A Reunion

I had a great weekend this, erm, weekend. Friday night we all got dressed up as Pirates for the "Pirates of the Caribbean" night at the union. As usual we got together for pre-union drinks (the music is always more palatable after some alcohol) and, as it was a Pirate themed night, someone had brought rum so there was an interesting combination of drinks on offer. Thankfully I was sensible - I've no desire to recreate my 18th birthday which, for those of you who weren't there, finished with me being unable to walk unassisted.
When we got to the union there was a steel drum band playing. Normally I quite like this music in a relaxing on the beach sort of setting. I'm by no means the best dancer but despite that I don't think a steel drum band is the best choice for a union night. We didn't stay long as a friend of a friend (who was visiting) had over indulged a bit and was feeling quite ill. So, we did the natural thing and went back to order pizza.
I had been a bit worried about Saturday morning. I was going on a trip with the Photography Society and had to be at the station for about 10:20am. I haven't been sleeping very well recently (going to bed at 3am probably doesn't help) and after having been to the union, I wasn't sure if I'd manage to wake up.
Anyhow, somehow I did wake up and made it to the station where I met the others and we waited for a train before running the length of it (in the pouring rain) trying to find a carriage in which the passengers weren't already squashed up to the doors. We did that twice but eventually got to London.
We were going to see an exhibition called "Twilight" at the VA museum. It offered 8 rooms displaying works by 8 photographers. As the name suggests, the theme was of photos taken at twilight and how the lighting portrays different moods and qualities to pictures taken during the day. Many of the works were excellent however, I found the exhibits themselves were too poorly lit in many cases to be able to appreciate the photos. Anyhow, it's inspired me a bit to go around and see if I can take any good photos at twilight around campus. If I do so in time I might be able to submit them for the upcoming PhotoSoc Exhibition at the the Student's Union.
When we'd finished I made my way to Stockwell to meet up with 2 guys (and the girlfriend of one of them) who I lived with in my second year. Due to my year abroad, I am a year behind them now. They have both graduated and have "proper" jobs and seem to be doing pretty well for themselves. I was glad to meet up as they are good friends and we don't see each other enough nowadays. In the evening, we went out and met with another girl we'd shared the house with. We picked up some curry and went back to hers to chat, eat, and drink beer. I had a great time catching up and reminiscing about the antics we got up to that year (turning the contents of her room upside down...and then putting it back again because we thought she might not see the funny side, mowing the lawn in unusual shapes, dropping a plastic duck out of the bathroom window,...). Around midnight, we left to catch the tube back to the guys' house where I stayed the night. We spent Sunday chatting and eating pizza and then I left in the afternoon to head back to uni. I really enjoy meeting up with them all but it makes me wish I was in their position
- earning money, living in London, having free weekends,....
So, after a good weekend, I'd better get on with the work I should have done....

Impossible

It's impossible. I give up!
I had previously never started a piece of French coursework before about 10pm the night before it was due in. I thought that I would try and buck this trend by writing the 600 word comparison of 2 newspaper articles today (today is Saturday, it's due in on Tuesday morning at 9). It's now after 2 in the morning and I've only managed 278 words.
I must stress that this isn't because it's difficult and I've spent the entire day researching and racking my brains trying to work out what to write. Oh no! It's just soooo mind numbingly dull and tedious that I've managed to procrastinate most of the day away into oblivion. I feel so uninspired to write anything that I've decided to leave the rest until Monday night. I even have notes so it shouldn't be too difficult. I'm just counting on the fact that I will have no choice about doing it then will mean that I will have sufficient motivation to put fingers to keyboard and type out some gibberish.
This wasted day has taught me to stick to tried and tested methods. Perhaps this is a lesson that I should not try to change life habits and get work done early.

Flat Forehead Syndrome

Being a student is a tiring occupation, however I've been surprised at just how many people have been falling asleep in class. I haven't done it...yet....although 2 hours of Computational Optimisation will make most people sleepy. What's more surprising is that people aren't just falling asleep in lectures, but also in seminars, when the teacher is only about 10ft away from them.
This reminds me, I need to get hold of some of those caffeine mints...