Graduation (pt.1)

Next week is my best friends graduation. Thus, I will follow the whole experience as closely as possible. I know that all prospective and current students are very, very interested in some of the different aspects, such as:

- How many people can you invite?
- Where is it going to take place?
- When is it going to take place?
- How glamorous is it?
- What happens at the reception?
- What happens at the actual ceremony?
- ... etc.

Well, we will finally get answers to those questions.

Yesterday, I asked some of my mates in uni if I should do the posts and they said "Do we know that we are actually going to get to the graduation ceremony?". Well, Whatever grade we have and whatever time it takes for us to graduate, as long as we are doing the work that is expected of us, we should be fine! So prepare yourself Aston, because soon there will be no unrevealed secrets and no mystique connected with the long awaited graduation ceremony!

Elections

Last year I did not cover the Aston Elections but this year I feel like I need to.

Let's face the truth, a student representative cannot really influence as much as we would like to. Yet, it is our only shot. For every different student there is a different important issue in uni. An international student may have different needs from a home student; may want different changes; may be concerned with different issues. For me the most important problem is the Education and Welfare and the VPEW is the most influential figure. This year I am supporting Rehana! I know that probably I should stay as partial as possible but in the end of the day it is "Vlad's Blog" and I am just saying my personal opinion.

What is important is that you vote! Every person who does not vote wastes his right! Today is the last day, so while you are having an hour to spare between the lectures, have a walk to the Student Guild or to the ground floor in the Main Building and put your personal vote for consideration.

Flu, pt.II

The second flu wave has hit Birmingham, why second? Let's rewind a bit...

Probably, you remember that I told you about the Fresher's Flu (one of the phenomena happening during fresher's week). To be accurate the reason for the Fresher's Flu is not only the excessive partying, students just don't want to let summer go. We are prepared to continue wearing our T-shirts in the cold and cling to the idea of summer as long as we can. But who want to let summer go? Probably no one, thus, we end up with a Flu wave in university.

The second flu wave can be connected with the question - who wants to wait for summer? Once the first sun ray hits the lake and stays there for more than half an hour we are ready to take off our clothes and pretend the summer has finally come. We would sin on the lake, play ball, even sunbathe! Last week Birmingham was one of the hottest points in Europe, the South East, North and Central Europe being covered in stow. And let me tell you, no one was planning on missing even a minute sitting at home. The lake has been raving with visitors all week, people ready to endure the cold just to capture a single sun ray and dream about the summer.

The result of course is Flu. Everyone I know, and probably everyone they know, and everyone they know know, and everyone they know know know (lol this may go on for a while) is SICK. They would either complain about a sore throat, or a runny nose, or a bad cough, or fatigue... The campus gets filled with sick people complaining and infecting each other! Of course in a week it will all be back to normal. We would all have spent the necessary time, money and thought trying to get better. Maybe a bit wiser and a bit summer-less we will continue with our daily routine.

I guess you can call this a pre-summer flu, the one that may infect you body but will not infect you dreams of an awesome summer!

G.I.G. (continued)

There could not have been a better moment to continue the gig post. Tonight the Aston Guild will be the host of an "Ultimate Bangra" Party with special guest - Punjabi MC! He is coming to Aston for a second consecutive year. To compare he has been to Bulgaria only once! Will tell you all about the night by the end of the week.

Now to go back to my original story line. John Legend was of course amazing on Saturday! The concert was in the Carling Academy. This meant cheaper tickets and an actual chance to see him up-close. We managed to even get behind the stage for a second (until security saw us). Katy Perry and The Prodigy will be visiting the Academy in the upcoming two months. Here are some photos from the concert! 

Who else but Beyonce is visiting Birmingham in May and I will be there to cover the concert for you!

G.I.G.

Music-wise, Birmingham and Aston University have been a dream come true for me. The university has hosted some amazing gigs. Last year we had quite a bit of popular performers coming down to Aston both in freshers week and on the Lake, in the summer. I, unfortunately, could not attend the Lake gig which was unforgettable for the people who managed to go. The Fresher's week, for me, was surreal; Punjabi MC and Freemasons came and just blew me off. Now I am vigorously expecting this year's Lake Party which should happen around June, the so called "End of Year Party". 

But the university is not the only place you can see your favourite bands and performers play. Birmingham has and will be hosting amazing concerts this year. Some of the artists I managed to see so far are Lady GaGa, Ne-Yo ad The Pussycat Dolls. Today is the big day of the John Legend concert which I have been waiting for ages. Tina Turner and Girls Aloud passed Birmingham on their tours. Pink, Beyonce, The Prodigy, Katy Perry and so many more will be coming before the end of the university term. So, if you are a music fan, Aston should be and is the best place to be!

Here are some photos I have managed to take on the concerts so far.

The Pussycat Dolls

Ne-Yo

Lady GaGa

Aston Art Competition: Vote!

From net Tuesday 1oth March till Thursday 12th March, you can vote for photographs and paintings in the Library on the exhibition. Your support for my photos will be most appreciated but of course there will loads of other exhibits that are worth seeing. Go to the library and have look.

Aston Art and Photography Competition (Photo 3)

Holiday

Aston Art and Photography Competition (Photo 2)

Irena

Aston Art and Photography Competition (Photo 1)

Summer

3rd March

Today is Bulgaria's National Holiday. Let me wish all my Bulgarian friends in Aston an amazing day!

Aston Art and Photography Competition

In precisely seven days is my deadline for the Art competition in Aston University. I would ask all of you for some support with the online voting :D This week my posts will be art-competition related, the first three being my photos and the last some information on the competition and idea of the project.

:) Happy 1st March

... or as we say in Bulgaria: ''Честит Първи Март!'' (Chestit Parvi Mart)

This is the one holiday when we celebrate the beginning of the spring and wish each others a healthy and prosperous year. So, if you know a Bulgarian get yourself a white and red string and put it on your hand!

Some Catching Up... (continued)

Every person should be able to criticise him/herself, so let me say that in contradictions to some cases, there are occasions when people get an answer fro their company and a contract very fast. (even if it is a conditional one) 

Congratulations to Nasko, who got his placement today! (one day after his assessment day) 

To get back on the Aston University scene, there has been much coursework to come in the next couple of weeks. The library is absolutely over-pouring with hard-working people. Still, I have to reming you about my library-facebook theory. (remember that 70% of the people in the library are on facebook). Anyway, still people are doing work and don't really have a way around it since deadlines are coming. I have three deadlines in the first week after spring break, but I assume a lot of people may have even more coursework to submit. Therefore, maybe it is time for me to get bak to the debris of the Financial Management.

Everyone is talking about...

CHAV Night in the Student Guild this Friday (27/02/09)

Some Catching Up...

The past several weeks have been eventful and busy ad there is definitely much to tell but since I had the "Appreciation Week" Scheduled I let them pass by. Therefore, today will be my "catching up" post.

I have extremely lucky to sign the contract for my placement last year. After filling up I don't know how many different forms with identical information, leaving the final signature felt great. I always thought that once you get a placement offer you are all done, well, the reality is different. Let us look at three cases:

Viky got a placement offer three months ago. She was probably one of the first people to get an interview and a decision before the winter holiday. She will be working for the British government. Getting the placement offer, though, was just the beginning for her. There are six months of profile checks before she gets a contract sent!

After I got my placement offer and immediately accepted, I had to start filling up tons of forms with personal details: health-care, previous employment details, even a death form (concerned with who will get your salaries, bonuses, etc. if you die in the middle of the placement year). I received and signed a contract. While reading through the "Terms and Conditions", though, I fell upon a very interesting fact, the placement offer is, nothing else but a conditional offer. After submission of all the forms and documentation needed there is a profile check (just like Viky's). Thus, a placement offer, a contract, all don't mean a secure job until the end of the university year. Unfortunately, there is always a chance of getting sc*** up.

Another friend of mine got a placement offer this week. As happy as I was when I found out there was a small detail that struck me. She was not informed the exact amount of the salary ("We will call you and give you details on the placement later in the week."), no exact starting day ("All details will be explained to you in due course."), no exact proposal (you can imagine that just like in my case, the offer is conditional to her being allowed to work in the country).

In other news: 

- The mid-term exams are due to start next week. 

- The library is full of final years writing their dissertations. 

- The Business Game for the second years is in full speed with Europia's share price falling to £0.09 (that's my company). 

- D-r G.S. has given his second year students their writing task. Exam results have started to pop-out.

for more news, press the red button on your remote...

A Week of Appreciation... [UK Pubs] What Does Every Student Want?

LAGER!


I never knew the difference between lager and ale, I actually didn't know there is such, until I started working in a pub. Lager yeast ferments at a much colder temperature than ale yeast and settles on the bottom of the fermenting tank. As far back as the sixteenth century, Bavarian brewers made beer in this way, storing it in caves and some cellars, ofter under blocks of ice, allowing it to self-filter.

Because of the low temperature required, it wasn't until the advent of the refrigerator that lager was brewed in London, some time during 1880s.

A Week of Appreciation... [UK Pubs] Simply Wine!

No one knows who made the first wine. The Babylonians documented the running of a wine-shop, which appears to have been written in 18 BC. Yet, some think that the idea of wine may lead as far back as to the stone age man. He is said to have placed grapes in skin bags and allowed them to ferment by accident.

The word 'wine' has an equally mystifying origin, with roots searched in Latin and ancient Greek. It is said that Julius Caesar brought the vine to England. But scholars believe that this was more for the purposes of decoration, to remind the Romans of home. By the time of the Norman Conquest though, vines were grown and wine produced in a number of monastic institutions, especially in southern England.

Currently, in Birmingham you can find wines from every part of the World - Chile, Italy, South Africa, Australia, and even, Bulgaria.

A Week of Appreciation... [UK Pubs] The Tale of Johny, Jim and Jack!

The name 'whisky' comes from the Gaelic word for water, 'uisge', interpreted as water of life. It was believed that both better health and greater longevity could be achieved by drinking whisky. In moderation, of course.

There are two basic types of whisky, malt and grain. (Since I have been a bartender for so long I should know, well I don't) Malt is made entirely from malted barley. Grain is made from malted and unmalted barley along with other grains. There are many jealously guarded distillations and maturation processes, therefore, you can currently have different whisky types. (Of course, each company states their whisky to be the best.)

When I went to Dublin a while ago, I found out that whiskey and Guinness, and even snuff, were regarded as medications some hundred years ago. There even were different marketing strategies for their selling.

A Week of Appreciation... [UK Pubs] A Brief History of Ale

The oldest recorded recipes for beer date back to the Sumerians, some 5000 years ago. But archaeological evidence from Africa and China suggests that forms of brewing existed long before this. Making beer is believed to be as old as making bread, although no one is quite sure which came first (just as the debate on the chicken and the egg).

Ale was an important drink in medieval times and the fermentation process was considered almost supernatural. Even the word "ale" has some Old English roots suggesting sorcery, magic and intoxication.

Drinkers in the bustling ale houses a hundred years ago had their ale in ceramic cups that had whistles baked into the handles. The customers would blow these to order a refill.

Today, of course you can get ale in almost any British pub. If you ask me, Ale is a winter drink, and the biggest variety of ales is found in the winter. You can have ales with different colours and tastes, whatever suits yourself.

A Week of Appreciation... [UK Pubs]

The has been one thing I have always wanted to familiarize you with and that is the rich history of the UK pub culture. A lot of people think that it is all about drinking but in seven short days you will see that is a lot more! Hopefully, you will enjoy it and I will repeat the "A Week Of Appreciation" idea further.

Before I came to the United Kingdom I didn't really know much bout the typical British pubs. All I knew was that they have draft and they are wooden. Well, when I came to Birmingham I found out some unbelievable places; there are some pubs that are just a must go to. (Plus there are three pubs on campus!)

If you want to actually understand the scene at Aston, you need to see the simple British world [as my mum says, see the little things], you need to feel the creeks of the old wooden floors in the semi-detached houses, you need to hear the wind hitting your deep window seal. So let me begin with a more relaxing part of UK culture, the drinking culture of course.

One of the most amazing thing about British Pubs is their names! [The Spat & Snail, The Newt & Cucumber, The Yard of Ale, Scruffy Murphie's, The Pitcher and Piano...] I never knew what is preferred, animal names, or maybe vegetables, or fruits; no matter what it is, every pub name is unique and memorable.

i.e.