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Post-University

My post-university life–new flat, new job, new friends–has started to take shape (though I won’t officially “graduate” until the end of June). I moved out of university accommodation yesterday, and have spent today finishing unpacking and taking full advantage of my very own kitchen. I bought sesame bagels yesterday on a whim, and for lunch today had one toasted with cheese, pepperoni, and salami. I also went shopping for baking tools like measuring spoons and mixing bowls, and finally made a batch of my favorite chocolate chip cookies, for the first time in at least a year. I’ve mentioned these …

Holidays

Summer has come to Glasgow. Surprisingly, it’s not just a day, but a week of blazing sun. I’ve been out to the park frequently, and so has everyone else. The place is packed like a beach, with people tanning, reading, kicking around footballs (soccer balls), getting ice cream from a van that must be making a fortune, and playing music whether the people around them enjoy it or not. I’ve enjoyed it, but since I got a bit of a burn a couple of days ago I’ve been avoiding direct sunlight. Today it’s finally cloudy, but it’s still quite warm. …

Book Review #6: Winter Is Coming

Book 6: A Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin

I have to admit, the main reason I was drawn to this author was the title of the most recent one in the series, A Dance with Dragons. I love anything that has to do with dragons. So I looked up the first book, read some reviews, asked some friends–and was surprised at the amount of encouragement they had for me to read it.

I was gripped from the start. The prologue was exciting, haunting, and a hint that this book wasn’t just kings and courts and …

A Full Education

A lot has been happening. I’m taking my final exams, I’ve had 6 and have 3 left. Two this Friday, and the last one the following Thursday. I had 9 exams in the spring last year as well, but somehow this year it feels even more dragged out. When I was about halfway through them, I never wanted to see an exam again… but I’ve been dealing with that feeling by doing equal amounts of studying and playing Skyrim. It’s only a few more, and then, I’ll never take a university exam again. I’m graduating in June.

Sometimes, I think …

Building A PC: Part 2

As some of you may know, I’ve already put the computer together that I mentioned in Part 1 and it’s running smoothly. I’m finally getting around to telling you how. I didn’t take quite as many pictures as would be ideal if I want non-techie people to understand, but I will try to make up for this with explanations.

After unwrapping it all (which, I admit, felt like Christmas), the first step was to put the processor and its fan on the motherboard, as you can see pictured (click the pictures to see them larger!). Make sure to place …

Book Review #5: Of Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters

Book 5: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams

Another crazy adventure with Arthur Dent. Zaphod Beeblebrox is looking for the ruler of the Universe, on a mission that he only recently remembered. At one point they end up at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, a very imaginative place, where people can go to see what happens at the End and enjoy a good supper at the same time. The plot seemed slightly contrived and just a bit confusing, but there were certainly funny parts, and is a good choice if you’re …

Building A PC: Part 1

I have recently decided to build a new computer. I have reasons for why I’m doing it before my exams are over, as well as reasons for why I’m building it myself, but I’d rather talk about the latter. I am aiming to write these posts about my new computer not only for tech-savvy readers, but for anyone who is interested. So I apologize if you know some of this already. This blog was partly inspired by Coding Horror’s popular series of posts. Take a look at them if you want more pictures of pretty PC parts.

Building has many …

Freedom

On Friday, my class and I turned in our dissertations. It was such a relief. Since exams don’t start for about a month, it’s as if I went from having no time for anything but work to having no idea what to do with myself. I have a few small projects in mind though, including writing a bunch of blog posts that I’ve been beind on. I have another book review and at least one post I want to make about the new computer I put together. Look for them soon!

I might also buy A Game of Thrones, …

Milestones

As of last night, I have completed all of my coursework. Another step closer to being finished with my degree. There are still two weeks of lectures left, and three weeks to finish my dissertation. For that, I have at least 30 more pages to go, plus a presentation to prepare. It’s a lot easier to bear without extra work on top of that.

I’m so ready to have time to do whatever I want: read, play video games, assemble a new computer, cross-stitch… so ready, in fact, that I will probably make time to do some of these things

Book Review #4: Don’t Panic

Book 4: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

Many of us have heard bits and pieces of the story, but perhaps not the whole thing. Arthur Dent is a man living in England whose house is about to be torn down to build a highway. While he is busy worrying about it, his friend Ford Prefect — who is actually an alien — tries to convince him that the end of the world is coming. Shortly thereafter, a spaceship shows up to demolish the Earth to make way for a hyperspace bypass. After the planet’s untimely …