hobbling goblin gobbling

This is a little celebration post to celebrate .... me! What a surprise! Well actually to celebrate my success in the exams and essays so far! This is my way to let the world know that I passed all of my exams and essays and am more or less pleased with my results and am averaging about 65%, which is very pleasing. Woooo!

Other than that life is nearly going on as usual. Nearly because at the moment I am hobbling around with big blisters on my feet from being to energetic on the treadmill. Am a bit sad about this because it was going very well and I was getting quite into the running thing. Anyway all this hobbling and nastiness on my feet means I am missing meetings and things that I would have liked to go to in order to air my feet and let my wounds heal but still there is plenty of things going on: Human Rights Film Series tonight, lectures and seminars tomorrow, meeting with someone from the Red Cross to hopefully organise some volunteering, and with a potential (hopefully not only potential!) supervisor for my research project on Friday, day trip to York on Saturday, and then lots of visitors, first hand-in date, counselling workshop, etc next week! Sounds exhausting just reading it.

Not sure if I had already mentioned the snow in one of my last posts but thought I would mention it again. The UK (and I think the continent too) is suffering from bizarre extreme weather periods. It has snowed about three times in the last week here in Nottingham and we have had snowball fights and built a snowman. Now it is back to the usual mixture of sunshine and grayness (usually both on one day) but other parts of England are still having snow I think. My wellies certainly came in very useful. Hopefully the weather will be ok on Saturday to go to York and next week when Lena & Co. are here. I think I might have said this already in one of my previous posts... Sign of old age. Heyho.

xxx

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

Let me introduce one of the most dangerous cake recipes in the world - the five minute chocolate mug cake:

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous). And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

an elephant never forgets

I have not forgotten my blog - I have only been too busy to write anything! And when not too busy then too lazy... And now so many things have happened since my last post! Four days in Switzerland seeing friends and feeling at home in the cold and familiarity of Basel, two weeks in North Carolina enjoying seeing family again, celebrating Christmas and New Year and in between a few days relaxing in the sun in Oriental (and trying to get over a particularly nasty cold). Then back to Nottingham for a week of revision, just under a week of exams (one of the worst weeks of my life), just over a week of writing four essays, and then straight back into new lectures last week! Now with Anne here visiting from Switzerland and so busy being tourists, making delicious food (i.e. me actually cooking Risotto, and parsnip mash for example, and making tomatoe and Mozarella salad - but also the two of us making a rather yummy Zopf that disappeared in less than 24 hours), visiting Sherwood Forest (home to Robin Hood) and Newstead Abbey (home to Lord Byron), going down the caves in Nottingham, and making snowmen and having snowball fights with my housemates! Nottingham has had more snow in the last day or so than in the last 18 or 13 (depending on source) years and it is expected to carry on snowing for the next few days! Schools have been closed, lectures, cancelled, etc. Thankfully we didn't try and go to Liverpool or London this weekend but stuck around to experience Nottingham in white! Further past activities: cinema (Slumdog Millionaire and Defiance - both fantastic and moving!), pub quiz, exploring new places to go out in Notts, walks, Chinese New Year celebrations, regular things like going to the gym, etc. Possible future activities: Volunteering with the Red Cross to do some admin/fundraising work, more cinema (The Reader and Vicky Christina Barcelona), more pub quizes (hopefully with some real success soon), lectures, research project proposal, reading, more essays, more friends from Switzerland (Lena & Co.), trip to York and hopefully London and Liverpool still, etcetcetc - Phew. More news soon.

Feliz navidad, prospero año y felicidad!

Just would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a great start in the new year!!

I should be going to bed as I have to get up in just over 5 hours to go the airport to fly to Heathrow to meet Mark and Nanny Peggy to then fly on to Raleigh/Durham. Phew.

I had a wonderful few days in Basel. Thank you for everyone who came from all over Switzerland and for everyone who took time off from studying and working to hang out with me. I love you all very much :)

That is all for now as I really must go to bed.

xxx

Christmas time, mistletoe and wine

Yes, again it has taken me ages to get round to writing a new post. And as always a lot of things have happened in the meantime although I do need to consult my diary to see what exactly those things were.

Last time I wrote it was the 12th November - it seems like only a few days ago. Time here is flying by. Regular occupations include meetings with the Broadgate JCR and the PGSA committee, going to lectures, going to the gym, sleeping and eating - oh and occasionally food shopping although I did admittedly just go a week without doing any proper food shopping. More irregular activities were things like having my Meningitis vaccination, being ill, going to my first ever formal dinner, having supper with Aunt Emma andandand. Let me pick a few things out for you.

My role as Cloister House Rep is getting more and more interesting. As I said I go to weekly meetings for two committees and so have the opportunity to get involved in a variety of activities that need to be organised e.g. future formals, parties, outings, etc. The Broadgate JCR now finally also has another postgrad rep so me, her and the international rep (who is also postgrad) will hopefully get some good stuff going on for Broadgate in the new year. We also just had the BGP Christmas formal, which was massive!! It was my first formal ever and I was very impressed. The theme was "Gatecrash the Kremlin" and they had Russian dancers, Roulette, dodgems, a starlit sky and disco dancing into the early hours of the morning. A group from Cloister House went and I sat with the JCR (free dinner, yay) and we all had an excellent time and everyone (including me I might say) was looking incredibly smart in their pretty dresses and suits and ties (well obviously not both, one or the other usually). Cloister House has also had a trip to the local bowling alley funded by BGP and it was only the second time I had ever been bowling and I am certainly not a natural talent especially not in playing two games in a row as my hand was definately too tired by the second game and we were playing without bumpers so there were a lot of 0s.... This coming weekend were are hoping to go ice skating on the old market square and get that subsidised too. Apparently this is the first year Cloisters has ever asked for anything to be subsidised - not sure whether this is considered a good or a bad thing...

Christmas time here is general madness. You might think Christmas is crazy everywhere it is actually celebrated but I think this is about as mad as it has ever got for me. There are so many Christmas parties one could go to and people spend insane amounts of money on Christmas presents and outfits (I would like to mention here that my beautiful dress for the formal cost about £14 off eBay) and decorations andandand (I think andandand is another direct translation of something that is usually only said in German but nevermind). On Friday we went to the PGSA Big Christmas Night Out. There was a group of about 15 of us and we had a good laugh even though the party was slightly disappointing. This coming week there is probably a party every night but main possibilities are the BGP Christmas Party and the I-WHO christmas dinner on Friday, which will hopefully give me the chance to meet a few more people from my course or my institute and do some more networking (I do hate that expression!!). On Saturday I went out for dinner with Jenny and a group of people cause it was Jenny's birthday (and also Santiglaus but that sadly isn't celebrated here). We went to Nando's, which is a Portuguese chicken place and it was very tasty, yummy. On Tuesday I am going to the German Christmas market with Jenny to have some Glühwein and maybe a Wurst. Another christmassy event coming up is the RDA Christmas Bonanza where they dress up all christmassy and do christmassy games with the riders but sadly I don't think I will be able to make it as I annoyingly have a revision lecture in the middle of the day...

Talking about lectures... I don't have very many this week but I do have an introductory session on my Applied Research Project, which I have to do next summer so if anyone has any good ideas for anything they want researched let me know ;)

Just realised I haven't yet mentioned that I was in London this week! I went from Wednesday evening to Friday morning and stayed with Vicky and Johanna. I had some great meals but mainly also went to have lunch with Val (Vicky's HR Manager) to talk about future careers in HR. It was very informative and helpful even though the conclusion we came to was that I probably don't want to be working in HR but maybe in recruitment/assessment or general consultancy. I thought London was great - as I always do when I am there - but did wonder how people who rely on public transport to get to work ever get there on time! Talking about public transport: I am now also the proud owner of an Oyster Card. Not really significant but I was quite pleased.

What I am most looking forward to in the near future (of course) is going back home to Basel. Yes, I do and probably always will consider Basel home. Main reason for being so happy to go back there is always just the feeling of being home and of course seeing all my beautiful, wonderful friends again. I do miss you all so much it is incredible. Anyway, I have to start planning my few days there as I am hoping to see as many people as possible and also eat Fondue, maybe some Zopf, wonder around time and along the Rhein and all sorts of other stuff. Oh yes, fill in my tax return of course, how could I forget.

I think that will do for the moment although I am sure there is lots more to tell. Must think some more about actually doing some proper work on one of my many essays or for one of my many exams.

Love you lots.

E

holloa boys and girls

after writing that short post and being told that my blog was appreciated I am now feeling quite motivated to write another, proper post. I can't believe it is already the 12th november (actually I think now it is already the 13th but days start when I get up as far as I'm concerned). christmas is appearing everywhere and the pressure is on with assignments galore and an equal amount of distracting activities.

as always, because I don't write often enough, many things have happened since my last post. i have been elected has cloister postgrad rep and have been through training and a few meetings already. one big advantage of this post is that i get free hoodies (this is a new word I have learned since getting here - another one is spag-bol = spaghetti bolognese) and free trips to places like ... Amsterdam!! but of course actually I really enjoy being a person of reference for people and feel strong enough to take on the responsibility although I need to build up some more connections with other reps to get some good stuff going on for cloisters.

... let me think what else has been going on since last posting. I have seen robin hood and friar tuck jousting (obviously not against each other) at the robin hood pageant at nottingham castle (which is not actually a castle but more like a mansion but i know a great deal about its history after doing a five minute presentation on it) - the weather was so english, it was incredible. it was cold and wet and incredibly windy but there were lots of people in costume and even the king had come! another cultural experience was halloween. i think most of you have seen pictures but yes, I was actually wearing a witches hat! that was as far as my costume went but I think that was also about far enough, thank you. before going out to the pub as a witch though we witnessed a guinness world record being set on the old market square in nottingham: the most people dressed up as zombies dancing the michael jackson's thriller dance! the rest of that weekend was slightly messed up by me having to undergo JCR (junior common room) training from 9-5 saturday and sunday. although it was quite an interesting experience and I saw more drawings of penis in those two days than I have in the last few years of my life. cannot believe I was ever an undergrad like them, haha.

after that, my timetable changed. this might seem boring to you but it was interesting for me because i was interested to see whether I would like my new courses more than the ones I had had so far. the answer is: I do! but ... all my new courses are assessed by coursework so I now have about 6 essays to write. uiuiuiui. first one is due in 8th december and the rest towards the end of january. with all the excitement of my timetable changing came the excitement of my first ever pub quiz! rather than going to the local pub (the JA) we opted on going to a pub in Beeston called the Malt Shovel where the PGSA organise a pub quiz every month. it was very good, it got you thinking and we had a good time. definately something to think about doing again in december - if only the broadgate park formal wasn't on the same day but no one else seems to want to go there anyway... where were we? ah yes, pub quiz. after pub quiz came bonfire night! also known as guy fawkes night. some of you might remember him from v for vendetta.

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,

The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,

I can think of no reason

Why the Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent

To blow up the King and Parli'ment.

Three-score barrels of powder below

To prove old England's overthrow;

By God's providence he was catch'd

With a dark lantern and burning match.

Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.

Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

anyway, we went to see him burn at the forest recreation grounds which was really nice although rather muddy. fireworks were being let off all week and we went to see another (I think more spectacular) bonfire and fireworks on the friday at our local firestation. but i am getting slightly ahead of myself. oh nevermind. talking about our local firestation, saturday morning at some ungodly hour (i.e. about 6am) I woke up to the sound of water only to find out that a pipe had burst just outside my room and there was water running through the ceiling in the hallway. after banging on sophie's door and causing some confusion the fire alarm went off while I was on the phone to the broadgate reception because the water was running through it. fact is, the whole house was evacuated at 6am and the local firemen came because they automatically get alarmed and even though we did sort of enjoy having men in uniform in our flat it ruined any chance of sleep for me so I went for a swim (this turned me into my flatmate's hero but ruined any chance of me doing anything productive for the rest of the day). that afternoon we had tea and cake in our flat for the house and met some people we had not met yet so that was nice.

this week has been quite uneventful so far. I have had a chat with a careers advisor about my CV and possible application question answers (I have started an online application to the Rolls-Royce graduate leadership programme in HR), which was very informative, have been to a PGSA meeting and tomorrow I am going to Lings Lane Stables again finally to give the Thursday group of the local RDA a go. Sadly because my timetable has changed I will no longer be able to go on Wednesdays.. My plan for this weekend is to get started on my essay, have a few drinks with some friends and sleep. Oooh I almost forgot: we are apparently getting a new flatmate!! Very exciting!

Anyway, must go to bed - this is far too long for anyone of you to want to ready anyway but I feel a lot better for having written it (thank you jenny r)!

good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite!

xxx

must

must write a proper new post again soon but it takes more effort than i had originally imagined and there are so many other things that i should be doing or would like to be doing: reading, writing essays, applying for jobs, volunteering, swimming, going to the gym, writing my blog, keeping up with my representative responsibilities (i.e. going to meetings and organising stuff), going to french-speakers meetings, watching films presented by the human rights law society, going on trips to cambridge, lincoln, amsterdam, etc, studying, and of course keeping up with my friends here and back home. i think of everyone a lot, which is maybe on reason why i get less done than i would like. need to work on my self-discipline and time-management.

xx