Almost There

Classes have begun, but the work really hasn’t.

It’s one of those strange situations where you know you’re going to have a lot of work to do, but it’s not time to do it yet. I’m just reading the extremely boring and somehow essential first chapters of my textbooks. Tomorrow I have my first lab, where I will write my first programs in a language called Haskell. I’ll feel like I’m finally doing something productive.

Judging from the first couple lectures of each of my classes, I think I’m going to enjoy the more technical ones better, the ones about the computer languages themselves. Programming Languages doesn’t just teach you various computer languages, it teaches you how to learn computer languages, because in a real job it’s normal to have to learn a new one (or two…). Somehow I find that more interesting than the more theoretical classes, for example about the “software life cycle” (the process of creating a large-scale project), etc. I thought I might find Interactive Systems interesting, which is basically about human-computer interaction and how to design software so it’s easy to use, but the first few lectures have been kind of boring. We’ll see.

Interesting fact: two of my professors are American. I think only one of them is from Scotland, the rest sound English. Between the two Americans, though, they say “zed” instead of “zee” and “shed-ule” instead of “sked-jool.” I wonder if they’re just trying to fit in with how the majority of students and staff talk, or whether they’ve naturally picked up those ways of speaking.

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Photo: I couldn’t resist taking a shot of this. I pass it every day on my way to classes. It’s an old-style police box, but it’s also what the TARDIS looks like, if you’re a Doctor Who fan. In that case, it’s epic.

Independence

Tomorrow, classes actually start.

I feel like I’ve been saying that in every post. I don’t know what my books are yet or what exactly I’ll be doing all year, except for my group project. All I’ve been doing this week is learning Unix/Linux, a lot of which I know already. Sadly, that means this coming week will likely be boring introductory lectures. If I was a student in anything other than computer science, that boring first week would be over already.

My group project will be creating an instant messaging program, like a very simplified MSN or AIM or Skype. We’re deciding this week whether we want to create the entire thing ourselves, or use code that MSN or another instant messaging service has already created and make our own version of it (this is all very vague because I assume most of my readers wouldn’t know what I’m talking about if I got specific). It’s going to be challenging, but also hopefully fun, and it’s one of the available projects that is very extendable and is possible to write a lot about. We have to write a fairly long dissertation between me and my other three group members, which will actually count for most of the grade. That kind of writing is not my favorite.

I finally went on that shopping trip I kept talking about, but ended up going on my own because everyone else was busy. It was a fruitful trip. I bought this coat (the black one), which I’m very proud of finding, and two t-shirts, one white, one black, both with designs on the front. All of that for 30 pounds (about $45). I easily found the subway stops and everything on my own.

I find these first-time-on-my-own trips rather exhilarating. First the airplane ride here, then learning how to get around my local area, then going downtown on my own. I’m enjoying this new independence.

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Photo: Near the City Centre (no, spell-checker, that’s how they spell “center”…) on a usual Sunday afternoon. Complete with the busker playing his drum in the street.

Changing Tides

It feels like I haven’t written anything new, fiction-wise, in a long time. It’s understandable, considering I was working editing on a full-length novel for so long. Counting the short story on my other blog, it’s really just been a month. I finally got my journal out though, and have been writing in that a little. Definitely not the three-pages-a-day I did over the summer, but enough that I get my thoughts sorted out. I hope all the future programming homework I’ll have won’t damper my will to write. Maybe I’ll find the time for another short story. I just need ideas.

I read Neil Gaiman’s blog the other day and wondered at how different life is for people, and how things change. Quickly, sometimes. Or most of the time. It sneaks up on you. A famous writer, roaming the world to show off his skill. Years ago, he was probably just like any other aspiring creative person. Wanting to make his mark, working hard at what he loved, hoping it would bring him success one day. And it certainly did.

Consider myself. A month ago, I was going to Starbucks every day, writing like a maniac, mostly being a loner. Lived in Seattle, at home, depended on my parents for food and shelter. Now, it’s almost the opposite. I go to classes, I almost don’t have time to write, I’m always surrounded by people, and I pay for my own food and shelter.

After all the ridiculous, stressful paperwork for applying for this school, for accommodation, for my visa, getting plane tickets, registering in classes… it’s finally all done. I’m settled in. I’m here.

I don’t think I was expecting how it turned out. But it’s wonderful.

~

Photo: My view of the main building on campus. It honestly feels like I’m going to Hogwarts.

Classes, Day One

Let me just say I was surprised today. Though I probably shouldn’t have been.

The majority of people in Computer Science year 3 are British white guys. All obviously geeky. In Vancouver, at least half the class was Asian, and a lot more of them were girls. I feel like I’m back at Bellevue College, but with a few more people.

That’s the other thing: the number of students that are in CS year 3 is somewhere between 40 and 60. Not more than 75. At UBC, there were at least 100 in year 2, probably closer to twice that. And since you can’t choose your courses that much in year 3, I think mostly everyone in my introductory class today will be in all of my other classes. It’ll be interesting.

The five courses I’m taking this term are: Professional Software Development, Advanced Programming, Interactive Systems, Programming Languages, and Algorithmics. It’s going to be an intense term, if not year. I also have a team project due at the end of the school year. Tomorrow my team has a meeting to decide on our project.

The nice thing is that this week is just an intro to Unix, and it’s pretty much optional, so I don’t have to go in every day if I don’t want to. The notes are online, so I may just do the labs at home.

After that, every day from either 10am or 11am till 4pm, I have classes and labs, with maybe an hour or two break. Some of my friends have Fridays or Mondays off. Not fair…

Shopping didn’t happen the other day, so no photos. Perhaps tomorrow if I don’t go to my Unix labs.

Freshers Week

Freshers’ week is intense. I don’t know how people go out every single night and drink and stay up till 3 or 4am just to do it again the next night. There are two student unions, and both have events going every night. Apparently the unions spend most of their money this week and then hope that students come back during the year to pay it all back.

Myself, I’ve only gone out about three nights in the past six, and as many of you know, I’m not much of a drinker. So I’m not as tired and bruised as some people, but I don’t feel a need to go out every night. It’s fun though, and when you are around drunk people, it’s easier to be crazy without alcohol.

Monday is the first day of classes for many people at my university. I don’t have a timetable yet, and I don’t even know my classes. I have to go to registration and enrollment on Monday instead, which will probably take up my whole day. Most of my flatmates say they usually don’t drink or party as much as they are now, so it will be interesting to finally be around them in a “normal” setting to see how much they do work when they need to.

Sorry about the lack of pictures, but I haven’t had time. I might take my camera with me today when we go shopping.

Thoughts On Parties

Today was more shopping. I bought two new plaid shirts, and afterward we went out for very good (and inexpensive) Chinese food. Tomorrow will probably be the same, though I have to set up a bank account in the morning.

Tonight, like last night, I’m staying in. I’m really not much of a partier. When Fresher’s Week is over, I’ll actually be happy, since I won’t have to decide whether I’m going out or not. The two student unions on campus have events every night this week, and many of my flatmates are going to most of them. I’d honestly rather stay home and hang out (which we have really never done without going out afterward), or maybe go to a pub. But if lots of people come to the pub, it’s not a nice conversation anymore–its a party–and people drink more, and then want to go out somewhere else after the pub closes. Like I say, once school starts next week, people will have more reasons to not drink so much and stay out so late. I’m looking forward to it.

Don’t be alarmed if I decide to skip a day or so of blogging. I’m not sure how much longer I can come up with new interesting things to say on a daily basis. We’ll see.

Food

I thought I’d spend a little time talking about food here in Scotland. I stopped at the fish counter in the grocery store today and noticed a few things. They’re known for their salmon (which reminds me of home), so they have quite a few choices of that. They had less shellfish, and I didn’t see any prawns, which I love. Perhaps I didn’t look in the right place for it, but they might not have much of it here.

I’ve been told they have a very small asian influence, so I will have to ask my parents to send things from Uwajimaya (the asian market chain in Washington). I’m still contemplating a rice cooker, since I’ve been eating instant rice for a few days now. I have yet to see if they have good noodles.

I also took a look at their peanut butter. None of it looked as appealing as Skippy or Jif back home, so I decided to stick with cheese (which is very good here, though I suppose it is everywhere). I was also sad to find they didn’t carry Fuji apples, my favorite kind from home. But they’ve got other good things.

I haven’t tried haggis yet, but my flatmates say it’s very good. They say, don’t ask what’s in it. Just eat it, and it’s delicious. I’m going to make it a point to try it soon, perhaps if I go out to eat.

I’ve seen Domino’s, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, and Starbucks. The daily coffee is still Pike Place.

~

Photo: A church-turned-pub near the shopping area that’s close to my flat. The ring around the tower lights up at night and helps you find your way around. Notice the cars driving on the opposite side of the road.

Peas and Queues

Today was a slow day, and I really enjoyed it. We went to the Freshers’ Fair at the university, got lots of pamphlets thrown at us and free pizza shouted at us and such. I bought a university sweatshirt, and thought about buying postcards, but decided they were too expensive at the university store.

Afterward, I went to my adviser appointment. It seems the two curriculums (my old and new school) are only slightly different, and the adviser I talked to is going to see if he can get me the notes on the topics I may have to catch up with. He was a very nice guy, hopefully he’ll be my long-term adviser.

Then I did some grocery shopping, and came home. I finally went to the nicer grocery store, where the veggies and fruits are much fresher and they have a real fish-and-meat deli. It was incredibly windy today, and a bit rainy on the way home. In the morning, security guys came around telling us to shut our windows, so that nothing gets broken in the wind and so we don’t expect them to fix things (we’d have to pay anyway). Instead of going out dancing tonight, we’re going to a bar to just chill and talk and drink a bit. I’m really bonding well with my flatmates, for which I am incredibly grateful.

Not much else to say today. The rest of the week I don’t have anything planned, so downtown shopping or sightseeing are good possibilities.

Scottish Word Of The Day: You are not standing “in line.” You are standing “in a queue.” I feel like I’m trying too hard to fit in whenever I say it, but it’s actually what they say. “Are you in the queue?” “The queue was too long, so I couldn’t get into the event.”

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Photo: Credit goes to this person. I thought you guys deserved a good view of the main building, but I didn’t have time take the photo myself. More pictures of my own to come, I hope…

University is University, Wherever You Are

Whenever I stop and think about it, I can’t really comprehend that I’m really in Scotland. At most, it feels like an extended vacation, because I haven’t started school yet. I’m basically just learning how to get around, do my own grocery shopping, and budget money a bit more than last year.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but somehow I thought that living in Scotland would somehow feel… constantly foreign, or that I’d feel like more of an outsider. Truth is, it feels a whole lot like any other university, just with people that talk funny (beautifully is more accurate). It helps a lot that everyone in my flat is international. I don’t feel like the only one that came from far away to be here. I’m eager to make some Scottish friends, but that might have to wait until classes start in a week or two.

I still don’t have a UK bank account or a cell phone, but I’m starting to get the hang of grocery shopping for myself. Something I haven’t found yet that I really hope I can find somewhere are instant or boxed noodles. You know, like Top Ramen or Macaroni & Cheese (Easy Mac for you Canadians…). There’s a fair amount of pre-made, packaged food, but in the little Tesco on Byers Road (pretty much a Safeway-type place) I haven’t found a single box or bag of noodles. Plenty of pasta and sauce though, so I could make spaghetti, and in fact many of my flatmates do. Maybe I’ll just have to cook more.

That’s another thing I’m glad about. My flatmates really know how to cook. It’s no stereotypical college flat here, with junk food lying everywhere and a kitchen that only smells like booze (not that they don’t drink). Personally, I think it’s because most of the people here are from Europe, where people would probably be more likely to learn to cook at a younger age. Even the Finnish guy here says there is barely any pre-made and packaged food back home.

I can’t wait to make my favorite chocolate chip cookies for everyone.

~

Photo: A little shopping area close to my flat. A good bagel place and little convenience shops, but not a lot else. We usually walk about 10 minutes further to a place with more grocery stores, drug stores, banks, etc. I’m definitely getting my exercise here. And yes, there are a lot of houses and accommodation around this area that look like the buildings on the right and up above on the left. I think it’s gorgeous.

Shopping and Dancing

Yesterday, I went shopping with one of my flatmates. It was such an incredible day. As we walked toward the shops, we passed a bagel shop, and I got coffee and a bagel with bacon and cream cheese (it was delicious). After passing a few of the nearby shops, we decided to take the subway into town. It was such a short ride, I feel blessed that I’m so close to town.

Downtown, there are tons of shops, including two pound shops (dollar stores), plenty of department stores, an HMV (music and games and movies), and much more. The department store we wetnt to, Primark, had very cute stuff at a very low price. We’re going to have to go back when I feel like I can spend money on clothes.

While we were walking around downtown, there was one fiddler, two guitarists (one had electric), and two different places where someone played bagpipes and the other played the drum beside him. And they wore kilts. Kilts are very common here, and especially when guys in Scotland are dressing up, like to a prom–a kilt is almost always what they wear, rather than suit bottoms. This culture is fantastic.

That night, I went to one of the two student unions on campus, GUU, Glasgow University Union, with most of my 10 flatmates. Ministry of Sound was the DJ. There were three or four floors, two dance floors (the main one was where the advertised DJ was at), at least four bars, and hundreds of people. Despite the sticky floor and difficulty walking around due to how many people were there, it was a blast.

I’m just waking up now, it’s about noon where I am. I’m doing my best to do one blog a day, but if I skip a day, forgive me, I have so much to do.

~

Photo: For those of you who are Doctor Who fans, I had to buy these. For obvious reasons. If you aren’t a fan, in the older shows of Doctor Who, the Doctor eats these things called Jelly Babies.