Get your towels ready

Woo! It’s here. Today is boat trip day. Only 6 trains away from the boat! Really looking forward to this one :)

This last week has been a bit of a mix of sorts. I’ve got plenty of work done, but there’s still a mountain to climb. Josh and I have almost finished our media project, and it’s looking really good :D

On Wednesday I filmed a sketch for MAD TV. Ze NSS is the brain-child of Adam Hurd, and it’s a comedy sketch about the National Student Survey interrogating people to fill in the questionnaire… it’s going to be really good!

Open Mic on Thursday was a great relief. Just enjoying the music and company, a much, much needed night off.

Oh, did I also mention that I got a house to live in next year?! Oh yea! I’m living in Guildford with Josh and two other guys. Next year is all set to be another brilliant chapter in university life.

I know I haven’t put any pictures on here for a while, so I plan to change that soon… but first it’s the boat trip!

Catch you all over Easter.

• Happiness. 9 out of 10
• Tiredness. 1 out of 5
• Workload. 9 out of 10
• Last Meal. Chips with Phil last night :)
• Song of the day. Rob Thomas - This Is How a Heart Breaks
• Thought for the day. “Get your towels ready, it’s about to go down!”
• What I’m Doing Now. Talking to Mike Frazer

Special Post #31: Thank God For That

Today was the Stage Crew AGM, and therefore my last day as VEO. My thoughts about crew have changed a lot since the Feb 16th last year when I was elected. I’ve obviously been spending far more time with MAD TV recently, so Stage Crew has been slightly neglected. But I also feel that at Stage Crew video is very much optional, and when it isn’t, MAD TV seem to be covering the gaps. Therefore, this seems like a natural progression for me since the best part of stage crew was the video, now MAD TV is fulfilling that need.

I’ll definitely continue to do video for Stage Crew when the situation calls, because it is great fun and a very different skill to MAD TV. For now, I’m happy that I have one less commitment, but realise that in the long term, today’s change will make very little difference.

I’m thankful I was given the opportunity to be on Stage Crew committee, but I didn’t really feel I had a lot to contribute at meetings and I haven’t been very active with training and promoting video. But at the end of the day, it seems that Stage Crew is very blasé about it and not really interested in investing time or money into making it better… and that’s where MAD TV has changed things.

MAD TV have made the Student’s Union realise the value of video and has the people with expertise beyond plugging things in. I really hope that MAD TV can succeed where Stage Crew failed. Only time will tell…

A Bucket For My Tears

Coursework is now crazy. I have four to do. One in particular, Computer Graphics, is going to be particularly hard work because we’ve been asked to make a very complex program using OpenGL, which we’ve only just started learning and I have no experience using.

It worry’s me a lot when I’m given something to do, in a short space of time, that I don’t know how to start. I’m weary that I have 4 coursework’s, lecture tutorials and 2 semesters worth of revision to do. I didn’t think I’d start worrying about exams until after Easter, but I think I already am. I didn’t have enough time as it is, without being given infinite amounts of coursework to do as well.

I don’t like to moan on here, and realising that’s a moan in itself, I want to change the topic.

MAD TV isn’t going well either. The union are trying to help us get equipment, but it seems like one step forward, two steps back. We’ve got a place to put the camera: in a locked cupboard, in a locked room, in a locked part of a building we can’t even get in to. It’s all well and good being secure, but three times in the last three days I’ve not been able to get the camera when I’ve needed it because no-ones around with the right keys. How is MAD TV meant to function as the student news station when we can’t even get a camera? I love all the publicity and good things people say about MAD TV, but it seems like a bit of a hollow society sometimes. God only knows how we’ll cope next year when Mike and I aren’t around.

I just feel like it’s been setback after putdown after disappointment the last few days. I tried to have fun on Friday night by going to Rubix, which took my mind of things for a while, but it wasn’t a brilliant night and I quickly fell back into being down.

Oh did I mention that our shower is broken? and our toilet? and my door handle? and our extractor fan? Yup, I’m trying to look for a positive, but it’s well hidden.

I need life to cut me some slack, but I know that as soon as I get the chance to have fun, I’ll feel guilty for not doing my work. The only solution is to do my work, but half of it is impossible without more help. I feel trapped, and with no-one to say that to, I’m glad my blog is here to be a bucket for my tears.

• Happiness. 4 out of 10
• Tiredness. 2 out of 5
• Workload. 11 out of 10
• Last Meal. Free lunch (yay! something positive!)
• Song of the day. Fatboy Slim – Brimful Of Asha
• Thought for the day. nowhere to go, but going out of my mind
• What I’m Doing Now. Failing at getting some work done

Outstanding is Done

I’ve spent the last few days being really productive I feel. Getting lots of small things I’ve been meaning to do for ages out of the way. It’s all in preparation for Easter which is turning more and more into 3 weeks of solid work every hour…

Still, you can enjoy the little things in life. I think I’ll share a poem with you today. This one’s called Every Day.

There is a rhyme I fail to write,
For every time we meet;
A knot that tightens in my mouth,
For every one heartbeat.

When time and time I cannot say,
The words that feel so true;
When every day I want to live,
I want to live with you.

• Happiness. 6.5 out of 10
• Tiredness. 2.5 out of 5
• Workload. 9 out of 10
• Last Meal. Josh Hot Pot!
• Song of the day. Matti Paalanen - Hollow
• Thought for the day. Don’t think about it…
• What I’m Doing Now. Wanting to sleep, but cant :(

Keep watching the skies

Today I was out and about filming with Mike for MAD TV’s new adventure into the comedy sketch market. Our first foray: April Fools. The report is all finished and very funny, look out for it nearer April…

The next few weeks are going to be busy, I can feel it. This week I’m going to be set my two assignments to be completed over Easter, as well as the Media Project I’m already working on and of course all the revision and studying I’ll be doing.

But aside from all that there’s plenty to be looking forward to:

• Funnily enough I’m actually looking forward to finishing this Media project. It’s been a real insight so far and it’s going to be really good.
• IGala on Friday is a big show for all the international students to show off their cultures. I’m hoping to film it/be there to help with the video technical requirements of each act.
• Boat Trip! Less than 2 weeks away now it’s going to be truly splendid :D
• Being at home over Easter to spend time with my family. This is a big deal because it’ll be the first time I’ve spent more than a couple days at home since last Easter. It’ll be great to see everyone and hopefully spend some time with my parents for a change…
• Then we get into that territory where every breathing moment should be spent worrying about exams. I need to be hot on revision this year since I have tons I don’t understand. I’m hoping to use a lot of my Easter break to catch up on everything and get the revision ball rolling…

Some exciting times are ahead, but I’m sure the unexpected will find its way in there too…

• Happiness. 7 out of 10
• Tiredness. 3.5 out of 5
• Workload. 8 out of 10
• Last Meal. Sandwich in the sunshine
• Song of the day. Scott Joplin - The Entertainer
• Thought for the day. This isn't the beginning, this is my next new start.
• What I’m Doing Now. Thinking about how the week ahead could really be ok if every day was 48 hours long…

Busy doing nothing

Another Saturday working at the Tote. 363 bets taken today, which is twice as much as usual. Certainly makes up for my easy ride last week :) It was a good day in all, largely friendly customers and I balanced at the end of it, which always makes my day.

As for the rest of my week, it’s been one of those ‘busy doing nothing’ kinda weeks…. lots to do, but nothing amazing.

Monday, Tesco day with Josh. I’m loving our weekly shops, so much banter to be had in Tesco at 11:30pm on a Monday. Wonder why no-one else shops at that time?!

Tuesday, Election Question Time. It’s the university Sabbatical Elections next week, and it was time for all the candidates to present their case and have their manifestos ripped to shreds by the student populous. If you have 5 hours to spare, which I know you do, then definitely check out the uncut footage… yours truly filmed the first 2 hours :)

Wednesday, the last of my weekly trips to Sony’s technology temple in Basingstoke, this time for an interview with the R&D department, BPRL.

Thursday was my day for cooking this week. Sheppard's Pie never tasted so gud, yummeh :P Then it was Phil time! I haven’t had a proper conversation with Phil for weeks, despite seeing him quite often. He came over for help fixing his laptop, since he dropped it and broke the screen. It didn’t take long to fix, but that didn’t stop us staying up until 3am talking. Admittedly I also fixed Anne’s laptop in that time, but just chatting about nothing can never be underestimated :D

Friday, (AKA thank god it’s Sony! Day) was largely spent dossing. Did a bit of this, a bit of that, and caught up on sleep. Oh, and helped Will build his schmexy new computer, very jealous.

Good times. Good times… shame about all the work, but when has that not been the case. At least most of it at the moment is actually quite interesting for a change.

• Happiness. 8 out of 10
• Tiredness. 3 out of 5
• Workload. 8.5 out of 10
• Last Meal. Ham & Pineapple Pizza
• Song of the day. Mariah Carey ft Ne-Yo – Angels Cry
• Thought for the day. If you're lucky enough to be different from everybody else... Don't change to be the same.
• What I’m Doing Now. Getting ready to film MAD TV April Fools script tomorrow.

Special Post #30: The word of the day is…

This is the third post specifically about my placement year. You can read the first post here and second post here.

SONY. I finally heard back from SONY today, and I’ve got the Outside Broadcast job!

In the end the other guy got offered the job too, so they’ll be a familiar face the first few weeks while I settle in. I’ll most probably be starting in July for 12 months. 6 months on proposals and 6 months on delivery. It’s not only such a relief to have a placement year sorted, but to also get the job I really wanted is amazing.

I can’t wait to start the biggest learning curve of my life. It’s going to be a tough year, no doubt about that, but that’s what’ll make it such a rewarding and valuable experience.

And it couldn’t have come at a better time. I had an interview this Wednesday just gone for the other SONY place (the R&D one). It’s in the same building, but a different department at SONY. It was the third Wednesday in a row I’d been there, but I still love walking around and seeing everything.

This week has posed the problem of not knowing how the OB placement went, and still having to go to the other SONY interview. It was a bit of a complication, but it’s all worked out in the end.

On top of that I was offered an interview at Mitsubishi Electric last night, which would’ve been next Tuesday. So I was worried that I’d have to go to that interview just in case the SONY places didn’t work out. It’s such a weight of my shoulders to have my placement sorted! YAY!

Somewhere Else

Being in a better frame of mind is all you need to enjoy the side the dice of life land on.

The weekend brought a lot with it, very eventful and exciting. I went out on Friday night and had my first taste of that innocuous substance since the start of February. It was an OK night, but any night out in the union has recently turned into Pandora’s box. Bringing up all sorts of unneeded drama and unhelpful situations. It’s not so much a night out as an obstacle course of emotion that I must successfully navigate without making a bad decision I’ll regret in the morning…

After managing to jump through several hoops on Friday without unintended consequences, it was time to put in a full days work at Tote. For the first time since November. After getting to Newbury (a challenge in itself) and following another Tote employee to find the control room, I signed in. Only to find that I, in fact, didn’t have to work at all, only show another new student how to… win! All in all a good day just chatting and supervising, wish I was paid to do that every day :P

Saturday evening Beth came down to Guildford and went to Pizza Express with a few of my friends. After the meal Beth and I went to Fahrenheit 55, a cool bar in town, and had a great chat. Wish she could stay more often :)

On Sunday Beth tagged along to an event MAD TV was putting on in town. If you’ve never heard of a flash mob before then you are certainly missing out.

Our event went really well, despite only a fraction of the people turning up. It was a great day and we definitely managed to bemuse Guildford’s Sunday shoppers :D

Still haven’t heard anything from SONY, but there is a twist in the tale that you may find very interesting :) I’ll keep you guessing until next time, because I can!

• Happiness. 8 out of 10
• Tiredness. 3 out of 5
• Workload. 8.5 out of 10
• Last Meal. Free food at culture fair!
• Song of the day. Razorlight – Somewhere Else
• Thought for the day. “There are two problems with Sunday morning: Sunday, and morning”
• What I’m Doing Now. Nothing… about time.

Special Post #29: Crossroads?

This is the second post specifically about my placement year. You can read the first post here

So since the last post some cool things have been happening on the placement front. To start with I’m going to get back that list of 5 placements (or “eggs” as I called them”) and we’ll see how they’re going:

1. Siemens -- Undergraduate Broadcast Trainee. As expected they contacted me to say that they weren’t accepting placement students this year. I’m glad they did this before they started interviewing and offering places unlike last year when they cancelled contracts at the last minute. It would have been an interesting placement, but still quite a lot of office work was involved. Maybe this result is for the better.
2. Sony -- Testing of Outside Broadcast Vehicles. “I think this is my dream: I love media and technology and this is such a great combination of both!” And I stick by that even more now! Getting an interview and a chance to look around was exciting enough, and then getting to go for a whole day was just too good for words. I can’t begin to say how much… I won’t say it. I’ll have to see what happens on Monday…
3. Sky -- Outside Broadcasting. I can’t see this happening, it was a long shot to start with, but now Sky don’t seem to have made any progress with processing Josh or my requests.
4. Sony -- R&D. I haven’t heard anything back. Might be one to chase up if I need to.
5. BBC -- Future Media & Technology. Still nothing, and it’s been over a month. Another one to add to the chase up list.

   So essentially we’re down to 3. But wait, there’s more:

6. Mitsubishi Electric -- IT Systems Provision. Based just down the road in Surrey Research Park, this placement looks at the IT system and network used on-site. On the basic level it’s an IT engineer, building workstations and IT support to staff. But on the other hand it has some very cool work with Web Design and internal marketing. I’d be really interested to work here for a year and I’d learn a lot about business approaches to IT systems which is something I’m interested in. So I see this as another on the back-burner.

All in all, my current situation is a crossroads:

• I either get the place at SONY and therefore have the time of my life, learn so much about so many things I’m passionate about and get to work in a fantastic environment with a world renowned company who are the market leader in the OB field. I’ll need to start thinking about accommodation, travel, money and holidays, which is a whole minefield in itself…
• Or I don’t get the SONY place and need to start chasing up a few other placements, such as BBC. This is by no means a bad situation, it would just require what would feel like starting again.

I’ll most likely find out on Monday or Tuesday next week what’s happening, and then I put one plan into action. Until then, I have the weekend to look forward to!

Don’t Wear Blue!

I’m on a roll! The maths lecturer for my course this year can often go very quickly through examples in lectures. Trying to follow his logic and write it all down often becomes a two man job, shame there’s only one brain in this head. But today, covering the subject of Z-Transforms (which seem to be the discrete function equivalent of Laplace Transform), I followed every last note and suffix! For those of you who are thinking “but how?” well I can tell you the 3 secrets to being a good student:

1. Sleep! A regular sleep pattern does you a world of good. 8 hours a day minimum! That doesn’t mean start getting ready for bed at the 8 hour mark, it means be in bed, preferably asleep. I know as much as anyone their aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything, but believe me, those hours become so much more productive if you go to bed early.
2. Be prepared. This is hard to quantify. For me, being prepared is spending 10 minutes the night before decided what work I want to do the following day. That alone gives me a mental checklist that I can follow throughout the day. Once again, it’s all about making the most out of the time you have.
3. Doing work. I know it seems trivial, but if a lecturer asks you to look at a problem before the next lecture, then do it. I’m as guilty as the next guy for not doing this, but if you make sure to sleep and prepare then you’re far more likely to actually do it.

I’m not trying to get all high and mighty, I’m only hoping that someone out there will see this and go: I can better my chances of getting a good mark with pretty much no extra effort, I just need to be focused.

Well, I started writing this to say what a great day I had in labs messing around with Chroma Keying, but it’s kinda not turned out that way… ahh well :o)

• Happiness. 9 out of 10
• Tiredness. 1 out of 5
• Workload. 8 out of 10
• Last Meal. Not as exciting as my next meal: BEEF BOURGUIGNON!
• Song of the day. Sara Bareilles – Love Song
• Thought for the day. “The Mac won’t do two things at once”
• What I’m Doing Now. Cooking BEEF BOURGUIGNON mmm yea!

I like March already

Today was definitely a good day :)

I got a phone call at noon saying that I’ve been shortlisted for the SONY placement. I’m going to spend a full day there on Wednesday with one other guy from my course to get a feel for the job with the other engineers and see what I’m like in the workplace. From that they’ll decide who’ll get the job, or if both of us will get it… WOOOO!!

On top of that I got my computer working this evening! I don’t know what I did, but fingers crossed it keeps on going a while longer!

My computer graphics lecture this afternoon was very full of mind-boggling maths, but the lab was cool, so that kinda made up for it!

I’m gearing up for March, looks set to be a brilliant month with lots happening. This week I’m going to parties and Beth (my cousin) is coming down this weekend! I’m also working for the Tote for the next two Saturdays, so that’ll keep me busy!

It was one of those days where nothing was bad news…

• Happiness. 9 out of 10
• Tiredness. 2 out of 5
• Workload. 8 out of 10
• Last Meal. Pie and chips, as Will put it “the meal of kings…”
• Song of the day. McFly – 5 Colours In Her Hair
• Thought for the day. “Mega pack of Shreddies! It is a godsend!”
• What I’m Doing Now. Looking forward to another day working on the Media Project with Josh tomorrow…