Yes, today I turn 20. Wanna hear what I've been up to? Okay.
Well yesterday was rather busy, being the beginning of Freshers' Week. I have to honestly say I prefer being a Second Year to being a Fresher, 'cos then you already have a set of experiences to share or relate to and you already know people and you already have commitments. Plus half the paperwork is sorted out. It takes away any immediate anxiety that comes with being a newbie of anywhere. But I was rather aggrieved to find that after picking up the new sporty card (need it for Sports Centre discounts and Sports Society membership), getting my food card topped up and getting any other random crap sorted out...I STILL couldn't get internet access from my flat. Oh yeah and I also went to the Arts Centre Cinema to watch 'Tales from Earthsea' from Studio Ghibli by Goro Miyazaki. It was very good.
So today I phone them IT helping lot to register my MAC address personally (this being the 4th try in 3 days but this method worked last year) but it still doesn't work. First thing's first though, I had to pick up the 2 boxes I had left in storage. Katy was kind enough to drive up to Penbryn and lift one of the brick crates-I mean full and heavy boxes. So today I was emptying them. But before I emptied the one full of kitchen stuff I decided I had it and marched all the way up to campus with my laptop. I find a long qeue so I wait in line for about an hour maybe an hour and a half. Turns out the problem was that with a Macintosh the network (called stunet) refuses to allow it internet access until the 802.1X configuration has been set up (that configuration didn't exist last year-it's new). With a PC you can do that from your own room regardless of internet access or not. Now if only somewhere on this flippin' Stunet Setup CD there was some notice somewhere that said: 'Mac users please go to campus to have this configuration set up as it will be impossible to do it from your own rooms, thank you'. I would've been much happier if that was somewhere on it, rather than spending the entire Monday frustrated. Getting internet access is probably the best birthday present I can hope for.
Well my actual presents were shoes (from Sajida, which she gave me almost 2 weeks ago but hey, it's a present and I wore them^^), money, the entire Vampire Chronicles series by Anne Rice (thanks Mum and Dad), more money and Uda sent me an e-voucher from amazon.com. Dunno why she did amazon.com rather than amazon.co.uk because that means the voucher is valued in US Dollars. Why did she do that? Oh well, I'll see what I can buy and then I'll send an email of thanks for allowing me to buy such stuff.
To celebrate this important age, I went to a Chinese restaurant with my flatmates, wonderful people all (and way more mature than last year's flatmates, thank God-then again I did request a flat with no First Years). I'm in the Seafront Residences now, specifically in Caerleon Hall. I like it 'cos laundry is in the basement, I don't even have to go outside this year. The walls are thicker, guaranteeing me a good night's sleep. It's not as far a walk from campus as I thought it would be, first I have to walk along a long street, then I come across the main road, where I turn left to go up Penglais Hill and towards the campus or I go straight ahead towards Holy Trinity Church. The journey there is quicker this year :). I can't honestly imagine being a First Year in a Seafront Residence though, these halls seem geared towards older students. I only get that feeling 'cos each of the flats are so isolated from each other and there are no welcome events down here, just talks on regulations and stuff, neither of which an older student is really interested in going to. It only makes sense for a Fresher to stay in these halls if they do Art 'cos that course is taught completely off campus.
So I'll end this entry with photos of my new room, with everything sorted out. Yes it is bigger than the one I had last year in Cwrt Mawr, I'm also happier with the way I've stored everything this year. The 2 photos were taken from opposite corners.
