Odd Thomas Odd Blog

So, here I am, back at Uni for my final year. It feels oddly comforting to be back, like seeing an old friend who wraps their arms around you and gives you a massive hug...then says, sorry, gotta go, things are a bit chaotic right now! I've been here properly for a week now and can confirm that things are at least as chaotic as before, with building works going on, unstable timetables and equipment needed for practical sessions not working properly.  This is one of those places where you come to expect things not being up to scratch, so rather than just get angry, you roll your eyes and try to find another way. That said, there is one thing that immediately fixed my Victor Meldrew head firmly into place.

Okay, it seems I have become something of a mumblegrump lately, tearing a strip off Yodel for their abysmal service, getting passionate about the appalling Richard O'Dwyer extradition case and on the verge of ranting at the university about their bureaucratic snubbing of mature students .  So I think it's about time I focused on something a little more positive! For those of you bored enough to have kept up with my posts, you'll know that I've been slogging my way through uni in an effort to learn new things and take my technical career in a completely new direction.  Well, last week was my final working week as an intern on one of the rehabilitation projects, so I ended up doing the usual thing of making a few cakes as a little farewell...

Right, before I start wittering on, first let me apologise to those of you who have subscribed to my ramblings by e-mail.  Just over a week ago I published a little rant about the lack of scholarship support for mature students  but, for some reason, the e-mail that went out was for a post I made over a year ago! I'm not entirely sure why this happened but hey ho, that's life.  So if you feel like you've been missing out on something (you really haven't, you know), you can go and read the last post here .  If you just fancy a summary, then I've tried to summarise below - believe me, it is still shorter than the original posting!

The more I understand about Uni life as a mature student, the more I realise I had my head so far up in the clouds it was practically in orbit when I quit my job and applied for academia.  Okay, I guess I knew that anyway, but recent events have emphasised this. Just to be clear, by 'mature student', I don't mean those of you who hit twenty and now think you're a responsible adult (believe me, you have far more to learn than you realise), I'm talking about those of us that have spent a number of years working our backsides off and who have qualifications so out of date that entry to university means you fill a quota for a minority group.

There are times when I get to appreciate just how lucky I am.  Forget winning the lottery, that'll never happen (not that it stops me trying), but when it comes to the day-to-day stuff, that's where favourable circumstances really make a difference. Take today, for example.... I have never been a morning person; trying to get out of bed in the morning is significantly harder than getting a woman to admit she's wrong .  As such, I am on the road towards becoming Doc Emmet Brown , with my slowly increasing number of clocks and alarms (if not by hairline alone). At this point time, I have roughly nine alarms set to go off: A Pure DAB unit that has four alarms set - two to beep and two to turn the radio on A battery operated unit that likes to shout at me to "Get up, now!" and which has had more than it's fair share of early morning beatings My HTC Hero which has four alarms currently set, but which I can add a bundle more to if I so choose (might have t...

If you're not into boring, reflective posts, navigate away from here now !!! Hello? You all gone? Thought as much! Well, here I go anyway... I have spent the last twelve years working in IT, slowly building up my skills but totally lacking any kind of formal structure; a case of learning what was needed to get the job done (thank you, Google!).  This has meant that on paper I look good, but when I have the interviews and get asked techie questions, I fail miserably because I can't use the words or demonstrate the techniques that employers want to hear.  The end result is that you become so dejected about your skills that you stay in the same place and stagnate ... both in skills and in attitude!!! When I first seriously considered coming to University, it is totally fair to say that I didn't really think things through as much as I should have done; if anything, it was more of a reaction to the situations I found myself getting into at work, but I felt that if I di...