Gingerjo’s Blog

It’s only taken two years, but finally I’ve managed to meet up again with my best mate from uni and her fella. Last time I saw them was at their wedding which was only a few weeks after I moved back up to Manchester from Norfolk. I wouldn’t mind but they only live 10 miles away. I’m a disgrace.

I was a bit nervous to tell you the truth - we haven’t really seen each other properly since I moved to Glasgow an eon ago. What if we didn’t get on anymore? What if we’d both changed so much that we had nothing to talk about? What if they didn’t like my Mark? Anyways, I needn’t have been such a little yellow coward all this time - we all got on really well and it was great to see them. They hosted a fantastic party to celebrate their 10 year anniversary and I had the best time I’ve had in ages. I was very sorry to have to go home!!

I’m definitely not going to leave it two years before I call her again.

They’ve arrived, my textbooks for SK183 Understanding Human Nutrition. I’ve decided I’m going to read through them quickly first, then study them carefully week by week as suggested. I’ve read the first couple of chapters already and it looks really interesting. I don’t think I’ll find the chemistry sections challenging, but then I do have an advantage over many students - I have studied it before. I’m sure there’ll be loads I’ve forgotten though so it’ll be great revision. And also great practice for when I do the CIM Professional Diploma which is very textbook heavy. Hopefully the two courses won’t overlap too much timewise. I’m hoping to submit the ECA for SK183 in October, but there’s still the January deadline if I fail miserably. I’ll just have to see how it all goes. If only work didn’t get in the way of my educational aspirations….

For ages I’ve been wanting to visit the beach where 100 cast iron, life-size figures stand looking out to sea. We had a false start earlier this year when we visited Formby instead of Crosby, but that was OK, because Formby offered red squirrels as compensation. Today we finally made it to Blundellsands in Crosby.

We drove around Crosby for quite a while because Sefton Council seems to feel that signposts are a distraction to drivers who should obviously be concentrating on the road. However, some friendly locals pointed us in the right direction so we found the beach in the end. The weather was warm and sunny, but with a good strong breeze coming off the sea making it pleasant to move around instead of warm and sticky.

It was worth the drive. The figures are, for want of four years in art school learning how to describe these things, really cool! Apparently they are made from casts of Antony Gormley’s own body - he seems to be of average height with a slim build. Those near the dunes seem unfinished - like half grown clones. They are a bit rusty, but otherwise lack any individuality. In contrast, those that spend much of their time submerged in the sea are covered in barnacles and seaweed and seem to have each developed their own character and claimed their place in the world. I think they are a spectacular piece of public art. But then the same is true of the Angel of the North in Gateshead.

We’ve had the Wii a while now so maybe it’s time that I shared my thoughts.

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I couldn’t help it. I tried to resist because I’m hoping to do the CIM’s Professional Diploma in Marketing this year which will take up a lot of my spare time. It didn’t work. I’ve signed up for another OU course. This time its SK183 Understanding Human Nutrition.

Although I know a lot about the basic composition of food - carbs, protein, fats, vitamins, minerals, etc - I still have serious problems with my attitude towards food. I’m hoping that a fuller understanding will help me make better food choices and perhaps help me understand why I’m prone to eating comfort food. I’m really interested in the sociological and psychological aspects of food and I’m hoping this course will help me there.

Fortunately there are two submission dates for the coursework - I can take 5 months with this course if I want so there’s no pressure to complete it all within 10 weeks. November usually isn’t a good month for me, but I should be alright to make the end of January.

If I like this course I’m thinking of doing the full Certificate in Contemporary Science and studying astronomy, earthquakes and fossils and things as well. I just like learning stuff.

Phew! Well, I’m still here - I’ve survived two days of clearing hotline meyhem and two full-on uni open days back-to-back. Bloomin’ hard work mind, I’m exhausted. The hotlines were busy and the clearing applicants generally had pretty good qualifications - you have to wonder how come they’re roaming around without a place at uni already. We’ve had a lot of engineering enquiries which is a bit of a surprise - maybe they’ve suddenly realised that there are money and jobs to be had.

The open days went really well, apart from the downpour from the heavens yesterday. There was a cheerful sort of an atmosphere, which is great, especially when the weather is horrible - folk tend to get a bit tetchy when it’s raining. The new caterers seem to have coped with the butty making, and considering campus is a building site at the moment there were no real problems. Everyone pitched in and poor Keith was roped into acting as the master of ceremonies (which has always been my job in the past). I’m really glad they didn’t ever make me wear the red don’s gown they inflicted upon him - I’d have refused to do it I reckon. Still, it made him very easy to spot in the crowd.

What’s weird is that the open days haven’t flattened me like they normally do - I don’t ache all over. Usually I feel rather like truck has hit me and I have to go to bed and have a little sleep. I suppose it’s probably because I’ve just come back from holiday where we did lots of walking and I’m comparitively fit at the moment. It won’t last.

I just have to survive the next few days now - I get to rest on Thursday - I’m really looking forward to it.

- climb aboard the rollercoaster, the A-level results are here again

Well, it begins, the 13 day week from hell.  I’m already knackered and it’s only Monday.  Frantic preparations are continuing to get everything ready for the chaos that will begin on Thursday - A-level results day.  Obviously clearing is pretty horrible for the students concerned - not knowing which university they are going to, if any. But I guarantee, it’s a hell of a lot worse for the university staff involved in trying to recruit them. Stomach churning is a fair description.  There’s all the pressure from the top to get the best students, and if that fails, simply as many students as possible.  There’s the long hours, the mail merging, printing, stuffing and deperately trying to make the last post with your offer letters.  There’s the record keeping and statistical analyses. There’s the frantically trying to track down an academic tutor to make an offer on an out of the ordinary application. There’s the hoping like hell that the advertising campaign you’ve approved will do the trick. But, most of all there’s the highly stressed applicant and, more often than not, their highly stressed parent to deal with.  It is all worth it though, when you can offer that depressed and tearful voice on the end of the phone a place on the course they want, and listen as their despair turns to joy and their misery to whoops of joy - and they do whoop and scream and celebrate.  That’s a pretty damn good feeling.  Clearing is definitely education’s answer to Alton Towers and I get to go for two weeks every summer. And I don’t have to queue.