Hiatus

I am putting this blog on hold indefinitely, as I feel that a personal, handwritten diary would of more value.

First shift

Well, I had my first shift at Morrison's yesterday, and it was pretty fun. I wore a stupid hat, sliced lots of meat, and washed my hands a great number of times. It was only a 3 hour shift, so the real test of my mettle will be tomorrow, when I'm doing an 8-hour shift; I suspect it will be rather boring... But it's a daft part-time job: they are boring. Hopefully the banter will be good, but if it isn't? Meh.

On a more interesting note, I'm off to the Isle of Arran for a week on Sunday, then to Aviemore for a further week thereafter. It should be a fun two weeks, but I hope my academic colleagues don't decide to drink all week, as I dislike drunk and hungover people.

Trained to bits

I had my initial training day at the mighty Morrisons (my new employer, always sans apostrophe); it dragged on a bit, but it was ok nonetheless. It basically consisted of (a) customer service (b) basic food hygiene and (c) common sense. I am going to be working in the delicatessen, so the basic message for me was "WASH YOUR HANDS". I received two shirts, some nice stripy aprons, and I will be getting a boater at some point, probably before my first shift on Tuesday; I'm working 3-7 Tuesday and 11-8 Thursday. Woohoo! I have to train to 'level 3' in food hygiene, whatever that is, to be full qualified as a deli guy. I suppose I also have to acquire a good knowledge of cheeses, pies and the like.

In unrelated news, my mother bought a car at a police auction, which is intended for shared use among me, my mum's boyfriend, and my little brother (when he passes his test). I suppose it will be useful, but I'm quite ambivalent about having it at my disposal. Driving is driving, and I much prefer walking, cycling or taking the train. However, it is quite a funky wee car, and it might be useful for snowboarding trips come winter/fishing trips come summer.

Aside from not getting fired from Morrisons, not crashing this new car, and passing my uni exams, I have another ambition for the coming months: pass the Zertifikat Deutsch. This is the standard level of German language proficiency required to work in die Bundesrepublik Deutschland,  and the practice tests I've done seem fairly straightforward. Obviously, one cannot know every single word in a foreign language, but working them out from context is the real key. Plus, many German words are built up from smaller components, so some sense of the meaning of a word can usually be gleaned from its constituent parts.

I have a job! Ich habe eine Stelle!

At long last, I have a job! I am now a sales assistant (deli) for Wm. Morrisons. I will be slicing meat and cheese quite soon! The glamour! That aside, I'm really glad I got this job, as I was beginning to be a little bit strapped for cash. The steady increase in transport costs, plus all the little extras that seem to mount up (field trips, books, more books, stationery) were all hitting me in the pocket. 

It is now the norm for students to work while they study, due to the cost of university, particularly for English students. Lecturers and relatives have regaled me with stories of the glory days, when students were subsidised left, right and centre, and how it's a disgrace that we have to pay so much these days. However, not everyone chooses to rack up massive debts during their uni days. I put myself under this banner, as I would prefer to be financially independent in later life; the 'credit crunch' has also ensured that my classmates will probably graduate into a depressed economy, less able to accomodate them. 

Mein Gott

I am now 20 years old. Huzzah! I can now:

• Moan about teenagers, the youth, and children.
• Grow a beard, without the need to be a palaeontologist.
• Start bar fights.
• Reminisce/be nostalgic about things.
• Write serious essays about books.

Note: the above points may be the witterings of an old man.

I was 20 yesterday, and I had my final earth science lab of second year; it was a remote sensing lab, a subject which I particularly enjoy. It may seem ridiculous that my entire course of classes ended on March 20th, but it is due to the compression of the academic year into two 11-week semesters, or something like that. I mentioned this during an adviser-of-studies meeting, and immediately regretted it, as I got a long, boring spiel about the previous and current structure of the academic year. Ach so, I guess that's just life. And it's quite a good one, na?

An end to the term

Wow! The 2nd term of my 2nd year at university is almost complete. All my geography labs/tutorials and earth science lectures have finished. All I am left with are a few palaeobiology labs (and a test) and a final remote sensing lab. I have really enjoyed remote sensing, especially since powerful conclusions can be arrived at via free tools and data (MultiSpec and ESDI, thank you!). 

This year has been shorter than last, thanks to a compression of the timetable, so I'm left in a familiar position, i.e. nothing to do. Thankfully, I have a job interview this coming Saturday, so that may alleviate the boredom. Otherwise, I've been devoting myself to reading (mainly philosophy and German), running at night, and maintaining my vegetable garden.

Oh, the terrible life of a student! 

3 more essential reads

Not scientific, but essential nonetheless:

1. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, by Robert Tressell. One of the finest non-Orwell accounts of early 2oth century poverty. 
2. Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Neurotic, ultra-detailed, as fevered and crazy as the main character.
3. Europe - A History, by Norman Davies. This is a solid account of the history of the continent upon which I live, from the depths of prehistory, to modern statism.

Read them!