It's thought the impala were full/tired after having already eaten and run down another impala.

Happy Birthday alitalf  !!!

Hope it's a good one!!

Lectures ahve started.. joy. But hey it's gonna be fun stuff this term- Drugs, Vet. Sci. and Animal Behaviour. And there's even a rumour that we may actually get to play with actual cows in our Vet.Sci practicals! :D

I went to a concert last night, it was a band I've been wanting to see for an age, but last year had no one to go with/no money but this year I still had no one to go with but went anyway, and met some people I knew there so it was all good. I went to see Bellowhead, and they were amazing! With the arts centre being so small it felt like it was a large pub venue, with half the audience standing and dancing and the others sitting waaay in the heavens if they didn't want to dance.

It was so much fun!



See? This wasn't Aber.. well, duh.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/sci_nat_enl_1263551877/html/1.stm

Now back to the nasty pictures of hookworm mouths.. *shudder*

On the plus side:

I have an interview for London! :)

So now I know what to do. I'm not going to be quiet and demure, I'm gonna tell it to them straight. I have worked hard, I know I'm good, and I'm sick of running through hoops for these people.

Just not in so many words..

Annoyingly though, having looked at my provisional timetable, it's on a Wed, which is my busiest day :( So I'm missing two lectures entitled 'Veterinary Science' which is sort of ironic...

Also did anyone see this over the holidays :

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/highlands-islands/145847-uks-only-polar-bear-enjoys-snowfall/

At least someone is enjoing it :)

Cambridge don't want me. Now I guess I'll just wait for London and Liverpool to do the same..


*I couldn't afford it, I can get on with my life, I couldn't afford it, I can get on with my life, I couldn't afford it, I can get on with my life........*

The marina here in Aber has frozen over for the first time since 1963...

Huh.

 Back in bl**dy freezing Aber!!! Though am annoyed to see that it's going to snow back in Brum.  I want snow. :( And no bf to keep me warm either.. silly person for living so far away..

I really should start revising and not just half-heartedly looking at my textbook and reading a couple of papers... Though I have started writing up my dissertation :D a little...

Applied as a runner for the BBC today, just to see what the response would be. I had to say what life experiences could help in being a valid member of a BBC team and giving insight the the UK. I said being a white middle class person at private school living in Sparkhill Birmingham gave me plenty of life experiences ;-)

In other news- my ears are really burning.. who's saying things about me, eh? :P

Wishing everyone the best and a prosperous 2010! :D
                                                                             

I don't think the Cambridge interview went well- there were a lot of awkward silences. Though when they asked me something I was good on I was fine.. And I though they were going to ask me about my diss and work experience but it was all hard science questions! I should have read a textbook before I went!

I've decided as well even though I applied to Liverpool not to go- when I phoned them just before I was to send off my UCAS form they said tuition fees were £12,500 a year- already a lot but I though that might be feasible if I could get some sponsorship. They're now saying it's £18,000 a year!! No way can I get that!

And I've also phoned up London, because I haven't heard anything from them at all. But I'm on the system and they think the letter's been lost in the post, and I should hear from the after Christmas.

Urgh.

I'm not as worried as I was last time- I mean I have (nearly) a degree now, and something to look towards. The only worry for me is that I feel like I've let everyone else down. All those people I've asked for help, or work experience or references.

Nottingham don't want me. I've just got a letter saying they don't take second time applicants. They could have bloody well told me!!! UCAS, no, first email, no, second email, no- not until now have they ever given me any indication that they didn't take second time applicants! They say it was on their website- I combed through that website to make sure I had everything! I phoned them up countless times to make sure things were ok.

Damn.

Well, I have Cambridge interview tomorrow, but I on't hold out much hope- I have such a bad BMAT score...


I'm gonna have to think of something else to do now...

My PCR has WORKED! I have achieved something!! It is also, unless I can find any papers on it may the first time anyone has done this PCR on a snail itself!

So I would be a research scientist!

Yey!

I have an interview at Cambridge! Huzzah! But I'm thinking they ask everyone for an interview so it's not such a big thing...

But yey!

Now back to the parasites...

Quite scared now..

Arrgh.. why is science so frustrating! I'm geting nowhere with my blooy dissertation. We've hit another problem. First there was some isse with contamination and in our PCR we were getting bands in blanks, and negatives, so that was wrong. Now we try to get some DNA out of my snails and we only get small molecular weights, which is wrong. So I talked to one of the people here, who's done some work with snails, though the large African sort, not these tiddly British ones, and she thinks that there may be some problem with mucus. The snails are really gloopy and to extract the DNA we sort of put it through a little filter an she thinks that the DNA is just getting stuck on the filter.

After reading through some papers we may have a solution by using a detergent to break down the mucus, or a method that doesn't require filtering. But arrgh! The lab can't afford a new kit so we're going to have to try to adapt an old one.. it so frustrating.

Sorry if you don't understand this but I just wanted to rant.

On a good note I'm getting references in for vet school. Having chased everyoen up it seems to be paying off. Though I'll know if they're true to their word by the end of the week!

Now I have to be in the lab again from 9 o'clock in the morning....

ETA: I just realised that sounded a bit patronising, I am sorry... :(

Well, sort of. I've had two questionaire's from Cambridge and Nottingham to fill in, and now that's done. I've still to hear from London, though I'm not sure if that's postal strikes, Mum not sending on post, or London having too many applicants to get through. L'pool have said 'Hello'.

I have a bit of stress at the mo, a list as long as my arm of essays to do, plus a dissertation to start, plus a couple of group presentations to do. Yes it's lots to talk about *if* I get an interview, but it's just sooo much work. Add to that my bloody BMAT: which is annoying me, because I know I should remember some of this stuff, but it's three years old and trying to drudge it up from my brain is frustrating.

I hate chemistry- I gave it up three years ago, and now I'm trying to do pH's and Le Chatelier's Principle again... I gave it up for a reason! I'm just hoping that they'll look at me, and go, well she's got a first (what my tutor predicted), so who cares is she doesn't remember that acid+metal oxide= metal salt +hydrogen...

Urgh.. too much to do.. Also pipetting 64 times means my shoulder really hurts! There that's my gripe..

The only thing that's keeping me going, is the bf and cheerleading! I did a handstand today :)

Is sent!!

Eeeepp!!

*crosses fingers*

Well after Oxonmoot- which I loved- it was great to get away from the chaos that is Fresher's Week, I am back in Aber, and was pleased to find out that lectures didn't start on Thursday, as I had thought, but Monday, so I have a nice non-busy weekend as Sports don't begin till next week either.

I've dropped karate- I love the sport, it's just the people I don't like- it's a stress just going to karate- because I know they'll be something I haven''t done, or forgot, and even though I'm not on committee this year, I just don't want the hassle. I'm doing archery again, and need to get a bow pronto. We were signing up Fresher's and they all seemed to have bows- I've been doing this sport for two years and yet  still don't have one! I'm off to the local archery shop next weekend hopefully to look at some- though it's cheaper online, I've been told it's better if they measure you up for one. I might look at them, find the one that suits me, and then look for it online!

And I joined choir again! We're singing Mozart's Requiem, which I am overjoyed about! I have always wanted to sing it! But I have a little bit of a sore throat today which isn't good as it's the first session tonight!

Also we've become a D and D house- first time playing it last night, well I say playing, we're still trying to understand everything and make our characters! We're so sad....

I was watching the One Show last night and it said that short people are basically 'worse at life' to paraphrase. People think that we aren't as clever, successful, well adjusted as taller people. And now I've just read an article in the Daily mail (for fun, I promise! ;-) ) and short people are more likely to die younger than tall people. (Though, I don't for one second credit their research, of course).

But yet I do get the feeling being short I got looked down upon, literally and figuratively. I mean, when I say to people I want to be a vet, I like working with cows etc. they look at me to say- but you're so small! How could you do that! And you do get overlooked- I just don't feel I have as much presence as taller people, and I think that's why I have to be loud- which I know can grate on some people, and I have made enemies for being too loud. I also think it's why it took me so long to find a boyfriend- you just get ignored when you're under five foot.

I hate being short.

A MEGA BIG SUPER HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO the_marquis  !! (for yesterday!)

*big muddy hug*

I'm on a farm somewhere near Abergavenny, and so to all those kind people who offered/are offering to read my personal statement- is it ok if I send it to you when I get back. which looks to be about seven days? It's on my computer at home!

I was supposed to be here for two weeks. but the people who's farm it is think I may have done everything by then, or will be very bored! So it's looking more like a week I shall be staying here.

The weather doesn't help either- v wet!

Though I'm going to market tomorrow to sell some sheep!