Time to knuckle down

Hello again everyone, I hope you are well. The weeks leading up to Christmas are going to be

particularly stressful with the deadlines I have remaining. Even when I have submitted all my work, I will still have 3 exams to prepare for in January, so there won’t be much time to relax over the winter vacation. Due to all the work I have to do, I may have to just cancel Christmas! For someone who isn’t a huge fan of it really isn’t all that bad, it was more a break that I was looking forward to.

In light of all the work I have been doing, I have realised that I spend nearly all of my time at the University in some way. I’m either in the library working on my assignments, working, or in classes. I may as well move into the University, and they would never get rid of me! Although the fact I’ve been here for 4 years shows that the University of Greenwich can’t get rid of me; I may even stay to do my PhD… eventually! For the time being, I think I need to focus on getting my master’s, and then looking into a career.

The New Year should bring about some relief to my bank balance. After December, I would have paid off my tuition, and will no longer have to save money from my pay each month. This means that in January when I get paid, all the money that is left will be mine! (Well, after I’ve paid all my bills etc).

Even though I am not a huge fan of Christmas, I am a fan of the food and drink that comes with Christmas. The other day I had one of the Christmas sandwiches from EAT. and it was probably the nicest sandwich I have ever had! It certainly puts the sandwiches at M&S to shame, and that is really saying something.

I hope you are all working hard and are getting through your assignments, the best of luck, and until next time everyone!

All work and no play

Hello again everyone, I hope you are well. The past few weeks have been a hectic blur for me, working all the hours available, and then some, plus the classes I have in the evening. Needless to say it has been pretty energy draining by the time I have also completed university work.  This means I haven’t had much of a social life, or much time to myself. Although I like to keep busy, I think I may have gone a bit overboard. So here is my advice to anyone who thinks they can work in all the spare time they have outside of classes, yes you can, and the money is handy, but you won’t have much time to actually spend it (unless you plan on saving it).

Even though I have been working and studying a lot, I have still have managed to find some time to myself and some form of a social life and watch some TV shows. I have recently started watching Breaking Bad (I know I’m quite behind on that one) and I finally understand what the hype is all about. However, whenever I watch an episode, I often find myself thinking about what my life would be like if I had been good at chemistry… it goes without saying that it’s a pretty poor career choice, and is too dangerous for my liking!

I also managed to fit in a trip to my favorite shop the other day; Ikea. I know it’s a bit of a strange choice, but I just love looking at all the various room designs, and imagining it in my future, currently non-existent, home. I always find myself being drawn to the lighting features, and rooms with clever touches.

That’s it from me for now, but with this windy weather we've been having, hold onto your hats and avoid any objects that may fly towards you! And as always, good luck with all your studies, and make sure you fit in some down time.

September comes to a close

Hello everyone, I hope you are well. Is it me or did September just fly by? It is now October, and Monday the 22^nd of September marked the first day of autumn. Autumn is my favourite season, when the leaves change from green to various shades of red and orange and brown; simply breath-taking! I also love the fresh, crisp mornings that autumn offers, followed by a low, but warming sun that provides some heat. It also means that I can start wearing jumpers again (I do like wearing jumpers) meaning that soon it’ll be the sweater weather.

The beginning of autumn also means that my favourite drink from Starbucks is now out; the pumpkin spice latte! It appears that pumpkins are not really a thing in the UK, which makes me very sad. When I was in the USA last year, there was pumpkin pie available all year round. Here in the UK, I have yet to see one anywhere, although I did make one myself and it was very tasty (even though the pumpkin mix was hard to obtain).

In university related updates, I had my first week of classes for my new programme, and it has been a bit of a shock to the system getting used to studying by night. This means for 4 nights a week, I will not have an evening to myself, as I will be either in classes or travelling (fortunately I’ve been able to drive there and back). Speaking of travel, I managed to lose my Oyster card the other day, but I was convinced that I would find it as soon as I called TfL to cancel it. However, this was not the case, and since then my new one has now arrived, with my old Oyster card yet to be found… I’m sure it will turn up one day.

I have decided that I need to book a weekend away soon, so as I have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off, I think this could be possible. I may have to wait until I get paid before I can do that, though. It’s been really strange studying at university without being able to apply for a student loan. Sadly master’s programmes do not attract funding from student finance, so I will have to try and work as much as I can to get the money I need.

Anyway, I hope you have all had a good first week, and I wish you the best of luck this year, until next time! 

An overdue update

Hello everyone, I hope you have all kept well and had a good summer. It has been a while since my last blog entry so here it goes! So what exactly is new with me? Not a great deal to be honest, I’ve been working all summer since I graduated to earn myself some money, which has taken up most of my time. I’ve done the usual seeing friends, but work has taken up most of my summer.

As you may remember from my last entry, I was offered a supervisor position here at the University through clearing, and it’s been going well! I have learned a lot from it, and it has been a learning curve. Sadly this week is my last week, but I have certainly enjoyed every minute of it. I also paid for half of my master’s degree which starts on the 29^th of September, so not long to go! It is the first time I’ve had to pay for my own tuition as well, I’m just glad there was a fee reduction to soften the blow!

In other news, next week will be my 22^nd birthday, which I suppose is not very interesting. I am one of those people who don’t actually like celebrating their own birthday. I will happily go to other birthday celebrations, but rarely my own. If I do celebrate my birthday, it’s usually something quiet with a small number of people.

So to summarise, not a lot has happened since my last entry, but some slow developing happenings have occurred. Hopefully over the next few weeks some interesting events will happen that I will keep you updated about.

For those of you returning to study, I hope this year will be successful for you, and for those of you who have finished, I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours. Until next time everyone, keep well!

Finally a graduate!

Hello everyone, I hope you are well. As the title suggests, I have finally graduated! I now am the proud holder of a Bachelor of Arts in Human Resource Management with second class honours (1^st division) or a 2:1 to make it easier. I felt so proud of myself when I was sat in the chapel at Greenwich, dressed in the gown and mortarboard. It was the perfect way to end my degree, to officially be a graduate holding my degree certificate. At least it’s not my last one, when I complete my master’s degree; I’ll be able to do it all over again! The only problem with the day of graduation was how warm the robes were in the July heat! Other than that, it was a wonderful day that I will remember for a long time.

Other than graduation, not a whole lot has occurred with me. Life is still continuing on as normal, and work within the Enquiry Unit is keeping me busy. I also applied for a different role and was successful! This means I now have some new exciting challenges ahead in my role of team supervisor, which I am looking forward to starting on the 1^st of August.

Other than that, there isn't much to report. Each weekend I have the standard summer plans to see friends and celebrate birthdays, which is always fun. Hopefully the weather doesn't remain too hot, I'm not a fan of the British summer; it’s just too humid! I'm a fan of winter personally. This may explain why I have had Christmas songs stuck in my head for most of the week.

That’s it for now though! I’ll be sure to update you if anything exciting happens, enjoy your time off everyone, and congratulations to all you recent graduates!

Ciao for now!

Brighton, Paris, and results!

Hello everyone, I hope you are well. It’s been a few weeks since my last entry, so here is an update of what has been happening so far. As you may remember from my last entry, I had planned to go to Brighton for the day, as well as Paris. Both were really good days out, and I had a great time in both places. Having a change of scenery for a short while was nice.

We were really lucky with the weather in Brighton. The day my friends and I had planned to go, it was forecast to rain all day, but when we arrived, the sun was shining, and there were clear blue skies. It was really nice to just sit on the beach and look out to sea. There was something quite calming about it, and it made me wish I lived closer to the sea. I think if I lived by the sea, I would sit with a book on a daily basis and put the stresses of the day behind me.

The weather in Paris was not quite as nice as it was in Brighton. It was forecast to rain all day, and it did rain most of the day (as you can see in the picture of the Notre Dame) and it did rain ae! I am very happy with that, and it was exactly what I needed. lot of tourist stuff including s. This did put a damper on things (excuse the pun), and it did make us feel slightly miserable, but it was still a good day nonetheless. We did a lot of tourist things as well, including visiting the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Notre Dame, as well as navigating the confusing transport system used in Paris. The city of Paris is beautiful, and the food was amazing! I wish I could have bread from France delivered to my house daily, it was simply amazing!

In other news, I received the official results for my degree: I will be graduating on July 15^th with an upper second class degree! I am very happy with that, and it was exactly what I needed.

I hope you all got the results you needed or expected, and I hope everyone has an enjoyable summer. I will be sure to keep you updated on what I do over the following weeks. For those of you going away on holiday, I hope you have an enjoyable time and stay safe. Until next time!

Looking to the future

Hello everyone, I hope you are keeping well. Now that I have finished my undergraduate degree (soon to be graduate) I can now dedicate my time to doing some more things. I have a few events to look forward to over the next few weeks. I am going to Brighton with some friends for the day on the 29^th of May. I've not been for a very long time and it will be nice to have a change of scenery for a day. I have agreed to drive, and for someone who doesn't drive very often, it should be interesting… and also as you know, I am going to Paris for the day with my friends on the 4^th of June which I’m looking forward to, which I will be sure to tell you about when I get back.

Speaking of travel, compared to last year my plans for 2014 are not going to be the same. I was in The Netherlands in April of last year, and then in California, the USA for most of June. I still have air miles to use with British Airways, so I think I will have to look into going somewhere I've never been before, and after watching an episode of Made in Chelsea (yes I am a fan of the show) me and my friend were discussing the idea of going to Venice! I've never been to Italy, so I would like to go someday. There are several places I would like to visit in Italy, so I would have to go for more than just a day. With my master’s coming up in September though, I possibly won’t be able to travel as much, especially as I may not be earning enough.

I could always attempt to look for full time work whilst I am studying my master’s, as it only runs in the evening. By day I could be working, earning some extra money, and then by night I could study. Although doing a full time degree and working full time could possibly kill me, so I may have to rethink my options! Hopefully I will make some more plans over summer instead of simply working; as you know what they say about all work and no play! If last year is anything to go by, I did have a few events to keep me occupied.

Whilst I have you, I thought I would let you know I have received all my grades back, and I am very happy with them (apart from my exam results). I’ve worked out that I have 68% overall, giving me a solid upper second class! It is annoying that I am so close to a first, but until I receive my official results letter, I will not know.

I hope your exams went well and you also have things to look forward to over summer, until next time everyone!