I can’t believe it’s been a month since my last post. While it would be nice to say that something interesting happened in that time…. I can’t. I really can’t. Despite the fireworks displays I went to being really impressive and building-shaking, I just feel that the last month has been one plodding day after another!
Will the torrent of coursework never end? I’m not in the least bit looking forward to Christmas, as I just have so much work due in before then. A LCOL Essay, my Project Mid-Project Report, the Computer Vision recognition coursework, and it just all feels like so much stuff!
Last week was what was laughingly referred to as ‘reading week’. A chance to have a break from lectures and catch up on reading that needs to be done. While I can honestly say I did some work that week, it was nowhere near enough, which left me feeling even worse. In the back of my mind I constantly had this voice going “I really should be doing some work… ooh, Star Trek’s on! No, must do some work… I wonder what Abi’s doing? That looks like fun. I’ll just play with her for a bit then do some work…. I wonder if there’s anything interesting on the net to read?” and thus the week progressed with little actually getting done. I think if I work it out, I probably did more work on the train trips home and back again than I did during the week I was at home!
In all fairness, I still have a week til the Vision is due in, two weeks til the Essay is due in, and three weeks til the Report is due in, so this may just be unnecessary panic, but it still seems like a lot of work!
The last couple of nights, I haven’t left the labs before 8pm, and last night I couldn’t get to sleep til about 3am, which did nothing for my desire to wake up this morning. Controlling my various moods of feeling lost and without direction are not helped by not sleeping properly. It’s tempting to just sleep through this weekend, but I know I still have so much to do with no end in sight. Oh well, at least I have no lectures today so i can just plod along with work, but my heart isn’t in it, not that it ever is really.
Despite the immense workload, I have managed to expose myself to some culture - Sunday’s Brass Band and Symphonic Wind Orchestra concert was brilliant. Even though they seemed to get a little lost at one point, on the whole it was great. I got to hear some pieces which I know and love, as well as some that I’d never heard before and will undoubtedly be looking into again! I also went to see West Side Story in the LUU on Tuesday, which was very well done. Whilst I haven’t seen it before, and therefore can’t provide a frame of reference, I really enjoyed it! The songs were well done (and I found myself humming them for several hours afterwards) and the acting was both moving and delightfully hammy in places! It really makes me miss being on the stage, and I should probably take it up again at some point. What I lack is confidence and an ability to remember lines!
Anyhoo, back to the real world… This afternoon I will mostly be reading journals and papers. Joy, oh rapture unbounded(!)