THE BALANCE

Current Location: Home
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: The Bill

... I swear I have managed to pick the subject with the most homework!
Today was the second lesson of English Literature and we have 2 more short stories to respond to. We had 2 stories to do last week that were handed in on Monday.

But I am enjoying myself. Discussing our interpretations is fuuuuuuuuun!

Will do a more indepth post on Friday (day off woohoo!)

Current Location: Living Room
Current Mood: awake

*twitches* *looks at clock* *drums fingers*

... Is it Tuesday yet?!?!
First lesson of the new College year is on Tuesday and it is only an hour long. Tis GCSE Math and then there is Math on Thursday as well. I wish my lessons were at the beginning of the week but I ain't as lucky as my Big sister. Tis her first day at college and she is doing Biology today. So proud of her...

So here is my week:
Monday - Freeeee!
Tuesday - Job Centre 9:20am, GCSE Math 11:15am-12:15pm
Wednesday - English Literature 9:30am-12:15pm, Sociology 1:00pm-3:30pm*
Thursday - Anxiety Management(Hospital 6 weeks) 10:00am-12:00pm, Math 1:00pm-3:00pm
Friday - Psychology 11:15am-2:00pm

* Due to fuck up with subject modules booklet, I have no idea what modules make up Sociology. So I am going to Wednesday's lesson to find out but am actually starting the subject in January, when I finish Psychology. I've done the last 2 modules of Psychology so I needed a lesson to take over.

Good Things:

- New psychology tutor who is older and looks like she has more experience. I liked the last tutor but some of her views were a little politically incorrect. Quite a few of us were unimpressed by that and half of them didn't get their results from the last exam. I was one of the lucky ones because she rang me and told me.

- Sociology tutor is new and is female, which helps me out. I nearly decided not to take this subject because I am sometimes uncomfortable with male tutors. I think I would have been okay because the old tutor was... older.

- One of my friends has decided to take English Literature with me, so I am not on my own. I was a little scared about going in without knowing anyone.

- Don't need to do Study Skills Oral Module. To get an GCSE English C equivalent I have to do all 4 modules but I don't need to do it.
 
Bad Things:

- Psychology is in the most stupid place ever. Not in the morning and not in the afternoon but at least it finishes earlier than other so I don't have to catch the crappy school bus.

- Urgh, will have to catch the stupid school bus in the mornings 3 days a week. My mind won't let me catch the later bus because I hate being late for anything. Plus it's expensive. I need to save up to get a longer pass!
 
- Warwick Uni is snooty when it come to Access students. Not my words but the words of the Head of Access, who kindly told us that Warwick Uni wants GCSE Math grade B and demand things that Access does not provide.

- C grade is the highest grade in Math. To gain more I would need to do the other GCSE Math Thursday evenings, which is not recognized by the Access course.

*blinks* I think that is it for college update.
 

Current Location: By the backdoor
Current Mood: crazy
Current Music: Against All Odds by Phil Collins

Ummm... Hey again!

*clears throat*

I was told to reconnect with people so I am reconnecting with LJ first (although technically I connected with Cal first). I have been absent for many reasons:

1. The internet on my laptop left the building... as in the modem just disappeared, so AOL wouldn't work. Then something magical happened... Wireless...
2. College got in the way.
3. I lost my spark for the internet.

But here I am again, trying to enjoy myself.

COLLEGE

In the time I was away I finished I.T. and passed with flying colours. The Psychology exam based on Schizophrenia and Depression was a complete blah fest. I was ill on the day of the exam so didn't sit it plus the mock exam only got Level 2, twice I went in to sit the exam to find the tutor not there. When I finally sat the exam I was nervous as hell and thought I would fail miserably. The next day I got a phonecall from tutor to say I got an excellent Level 3. I also passed my Maths exam. So far I have:

6 Level 2 (GCSE) credits from Maths (they don't do Level 3 anymore)
21 Level 3 (A Level) credits from I.T., Study Skills & Psychology.

I go back on the 5th of Sept and can not wait. My sister joins the course in Sept as well and is doing Science pathway, so if you hear that Stratford-Upon-Avon college has blown up, you know who did it. I had planned on doing Chemistry and Biology before but I have made my choice and am going with my heart. I will be studying Sociology and English Lit. Don't know if I will finish Psychology yet, because I need to keep my hours down because...

BENEFITS

I was signed off by my doctor so was put on Income Support. I went for a Medical at Coventry last week and have been denied IS, so it's either appeal or go to Job Seekers again. I was a mess on Tuesday while Mum sorted things out and was called to the Job Centre that afternoon. When I showed the woman the paperwork I was sent, with the questions that failed me but were answered incorrectly she strongly suggested appealing, and she isn't the first to say it. So for now I am on Jobseekers but am in the early stages of appealing. When your illness is Mental Health you have to get a minimum of 10 points on their questionaire and I got 1. If they had put down how I really am I would have got 11 points. A genuine grounds to appeal, don't you think?

I'm tired now, and about to be kicked off the web.
Will update later with Fandom squee-fest.

Current Location: Living Room...
Current Mood: cold
Current Music: Silence...

I.T - Spreadsheets

Urgh, the less said about this the better. I just could not concentrate on the bloody booklet but it needs to be done. So I will go on and hopefully do the exam in the next lesson so I can move on to the final part and finish I.T!

Psychology - Psychopathology

Had our first lesson in this module on Monday and it was... okay. We watched A Beautiful Mind and learnt about the symptoms of Schizophrenia using a wicked card game. We will be continuing Schizophrenia studies in the next lesson and then be moving on to depression, which is the study I really want to do. I don't agree with some of the tutors theories when it comes to Schizophrenia but am too scared to actually give my opinion, even though the tutor is nice.

As for the results of my essay on Models of Abnormal Behaviour I got a Moderate Level 3, which is okay with me. But that is just her mark so I have to wait for the official results on that one. The only problems was the referencing (which seemed to be where everyone slipped up) and one part was "not acceptable" but then I wrote that part in a flu haze. At least the tutor is lovely and told us all we did okay.

Maths 

Help me. Or shoot me. We started on Areas, Perimeters and Volume and I understand how to find the area of a cube and a triangle but am still struggling with finding the area of a circle. Sadly this module is going to be an exam and not open book, which means all we can take in is pencils, rulers and a calculator. I so need help.

Study Skills
 
I have officially dropped this subject until next year. My tutor said that I could work on Module 1 in my own time, so I can complete 3 of the 4 modules but she tried to help me by trying to work out a way for me to do this module without dropping it completely. I'm just not ready for group debates and presentations.

Chemistry

I just ordered a Chemistry book from Amazon and am still learning the basics in my spare time because I am determined to do this subject, along with Biology and Biochem. I figured that if I start the subject in September and struggle then I will finish up that module and swap to Sociology, which clashes with Biochem.

Current Location: Home
Current Mood: anxious
Current Music: BBC News 24

Family
I am posting this message from the 'rents new computer. I say new but it is actually second hand from an uncle and is Windows 98. I am jealous because of 2 things:

1. I love the clicky keyboard and want it instead of my silent crappy laptop keyboard.
2. The broadband seems faster on this computer than on my laptop. 

I will be teaching my Pa how to use Microsoft Works soon but ain't sure if I will survive that lol!

Health
I am fine physically but mentally I am shot to pieces. The worst thing happened over the easter break from college but on the plus side I can't wait to go back tomorrow. My depression is holding me back yet again and when they set up a meeting for a work trial I failed miserably. My job centre personal advisor was awesome about what happened and was even worried that I had been set back. The disability advisor got in touch because the PA had talked to her about the problem.

She wants me to go back to the doctor and see if the doc thinks I am medically fit to work. The thing I worry about with this is if I have to claim for Income Support/Incapacity Benefit again and go all the way back to Coventry, only to be denied the benefit and arrive back to square 1. It comes down to one thing and that is this...

I'm not ready for work. I've only just managed college and that took me years to achieve and I think taking on more things is going to result in problems.

Current Location: Home...
Current Mood: cold
Current Music: The Dog Snoring...

Just an update on what I watch and what I think.

ER Season 2 - More4 have put the entire Season 2 on, with some episodes being aired between 1 & 4 am instead of being missed out completely. It's a shame that they are skipping to Season 5 when it's over but hopefully that season will be treated the same way. As for Season 2 I really enjoyed watching it and seeing how totally old it looks. I have found myself loving Dr. Doug Ross and the fact he is complete rebel. One character I found myself liking is Skip, the paramedic. I know he is the person keeping Carol and Doug apart but I kind of liked the guy. I think Season 2 ends next week.

Dexter - I LOVE this show and am so glad ITV is showing it. I didn't think it was possible to actually like Dexter (the character) but he is adorable. Julie Benz is also awesome!

Home & Away - I stopped being interested... until Johnny Cooper returned. Ya gotta love a bad boy who doesn't reform and Callan Mulvey portrays him brilliantly. I don't know if I will keep watching the show after this storyline is over.

La Femme Nikita - The. Hair. WHAT. THE. FUCK?!? I adore this show very much, and even understand why fans were pissed when Alias ripped off storylines (Clone!Nikita) but for the love of God, how could anyone take Michael seriously when he is rocking the mullet. I am up to Season 4 and still not completely invested in the Michael/Nikita love. I will admit that I loved the season 2 triangle with that other guy who ended up dead. Out of all the characters my favourite is Walter. He may be old but damn he is sexy.

Torchwood - I think I am Janto's bitch. I'm more invested in the romance of Ianto & Jack than in any of the other storylines.

Those are the main shows I am watching at the moment.  

Current Location: Living Room
Current Mood: calm
Current Music: Silence

*gives a little wave*

It's been awhile, hasn't it? You've probably noticed that all of the entries are gone... this is not a mistake; just a new beginning. Things have changed so much in my life and my priorities have shifted, so expected more ranting about real life and shit like that.

To start with I am now an official college student, gaining the qualification I need to move on to University. At the moment I am studying 4 subjects, 3 of which are core so I am trying to get through them before September, when I move on to more subjects.

I.T - Two exams down, two more to go. I should be finished in 3 to 4 weeks so I won't need to get up early on a Monday morning.

Maths - Right now I am working on the Access Maths but come September I will be doing GCSE maths (evening course) to make sure I have everything I need for university. The module I'm working on is Statistics, which is coursework. I am a major nerd when it comes to projects so I get laughed at for my thoroughness. I don't care though.

Study Skills - We just finished module 3, which included writing two comparisons (1 on 2 newspapers and the other on magazine advertisements) and a book review, along with an exam on Summary and Commentary. I got my results back before the 2 week break and I got my first 3 credits at Level 3. That is awesome! Not looking forward to the next module because we have to do debating and individual presentations. Gah!

Psychology - I absolutely adore this subject. We just did a module on Abnormality and will be starting Psychopathology next week. I love the subject so much I want to go on to Uni to study it more. I'm actually looking for uni courses that consist of studying abroad and have found 2 that send students to Australia!

In September I will be studying Biology and Chemistry. Both subjects have extra units I can do on a Friday afternoon and the tutors are really lovely.

I had my benefits taken away and am now on Jobseekers Allowance. I'm still looking really hard for a job but had a bad time Thursday when I had to go in a see a woman about a work trial. I just wasn't ready to work in a shoe shop but the woman was really nice.

That is about it for real life issues. I'm going to try and tag each entry that I make because I am a perfectionist at heart. I haven't kept in touch with quite a few of you so if you have time just leave a comment and we will talk and stuff.

xxx

P.S Oh yeah and I'm also 90% lesbian these days...