Final Year Project: First Crisis Averted

As I was going to bed yesterday there was one little, long-forgotten thought that burst into my head and stung me like a bee - sh** I forgot to submit my final year project proposal. As I woke up, I decided I would do all that is in my power to fix the situation.

First, I had to print out and fill in the proposal form. Now that was a slight problem as I lost my student card this week. I was at the ISA desk at precisely 8:30, much to the surprise of the staff on duty. Apparently, before one gets a new card out, they need to go through the lost cards record. Well, my card was there! This sorted my first problem as now I could actually go into a computer lab to print out the form.

After printing and filling out the form, though, I had to take it to my supervisor to sign. I was so sure I would not find him before noon and I would miss the deadline. As I was hastily staggering toward the Economics and Strategy department, I came up with a "brilliant" plan. Was I to end up in a situation where I have no supervisor to sign my form, I would knock on every university staff door (if I have to) and ask them to sign my form. It was insane but it could just work.

This is where the dramatic end of my story is lost, as I actually did find my coursework supervisor having coffee in the communal area of the floor. He signed my form and calmed me down so now I am sitting in front of the coursework submission hub. Why am I sitting here waiting until 11:00 you may ask? I don't want to forget about submitting the bl**** form again!

Final Year Project

This year, for the first time so far, I had the opportunity to chose modules. Typically, my Economics &Management course is very structured in a way that we have set subjects that we need to take. So, for my final 20 credits I had the choice to either take two modules or write a 10,000 word coursework. I chose the coursework on the basis of my writing abilities and lack of such in accounting base subjects.

Well, so far my choice has proved extremely challenging. My first topic was unrealistic, considering the available public data. My second topic was too simple and quite obvious and was, more or less, rejected. Nevertheless, after my second attempt I sat down and decided it was time to evaluate my realistic options and ability. As a result, I chose a great final topic.

What was more important through this choosing process, though, was the incredible help I received from the Economics department. I have had the shortest possible e-mail response times and the most motivational advices. This is essentially what one needs to overcome the initial challenges.

Now, as I am at the beginning of the writing process I cannot help but be glad of the choice I have made. I know that it would be tough but I can feel it developing my skills already. Most expectedly, there will be more posts on the subject coming up.

Fire Alarms

Fire alarms have been an issue on campus since the beginning of existence. After having one two weeks in a row I am starting to think that this is indeed a big problem.

But, where do fire alarms come from?

Well, I am far from the idea that the fire alarms are Uni's fault. Big bad uni is to blame because it puts them on! No, I am sorry, but it is not the Uni's fault. The
real cause for the un-ending fire alarms are the various and plentiful "cooks" on campus. I have hears all kinds of stories about their adventures - setting sausages on fire is my personal favorite.

Almost every time when I walk into my kitchen there is an unsupervised pan overflowing on the stove or a pizza burning in the oven. The appropriate question would be, is it so hard to actually put a tiny piece of effort into the whole cooking ordeal? It isn't and the reason people don't care is because they are simply not hungry. If I put rice to boil and I really do want to eat rice, I would't ditch it for an hour in the kitchen - all day, every day!

The solution to the problem (there are three actually). First, obviously you can just watch your meal, or in other words, care about the fact that you are cooking/eating. Second, just do not cook, there is a perfectly well functioning food court in the main building and three discount pubs on campus. Last, and my personal favorite, just starve! OK, so starving isn't a good idea but I think options one and two are plenty (let's also not forget the £1 baguette shop down the street).

The advantage for the "cooks" is that they will escape those horrible fines for setting a fire alarm on. If you think about your cash-flow statement, this one major expense is more than any money you could save by not eating in the food court throughout the year.

So, together we can stop the fire alarms forever and sleep peacefully, all we need is a little common sense.

Back to Company X

I was sitting in my overfilled with stuff room yesterday, reading one of the Bulgarian classics - Tiutiun (Tabacco) when my phone rang. Company X's staffing representative was calling from an unrecognized number to ask me the question that every final year student is waiting for. As a result shall be back in the smaller of towns - Swindon - in August. I have a feeling this would be a great experience!

As we used to say in Company X - Yes, going back!

E-books

After a rookie mistake (put a wrong entry in my outlook calendar) I am currently in the main building downloading my textbooks onto my computer.

The library has gotten so much better now that I don't even need to go there. Apparently, except one, all my textbooks have been uploaded as e-books onto the library catalogue. For me, this means the end of the textbook reservations and the end of chest pain in the beginning of each term. (I get chest pain when paying for some of these greatly overpriced textbooks of ours.)

There is a little catch with the e-books, though, you can only print or save ten pages at a time, so right now my computer is full of P_1-10, P_11-20, etc. files. Nevertheless, this will not stop me from using only (or mostly) the e-books as the year progresses.

Aston Exchange

Apparently the Aston Free Marketplace is not as popular as it was back in the day. I sold all my textbooks from my first and second year through the free website designed to help students exchange textbooks without the amazon and e-bay fees. Check it out at:

http://astonexchange.co.uk/

Placement Essay (Results are out!)

The Placement Essay has brought me so many troubles it is actually ridiculous. After spending so much time writing it, making a mistake submitting it, now I had problems receiving my mark.

Apparently, essays were marked in the beginning of the Summer and results were sent out in August. To make things more interesting my results got lost by the greatly "talented" Bulgarian Postal Services. So there I am in my kitchen, catching up with my flatmate when the question, "so, how much did you get on the essay?" puts me in a most bewildered state. See, I had no way of knowing that the postman was talking on the phone, planning his night out, when he was delivering my letter to the wrong address (hope he had a nice time, though).

I ran off to the Placement office and asked for my results to be re-printed. This time I would pick the letter up myself. On the next day, I am sitting and waiting for my letter... then opening the letter... then (i remember) seeing one sole thing on the whole page... 39.95%...

Yes, this is essentially the lowest you can get to pass but come on. I enjoyed my placement so much and this did not reflect any of my experience. However, under placement on my diploma it would say 39-point-bloody-95. I was not going to leave things there; e-mailed the tutor immediately and asked her to meet me as soon as she can.

On the next day I am sitting in a meeting room in front of the undergraduate office and hearing: "So, I liked your essay, I hope you like your mark. How did the placement go?". WHAT THE FLIP (guys I was not thinking flip). I only had strength to give my tutor the letter I received the previous day. She started laughing and said, "Wait here."; came back with a similar letter 3 minutes later, this time the letter read - 60%. "There must have been a mistake in the system. They could not explain it."

It took me about a minute so assimilate the new situation after spending two days cursing the unfairness of the world we live in. Then I had a nice chat with the tutor about how much I enjoyed the placement and how much I miss being there,.

The Beginning of The Eng

My final year has officially started with my first two lectures this morning. It is a very different experience going back to studying after having had a proper job for a year. The confidence I gained while on placement has totally changed the way I interact with the lecturers. I feel at ease participating in the discussions and as a whole appreciative of the lecturers taking the time to teach me.

Looking back at my first two year I have been late, unprepared and, well, asleep. This year is a new chapter in my uni experience. True, the lecture rooms, the lecturers and the class have not changed, but my attitude has.

This better not be one of them standard student self-motivation talks in the beginning of the new course. Let's see how the rest of this week goes...