famous Oedipus the King. I would recommend reading that, if you have a tolerance for mild gore and shocking tragedy. I'd describe the play as strung out episode of the BBC's 'Who Do You Think You Are?'. You'll understand if you've read it.
Wednesday was a full day for me because there was an introduction to library services lecture in the OLRC in the Selly Oak campus as well as the PTPC lecture in which I was told to go and see a piece of theatre (of my choice) within three weeks, for a 1500 word analysis. There was a two and a half hour gap between PTPC and the library lecture which meant we had time to have lunch and socialise. Wednesday night was another night I was looking forward to: Skool Disco @ Risa. Unfortunately I didn't quite enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Risa is a fairly small club but it has something I haven't seen yet which is a chill room where you can go to relax and sit on some really comfortable sofas to have a break from dancing the night away. As it was Skool Disco, the selection of music was '90s cheese'.
Thursday was another free day, for me. I mostly hung out in the lounge with my flatmates and read the 'essential reading'. I had a night in, too, because I didn't fancy going to Gatecrasher. The guys ordered pizza (see, the freshers fair was useful) and probably played Poker or Rummy (I stayed in my room to read and chill). Friday was more full, though another night in for me and night out for the rest of the flat. As my course involves a lot of practical work in the university theatre, we had to endure a day of safety training. My schedule started with a talk about fire and the correct extinguisher for different fires which ended with various people in my group testing out their fire-fighting skills. A few people seemed to enjoy that a little too much. Next followed an hour talk about Manual Handling by Danny, the sound (literally and metaphorically) guy. After that was a talk about Risk Assessment. These two talks were in the HD Cinema area of the theatre (George Cadbury Hall), which, we are told, the BBC like to use. The final talk was about the production allocation project we were briefly told about at the first induction. For this, we have to keep a running log describing what tasks are allocated to yourself during the allocation. First years have to work on either costume crew or other crew. I've been allocated to be on the costume crew for Vinegar Tom, which I mentioned earlier. Each production is performed by third year students and the backstage crew is run by second year students, making performance week a hectic student-filled experience.
In the evening, everyone, minus me, in my flat went to see Calvin Harris at the Guild. I couldn't go because I've been suffering from Freshers Flu since about Tuesday. Thankfully, its going away so I'm feeling much better than before. I sold my CH ticket to a friend who didn't have one so it wasn't a complete loss. One of my friends came over, too, and we played a few card games and generally did a good job of procrastinating before I gave in and had to send him away so I could finish reading (yes, there's lots of reading to do in university).
Finally, Saturday (yesterday) was a very good day for me. I woke up after midday (finally!) and did lots of studenty things like turned my monitor round so I could watch the BBC iPlayer in bed, which works perfectly, by the way, with my free internet connection. From late afternoon onwards we decided to have a night in: just the boys and I. Katy and Sarah had gone away for the weekend to see their families. Mikey had gone away to see his girlfriend. We played Poker, which is a regular occurance in the flat, now, Jenga, and had custard with bananas (99p for a fair bunch at CostCutter).
And now I'm absolutely starving because I've been a dedicated blogger and stuck out writing this whole post without any breaks. I reckon it's spaghetti and spinach with a tomato pasta sauce, for me, today. It's amazing what you can make with very little food/skill.
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Name: Vici Royle