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Wednesday, June 11th, 2008
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11:17 pm - Coming full circle
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After a very necessary and very enjoyable vacation in the US, it seems fit that my last stop on my East coast hopping adventure should be Washington DC, staying again at the ISH which I graced with my presence last year. It is fitting for a number of reasons, which I will enumerate* here:
a) First, it is where I did my dissertation research, which was me being the Guinea Pig of my degree course and choosing to do one where it was not required. But based on the exam timetables, comparing my sparse one to other people on my degree course, the decision to write an agonisingly long dissertation saved my skin and secured me the 2:1 (as a reference point, out of the last 9 years of people doing Geog/Econ only 3 people have ever gotten firsts, of my 12 degree mates I started with in 2005, 8 finished with 4 getting 2:1s and 4 getting 2:2s). Not a bad result, but am yet to hear back on exactly how good a 2:1 it was or what I got in specific courses.
b) It was at ISH that the idea of the Peace Corps was first suggested to me and I looked into it. And after an agonising application process, including the worst medical tests you've ever had, it all comes together with my leaving for French-speaking African nation of Benin on the 30th June (til Sept 2010). It's an opportunity to use the economics, gain a language and get confused by my british/american dual identity. Hence this US trip was about spending some quality time with my family and my remaining grandparent, which is all good fun. While being very exciting, the idea of 'emigrating' to one of the poorest countries in the world for a substantial amount of time is scary.
But I might write to Fleet news and see if I can get them to write about my going on an adventure.
PS. After ditching the parents in upstate ny, I've been in Boston, nyc, and now DC - got back in touch with 'the American' (see december 2007 entries), missed seeing him in nyc cos he's being severely overworked, but rang him, and I may try and see him pre-Peace Corps staging in Philadelphia.
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| Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
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9:55 pm - Things just got that little bit more exciting ...
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:-D I'm grinning from ear-to-ear and about to explode. My brain is also filling up with a gazillion questions and concerns. So stuff happened pretty quickly, and my official country invitation from the Peace Corps is winging it's way to me (with DHL - so pretty speedy please). This invitation pack will tell me the country I've been assigned to, and my departure date. After some overly-enthused email exchange with a guy from the placement office all I got was 'West Africa', 'business advisement programme' and 'early July' departure date.
After recieving this pack I have 10 days to give them a reply on whether I accept this invitation. On further detective work (through facebook, of course) I found out that there are 3 West African programmes heading off in July 2008; to Benin, Mali or Guinea. Seeing as I will spend the next 2 years and 3 months in this country, this decision is a little big. The added geekiness of this is that within the invitation pack there will be forms for me to fill out for my US state dept, special peace corps passport (allowing to travel around neighbouring countries in West Africa without a visa) - I think that's like every traveller's dream.
On top of it all I have my final exam on friday, 2 hours on the Tunisian sahel, and I'm having a hard time buckling down to work. C'mon Carter!
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| Saturday, May 10th, 2008
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10:22 pm
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My computer is dying. Having recieved it just before departing for Ifor Evans Hall and after three years of my hauling it around London on my bike, putting it in precarious positions for group-viewing of 'the Hills' and frantically beating away at the keyboard during my dissertation, the bottom third of the screen has decided to be obscured by lots and lots of horizontal white lines. If I had money I would get a shiny imac (and someone to teach me how to use it) - but alas this baby will have to keep on going for a little bit longer.
I have less then a week left of official college - just 5 hours of exams (3 hrs of economics, 2 hrs of geography). It will be then that I turn my head to the very important tasks of tying up loose ends, embracing the student-life and leaving London stunned in my wake. I haven't had a drink since Easter, so it's going to be an interesting afternoon next friday (post-Tunisia exam). How much does alcohol tolerance go down by in 54days?
I should be officially moving out of London at the end of this month - leaving my pleasant little room on Camden Road. I will actually be moving out ahead of the end of the month, as on the 29th May I am flying stateside with parents to do what every grown-up should do - take the little sister to Disneyworld! (this is all under the premise of my dad delivering a lecture at a conference down in Florida). Post-FL, it will be a short hop, skip and a jump up to upstate NY for visiting with family. My parents then depart and I have about 6 days to meander my way down from Syracuse to DC (via NYC, Philly and wherever else I can manage) to visit a few friends. I'm looking forward to many an hour spent on Amtrak/Greyhounds wired to my ipod and reading fiction (aww ... sweet sweet fiction). Incidentally I will be in upstate NY when my degree-class results are posted up on the board in the geography building (ironically I was in Yellowstone NP when my a-level results came out ... 4 years on and Tim, as opposed to Mike, has the joy of finding out what I got before I do).
The reason for this trip is to make a last US swing before I hopefully depart to a small far off corner of the world for two years as a 'peace corps volunteer'. This was thrown into contention recently as I've been going through the epic journey of getting 'medically qualified', which involves every sort of embarrassing and exasperating medical test you can think of. After a particularly worrying test result, involving further follow-ups and my getting pissed at the nhs, three weeks ago I was told to expect a letter from the peace corps medical staff - and they managed to make it very ominous sounding (like I wasn't medically fine). This little letter made an epic journey all on it's own, and rocked up at the Meads door this morning (covered with German post-marks). I cannot explain how large a sigh I let out when (via my Dad opening it) - it was confirmed that I was medically and dentally cleared and they're proceeding to find me a placement. Love love love.
So I just spent the last hour youtubing 'peace corps' and watching camcorder movies of people having adventures, showing off their accomodation and sending videoblogs to frieds and family (via youtube - a little public!). I should be revising, but I just got too excited. Now I'm knocking on wood, throwing salt over my shoulder and finding black cats ... because I really want that to be me.
Watch this space ...
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| Tuesday, April 15th, 2008
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9:42 pm
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Well, here's a surprise.
It should be noted that I'm currently being kept hostage in the library - hence you're all getting an update. It promised to be such a beautifully sunny day this morning as I cycled in (at 8.45am) - and as you can now see that as soon as I plan on leaving 12hrs later, the weather is having none of it ... and it starts pissing it down with rain. From the sound of it rattling on the library roof, this is not mere drizzle, but 'soaked through hoodie' shizzle. So I'll update, which is probably more productive than wikipediaing random stuff*.
So I mostly live in the library, which after having gone 24hr (for the first time in UCL history) has been causing me much confusion - as most of this year I've been taking my 'time-to-give-up-on-work-and-go-home' time to be when it closes, hence I don't really know when to quit.
So in bullet points
-I spent most of Term 2 with my dissertation. Doing very little else, apart from the ultimate frisbee (impressivley getting very good at whoring myself out to different teams - including breaking UCL-loyalty and playing with the american boys of LSE).
-A low point has been with the US Peace Corps medical forms, which took my money, dignity and years of my life in stress. I'm not even fully done with them as I'm waiting on one test result (don't get me started on the nhs)
-Easter weekend was Paganello World Beach Ultimate Cup in Rimini, Italy. Which deserves an essay in itself, and was TOO MUCH fun! A well deserved break for 5 days since I burned myself out on the above dissertation.
-And on returning I am finishing Tropical Africa coursework, and revision. I can usually be found in the library, or throwing a disc around with Adam in Gordon Square on campus.
-Haven't been back to Fleet at all this Easter, but I will be on wednesday as I'm captaining a women's team for University Women's Outdoor Nationals in Guildford. You can be sure that I'll be editing my coursework inbetween games ;-)
The rain is sounding heavier.
I don't know what I'm doing next year, or even past May 16th. If medical tests all go well, I'll hopefully find myself in Africa with the Peace Corps in July. And inbetween then I have a US-trip early June, a potential French villa trip with Econ buddies, find my way to Valencia to find my awol namesake, and say farewell to UCL, London, friends and family. I will also be trying to run after as many frisbees in that time as possible.
Now, that's a bit epic. I need to go fall off the universe again, but I'm going to go get drenched in the glorious rain first.
*nb, for instance National Bundt Cake Day is the 15th November (US) - the day after my birthday, which seems fairly appropriate as it IS my favourite cake pan!
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| Sunday, February 3rd, 2008
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2:26 pm
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I look hilarious - in a beaten-wife sort of a way. If someone asked me what my life since the beginning of term has been like I would probably just look at my shoes, grumble and let a single tear run down my cheek. If 'reading week' is anything to go by, then I'm almost to the halfway point in this last semester. At the moment I'm trying to remember what it was like to have a body which doesn't cause me pain - I can't think back that far. In true accident-prone style last weekend I took a disc to the mouth during ultimate training and it knocked out a tooth (one of my fake imposter teeth, making up for my lack of outer incisors) but the knock wasn't clean and the cuts that the blow wrought on the inside of my mouth are yet to heal. Hence eating and talking are still a painful activities.
Keeping up the ultimate injuries yesterday a second disc came flying at my face, this time hitting a nerve near my left eye which caused a pretty substantial shiner. The swelling is slowly going down, but it's still boasting a full range of purples, blues and reds of various shades. There ain't no pain like a good face-ache. Most annoyingly my 'hunchback of notre dame'-look makes me feel gross - so my big plan to go out this weekend and get crunk got canned pretty quickly.
A more wise individual would take these ultimate frisbee related injuries to mean that maybe I should cut-down on the discs and give some more time to my dissertation - of which the first draft is due in on friday. Nice.
Sympathy please?
PS. And on the complaining don't even get me started on the medical-stuff for the US Peace Corps... that deserves a whole post in itself for that rant.
Superbowl tonight - go Patriots.
current mood:  battered
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| Wednesday, December 5th, 2007
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9:04 pm
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The last few days have been frickin' amazing. From hilarious good-natured pyjama parties to playing the greatest ultimate with intermittant downpours ... next time I even seem like I'm starting to complain I'm going to remember these moments.
Awww - to act coy. Happy Hanukkah.
current mood:  giddy
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| Tuesday, November 27th, 2007
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11:09 pm
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So, after a nice little phone interview I got a nice little email congratulating me on my potential assignment (taking into account I clear OK medically) as a business advisor volunteer for the Peace Corps to French-speaking West Africa. Tentative departure date July 2008. So that'll be me set for the 27 months post-graduation.
Interesting.
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| Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
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7:10 pm
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These networking events are really bad. You listen to some presentations and then you go 'network' with free wine. Unfortunately they schedule these careers sessions at around 5/6pm, before anyone has been wise enough to line their stomach with food. So you end up deliriously tipsy trying to focus you eyes on some guy from the Government Economic Service talking about office politics. When I imagined getting drunk on my birthday I didn't think of it being quite like this.
On the other hand, ethics essay to type - lets have some fun!
*the only foolishly tipsy birthday girl in a room full of sober students*
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| Tuesday, August 14th, 2007
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4:20 pm
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When it comes to american cities you never really hear anyone declaring their love for Washington DC; NY, Boston, San Franscisco or Seattle usually take the crown. But on day 4 I do REALLY like it here!
So in my hunt for small scale protestors, in aid of the dissertation, I think I might have shot myself in the foot. Summer is evidently not activist season, but it was the only time I could have made it. So it is beginning to look pretty likely that I'm going to have to extend my stay by a week in order to capture the first week of congress coming back from their recess. I have managed to capture 3 activists.
Monday was kind of depressing, after initially starting off well with finding my first protestors holding a vigil outside the White House I preceded to trek around all other possible protest hideouts (monuments, IMF, WB) - no joy and talking to the respective security guards there wasn't likely to be any joy coming my way anytime soon. The sun rising higher, my spirit was seriously wilting.
Reconvening back at my accomodation (the aptly named International Student House - kinda like a friendly dorm) I felt pretty depressed. But at least at dinner some fellow students started speaking to me. A group were going down to the National Mall to watch Casablanca on a big screen, so I decided to tag along, but on the way to the Metro I noticed the zipped pocket of my bag where I keep my purse was open and my purse missing. Paniced I parted ways with the group so I could retrace my steps back to ISH, the rest of them headed off to the mall without me. Luckily it was my own stupidity rather than crime and I found my purse laying innocently on my bed.
With the hour getting later and later I to-and-fro-ed about whether it was still worth the Metro trek down to the Mall solo. I decided it was and off I went again. So as I'm waiting on the train platform I see across to the opposite platform a relatively well-turned out guy with a very large sign.
'WWW.THEVATICANISHIDINGPAEDOPHILES.COM'
With 2 minutes till my train is due to arrive I contemplate racing over there to harass him or whether my memory is enough to remember the website address (I had no pen or paper on me). As I'm thinking the guy starts to glance around anxiously and I see him make his way to the up-escalator, walk around and arrive on my platform. The train approaching I jump into the same carriage as him in quick pursuit, he must be thinking I'm pretty strange as I push aside fellow passengers to actually get near to him.
Speaking to him briefly (english is evidently his second language), he thrusts into my hand some literature and invites me to come see him protest outside the vatican embassy - something he does everyday at 5pm.
Huzzah, and to keep the long story short I celebrated by sitting on the hardened ground on the national mall watching Casablanca (with everyone applauding after every classic line) with the lit-up Capitol building ahead of me and the Washington monument, complete with it's red flashing eyes, behind me. Pretty neat.
Ok *phew* I'm done.
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| Saturday, June 9th, 2007
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3:56 am
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Most fun day/night ever. There's a time to throw up your hand and cry aloud! I've done good deeds, karma for passing my second year and been to the silent disco.
There's nothing like wearing headphones and bopping along to 'Take it On' with a few hundred people under the summer night sky next to the Thames.
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| Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007
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8:02 pm
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Things are beginning to pull together in a rather satisfying way. Finishing exams two weeks ago and I have made one fleet trip, been electronically published, run around with a frisbee in the rain, learnt how to pour champagne, sat on a commitee and remembered what it's like to read fiction.
For further explanation on some of those points;
"been electronically published"...
happened right after exams and cheered me up during the post-exam next day anti-climax. But it was a nice little voicemail from the Geog Dept to ask for my consent on behalf of one of my lecturer's to publish a first year piece of work I did as a 'best example' on the academic journal GEES (Geography, Environment ... who really cares?). No doubt this feeling of intelligence will fade away when the exam results come back.
"ran around with a frisbee in the rain" was the University Women's Outdoor Nationals for ultimate frisbee; a fun weekend up in Cambridge playing some serious disc with 'Team London' (collectively students from Imperial, King's, Brunel and myself with UCL). Lot's of fun and we won the plate - but it did involve the longest point ever 45mins and our last game over-running by an hour.
"learnt how to pour champagne"
I got myself a student job - finally. It involved spending way too much time in Clapham, but I now work for High Society. Pretty much being catering staff, but they do a lot of high profile events so I can step up my game with the celebrity spotting.
As the job hunt continues on a more exciting note I have an interview for an internship with Medecins du Monde, a humanitarian aid organisation specialising in healthcare provision in francophone tropical tropical Africa.
That's all I want to write now, the highlights show is over.
Keep busy people
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| Tuesday, May 8th, 2007
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11:20 pm
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his could, quite frankly, be the most hysterical night ever.
First off; last exam today in Bayswater, finished at 1pm very happy it has all ended. I took some time around the local area, begging around Notting Hill, Portolbello market, reading fiction (FICTION!). It was all good.
At about four I took some time in the local pub waiting for the entourage to finished theior various afternoon exmas and join me. So taking some time with Mr. Wine, who floored me with my alcohol tolerance at a six week zero-alcohol low, I found myself in a slightly tipsy state. I then got more tipsy at dinner with phad thai and more wine.
2 bottles later I'm floored, abusing cyclists who cycle on the pavement, and giggling hyserically. Make it to starbucks for some frappe time and the only words I can get out are 'medium' before fits of giggles. Apparently I then preceeded to flick iced coffee at Linz with more drunken giggles.
But the best is yet to come as I find myself sitting typing in my room, presently sober after my mid-afternoon drunk behaviour, as my flatmates entertain upstairs the two indians who run the convenience store below. How did they get into our trashy flat? Well, Nammers and I invited them up with promise of alcohol and Linz, who has had love declared for her from the said convenience store owners.
It sounds like shits and giggles, but I just couldn't control myself and had to just record this moment. The girls of King's X have come a long way.
Bear in mind during this whole thing I have been in glasses and scrattly pyjamas.
Love to all you fiends
Summer lovin'
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| Friday, May 4th, 2007
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9:11 pm - Ugh,
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C'mon motivation. Just got macro to go on tuesday morning and I am freeeeeeeeeee. Only thing is I finish at 1.30pm and noone else finishes till 4.30 - so that's 3hours of drinking on my own.
But currently, both of the flatmates are off on friday night 'date night' with their respective boyfriends and I've demolished most of a tiramisu. NEED to go out soon, haven't been out in ... ermm 6weeks.
Bring it on!
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| Sunday, April 1st, 2007
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12:13 pm - Yay!
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2007 - The Year of Glastonbury!
After a frustrating hour and half of Naomi and I on the phone/internet news came through from Tim that they had managed to get six tickets. So it's a magical sextet of me, Naomi, Tim, Andy, Dave and Mudassar all heading field-wards! Apparently the brother and girlfriend also managed to wangle some tickets!!
Joy!
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| Thursday, March 1st, 2007
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1:57 am
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It was a wise wise choice that my third and final year of my undergraduate degree should be my busiest yet. Within the last week I've become 'involved' with college societies, I was elected (uncontested);
Wine Officer on the Debating Society commitee - great fun, put me in charge of alcohol to lure freshmen in for the monday night debates. Still, banterful and I aspire that being in the presence of smarts and arrogant public speaking will make me worthy of 'West Wing' speak and set me up for later life.
and bizarrely
Women's Captain (and basically the future of UCL female ultimate) - seeing as how disastorous career in organised sport was pre-frisbee this is actually quite impressive. Only the one female on the commitee in a very male dominated society, so have got to learn to hold my own.
Huzzah!
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| Thursday, February 22nd, 2007
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1:27 am
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Hysterical nights out in Lindsay's town:
- got a woot! from Hilary Benn (Minister for International Development) for the mention of DRC conflict in my 'prolific' (debating prez's words, not my own) floor speech at the debate this eve.
- failed to win the floor speech prize - cos Yair fought I'd won it some other time. bah!
-got nominated for wine officer for UCL debating society - apparently i'm uncontested!
-am also uncontested for ultimate frisbee women's captain.
You go and get drunk for an evening and suddenly you end up involved in extra-curricular activities!
Edit: in a hungover light I appreciate my use of 'fought' when I ment 'thought'. Also I tend to boast after a few tipples - less than wise.
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| Friday, February 16th, 2007
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3:11 pm
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Let's have a go at an update.
Okay, first off I have a nice bunch of little scars directly beneath my right eye. If anyone asks I got into fisticuffs with a girl I saw beating up a kitten but in truth I got some little skin tags removed in a semi-painful operation. Local anaesthetic is no fun when they're injecting it into your eye-lid, whether the person is a private physician or not.
So it was home home for part of the week. The week was dull but last weekend had some definate highlights.
House-party in Camden with plenty of pill-popping randoms from SSEES (the cool kids?)
Pete! (I remembered his name!) was there and I demanded he mix me some proper eastern-bloc drink ("I want Wodka!") and I proceeded to get crunk, get motherly and get home (in that order). I neglected frisbee on saturday in favour of SOAS library, the DR. Congo and cycling up (and I mean UP!) to Hampstead to get some free cinema tickets.
And the free cinema tickets (courtesy of the Guardian) were to a special preview screening of The Science of Sleep, a tri-lingual bizarro craft-y film with Gael Garcia Bernal rocking the English, Spanish and French directed by the same guy as Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It was fun, and not just because the cinema was the cutest twee-esque lil thing with proper sofas (perfect for couple snuggling, but I not THAT close to Jess yet).
Till next time.
I'm off to go see my tutor about my dissertation idea - it's going to be so much fun!
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| Monday, December 25th, 2006
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11:59 pm
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I'm not a girl who knows much about gaming, but the Ninetendo Wii is AWESOME!
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| Thursday, December 21st, 2006
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7:27 pm - The strains of adulthood
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I just had to play an integral role in the Santa cover-up for my parents to protect the 8yr old sister's innocence.
First off, I am a bad bad individual for a) getting ill on wednesday night and b) losing my phone somewhere at home. So basically to all those Fleet people I was meant to meet down at the Links and I failed to show.
Today I accomplished a lot, but generally this break has been a bit of write-off up to now. I've turned the house into a Santa's grotto and also been trying extremely hard to sort out the next stage of 'The Plan' (AKA. the rough idea of what I'm going to do over the next few years to sort myself out on the path to a deep and meaningful career). This next phase is 'Summer 2007 internship'.
Got rejected from the Globalisation Institute due to overwhelming demand and sent off applications today for Overseas Development Institute in London and the Feminist Majority Foundation in Washington. All long-shots and positive discrimination in DFID is screwing me over, I've either got to claim 'American-European' as an ethnic minority or lose a leg.
Also deciding whether I want to make a huge effort to flip around my courses in the second term so I can (voluntarily?) do econometrics. It's a fine line between setting myself up for a glorious career path or putting myself through some sort of mathematical hell.
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| Tuesday, December 5th, 2006
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12:16 pm
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thejoyfulmook's journal
Dear Santa...