The day which was a week long…

The last few days have been very productive from many a standpoint. First off there’s revision. I’ve been getting plenty done with preparing for exams. You never know, I might actually pass.

Yea, me and Josh work well together. We keep each other in check and help each other out. The good part is that he is good at acoustics and I’m better at digital electronics, so we’re able to help each other out quite a bit where the other is struggling.

Apart from work, those close to me recently may have noticed that I’ve not been 100% myself. I’ll confess, over Easter I thought wa-ay too much about certain things. But things that have happened in the last 36 hours have allowed me to bring a lot of those thoughts to a head and sitting here typing now I feel that, hopefully, things are on the way up in that respect. I’m sorry I can’t go into a lot of detail, but a saying I’ve always agreed with is: “If you don’t have the decency to be nice, at least have the decency to be vague”. I hope this paragraph helps the people that may have been worried about me to realise that I’m actually OK.

I think now is a good time to add that sometimes I see this blog as a diary and sometimes I see it as a voice. This post is firmly in the ‘diary’ category so that in a few years time I can look back on here and realise that this was the day that happened (and if you are reading this, then most of it actually happened yesterday)

• Happiness: 8/10
• Workload: 10/10
• Last meal: Chicken and chips
• Thought for the day: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger

Rainy Days & Mondays

Or should that be rainy Monday. I read somewhere recently that people do more work when the weather is bad, something to do with feeling happy and not wanting to work when the sun is out. Well that theory was definitely +1 today. Got lots done and long may it continue.

How am I feeling? well thanks for asking, I’m great. Not thinking too much which goes with my theory a few posts ago. As for everything else, everyone is now her and as of right now there are easily 10 people down here. I can hear music, games, walking and talking. It’s soo good to be back!

Hope lives in London are going well. And I hear congratulations are in order for Victoria and Graeme who are our new churchwardens. Who’d have thought it ;-)

• Happiness: 9/10
• Workload: 10/10
• Last meal: Spaghetti hoops on toast (just about to have an orange. In fact, I’ll have two, i know, letting myself go)
• Thought for the day: That can be my thought for the day!

Here Come The Drums

People have started coming back! The last few days I’ve spent lots of time with Josh, we caught up on things and got some work done. Then yesterday I did more work. Today people have started coming back.

Here it comes, my last 4 weeks living with my housemates. Its going to be great! Now all we’ve got to do is do those exams…

Josh - Cook King

• Happiness: 8/10
• Workload: 10/10
• Last meal: Cremé Egg?
• Thought for the day: Draw a circle, not a heart, around the one you love because a heart can break but a circle goes on forever

Sunshine makes me happy

Hello. Still in Guildford. Been making progress on my revision since I’ve been here. Yesterday I got free ice cream from the very generous Ben & Jerry’s, it was a dream come true! Also had a good evening with a friend of mine at Channies. Today I’m off to be re-aquatinted with Tesco then studying with Josh this afternoon.

Woo! I love it when the sun in shining. Look forward to seeing you James soon! And missing mum and dad already, a little :)

If you’re reading this, don’t! Go and enjoy the sun! Go on, go!

Love, Charles.

• Happiness: 8/10
• Workload: 10/10 (get used to this over the next few weeks)
• Last meal: TOAST! I know, multitalented this one.
• Thought for the day: I eat ready for breakfast!

PS: If this post is too happy for you, take solace in knowing that I am not like this all the time.

Back in court… again

That’s right! Cathedral court baby! Back in the US of A (University of Surrey of Academia!)

Had a great time at home, got lots of work done and now back at uni a week early to get some work done and get settled in before exams! only 4 weeks to go before the end! Don’t say that! Don’t even remind me! Damn.

Gonna make the most of the last week i’m here after all the exams have finished, mark my words!

• Happiness: 7/10
• Workload: 10/10 (revision, you can never do enough!)
• Last meal: Leftovers from sunday lunch, tasted gr8!
• Thought for the day: If God gives you lemons, you find a new God!

The A in Q&A

Here I will answer 6 questions in total, lets get going!

What has been the most memorable moment for you since you started uni?

There have been so many it’s hard to pick just one. The weekend away with climbing club was probably one of the first big memories after the chaos of fresher’s week. I’m so close to giving the cop-out answer and saying that it was the combination of all the small things that have happened that have really made this a special time for me. However, that would be a cop out so I'll have to get my thinking cap on. OK, I’ve got one. The weekend I spent with stage crew preparing for “Sunday Night Live” this is because so much happened that weekend. I learnt a lot, but it was also the first gig I did as Video Equipment Officer, so I was calling the shots and got to make the video decisions. It was great fun!

Do you miss home?

Can I make this a one word answer? No. Sorry, but it’s just so great to be with people who I’m on the same level with and who are at the time time in their lives. People I can share my thoughts with and who have the time to spend time with me. Don’t get me wrong, its great to be home. Mum, dad and James are really great to me, but I think you understand that I feel in my element at university.

What have you learnt in your time at Stage Crew?

Stage crew is a brilliant sandbox to ask questions and learn by doing. All you need to do is sign up for a gig and then you can get involved in what you want. I’ve learnt a lot about how to set up a sound and lighting rig, how sound can (and has to) be changed before it is heard by the audience (changing levels of different instruments and singers, adding echo and reverberation), using lights to effectively re-enforce what is happening on stage. Then there’s all the video stuff: talking to camera operators, live mixing, setting up cameras and plasmas and generally how to organise filming a gig or event professionally.

What on earth are you going to do for 4 months over summer?

Tell me about it! The plan is:

• May – Party time! Exams are over and the poppers come out.
• June – After exams I have some things I’ve been asked to do that I’ll get on with for a few weeks.
• July – Working backstage at Guilfest, Guildford’s largest music festival. Then towards the end of the month, I start boating.
• August – The plan is to go on the boat for a few weeks with friends.
• September – Haven’t thought that far ahead yet…

If you had to pick three words to describe your time at uni, what would they be?

different, exciting, comforting

How do you feel you have changed as a person since leaving home and starting uni?

I ‘go with the flow’ a lot more. I’m more comfortable when meeting new people. I can cook more than just beans on toast!

-End-

Hopefully this has been interesting. Sorry it took so long to post the replies, I’ve been quite busy with revision recently!

The Q in Q&A

Now’s the chance for you to ask me anything! But, in anticipation of a paltry response, I have come up with 10 questions you can choose to ask. All you then have to do is decide which 5 you want me to answer. Here goes:

1. So it’s almost the end of your first year at uni, do you have any regrets?
2. What has been the most memorable moment for you since you started uni?
3. Are you enjoying your course? What are the lecturers like? Have you learnt anything?
4. Do you miss home?
5. What have you learnt in your time at Stage Crew?
6. What on earth are you going to do for 4 months over summer?
7. What exactly is this Fallow Field thing, I don’t get it?
8. You’ve got a house, what’s next?
9. If you had to pick three words to describe your time at uni, what would they be?
10. Can I ask a different question? (this should be followed with the question in question)

There you have it. Requests on a postcard!

Just post a comment on this post with the numbers of the 5 questions you would like to see answered. You have until Thursday evening!

Rules & Regulations: You have until 6pm on Thursday to comment on this post. The 5 most popular questions will be answered. If you ask for more than 5 questions to be answered, only the first 5 you choose will be taken into consideration. If no-one replies, no questions will be answered! If less than 5 questions are requested, only those questions will be answered. If more than 5 questions are requested, the most requested questions will be chosen. In the event of a tie, the question requested earlier will be chosen. You can request someone else’s suggested question.

Special Post #8: Thinking too much?

While a lot of students want to get drunk and loose their mind, am I different?

The stereotype is that a typical student binges on alcohol and forgets who they are, and I think that maybe confirmed in some of the people I’ve met. Is it wrong, then, that I want to go the other way?

I feel like I would have a better time really sobering up and having a very deep and long conversation, finding out things about myself and other people I didn’t know before. I don’t know many guys that would say that, or at least admit to that. What does that say about me?

What I hope it says is that I’m caring and compassionate. I enjoy finding out about people through conversation, rather than how well they can dance on a packed dance floor. I hope it doesn’t mean I don’t know how to have fun, because I do, I just might not prefer it.

Maybe I’m just confused and I don’t feel like this at all. Either way, I don’t think it really matters. I’m happy with who I am, whoever that may be.

Don’t ever think (too much)

A wise man once said (AKA The Zutons): “Don’t ever think too much”. Now, this isn’t usually a problem for me, because I always keep myself busy. However, the last week at home as been less than eventful. Time to think has come and gone. Thoughts are mostly good, but some can lead you to question things you would normally take for granted. And unless you thought otherwise, yes I am being deliberately vague.

But I think vague is the way to go when talking about thoughts. Unless you have an “inspiring” thought such as the likes of Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King. My thoughts are not like there’s. In fact, I think you can agree, those thoughts were an exception to the general thoughts people have which are largely selfish. Let me explain…

If you think of something, isn’t it usually about you? Or something that directly affects you? I think “How will I do in my exams?”, “Should I have lunch soon?”, “Do I look good today?”. I’m not thinking about poverty in 3rd world countries or how we can solve world conflict. Does that make us all naturally selfish? Or is it just who we are? I’d like to think the latter, but if I’m wrong, you can post your opinion in the comments. (Remember, I look at all the comments before they get posted, so if you want to say something, but don’t want it posted, just say “Don’t post this” in the comment and I’ll still read it, I just won’t post it!)

• Happiness: 7/10
• Workload: 8/10
• Last meal: Cereal
• Thought for the day: My thoughts go free in all I can confide

Nothing

I was going to write something on here, but then I saw the time.

Good Night