It feels like it will be Summer soon. The next few days are supposed to be nice, sunny and mid-teens to twenties, which is always nice! It makes me wish that I had bought my deckchair a while back, rather than waiting until I have no money! I’m going home next weekend and the tickets were much more expensive than normal, so that’s £26 less for me to spend.
Having finished and handed in my last undergraduate essay ever, I’ve been left with some spare time before I have to start revising for my exams. Naturally, this is being spent usefully lurking on the internet, but on Sunday I decided to take a break from this exhausting pursuit to make some biscuits! This recipe isn’t suitable for vegans, although it would be pretty easy to adapt if you were to substitute the egg and use vegan cocoa powder. I got the recipe from a very cute book called “1 Dough, 50 Cookies“, which I picked up in a publisher’s clearance bookshop for only £2.00 as I needed something to bulk up my purchase so I could use my card. This recipe seriously makes a lot of cookies, so you could halve it or freeze half the dough and still have plenty.
It seems so weird that this is my last term as an undergraduate. In about two months I’ll have finished my final exams and nervously awaiting the results, and in three months time, I’ll be graduating and have a shiny set of letters after my name! andgreyskies BA(Hons) has quite a ring to it. I’m still ridiculously nervous about not getting into my master’s course, and I think I will be until I find out the mark for my dissertation. For now though, I have one more essay to write and another horrendous Greek exam on Monday, which although I’ve been revising for, I’m almost certain that I will do badly in. Hopefully just not as badly as before… if I can get 60% (a 2:1), which I will honestly be overjoyed, so today will be spent trying to hammer in what I’ve ‘learnt so far’.
I’ve also got my exam timetable, and it is horrible. My twenty-first birthday is on the 16th of June…
17th June 9:30 Greek Language
18th June 14:00 Greek Tragedy
19th June 9:30 Art and Architecture
The last exam is irritating as it’s on a Saturday, so that means I’ll only be doing half a day at work (or maybe I’ll miss it altogether!) so will get paid less.
Talking of work, I worked three afternoons last week and Saturday, so I shall be enjoying a nice fat paycheck to go along with my student loan coming in and the start of the month (when my living expenses come through). I’ll feel so wealthy until the rent comes out. I’ve also been asked to open the shop on the 23rd of June as Kate (the ‘supervisor’) is away at Glastonbury then. This is exciting because it means that I’ll hopefully be given more shifts next year. Emma, who also works with us on a Saturday and will hopefully be staying on for a master’s, also wants more hours next year, but is not in the bookshop’s good graces at the moment. She missed a lot of shifts in the holidays, apparently, and has also been annoying Kate with her constant boyfriend drama and moping around not doing any work.
I thought I’d upload my recipe for vegan scones, which were very popular with the Vegetarian Society! I’ll upload a photo tomorrow when I can use the card reader on the family computer, as I sadly forgot mine. I thought the scones were much tastier than non-vegan scones from a supermarket, so I was pretty happy!
Click through for more…
Tags: Food, scones, vegan, veggie soc
I guess I’ve been feeling generally demoralised and disappointed in myself at the moment.
I really fucked up with taking Greek. If I could turn back time, I seriously wish that I had just taken a normal essay based module that I would have enjoyed and done well in. If I don’t do better on the next test and in the final exam, I will have most likely ruined my chances for a 2:1. I’ve resolved that throughout Easter I’m going to try to revise every day, try to do better in the hopes of clawing my marks back up. I got 49% in the last test. If I get a 70% this time, that should compensate for the last two tests where I got thirds. I just hope that I can do it. It’s Latin all over again, but this time it matters.
I was feeling okay about my dissertation (despite time running away from me…) until last night. I sent my second chapter off to my tutor and received it back with loads of comments about things I’ve missed, and I’ve realised that what I’ve written just isn’t dissertation quality. I wander through facts, citing other people, but as Dan wrote “Full of interesting facts, this chapter, but what is your argument? What questions are you trying to answer? Which myths are you trying to debunk?”. Although the feedback is really valuable, I don’t feel like I’m doing well at all. I guess all I can do is make corrections and add onto what I’ve already written. Today, I intend to write my final chapter and conclusion and send those off to Dan as well. I’ll never have been so glad to have finished something in my life. I’m still worried about what mark I will get for it. I’m just hoping for a high 2:1, so that even if I get a bad mark on Greek, I can hopefully persuade them to let me onto the MA course.
The MA course is another issue. If I don’t get a 2:1, I won’t get onto the course. I don’t even know if they’ll even give me an offer yet, but hopefully I’ll find out soon. I think that getting offered a place and then failing to get the grades required would be inestimably worse than not getting offered a place. At least if I don’t get offered a place from the start, my hopes won’t be raised and then dashed. I think the next few months are going to be hell.
I guess my point is, I don’t feel like I’m doing well. If I don’t get a 2:1, I’ve effectively wasted three years of my life and almost £20,000, not to mention all the good marks that I’ve got, all because I thought it was a good idea to take a subject I’m hopelessly bad at and far too lazy to do all the work for. I’ve got nobody to blame but myself if I fuck all of this up. Of all the things I’ve ever hated myself for, this would be the worst.
I went swimming, for the first time in more years than I want to think about, yesterday. I’m actually really glad that I went, and I don’t know why I spent so much worrying about it! I’m going to go again next week, maybe on Sunday or Monday. I was lucky when I went, as the pool was really quiet- half of it was given over to some kind of club, and there were only five or so people in the part that I was in. Unfortunately, I managed to forget my new, overpriced and cheaply made, goggles, so I couldn’t see much, and swam with my head above the water for half of the time.
I had feared that in the years that I haven’t swum (beyond splashing around in a pool on holiday) I would have forgotten how to! The old wives’ tale is true, I guess- it’s one of the things you don’t forget. It took me a while to get used to breathing while in the pool though, and I swear I have never ingested so much water! The pool is smaller than the one at Hornchurch Sports Centre where I used to swim, but it’s much nicer. I think a lot of that must be because it’s newer and not really for general public use. I’m going to try to keep up going swimming as it will be good for me! I did fourteen lengths, which isn’t bad for a first time. I’m aiming for twenty next time, then increasing them gradually. I had to measure in lengths, rather than time as I couldn’t even see where the clock was, let alone what time it showed!
After swimming, I went to the Animal Welfare and Vegetarian Society meeting and elections, of which I am not Vice President/ Secretary, which is quite exciting! We then went out for delicious noodles from the Coventry Noodle Bar. Probably tomorrow I’m going to write a blog about all the food I have eaten with them, but it will have to wait, as I have a 10am lecture tomorrow, and it is now 02:15. >_>
Busy, busy, busy. I’ve been writing my dissertation, going on a little sojourn to London with Giles, going out and about, and working. I’m going to segregate my blogs by topic, so here is one on artistic things:
I have a new project in the works. In essence, it’s two projects- about the two towns/cities that I live in, Coventry and Romford (anonymity, where did you go?). Coventry can be a bit of a monster of concrete, which I find interesting. I’ve got a few places in mind to take photos- a subway, a building which I think used to be part of Coventry Polytechnic but now looks pretty condemned, and so on. The Romford part will be easier, having lived there for my whole life, of course. I’m currently deciding how to go about the project though- whether it should be in colour or black and white, or a mix or both. I currently have an almost full roll of B&W in my camera, so it seems quite likely that I shall just use that.
I never like to talk about projects, mainly because I often don’t finish (or never get around to starting) them, and it makes me feel foolish when people ask about them. I’m also never sure what to do with them once I’ve finished, but I guess I’ll stick it up on here and flickr and people can look at them if they like. I’ve got lots of photos on my camera and my iPhone that I need to put up as well, so hold this space.
Another busy, busy week for me! What week isn’t? Being busy is a bit of a curse. When I’ve got nothing to do, I feel bad moping around at home, like I’m not making the most out of life; but when I’ve got too much going on, I just want some time to do nothing. I wanted to write a bit about books! I really want one of the Moleskine Book Journals! I always resolve to keep a record of what I read and my impressions of it, and this seems like a really good way to do it- easy and quick and combined with good design. It reminds me a little bit of the book reviews that I had to write in junior school, though! I remember that my folder was always massive, as I’ve always been a very quick reader. When I was in school, I used to regularly read six to eight books a week (eight being the maximum that I could withdraw from the local library)- I’m not sure how I found the time to do that, except that the books were shorter and a lot less complicated than my current reading material!
Nowadays, I tend to get most of my reading done on public transport. I’ve almost always got a book in my bag (I think I’m scared of being bored). When I’m working in London, and spending a solid hour or so commuting in, along with my super long hour and twenty minutes of break, I go through books at a ridiculous speed as I’m reading for at least three hours every day! While at university, I read quite a bit more slowly as I have less opportunities to. Unlike a lot of people I know, I don’t really like reading in bed. I don’t mind if I don’t have to get up early the next morning, but I tend to get absorbed in my book, and before I know it, it’s four in the morning and I have to get up at eight thirty!
I’m currently reading An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro. I’ve only read the first seventy pages, but it looks like it will be quite interesting so far, and I’ll write more about it later. Ishiguro is amazing at creating an evocative image of a world, this one being that of late 1940s Japan, rebuilding itself after World War Two.
Prior to this, I read The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. I’ve never read anything by her before, but her books have been consistently recommended to me. I found the book really gripping- I love fiction where the real story unrolls gradually, leading you on twists and turns, and leaving you waiting to understand who becomes who, and what caused the events the reader has already seen. In typical literary fiction style, there isn’t a great deal of “action” (one of the things I really enjoy about the genre, so not a bad point in this case!), but Atwood’s depiction of characters is amazing, allowing the reader to feel and empathise and agonise, while remaining an outsider- someone spying on another life. As I mentioned, one of the things I love about literary fiction is how the book doesn’t have to be filled with events upon events. A good writer can write about almost nothing, and still ensnare the reader. I’m not surprised that it won the Booker prize!
Anyway, I’m off to bed now, so I’ll have to tell you a little more about a few other things in my life another time!
Tags: artist of the floating world, atwood, blind assain, Books, ishiguro, margaret atwood, moleskine
It’s been a busy week! So I’m going to split up the things I’ve done into sections to make it easier. It’s quite a food-heavy entry, I’ve just realised, but maybe that’s because I’m hungry as I’m writing it!
Habibi
I’m a member of the Animal Welfare and Vegetarian Society at my university, and every week we go out for a meal to a vegetarian-friendly restaurant. This week we went to Habibi, an Arabic restaurant in Coventry. I’ve been there once before, also with the Society. It’s a really nice restaurant, and very atmospheric. However, I find that the food is a bit hit and miss. Last time I went, I ordered the ‘Batata Harah’, which a potato and pepper dish with garlic. It was pretty tasty. I also got falafel and rice with vermicelli and vegetables, both of which are so delicious! I ordered them both this time as well. However, I also ordered ‘Loubia Bizet’ green bean dish, which was horrible! Definitely not a success. The restaurant has a ‘Beoudin tent’ outside, where they serve drinks (no alcohol though) and shisha. Last time I went, we had a rose flavoured shisha, which tasted like rose Turkish delight; this time, however, we just had some hot drinks. Although it’s outside, there is a brazier and heaters, which keep it surprisingly warm! I’d recommend it if you want something different, but the service is quite slow, so not one for a quick meal! Here is a link to their website. I’m really glad I joined the Animal Welfare society. The people I’ve met through it have all been lovely so far, and our socials are always really good fun.
The Animal Welfare society is also planning a ‘Go Vegetarian Month’, starting from the second of February, which is quite exciting! I get to have proteges, or ‘Veggie buddies’, as I should be calling them. I’m a little bit nervous about having lots of people I don’t know assigned to me, but I’m sure it will be fine. Fifty people have expressed interest on facebook, and it’s fantastic that this many people want to give vegetarianism a go. Giles had decided to go vegetarian for the month as well, which is also awesome. Although I don’t mind if my partner chooses to eat meat, I’d obviously prefer people I like to be vegetarian. Giles already doesn’t really cook meat for himself and only eats it when out (or on a pizza), so we’ll have to see how it goes.
Dissertation
Argh! I have so little time left to do it, so I really need to get working on it. However, I went and saw my dissertation tutor on Thursday morning, and he was really enthusiastic about my topic. The title I’ve decided upon is “How did the Grand Tour influence English interior design?”. I now need to finihish off my Art and Architecture essay, and get working on my dissertation, as it has to be in by the end of this term, which is just frieghtening.
Giles
Giles gets a whole section to himself (well, he has to share it with more food, predictably), because I’ve seen him quite a lot this week! He came round mine on Thursday evening, and I made us Thai curry. I usually just buy the ready-made sauce which comes in a jar, but this time I had to combine curry paste with coconut milk! I made enough for a small army, I think- loads of quorn, potatoes and vegetables, not to mention rice and naan. I thought it was pretty tasty though! Giles stayed round mine that night, and we watched Se7en, which we’ve been intending to see for a while. It was good, quite creepy in parts though! On Friday morning, Giles went off to Nottingham, while I went to my lectures and then onto Birmingham to do some shopping. We headed back to his that evening, and stayed up way too late and drank far too much (as I regretted this morning before work…).
Birmingham
Shopping time! I feel s0 shallow writing about what I bought, but here I go. I got Giles an anniversary card, and for myself, I managed to successfully achieve my two worst kinds of shopping- jeans and shoes. I bought some jeans from Gap, which I would post a picture of, but they’re not on Gap’s American website. They’re straight-cut and dark, and were relatively painless to find! The shoes are ballerina type shoes, that I will sort out a photo of when I get home. After I had shopped, I met up with Giles and we went for dinner in Pizza Express, where I had my usual, the Zucchine Funghi with no cheese. Delicious! It was really nice to spend time with Giles as well, although it always is. 
Tags: birmingham, coventry, dissertation, Food, giles, habibi, pizza express
