The Best of The G∆L∆BLOG pt. 3

In my second year I had the obnoxious idea to give exam tips on the galablog. Here is the experiment I did after.

The [first] Experiment

Well, it seems that even I cannot follow [my own exam tips]! So, we come to "The Experiment!"; this is my way of giving you a [final] tip through experience. Before I wrote last week's post I was "revising" [...] in clubs in Bulgaria [...], in clubs in Birmingham[...] and then in the pubs in Dublin (no, Guinness does not help in exam prep!) To come to the point, I have had an amazing winter holiday, there was just one thing missing - revision!

The Experiment will consist of a series of posts (one each hour) and record my day unfortunately, it is going to be a long "day". Here we go!

03:26 I am sitting in my room, "revising"; last minute prep has been quite a common thing in the past week. It happened on Wednesday and Thursday an through the weekend! so for the record - MICROECONOMICS AND ECONOMETRICS REVISION (last minute of course) -- exam to start in 6 hours --

04:26 The revision continues, night productivity is low, for the past hour the inconsiderate student has done only 2 questions (and a half), productivity on the exam has to be almost twice as good, 4 questions for one hour! Since productivity at night is low (and getting worse) one needs to, spend much longer and most probably see the dawn! --exam to start in 5 hours--

05:26 Still revising, finished all open questions, will be starting multiple choice. In the one hour that has passed I managed to have a tea and two cigarettes, one right after my last post and one just before this one. Had to brush teeth (When you drink coffee and English breakfast tea in a combination with cigarettes in the middle of the night you can actually feel the nicotine inside your teeth! Yes, I know it is quite disgusting! Decided to stop smoking after exams. Made plans for econometrics revision - later tonight. -- 4 hours till exam --

06:26 Am so tired; have finished multiple choice questions; can barely keep eyes open; will go to bed for 40 min (hopefully it helps) Did I tell you I fell asleep on my first exam in this exam session - Strategic Finance :) -- 3 hours till exam--

07:26 I woke up 20 min ago and am continuing the studies! --2 hours till exam!--

08:26 Have transformed myself in a human form and am heading towards uni. --1 hour till exam--

09:26 At this time my exam is just about to start (I wrote this post a bit earlier and scheduled it to post now) so I cannot make any conclusions just yet. I can evaluate chances though, previous Microeconomics Exam - 78% need little to pass! I hope I am OK :) --2 minutes to exam--

10:26 First hour of exam is about to pass, people can now leave the examination room!

11:26 Exam will finish in about ten minutes, I don't know how correct my answers are but at least there is something on the paper! -- next exam in 2hours and 34 minutes--

12:26 I finished my first exam (Microeconomics) half an hour ago. Now I am sitting in Dolche Vita and am trying to memorise at least some of the Econometrics stuff. --next exam in 1 hour 55 minutes--

13:26 Have you ever heard of the different stages you go through when you find out you are going to die from cancer, for example. I remember there's regret and acceptance in the end, of course after you have passed bargaining and sorrow. Well, right now I am on the bargaining stage - please let a fire burn the exam papers, nothing else just the econometrics exam papers, just postpone it a couple of days! On the other hand I am also realising this is not really going to happen so I am just regretting not studying when I should have! --exam in half an hour--

14:26 The exam has started and now I have accepted my faith, I am either barely going to pass or fail! God, please let me have at least 35%, I will compensate with the coursework!

15:26 There is only half an hour left and I am still struggling; am just waiting for death now!

16:26 Exam has finished and I am so tired! I am not mad about the mark any more. I will try to compensate in the second term. -- next exam in 21 hours and 34 minutes --

17:26 OK, maybe the exam was not that hard, now that I think about it... Anyway too late now, so there is no point of bargaining or anger, or depression! Life goes! Now the most important thing is sleep! --next exam in 20 hours and 34 minutes--

18:26 Sleeping for a bit.

19:26 could not wake up to do this post... :( God I hate it when I am too tired to turn an alarm off, or wake up :( still, revision has to continue --next exam in 18 hours and 30min--

20:26 As a true student, i have gotten to the point I am wasting my time! Now I am talking to my ex on skype about last months of 2008! Seriously, I think I have a special power - Time Wasting :D -- 17 hours and 34 minutes until exam--

21:26 Just had a fag and a tea, will make myself one more and the revision night may start - this one will continue till 2 in the afternoon tomorrow but fortunately my experiment will end before that... you will hear the results later and see if this policy is a good one or a bad and if there is a point f my exam tips! --16 hours and 34 minutes until next exam--

22:26 Well, I will be honest with you, I have not done much :D till now! will start though, will start! - this is a proof of my library theory (although I am not in the library it is applicable), remember one of my previous posts about the library and how everyone there is on facebook and/on youtube! Well, you don't have to be in the library to waste your time when revising! -- exam in 15 hours and 34 minutes!--

23:26 Having Dinner, starting in a bit! -- 14 hours and 34 minutes till exam --

00:26 Started revising. I had forgotten how much one needs to read to be able to pass history - my Emerging Economies Exam tomorrow. I was dumbfounded when I found out how many people have failed this module in the past three years. Now I understand why - you cannot truly prepare; there is no single set of things you can revise; lecture notes are not enough on their own; and even if you read all the articles we have had to read through the term (I pride on reading almost half) and you memorize the lectures, as long as you cannot analyse your readings you cannot pass. This is a problem, after so many sleepless nights my analytical skills are probably weaker than ever; so, I have decided to go to bed at 02:30, right after my last post and wake up at 7 to continue. Surely almost 5 hours sleep will do me good. [+ (you have to be so concentrated to understand these articles and when you're tired it's impossible) + (the exam starts at two so I have half a day tomorrow just for revision)] -- 13 hours, 34 minutes till exam --

01:26 Not worried about exam any more. In the end of the day I am trying to do my best and this is most important. Am I showing my best? Probably not. Have I done all I could to reach best knowledge? Probably not. Yet, in the end of the day I am certain that I have worked (and worried), and tried, and did all I could do for the time I have had. Would I trade any of the time I had in Bulgaria with my friends and family, and Ania's farewell week for a higher mark? No. --12hrs, 34min--

02:26 The Ecperiment is over. I hope you had fun tracing the day with me, and learned to always try to plan ahead! I will share the productivity level of my sleepless nights (meaning the results) when it comes out in a few months. --last exam from exam session to come in 11 hours and 34 minutes --

*rest and a week of losing time to come in 13 hours and 40 minutes*

The Best of The G∆L∆BLOG pt. 2

My First Lectures at Aston University (Round II)

It has been too long since I have been postponing this post. You would ask why is that? The Answer is hidden in the very title of this post: 'Round II'. The second year is, so far, the toughest year in my academic life (not that my academic life is so long, but still - now i know it gets much worse :P). Here are the simple impressions of an average second year student (and as seen by my results I am the very average of average students).

Lecture Number 1. Unbelievably for me, and everyone else in the lecture theatre, first day of uni started at 9 a.m. with my fist lecture, and by lecture I mean a full length, 54 slide, 98 minutes revision of Micro economic concepts. However, the lecturer (and my current dissertation tutor) not only had time to introduce himself and finish the lecture, but also do it with 2 minutes to spare.

Lecture Number 2. The second lecture was way too overcrowded; it was so hot that people started falling asleep (including myself); it was so full that you could hardly hear the lecturer. It has been sorted by now, though, so no worries.

Lecture Number 3. The third lecture was very, very disturbing। I got told that I am to be taking part in a simulation of a car-production company; later in the week got chosen for the Financial Management position; in the following weeks I believe I shall be very scr**d (actually, the Business Game is my all time favourite subject).

Lecture Number 4. The fourth lecture was finally just an introduction to a module, no information to remember, just half an our of the most stressful numbers in your life (and by numbers I mean stats on how poorly previous years have performed in the module). The second lecturer, basically told us that we are all doomed and will get low grades (I did disagree with her and was so appalled by her assumptions of absolute doom, as faith would have it my overall mark was exactly what she said it would be).

Lecture Number 5. The fifth lecture was the Business policy and I can openly say, the worst subject this year। It is basically a lot of obvious assumptions, put in a textbook. When you add the US influence on the textbook, the whole subject becomes bloody evil.

Lecture Number 6. I missed the sixth and final lecture because I got confused with time। Yet last week I managed to find out that I don't remember anything of my statistics classes and that I may possibly fail the test next week (I did not fail, I received 40% :P; to think that I am basing my dissertation on econometrics now would have seemed ludicrous).

So these are my first impressions from this year.

The Best of The G∆L∆BLOG pt. 1

With the end of this academic year comes the end of the galablog, thus, I believe it is time to look back on some of the uni experiences I have shared through this blog's existence and reminisce. Starting this thread is my very first post: ""

This is my first post and, although I want to, probably I won't manage to make it as special as I want it to be. So, ... no need of any awkward introduction. All you need to know is that my name is Vladimir, I am 19 years old (I wish), studying Economics and Management at Aston University and it is now the end of my first year.

The first thing I want to share with you is my journey to the UK.Anyone who has ever traveled on their own would probably relate to this story. For those who have not, it is most important that you avoid my mistakes!

It all started at the airport. It was 5 in the morning and I had just said Goodbye to my parents. I was sitting with my friends waiting for the 'all passengers for London, ...' call. What would a normal person do, hug (?), kiss (?), shed a tear (?)... ME, I was crying my eyes out and looking at it now, it must have been amazingly entertaining for the surrounding population. This continued at the security check, and the passport check, and the boarding, and, as you already expect, on the plane. People must have thought I had just been diagnosed as terminally ill and would be dying in a week.

Of course, at one point I decided it is time for me to just deal with it, pull myself together and calm down. ...and that is when London came. The huge wave of wondering population hit me like a metal bat. Of course, I managed to get lost, first, in Gatwick Airport, then, on my way to the train and, finally, in the massive Victoria Station. So, after getting ripped off (I bought a £70 open, first class ticket - by accident of course) I was sitting on my little round table in my comfortable first class seat, enjoying the free treats I was offered (in moderation, of course).

By the time I reached Birmingham, through discovering free first class coffee, I was (hyper but) tip-top and ready to finally step on the Aston campus. And here is TIP No 1 For future students: When you go out of New Street Train Station and ask a policewoman where Aston University is and she says 'I have never heard of it', do not panic, it is does exist. After I got ripped off by a very rude taxi driver I had almost reached my final destination - 'Dalton Tower' Well, kind of, there was onlly an 'ALTON' Tower at the time (with the letter 'D' is missing from the sign).

'The Bee Hive' as I shall now call it to me looked like a small utopia of unending activities. People going on and off the lifts, in and out of rooms, introductions, chit-chat, key collection and of course plenty of luggage. I was walking through the corridors slowly in a perplexed and childlike manner (probably pissing everyone else off, who actually knew what they were doing). In the end of the aforementioned corridor I found the key-collection point. Everything else happened in a split of a second, I got my key, had a fast chat about London with the staff, got into the lift, and before you know it met my flatmates. But more on them later, because what was about to happen is the most beloved moment of university for all students - Fresher's Week!

The Astoners Abroad

For everyone who does read this piece-of-cr*** of a blog you know that in my third year I did a placement in Intel (a.k.a Company X). Lots of Astoners, however, chose to study abroad. An example that I will discuss with you is L.M. who for the purpose of this post I will call "Buba".

So, Buba is a third year, Business and International Relations Aston student currently on exchange in Australia. You can imagine that for every student having to chose between placement and exchange is quite tough. Buba, however, took a chance and flew off in a south-eastern direction. She started her course in University of South Australia and began settling in. (You can see some photos from her "Australian Adventures" below this post.)

Forwarding to April 2011, Buba is working hard and enjoying uni. She has found a part-time job and since recently has been offered an internship in the Bulgarian Embassy for the Summer (Winter in Australia). For me, personally, Buba is an example of the perfect balance between a work and study in a third year uni experience.

Strat-Man (the results)

Last month I blogged about "the the most challenging piece of coursework I have had to write so far" (well, until I started my dissertation but that's another story). Today, less than a month after submission I received the final verdict; a 75%, keeping-the-smiles-on-my-groop's-faces verdict. Hard work sometime does pay off!

Astonbury (Line-Up Update)

Are you ready Aston? I can now reveal the first rumored performer to play on the Astonburystage. Apparently the contract is not finalized yet but Zane Lowe has showed interest in coming back to DJ on the Astonbury pult. For those of you who have not attended the festival a couple of years back or have never heard of Zane, here are some interesting facts.

Zane at Radio One's Big Weekend

Zane played "Crazy" by Gnarles Barkley for the first time on radio; the song consecutively becoming number one on the UK top 40. The song also featured on Zane's TV advert, aired in 2006.

At Oxegen Festival 2006, Zane was reportedly "beaten up" by Didz Hammond and Carl Barat from Dirty Pretty Things on an episode of Gonzo. He has since said that the punch was in fact completely playful but unfortunately, and painfully, connected with his groin.

Zane saved Ryan Jarman's life at the 2006 NME Awards, an incident NME now refers to as "engraved in indie folklore". Ryan's band, The Cribs, accepted an award on behalf of winners, Franz Ferdinand. However, on his way to collect the trophy from presenter Russell Brand, Ryan dived onto the Kaiser Chiefs table and pierced his back with broken glass, narrowly missing his vital organs.He was quickly taken to hospital but discharged himself to return for the show's party later in the night. However, his injuries were severe and he fell unconscious in a back corridor. Luckily Zane came across Ryan lying on the floor and discovered he was bleeding profusely. Zane raised the alarm and Ryan received urgently needed medical attention to stop internal bleeding.

Lowe's radio show can be heard on Mondays to Thursdays from 7pm to 9pm.

More info can be found on Zane's Radio 1 page.

Relay 4 Life 2011

Every year the Aston campus hosts a 24hr event in support of Cancer Research UK. For those of you who have never heard of Relay for Life, and particularly the Aston version of it, teams of volunteers, essentially, walk around the lake for 24 hours in the name of charity. Each team has their own donation page where you can recognize their effort by donating to Cancer Research UK. This year I am supporting the brilliant "Aston Ents" who were not only walking around the lake but also upkept the music flawlessly mixed at all times. (I was particularly impressed of the effort in the very last of these 24hrs when the mix was at its best)

You can recognise the guys' effort you can donate by following this LINK (Please hurry as they have until the end of the week!)

Here are some photos from the event:

St. Patty's Day Photo Diary

People's university choice is motivated by different factors. One of the reasons I chose Aston is the social life on campus and around Birmingham. This leads me to one of the most extraordinary experiences that a student from outside of the UK, like me, can have - the St. Patric's Day Parade in Digbeth. To be frank, where I come from parades are not really a thing and until I came here I had never actually seen one. This brings me to the purpose of this post. Last St. Patty's Day I tried to record as much as I can from the parade to try and share the spirit of the event. Unfortunately, the photos took ages to develop for reasons beyond my control. So, here it is the St. Patty's Day Photo Diary.

Donations for Japan

Aston students are currently participating in a campaign to collect donations for Japanese relief. After the horrific earthquake we can all do our bit to support the struggling people left homeless after the tragedy. Head down to the main building where the collection campaign is being held.