Feb
15
Weekend Summary!
Filed Under Daily
In one word: BORING! Nothing exciting this weekend. I helped Malinda with her new MacBook Pro on Friday, it took me some times but I quickly got used to MacOS. They are extremely well organized and have made life so easy for people who use them! I will buy a Mac someday, when I have more cash aside. Malinda invited me to Saturday’s party but I never showed up…I did not feel like it. The rest of Saturday was mainly dedicated to sleeping, eating and watching old episodes of Will and Grace. I do not have anything else to watch.
I corrected my CV in french and sent out 2 applications on Sunday. The weather was dreadful and I stayed in my room the whole weekend! I need to print out two reference letters for Chebet on Monday. I also checked for a cheap flight to fly back to Paris at the end of March. I have not bought it yet but there is one perfect return ticket for 111 GBP: Friday to Sunday again.
I read a nice review about the Nikon D700. And it shall be my first big spending as soon as I get a job. I will buy it right away without even thinking about anything else! The Dell Latitude 17’s price has dropped by 50 GBP. I am waiting for it to be around 600 GBP to get it.
Feb
12
Again 5 hours! Very annoying, not because of 5 hours but because it is the same teacher for 4 hours. It is mainly their fault, all these university bastards try to get rid of their teaching hours as fast as they can and compact as much as it is possible their teaching duty.
I went to check for job opportunities in France for patent attorney. I found several positions that are interesting. I wonder if they would give me a chance. Most of these people will eventually become European patent attorney and the law is the same in the EU member states. The principal requirement is to be bilingual in English and French which could work out in my favor. I will apply and see.
Good swim today. I like it when there are not many slow pokes. Last week, it was crowded.
Feb
11
Survival Instinct!
Filed Under Daily
Mine has become weak. I do not know if it is due to my age, the economical situation, or simply the lengthy time it takes to undergo this life change. The temptation to go back to France and maybe become a teacher like my brother is growing inside my head. I do not mind teaching and I enjoyed it a lot in the US. It is very different though, teaching to kids with difficulties is totally different with teaching to university students. Like anybody, I have my up and down mental states. Let see if this one will go away. I am best in difficult and unpleasant situations. I usually fight my way out of hard situations. My mind is sharper! I will stick to my plan at least until June and send out as many applications as possible. I need to give to my plan a good kick before I give up.
Amy is staying one week longer in Bonn, Germany. I am going to get used to this situation. With one person less, The flat has become quiet and very clean. Larsa being never visible, we are like only 4 people now. It does make a huge difference concerning the noise level or the cleanness of the kitchen. I do miss Amy!
Feb
10
Job Application
Filed Under Daily
I answered to 4 job ads. For the 3Rd year, I applied to the EPO. This time I chose The Hague as the preferred location. I doubt they will take me. It looks too much like a relationship thing! Without any insider, I doubt anyone can get in unless they are really lucky. It costs me nothing to try so I did it again.
I received an email from my Australian ex-boss. Someone in the University wanted to keep their database updated. They probably wanted to make sure they did not miss anyone working for them in case they become rich or famous one day. It is very common in the US and it is a great source of income for many universities.
Feb
9
Always Tired on Monday!
Filed Under Daily
Working or not working, Monday has always been a bad day. It is due to the breakup of the routine on Saturday and Sunday. My body has to re-adjust quickly at the beginning of the week.
It was delicate to shave this morning, the tender soft skin of my lips is healing from the herpes and I was very worried I would cut into them using the razor. I could not hold any longer, the facial hair started to itch and was way too long. All is good now, I did not hurt myself. I bought an extra tube of creme in prevention to the new viral attack. Such is my life!
I had a good swim otherwise. Someone very fast was in my lane this morning. It was good to follow his speed for a while. After 90 laps, there were a bunch of slow pokes. I got used to them nowadays. There were two slow girls, very stubborn, they would not let anyone go even though they are the slowest…a bit strange! One of them is an old lady, so skinny, she looks sick. They cause no real troubles to me, they are so slow it takes me two seconds to pass them. I might annoy them but I was in the fastest lane and they were not fast.
Feb
8
My Room My Paradise!
Filed Under Daily
Today I shall stay the whole day in my room doing nothing but enjoying quality time with myself. Such a pleasure! I turned on the radio on my Winamp and enjoyed these old songs from the 80s and the 90s. I played several poker games and did not win nor loose. I might install Civ 3 and play a bit of it also.
I checked yesterday for an extra battery for my Nikon D200. I lost my extra battery last weekend. The cap is a bit loose. I cannot believe the guy in the store told me it was around 40 quids. On ebay, it only costs 7 Quids including shipping! I really dont need it to say the truth.
Feb
7
Good Saturday
Filed Under Daily
I woke up early for a Saturday, I had a good and relaxing sleep. I decided to go to the pool even though my shoulders needed rest but it turned out that there was some competition so I came back home. I did my laundry instead. I had the whole laundry room to myself at 7 am. Even at 10 am, there was nobody in there. The plan is quite easy, I might wander in town a bit after lunch or I might just stay in my room and play some games (Civ3 or Poker). This weekend is fully dedicated to laziness and recovering from the past stressful week.
Since Amy is gone, everything is so quiet around here. My flatmates have been behaving good. Everyone got used to having a clean and ordered kitchen. Good habits satify everyone and there is nothing dirty in the kitchen. I only take regularly the trash out and maintain a bit. I do not mind as long as it is up to my standard.
Feb
6
Second Semester!
Filed Under Daily
The length seems shorter and classes seem smaller. I have now 4 modules of 15 credits each instead of 2 big ones of 30 credits like last semester. I met one new teacher and I have the same teacher from last semester. Looks like Thursday is my big day, I have 5 hours from 10 am until 4 pm and then only 2 hours on Friday from 3 to 5 pm.The course seems easier now that I have studied the material from the first semester.
Today is movie night. What a shame the good comedy, Tropic Thunder is shown only at 10 pm. I will be in bed by then. I might stop by for the first movie, Rightous Kill, some kind of police/mafia movie. I will relax and sleep all weekend long. Nothing strenous and exciting is planed for this weekend.
Feb
5
5 hours of Class!
Filed Under Daily
That will be dead boring! Usually I have 4 hours of the same class on Thursday and on Friday. They added one extra hour today. This day promises to be long and painful. I guess I will survive since it is the first day of the second semester. I am happy I shall see all people from last semester. Some might choose different modules. I cannot pick any since I am on the diploma for Intellectual Property. It is the most restricted stream and everything has been selected for me since the first day. Master students (LLM) can pick anything they need in their specialty.
I shoul calm myself down about swimming. My shoulders hurt a bit from Tuesday’s exceptional effort. I should also remind myself that I am not a professional and I have no intention of being one. All this workout is more intented to keep me healthy and relaxed.
Dave M was in town yesterday and I went along with him checking for some climbing/skiing gears. He didn’t buy anything but it was very nice to see all these shops. Very expensive stuffs! We ended having an early dinner at a very nice chinese restaurant. Then he went to a concert and I went home. I had a chance to discover some nice places around Manchester. I used to walk only along the main street, Oxford Street.
Feb
4
Recovering!
Filed Under Daily
I am glad I have nothing on Wednesday. No swim because of the polo team! I had a long and uninterrupted sleep that allowed my body to recover from the weekend trip and the fast swim on Tuesday. Soooo nice! I am feeling so good now.
Sadly for me, I’ve got several fever blisters on my uppler lip. They were tiny and located on the upper right lip on Monday and I immediatly applied the anti-biotic creme. On Tuesday, the viral infection has spread to the upper left lip with fully formed blisters. I wonder why only the upper lip is affected. Maybe there is some blood nerves there or it was exactly where I was infected the very first time when I was a kid.
Amy, indeed went to London. She got stuck there due to heavy snow so she decided to go to Bonn to meet her BF instead. She will be back on Tuesday. I finally talked to Kat and asked her to pour some oil on her squeaky door, it started to annoy me every time she opens it.
Class resumes on Thursday for me. The exam results will be released sometimes in March. I wonder why it takes them so long, we are only 29 students per class!
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