Two hours to get home

[karen2205]

Left work about 5.20, got as far as Green Park fine and then got stuck. The Jubilee line wasn't running, so I walked to Oxford Circus to get a bus home, looking in shop windows as I walked past - I've never really explored that area. There were a couple of really expensive chocolate shops and I bought something small in the second of the two I went in. My Mum and sister (and indeed me as well) all have Christmas chocolate left, so we don't want lots of chocolate for Easter, just a little of something good.

By the time I got a bus to Kilburn, stopped for a pint of milk in Sainsbury's and got home it was 7.30 and I was frozen/saturated.

It's so nice to have a couple of weeks off LPC classes - the summer's going to be great.

Comments

[colours.livejournal.com]

Guh. I so miss having an Easter break! Ah, for academia ;o)

[karen2205]

I miss university length vacs, particularly the nice long summers:-(

And yeah, it's really sad to be happy about having my evenings back for two weeks, but there we go.

I get tomorrow afternoon off (joys of temping for a government agency), Friday & Monday and that's it by way of a proper Easter holiday:-(

[swirlingmuse.livejournal.com]

Heya,
Sorry for this rather random comment, but ive been looking into going to uni and noticed that you went to Merton college in Oxford which is a place i am considering, could you tell me what your time was like there? and whats it like living in London? as i am also considering studying there. Hope you dont mind me bothering you too much!
Lea

[karen2205]

No problem at all sweetheart;-)

Go and have a look at http://www.wonderfuldreams.me.uk/oxford and you'll find my ramblings on what my time there was like. It wasn't all wonderful though - there were times when I cried, times when I didn't know why I put myself through it etc etc, but it was all worth it in the end.

I'll add you to my friends' list in a minute - from there you'll be able to read more ramblings about Oxford that haven't yet been sanitised enough to be made publically available;-)

Out of the Oxford colleges, Merton is one of the most academic - that doesn't suit everyone, and in retrospect I'd have picked a different college. Do see if you can go along on an Open Day and spend some time wandering about the colleges - you shouldn't be charged for entrance as a prospective student.

Do remember though that the most important thing when selecting a university is to find a course that you like - use the UCAS handbook. Oxford courses are very traditional in outlook and that might not be what you want. Also bear in mind that all courses rely on finals to determine degree results - many have an element of a project/thesis/extended essay that makes up a (generally) small percentage of the marks, but you will have to sit finals ie. exams at the end of your last year that cover all the work you've done in your second/third years. I had nine papers in eleven days. Finals aren't a reason to not apply, unless you're really anti-exam, just be aware.

Living in London isn't bad - I used to feel intimidated by the size of the city, but as a friend described it to me it really is just a series of villages/small towns connected by the tube. Living in London is much more expensive than living elsewhere (and that includes Oxford - Oxford is much cheaper and the Colleges have lots of money to give away in the form of hardship grants). I love the ability to go out at night and come home at any time - the tube shuts down, but there are night buses. I dislike the time it takes to get across London using the tube/tube breakdowns/lack of air conditioning. I found the multiculturalness a little odd to start with, because it's so different to Hampshire - where I'm living in London there are lots of Muslims, including many women who chose to wear the hijab and indeed some who chose to cover themselves head to toe in black - I'm not criticising/judging their choices, just that seeing lots of people doing that was something I found unusual when I first moved to London.

Anything else you want to know, just shout.