not much going on

There hasn't been much to blog about recently... the weather has been appalling over the past few days - well actually over the past few weeks - but it is finally brightening up a tiny bit. If it just goes like that bit by bit it will be nice in August when I am in Germany :) Speaking of Germany today is Siebenschläfer (Seven Sleepers Day I think I would be over here if it existed) and the thing is that people will watch the weather very closely today, because whatever the weather will be like today it will be like this for the next 7!!!! weeks. I have no idea where this comes from, or how true this actually is, but I remember summers where it has been raining an awful lot and my mom said that it had rained on Siebenschläfer.

I had my last official meeting with my current supervisor, which was a bit weird. I thought it would be something like "ok now we have worked together for this long so we should keep in touch..." but all it was in the end was looking at my current study and he handed me a copy of a PhD thesis submitted over 10 years ago so I can have a look at it and see what I am up against. Then he said we should write a paper together so I can have at least a publication in my PhD and that was pretty much it. Ah well, it was nice anyway, he said he will be around next academic year so I should stop by his office wherever that might be. From next Thursday onwards the new supervisor is officially taking over, should be good.

I also met a friend at Wagamama's the other night, which was good as always. I had my usual, although I am thinking that I should really become a bit more adventurous and try out different things. Maybe next time...

Rain

I really don't like all this rainy weather we have been having. Looking out it just doesn't make me want to go up to uni, but some of my students want to come and get their essays so I really have to be there. Ah well... at least I have Wagamama tonight to look forward to :) Better get a move on then

had a lovely evening with friends in Georges meeting house and now just got home and discovered that Garrison Keillor's radio show (might be familiar if you have seen A Prairie Home Companion at the movies) is on one of the digital stations I listen to. So I have put that on now while I am getting ready for bed. Hope you're having a lovely weekend!

not much going on

not much has been happening this week so far, just been to uni and tried to work and met Neil for a drink and for the most part tried to dodge the rain sometimes more successful than other times. The weather has been dreadful really, but hopefully it will pick up over the weekend! Trying to get a study up and running and that's pretty much it. Last night I watched a few episodes of House on DVD and it is just really good. Hugh Laurie is the best they could have got to play Dr. House, incredible how well he can fake the American accent...

Open Day

I helped out with open day today and it was the same as every time I have done this before. We got some very eager people asking some very sensible questions, and then some really ditsy ones asking some really silly questions. But we are just polite and try to answer every questions as best and as politically correct as we can. I mean seriously, I had one person come up to me asking how Psychology at degree level is different from A level psychology. What are you supposed to say that something like that. And we didn't just get that question once... Still most of them I would welcome to be my personal tutees, while others I think i would just plain reject... But I am home now and I can relax :)

back already

this was really a very short trip. I can't believe I am already back in Exeter. I had a great time at home though. We did all we wanted on this trip. Starlight Express was a lot of fun too. We found out that it is the musical that has been playing the longest in one place in the world. It has been in Bochum in Germany for the past 19 years... Although I have been wondering how long Phantom of the Opera has been playing in London at Her Majesty's Theatre. Anyway, the show was excellent, I couldn't believe how good they were at dancing and singing on roller skates. Also part of the show were a few stunt skaters on inline skates; they were really cool with their high jumps and other things they did. After the show we drove home and then it was just another evening at home and then back to Exeter.
The journey back was ok, but delayed slightly by various things... plane didn't leave on time and then some Heathrow Express train had broken down on the train tracks and blocked anything coming out of London so my train from Reading was delayed as well. But I still got back before 7 pm, but felt very tired.
And then yesterday was the party to celebrate Neil's mum's retirement and birthday. It was a whole day of meeting lots of people, but I seemed to have done well :) I always think nothing can be as intimidating as meeting my huge family...

just a quick post

I've made it to Germany fine and now sitting here in the very hot and humid office writing this quick post. Just got home after a full day of stuff. This morning we went to Hamburg and met my aunt to have breakfast at an all you can eat place near the Alster (a river in Hamburg). It was really lovely weather so we sat outside and enjoyed the view from there over the river. Then we wandered around a bit and then my mom and I came back home. Then I got my hair cut and now I am getting ready to meet with some old school friends for dinner. Tomorrow we are off to Bochum for the musical so might not get a chance to post before I come back again Thursday. Hope you are all well!

going home

I'll be off to Germany tomorrow and I am really excited. Finally it is time for my mom and I to go see Starlight Express. I really hope that it will be as good as I think it is. There has been so much build up... been wanting to see this ever since I was 15 or 16 or something around then. Still I get a trip to Germany and I get to see my mom for a few days. Lots planned as well for the few days I am there. I fly out tomorrow night from Heathrow and then will be home by about 11pm German time. Tuesday we are meeting my aunt for brunch, the might pop by my grandma's on the way home and then I am getting a haircut before I am meeting some friends from school. Wednesday we drive down to Bochum to see the musical in the evening, stay the night there and drive back Thursday and Friday I fly back to England again. Just a flying visit, but still at least i get to go at all.

Ocean's Thirteen

was quite good, although not as good as the first one. I still think Ocean's Eleven was the best out of the three but I still like them all. This one was just as predictable as the second one, but if you enjoyed the other two this is still worth going to watch. And a plus point is that Eddie Izzard is in it as well, amongst all the other hotties. I prefer George Clooney over Brad Pitt always have really... anyway, the film was good and I had a lovely afternoon with a friend. Now waiting for Neil to come by after watching the Formula 1 Qualifying.

being tagged...

my friend Sarah has tagged me on the "8 things about you" thingie but she didn't stop there and more things even more complicated by saying "8 things with the number 8 in them"... Right now I can't think of any thing that has an 8 in it besides this:

8 is twice the number of academic degrees I already have ;)
8 is the number of years that I have not lived in Germany in all of my life, although soon that will be 9.

so that is it for now... if I think of something else I'll add it on later...

off to see a friend who had a knee operation last week Friday and then I am meeting another friend to go see Ocean's 13!

Saturday

I almost can't believe how early I am awake today, but it must mean that I am feeling much better, and I think I am :) Not much planned for the day really... just doing a little bit of cleaning in my flat as I hate coming home to an unclean place after a holiday, and then I might pop by a friend's house on my way into town this afternoon. Going to see Ocean's 13 this afternoon. I hope it is as good as the other ones. I know it isn't a masterpiece of a story, but still enjoyable enough plus this one is much shorter than Pirates 3. Still not sure I really want to sit in a cinema for nearly 3 hours to see that one. Mark Kermode's review was not very positive. Actually I will have to listen to the one he did for Ocean's 13... although that might not be very positive either. Ok better make a cup of tea now and start my day.

hand over

I had a meeting with both my old and my new supervisor today and it went really well. Carole - the new supervisor - has a lot of really good ideas and she seems very enthusiastic about my project. I am so happy about it all and that finally things are sorted out. Makes me feel so much more at ease and that I can actually do it. I also got the official notice that I will be allowed to register as PhD rather than MPhil. this means the department or well those three people that were in my upgrade meeting at least think that I can actually do this. Anyway I feel better about my PhD again... and I want to get it done now!

PhD

I have just found out that I will be allowed to register as PhD student for next academic year... finally. I have been waiting to hear this for the past three months! I am so relieved. Now I will be able to enjoy my break at home much more. Although it is just a short break. Hopefully later in the summer I will be able to go home for a bit longer, even though it doesn't really look like that at the moment. Anyway, I am really happy about the upgrade having gone well and also the supervisor issue is sorted out! Will be meeting with both of them (old and new) tomorrow to see how we can move things forward and make it so I can finish as soon as possible! :)

Packard Bell most innovative Brand of the year 2007?

I really wonder who voted for that. I had one of their laptops and it went wrong after about 3 months with the screen being flickery all the time and also the CD drive not working properly anymore. After 3 months... that's really not good enough. I would think the livfe cycle of a laptop should be around 3 years. But who knows maybe they are good at all the other things they do...

ich glaub ich hab schon wieder eine Erkältung, aber wenigstens hab ich bis jetzt kein Fieber!!! Not much going on here. Yesterday i should have done quite a lot of work which I didn't end up doing because met Neil and some friend for lunch, and today I am feeling ill. sore throat and blocked up nose... and I still have to be at uni by about 11 for my office hour. Those students are doing my head in at the moment. I keep telling them that I am away next week and they need to come get their essays and other course work before then, or they will have to wait until I am back the following week. It is really odd, they seemed to desperate to get the essays back and now they are piling up on my desk... anyway, my upgrade meeting is this morning. Luckily I don't have to be there to defend it at this stage, but I am curious what they will be talking about. I hope Brian will do a good job representing me... he has been saying it will be fine, and I hope he is right with that. I just want to get this done now and then get a job that pays me loads of money ;) Anyone know of a job in marketing a something similar... let me know! ok probably it is time for a shower now... then I can have some breakfast and then get ready to go. I am looking forward to a meal at Wagamama tonight YUMYUMYUM!

lovely afternoon

Neil suggested yesterday that we should meet up for lunch at Gino's which we did. It was nice, friends of ours joined us as well. Afterwards we went to Mill on the Exe to sit in the sun and have a few drinks. now I have come home and need to actually do some work which I didn't do this morning. Supervision meeting tomorrow right after they have my upgrade meeting... keep your fingers crossed that they say I can write up as PhD and not finish with just an MPhil! Will all be decided tomorrow at 11 am

lazy blogger...

hab nicht ganz so viel geschrieben in der letzten Woche. Na ja, hatte eben andere Sachen zu tun, und dann war ich natürlich mal wieder viel zu faul ;) Egal, jetzt ist mal wieder Zeit ein update zu schreiben. Letzte Nacht hab ich auch mal wieder ganz gut geschlafen, was bei diesem komischen Wetter in letzter Zeit nicht so unbedingt möglich war. Und dann noch der ganze Stress mit Brian und wer dann ab July meine Dr. Arbeit supervised (nicht wirklich ein deutsches Wort aber egal). Aber so wie es aussieht ist das jetzt alles ein bisschen mehr unter Kontrolle. Bis jetzt war nicht so viel los in dieser Woche, aber ist ja auch erst Mittwoch. Am Wochenende hab ich mich mit der Freundin zum Kaffee trinken getroffen, und Neil und ich waren bei Freunden und haben Wii gespielt. Das macht immer Spass auch wenn ich nicht ganz so gut darin bin. Bei dem einen Spiel hatte ich überhaupt keine Ahnung was man da machen musste und hab total verloren. Na ja, am Montag hatten wir dann die Postgraduate Conference in der Fakultät. Ist ganz gut gelaufen, und ich war froh dass ich dieses Jahr keinen Vortrag gehalten habe. Keine Lust auf den Stress und so viele Leute die dann immer zu hören. Und so fragen sind manchmal echt blöd, weil mein Thema so anders ist. Gestern hab ich dann nur einen halben Tag was getan und heute sieht es genau so aus. Neil hat frei und er wollte sich zum Lunch treffen und dann am Nachmittag was machen, aber was wir dann machen weiss ich auch nicht. Na ja, mal sehen, erst mal muss ich mich jetzt für den Tag fertig machen... schon wieder halb 8...