...and I am back in Nottingham

Now all my work is complete, and I only exams left to go, I feel a bit lost. I haven't had to revise properly in such a long time, therefore I don't know where to start. With A level exams, there were so many past papers available, you could just do them, revise where you struggled and do another. It's not that simple when it comes to university level papers. For starters, the papers all have a new format this year, so previous papers (if any are available) will not really help me as much as they could. Plus, background reading is a very important aspect of completing the harder parts of exams (apparently) and I know I haven't done enough yet. It's all a bit of a nightmare if I am honest. 

Enough of that boring nonsense, as I am back in Nottingham for 3 weeks! I've been looking forward to coming home for weeks now, and I am finally here. The only downside is the lack of desk in my "new" room, so I am forced to work on the dining room table. As my Mum isn't working currently, due to no fault of her own, she tends to be a bit of a distraction. This is with the new Dining/Living Room divide up. Also, George is a bit of an issue. He's a puppy, and he probably requires more attention than a baby. Nightmare. Yet again, I have ended up on the topic of revision, but I do have some other news. 

Somehow, I have managed to acquire a job over the Christmas period. I'll only be working every Friday and Saturday night until I leave, but this does suit me rather well. This does also mean that I will be able to earn some of my deposit back - as I have signed a tenancy agreement for a house for next year (also big news). 

I think that's all I really have to say for now, as I really should be revising (without George).

George trying to be really helpful.

Busybusybusy

I am almost ashamed of how little I have blogged since moving to Cardiff. This is probably one of the most exciting times of my life so far, and I have nothing to look back on. I'm a little disappointed, but I really have been a busy bee. 

The workload for a Physics degree is insane. I have work due in everyday, and most of it takes 2-3 hours to complete - sometimes more! Although it is paying off, as my marks have been improving, and I do feel like I have absorbed most of the nonsense I have had thrown at me. As much as I moan about it on twitter, I do love my degree. I learn new things everyday and I have started to become actively involved in some fascinating projects. 

For example, I have recently become a STEM ambassador! I am yet to actually do anything for the programme, but I have agreed to help out at an Astronomy evening, at a local primary school. It's not until the second half of the Spring term, so I have plenty of time to brush up on the Spring sky. I'm also a student rep! Which has proved to be a lot of fun so far - as I generally just listen to first years moan about 9am lectures -but I have helped to improve homework feedback (a bit) and I did get a lecturer to explain a physics topic better. 

I would love to catch my blog up with current events, but I am extremely tired, so I will try again soon - I promise. 

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the Peak Star Party!

First Cardiff AS lecture.

After applying for my membership on Monday, I finally managed to attend my first Cardiff Astronomical Society lecture. It really was fascinating. Prof Mike Disney, of Cardiff University, presented his thoughts on several things. Although, my memory of them is pretty poor. As I spend my entire week taking notes, I decided to just listen and enjoy the talk. The only things I can remember from the lecture are; downsizing (the idea that larger galaxies formed before dwarf ones) and that we are seeing galaxies that we shouldn't be able to (Tolman effect - as the redshift of a galaxy increases, intensity of light coming from that galaxy rapidly reduces - I think). I suppose only being able to remember two main points from a lecture isn't bad. 

I am rather looking forward to the next lecture.

On a completely unrelated topic, I baked with my housemates the other day.

Finally getting an education...

Whilst freshers was amazing, I am so happy to actually be learning something. I must admit that it's taking a while to get back in to it, but I am really starting to enjoy Maths and Physics again. Although, I must exclude Tuesday from generally enjoying everything. Having 2 hours of lectures, followed by a 4 hour lab session, and after only 4 hours of sleep was traumatic. Students of House H need to learn how to cook, as I do not appreciate being woken up at 3:40am by the fire alarm. 

A few highlights from freshers...

The last photo illustrates how I intend to spend the rest of my year :)

I have also managed to finish off my noticeboard, so my room finally feels like my own.

I need to sleep now, as I have a 9am lecture, but I will update my blog tomorrow. I'm attending my first Cardiff Astronomical Society lecture at 19:30, and I am rather looking forward to it.

Hello Cardiff!

I want to make my first official Cardiff blog post interesting, but I haven't really got a lot to discuss and I am also very sleep deprived. I'm barely keeping up with being so social for freshers, and I am currently getting by on about 4 hours of sleep per night. Even if I do come home at a decent hour, you can guarantee someone will decide to burn toast at 4:30am. Not that I am moaning, I am having a fantastic time and also meeting some lovely people.

My full timetable will commence from Monday, therefore I need to start doing some work. I could barely recognise the double angle rule in the weird lecture-type thing that I attended today, so I am a little worried. I hope I will adjust this new system of learning (lectures, tutorials, etc), but I think it will take a while. Any tips for coping with lectures and lab sessions will be greatly appreciated :)

Meet my new textbook - Principles of Physics by Halliday, Resnick and Walker.

On a quick note, I have just noticed the new Hubble image, which includes the most distant galaxy. It is beautiful, but also slightly scary when you see that there are 5,500 galaxies in the image. Check it out!

08/10/12 UPDATE:

I forgot to upload a lovely (kidding) photo of me on the train.

Modules

As I have nothing to do, other than to pack, I have basically looked through the Cardiff School of Physics and Astronomy website about 50 times. Therefore, I thought I would post my new modules on here.

For anyone who has read this blog before, you will know that I only managed to achieve a B in A-level Maths (which was a huge struggle). This means I will have to do the 'Mathematical Practice for Physical Sciences' module. In all honesty, I am very glad that I get to have some extra maths practice, and I am generally very excited about my modules. 'The Universe from Particles to Galaxies' has obviously caught my eye and I literally cannot wait to start. Hopefully, by this time next week, I will have enrolled at the Physics. 

I should return to packing, but I probably will continue to avoid it. Anyway, I have still got a few episodes of the Big Bang Theory to watch again. Sorted.

Ps, just found this on twitter via Matt Parker (although, he had retweeted someone else) -> Pi in the sky!

The joys of packing.

I can't believe it's almost September. I've been waiting years to start university, and it's finally just around the corner. It's genuinely quite hard to communicate just how excited I am about moving to Cardiff, studying Astrophysics and just generally becoming more independent. Although, there is one major con involved with moving - packing. Today was the first day that I actually put stuff in boxes, and it was horrific. After spending an hour trying to decide which books to take with me to Cardiff, I just (carefully) threw in the essentials. I don't know what to take with me, as I realise my room in Senghennydd is tiny, and I definitely do not have enough cardboard boxes yet.

Before I wrap up this tiny blog post, I want to make a quick promise. Recently, this blog has been dedicated to me moaning about UCAS, exam results and other nonsense. My original intentions were to make this blog a bit more about Physics. Therefore, I promise to make my blog more academically pleasing - once my lectures have started - and to also discuss current Physics news, whilst only including the occasional moan about life.

It's been crazy.

It's safe to say that the last few days have been insane. After finding out that I had in fact got into university, I got allocated my accommodation. I somehow managed to get the accommodation I wanted - which is fantastic - and have now started searching for flat mates. With social networking sites, it is surprisingly easy to find people studying the same course or living in the same general area. It's nice to know that I should be able to recognise a few faces upon arrival. 

I am so excited! 

Just because this made me laugh uncontrollably! Poor little Martian basalt.

The UCAS post.

15/08/12 

19:24pm For anyone who hasn't really read my previous posts, I shall give you the "low down" on my UCAS situation.

My intentions are to study Astrophysics (MPhys) at Cardiff University, and to do this I will need AAB (including Maths and Physics). My other subject, which should provide me with an A, is Electronics. My insurance offer is for the same course at Leeds University, therefore it has the same entry requirements. This makes it a very bad back up plan, but I shall manage. So, whilst I wait for midnight, I am going to watch the Sky at Night :)

22:49pm Arghsj\hfjakkcjsakjhjsalknzvhdaijL. My friend, Sophie, came over for a bit. This calmed my nerves a lot,  but now she has left I feel lost. I have out some food on as I feel sick (doesn't really make sense) and have started drinking copious amounts of tea. The only good thing is that the clearing vacancies go live in just over an hour. I want to check to see if there are still places on my course, as that will make me feel better. There were places available through clearing last year, so I am hoping it'll be this year.

23:26pm NOT EVEN TIRED. I'm currently wide awake, dancing to Spice Girls and drinking Sunny D. What is life. I might watch Dirty Dancing. 

23:37pm Just went on UCAS. I love this image, it's so precise :) 

23:46pm There are no words (click the image).

16/08/12

00:02am I am currently refreshing UCAS a lot. It's good practise for today really. It's already been a minute and UCAS hasn't updated. This is really annoying and now Spotify is talking about results. I cannot cope.

00:05am FINALLY.

00:07am This is a good start! It surprised me last year how many vacancies were available for Physics.

00:09am There are also lots of vacancies at my ideal university and on the course I want. Life is good. I'm assuming this list means they are available. 

00:56am I'm surprisingly sleepy. I am actually going to try and sleep. This will probably fail miserably and I will more than likely be back on here moaning within an hour. If I do sleep, I will have the "I HAVE FAILED EVERYTHING" nightmare and wake up in tears. That is one traumatic dream. Goodnight (for now) and good luck.

06:19am I don't think I have really slept. It was very on/off as my stomach is in knots. I feel so ill, this is horrific. I don't think I have ever been more nervous for anything before. It's scary that everything I have been working for,  over these past 2 years, comes down to a couple of letters on a web page today. Then these silly letters decide on whether or not I get to live the dream, at Cardiff university in September. I'm so nervous I could cry. I am also ridiculously tired. I would also like to sleep for a very long time, but I know I won't be able to until I know what I am doing. I might wander to the shop for a copy of the telegraph. I need to waste some time. 

07:20am As predicted, I cannot access my results. Bilborough College, I hate you. Let me on pretty please. 

I don't really hate you, I just need my results.

07:40am That was fast. Right. I'll let you see my results first.

So overall, thats A*A*BB in Electronics, EPQ, Physics and Maths (I think). Now...for UCAS track.

I'm off to Cardiff University.

I hate waiting.

Seriously, this week is dragging already and it is only Tuesday! I found a cute countdown for my blog, so now I get to sit and watch time tick by.

Now for the important news: I have decided to try and "live-blog" during A level results day. This is only because I need a place to vent my frustration with crashing servers and clearing. Also, it'll be nice to look back and reflect on this traumatic day, when I do eventually get into university. However, if I am depressed (because my results were that bad), I will probably disappear of the face of the Earth until October.

Good luck everyone.

Goodbye July, hello future.

It's August tomorrow and I am really starting to worry about it. Although, if I am honest, I have probably been worrying about it since September. Not even the Olympics can distract me from thinking about results day. I might have to just remove my calendar for a bit, or go in to hibernation (I just googled it, hmm). I'm not sure what would be less drastic.

ps, Bilborough College, I WANT MY PINK SHIRT BACK. Either that or my £60 deposit. Pretty please.

I love camping.

I've just returned from camping somewhere in the Peak District. It was on site at the Bull I' Th' Thorn Inn. The inn was really pretty, it had loads of weird swords, various stuffed animals and delicious food. Apart from going on several (two) long and horrific walks, it was just nice to lay on a blanket and gaze at the Milky Way. As we (my friends and I) only stayed for two nights, not a lot occurred, but I have some lovely pictures.

That (small) hill was horrible on the way back.

I saw several cows, but these two were just very cute.

A view from the hillside we managed to find, on a public footpath, for a picnic.  

The topic of discussion for the picnic was zombie apocalypse. It was weird.

My boots are beautiful. The surroundings were quite nice too. 

I don't really have much to add to this post, as I am rather tired, so the only thing I want to say is how nice it is to escape to the countryside every once in a while. I had so much fun.

I need a distraction. Desperately.

Currently, the only thing I can think about is results day. The amount of time that I spend thinking about it is probably unhealthy, but I just can't help myself. I have tried really hard to keep myself busy, but I just don't have enough to do. I only work 2/3 times a week and I obviously don't have any specific "work" to do. 

Therefore, boredom always brings my brain back on to the subject of results day. I hate waiting. I just want to know what I am doing in September, even if it is staying in Nottingham for another year. Although, I really hope it doesn't come down to that (but it probably will). 

To try and distract myself, I am going to research Physics books to read - in case I actually get in - and go through my OU module again. I didn't really learn much before, so I am going to try and learn more this time. Wish me luck.

My dogs were being slightly cute earlier, so I took pictures. This is what boredom is reducing me to. The white one is Rocky, and the other is Ruby.

Estoy en casa

¡Hola amigos.

I don't really have much to write about, seeing as I am a very dull person. However, I have just returned from Spain and it really highlighted certain language barriers. 

For example, in the hotel we stayed in, there was only one other group of people who has English as their first language. Yet that did not stop any interactions between myself and other hotel guests. The main languages I could pick out were Spanish, German and French. 

The main point, which I am poorly communicating, is that all of our conversations (excluding hello, goodbye and thank you) were in English. I do not believe that I am alone in this. As a country, our basic grasp on other European languages is poor. This point was emphasised when I couldn't understand a cry for help, from a young child, coming from the pool. Some poor unsupervised child was struggling, and it took for his head to start dipping below the water, for me to notice what was going on. I did help him, but I felt bad for not getting there sooner. Luckily. he was okay.

Therefore, I have decided that I will make an effort to improve my language skills, before visiting another foreign country. I do intend to go on holiday with some of my friends next year, so at least I have plenty of time. 

ps, why was the Higgs announcement in Comic Sans, I'm still laughing about it now.

pps, my results day is exactly a month today. I genuinely feel sick with nerves. This month is going to be a long one.

I'm free.

I am so very free currently, as exams are over and I only work two shifts a week, therefore I am extremely bored. I need entertainment immediately in any form. For anyone with an interest in Physics, if you would like to recommend a few books titles, I will be eternally grateful. I am very close to tidying my room, due to the immense amount of boredom that I am currently experiencing. My teacher said, in an email, that these are the longest holidays I will ever experience - thank goodness. I cannot cope with having so little to do. My brain needs stimulating with some interesting Physics or ANYTHING.

That is all.

Ps, I went to visit the Queen in my space dress. One was very impressed (or one would have been, if one had looked outside)

The first of May.

There is just something about the beginning of May that I despise. I think it all comes down to the fact that my exams start in 8 days and I would just rather not have to sit them. If it isn't that, it could be because my lessons at Bilborough College end this month, and I do not feel ready for life after college. That is probably a serious issue, but the end is near and it is coming whether I like it to or not.

Usually I would attach an image, but as this is officially the most boring post I have ever written, I do not feel like it deserves one. (I can't decide if that is grammatically correct, my English is currently terrible)

I love revising.

If anyone has read any of my previous posts, you will notice that my general opinion towards revision is negative. Previously, it just felt so tedious and pointless. However, a few good marks later and I am feeling the most positive I have in a long while. It's either because of it going so well, or that my daily reading session is really helping to reduce stress levels. I did a bit of internet research and it suggested two main ways to help control stress levels - exercise and reading. I decided to start with the second option, as I am yet to come across a form of exercise that I don't hate. 

After that brilliantly short post, I must return to the books. I do intend to write a blog post later in the month, if I do find something interesting to write about. It is highly unlikely though.

I love my physics folder, even if it does currently looks worryingly empty.

Where does my time go?

I really do want to become a regular blogger, but I find it so hard to fit into my life. It's so busy! In between college, work and my poor attempt at maintaining a social life, I just don't get the time. 

First of all, so I can get it out of the way and never discuss it again - exam results. They were unfortunately rather poor and I definitely need better if I want to get AAB and go to Cardiff. I was hoping for better than ABCD, but there is nothing I can do now, other than resit and promise myself they'll go better this time. This way of thinking is the only way I can get through the next few manic months. I would like to emphasise manic, because I only have 2 months and 9 days officially left at college! This terrifies me.

Secondly, I still haven't discussed how great Astrofest was (what is the world coming to?!). I met Sir Patrick Moore, Brian May and many more. I bumped into John Timmons (Peak2Valley instruments) and couldn't resist chatting with Pete Lawrence. The day was almost as good as the Peak Star Party, but not quite. The conference aspects were fascinating. I really enjoyed the talk by Lucie Green about the current projects observing the Sun. Also, I feel like I have to mention Simon Singh passing a high voltage through a pickle, it was a strange event to witness. It was brilliant. 

This was a really special moment for me, I didn't know what to say to Patrick Moore. It's the quietest I have been in a very long time. Also, to the lovely person that took this picture for me (whoever you are), thank you so much. 

Who is that guy in the background? He appears to be posing for this photo also. 

Talking of astronomy and all things related, I have been taking a few pictures lately. They're nothing special and they've been taken with a very normal and boring digital camera. I do enjoy my Moon pictures though, my Physics teachers thought they were quite good too. 

 This is the (badly, hence the sky looks navy blue) edited photo I took in my back garden. I thought the plane (left of the image) looked cool. Orion looked beautiful that night.  

 Using the afocal imaging technique, I took this with my Samsung ES65 through my 130mm Skywatcher Newtonian reflector. Not bad for my first attempt at the technique. 

 This is just a zoomed and cropped version of the above image. I want to name the craters, but I am having serious issues trying to locate them on my rubbish Moon map. I like the detail highlighted by this phase of the Moon and I will take a few more as the phase changes. 

This is sadly my view of Venus. It doesn't photograph well with my camera or look very nice in my telescope. 

It took me a few shots to image Jupiter. I was quite impressed (even if the image isn't visually pleasing) with my efforts. I think it's the fact that I, with very little knowledge of cameras, can take a picture of something so far away.  

I love this image. It's not even particularly good, I just like how interesting the Moon looks. Just above my neighbour's house (the house on the left) you can see Mars! My poor camera even managed to pick out a few stars in the constellation on Leo. 

 During my ISS stalking phase (that will resume again in April), I took this of the darkest location within 1 mile of my house. It was a poor night for viewing the ISS because of all the clouds. It caused the Moon to look green in my image also. 

For now, that will be enough of my astro imaging attempts. However I'm not done with pictures for this blog post. 

I feel like I should discuss something which has recently taken over all of my life - my Electronics project. I currently spend about half of my total time in college in C3.1 and it is getting on my nerves. My project is some weird audio game thing that has taken me a very long time to build, which is surprising considering how small it is. It is finally finished!

 The finished masterpiece. I think I spent too long trying to make the wires look neat. 

This is an oscilloscope captured image of my input signal (yellow) being distorted (blue). I may have jumped around for several minutes after seeing this. 

Okay. Now I am done with images and sadly this blog post. I think I might try and spend another hour on my Electronics report before sleeping as it is due in on the 27th. I hate deadlines. I do realise that I normally finish my post with an image, but I think I have already included too many.

I'll try not to leave it so long between blog posts next time.

It's been a while...

I know I said in my last post that I'd be back on the 26th, but I have been seriously busy. So now I'm going to make up for it with an extra long post; well as long as I can make it in 15 minutes, I don't want to miss Eastenders.

First topic of this post - exams. If I had to rate how well they went on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being absolutely dreadful, I would rate them like this:

• Core 3 - 5 (I forgot a Core 1 formula, who does that?!?
• Mechanics 1 - 3 (I may have started crying near the end because it was impossible)
• Physics 4 - 6 (I think I spent too long on Section A and had to rush Section B :( )
• Electronics 4 - 8 (I don't think I have got an A* like I wanted, but I've hopefully got my A)

To be honest, I don't think I have gotten the grades I need for university, which is a minor setback, BUT I still have my exams in May and June. It's not over yet. After that, I finally decided to go and experience a real night out. I went out, didn't worry about spending too much money and got in at 2.30am. It was so much fun. On the other hand, Electronics the next day was painful. 

Oh I have 5 minutes before Eastenders, so I'm going to quickly end this post here and write a longer one after. I haven't even mentioned Astrofest yet (until now).

Best episode ever.

February, please hurry up?

Revision makes me want to hide away in my wardrobe until February. It is that bad!

Okay, I am exaggerating a little; but there are some days when it doesn't seem to be worth the hassle. It's so stressful and I just seem to be getting nowhere. However, there are some days when everything makes sense and I even get stuff right. Those are my favourite days and usually occur after several cups of black coffee.

If tons of revision wasn't bad enough, I now have the worst cold. I don't appreciate this. So now, instead of crawling back into bed and putting on Doctor Who, I have to do a Mechanics paper. To say I'm not impressed would be an understatement.

My only happy news for this blog post is that my Saturday Astrofest conference tickets are booked (sessions 3&4)! For anyone that hasn't heard of Astrofest, it's a two day exhibition that hosts a variety of stands, ranging from the Society for Popular Astronomy to Peak2Valley Instruments. There are also lots of interesting people speaking. I'm probably looking forward to hearing Hanny van Arkel speak the most, but only because she is probably one of the luckiest people to ever go on Galaxy Zoo. I am actually really excited! Even if I do have to go on my own. It's a present from me to myself for completing my exams. Go me!

Seeing as I've now ran out of coffee, this seems like a reasonable place to stop typing and start revising. Goodbye until January the 26th.

This episode of the Big Bang Theory is one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen.
ps, if anyone noticed my HUGE error, it was more a typo then lack of knowledge.